Adam Serrano – Soccerbyives.net
“The Earthquakes acquire a quality and relatively proven forward. High value for a club that needs a second forward to work with Chris Wondolowski.
Team needs a number 10 and they just got one. A great selection there, I may have been a bit higher on Ampai than most people, but I believe that he could help distribute the ball forward, something that SJ needed badly last season.”
Kyle McCarthy – Boston Herald, Goal.com
“I think it was a real good day for San Jose, obviously getting a player like Steven Lenhart for a first rounder is a good value pick, when you look at a player like Lenhart, a proven player in this league, that is probably a better value than what they could have gotten at that spot.
And drafting a guy like (Anthony) Ampaipitakwong with the 33rd overall pick, that’s a steal. That’s a guy who many rated as someone who was a first round talent. I think the key for Frank and company, is figuring out where Ampaipitakwon can slot in. But when you get a guy with that kind of offensive skills at that point in a draft, I think it’s about as good as you can do.”
Ives Galracep – FoxSoccer.com
“Well I think for a playoff team with a pretty good roster to add Steven Lenhart in a trade and to add a player as good as Anthony Ampaipitakwong in the second round, they did pretty well for themselves today.
They added some depth and I don’t think San Jose was a team with a lot of glaring needs, but adding a forward helps and a creative midfielder like Ampaipitakwong, who I think got a bit of a raw deal with his combine performance, is a good move. He didn’t necessarily stand out, but he also wasn’t one who forced things, he is used to playing in a system, and passing the ball with his teammates. The combine isn’t the best setting for those types of players. It seems he may have been punished a bit for not being selfish, and give San Jose credit for seeing through that, and at the end of the day, I think he may turn out to be one of the steals of the draft.”
Fidencio Enriquez – MLSSoccer.com
“I think the Quakes did pretty well overall, they got (Steven) Lenhart, and he’s a good target forward, who hasn’t scored a ton of goals, but I think he has it in him. He is a nice, big target to maybe slide in front of (Chris) Wondolowski, and that size is going to give defenses trouble.
As for (Anthony) Ampaipitakwong, he’s a good midfielder from Akron, and we all know about their program, they are all good players. I feel like he will do well whoever he is in front of in central midfield, whether it be Sam Cronin or someone else and he will probably be a good backup for Andre Luiz, who is getting older. Maybe Andre Luiz takes him under his wing a bit, but overall, it was a good draft day for the Quakes.”
Shawn Francis – MLS Insider (@MLS_Insider)
“It was an interesting draft today, for San Jose and what I got out of it was that they really wanted some help for (Chris) Wondolowski up top. Getting (Steven) Lenhart in a trade was a pretty bold move, but a pretty good move.
And with (Anthony) Ampaipitakwong, they were very fortunate to get him and going into the combine a lot of people thought he would go a lot higher. If they can find a way to get Wondolowski, Lenhart and Ampaipitakwong on the field at the same time next year, you might be dealing with a very formidable three-pronged attack.”
