A look at the reasons that lead the Quakes to their current situation.
Nick Garcia and Toronto send the Quakes to hell. A symbol of the club's questionable choices this year. Photo: TheProjectFC
Last October 25, 2008, after the last game of the season at home against Toronto, the atmosphere at Buck Shaw was a mix of satisfaction and hope (read here). The San Jose Earthquakes had not qualified for the playoffs, but the latest performances of the team had been encouraging and even impressive on occasions for an expansion team.
The signings of Arturo Alvarez, Scott Sealy, Lima and San Jose's new hero Darren Huckerby in the second half of the season had turned an average expansion team to a competitive one. They just arrived a little too late to catch up with the playoff contenders but the fans could proudly sing without a doubt "We don't suck anymore!"
Last Saturday, against the same opponent, the Quakes lost heavily (1-3 - Match report here) and probably played one of the worst games of their history.
Back in October, building on last season's momentum, the management was going to keep working in the same direction, just looking to reinforce some positions in the roster.
Actually, before the end of last season, Frank Yallop and John Doyle already knew it was not going to be so easy. Lima and Sealy had already announced they were going to Europe during the off-season to try to find a better contract. They never came back.
Even though Frank Yallop had a high regard for Lima, these two players were not irreplaceable. Losing 2 players in the inter season is not unusual and it is something the Quakes should have survived.
Ronnie O'Brien refuses the new Quakes' offer
Less usual is what happened with 2 other important players, Joe Cannon and Ronnie O'Brien. The club decided not to renew their contracts at the same conditions. If Joe Cannon finally decided to accept a lower salary because of his attachment to the Bay Area, Ronnie O'Brien, furious to learn the club's decision so late (just a few days before the team started training again), decided to refuse the new Quakes' offer.
By telling O'Brien about their decision so late, San Jose probably thought he wouldn't be in a position to refuse, not having looked for another club in the inter season. It came back into the face of the management as a boomerang: it was now late to find a replacement player of equivalent level and, so far this year, it is still Arturo Alvarez who plays in O'Brien's position on the right wing, not being able to cross with his right foot. Alvarez is not having a bad season personally, but it is interesting to notice that the only times he is dangerous are when he leaves his position and comes into the box from the left or the center...
Then, bad luck combined with hazardous signings made the pre-season fail.
Ari Riihilahti, would probably have been a perfect replacement for Lima. Unfortunately, the Finland international midfielder failed the physical tests. This was the beginning of a long series of unfortunate events.
Starting a season with 2 central defenders you don't believe in is not ideal
Jason Hernandez, the best Quakes' defender last year got injured during a camp with the National team. He missed the first weeks of competition. At the same time, Ryan Cochrane had an ankle surgery and has not recovered yet!
Nick Garcia and Kelly Gray started the season as central defenders. We now know that none of them really were in Yallop's plans. We actually knew it before: Kelly Gray was clearly only a substitute in the head coach's mind already the year before and not renewing Garcia as the team captain was obviously a sign that Yallop wasn't sure he would play the whole season. Starting a season with two central defenders you don't believe in is not ideal...Not mentioning that left back, Eric Denton, was also only a default choice for the coach!
Here comes another question: Why couldn't the Earthquakes find replacement players earlier in the season? Is San Jose so unattractive for a soccer player? Are the salaries offered by the club to low? Or couldn't they decide which players to target and to sign?
The defense was not the weakest line of the team though. Yes, Gray and Garcia made some mistakes, but it is not surprising when your team is not able to hold possession and the ball is constantly coming back to the opposition's forward. Having to defend twice as many plays as a team which would be able to hold the ball, you necessarily make more mistakes.
2 young forwards with similar profile as Ryan Johnson
There we can question the choice of the second forward. Ryan Johnson being obviously the number one, the club needed to find someone to replace Sealy. Clearly, the team couldn't or didn't want to spend too much on a forward and naturally looked at young talents. This is absolutely respectable but there is a question which is still unanswered: Why choose 2 young forwards who have a similar profile as Johnson? Cam Weaver and Pablo Campos (who have both left the club already! Read Here) are not bad players. They both are good target men, but Ryan Johnson is doing this job better than them!
Quincy Amarikwa had a more interesting profile to combine with Johnson but he is not experienced enough to be more than a sub. The recent signing of Cornell Glen could be a good solution, but it is already too late.
This casting up front, combined with the choice of two exclusively defensive central midfielders, resulted in the team playing the whole first half of the season with sending long balls to Johnson and Weaver (or Campos) as their only weapon (reason why the ball was quickly coming back as mentioned above)
Bad luck strikes again
Then, bad luck stroke again: last year's savior, Darren Huckerby got injured after only 4 games. I am honestly unsure the ex Norwich City midfielder's presence on the field during the first months of competition would have dramatically changed things. His experience and above average skills would have helped for sure, but he probably couldn't have changed everything on his own as he did last year. He's back now and wasn't the worst Quake last Saturday against Toronto. We'll see in the next few weeks if he can do miracles again.
Another thing that Yallop and Doyle couldn't imagine is the disappointing performances of Bobby Convey. He is a good player and will probably be precious to stabilize the midfield, but no one could have imagined it would take him so long to adapt to MLS. He is currently on the injury list as well, delaying his adaptation. And this maybe the key.
Without Convey at a decent level and with Corrales playing left back (and now injured as well), Yallop's midfield organization is ruined. Elliott and McDonald who were the 2 center midfielders last Saturday are physically impressive but when it comes to move forward and bring additional solutions in the offensive phases, they are both technically too limited. Again, in a way, their profiles are too similar to another to make them a good match.
After Saturday's game, Yallop will need to try something different and, unless new signings are announced before the end of the week, Antonio Ribeiro, who seems to have less physical strength but more technical skills, may have a chance to prove he can bring something interesting.
Between injuries and wrong choices, it is not easy to tell which factor had the worst consequences on the team's performances. Let's say that with clever (and/or quicker) decisions in the inter season, the Earthquakes would have had less difficulties to face injuries and today, wouldn't be trading players who were considered as key members of the team 4 months ago.
San Jose needs to remain attractive for future players
The San Jose Earthquakes will not make the playoffs in 2009. However, it is important to finish the season on a (much) better note, and give a better image. It is important for the fans and the attendance at Buck Shaw, but not only. San Jose also needs to look attractive to have a chance to sign good players in the future.
They will need to find new objectives to show that they haven't given up and give the fans some reasons to hope for better days next year. There is no relegation in this league. This looks like good news when your team is in the next to last position, but it makes it difficult for a coach to keep the players 100% involved. Avoiding finishing in the last position at all cost should be an objective. Finishing ahead of the Galaxy would be a higher one. More difficult, but not impossible. It would be very appreciated by the fans.
For now, Frank Yallop is facing another big issue. Last Saturday, he lost Aaron Pitchkolan in the dramatic conditions described here. Mike Zaher has not been very good defensively last Saturday, and Ramiro Corrales is injured. With Ryan Cochrane injured as well, the only defender remaining is Jamil Roberts. He has not played a lot in 1 1/2 seasons with the Quakes, but he is still on the roster and may have the opportunity to prove he deserves more than just a few minutes each year.
Ironically, Nick Garcia (who is now happy at Toronto - view video interview here), Kelly Gray and Eric Denton (both released recently by the club) could have been useful...
However, good news is some spots have been made available for new players. New signings should be announced soon. This time, the casting needs to be successful!
Garcia sucked, that's why
Garcia sucked, that's why he's gone.