Thursday, April 28, 2011

Black, blue and curiously minty.

I was leafing through my copy of Four Four Two Magazine, and came across a couple of esoteric snippets that might be of use for the Earthquakes coaches – and right now we should be considering anything to boost the team’s performance. 

Bleed blue and black: I was concerned that we may have to reevaluate the Quakes kit when I read that “US research found that referees were more inclined to award decisions against a team wearing black when playing against opposition in a brightly colored kit.  The researchers concluded that the referee perceived the team in black as more aggressive“.  Uh-oh.  I looked up the research and found that the original data published by Frank (not Yallop) and Gilovich in 1988 was based on football (gridiron) and ice hockey uniforms, so I naturally wondered if it also applied to soccer.  Fortunately for the Quakes, in a subsequent study measuring the number of red and yellow cards and penalty kicks awarded, no significant differences were found between soccer teams wearing black uniforms or those who weren’t. Raider fans should still be worried though...

Minty fresh breath: “Using mouthwash can boost performance during heated exercise.  After swilling a mouthful of mint for 10-seconds athletes were able to exercise longer than those who swigged an orange colored placebo”.  There are obvious marketing possibilities with Amway oral care products here. It's a close call who has the brightest pearly whites on the team, but it’s unclear if Colgate would object to the use of the tag line “Brad Ring of confidence”.    

At least this week's road trip in Philadelphia we will probably be wearing the white away strip, but I might still recommend a quick sluice with Listerine before you go out there guys - every little thing helps, and the ref will thank you when you argue that call all up in his grill.  


Monday, April 25, 2011

Mirthquakes - not so much this weekend.

Not much mirth with the San Jose Mirthquakes in the 2-1 loss to Chivas USA this week.

I detected an air of complacency playing the hitherto worst team in MLS in Chivas USA, as the San Jose Earthquakes showed only halfhearted effort at home this week.  In the early games of this season, there had been some signs of improved midfield play, and good structure on the field, but this week the Quakes continued the errant play that started in New York, and gave up the ball needlessly.  There was no passion evident from some players, and even Dawkins’s performance seemed to tail off as it became increasingly apparent that the team had lost its grip on the game.

While I tried to pin last week’s poor performance I on jet lag, if that effect holds true, based on this week’s performance I don’t hold out for much hope for a win in Philadelphia next weekend.  I believe by now it’s apparent that the opposition has figured out last year’s Wondo-centric strategy. The Quakes’ forwards and attacking midfielders need enough energy to pull defenders off Wondo, or take advantage of gaps created by their tight marking of Wondo.

Consequently the fan forums have been hyperactive and many place the blame at the feet of two players in particular: Scott Sealy and his substitute this week Ryan Johnson.  I can say that I have seen some good play from Johnson, but his main problem is consistency. I wonder if it might be a lack of confidence – he did much better in the reserve game, where he scored twice and was a much more forceful presence calling for the ball and directing traffic.  For me, Sealy was the best (worst?) example of the lack of hustle on the Quakes team against Chivas USA.  Once again, he failed to move on to the ball and waited for passes to come directly to his feet, balls that were quickly intercepted by Chivas USA players.  I saw much more effort from him on the air hockey tables at the season ticket holder party last year. 

Quakes fans want to see defender Ike Opara in the starting eleven; he played well enough to be touted as a rookie of the year in 2010 before a broken foot ended his season.  Injury has kept out Joey Gjersten, who had a productive pre-season and was creative in his midfield slot early in the regular season.  This week the Quakes published an article on the roster being the second oldest team in MLS with an average age of 28.3 years - I perceive a definite bias in Coach Frank Yallop’s squad selection toward experience, with the younger players sitting patiently on the bench.  Maybe it’s time to put some trust in these guys: Brad Ring, Ellis McLoughlin and Anthony Ampaipitakwong (can I get a spell check and smaller font for that jersey please?).  On the upside this week, it was great to see Steven Lenhart on the pitch (not sure about the new ‘mini-tache’ though), and Ampai was subbed on in the second half and showed hustle we haven’t seen down the right wing in a good while.

At this point, the Quakes are the worst team in the Western Conference, and can’t count on other teams to show the same level of complacency they showed toward Chivas USA.  Team captain Ramiro Corrales is a solid defender, but his leadership on the field is, by his own admission, very low key and mediates by example rather than verbally.  The players are going have to show much more passion, with the kind of unrelenting effort shown by Chris Wondolowski who was as active in his own penalty area clearing the ball as he was trying to put it in the opposition’s net.  After the game, he was the only player to greet the Ultras, shake hands with the fans and sign autographs, showing a commitment to his team and its fans that might ultimately earn him the armband. 

I’m sure all these topics, and more, were up for discussion at the players-only meeting Coach Yallop called for 9 AM on Monday.

Centerline Soccer match report for the Chivas game can be found here.  
This blog is also posted at MLS_UK in the Eurosnob-free blog at www.majorleaguesocceruk.com

Sunday, April 17, 2011

2932 miles, 4 time zones and 3 goals between SJ and NY.

In November 2010, Red Bulls arena was the scene of the second-most famous comeback playoff win that the San Jose Earthquakes have ever executed.  The Quakes were behind down 1-0 after the Saturday evening home leg, when they left for the mid-week game in New York (well, as with so many New York teams – New Jersey).  Despite the disadvantage I was illogically optimistic, and left work early for the 5PM Pacific Time kick off.  My optimism was rewarded with two Convey goals that put the Quakes ahead, though it was dented again when Angel scored just one minute later.  At half time I’d thrown something vaguely edible in the oven, so when the timer rang in the 76th minute I missed Convey’s inch perfect cross onto Wondo’s head for the go ahead goal.  I chewed through the dinner (and my fingernails) for the remaining fifteen minutes of the game. 

I was looking forward to the return match, but travelling to away games is inevitably expensive and time consuming for the fans, so most games are viewed at home or at a local watering hole such as Danny Coyle's or The Britannia.   We watched this week’s game at home on MLS Direct Kick on a sunny Saturday afternoon in California – while the game kicked off in New York under driving rain.   

It didn’t take long for NYRB to score – the second minute in fact – and pretty soon it was apparent that this was the ‘Evil-Twin’ version of the San Jose Earthquakes.  The Red Bulls dominated possession, ably assisted by the Quakes giving the ball away, and their defense was burned horribly down the wings.  At one point things looked so bad that I actually counted the players on the field as the Quakes looked hopelessly outnumbered - a combination of New York playing well, and the Quakes playing badly.  The second half was notable for the end of Thierry Henry’s 694 minute goal drought off an assist by Rodgers, and the debut of Rooney (Minor) in the 89th minute (I don’t recall him getting his feet on the ball).  Final score 3-0. 

A drubbing like that will happen from time to time, but this early in the season it throws into sharp relief all the missed opportunities earlier in the season.  This was only the fifth game of the 2011 season, but the missed scoring chances in the home opener against RSL and the defensive error against Seattle suddenly take on more significance.  There are 29 games to go, so we can hope that the good midfield play we’ve seen so far will reveal itself once again, and the effect of the a few badly executed plays will be diluted out by October.

Sleep improves soccer performance
Without making excuses for the Quakes poor performance – okay maybe just a teeny bit – travelling from the west coast to the east coast can take its toll.  Tweets from the players indicated who scored a window seat, and who got the chubby middle-seater – so it’s obvious that these guys are not travelling in style; economy all the way. The large travelling distances also presents the phenomenon of circadian advantage – scientific research had previously shown the negative effect of coast to coast travel on the performance of baseball teams.  Teams with a three hour time-zone disadvantage to their home rival are likely to lose 60% of the time, compared to 50% of the time when they are equal.  The same research shows that for every time zone crossed, synchronization to that time zone requires one day.  Since the Quakes left northern California for Red Bull arena on Thursday afternoon for the game on Saturday they should only have been disadvantaged by one hour, minimizing the advantage to NYRB to 51.7%.  However, disrupting circadian rhythms can cause such short-term effects as irritability, difficulty concentrating, fatigue, disorientation and gastrointestinal disturbances – I know I experienced four of these five symptoms just watching the game. 

Still - it could have been worse, it could have been raining…again.


The Center Line Soccer match report can be found here.
Also posted at MLS_UK in the Eurosnob-free blog at www.majorleaguesocceruk.com

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Diary of an MLS Convert Debut: How I became a Quakes Fan.

Here I am, late as a Paul Scholes tackle, four weeks into the 2011 MLS season with my first entry in The Diary of an MLS Convert focusing on the San Jose Earthquakes that will be shared with UK converts to MLS. Yes fans - while MLS is still off many people's radar here in the US, there is growing interest across the pond. No Eurosnobs (t)here.  I write from the Left Coast of the USA completely intrigued by the existence of this band of other MLS converts from the UK; here’s the story of my own gradual conversion. 

My own life as a football fan started in the Riverside stand at Ewood Park, but now I live in California, where I enjoy games in the temperate San Francisco bay area - I especially appreciate that I no longer have to wear two pairs of gloves and three pairs of socks to survive the match without frostbite.  That said, please allow me to shatter a few preconceptions about my life in Northern California:  I don’t surf (except the internet), I don’t enjoy a macrobiotic vegan diet (who does? Pass the pies please, and don’t skimp on the HP) and I definitely don’t use the word ‘like’ as an interjection.  As if!   

I will freely admit that I squandered a decade of football fandom when my head was turned by the novelty of baseball and its mysterious statistics.  It was an era when coverage of soccer in the US was meager and the flow of the game was interrupted by ads (yes, really).  Coverage gradually improved, and by 2002 ESPN covered the entire World Cup with matches broadcast live in the middle of the night.  The England and US teams had good runs deep into the tournament and Americans watched in unheard of numbers for their unexpected defeat of Mexico;   I might even argue that match was pivotal in turning this country toward soccer.   My own interest in football was re-ignited, and it got me wondering where I could go to watch a match.

And so began my conversion to MLS by the San Jose Earthquakes.   Fifteen years ago this week, the San Jose Clash (who reverted to their original NASL name Earthquakes in 1999) defeated DC United 1-0 in the inaugural MLS game at the aptly named Spartan Stadium.  The next decade was a great time to be a Quakes fan as the team won the MLS Cup twice in 2001 and 2003 (epic) and the Supporters’ shield in 2005.  However, just a few weeks later and to the fans’ despair, it was announced that the team was moving to Houston – the team maintained that without a soccer-specific stadium, they would not be financially viable.   “If you don’t build it we will go” - and so they went.  The Dynamo went on to win the 2006 and 2007 MLS Cups with a team essentially built of the same players we had watched in San Jose.  I’ve always felt cheated as a fan that we couldn’t witness these successes.  

The only thing San Jose had left was the Earthquakes name and after three years MLS returned a new team to the city in 2008.  Things were looking up for the league: Beckham had just arrived in MLS and the league was expanding.  For the Quakes fans there was the promise of a new stadium within a couple of years – in the meantime they would play in Santa Clara University’s Buck Shaw stadium.  Everyone was optimistic until the recession hit, and funding dried up.  Here we are early in the fourth season, and the fans are still waiting for our soccer-specific stadium to be built - déjà vu all over again. 

If my previous life as a fan in Spartan Stadium was, well, Spartan, then my current life at Buck Shaw is very Spartan.  While the stadium is austere, with cramped aluminum bleachers, the up-side is that you can’t help but quickly make friends with ten thousand fellow fans.  Many fans have been supporting the team for years, even since the old NASL days, when George Best and Colin Bell were playing here.   They are willing to travel far and wide for their love of the game - one fan is still ruing his decision to bring the vuvuzela he brought back from the World Cup in South Africa to a Quakes game.  Said noise-maker was confiscated and he never got it back; we tried to appear to share his disappointment.



There you have it – the San Jose Earthquakes have as much history as an MLS team can have.  While I find that the average American sports fans knows little about soccer, the average American soccer fan knows quite a lot about the beautiful game all over the world. Our regular Saturday evening game comes after the morning EPL games and east coast MLS games in the afternoon, so you can hear plenty of chatter about the day’s games on your way into the stadium.  I don’t believe it’s that much different from any game you would attend in England, Brazil or Japan; there are more similarities than differences.

Monday, April 11, 2011

Metric boots and maple syrup.

After a road win at Dallas, and a tie in the second home game against Seattle, the Quakes went into Game 4 hoping for their first home win.   This week’s opposition, Toronto FC, came to town hoping to confuse us with their metric boots, shirts that smelled of maple syrup and dollar bills with pictures of Queen Elizabeth on them. 

Once the sun went down the air turned crisp, and the game got underway with a subdued atmosphere.  The supporters’ section behind the goal was absent the usual raucousness of the 1906 Ultras.  I won't weigh in here - the Ultras have already published why they were seated and quiet in protest instead of standing and singing.  I will say that the atmosphere at the game was noticeably diminished.

In an all too familiar scenario for home games of the 2011 season, the Quakes went down by a goal, this time on a defensive mix up in the 27th minute.  TFC’s Alan Gordon scored the goal, but perhaps Quakes midfielder Sam Cronin might have been awarded the assist with the errant back pass.  Once again, San Jose came from behind ten minutes later with a beautifully choreographed equalizer from Simon Dawkins, assisted by Chris Wondolowski. Another MLS goal of the week nomination for the Quakes.  

Currently on loan from Spurs, Dawkins just looks more “British” on the ball, in the same way Darren Huckerby used to.  I haven’t figured out what exactly this “British-ness" is – my first guess is their postures are different and I believe they control the ball closer in to the body.  I wonder if the American college game, from where most of the home grown players are developed, is vastly different from the academies of the Europe that produce players like Dawkins.  Dawkins is a slightly built player with great ball skills, good speed and an awareness of his teammates’ location – despite his stature he is extremely difficult to push off the ball and is capable of withstanding some egregious manhandling (welcome to the MLS Simon!).  He is rapidly becoming a fan favorite, just as Huckerby did.

The second half saw a lot of midfield activity with the Quakes controlling a lot of the play – from where I sit I see a team much improved in midfield.  The Quakes aren’t being outplayed, but they are not executing their finishes. The closest chance was the perfect chip by Khari Stephenson, enabling a clear shot on goal for the Earthquakes by Wondo - his initial shot was placed directly at goalkeeper Stefan Frei, then Wondo failed to convert the rebound.  

It’s great to see the team’s determination to overcome a deficit, but if the Quakes are to make the playoffs again this year, they are going to have to capitalize on their improved midfield play and convert more of their chances into goals.  A few home wins would be nice for the fans too. 

Go Quakes!

A full match report can be found at Center Line Soccer here.



Sunday, April 3, 2011

Dry as a whistle.

Is that a up cake in your pocket Kelly?
It was a positively balmy night compared to the season opener, with a game time temperature of around 60 degrees.  The Earthquakes' pre-game activities at the Epicenter included fussball (frenetic), face-painting (any color you want - as long as it's blue and/or black) and  player autographs with Tim Ward and Omar Jasseh.  Club ambassador Kelly Gray and play by play announcer John Schrader previewed the game from the stage, which they shrewdly located next to Kara's cup cake truck. It was a much easier night to be a fan after the brutally cold and wet conditions of  the Great Deluge of 2011.

Better weather and last week's victory brought much more eager chatter from the fans as Wondo kicked off the game - he was denied early on by veteran Kasey Keller’s save in the ninth minute. Brad Evans chipped in the opening goal for the Sounders from a Morales pass in the 17th minute. The equalizer came when recent arrival from Spurs, Simon Dawkins, converted an inch perfect pass from Bobby Convey.  Finally, Wondo’s consecutive Quakes goal streak was broken.  Dawkins, apparently still in search of a nickname, is quickly winning fans in the stands, and he received a standing ovation when he was subbed off later in the game - his great ball control and awareness of his team mates location on the field is definitely getting him noticed. Just before half time, Jamaican O’Brian White headed home Zakuani’s cross so the Sounders went in at the half leading 2-1.

Photo: Joe Nuxoll; Center Line Soccer
The Quakes own Reggae Boy Kahri Stephenson evened up the score in the 52nd minute with a spectacular 35-yard shot into the top right corner of the goal. Keller got his fingertips to the ball, but there was nothing much he could do about it – a truly spectacular shot in Keller's final appearance at Buck Shaw stadium. Suspended belief silenced everyone for a couple of seconds, including Khari himself, before we recognized that the ball was in the net.

Later in the second-half, Edvin Jurisevich (who would like to be a referee when he grows up) showed us all that he still doesn't yet grasp the concept of the penalty when he didn't call two fouls in the box: first on RJ then on Wondo. Quakes fans still remember the egregious second-half injury-time penalty he awarded in the match against Columbus a couple of years ago. I wonder if Jurisevich’s ears were still ringing from the post-game tongue lashing he got from coach Yallop after that game.

All in all it was a closely matched game and it was great to see the Quakes maintain the composure to come back from two deficits.  The crowd left somewhat happy, and perfectly dry after the whistle blew - only in California would the fans still be so traumatized by the one game in three years when it rained.

Center Line Soccer match report for this game can be found here