Football, Without Hesitation

As we approach the (possible) restart of the Major League Soccer season the league has released the opponents and dates of the much-anticipated tournament in Orlando. Up first for the Earthquakes is a match-up with a common foe, Seattle Sounders. Can the Quakes who sputtered into the 2020 season make a run in this tournament. Ehhhh

MLS is coming back, which means the Earthquakes are also on their way back. The excitement was too much for me to talk alone in the studio, so I brought on an old friend. Electro from the Electro and Banno Movie Power Hour Podcast steps down from his director chair and put on his cleats and does his best to keep up. 

The countries Rice-A-Roni stock is under serious threat after health officials essentially shut down most of the Bay Area. Major League Soccer had already announced that it would postpone its season after only two matches to help contain the spread of Coronavirus, and now the world is left without any sports. The Quakes could use the break after putting in their worst performance in the Matias Almeyda era and getting spanked 5-2 by Minnesota United.

The MLS offseason is way too long. We are still over a month away from the kickoff of the 2020 season even though the last match was in November of last year. The Earthquakes roster looks like it is almost complete as they head down to train in Cancun? Can Matias Almeyda get enough out of his squad to make them playoff contenders next season?

Well, I guess most of the squad is similar to last season, but Cristian Espinoza and Matias Almeyda are both staying! This offseason has not been very eventful for the Quakes, which is a relief after years of wondering what the plan for next season would be. We know the plan, but is this roster enough to compete in a more crowded Western Conference.

The end of the San Jose Earthquakes regular season was a bitter end to a sweet season by the Bay. But since that tough loss in Portland Quakes fans have been treated with several weeks of positive news. First, the ringleader of the turnaround, Matias Almeyda, announced that he plans to honor his multi-year contract. Then Chris Wondolowski announced he would be around for at least one more season in black-and-blue, and Florian Jungwirth signed a multi-year deal.

The San Jose Earthquakes rollercoaster makes a final stop in Portland in a must-win situation. If the Quakes find a win to beat the Timbers, they are back in the MLS playoffs if they lose it was still a successful season. The Timbers have struggled at home and are missing a couple of crucial pieces. The Quakes have all their firepower, can they figure it out in Oregon?

The San Jose Earthquakes are in a battle for their playoff lives, and the task doesn't get any easier as they head down south to face Atlanta United. The black-and-blue have lost their last two matches against tough opponents in Utah and New York, and now they must find a way to get some points or else they may be watching the 2019 playoffs from home. 

The San Jose Earthquakes probably have the hardest road to the 2019 MLS playoffs as they face six teams currently in playoff contention in their final six matches. The US Men's National Team was embarrassed in New Jersey but new manager Gregg Berhalter felt that the team actually improved. Watching the Quakes transform this season I have to say I agree with him.

I talk about the Quakes slowdown in the last couple of weeks. By slowdown, I mean a draw at home and a 2-1 loss in Colorado which would have been a decent couple of weeks last season. The Western Conference playoff race is getting more interesting by the week so I talk about what the teams around the Quakes are doing and who they face next week. Can the Quakes make it through this patch of road games in the heat of the summer after an exciting season? I don't know but that won't stop me from telling my opinion.

The San Jose Earthquakes slipped up a bit last weekend against the Columbus Crew, but they still got the point at home. Now they head out to Colorado to play in a stadium that sits over 5,000 feet above sea-level. I get into those topics and also talk about Anibal Godoy's trade to Nashville FC for a sizeable amount of General Allocation Money.

This week the MLS All-Star game went down in Orlando, so not much has happened in Quakes land. I talk about the all-star game and the fascinating skills competition and why I would prefer a weekend of skills competitions instead of a 90-minute match. I also talk about the Quakes upcoming match against Columbus Crew and how dangerous that team is even though they are in 10th place in the East.

In this episode, I talk about the meteoric rise of the San Jose Earthquakes up the MLS table and why I am done trying to predict their eventual slowdown. I also wonder how Matias Almeyda is doing this with basically the same roster as last season. Finally, I talk about this being a legitimate playoff team and what we can expect with the new MLS playoff format.

Football, Without Hesitation, is back and now we have a studio! After a couple of months searching for a spot to put a studio in one has been located and now I can bring you episodes more frequently. In this episode I talk about the Quakes resurgence and if I believe they can keep this up. I also make fun of LA Galaxy because I can and talk about the upcoming match with Western Conference bottom dwellers Vancouver Whitecaps.

The San Jose Earthquakes continue to get better under new manager Matias Almeyda's new system and are now undefeated in their last four matches after beating FC Cincinnati at Avaya. They are now barely above the playoff line but can they keep this success going all summer? I also talk about this weekends match against another struggling team, New England Revolution, who fired their manager after giving up 15 goals in three matches!

After eight weeks of the 2019 MLS season, the San Jose Earthquakes are finally showing what the future can look like in Matias Almeyda's system. Now the question becomes can the Quakes maintain this form or will the league figure out Almeyda's system and find ways to beat it week after week? I think the Quakes are going to continue to surprise people and next up is FC Dallas. 

This week Nacho is back to talk about the Earthquakes finally getting a win in this young MLS season. Is this a fluke against a team that is struggling or is this the beginning of the new Quakes style. Danny Hoesen gets a start and scores, and the defense gets a clean sheet. We also discuss the Quakes upcoming trip to Houston to take on the Dynamo.

This week I talk about the disastrous game against LAFC and try to find the positive in a bad season so far. I also talk about Portland Timbers coming to Avaya and how they represent the best chance for the Quakes to get some points in this young season.

This week the Quakes we're away from MLS action because of the international break but I still talk about the latest loss in New York and what's coming up against LAFC. 

In this episode, I bring on my old friend and soccer guru Nacho to discuss the first three weeks of the San Jose Earthquakes MLS season. We are more optimistic than other people that have been following this team, but we wonder whether this roster can find the stamina to keep up Matias Almeyda's aggressive system.