Jack Skahan, the second round draft pick of the San Jose Earthquakes in 2021, battles for the ball with Minnesota United’s Marlon Hairston, at the MLS is Back tournament in Orlando, Florida. Photo credit MLSsoccer.com.
“What?” you say. “Madness!”, you exclaim. As it sits right now, the Earthquakes are in seventh position in the Western Conference. After a spotless 2-0-1 showing at the MLS is Back tournament in games that count for the regular season, including seven road points, they are 2-1-2 with a game in hand. If certain very-specific cards fell their way, the Quakes could be as high as fourth if they get three points against the MLS is Back Champion-and-then-lose-to-the-Sounders-three-oh-at-home, Portland Timbers — and still have a game in hand.
Why now in 2020?
So why is the time now to “play your kids”? It’s simple, really. You know, I know, Jesse knows, Matias knows — heck, the majority of the MLS-watching public knows — what Almeyda gets out of much of the Earthquakes’ starting XI. We know Vako. We know Vega. We know Kashia. We know Hoesen — including at left wing. In the best way possible, we know Judson and Cristian Espinoza very well. Quite honestly, we know Wondo and Shea like family at this point, and Jackson Yueill and Tommy Thompson are creeping up there. Call them the cousins that we see pretty often.
This season in the annuls of MLS history — and I cannot stress this enough — does not matter. It is an imbalanced schedule. The Quakes are facing some of the best teams in the Western Conference (okay, not the LA Galaxy, their road win over LAFC notwithstanding), while other teams get to face lesser opponents.
This is not, I repeat, not a call to tank the season. It is a call to be competitive with the long-term starters while learning more about the potential future of others. It’s possible to do both.
Direct link to our discussion with Ian Russell on Black and Azul about the challenges of players moving between San Jose and Reno in 2020
The big issue as I’ve discussed now with both Matias Almedya and Reno 1868 FC coach, Ian Russell on Black and Azul, is that in the Covid-19 environment, you can’t be sending the youngsters (and 27-year-old Matt Bersano) back-and-forth to Reno. See here for Almeyda talking about younger and newer players missing game time in Reno:
For one, there is a two-week quarantine requirement between California and Nevada. Two, the testing protocols, frequency, and requirements are different. MLS is much more thorough, and, frankly with apologies to Coach Russell and my Reno friends, more safe than USL with its buses and testing frequency/results window can possibly be.
That means there is no other place for most players, with one exception, to get games. By the way, there is no more U-19 Quakes Academy, either, so now the Academy is limited to U-17 and below.
There is a huge part of the roster that won’t get games anywhere else, and probably would have or could have gotten games and pro experience in Reno and won’t. Not to mention, postponing the 2020 Olympics means that JT Marcinkowski won’t get the national team experience he would have otherwise gotten — back in the pre-season, before all of…this…Jesse Fioranelli told us that Marcinkowski’s travel schedule was one of the reasons he would not be the starter, and that 2021 was more likely.
Well, now we have a global pandemic — one that still rages out-of-control in much of the United States — and all the nice plans that were made for various players’ development have gone out the window. There are 18 games left. Contracts are expiring on a number of players after the season. Magnus Eriksson is much safer now that he’s in Sweden, but leaves a gaping hole both from a #10-like-skills perspective and also leadership and effort perspective in the middle of the pitch.
Almeyda appeared to promise more time to young players with his comment, “I think we’re analyzing the future with a lot of calmness. I also want to take a look at the young players as long as they are up to the level of play. These following games will serve us greatly for them to participate. And for next season, we’re looking to reinforce in key positions that I consider this team to be needing.”
Some of the roster you might have forgotten about
Per Almeyda’s comment, here’s who we want to look at, like right now: JT Marcinkowski, Cade Cowell, Gilbert Fuentes, and Florian Jungwirth at right center back (evaluation not needed at left center back).
Here’s who we don’t know very well at all, and we need to know *something* about them in 2021: Matt Bersano, Eric Cavillo, Jack Skahan, Siad Haji, and Tanner Beason. Call them the “Reno boys” because that’s where they would be (plus Fuentes) if not for unpredictable coronaviruses.
Here’s who we need to know better one way or the other: Andy Rios, Carlos Fierro, Oswaldo Alanis, Paul Marie, Luis Felipe, Nick Lima at left back (evaluation not needed at right back), and Marcos Lopez.
Here’s who can wait for another year: Emi Ochoa, Jacob Akanyirige, and Casey Walls. If it is safe enough, Casey and Jacob ought to be considered for season-long loans to Reno now that Ian Russell is running the same system as Almeyda. Emi Ochoa will get games for the U-17 Quakes Academy.
You can quibble over these groupings — fine, it really doesn’t matter. All these players need a plan. Like all professional athletes, there’s no hiding in your cubicle, hoping that people forget about you so you don’t get the axe — which seems to apply to a lot of these players right now. With only a couple exceptions, these are adults. They need to either sink or swim as MLS-level professional footballers. If they can’t, then Jesse needs to replace them with those who are. Sure, you are going to look for some roster bargains, but those exist throughout the league for players who, you know, actually play games.
Immediate changes to make
There are moves that should be made right away. Vako, Guram Kashia, and Daniel Vega should sit. Along with Almeyda and Fioranelli, the media and fans will learn nothing more from them, and they will impede the growth of the future of the organization on the pitch. The only exception here is Kashia if he becomes the on-field captain for leadership purposes only because Wondo is not starting (Almeyda would not reveal his choice to the media on Monday). In their place should be Marcinkowski (but you have to give Bersano a chance, too), Jungwirth at right center back, and then Cade Cowell as soon as you give three games to Carlos Fierro — and it doesn’t go that well. Eric Cavillo or Gilbert Fuentes should start at the 10 in place of Magnus Eriksson. This would be invaluable to evaluate Cavillo and give Fuentes necessary minutes.
Now based on the response below that Almeyda gave my Black and Azul colleague Alex Morgan, it seems Cowell will likely be getting more time soon, but Almeyda doesn’t seem to have figured out that he needs to put in JT or Bersano in for Daniel Vega. Vega is 36. For context, Jon Busch played with the Quakes (e.g., MLS starter) until he was 38, and then spent a season in Chicago. Busch got his shot when he was 23. Marcinkowski is 23.
Now to be completely fair, Marcinkowski or Bersano could be more mistake-prone than Vega or do worse on their near post or worse with their feet or whatever issue Quakes fans have with Daniel Vega. That is not the point. The point is to get answers on how ready either of them are to be an MLS starter other than what is seen in practice. Some players are practice players; some are not. Any coach reading this, knows this.
Special opportunities for evaluation
Teams get five subs a game for the rest of 2020. What a great opportunity to give players 20-30 minutes multiple times this season. In those 20-30 minutes, Almeyda should give more time to whomever is not starting between Cavillo and Fuentes, substitute Luis Felipe for Judson, Haji for Yueill or a winger, Paul Marie for Tommy Thompson, and Marcos Lopez for Nick Lima. And the team should find minutes for Wondo, Hoesen, and Salinas where possible depending on the game situation. Almeyda can find spots here or there for Tanner Beason and Jack Skahan, maybe in blowout wins or losses, like Almeyda did for Skahan in the last game against Minnesota United. They need to grow, but they can take another year to have higher expectations. Hey, you can even sub a keeper when you get five of them! (Subs, that is, not keepers.) That might be a decent way to get minutes to JT or Bersano immediately, if Almeyda is unconvinced (which it sounds like he still is).
If Nick Lima is not going to be a near-elite starting MLS left back, let’s decide that soon, so Fioranelli can trade him this offseason to a team that needs one while he still has good trade value. It’s not his fault Tommy Thompson is the right back that fits Almeyda’s system better, so treat Lima with professionalism and dignity while moving him greener pastures — he has completely earned that. I’m not saying “ship out Lima”; I’m saying give him the season and every opportunity to figure it out.
Rios, Yueill, Espinoza, Judson, Thompson, and Alanis are good starters in their current spots. Everyone needs to see if Rios should start in 2021, or be a bench/starting rotation player. Alanis is on a loan and seems pretty good for the money so far. How much San Jose should continue to invest on him after 2020 needs to be determined. If we want to go crazy here, try out Tommy Thompson at the 10 sometime and evaluate if that time has completely past or not. Yesterday, when asked if he could play central midfield still, Thompson told the media that he and Almeyda have conversed at least about the possibility of him trying to play “higher up the pitch” in light of Eriksson’s departure. “I’ve played everywhere…I’m comfortable playing anywhere Matias needs me.”
Conclusion
There are too many players on this roster hiding in their cubicles, and their boss is not exposing them to the upper management. It’s time to put them in the board room and make them perform. Bonus: the stage is all virtual — no actual fans to boo them, heckle them, or call their mother bad names in the stadium. This season should be all about finding out whether they can make it to the big-time or not. Keep all the players on the pitch the team needs to make the playoffs, but right now there’s concern the future of the developing players would otherwise be sacrificed for it.
Jamon, excellent work. With the expiring contracts at the end of the season, roster turnover is inevitable, and evaluating what you have for next year is a prerequisite to getting what you don’t.