It’s finally here brothers and sisters…the 2011 season (Shittle/Scum game doesn’t count). Our Quakes take the field against RSL this Saturday at 7:30pm, but as you all know…we have been preparing for this game since November. Those long days at work humming the chants, tapping the the drum beats with your pens at meeting, chanting randomly at home, have all lead up to this day. You all know where we are for tailgating, but for those new members and potential members, we will be at the San Jose Earthquakes offices in Lot 4 all the way in the back. It should be easy to find us, we’re the good-looking group. Tailgate starts at 3pm, and please bring $5 so you can have all you cant eat and support those members that donate time, effort, and money to feed us all. For those in Santa Clara Valley and don’t want to drive, you can take the 522 and 22 VTA line that runs on El Camino/The Alameda/Santa Clara St from Palo Alto to Eastridge Transit Center, with the closest stop to tailgate being Santa Clara CalTrain Station. Don’t want to pay for parking? Park along Campbell Ave early enough and walk.
If you need tickets make sure you buy tickets HERE in Section 109, or through our own channels.
How will our Boys in Blue fare this Saturday and the rest of the season?
This is the MLS..anything can happen: in 1996 we beat DC United in the first game in MLS only to have a terrible season and see DC win the Cup, in 2005 the Quakes were the best team in the league and lost to the Scum who barely got into the playoffs, last year we saw our Boys eliminate NYRB. This week’s game is obviously important but it is only one game out of many. Do we have a team to beat RSL? Absolutely, but we can not discount that RSL is one of the best, if not the best, in terms of passing and possession, something the Quakes seem to have trouble with. Frank’s new 4-3-3 can solve this issue because it can easily become a 4-5-1 by dropping the two outside “forwards” back to fill the midfield and disrupt RSL’s play. I still have my reserves on this formation though: I don’t think we have the personnel to do a true 4-3-3. The back 4 is what it is, there are no big changes to it and I won’t sit here debating who should start at CB because any of our boys can do the job. The middle 3: Wondo is supposedly the starting CM, with the “LM” and “RM” to be two DMs (Sam Cronin, Brad Ring, Andre Luiz, BigMac, Khari). Front 3: The outside “forwards” would be our wingers (want me to name them?) with Johnson taking up the target forward spot until Lenhart comes back. If you really think about it, two defensive mids, one player behind the forward, and two way wingers makes the formation look more like a 4-2-3-1. To me, this would essentially be the same 4-4-2 we have always used with two defensive mids and one of the forwards withdrawn into the midfield a bit more.
Rambling? I digress. I think the 4-3-3 is an experiment that will go out the door soon enough. The players we have that would start in it just make it seem too similar to our “tried and true 4-4-2.” Of course, I haven’t seen a single minute of preseason play with no games being in the Bay Area, so it could very well work and we will just have to wait and see. What we can be certain of is that this team will continue to be the hard-working group that will fight tooth and nail game in and game out. It may not be the prettiest soccer in the world, definitely not Sexy, but it’s what this club has been about and I see it working. We’re making the playoffs, I’m calling it. 3rd place in the West. After that, I think we all know that’s a whole new ball game.
Just a Formality at this Point: Soccer City, USA
“As Portland enters Major League Soccer, it has work to do to reclaim the title of Soccer City USA” (The Oregonian, 3/17/2011)
"Oregonian: San Jose is Soccer City USA" (3/17/2011)
How do I put this subtly?….SUCK IT. It is no secret that the Bay Area itself is a hotbed for youth soccer producing championship-caliber teams in almost all age groups in boy’s and girl’s soccer. It has had a long legacy and history with soccer. It has a Championship team with 2 MLS Cups (or 4 depending how you look at it). I personally have respect for Portland and their supporters, but if San Jose and the Bay Area as a whole isn’t Soccer City, USA then this is the best rap song of all time. I guess E-40 was right…WE RUN THIS! WE RUN THIS!
