This offseason will be a busy one for the Quakes. We have already hit the ground running on the technical side in our efforts to bring in some new talented players. Frank Yallop and John Doyle traveled to Brazil last week and spent time evaluating players.
It was great to see our new scouting system in action. Our staff arrived in Brazil with a short list of players to check out thanks in large part to a pair of additions to the club. To boost our scouting capabilities, we recently purchased WyScout, a technology that allows our club access to video and other information for virtually every professional player on the planet, and a new full time video staff dedicated to watching and cutting film. All this added up to our staff being able to watch full matches of prospective players prior to getting on an airplane.
In addition to Frank and John’s trip to Brazil, assistant coach Ian Russell traveled to Europe on a similar mission. The next month will be an eventful one as we continue to evaluate players and make additional trips to see players in person. We will keep everyone updated on our progress as we make signings for the 2012 season.
On the business side, MLS Commissioner Don Garber announced this past week some updates on the 2012 season schedule. The 2012 schedule will be unbalanced with more matches against our Western Conference opponents. One huge driving force in this decision has been the difficulty in adding matches beyond 34 with competitions like US Open Cup, CONCACAF Champions League and international friendlies to consider. Adding more regular season matches to stay balanced would simply overwhelm the schedule and make it almost impossible to keep all the other competitions without playing three matches a week. One thing that I like about the unbalanced schedule is the additional rivalry games with the Galaxy, Timbers and Sounders FC. This will be great for additional media coverage, fan interest and overall excitement. The down side is that the Western Conference is good – way-better-than-the-Eastern-Conference good. Our road to the MLS Cup Playoffs will undoubtedly be more challenging.
This week will also be the culmination of the 2011 season with MLS Cup on Sunday November 20 at 6 p.m. PT on ESPN. Playing on their home pitch, the Galaxy are favored to pull off their third championship and first with David Beckham. However, don't count out Dominic Kinnear and the Houston Dynamo who, in spite of some key injuries, could pull the upset with another quality defensive effort and some timely scoring. Whatever the outcome, it should be a great match.
Finally, I have been really encouraged with the feedback and participation during my office hours. I want to encourage everyone to stop by with any questions and/or comments on the team, new stadium, or organization. Here is the schedule for the remainder of the month:
Monday November 14: 3-5 p.m.
Monday November 21: 3-5 p.m.
Monday November 28: 3-5 p.m.
GO QUAKES!
Dave Kaval
President
San Jose Earthquakes
