This season has been a blessing in disguise for the Quakes. Sure, there were high expectations following a Supporters Shield in 2012 and that they barely missed the playoffs last year, solely on goal differential, but these expectations turned to disappointment as soon as the regular season began. There were ominous signs going back to July 2013, when heavy construction was set to begin at the site of the new stadium that was supposed to be ready by the start of the 2014 season. It is also the time when the contractor, Devcon Construction, tasked with demolition and grading discovered old munitions bunkers in addition to water 10 feet deep at the WWII tank building plant.
Commence the good luck Truffle Shuffle.
Construction delays had absolutely nothing to do with the squads performance on the pitch but in hindsight the delays and problems at the new stadium sight are a perfect metaphor for the Quakes 2014 season. Initially team president Dave Kaval gave a new opening time for the second half of the 2014 season, but each day found more difficulties at the job site and the front office made the wise and somewhat unpopular decision of pushing the opening of the new stadium until the start of the 2015 season. This upset a group of the season ticket holders but the opportunity to watch their near-playoff Quakes with the additions of exciting internationals Jean-Baptiste Pierazzi and Yannick Djalo shifted the focus quickly back on the pitch of Buck Shaw Stadium. The first game of the season was a CONCACAF CL quarterfinal match against Mexican power Toluca. The Quakes came in underdogs on paper and in the stands, which could have been confused for a section of the Barra Brava with all the red and black. The team on the pitch was not intimidated by the opposition, or atmosphere. They came out playing like most of the Bay Area expected them to and ended up with a respectable draw in one of the most memorable games ever witnessed at Buck Shaw. The disappointment of waiting another year for a new, permanent home seemed to be all but forgotten. Coach Mark Watson seemed to be leader the Quakes front office had been looking for. Since taking over for Frank Yallop midway through last season, Coach Watson had a record of 11-5-3 in his 19 games as head coach and had his squad within one penalty away from the CONCACAF Semi-finals.Then the MLS regular season started and the Quakes went win-less in their first five games. Coach Watsons carefully thought out tactical changes were too slow and ineffective to have any impact. The team is now in the midst of a franchise record 13-game winless streak Drought conditions are indeed severe in Silicon Valley.
Hey you guys.
Bad form on the pitch did not get enough attention from the coaching staff and when Coach Watson decided to make cautious and ineffective changes players began going down every week to injury. It would be much easier to make a list of players that were not injured this year, and this is where the silver lining lies. These slow tactical changes and inconsistent lineup left little chance for any kind of chemistry to develop on the pitch and lead to the ultimate dismissal of Coach Watson before the season has even completed.
Had those delays in construction not been encountered and construction went ahead as scheduled this would have been a disastrous opening season. 10,000 seat Buck Shaw can look almost desolate with only seven or eight thousand people out there some nights, one can only imagine how that would look in a shiny, new 18,000 seat stadium. All the injuries have also allowed youngsters like JJ Koval and Tommy Thompson to get some serious playing time and experience while showing the Quakes supporters that the future is bright with the youth academy producing quality players. Now that a coach that has had prior success with the Quakes is ready to take over the squad, there is renewed excitement in San Jose . In the modern MLS spending money on a billboard campaign is not enough to attract new fans. Todays fans are smarter about the beautiful game and are willing to spend more money to enjoy it, but they demand one thing that the Silicon Valley knows all about. Hardware.
With Sacramento doing all it can to gain a MLS franchise, the Quakes luxury of being the only major league team in Northern California seems to be coming to a close. To understand the importance of territory one only needs to look 50 miles up highway 101 and the years long court battle between the San Francisco Giants and the Oakland A’s.
The San Jose Earthquakes are about to complete one of their worst seasons in franchise history, and it could not have come at a better time.
Thank you for reading. Support LWOS by following us on Twitter – @LastWordOnSport and @LWOSworld – and “liking” our Facebook page.
Feel free to discuss this and other footy related articles with thousands at r/football.
Have you tuned into Last Word On Sports Radio? LWOS is pleased to bring you 24/7 sports radio to your PC, laptop, tablet or smartphone. What are you waiting for?
