Latest / Tectonic Takes / Episode 155: The Town 2025 Recap!
Transcript
- speaker-0: Welcome back to the TocTonicTix Podcast. This is officially our first episode after the conclusion of the 2025 Major League Soccer season. A few reasons for that. We tried to get an episode out to you more recently, but... some technical difficulties on the night of our recording and we've managed to Regroup and we're gonna talk a little bit about the town this episode We'll talk a little bit about what we're anticipating with sounds of earthquakes We'll probably dive deeper into that at a later date and then we'll give a brief MLS playoffs update and then we'll see what the next episode holds. you know, when it's the Quakes offseason, even though MLS playoffs are still ongoing, we're kind of just going with the flow. We do want to get you some content out there so that way it's not just we're gone for a few months. But Devin, how are you doing? speaker-1: I'm doing good. I'm missing our team's soccer season already. Only just under a month away of our final game. ⁓ I've missed the team. I want to see soccer again, but I want to see San Jose Earthquake soccer again. I MLS playoffs are active and engaged right now, which is really fun to watch, admittedly. I've been thoroughly enjoying Philadelphia's run to the Cup final. I was thoroughly enjoying Nashville SC's ⁓ you know, of clash with Inter Miami and also admittedly, LAFC's on a pretty good run and they're quite an entertaining team to watch despite being a San Jose Earthquakes fan and having the pressure of not seeing that. But as a Sun fan, I know I have to admit, you know, and a former San Jose Earthquakes player, Jeremy Bobesee, getting a goal. It's been really fun to watch all those games and all these teams play in MLS Cup. But more than anything, I wish the Santa's earthquakes were better. speaker-0: Yeah, it's an interesting vibe seeing teams whose fans were eliminated and how they pay attention to the playoffs. And I think that's the unfortunate part, one of the unfortunate parts of this playoff structure, particularly with this first full round stretching into potential three games for at least four teams, is that if you're not a fan of one of those teams as going the distance, your patience is going to wear thin because we're to have to cram three before the international break in November starts, which of course is going to delay the next round of the playoffs another week. So I... It's just a bit of greed from the Apple side of things that ever since the Apple TV has been the sole provider of Major League Soccer games that they've wanted this round one expansion and they're getting enough numbers of it for them to justify... running this back for a third straight season now, hopefully with more and more. ⁓ people raising their voice they'll find a way to tweak it somehow i think the biggest change if you are going to have ⁓ at least two games in this first round you gotta restore aggregate again because look at columbus crew they lost the first game one zero they beat cincinnati for one or four zero even yeah it was four zero because yuyuko had an early red card so cincinnati can't generate too much in that they could still potentially lose the playoff round either on penalties or by a narrow scoreline. So not really a fan of that, but you do hope that overall that it's going to be a good playoffs. There is a lot on the line with players like Darlington, Agby, Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba announcing their retirement whenever their teams do end their playoff tenure. But I've enjoyed it despite the problems. speaker-1: I'm curious, what are your thoughts on ⁓ San Diego ⁓ postseason so far? know we've got ⁓ Amal Pelagrino making some key moves out there on the field and helping San Diego progress through into the third game, ⁓ not necessarily the next round yet as they play Portland midweek this week or sometime on Saturday or something. But it's the third game and Amal Pelagrino has been contributing. What are your thoughts on that? speaker-0: I think that... Amal Pellegrino has picked the right time to heat up and step up. ⁓ When the Earthquakes played against him in the second of two times in the regular season, you didn't really feel Pellegrino as a threat that you had a game plan for, but now he's finding his rhythm and sometimes just as simple as a change of scenery can really help things out. It can use a variety of examples and a variety of sports. If you want to keep it Bay Area, Jake Moody was missing a field goals and then he goes to Chicago Bears and then he starts making them including a game winner. But it's good to see San Diego play this well. We'll see if they're able to see off a tricky Portland Timbers side in game three. A big trend that I've noticed as well, it's not really a surprise because Major League Soccer has such a home field advantage, but that only one team won as the away team in game ones. That was New York City winning 1-0 against Charlotte. But then Charlotte themselves prevailed on penalties when the game was played in New York. So that canceled it out there too. And when you look at that in contrast to the playoff formats where it's won and done, the championship playoffs started this past weekend and NorCal has been officially eliminated with Sacramento Republic losing on penalties to Orange County and with the town which we'll get into shortly that there is a lot more jeopardy in those games and that's just like the purest in Major League Soccer fans you want the games to be meaningful you want it to be like okay one round done then another and then you go from there but You do get a chance to see some of better teams prevail and you do get to see most teams have success at home, unless with the talent disparity being too much to overcome in the case for LAFC over Austin and Philadelphia Union over Chicago Fire. speaker-1: Yeah, I wholeheartedly agree with that sentiment too. you know, going back to the Pellegrino thing, I think you're right. Like, a change of scenery definitely benefited him significantly. You know, having a star-striking system around him has significantly helped and boosted his confidence. having... being a part of a team that's also in the top three ⁓ and playing with consistently good numbers and players I think has incredibly boosted his confidence as well. And ⁓ like you mentioned, even with like town competitiveness and MLS ⁓ Next Pro teams still in the playoff hunt despite the town being eliminated in the recent weekend ⁓ or the week prior. ⁓ I still think it is entertaining to watch those players because you never know who they're going to play for next. And knowing our current managers within MLS, they're going to keep an eye on these teams. I know for sure Bruce is a very domestic player recruitment type manager. And I can definitely see him watching all these games in preparation for next season. So you really never know who's even going to be on the quakes. So even as a quakes fan just watching MLS cut playoffs and watching MLS next pro playoffs Could paint a good eye in terms of what our recruitment may be for for next season and what some players approaching the their contract ⁓ The end of their contracts may provide for us Heading into 2026. So as a quakes fan definitely keep an eye on MLS cut playoffs because I think that that may be a factor ⁓ these players are showcasing ⁓ who they want to play for next season. speaker-0: Yeah, and after a decades long wait, we had our first playoff game in PayPal Park when the town hosted North Texas. We did it! speaker-1: Let's go! We made it! speaker-0: Yeah, let's take a look at this ⁓ lineup that started against North Texas in the first round of the playoffs and is a beautiful thing that as the higher seed you get to call out your opponent as well and we had the luxury of doing them the first round and it worked out as Only the second highest seed in the conference semifinals. We didn't have that option but We had Francesco Montali in goal at 25 years old. He was also the captain for that game. You have to feel like there's a possibility that he could ⁓ be the backup goalkeeper. Maybe next season we'll see. know Earl Edward Jr. had a good last game there, but if he decided not to bring Earl Edward Jr. back, then... Think Montali would be a solid option there But it's also tough when you're playing really well in the town and MLS next Pro But you're not gonna have a straightforward path to be the starter in major league soccer you get stuck in purgatory of Okay, you have to decide between are you gonna play in MLS next Pro or you're be content being a backup and biting your time but Montali he kept a clean sheet in this one and Even though he had a tougher game where they conceded four against Colorado leading to their elimination. He wasn't really have fall for those goals either so solid season for him. speaker-1: Yeah, I agree. going back to Montali possibly playing for the Earthquakes next season. I genuinely don't see just Earl Edwards Jr. potentially not playing for us as well. So that leaves, and I say that because I think Daniel is also on the way out. And I know we can speculate more of that in the future podcasts to come when we kind of cover more of the overall end of season or end of year assessment. But there is definite strong rumblings of Daniel not returning. And what that could mean for Montali is that could be a direct backup to whoever Bruce Arena wants to recruit as a starter for the team. And if that's worth it for Montale, then I can definitely see him making that contract. Because for the games that I watched for the town FC, he definitely impressed me well enough. He's made some good shots, parried some shots away from the center of the... I want to say crease because NHL is back in season, but it's not a crease, it's the Bucs. ⁓ So I can see Montale ⁓ being the second goalkeeper for next season if, when Daniel doesn't return and same as potentially Errol Edwards Jr. speaker-0: I agree. So, Montale, he will definitely be a factor into the planning for the goalkeeper room in 2026. As for the back line, we saw five different back line players start either one of the playoff games, the three that were consistent in both those matches. In right back, we Wilson Eisner, 23 years old. In center back, we had the pairing of Alejandro Cano of El Salvador, 21 years old, and the last original Quakes 2 player from the 2022 season when MLS Next Pro first launched and then Max Floriani was his partner and he scored a goal in that game against North Texas. Now interestingly in North Texas, Ariel Mbumba of DR Congo, he is 24 years old, he played very well, he started at left back but we inserted Jamar Ricketts for the game against Colorado Rapids too. and no disrespect to Mbumba, but if you have the option to play Ricketts, I completely understand. You've got to stand by that decision if Ricketts is willing to play. I understand that. However... I would still feel hard done by if I was in Bumba because he played very well in that North Texas game. And now, with the benefit of hindsight, Ricketts, unfortunately, getting set off, you wonder if that was the wrong decision. But of course, one red card in MLS Next Pro is not going to undo all the progress that Ricketts has made where it really counts in integrating himself to the San Jose Earthquakes first team. But for him and for Floriani, it was a lot of learning on the fly, learning under duress in a defensive system. that was conceding a lot of conceded a ton of goals, which we've talked about at Nazium, but I think this was a nice positive ending to Florianni's rookie season, getting a goal on a clean sheet in the penultimate playoff game. Thoughts on the Town defenders? speaker-1: ⁓ I think they defended well. mean, knowing throughout the entire season, kind leading up to the playoffs, we've had a lot of close calls. And close calls is, mean, like, there were some good opportunities for clean sheets, and the clean sheets that we had were awesome. And just the defensive players made a ⁓ solid effort and... were consistent throughout all season, even postseason. I didn't really get to watch much. I only watched like the YouTube highlights, admittedly. But, you know, the highlights that I saw, our defense was pretty well structured. Admittedly, you know, I'm kind of on that mindset that sure Ricketts should have been benched for just, I think, aggression purposes. think his aggression is too much for MLS Next Pro and that's not necessarily like a bad thing. I think it's just more of a matter of fact of like his strength is almost like his weakness where it just gets him in trouble, unfortunately. And I think if it was just the other way around, ⁓ we could have, I think, had a better opportunity of making it to the next round. But that said, our back line was structured really well, really tight all season, ⁓ post season. ⁓ Really proud for what they've done and I hope that our first team ⁓ coaches and staff gives them a good pat on the back, ⁓ contract or not. speaker-0: Yeah, it was very sweet and it's important to note as well that in the Colorado loss the town only conceded one goal when it was 11 v 11. So yeah, unfortunate situation with the red card. It was 1-1 at the time and then they still fought back at 2-1 down a player. That's usually a death knell when you're up against a strong opponent in a playoff or knockout game situation, but the town were able to force extra time so It's interesting because right now it seems like the town have this wall where they keep getting out of the same round the last three seasons getting to the conference semi-final. But you put in perspective of this is a developmental league that you're not really trying to chase the championship. That's not the point. You don't get any extra bonus points or. advantages for winning an MLS Next Pro title going into the Major League Soccer season the following year. So you have a bit more of like an understanding there. It would be nice if they do manage to win one, but of course you're just trying to develop these players and get to the next stage of their career. And one player in the midfield that I think has the best chance perhaps to make that leap in terms of his involvement within the first team is gotta be Nick Fernandez. He was incredible in both games. He had an assist in the game against Colorado Rapids too. And I think had it not been for injuries, we might have seen him a little bit more this past season. And he's playing very well that I think he'll be on the first team roster and potentially in the squad for the opening day of 2026. speaker-1: Yeah, I could see Nick Fernand as being a top contender for, you know, for minutes at least in the Santa's Earthquakes 2026 season. You know, knowing Bruce Arena, he's a midfield heavy kind of guy. He likes to have his DPs in the midfield, at least when it comes to Carlos Gil and other players that were recruited when he was on the Galaxy and other clubs ⁓ before that. ⁓ likes to have his top players in the midfield, so I think Nick Fernandez really has to show out in preseason to really attract those minutes because he's also competing for Bo LaRue's minutes, Ian Harks, now Vieira, who we brought in midseason, and other guys, even like Jack Skean. I know he really likes Jack Skean in training sessions and whatnot. So there's a lot of competition there in the midfield. The offseason is just starting, so we don't even know who we're connected with in the transfer window coming up December, January. ⁓ However, that said, I think he has a really good shot. And if anything, he will definitely be a starter and a star for Town FC. And like you said, his performances, he's got goals and assists even recently. I like his close dribbling. I like the fact that he can distribute well to the wingers and he knows when to distribute. He knows when the players he's distributing to are wide open and how to create space for others, not just himself. He's a very promising player and I really like the structure in which he plays football in. So yeah, definitely agree. He's a very strong contender for 2026 on the first team roster. speaker-0: Yeah. With the Town to Quakes pipeline, while it's great that Boulogne Rue made the immediate transition to becoming a starting 11th player, then that was a very big boost for the South's earthquakes to start the season. That's the exception to the rule. I think there's usually going to be a few intermediate steps before that happens for most players. And for Fernandez, he was recovering from some injuries that Brunson was very much patient and respectful. that process. think he sees Fernandez as a player that will be important to the Quakes future and rightfully so. And we've talked a lot about Cruz Medina as another player part of that future. He is still only 19 years old. Can you believe that? speaker-1: What are your thoughts on his performance in playoffs, postseason, and regular season for Cruz Medina? speaker-0: Some might say that the hype train has been derailed for Cruz Medina. I think that he just got transferred into a more appropriate speed train, if that makes sense. That we're now coming to terms with he is 19 years old. That some teenagers are going to take a little bit more time to get to that level. And while it is a reason for consternation sometimes, because we see all sorts of European leagues where there's teenagers playing at first team level. you even still that there's a lot of caution with those players too. They may be just reduced to cut minutes or going out on loan. So every player is different. ⁓ Medina hasn't done anything to warrant thinking that now he has no future in Major League Soccer. It's just going to be a little bit more time and it might not even be next season. He might still benefit from whatever season of town. There's a lot of players just on our 11 alone on the town there. 22, 23, 24, and they could still perhaps get a chance because with the college system, most players entering the MLS entry draft from college is 21 or 22 anyway. So he's still got time on his side. speaker-1: You know, speaking ⁓ of college, I know Stanford's got a game coming up in the ACC college tournament. I know Alex Chow's been a hot number on Stanford's roster. ⁓ Depending on when this podcast goes up, I think it's worth Earthquakes fan heading out to Stanford Stadium, or not Stanford Stadium, the field next to Stanford Stadium at Stanford to check out our boys wearing black and red at Stanford ⁓ during their playoff push. give our boys the support from the Academy. Because I could genuinely feel Alex Chow being one of those guys that we want to hold onto for the draft, if or when he decides to enter. He's a big name. He's got a couple of goals, a couple assists, I think this season. We'll have to recheck the stats. But yeah, big names in the earthquakes pipeline. And know, kind of basing that off what you just said, like... they could really use some good minutes in the US Open Cup. I think a really good example of that, Jack Skean, didn't really get many minutes in regular season performance. But the performances he put in US Open Cup, he got that goal ⁓ versus Portland Timbers and made as good of an effort as he could in the final, was it decision day? I think he got an assist. It was either decision day or the penultimate game of the season. He put in some... some hard work there and I think the minutes that he was given paid off. you know, those players from Town FC, those draft players, they come to play in those tournament moments. So I can really see players like Nick Fernandez, potentially Alex Chow. I'm only saying potentially because I really like the guy and I really want him to play for us, but... ⁓ Jack Scan, all those guys, they're running hot for minutes. ⁓ Open Cup tournaments and Knockout Run tournaments is perfect for them. speaker-0: Yeah, I think you integrate them slowly and limitly or limited fashion into some of those US Open Cup games potentially against a USL or below team and then we'll see as now we can dream about going further in the US Open Cup because we made it, we had a deep run this time at least for Quake standards but Yeah, there's always going to be that crowd of, we want the strongest team in the US Open Cup. just logistically, there's always going to be some ⁓ consideration of minutes and scheduling there. Some other names that started the playoff games. We had Edwin Mendoza at 19 years old. He also provided an assist. This was against North Texas, 22 years old Riley Lynch. They had a 22 year old miss Al Rodriguez and then the goal machine at the next pro level. Nance Ademabua, 25 years old out of Nigeria. He had a very productive season for the town. Just clinical, confident in front of goal and with 19 goals in the 2025 season, this is courtesy of Abram. A lot of these facts are, he... Is 19 goal contributions. Sorry. So 13 goals, six assists. It was tied for six top score in the league. And this was the record for most goal contributions in a season by Quakes two or town player. And then the previous record holders 15 was Eduardo Blancas in 2023 and Max Arfson in 2022. I will do a little bit of where are they now, but you don't need that information from Axe Arfense and everyone's aware. 14 was Rudy Castro in 2022 and then for 10, rounding out the double digits goal contributors, Riley Lynch and Eduardo Blancas again. So I did a little bit of digging for some of those, maybe forgotten names at this point, but Rudy Castro plays for Almaden FC. And that is a team in the South Bay. speaker-1: South Bay. Yeah, Almaden FC. That was one of my one of my competitive teams ⁓ or opponents back when I played for the Dianza Force. So I know them quite well. speaker-0: Yeah, so USL League 2 there and then Eduardo Blancas in USL League 1 for AV Alta. So even if they don't end up being Quakes players, still playing professional soccer in the USL system. They'll be competing in the US Open Cup and it's still pretty cool to see that they're doing well in their respective levels and that's probably going to be the long-term outlook. that not everyone can become a San Jose earthquake superstar that comes from the town, but you're still gonna be happy to follow them wherever they go. But let's circle back to Adimabua. When you've seen his highlights or seen him play, what impresses you most about him? speaker-1: I mean, can obvi- the most obvious thing to say is the finishing, the clinicality of of of them and and You know, I can't personally speak on what I've noticed because I haven't really admittedly watched too many Quakes, Quakes 2, sorry, Town FCE games So I think maybe you and Abram would provide better context for for next episode, but you know Seeing those numbers and seeing the fact that he's above Max Arfson, above Eduardo Blanca's, when these players are highly, highly registered among the Quakes fan base and those who analyze them on a day-to-day basis, like that's impressive. That's really impressive. And it's worth noting that even though he's on the Town FC, he should be maybe one step higher with these numbers because he can clearly place himself in a good position. ⁓ and he has the tenacity in front of goal and the confidence in composure to finish off these shots and to get 19 in one season, that's really impressive if you ask me. So, I mean, what are your thoughts Ivan? speaker-0: I think he's just ruthless. He's got that mindset, along with his physical attributes that makes him a complete player for this level. And then you just wonder, how's it going to look like when he takes that step up? Because you're going to face higher quality defenses and you're not going to have it quite as easy. But if you make the adjustments to the adjustments, that's how you can find success there. And to put in perspective within the 28 game season and MLS next So you're scoring or assisting in two-thirds of the game. Of course for a striker, you're more focused on if you're a goal every other game player at a minimum, and he still qualifies for that 13 at 28, practically a goal every other game. But if you can provide a goal contribution for more than every other game, you're definitely going to be productive and you're definitely going to get rewarded with more opportunities going forward. rounding out the notable players for the town this year. So we saw a little bit of Ricardo Ibarra. He's 24 years old. He could play as winger. can play as a fullback. ⁓ We also have got the Canadian Keegan Walwyn Bent at 22 years old. ⁓ We've got Julian Donnery, the 20 year old left winger out of Scotland. And then the Last three are probably the most intriguing. We got some teenagers here, of course, Kajran Spivey, 16 years old. Bruce Arini even mentioned him by name one time, so he's definitely on his radar. 18-year-old Rohan Rajagopal. So that's pretty cool that he's been getting more more involved, and he's got plenty of years in him. And of course, we're starting to wonder about where will Chance Cowell fit in for the long-term plans? 17 years old still, you know? a bit of a big age gap between him and K. Cowell, but I'm six years older and ten years older respectively of my two brothers, so it's not out of the realms of possibility there. But I think Spivey and Cowell are probably the ones that we know the best right now. Any thoughts on either of them? speaker-1: ⁓ I think you made a good point of that Bruce Arena had mentioned him in the press conference because other performers, ⁓ like even our top goalscorer, he didn't mention them. He only mentioned ⁓ Spivey. He only mentioned Kadron Spivey. So I don't know. There's something interesting to note. Obviously, it's difficult to speculate those things, but knowing Bruce Arena, knowing how he handles media, He doesn't really say too much anyway and the fact that he mentioned Cajun Spivey is I think is something of value and significance looking forward into the future. ⁓ Chance Cowell is another player of note. I don't know if he's necessarily going to see the Santa's Earthquakes field next season. He's only 17 and there's a lot of I think there's a lot of improvement to his game. ⁓ I did watch him during the one of the final home games of the season, think early October. ⁓ He looked kind of impressive. I really loved his speed. I love the fact that he was direct in front of goal. ⁓ I think his dribbling definitely needs slight improvement before he makes it to the first team or even has a look for preseason. His the cali-g speed and less so dribbling. But I think there is room for improvement and I think he has the ability to improve that just like we see in Cade. ⁓ Now at Chivas Guadalajara ⁓ making his ever so impressive season I don't know how he got that he got that dog in him. After seeing his performances on the quakes he's definitely putting on a show. ⁓ And I know you're a Chivas fan, right Ivan? So you can see a whole lot of him daily. speaker-0: I could if Liga MX's broadcasting rights weren't a mess, because almost every team has their own broadcasting contracts, so some teams will appear on Inevisión, some will appear on Telemundo, some will appear on Peacock, ⁓ KKAL of course, had a bit of a tough time so far with Chivas in terms of getting his minutes, but the good news is he's getting minutes semi-consistently, that's it. Good news there his last four games. He got 27 minutes for a game against Nacaxa in Tuesday, September 23rd 45 minutes against Puebla September 27th 9 minutes against Pumas on October 5th in his last appearance Wednesday, October 22nd in the loss against Queretaro. He came on for about 27 minutes Chivas themselves are having slightly more success. They've been winning a few more games than they have in some of these other seasons where they've kind of been sleepwalking a little bit. They've never really been a threat since. I unfortunately have to say since they've won the Concord Calf Champions Cup against Toronto and that's going to be like five years ago next season I think. So yeah, it's been a while. speaker-1: Is that with Almeida? speaker-0: think that was. It's hard for me to stay connected with Liga MX with the combination of factors. It's tough league to watch the games consistently. also, Chivas, along with many teams, aside from the elite teams, with the expanded playoff format and with no relegation, they've kind of been in a bit of malaise, where that's a bit antithetical to the soccer culture for a lot of leagues in the world. You don't really have that problem with Major League Soccer because we expect that there's no relegation and that there's other pressures that keeps teams and coaches and players motivated. yeah, just something to keep an eye on. mean, happy that if K-Cow were to go to another team, was another team I support. ⁓ But that does not give me a whole lot of confidence that if you're struggling to find game time and achieve as... ⁓ What would his next move be potentially in Europe? You know, we'll see like Benjamin Kermaschi, he made the move to Parma and he's starting to pick up his minutes a little bit more. It really does depend and sometimes the moves to Europe come from unlikely sources, including a couple of town graduates, the likes of Ethan Kohler and Drew Murray, they're in the Virta Breyman and Freiburg systems respectively. And that brings to a point that I talked to briefly with Abram before this podcast. For players like Kano, we'll use him as an example, as the four-year veteran of the Quakes 2 slash The Town, if he doesn't get his chances and he turns 22, 23, etc. Like our oldest player right now is 25. Does he look at his agent and be like, let's see if there's an opportunity for me in Oakland Roots or Sacramento Republic or anywhere really in the USL Championship. ⁓ My concern was that besides those two exceptions of Kohler and Murray, that there would be some internal politics where Quakes and Roots try to have some sort of non-aggression pact now ⁓ with the players because there isn't a whole lot of crossover anyway between USL and MLS in general as you would think, but especially not from teams that share markets like Orange County and LA Galaxy or LAFC. or Miami FC and Inter-Miami. But I would not be opposed, you know, if they get tired of playing in just the town as great as that is, if you want to step up or change something in your career at least, that you get to watch them, you know, at the Coliseum wherever they play at after, that would be interesting too. speaker-1: Yeah, think fans are already engaged with Oakland Roots as well. You know, knowing both of us, I want to know, are you part owner of the Oakland Roots as well? Did you invest in that little ownership segment, Ivan? speaker-0: I have three dollars, aka I'm cheap and I didn't but I do speaker-1: Okay, ⁓ so I mean, going back to the point, ⁓ Bay Area fans have financially invested in Oakland Roots and I think it would be strategic for the Earthquakes to make some sort of pact, as you mentioned, with them and let players kind of get minutes over there too. Because knowing their performances, that they haven't made playoffs in a couple of years now and they just released Benny Failhaber, which I thought he looked like a pretty good coach. He was a well-rounded guy. I feel bad that he's looking for a new job now. that said, think our youth can benefit from USL minutes. Especially lone moos, players like Niko Tsukares, if he's not getting minutes here, I know damn sure that Oakland Roots will need him there. And he can thrive in the second tier system. speaker-0: Yeah speaker-1: ⁓ If he's not getting minutes here, I hope he gets sold in the offseason. ⁓ players like that. ⁓ like even... ⁓ speaker-0: San Diego FC even, they made use of three ex-slash-temporarily ex-Quicks players, Verhoeven Anlone and Godoy is still a former Quicks player and then Pellegrino. So with their midfield, yeah, if they decide next season, Godoy, Father Town is finally caught up with you, maybe we can ask the Quicks to loan us to Kyrgios, like who knows? We don't have that deep of a rivalry with San Diego compared to the LA duo, so maybe. speaker-1: Exactly, yeah, we don't even have a rifle in San Diego, so hey, bring some guys over this way. ⁓ speaker-0: Blame the Raiders and the Chargers. If they were still in their original cities, then maybe that would fuel some aggression between San Diego Sea and the Quakes. speaker-1: I definitely agree there, yeah. ⁓ But I think players like Noel Buck would deserve, if he's recovering from an injury, he deserves minutes over it in Oakland Roots because at least it's competitive game time. I'm not saying the town FC games aren't competitive, but I think it just more plays to Noel Buck's kind of competitive levels over there. ⁓ I could really see something happening in the future, but on a business perspective, we don't really know what goes on behind the scenes. ⁓ I think it's cool on paper, but I think the reality and the business works of it, the marketing, I don't know. speaker-0: Yep, and my closing thoughts on this MLS Next Pro season for the town. ⁓ The season as a whole will conclude I believe on Friday because that's when the team that knocked us out Colorado Rapids 2, they then did the business against Minnesota United 2-1. ⁓ So they will be going to Sports Illustrated Stadium, Harrison, New Jersey, where the New York Red Bulls 2 will be hosting them for the MLS Next Pro Final. That all concludes Saturday, November 8th. With that being said, I think it's been another successful season. Success being measured in. They failed their competitive team. They had another good playoff run. Maybe there is... some people that are thinking, okay, it'd be nice for them to get over that hump. Maybe the players themselves have been there for a while, maybe thinking that. But overall, it's been exciting to watch. And you grow a more strong connection with these players and they show up in San Jose Earthquakes first team. I'm sure we were all excited for Beaux-Larue, but especially those that watched Larue with the town, they were even more thrilled. because of it. Any other thoughts? speaker-1: ⁓ I'm really looking forward to next season's town specific season because as much as a lot of the Earthquakes fans, the first team fans like watching the first team, I think it's really fun on a personal level to watch our academy products and to watch our youth kind of mold into the players that we know they're supposed to become and they're capable of. And that's the perfect place to watch is the Town FC. ⁓ It is highly competitive. These players are physically active. are like almost like pushing each other over in, know, in aggressiveness to get the, to retain possession for their team. And it comes to a lot of physicality and that's what a lot of fans want to see in soccer games. It is a contact sport and they definitely make sure of it. They make sure that there's contacts in each game. So If you want exciting football, you want exciting soccer, exciting style of play, please watch the Town FC next season because they really are worth watching. And especially if you're a San Jose earthquake season ticket holder, tickets are free. Go contact your rep. Obviously not now, but next season contact your rep for free tickets when they come out to PayPal Park. It's a real treat. And that being said, I really do hope that Kind of going back to what you said, players like Mendoza, they get a real good first shot at the first team. Because despite how many years they've played for the Town FC, I think that they've showed a good enough worth to at least be given minutes for the first team. And if they can't show out there, then sure, they can drop back to the Town FC or get loaned out like even Oskar Verhoeven is to San Diego FC. a team that's absolutely thriving right now and I'm sure that success, being enshrouded in that success is only going to boost him and his ego and his talent and skills and that much higher when he returns back to the first team. So yeah, please go watch the Town FC. They're such a good group, such a friendly group of players too when approached not on the field. speaker-0: Yeah, well said there and you've gotten both of our perspectives on it and I highly recommend you talk to Abram and Crystal as well. They go to all the games they cover them to and they're just passionate about the town as they are the earthquakes and the offseason is just getting started. We're speculating or hypothetizing all sorts of things regarding the Quakes roster. We're awaiting those roster decisions as sad as it may be for those that we say goodbye to, but make sure you join us on the Tectonic Takes Discord server. You'll get to see a bunch of random Quakes material, even my EAFC career mode, where somehow Christian Espinosa gets an Argentina cap and Napoli triggers Erango's release clause. yeah, that's speaker-1: 27 is happening in real life too, by the way. speaker-0: ⁓ my gosh. Imagine McTominay and Narango. That would be funny. ⁓ Yeah, and we'll still see about speaker-1: combo up top. speaker-0: some potential playoff content. The one matchup that we know for sure as of now is LAC vs Vancouver Whitecaps. with Whitecaps we have Angelo Zara who is a soccer writer. He's a diehard Whitecaps. With LAFC we got Eric Holstrom who does a lot of great content for Pitchside US on behalf of LAFC. So we may have a debate on our hands there. But we'll try get that together hopefully with less technical difficulties this time. ⁓ But of course we're thankful for all the guests we've had on this season and ⁓ we're thankful that you're still watching us. I know that it's tough, it still stings a little bit that the Quakes missed the playoffs, but we are very passionate about this team and we know you are as well. So thank you for being a part of this journey with us. Follow us on Blue Sky and Twitter and go Quakes! speaker-1: Go Quakes.