San Jose Earthquakes

As the abilities of the struggling San Jose Earthquakes came into question Saturday night (at least by this writer), it appeared that the 'Quakes rose to the occasion against one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference, DC United.

Unfortunately, the game began with a turn of bad luck for the 'Quakes when an early penalty kick was given after a poor foul by the Earthquake's left back, Michael Zaher inside the 18 in only the third minute. With only themselves to blame, San Jose dug themselves a one-goal hole right off the bat after a good finish by DC star, Christian Gomez.

After the teams traded isolated chances, another miscue, albeit unlucky, by Mike Zaher dropped a blocked DC United shot into the lap of Christian Gomez alone with San Jose keeper Joe Cannon in the 21st minute. Finishing nicely, Gomez scored his second of the game, putting DC up 2-0 pretty early.

After some sporadic attacks coming from both sides in the ensuing first half, a slew of chances came for the 'Quakes from some good crosses from former Norwich star, Darren Huckerby, and the always involved Bobby Convey.

Finally, after a fortunate deflection from Earthquakes forward Cornell Glen, Ryan Johnson used his great offensive presence in the air to cut the DC United lead in half. What followed was a emotional celebration to the south end of the stadium from Johnson, effectively re-igniting the recently silenced crowd.

Continuing his dominance in the aerial game, Johnson created himself another shot at a header at the back post, only six yards out. The whole stadium came to a hush as the 'Quakes forward took a tough fall after a collision with United defender. Johnson limped off the field with what seemed to be a sprained shoulder, the crowd only hoping it was nothing serious.

Another penalty mishap arose in the 62nd minute, only this time in favor of San Jose, when a cross from wing Darren Huckerby was batted down by the United back, Rodney Wallace. The penalty kick, granted Cornell Glen, the San Jose team a shot at an equalizing goal.

In another emotional feat, 'Quakes fans watched as veteran keeper Joe Cannon, knelt down in his own penalty box with his back to the play as his teammate braced to take the penalty. With a well-placed shot, Glen tied the game resulting in a huge eruption from Buck Shaw Stadium, and a confident fist pump from Cannon.

The fans were back behind their team. This comeback was what the team and the fans needed to regain a confidence that coach Frank Yallop had recently spoke about as a bit of a key problem behind their struggles.

The game finished in a 2-2 tie, but the poise that was shown by San Jose after a going down 0-2 in the first 21 minutes was notable. Fans can only hope that this strong performance against a very strong Eastern Conference team can be built upon in the remaining games this season.

As the San Jose Earthquakes take the field at 7:00 pm tonight at Buck Shaw Stadium against DC United, they should know that this game, and the succeeding few, will define their season and the character of their struggling team.

GM John Doyle and Coach Frank Yallop have been working tediously on and off the field with a team that has faltered this season, posting a 3-10-4 record overall with an unacceptable 0-7-2 on the road. But things seem to be looking up, and tonight's game will greatly impact the confidence of the team for the final games of the season following the All-Star Break.

With recent acquisition of El Salvador National Team star and captain, Ramon Sanchez, it would seem that the hole that the Earthquakes have faced with an injured Ramiro Corrales in the center midfield has been filled.

Ryan Cochrane, Earthquakes veteran and leader along the back four, will be probable to return from ankle surgery. Following the trade of Nick Garcia earlier last month, a shaky and hesitant Earthquakes defense developed. Hopefully, the return of this veteran's leadership and play will lighten the load that Joe Cannon has had to shoulder.

Up front, and at the offensive side of the midfield, it is hoped that the consistent strength of Ryan Johnson, the flashy play of Arturo Alvarez and the lethal wing in Darren Huckerby will continue their strong season's efforts and have enough in them to thwart the sturdy defense of the DC team.

With these new additions and returns to a team that has seized 11 of its 13 points at home this season, a win tonight from this San Jose Earthquakes team could be what they need to turn this year's efforts into a successful season.

The Recent Results: The 'Quakes were bad last year, but what could you expect from an expansion side? Their defense was quite stingy, but the offense was pretty poor. In fact, though they ended up tied for the fewest points in the league with the Gals, they scored only about half the goals LA did.

But, they were improving at season’s end, unlike LA.

The Man in Charge: Frank Yallop is one of my favorite coaches. I love the fact he was crucial to SJE’s first two MLS Cup titles. I also love that he managed to escape the Gals and then tie them for low man on the MLS totem pole last season. Most of all though, I love him because he played for my (sniff) contracted Tampa Bay Mutiny.

On the Offensive: Darren Huckerby, who I call the “Sheriff of Nottingham” because he was born in Nottingham, England, is definitely the Quakes best offensive threat. In only 14 games last season, he scored six goals and had four assists. Who are his merry men? Well, in 2009 he will have help from Alvarez, Convey, O’Brien and Corrales.

For the Defense: SJE fields one of the better backlines in MLS and the new Seattle squad should be adopting their model of building from back to front. Joe Cannon is a fine keeper and Hernandez, Denton, Cochrane and especially Nick Garcia are strong defenders. SJE could make a run at the playoffs if they can score closer to two goals a game in ‘09.

Movie They Resemble: Well, since I obviously love my “Sheriff of Nottingham” nickname for Huckerby, I am going to go with Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. Now, I hate that this movie features two of Hollywood’s all-time biggest douchebags, Kevin Costner and Christian Slater, but hear my out.

Like Robin’s merry men, SJE tried to rob from the rich (via the expansion draft) to give to the poor (the local fans who had to watch while Houston residents celebrated their team’s titles).

So, I think it’s a fitting selection. Of course, this pick also means I will have to start calling Cunliffe by the nickname “Little John”, but it’s a sacrifice I am willing to make.

The San Jose Earthquakes returned to MLS action last season and played pretty poorly. They had taken a two-year “hiatus,” during which time their former players won back-to-back titles in Houston.

While that fact would royally piss me off if I were a 'Quakes fan, there are still the good memories of the trophies they won during the pre-hiatus years.

The 'Quakes were known as the Clash for their first four seasons, but during that period the team floundered. They switched to the nickname "Earthquakes" in 2000, and oddly enough, their results immediately improved.

They won the 2001 and 2003 MLS Cups and won the Supporters' Shield in 2005, which was their last season in San Jose for a time.

Those early teams featured some great players, including Landon Donovan, Jeff Agoos, Wade Barrett, Eddie Robinson, Richard Mulrooney, John Doyle, Ronald Cerritos, Brian Ching, Dwayne De Rosario, Dominic Kinnear, Eddie Lewis, and Eric Wynalda (who scored the first goal in MLS history for the 'Quakes).

The Earthquakes are back in SoCal now, and Frank Yallop is doing a good job bringing them up to speed. He’s got some good players at his disposal, like Darren Huckerby, Nick Garcia, Ronnie O’Brien, Ramiro Corrales, Kelly Gray, and veteran goalkeeper Joe Cannon.

I think SJE will be back on the trophy-track soon. I could see them winning their first MLS Cup title in a thrilling victory over the Dynamo.

Okay, when I read this on MLSnet.com, the first paragraph was this:

"It seems that whenever two soccer teams announce a partnership agreement, regardless of where it happens in the world, there are two guarantees: One is that there is a big press conference, and another is that it will never be heard from again."

I thought about that for a few minutes, and well, they're right. Real Salt Lake and Real Madrid—partners in name but not much more.

Chivas USA and Guadalajara—sure, they have the same owners, but that's about it.

Now, the latest MLS club to have a foreign partner are the San Jose Earthquakes and Tottenham Hotspur. And according to the two clubs, this partnership won't be in name only.

Paul Barber, executive director for Spurs said: "In various markets around the world, I think some clubs from Europe have gone in, played a game, left, picked up a big fee, and done a little bit of brand awareness. That's not our approach.

"We'd rather go to fewer places and strike larger, deeper partnerships that have got some longevity to them."

As proof of this partnership not just being for show, Spurs pointed to South Africa where they have a partnership with reigning champs, SuperSport United. There, youth coaches in South Africa have the ability to go to England to train and in turn, Spurs get to show their brand there.

Barber went on to say, "The payoff for us is that we get the first opportunity to look at some of the young talent that is emerging from Africa, and South Africa is seen as the gateway to the rest of Africa.

"So they're bringing in young boys from all over the continent and we get an opportunity to see them first hand. And it's the same here in the States.

"This isn't about taking the best talent in the States and exporting it to Europe. It's about helping teams in the U.S. develop talent faster and get it to a higher standard as quickly as possible."

San Jose's general manager, John Doyle said that the deal will include a jumpstart in the club's youth program and the construction of a training facility for both clubs. Sounds familiar doesn't it RSL?

Apparently, the connection between San Jose and Tottenham goes all the way back to the late 1980s. The sporting director for the Spurs, Damien Comolli, lived in San Francisco as a teen and became friends with Billy Beane, who was then the general manager of the Oakland Athletics.

The two friends then took the A's owner, Lew Wolfe, to the FIFA World Cup in 2006. Once Wolfe brought the Quakes back to San Jose, it was apparent that Spurs and the Quakes would soon hookup.

The question, though, is will the two clubs, especially San Jose, benefit from this? Other than training sessions, the only thing that both can take from this is a youth program.

What do you think? Is this a good partnership?

As pointed out here on the B/R by David Wilson, the MLS is totally unpredictable. Sunday night's match between the San Jose Earthquakes and Real Salt Lake was supposed to be an easy win for San Jose. Instead, RSL managed to keep up with the Earthquakes the entire game and won the match, 3-2.

The Earthquakes went into the match coasting on a nine-game winning streak. RSL came into the match with one of the worst away records in the league (1-9-2).

It seems like more goals are scored within the first five minutes in MLS than any other league. RSL opened the score in the third minute, before many fans had time to get comfortable in their seats. Javier Morales chipped a pass to teammate Movsisyan, who then made a beautiful move and fired home a screamer from 12 yards out. The score was 1-0, Real Salt Lake.

In the 23rd minute, the Earthquakes equalized when Huckerby received a chipped pass from Ryan Cochrane and beat out the goalkeeper for a goal. The score was now 1-1.

San Jose nearly pulled ahead in the 33rd minute when Scott Sealy volleyed a free kick from Ronnie O'Brien into the net, but his goal was declined because of offsides.

RSL also had a chance to pull ahead when Movsisyan went one-on-one with San Jose's goalkeeper. The keeper managed to deflect the shot, but Movsisyan rebounded the ball towards the net only to have Ryan Cochrane clear the ball off the line.

San Jose almost pulled ahead again when a free kick from Huckerby found Cochrane who headed the ball over the post.

The Earthquakes finally gained the lead in the 47th minute. Huckerby and Arturo Alvarez had some brilliant play that eventually saw Huckerby score a goal. The score was 2-1, Earthquakes.

However, less than a minute later, Real once again came back to score and once again it was thanks to Movsisyan and once again a chipped pass allowed him to score. Kyle Beckerman chipped a pass to Movsisyan who chipped the ball over Joe Cannon to score. The score was now 2-2.

Then in the 59th minute, Real Salt Lake went ahead for good when Morales hooked a 25-yard free kick into the upper left corner of the goal for a 3-2 lead.

The rest of the match was pretty much uneventful. Both clubs sent in substitutes near the end of the match. San Jose sent on Shea Salinas for Ronnie O'Brien in the 69th minute and RSL brought Robbie Findley for Clint Mathis.

Both clubs had chances to change the score again. San Jose had a free kick that was blocked in the 79th minute; and then in the 81st minute, another free kick went over the crossbar.

Real Salt Lake now move to third in the Western Conference table with 34 points. San Jose meanwhile, stay in sixth with 29 points. Salt Lake will head to New England for a match on Saturday and San Jose will go up against FC Dallas in MLS Primetime on Thursday.

The Sheriff of Nottingham was a nasty dude. He was always trying to stop Robin Hood from robbing the rich to feed the poor. He was not well liked by his people.

The Sheriff of San Jose, Darren Huckerby, is not a nasty dude. However, he is a bloke from Nottingham who has been besting the richer MLS squads in order to keep his poor squad’s playoff chances alive. He is very, very well liked by Quakes’ supporters.

And he should be.

In a mere seven games with SJE, Huckerby has four goals and four assists. During that stretch, the Quakes have won four games, tied twice and lost only once. SJE had only won 3 games out of sixteen prior to Huckerby’s arrival.

Everybody expected a thirty-something year old from England to light up MLS this year, but no one thought it would be Huck instead of Becks. Now, SJE is closer to moving on to the post-season than the Galaxy and no one is probably happier about that than Frank Yallop, SJE’s coach who was cast out of L.A. after last season.

Yallop knew Huckerby could be a difference-maker for his club. Some experts believed Huckerby was done after toiling for over five years for Norwich City and being unceremoniously dumped by that squad, but Yallop saw potential and so Huck and his family made the move across the pond to MLS.

Now, Huckerby is poised to push SJE into the playoffs in their inaugural season. Yallop must be pleased. So must (Little) John Doyle, SJE’s General Manager.

But most pleased of all are the fine Quakes’ fans. They had their team taken away from then just as it was about to go on a historic run of titles and trophies. They’ve had to start from scratch and they’ve propelled their squad back to the brink of post-season glory.

Good luck to Huckerby, the Sheriff of San Jose, and his merry men. Good luck to Quakes’ fans everywhere as well. MLS may have let your team’s titles end up in Houston, but you may not miss them for long.

Mr. Huckerby, I believe, intends to get one of your own.

The San Jose Earthquakes put in their most competent performance of the season. Which is why failing to grab all three points yesterday was perhaps the most frustrating experience of the year.

Despite dominating the entire match, Los Terramotos could never fully overcome an early own goal by Dan Benton, and had to settle for a 1-1 draw at Buck Shaw Stadium Saturday afternoon. All three new signings for San Jose looked impressive, and indeed it was new striker Scott Sealy's shot which set up fellow newcomer Darren Huckerby with a simple tap-in to level the match in the 13th minute.

While the Quakes threatened on numerous occasions throughout the rest of the match, the ball could never seem to find it's way past former Earthquakes 'keeper Jon Conway, who had a strong match for New York.

Now, let's take a long at Sean's famous player ratings (for reference, 6 is average/good, with 7 being great, and anything higher being excellent. 5 is bad, with anything lower being disappointing at least.)

Joe Cannon: 6

Wasn't forced into making tons of great saves as usual tonight, but Cannon did his job when called upon. A solid performance from Cannon, though there is some question as to how much fault Joe was at on the own goal. Perhaps he was out of position, though perhaps it was really all done by...

Eric Denton: 4

Well, let's just say it was a bad, no, awful match for the former Santa Clara University defender. The own goal early on seemed to really rattle his confidence, and any time the ball went near him in our end, the entire stadium seemed to quickly devolve into a state of nervousness. Rightfully, Frank Yallop had seen enough and subbed Denton out at halftime. Sorry Eric, but it looks like you have played yourself out of the starting left back spot.

Nick Garcia: 7

Had a nice little game for himself at center back. Won some critical challenges, and was not afraid to mix things up with the Red Bull attackers. This is what I would want to see from one of the team leaders

Ryan Cochrane: 6

To be honest, I barely noticed that Cochrane was on the field today, which I suppose is not a bad thing when you're playing in defense.

Darren Huckerby: 7

Brilliant stuff from Hucks today. The goal wasn't an incredible quality shot or run, but he did well to get himself in position for it. Darren made numerous opportunities for himself with his runs, and put in some threatening balls that perhaps should have been finished. My only complaint for Huckerby had to be the fact that many of his balls were just a tad off, but next week I expect more of the same.

Ronnie O'Brien: 6

Fine performance as usual from the Irishman, though Ronnie didn't create quite as much in the attack as I would expect. Ended up drifting quite a bit into the center of midfield, where he was actually fairly productive.

Francisco Lima: 7

For my money, Lima was the man of the match yesterday. Francisco sent in plenty of excellent balls to the forwards, held the ball in the attacking end numerous times, and fulfilled his responsibility in defense. With Lima in midfield, we played the most beautiful football I've seen from the Quakes all season. When Yallop removed Lima in the 84th minute, all of the attacking pressure we had seen from San Jose in the second half suddenly disappeared. 

Ramiro Corrales: 7

An excellent match from Ramiro yesterday. Corrales and Lima in the center of midfield make for one hell of a team. While his play was not quite the same caliber as Lima's, Corrales did a fine job both in attack and in defense.

Ryan Johnson: 6

Johnson once again proved why he's a starter for this team, yet he also showed why we still have a problem scoring goals. On one hand, his incredible hustle and determination won some excellent challenges to put himself and his teammates in dangerous scoring position. On the other hand, Johnson had tons of chances on goal, and could not finish a single one. In addition, Johnson also made some questionable decisions, taking chances himself when other teammates were in much better positions to shoot.

Jason Hernandez: 7

Another good match from Hernandez. Won some crucial challenges in the back, and did a great job in clearing the ball. Did not seem to have much trouble in defense today.

Scott Sealy: 7

Set up Huckerby's goal by doing exactly what he is known for: Holding the ball with his back to goal, and creating something on the turn. While Sealy perhaps could have put away a couple more of his chances, overall Scott looked threatening and did well for the most part yesterday.

Ivan Guerrero: 6

Wasn't notable for the most part yesterday, though he did show some nice signs of the expanded attacking threat the Earthquakes would have with him at left back. With any luck, he should take that starting spot away from Denton.

Shea Salinas: n/a

As a rule, I do not rate players that were subbed in past the 75th minute. Shea had a strong performance though.

Jovan Kirovski: n/a

So in the end, another moral victory, another failure to win. While it is great that San Jose is playing much better looking soccer, and is starting to control games instead of being controlled, there still exists the glaring lack of scoring. While I think that this will improve even without any new additions to the team, clearly something has to be done.

Up next Sunday is yet another visit from David Beckham and the Los Angeles Scum of the South at McAfee Colosseum in Oakland. Will San Jose redeem itself after June's 3-0 drubbing?

Can the Quakes shake off their Colosseum curse? How will the new boys fare in their first taste of the biggest rivalry in MLS? Can anyone defend Edson Buddle this time? Tune in next week and find out for yourself.

*Note* This is the third time I have had to write this article, hence the extremely late publishing. For various reasons, I've had my article deleted twice before.

As most of you know, yesterday, MLS commissioner Don Garber announced the league's intention to add two further expansion teams by the 2011 season, in addition to the arrival of Seattle Sounders FC in 2009 and Philadelphia in 2010. Garber also provided a list of potential markets for expansion, which consists of Atlanta, Las Vegas, Montreal, a second team in New York , Ottawa, Portland, St. Louis and Vancouver.

Most MLS fans seem to have a fairly strong opinion on the matter, so I thought I may as well open up the floodgates, and see what our readers have to say on the matter. Which markets deserve to receive one of these two teams? Which markets are most likely? If you have a voice on the issue, let it out in the comments down below. 

Now, for the most important part of the article: my thoughts.

Easily, Montreal should and will receive 1 of these teams. At the moment, the Montreal Impact of the USL have Canada's attention after their recent Canadian Championship triumph, which surely should have the entire city of Montreal paying attention. This is a diverse market that already has great support for a second division side. The current USL team already plays in the brand new Saputo Stadium, which currently only seats just above 13,000, but will be expanded should MLS come. And while some markets may have trouble finding the right ownership and infrastructure for the deal, but Montreal already has committed owners, and has indeed submitted a bid to MLS to purchase an expansion team. This move is all but a slam dunk.

Yet the second spot seems to be a bit tricky. At the moment, long time favorite St. Louis seems to be the front runner, and in all likelihood will receive one of these two teams. Reports from St. Louis claim that the city is extremely close to landing a team. The city likes to call itself the "Soccer Capital of America," and has a long tradition dating back to the prominent St. Louis Soccer League, which began in the 1900's and and was home to some of the earliest successful professional soccer teams such as Ben Millers and St. Leo's. Moving further up the time line, St. Louis left yet another mark on the developing U.S soccer scene, as nearly half of the players on the 1950 U.S National team, otherwise known as the boys who upset England in the World Cup, were from St. Louis. And the St. Louis Stars were founder members of the NASL. Plus, plans have already been made for a stadium in the nearby suburbs. MLS to St. Louis simply makes sense.

Yet, I can't help but deny my desire to see a team in Portland. While the city doesn't have quite the same history as the St. Louis area, the team would be guaranteed not to be lost in the fold of a market with 3 gigantic, popular professional teams in other sports (the Rams of the NFL, the Cardinals of the MLB, and the Blues of the NHL). A Portland team would have little competition by comparison, with only the NBA's Trailblazers to contend with. Portland first tasted soccer with the very successful Portland Timbers franchise in the NASL, and now has a wildly successful USL team by the same name. The Timbers' Army supporters group is incredible in number and voice, and already seems to best most MLS supporters group. You can tell from the large media attention, and from being in the city itself, that Portland pays a surprising amount of attention to their second division club, and a "promotion" to the big leagues seems as though it would boost the stature of soccer in the city to great heights. The Timbers already have a ferocious rivalry with Seattle, which could provide even more excellent competition into the league.

So let's hear it. Am I right? Am I wrong? Am I ignorant? We'll have a good old fashioned discussion on the new issue that seems to be on the minds of every American soccer supporter.

Canada received a large dose of one of world soccer's wildest weapons: the cup competition.

In a gripping conclusion to the first ever Canadian Championships, the Montreal Impact sent a shock through BMO field, capturing the Voyageur's Cup in hostile territory with a 1-1 against mighty Toronto FC.

The USL1 side snatched Canada's sole spot in the initial CONCACAF Champions League from their MLS foes, on the strength of a Roberto Brown header in the 26th minute. Rohan Ricketts' goal for TFC in the 15th minute gave the sell-out crowd in Toronto hope, but the underdogs from Quebec showed just enough fight to walk out with a point, and first place in the mini-tournament. 

All the excitement from tonight's match breeds an interesting question for any self respecting soccer fan in America: Where are all of our cup competitions?

The very essence of any great cup competition taps in to the same principles that the USA has seemed to pride itself on. Little guys getting their shot at the big time, amateurs rising up to the level of millionaires; the American dream itself if you will.

Currently, there's the U.S Open Cup... and not much else. And as much as I love the Open Cup, sadly few others do. Is it so hard to love watching Hollywood United, an amateur team founded by aging actors, take down the Portland Timbers, a club with a multitude of history, fans, and success at high levels?

To watch an obscure third division farm team in Crystal Palace Baltimore walk all over New York, a club that reportedly costs $200 million to run per year?

These tournaments give us a chance to view in action one of many reasons why soccer is what it is: Desire wins above all.

Now, let's get to the flesh and blood of this writer's focus.

This weekend's match between the Earthquakes and Red Bull has to be one of the most anticipated matches in the history of our beloved boys in blue. Huckerby, Lima, and Sealy all look to make their home debuts, and after even some training with the team, should impress even more than each did in last Saturday's international match against Canada's team (status subject to change after tonight's result against Montreal).

While Adriano Lima's presence in the center of midfield was brilliant, Hucks visibly had a bit of trouble dealing with the wet turf, and a referee unwilling to call each fall (though certainly we saw momentary flashes of brilliance, and at least a glimmer of his ability to take on defenders).

And Scott Sealy did well with what he was dealt, though in all honesty, Los Terramotos didn't deal much in offensive power.

But I digress, there has to be some excitement in Quakeland at our discovery of a previously foreign concept: depth. While there's still no real threat up front, the Earthquakes' midfield is easily one of the strongest in the league.

The defense isn't quite as strong as we may have hoped for at times, but having Joe Cannon in goal is a rather comforting thought. Now on to the game.

A win here has to give us confidence going forward. While San Jose's playoff hopes could be compared to a man drowning, the Quakes could be given some much needed mouth-to-mouth should we take all three points.

In New York, we face a team that lacks in defense, has lost vastly dangerous Jozy Altidore, and seems to give away points in a similar fashion to our own charges. Both teams will be expecting a result.

Yallop's likely starting XI:

-------Sealy---Johnson-------

--Huckerby----------O'Brien--

--------Corrales--Lima--------

Cochrane-Garcia-Hernandez-Riley

------------Cannon-----------