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MLS Preview ’12 – San Jose Earthquakes

Robert Hay — Sat, 03 Mar 2012 18:23:52 +0000

Team: San Jose Earthquakes

Coach: Frank Yallop

Last Season: 8-12-14, 7th Western Conference, 14th Overall

Hashtag: #SJEarthquakes

Although it is an overused phrase, this year is a critical year for the San Jose ‘Quakes. The team is at a crossroads and this season will show if the newer franchise with the classic name can create a permanent and financially successful presence in the San Jose area. Is this a bit alarmist, considering that they are two years removed from making a deep playoff run and have as the face of their franchise one of the five best goal scorers in MLS? Maybe but consider the circumstances surrounding this team:

Shirt sponsor since 2008 Amway and the club parted ways in the offseason and, as can be seen on the jersey, the team is keeping its main sponsor spot open for either Amway or a new partner to sign up with the team.
The San Jose Planning Council has approved the team breaking ground on its new soccer specific stadium, a major win for the team that promises not only a major financial windfall (the team has sold 10 of 12 field-level suites in the new stadium according to The Sporting News) but creates a shiny new home to keep current fans and attract new ones.
Head coach Frank Yallop seemingly lost his team in the middle of last season before ending 2011 making a very late playoff push. Despite his pedigree and past success, this could be a definitive season for him.

Off the field the team has a lot going on but on the field this is a sneaky good team. This winter Yallop and the front office rebuilt the team to be speedier on the wings with the goal of creating more scoring chances for Chris Wondolowski and the other forwards. Unfortunately, in the stacked Western Conference this team could be much improved but have little to show for it in the standings.

Coaching Staff and Front Office: Frank Yallop has an impressive resume and a number of current MLS stars (as well as star coach Dominic Kinnear) were formed by him. So to doubt his coaching ability means there has been some really poor play on the field last season, and in fact there was. The ‘Quakes were inconsistent, but that could also be blamed on injuries and absences. Yallop is still a quality coach, but this season will go a long way to showing if he can still hold the attention of this roster.

Additions: We’ll begin looking at the newest ‘Quakes with a little bit of MLS history. New signee Sercan Guvenisik is the first Turkish-born player in MLS history, but the veteran lower-level German league player gives the team solid depth at forward and a tall scoring option off the bench. Three new midfielders that are all fighting for starting jobs were brought in before Christmas 2011. Marvin Chavez could have been the steal of the offseason when he came over from FC Dallas for allocation money and will be counted on to contribute a few goals (he notched six with FC Dallas in ’11) while playing the wing or even up front.

Also joining the midfield is RSL super-sub Jean Alexandre via trade. The Haitian is a speedy player who could play the wing or, as he did in Salt Lake City, provide cover as a holding midfielder. He has always been a player with potential, but now the 25-year-old will have the chance to make that next step. Shea Salinas comes home to the team that drafted him in 2008 after a trade with Vancouver that again gives Yallop an option in midfield or off the bench. To help a defense that was offensive at times last season, the team acquired centerback Victor Bernardez who was injured recently in a preseason match.

But the biggest acquisition may have been the most recent. Midfielder Simon Dawkins returns on loan from Tottenham Hotspur after he spent some time this offseason on loan to FC Twente. When 100%, Dawkins was a dynamic threat from the midfield who scored six goals and contributed two assists but could create opportunities in space. With his return unknown, this was a huge lift for the team and fans.

Subtractions: When a player with the reputation like Bobby Convey’s is traded, it is usually a major detriment to his team. But what is lost in talent is gained in clubhouse chemistry as Convey was seemingly a major headache to management and his team. Soem familiar names on defense like Nana Attakora, Bobby Burling, and Chris Leitch are gone but the defense needed a retooling anyway.

Projected Starters: Your starting keeper is Jon Busch who is a leader on this team and a good keeper. The interesting story for this position is the #2 spot, with current backup David Bingham fighting for a spot on the U.S. Olympic team and potentially looking for more playing time with another club. However, this is a problem any team would like to have. Consider this part of the field set and a strength.

The back four will be talented but thin. Returning right back Steven Beitashour was an assist machine and can push up to help the attack. At left back, it will be a battle between original ‘Quake Ramiro Corrales and Justin Morrow with Corrales having a slight edge due to on-field leadership. In the center, Ike Opara is a rising star who is finally getting attention from the U.S. national team staff and is a very good defender with good height. The problem is he needs to remain healthy and take that next step for him to enter the conversation with players like Omar Gonzalez for future U.S. national defenders. Next to him will be Jason Hernandez but Bernardez could challenge for this spot depending on his injury. If any of these players are injured, yikes and hide your eyes.

The composition of the midfield will depend on whether Yallop sticks with his tried-and-true 4-4-2 diamond or tries a 4-3-3. If he needs a holding midfielder, look for veteran Sam Cronin or Alexandre to get the first crack at manning that position and spearheading the San Jose attack. On the wings it looks like Salinas and Chavez will start, although with Dawkins studying the playing style of Sami Nasri he could be a wing option. Another new midfielder who will push to start is Tressor Moreno, who will push Khari Stephenson for the starting attacking midfielder role atop the diamond. There are numerous options Yallop can use, so it will be key for him to find the few that work and get those combinations to gel.

The forwards are more defined. Chris Wondolowski will start when healthy since the past two years he has scored the most goals of any MLS player. Wondo is streaky to the max, so he either needs to become a bit more consistent or rely on his fellow forwards to pick up the slack. That other forward who will provide scoring cover is Steven Lenhart. If he can play as well as he did before leaving the team in July, San Jose will score a lot of goals. Behind those two is veteran Alan Gordon and Guvenisik, who are excellent depth for the occasional goal but cannot be relied upon to start numerous games for a playoff team.

Player to Watch: Steven Lenhart is the key to the success of this team. No offense to Gordon or Guvenisik, but Lenhart is able to force teams to respect both ‘Quakes forwards and give Wondolowski more chances to score. In May and June, when San Jose was playing its best last season, he scored four goals and two assists. If he can bring that attacking ability to the whole season, San Jose’s offense could be close to the best in the league.

Best Case Scenario: FC Dallas and RSL fans shake their heads as they look up to San Jose in the standings, primarily due to the fact that the rebuilt ‘Quakes midfield dominates games like no other. While they do not challenge for the Supporters’ Shield and cannot dent the LA/Seattle hold on the top of the conference, San Jose rides some upsets in the playoffs into the Western Conference finals. Wondo wins his second Golden Boot in three season, Dawkins goes back to England permanently as Spurs see he’s ready for the top flight, and Bingham is not the only player to be wooed by a European club in the offseason.

Worst Case Scenario: Opara is one of a number of injured defenders and the backline gives Busch no coverage. Wondo is as he has always been, scoring in bunches, but the promising midfield cannot create chances for the other forwards and San Jose loses a number of 3-1 matches. They slide to the bottom of a stacked Western Conference and take a hard look at the MLS drafts as a way to rebuild again. And Bobby Convey wins an MLS Cup.

Prediction: Here is the key to the season: four of the team’s first seven games are against teams that did not make the playoffs in 2011, while seven of the first eleven games are at home. If San Jose can get out to a strong start and weather a stretch this summer with six of seven games on the road against playoff contenders, then this team can slip into the final Western Conference playoff spot. San Jose will be better but their unbalanced schedule has some tough road trips (twice to Seattle and Portland, once to Sporting KC and New York). The ‘Quakes will finish seventh again in the Western Conference, but will be in the playoff hunt until the final month.

Just another Pie-in-the-Sky MLS Stadium Proposal?

Robert Jonas — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 10:10:16 +0000

Proposed 15,000 seat San Jose Earthquakes Stadium

Saturday night at the annual Soccer Silicon Valley Community Foundation dinner in front of over 400 business leaders, government officials, and soccer supporters, the San Jose Earthquakes unveiled for the first time architectural illustrations of their long awaited new stadium. With the announcement, San Jose joins the Kansas City Wizards and the Houston Dynamo in publicly stating their intention to build the next MLS soccer-specific stadium.

With a seating capacity of 15,000 and additional standing and picnic areas that could boost that to nearly 20,000, the new facility would be the centerpiece of an 80 acre development near the San Jose International Airport, and a stones throw away from their current digs on the campus of Santa Clara University.

Moving away from a recent MLS trend toward stadiums designed with funky shaped but architecturally interesting overhangs, the new Earthquakes stadium would feature a uniformly covered horseshoe shaped tier of seating. “I think the roof structure will create intimacy and also noise,” stated Earthquakes owner Lew Wolff at the unveiling. “We’d like a lot of noise and excitement. And the fans will be closer to the pitch than any place else in the country, and the quality of the field will be outstanding.”

However, don’t hold your breath for the ground-breaking ceremony. Wolff has made it clear that he won’t start any construction until he has commercial sponsors that will pay for stadium naming rights and other advertising signage in and around the stadium. He also wants assurances that the financing he needs is fully in place. Of course, the final hurdle is the politics of building a stadium in the Bay Area, a region notorious for its stingy public financial outlays to sports organizations. As Wolff said somewhat tongue-in-cheek, “It is not easy getting projects done in California. In fact, I think if you came up with a cure for cancer in this state, someone would be there to oppose it.”

Perhaps sensing that the crowd of supporters invited to the stadium plan unveiling was growing ever frustrated at the lack of progress on the development, Wolff also announced that tickets prices for the next couple seasons would be reduced by as much as 40% from current levels. The front office knows that the team has suffered on the field since returning to MLS, and hopes this announcement will encourage the fan base to keep the faith.

But how long will supporters remain placated by pretty pictures and virtual stadium fly-over videos? Will lower ticket prices be enough to get fans to come out to a sub-par Buck Shaw Stadium? Fans will certainly lose interest in the organization if they don’t see ground being broken at the proposed stadium site very soon. And they certainly are not going to continue to purchase season tickets to a makeshift facility indefinitely.

All the momentum generated by the new stadium announcement will be lost in the community if Wolff and his associates spend an excess amount of time trying to line up all the commercial sponsors they have targeted. And an increasingly disenfranchised fan base will erode at the perceived apathy of the stadium development. What financial value there is in the franchise will fall precipitously.

Perhaps the best move for Wolff and the San Jose Earthquakes is to take the first step and begin development of the stadium site now. This would show fans that the team is committed to the project, giving them reason to attend games in the mean time. A full temporary facility and excess ticket demand would create a buzz in the community, which in turn would entice sponsorship by businesses looking to associate themselves with a growing professional sports organization. It might take a substantial initial investment by the Earthquakes for this to happen, but the risks of doing nothing certainly outweigh the rewards of acting now.

Carpe diem Lew Wolff, don’t leave the San Jose soccer community waiting any longer.

MLS, CONCACAF botch doubleheader option

Mitch Howard — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 08:34:26 +0000

Once again, MLS executives prove they are not in tune with their product. The Gold Cup provided the perfect opportunity for MLS to expand their fan base. Collaboration with CONCACAF representatives could have brought doubleheaders featuring one MLS game and one Gold Cup game from the first game through to the final (This year’s format does provide doubleheaders, two Gold Cup games/one stadium, except for the final).

A collaboration among organizations would have allowed for more stadiums to get an opportunity to host the Gold Cup, which in turn, allows more people overall to see live soccer action. By spreading the wealth, Soccer gets more promotion and more exposure.

What this would have accomplished is good for both CONCACAF and for MLS. By having an MLS game take place for fans who might not be familiar with the MLS product, there is a possibility of enhancing the significance of the CONCACAF Champions League. Fans of different heritage would get the chance to see teams which may play in the Champions League.

MLS would have benefited by getting their product to their easiest fans to win over, soccer fans. A game between Guadeloupe and Nicaragua in Reliant Stadium on the 9th of July with an MLS game as part of the attraction is a marketing wet dream for the Houston Dynamo.

The biggest dilemma for the organizers of these events would have been which game becomes the headliner. This is a problem you want to have. Some may argue the MLS game may have more broad appeal than the Gold Cup game or visa versa. Regardless, there are still two games to be played and to be enjoyed for fans.

There’s also the possibility of marketing to the sports fan and getting them more heavily involved. With 2 games to see, there’s a stronger likelihood they’ll see a great game and be pulled in more to soccer as an entertainment option. (International doubleheaders tend to attract a specific audience already familiar with Soccer).

Scheduling MLS games could have been made easier by getting all the teams involved during this 3 week period of 25 matches. They could have scheduled just 25 MLS matches during this time.

Among the 25 matches to be slotted to accompany Gold Cup matches, another brand could also fill the void. With sufficient planning and anticipation from U.S. Soccer and CONCACAF, some U.S. Open Cup matches could have been included.

It’s dissappointing this is not transpiring because it would have made for great theater and discussion for soccer fans. It also seems that this idea would have garnered more national attention from ESPN.