The Quakes win on Sunday was a good way to start off the season in the standings. Unfortunately, they played rather disjointed and confusing soccer for about 89 minutes. Time to look at three questions about their issues from Sunday, and what they need to do to stand a chance against Portland.
Is Simon Dawkins Going To Play Centrally This Season?
Central midfield should not be the permanent home for Simon Dawkins. Hopefully, Sunday was a gimmick due to the injury issues in central midfield. If Dawkins is stuck in central midfield this season, he won’t produce the way many are expecting him to. He clashed regularly with Chris Wondolowski on Sunday, as Wondo’s tendency is to drop deeper into the midfield to help create. Players who naturally play in central midfield are more used to Chris’ tendency and know how to play with it. Dawkins best use is out wide getting service in, or cutting inside onto his right. With the Return of Matias Perez Garcia from suspension, you can expect Dom Kinnear to move Shea Salinas to the bench and add Perez Garcia back to the mix. This move would almost certainly put Dawkins on the left wing. If not, I think I would have more questions for Dom Kinnear and his line of thinking.
Does Kip Colvey Permanently Take Over Left Back?
2016 MLS Superdraft 3rd round pick, Kip Colvey, was one of the lowest players drafted to earn a contract this spring. The Outside Back out of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, brings an international pedigree with him as well. A member of the New Zeland Youth National teams, Colvey has played with many players around the world. He proved himself enough during training camp to earn a spot on the team roster. His performances in preseason matches were so promising that Kinnear put him into the 18 man roster for opening day. Shaun Francis picked up a thigh injury in the first half, so on came Kip Colvey. He actually had one of the top 20 usage rates on opening day and put in a fine performance at left back. He probably is guaranteed at least two full 90 minute appearances this month. If he continues to impress, and even show improvements game to game, expect him to carry the left back spot for the rest of the season.
Was Sunday’s Performance Really The Way Kinnear Wants To Play?
It is said that it usually takes a manager a couple of years to fully implement their philosophy in a club. Player turnover and budgets can either accelerate or hinder the process. We are now into Kinnear’s second season, and the club doesn’t look much different. It’s the same defensive performances from last year, and the year before that, and so on. 2012 was a mere blip in the trend of defensive mentalities for the Earthquakes. Unfortunately, their product on the field has fans more interested in hanging at the giant bar or the other various attractions around Avaya Stadium, rather than watching the actual game. Simply put, they aren’t entertaining. They’re in fact quite frustrating to watch because they have quality everywhere. They can push forward, they can risk it with their backline because that backline was one of the best in the league the last season.
San Jose’s issue last year was scoring goals, and so far it looks like that’s going to be the trend for this season. If San Jose doesn’t near the 45/50 goal mark this season Kinnear should be on the chopping block. Outside of a couple successful years in Houston, Kinnear’s teams haven’t had good records in front of the net since his ’05-’07 run that saw him net a Supporters Shield and two MLS Cups over that time span. Since then his teams are rather boring. They have the quality to push forward play entertaining soccer, but for some reason they don’t. Hopefully, this will change, but my optimism isn’t that high. Maybe Sunday’s performance wasn’t a complete picture due to injuries, and a few new faces. If that’s what the main culprit was, then improvements will be expected throughout the season. If not, San Jose is in trouble this year.
Projected Lineup For 3/13 vs. Portland
This lineup seems to be the most logical. The fact that Wondolowski had his Designated Player title taken away on paper, shows their commitment to Perez Garcia as a central figure on this team. Last season he started in the attacking mid role but was always having to drift wide to take care of Sanna Nyassi or Cordell Cato. Now that he actually has a competent winger on the right, Perez Garcia can stay central and do what he does best. He understands how to play with Wondolowski when he drops deeper. This lineup will be well suited for counter attacks as well since they won’t have much of the possession against Portland.
Gameplan For Sunday
The Earthquakes won’t come out looking to dominate and provide high pressure. Unfortunately, they don’t have the personnel at the moment to implement the gameplan that ideally Kinnear would like to use. So what should they do? Aesthetically the game would be much more pleasing to watch if they just decided to attack, and not look back too much. They have the capability, but that’s not Dom’s way. I expect them to bunker in and absorb Portland’s pressure and catch them on a counter. Maybe they’ll grind out a result, but Portland looked really strong in game one. They won’t give up a lot of goals, so your best bet is to commit to defense, and not give up set pieces. Portland KILLS opponents with set pieces. Valeri’s free kicks, and the movement of St. Ledger and Adi cause major problems for opponents. Finally, the Earthquakes must be disciplined. Portland is the most well-disciplined team in MLS. With Diego Chara floating underneath Nagbe and Valeri, that midfield is incredibly tough to break down. The best bet to break them down is attack down the wings and get service into the box. Wondo’s movement is tough for any defender to cope with, so if they can get plenty of service into him he’s bound to put one away.
The Earthquakes aren’t going to play pretty soccer until they get healthy, so brace yourselves. They will try to grind out results, and won’t look pretty in doing so. If they can come away from Sunday with at least a point, it will be a good result. Tune in to Fox Sports 1 at 4PST/7EST to watch the Earthquakes take on the Defending MLS Cup Champions, Portland Timbers.
Main Photo: Thearon W. Henderson, Getty Images
