Thursday, July 31, 2008
This week the Quakes made another savvy move by bringing in Arturo Alvarez from FC Dallas. All they gave up was some allocation money and the first round draft pick that they picked up from Houston in exchange for Kei Kamara. It was only the latest in a string of moves by the Quakes this season and while not all of them have panned out, GM John Doyle has to be given credit for taking some good risks and being smart.
It is not easy to build a team from scratch. Just ask Salt Lake or Chivas USA. Sure there is the expansion draft but teams rarely leave special players exposed. San Jose focused on defense with its expansion draft and earliest moves and defense has been the strength of the team. They acquired Cannon, Garcia, Cochrane, Hernandez, Denton, Riley and Guerrero early on and all have generally performed well with some really stepping up like Cannon and Garcia. Clarence Goodson decided to go to Scandinavia to play so the pick hasn’t helped this season but the team has his rights for when he returns to the league - a very likely scenario. Of course there have been some mistakes, gaffes and own goals by the defense but it has generally played well enough to get results. It’s the lack of offense that must take the blame for the teams sub par record.
In the midfield, expansion pick Ned Grabavoy has had an up and down season. He’s had some nice assists and played well at times but the attack has not been potent enough and for that he’s taken a lot of the blame, perhaps unfairly. Still, he was the best player that the Crew left unprotected in the draft, so the pick made sense. As the preseason progressed the Quakes made moves to bolster the offense by bringing in Ronnie O’Brien and they added versatility by bringing back Ramiro Corrales. O’Brien was coming off a serious knee injury and it has taken him some time to fully recover but no one can deny his quality. Corrales has had a solid, if unspectacular season, and he continues to start and be a fixture in midfield. Of course he can play better but with the midfield in flux all season it’s understandable that the team has a whole has lacked chemistry and offensive prowess.
The team took a gamble by acquiring Peguero Jean-Phillipe and while his surgically repaired knee didn’t hold up, and his loan didn’t work out, the Quakes didn’t lose much in the deal. Pegureo is a proven MLS goalscorer when healthy so the potential upside was huge. They were able to pick up Ryan Johnson and he has proved to be an unexpectedly good player that other teams had given up on.
Later in the season the front office picked up Kelly Gray and Jovan Kirovski for Preston Burpo and allocation money. Again, these were solid acquisitions without giving much up. Kirovski hasn’t been able to play much yet due to injury but Kelly Gray has been very solid in the midfield and on the backline when called into service. It’s hard to critize the move.
The most exciting moves have come in the last few weeks. Doyle and Yallop managed to lure Darren Huckerby here from the Championship in England, where he could have stayed and earned a lot more money, and they convinced him to chose the Quakes over Toronto, who had first dibs on his services. This was a major coup and the upside that Huckerby has is massive. He’s already scored a goal and been dangerous in the attack despite not having had much time to practice and not having played in months. Picking up Francisco Lima also looks to have been an excellent move. The Brazilian gives the team top level experience and a solid presence in the center of the pitch. The gamble is that at 37 he is old for a soccer player, but he appears to be in excellent shape and the league has had its share of starts that preformed well in their late 30s. The team didn’t have to give up any players to make these moves and it had the money to make them.
Most recently the team dealt the young and struggling forward Kei Kamara to Houston for allocation money and a first round pick. It looks to be a win-win situation for both parties. Kamara can now come off the bench and he won’t have the pressure on him that he had as a starter at San Jose. He’ll be able to develop his game at a more realistic pace. Remember, he is still a young player and he didn’t play soccer at a collegiate powerhouse. Tuesday night he came on as a sub for Houston and earned the corner that lead to the first goal in the Dynamo’s Superliga victory over defending champs Pachuca.
Now San Jose gets Alvarez with assets from the Kamara trade. In the still young Alvarez another ex-Quake returns to the fold and his offensive flair and potential cannot be denied. While he has played mostly on the left side of midfield he can also play forward and it’s likely that he will be paired there with Scott Sealy. Of course Huckerby could go to forward and Alvarez could play on the left or the team could even adopt a 4-3-3. The important thing is that the team continues to add positive pieces while giving up relatively little. While its true Sealy could leave the league and Alvarez could under produce, there is a huge upside to both players. Already Sealy had a hand in the goal Sunday, again with almost no training with the team and he is a proven goalscorer in the league. Alvarez had an excellent match for Dallas in their 4-0 thrashing of LA July 27th. He had a beautiful throughball to assist Oduro and it’s easy to imagine him replicating the move by assisting Huckerby with the Quakes. Alvarez has scored some highlight reel goals and is a player that seems ready to accept the challenge and continue to elevate his game with San Jose.
Realistically, the Quakes probably won’t be able to make the playoffs this season but there is no denying that they will be more fun to watch and should produce some wins in this second half of the season. If Yallop and Doyle can keep the players together they should have be playoff bound next season and that is very respectable for a team that was started from scratch this year. The fans need to be patient and they also need to make sure they come out in force. There is no excuse for not selling out Buck Shaw stadium and helping to make it a place where the opposition has difficulty winning. The rest of the season should be exciting and the Quakes may still make some more moves before it ends.
Ben Sizemore (email)
Ben also has a punk radio show: you can listen to it Here
Ivan Guerrero Sent To DC United For Allocation Money
The San Jose Earthquakes confirmed the rumor. Here is the official Press Release:
"The San Jose Earthquakes announced today that the team has acquired allocation money from D.C. United in exchange for midfielder Ivan Guerrero.
“Ivan has been a true professional for us this season,” said General Manager of Soccer Operations John Doyle. “We would like to thank him for his contributions.”
Guerrero appeared in 14 games this season for San Jose, playing mostly left midfield. In 13 starts, he scored one goal for the Quakes.
Transaction: San Jose Earthquakes (MLS) – San Jose Earthquakes acquire allocation money from D.C. United in exchange for M Ivan Guerrero."
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