Latest / Tectonic Takes / Episode 163: Victory In Vancouver
Transcript
- Tectonic Takes: Yo, what's up, Quakes fans? We are back after our 1-0 victory. I'm shaking my whole desk. I'm so excited. 1-0 victory against Vancouver at Vancouver in British Columbia. A very unexpected result. And what's also unexpected is I'm now joined again by Devin. Devin, you left me alone for two weeks and I had to carry this thing on my back. I'm sorry, sorry. You weren't feeling too good, so don't worry about it. ⁓ And it was fun, was a different way of doing things, but I'm very glad that you're back. Tell me how you're doing now and what you think about the game. Well, I'm glad that you had enough energy and positivity to post without me and to keep the content going for our folks back at home. But no, I'm doing much better. Healthy again, back to 100%. ⁓ just came back from ⁓ a very busy weekend. ⁓ I'm starting, ⁓ skimboarding now, which has no real relevance to this podcast, but you know, just sort of random hobby that I've picked up over the last year. So I'm trying to perfect that. And, ⁓ yeah, enjoying, enjoying our time, ⁓ as, summer approaches, but, ⁓ yeah, watching the earthquakes take on Vancouver, I, be honest with you, I genuinely thought. We were going to lose the game, so I was quite worried and, I don't know, hesitant is the best word to describe watching the earthquakes in every other year except this year. Specifically, Vancouver is one of the best teams in the league right now and going away to BC Place, we expected zero points to come home and we picked up three points. It's pretty crazy. ⁓ What were your thoughts on the game, Abram? I mean, they pretty much marry yours. Going into this match, pretty much, know, Apple TV gave us a 17 % chance of winning, 16.9 to be exact, we'll round up, and actually asked about LaRue, what he thought about those chances. We'll show the clip. Yeah, I actually saw that. I would like to think we're one the most hated teams in the league, but it's good to prove people wrong. You know, he had a little bit of smirk on his face. He saw that before the match, so he had a chip on his shoulder and something to prove. And he did prove a lot with what we call the average bowler-woo goal to put us ahead. But, you know, without that goal, I don't think that this result is possible. Going into the match, when I had to do the analysis going into it, I was like, I don't see any positives. They're coming off the back of a 6-0 win. against Minnesota. I don't have any great expectations with this especially with how the last time we faced them went where they beat us 4-1. So yeah, obviously hard to come into it with lot of confidence, but they were able to pull out a result. Great defensive display. Obviously a banger of a goal. Yeah, anything else to say about the game? You know, it's funny you mentioned a great defensive display because I think we can state that for both teams. know, both Vancouver and the Earthquakes are one of the lowest conceding teams in this league. And yet, you know, we kind of expected that from Vancouver after coming off a fresh 6-0 win in the week prior, although they were eliminated by Seattle in CONCACAP Champions Cup. But in MLS play, they came off a fresh 6-0 win versus, you know, Minnesota United. And that gave, you know, lot of Earthquakes fans less hope than... you know, ⁓ than normal. ⁓ but, you know, they also conceded zero goals and I think they've only conceded, ⁓ two goals, ⁓ all season long, which, you know, kind of looking at the broad spectrum for the quake specifically, we've only conceded one goal all season. I don't think we've been able to say that in many seasons prior five games in, you know, and we are the second lowest conceding team. in the league behind LAFC, which still stands at zero conceded goals ⁓ in MLS play anyway. ⁓ Which I, that's fantastic. You know, a lot of ⁓ analysts from Vancouver were describing how this is going to be an exciting game, ⁓ a nice back and forth game, because of the fact that both the earthquakes and Vancouver Whitecaps have excellent in-match statistics. You know, great offense, great defense. ⁓ It's like ⁓ a David versus Goliath situation and yet somehow Bruce Arena's tactics wound up on top despite the fact that Vancouver, you know, is dominant in their free flow state plays as I'm just making up that term now. ⁓ But, you know, they are heavily reliant on fluid football and something that you see out of like Pep Guardiola and other historically great managers. in years past, but we managed to contain that and we, as in Bolero, scored the only goal of the game, right, I think, before half time, which I know Vancouver fans were somewhat upset about because it kind of elongated past the allotted minutes, but you know what? You play to the whistle. And if you play to the whistle, sometimes that can play to your advantage. So we got the goal, let it halftime and... kept a clean sheet away, yet again. A really fun stat that I, you know, for some reason I like looking at random stats. It's nothing like particular to any specific segment, but this specific stat is we've only had two seasons since our inception as the earthquakes where we've gone the first two games or at least the first three games, ⁓ first three away games specifically. where we haven't conceded a goal. And that was our 2012 season where we won the Supporters' Shield. And the other season, it was the first and third game, first and third away game of the season in 2003 where we won MLS Cup, where we've only conceded, you we got two clean sheets out of three games away. So, you know. If we're just kinda tracking by those numbers here, we're in for a good season. But we have to maintain health and consistency all throughout. And that's unfortunate because we lost a player mid-game. Yeah, D'Juan Jones went down with a pretty bad injury. We asked Viserena in the press conference and we'll show the clip. He will have an appointment with one of our team doctors tomorrow. ⁓ We're not sure what it is, but it looks to be a serious injury. Basically, we don't know much about it at this stage. I'm sure they do now. But at the point of the press conference, all they knew was that it looked really serious. So for me, I'm kind of reserved to the reality that we might not see a Dwayne Jones again this season, maybe toward the end of season. But it could be an Achilles. It could be ACL. ⁓ You know this turf that ⁓ the Vancouver play on ⁓ you know could have been a big factor for that because The worst kind of injuries are the kinds where there's no contact right and this sounds that sounds like ridiculous But that's the truth like it means that something seriously went wrong where he just had to simply lay down There was nothing he could do. He didn't attempt to keep going because he knew that it was really bad and that's you know really devastating to see especially because I just spoke to him a few days prior and You know he was saying that he's excited to do he fit again for the the game against Vancouver because he had went off injured after a big collision with Misovsky in the Seattle game and so you know, I I really enjoyed the interview and and I you know got a much bigger connection for that player and I was like really rooting for him even more so than i was ⁓ just because that if you want so well he was a really nice guy and so that just you know really doubled the amount of ⁓ devastation that i felt when he went down and i i hope that it would just be like a rolled ankle or something like that ⁓ but unfortunately it looks to be pretty serious and ⁓ the docosta came on i didn't think that he was terrible but ⁓ I still think that we should not be 100 % ready to say that that's Vitr Costa's position right now. Do we want to go into the left back situation now, Devin? Yeah, might as well. You know, there are a lot of players on the Earthquakes who we can depend on for playing left back. You know, I think the first choice obviously would be Vitr Costa and Bruce's eyes. ⁓ There are other players deeper in the depth chart would be Paul Marie, Benjic Akanovic, we could shift over to the left. He is our starting right back, but he has experience all the way back to Rito, ⁓ Reno 1868 FC as a left back, left wing back. ⁓ He could technically play there and then shift someone else over to the right back. A lot of options, I believe. ⁓ at left back spot. You know, we also have Jacinski not for left back, but to replace Benji at right back. ⁓ So there is a lot of flexibility in our full back positions, which is, you know, if you're going to lose someone, at least lose someone in a deep area of your squad's Exactly. In your depth chart. you know, it's hard to see your top guy go down. Yeah, do want to think really well. ⁓ He is a very big presence in our defensive line. He is one of the players that is first up to be captain whenever Ronaldo Viera subbed off or situation like that. I think he was wearing the captains arm band when he went down, ⁓ which is, you know, again, just really hard to see ⁓ in terms of who I would like to be our left back. You know Jamar is another ⁓ player who could potentially ⁓ go left back. I don't want that just because he is really good cover for ⁓ Timo Werner who is like we saw Despite Bruce's comments not fit 100 % Just real quick Timo Werner had a back injury the day before the match. So that's why he didn't start ⁓ He should be recovering from that soon. That's not like a serious injury the way that Dewan's was ⁓ Just wanted to give you guys an update on that ⁓ No, ⁓ I would like Jamar to stay available to replace Timo Werner on the left ⁓ If that's how we're going to play ⁓ For me, I would choose to play Paul Marie over Vito Costa Just because I think that his general play and build up is lot smoother and he is just more integrated in the build up ⁓ and he is also a inverted fullback if he was to play on the left hand side obviously and that's where we've seen him play for a lot of his career here even though he prefers the right side he is comfortable on the left ⁓ and when Palmer is on the field that opens up the possibility to Palmer's bangers as well as Bo's bangers And having two players who could score bangers is never a bad thing in my opinion. ⁓ Virgo Costa to me, like he is probably on a good day. like prime Virgo Costa for us is the most well-rounded fullback of the options we mentioned. But that's not the case for every day. Sometimes he is just wacky Costa. Okay. And he just shows up to cause chaos for both the opposition and us. And on those days, I don't want him anywhere near the field. ⁓ And a lot of fan base will be watching this and Wacky Costa is the only one that they can, you know, conjure in their mind when they think of him for good reason. He makes a lot of really ⁓ unforced mistakes. He just has like really weird choices. So for me, Paul Marie is a more consistent, ⁓ you know, player in that role probably helps us. keep possession better. ⁓ The only problem for me is that it was a similar problem we had with Dewan where I felt that there wasn't a lot of options for the overlap in the traditional sense where both players are inverted, right? ⁓ So Timo Werner is going to want to cut onto his right and so is Paul Marie. And Dewan showed us that he has a capability of crossing on his left. It's not terrible. He's able to do that. I've never felt had a great left-footed cross. Everyone's able to kick it with their weak foot to an extent, but it's not his specialty. It's not something I would consider him great at. I would much prefer if he cuts in and tries it on his right instead, which obviously gives defense another few seconds to set up and watch their man. So that is a downside to that, but I think overall... what Marie brings to the field is better than what Costa does. ⁓ Although there is still the issue that Marie has not gotten any better in the air. And that's been a really big downside when ⁓ Marie just can't cover the back post in there. It's just detrimental. ⁓ And they might, you know, that might be something that other teams look to exploit. But obviously it's not like we have to go with one or the other ⁓ for the whole season. We can switch between the two. and you know try things out. ⁓ But yeah it's an interesting thought exercise to see like what our depth is like in those positions. Yeah I was kind of joking with some of our members in the discord. I'm like why don't we just loan for Hovenbeck. I mean I would love that but I don't think they'll let it. Yeah he started for San Diego against Rail Salt Lake and I didn't think that he was like crazy for them or anything but they they do seem to trust him a lot. and he obviously looks very happy where he is ⁓ but if the option were available if this was like football manager that's the first thing I would choose to do I would choose to bring him back and then keep him in the rotation for who we play there ⁓ but yeah let's talk more about the Vancouver game ⁓ this was a drawn-out affair where we had to defend for our lives ⁓ And we were able to do that successfully with a clean sheet of course ⁓ But Daniel to me if both of we didn't score that goal if it wasn't such a beautiful goal I think Daniel gets man of the match. What do you think? Yeah, I wrote it in our little pre pre notes I'm sure you can hear my dogs in the background someone's someone's walking through our front door, but I'm ⁓ Yeah, I genuinely think if it wasn't for Bo's goal Danielle should be mad at the match just as you stated Sorry for ⁓ stealing your thunder there paraphrasing ⁓ But you know he made some insane one single-handed saves ⁓ Punching the ball away ⁓ Some shots yeah did kind of go directly to him, but you know there's that high speed and he had a quick quick reaction ⁓ As you should for him, you know, and I'm a last goalkeeper, but it was just save after save after save ⁓ You know In another perspective, I was at a concert so I wasn't technically watching the game live. I watched the game the very next day. And all I saw in the Discord was, Daniel, Daniel, Daniel, great save, amazing, amazing. And I'd like timestamped these, these, you know, comments and I looked back in all the saves and I'm like, how did he not get man of the match, to be honest, because if it wasn't for Danielle, like we would might've lost maybe four one, five one. ⁓ Vancouver was was pretty incessant on taking a lot of shots and and you know Daniel came up clutch Yeah, they had five shots six shots on target all saved ⁓ He actually did win man of the match on Bob mob that doesn't really matter for who won in MLS eyes, but No, he got eight point seven to both. It was eight point one ⁓ very close there, but still you could see like Daniel had a really good game. A stat that I'm seeing here that I had to like double check. It makes sense watching the game, but it is so crazy. We had 37 clearances to Vancouver's 14. ⁓ And that's just another stat to show how, you know, Helter Skelter that whole sequence was when we had to defend for our lives like for most of the match. Yeah. Also, I think our clearances were out wide rather than through the middle as well, which is very beneficial to how we scored our goal. Vancouver, you know, to to Bo's goal, Vancouver cleared the ball through the middle. The Vancouver player could not really, you know, hold possession. Bo immediately snatched the ball away and without a second hesitation just went for the shot and struck it right past. Vancouver's goalkeeper so You know if you're take those clearances you got to be smart with it and clear it out wide where where there's no impeding pressure immediately so ⁓ Good on good on us for for being smart with those clearances as well. Yeah, I mean it it does kind of ⁓ you know reflect positively on us where if Vancouver is going to make a mistake like that to cross it into an area that is pretty high XG for us to take advantage of. know, the area zone 14, like where everyone talks about it. I don't know the name of the other zones. I know zone 14. I think that was quick. Quick's epicenter is like most like biggest talking point to. I didn't get to see the show. Yeah. No, not not this year, but like in years past, especially with like Jamin and whatnot. Zone 14 was a very big talking point. Right. And it still is to this day. They cleared it into zone 14. He took the ball away and he kind of knew already before even looking up that he was going to shoot because of the way that he set himself up. It's just fluid movement, put the ball into the path and then immediate shot. Beautiful Bolloroo ⁓ goal. Did we cut to the clip where Bruce Arena was asked about Bolloroo's ability to do that and he was like, that's actually a regular Bolloroo goal. That's the average BOLU RU goal. He does that all the time. I was like, yeah, they don't know about BOLU RU, but they should. I just love how that was the immediate comment by Bruce. Like, no hesitation. Yeah, it's just the average BOLU RU goal. Because it is like has a genuine question. Has Bo ever scored an MLS goal from inside the box? Probably one max. I think he has scored one. But I can't remember that goal. I remember looking it up. and and because somebody has said that he's not good from shooting outside the box and I was like what are you talking about and so I went back and I looked and all his goals are from outside of the box and that's why Devon I like stats because when somebody says something that is just like based off of the vibes that they conjured from their heart that means nothing to anyone and I'm like it will validate your opinions It's not even like my opinion but like what the truth is, right? Like if if I say something that like I feel like we didn't you know do a lot of accurate passing and then somebody look at the stats and be like we had like 98 % accuracy in passing and I'm wrong and then I know the truth now and then we can grow as people but you know, that's not the goal of a lot of people in this in this industry. Sometimes it could be a one-sided conversation, but speaking of stats versus ⁓ general opinions. ⁓ I think there was a moment in this game that I wanted to discuss and wanted your thoughts since you watched it live. ⁓ In the 30 second minute, 10 seconds in, Jamar Ricketts had a really good opportunity from a Preston Judd pass. ⁓ Judd was within the six. He took it to the touch line, made a pass to Jamar Ricketts and barely just missed out the far goal post. I thought that was a really big chance and a big miss, unfortunately for Jamar. Still can't get his goal, but you know, he makes great passes and whatnot. Big, big, big opportunity there. I was wondering what the XG may have been on that. The XG, was just literally looking at it, is .4. So I will continue to provide context on what XG means. means that .4 means that if he was to take this chance, 100 times he would score it 40 times which is kind of ⁓ It's less than you'd think for being so close inside the six I think is because he had to like he was contested a little bit He had to like get around the defender. So it makes it a little bit harder I think that they they take into account the defenders finishing. I can't be sure of that ⁓ Yeah, it was the highest by far the highest actually chance we've had ⁓ Overall, our ex-she for that game was 0.65 and so 0.4 is really big in terms of ⁓ the makeup of our overall ex-she for that game. Obviously, it wasn't a very attacking game for us, so it makes sense. ⁓ no, that's a shot that he has to finish, right? ⁓ Especially being the backup forward for Team Avernor when he's not available. you would hope that he getting opportunities in that spot that he would be able to finish. ⁓ As a left footed person, do you think that you would have struggled on your weak foot, you know, in a kind of 50-50 chance and the ball being swung in on the ground? Speaking from Sunday League experience, absolutely. My right leg is very spaghetti legged and my left leg is very firm. I Yeah, it's just for standing basically. I'm like a little flamingo Yeah, it's weird that that FOPmob sorry to cut you off but here but it's weird FOPmob says the XG was 0.6 when MLSsoccer.com here said the expected goals at the end of the game was 1.3 for San Jose So our overall at XG make that way, cumulative over the game? Yeah, total team XG, 1.3. Yeah, I mean, I know that FATMOB is a run, like the way they get their stats is from Opta. And I have personally worked with Opta, which could be a statement in the other direction where it's like, OK, well, then we shouldn't believe you. But no, I did fine. I believe Opta, they are one of the most reputable ⁓ brands that provide these stats. I don't know where MLS gets theirs. ⁓ There's usually some sort of discrepancy between the two. ⁓ just from what I've seen about things like, if you go on MLS.com and look at our roster, they still have Chicho listed as the DP, something like that. Niko is a... ⁓ he's a supplemental roster slot instead of the 22. Things like that where I'm like, okay, well, I'm just going to ⁓ not give this that much ⁓ credit. But I look at both ⁓ most of the time. So it's not like it's like, you know, the craziest thing ever if you're looking at one or the other. Right. Yeah. You know, I wanted to ask you a question. Abram and you know I'll bounce back after you answer it but you know what are your thoughts on Judd as the starting nine here? So overall like you know looking at the other games not just this game I think that Judd is very good at what he was supposed to be doing I think that you know being ⁓ antagonizing the defense and just being a nuisance he's very good at that but he didn't seem like he cared that much I don't know if you share that sentiment. It looked like he got pissed off early on and then he was just like just whatever for a lot of the game. ⁓ You know, he was helpful in keeping the clean sheet. I'll say that. But ⁓ before we had scored the goal, I felt that he could have been doing more. ⁓ And whether it was because he was getting beat to the ball by the defense or he just couldn't be bothered. It was hard for me to tell and that was very frustrating for me. ⁓ So out of the four or five games we played so far this season, I would say is probably the worst example of a jet performance. ⁓ But I know what he is capable of. So I know that like we should still keep giving him chances. But I do think that there should be competition like that's still a big thing. ⁓ It is kind of clear at this point that I didn't even look that as very close to starting 11. ⁓ So Judd is just like, you know, the main guy. ⁓ If we could bring in somebody that maybe is a different profile that could, you know... Somebody who is fast is what I'm looking for. I think that pressing is huge in the system and Judd is very fast, but he kind of... ⁓ I don't know, it's like he can't carry that much weight around for that long. He is a really big guy as well as being fast. And so he kind of burns really bright for the first 30 minutes and then I don't think he's able to sustain it. What are your thoughts? I think for the most part, I agree with what you've said. I will state that I think Judd displays a lot of hustle and care for the team. and I think he represents that in ways where he's most comfortable in performing. what I mean by that is he loves playing in the middle. Anywhere in the middle, I feel like he can strive and perform at what we know he's best at, in finishing and taking shots, whatnot. If he's caught out away from the middle of the field, which is why I was really upset, that I missed the last couple of episodes with you, Abram, because I really wanted to talk about this for the Seattle game as well. ⁓ Not just with Vancouver, but I noticed it in Seattle. When he is asked to pick up possession away from the middle of the field, it seems like he's really confused as to what he wants to do next. There was a time versus Seattle, and I'll go back to Vancouver here, but there was a moment in Seattle where he was sent to through ball. out to the right side of the field and one of the Seattle defenders was positioned really well and holding him off to face the corner flag. And Judd ended up backing his body into the Seattle player and shielding the ball rather than kind of flushing it back to the midfield and ⁓ bringing it into the center of the field again for another opportunity. Recycling the ball, yeah. Yeah, recycling. Thank you. That was the word I was looking for. ⁓ He didn't recycle the ball, he just kind of stood there kind of confused like, what am I going to do next? What do I do? You know, I'm not here in front of goal. It's those kinds of things where I think we need a DP9 because, you know, it's not necessarily against Judd, but I think if we want to really perform at a high level, at a playoff level where we're going to win playoff games, we need a player that's capable of kind of going one step further than what a a regular nine is required to do. Someone who is not just clinical, but, you know, who has the ball knowledge to, you know, recycle those plays and to keep the play going at a high rate, you know, high speed and whatnot. That's what we need. And that's unfortunately just what I don't see out of Judd that I think we need more of. Yeah, I totally agree. You did bring that up in the press box against Seattle. where it's like if it's a ⁓ literal breakaway or like where they're fitting to cross it into the box. Those are the two things that he does, right? So he's like, he's looking to get on the end of long balls. And if we're attacking from the wing or whatever, he is looking to get in the box for the cross. Like very quintessential forward things, but like things that provide ⁓ that require more nuance, like you get the ball. wider than you're used to what do I do with it now? ⁓ He looks very confused ⁓ and chooses the wrong thing. He doesn't just wildly make a ⁓ choice and then it is frustrating to watch ⁓ and then you all stop to consider that because he's the only real striker right now Timo Werner can also play there but I have questions about his fitness. ⁓ If Judd gets an injury or a red card or is unavailable for yellow card accumulation, here he has two, ⁓ we're very thin in that department. And I think I spent a lot of the last episode talking about the depth that we have in our front line is not good enough. And that's why think Rickett should not be asked to play left back because then that takes him out of contention for that. the various, you know, thin depth that we already have in that front line. ⁓ And Devin, you and I are very clearly opposed on whether or not Buddha should be playing striker. I have feelings about it. I think that he is not the worst striker I've ever seen. He is not Andy Rios. ⁓ But I also, if all things are, you know, if all things are normal, I think that he is a winger and I just, don't think that he's very effective in the times that I've seen him play as striker. ⁓ I saw him play as striker once at Quicks two where I was like, this is the second coming of ⁓ Arnim and Ronaldo. But ⁓ obviously that's a much different level. I think that at the MLS level, he is not physically suited to go up against centerbacks. I think that he can out maneuver. ⁓ But I don't, I don't think that he has that, that burst of pace like They say he's quick and stuff. I think that, you know, he's one of the slower guys in our frontline. I think that Rick is faster. Wern is faster. Judd is faster. Skean is faster. He's not slow, but he's not like he's not going to burn a center back. And that's where I'm like, I would like somebody who can do that. ⁓ Where he's good is hold up play. He is able to come in as a false nine and then, you know, make passes. But I just don't think he provides enough of a threat when he is when he is the lone striker. ⁓ Maybe in a two striker system, it could be, you know, more effective, but it's just I don't trust him there. And I also I like what he provides on the wing a lot more. Maybe not in the last few games. He hasn't been the Buddha that I know. ⁓ Last probably three games. But yeah, that's besides the point. Yeah, I mean for okay so for the most part I definitely agree that you know Buddha is better on the wing ⁓ You know, I think it was a conversation of matchups, but we won't really get into that I I do think that Buddha is great with one-on-ones However, you know going back to the original like playoff Contention discussion if we want to make playoffs and if we want to get win games in playoff moments, we need someone that's better than Buda and Judd. And that's not to say that Buda and Judd are bad players. That's not to say that anyone in our attacking lineup are bad players, because I really like what Ricketts is capable of and what he's already brought to the table, especially that one run that he had when Dewan Jones got hurt and he hustled all the way back and he and Roberts made that sliding challenge to block a shot, or Vancouver shot. You know, I think it's moments like that where... Jamar Ricketts almost is establishing a starting role or a starting caliber behavior in the squad. He's doing the necessary things to make him a starter. I'm sure Judd and Osenibuda tallying some goals here and there are also kind of doing somewhat similar, but they're not at the level. of Chichu Arango and Josef Martinez to make a significant week after week impact. And that is where the DP9 comes in hand. If we want to make a stronger impact versus these high caliber teams like Vancouver, you know, we can't only rely on midfielders like Bo LaRue scoring goals. Our offense needs to come into play and finish these chances. Not to put Ricketts on blast again, but to... to finish a chance so close to front of goal, we need those. We need those to go in the back of the net to maintain a healthy lead and not just for the Quakes fans, but for the players and staff to have more breathing room during a game and establish more dominance as our stats suggest. That's where our DP9 comes in play and we need something in the summer transfer window. Yeah, and I mean I I feel like it should already be a thing that they're looking at You know you'd hope I said that he's looking for ⁓ reinforcement in the front But then we asked him about it again, and he's like i'm not even gonna bring random guys like Okay, so we're not looking at anyone I guess like you know we don't want random players sure And it is a little bit worrying. I would agree that like ⁓ having just because yeah jud i like him but again if he is not available for whatever reason the then then even if buddha is like playing at the same ⁓ efficiency as jud at striker then skein has to come on the right and skein isn't providing it as much as buddha is on the right and so the the level goes down very quickly once one player isn't available. say like, Buddha goes to African Cuffa nations or whatever, and Judd gets yellow card accumulation. What do we do? that shouldn't be a problem that we're looking at and being like, OK, well, ⁓ Edwin Mendoza go right wing. Like, you know, we shouldn't have to look at the options like that. Obviously, we brought in probably ⁓ Nani Adimabua to help with that problem but we haven't seen him at all. haven't, I think he made an appearance on the bench in the first game or something but it's, I would like to see a lot more from him ⁓ just because I think that he is probably closer to ready ⁓ to play at the MLS level than anyone else we have. But if we had a DP9 then we wouldn't be worried at all. Like there would be a lot less worry here. And yeah, I mean it's It's very ridiculous the level of depth that we don't have in these roles that are very important, not just to soccer in general, but the way we play with a really intense press from the front. That's really big ⁓ for sustainability for the rest of the season. If we don't bring in anyone, then that's going to be really tough going into the later stage of the season. Yeah, that's also where I kind of agree with. with Bruce's comment as well and I want to bring this back up of Bruce saying like, I'm not going to bring just anyone to the team. We want to have a team with great chemistry and who's on the same page and something that many of the fans noticed last season that Josef Martinez and sometimes Tito Arango weren't a part of that defensive pressing system. Your initial press comes from your strikers. That's your first line of defense. And some of those guys weren't doing that. ⁓ If Bruce were to bring in a player ⁓ starting DP9, it would have to be someone who follows that track of high pressing and makes sure that everyone's on the exact same page. ⁓ How many players can we think of off the top of our heads who can do that? Probably not many. I genuinely can't think of one because my brain is completely ⁓ black right now. ⁓ Yeah, there's not many of those guys and you you got to go through the whole ⁓ negotiation process and we're only as of recording I think we're only we're about three days away from the end of the transfer window. I don't see us making any moves anytime soon. ⁓ However, I did ⁓ talk to someone in our discord server and we did make mention that we're within the six month window of signing possible free agents by summer. you know, we could be in negotiations right now with with the player, but we just won't get them until summer, kind of like what Orlando's going through with, you know, Antoine Griezmann. ⁓ So it's a patience game at this point, and we just kind of have to manage our depth ⁓ as we go along and and hope that, you know, we mitigate as much damage as possible while still maintaining an excellent record so far. Yeah, obviously it's a really good start to the season and we do want to kind of manage expectations by bringing up the things that we do have to look at and because it's like one of these things happen, like we said, that causes a domino effect and that really affects the trajectory of the season and so you have to keep that in mind if you're somebody who likes to pay attention to this kind of thing. you know you're not just like optimistic without any reason ⁓ there are things that we do have to look at here ⁓ but ⁓ apart from that we also had a win with our Quakes 2 side Quakes 2 beat Colorado to 4 to 1 Devin you were able to watch the whole match? yeah I was able to watch most of it ⁓ I think the the first half Quakes 2 looked pretty shaky ⁓ And then I think, you know, maybe after like 14 minutes, you know, the team seemed to pick up their pace and end up the ante on defense and whatnot. You know, we conceded a goal four minutes into the match. And I think that was like a really big stepping, you know, stepping stone for the team. Like, Hey, let's get it together. Let's reorganize, reshape right now. And then as the game progressed, we slowly, you know, found our legs and, and we pressed really high and managed to generate some chances off of Colorado mistakes. What'd you see, Yeah, I mean, you mentioned that we pressed high. If you guys think that the first team pressed high, you have no idea. The freaking Quakes 2, they pressed with six guys just running at the goalkeeper directly, and it's crazy to watch. ⁓ I agree that the ⁓ Quakes 2 hadn't found their footing ⁓ super early on in the match, and that goal. was just a little bit of luck from Colorado's end, but also a lack of focus. I felt that the Quakes 2 team shouldn't have let Colorado have dominance in the box. They had that whole area covered by a few guys and we were punished for it. But it wasn't the cleanest, sepiest play I've ever seen. But besides that, we mentioned a super high press. ⁓ KadriN Spivy for me was the guy I'm looking at to be like, okay, this guy could be playing in the first team. Not right now. I think that he's still a little bit small. ⁓ but I think that he right now is closer than I saw Cruz Medina ever get. I liked him that much. ⁓ on the ball, very, very quick, very good on the ball. ⁓ probably not as technical as Cruz Medina, but he is much faster. ⁓ He was for me the one pressing the most intently in the first half at least because I only got to watch the first half of the game. ⁓ And he also helped a lot in the verticality. So he started off as to me he was the number 10 but he would be making runs to the wide positions to help out Donnery who is 6'5 and not super fast but he is capable on the ball so they had him on the wing. ⁓ He was hoping you know make those runs in behind And then cutting in to me it's by the if you haven't gotten the chance to watch ⁓ Watch him ⁓ He also got the assist on the first goal. He got a goal of his own later on ⁓ Super good thing to say about him. I think that he is on the right track the commentators were saying that every game he gets better So hoping that if we check back in a few months time, I hope be even better at that point as well Yeah, I agree. know, one goal, one assist, performance. Spivey, in my opinion, I'm not sure who the man of the match was, but it should go to, you know, Kajren Spivey. ⁓ So just for clarity, the San Jose Earthquakes 2 starting lineup was Nate Crockford in goalkeeper, Jack Juzinski, Max Floriani, Nicholas Dossman, ⁓ Martin Mukakwende Jr., Kajren Spivey, ⁓ Rohan Rajagopal, Edwin Mendoza, Julian Donnery, Zach Bohain, and Nonso Adimabua, otherwise known as Nonny. ⁓ That was your starting 11. ⁓ You know, I think there were some good performances on our defensive end as well, you know, I kind of liked what Jasinski brought to the table and ⁓ I was somewhat impressed with a lot of Max's... Max Floriani's ⁓ abilities as well, especially in the air. ⁓ But it is hard to look past anything besides Cajun's 5-e's performance. ⁓ I want to give Nate Crockford a round of applause as well, because there was a moment where ⁓ one of the Colorado players, I think, was in on goal and took a pretty hard shot far post, and Crockford had I think one save in the game and that was one of the most crucial saves that I had seen. A really good save. ⁓ Looking at the stats, there was only one save. So ⁓ pretty good performance by Crockford as well. He is one to watch moving forward. I know he was a player that we traded using GAM I think from another club. believe it was Cincinnati. So if you want to invest yourself into Quakes 2, keep an eye out on Crockford. Pretty good player. ⁓ You know, that said, a couple of players came on as substitutes. Tomo Allen in the 71st minute, Shane de la Flores in the 65th, and Eugene Kikuchi in 82nd. I'm sorry if I butchered your name. Eugene Kikuchi, yes. ⁓ both, you know, and Jacob Heisner in the 65th ⁓ Gabe Bracken, Sarah as well in the 64th. It looks like we used all of our substitutes, whereas Rapids 2 only used two subs with a lot more remaining. ⁓ So Quakes 2 utilized their subs pretty well and maintained pressure all throughout. ⁓ Just like the first team, know, Quakes 2 got a goal in the stoppage time of the first half ⁓ equalized right before halftime and then you know as the second half progressed it seemed like quakes to really found their footing and Gave Colorado a really hard time forced mistakes ⁓ And and really punished them for for you know, just a lack of focus, you know anything that you saw in particular able I Mean, I just want to keep talking about gauge and Spivey ⁓ he he was very lively ⁓ so what i see on so we're we're confirming that if it's a printout mob and you would you look at a lot of time No, Fat Mom as well, actually. Okay. Well for me, uh, we'll get that for me. Um, it shows that, uh, Colorado used all of their substitutes. So wondering like what the difference is there, but, uh, Oh, you're right. Yeah. The, the, substitution part was from the match recap by the earthquakes site itself. Uh, but no, uh, by we got an 8.3 rating, Floriani got the second highest rating with an, uh, eight flat. ⁓ Those were the two highest rated players in the game. No, Florianni looked really good. I thought he commanded the space very well. ⁓ Colorado, we would talk about the Quicks two high press. Colorado also had a pretty decent press, but we just have ⁓ a very press resistant midfield and it also helps when you have six foot four Adimabua and six foot five Donnery to just lob it up to to win that first and second ball. And that those are the two ways that you negate press play through it or play over it and we had the capability of doing that. Zach Bohane is somebody who I had heard of ⁓ about a year or two ago. Somebody that the Quakes were looking at ⁓ but he was playing at Stanford. ⁓ He had, what was it? 38 goal contributions in 72 matches if I'm not mistaken for Stanford. He wore the number 10 shirt, so that's obviously a really big honor for him He was fun. I think that we've had wingers that have been I don't know more suited to the team In the past, but we've also had wingers that were less suited What's his name? Robert Hadigan comes to mind, Max Arfsten Well, so I still hung up on not signing had again to the first team I thought he was he was quality enough how to gain is actually a real estate agent now So he is no longer playing pro ball very good player. Yeah, very good player unfortunate that that nothing unfortunate that nothing ever came of that ⁓ and also ⁓ Chance cowell also was another winger who never really panned out for him. Maybe something will come of his ⁓ time at But Zach ⁓ Bowen did get the equalizing goal so can't complain too much. He had a pretty good game overall. not trying to you know harp on him too much. I'm just talking about how I view the evolution of the Quicks to line up over the last four years I think it is. ⁓ you know, Kajren Spivey for me is up there with Alex Chao and Niko Chakaris when he had time there Just he's up there with those guys and I think that he could really be somebody that we're looking to bring into the first team Honestly He's a little bit small, but if he were to bulk up a little bit, I think that he could Do the job for maybe 15 minutes in Niko's position if Niko's tired. Last 15 minutes of a game, baby goes on That's how highly I view him right now ⁓ But obviously this was a good game, so we'll have to watch more of him to get a better idea of what he will develop into. ⁓ Any other thoughts on ⁓ this match, Devin? No, I think we mostly covered it. ⁓ think, you know, Quicks 2 as a team are really good at converting their opportunities. You know, there was a lot of giveaways by Colorado, and Colorado did give us an own goal. But I think The reason why Quakes 2 is so exciting is because we're able to convert our chances. And, you know, there was a moment where, let me get the goal score here for a sec. ⁓ I believe it was Shane DeFleuris. ⁓ DeFleuris, you know, was a sub, came on and stripped the ball from one of the Colorado players and was 1-on-1. ⁓ When was able to you know slot it past the goalkeeper those are things that the first team I I hope you know to see more of from the first team but the second say, know, second team is taking care of business in that form and By that I think it's really entertaining to watch right ⁓ Devon you remember when I we had a whole conversation of the discord guys join of the discord Wait, we keep referencing it because we have great conversations there ⁓ We talked about BDP, build up disruption percentage. Yes. So I had gotten it wrong in one of the episodes where I did alone. I had calculated ⁓ the BDP based off of the overall percentage that the team had and that didn't have versus a certain team. ⁓ BDP is the accurate way to ⁓ calculate BDP, build up disruption percentage is to calculate the passing accuracy of a team's, ⁓ like over their season average, and then juxtapose that ⁓ against ⁓ their passing percentage versus you. And so basically what that will tell you is how able your team was to disrupt their passing percentage. ⁓ Otherwise see how effective your press was. Does that make sense? ⁓ and the quakes 2 had a bdp score of 7.66 which is up there with like some pemmy league teams that that like like brightened who pressed you know really heavily very very good ⁓ it's early in the season so this isn't like you know super accurate for for all the games probably and they did seem to slow down later on in the match but ⁓ just to put into context for colorado they have In the three games that they played against other teams, they had 86 passing percentage, 88 and 86. So that's an average of 86.66. And against Quicks 2, they had a passing accuracy of 79, much lower than their average. So that gives the Quicks 2 team a buildup disruption percentage of 7.66, which is very high. So whatever DanGear is feeding these guys, ⁓ we'd like some too. Because those are very good numbers. ⁓ And it's just a testament to the intensity of Quakes 2's press. They're probably trying to emulate the first team. like, well, if you're going to make it in the first team, you have to show that you can press really heavy. And Quakes 2 are doing that really well right now. So great to see that. ⁓ But that's all I wanted to add on that front. just wanted, watching the game I wanted to see, because the press is so intense. I was curious what the BDP was. ⁓ But yeah, that's going to be it for our analysis of ⁓ the Vancouver game and the Quakes 2 match. We'll be back next week to discuss the preview for the San Diego game. ⁓ But until then... 3. What's that? The Quakes 3. Thanks three versus versus the actual fee. Yeah. Yeah. I only joke because you know, San Diego FC has a lot of the earthquakes Former players, you know, I so confused. Yeah. No, I didn't I didn't tell you that joke before I said Keep that in that's really funny Okay. Well, um, yeah, we'll be back next week and excited to see you guys there. But until then go quakes go quakes