Kirovski, Gray on bench for tonight’s game

Talk about throwing guys into the fire. I’ve been told that both Jovan Kirovski and Kelly Gray will be available as substitutues for tonight’s game. While that might seem to be rushing things a little bit, the fact that both Peguero Jean Philippe and Gavin Glinton are injured means that what little depth the Quake had up top is nearly gone. With Kei Kamara leaving for international duty next week, it might be worth seeing what the one-time “Savior of American Soccer” has to offer.

Other tidbits:

– Ivan Guerrero will miss the next three weeks on international duty with Honduras. The Catrachos have a friendly next Wednesday against Venezuela followed by a World Cup qualifier on June 4 against Puerto Rico, another friendly against Haiti on June 7, and the second leg against Puerto Rico on June 14. For that reason, my original prediction that Ramiro Corrales will move to left back will have to wait a while. If he goes anywhere, it will probably be left midfield.

– There is growing concern that newly acquired Peguero Jean Philippe may never return to a level that will make him a steady contributor in San Jose. As of Tuesday, Jean Philippe was still being limited to off-field workouts. Following Thursday’s game against Houston, the Quakes are off until they play Real Salt Lake on May 31. If Jean Philippe is not back in full training by then, I’d say “growing concern” will have morphed into “near certainty.”

– Spoke briefly with Jay Ayres at Tuesday’s practice, and he’s healing pretty well from the broken cheekbone he suffered in the Open Cup game against Real Salt Lake. Ayres has begun physical activity on a stationary bike and reported no headaches or other post-concussion-like symptoms. The 6-8 week timetable looks realistic. He also said that he can’t wait to back on the field, a remarkable attitude to have after everything he has been through.

Breaking down the trade

Obviously it takes time to see if a trade is good, bad or ugly, but my initial grading of the deal that brought Kelly Gray and Jovan Kirovski  to San Jose in exchange for Preston Burpo and a draft pick came out at a C+. After getting some more information, it’s now up to a B-. Here’s why.

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Quakes obtain Gray, Kirovski for Burpo

Kelly Gray returns to action for the Quakes. Photo by Michael Pimentel/isiphotos.com

The San Jose Earthquakes are set to announce on Wednesday that they have obtained defender/midfielder Kelly Gray and midfielder/forward Jovan Kirovski from the Colorado Rapids in exchange for goalkeeper Preston Burpo, a source with knowledge of the deal has told CLS.

(Para este artículo en español, haga clic aquí.)

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Trade winds blowing

Apparently the Quakes are set to do a deal with Western Conference team that will net them two players for the price of one. An announcement is expected some time this afternoon. The moment I hear more I’ll pass it along.

Monday morning midfielder

There really isn’t much to take away from Saturday’s debacle against New England. The Quakes looked listless and had absolutely no life, at least in the first half, which as we all know, was the half that mattered. And while there was plenty missing from their game, the two biggest deficiencies came in the form of leadership and confidence. The absence of Nick Garcia certainly played a part in the latter category. He may not be the best defender MLS has ever seen, but he is a leader, and there just didn’t seem to be anyone on the field taking charge of things.

I would expect to see Garcia back for Thursday’s match against Houston, but that’s not the only change I would make if I were Frank Yallop. The team looks a bit stale at the moment, and there seems to be little belief in the squad that they can score. For that reason, I think it’s time that Yallop started to give more minutes to guys who have come off the bench and done well. First, I’d give Ryan Johnson a start up top alongside Kei Kamara. We’ve seen the Ned Grabavoy-as-second-striker alignment several times now, and I can think of only one occasion (at Colorado) where it looked remotely effective. Johnson has good size, and is willing to take guys on. At the least he’ll bring more energy to the game than Grabavoy is at the moment.

And what to make of Ronnie O’Brien being subbed at half-time? Word from the Quakes is that the sub was tactical, and not health-related. Of course, the word “tactical” is often used as code for “He played like crap so he was subbed.” But I still can’t help but wonder if O’Brien’s knee is bugging him more than he or the coaching staff are letting on. Tuesday’s practice should reveal some things in that regard.

Player ratings: (1-10; 5=average)

Joe Cannon, 4 - What we had here was a failure to communicate.

James Riley, 3 - His homecoming couldn’t have been much worse.

Ryan Cochrane, 6 - Actually held things together.

Jason Hernandez, 5 - Time to move him back out wide, where he’s been solid.

Eric Denton, 4 - Fell asleep on the first goal.

Ronnie O’Brien, 4 - Looked out of sorts and out of sync.

Ramiro Corrales, 4 - Dominated by Shalrie Joseph in the first half.

Joe Vide, 5 - Did what he could.

Ivan Guerrero, 5 - Needs to get the ball more.

Ned Grabavoy, 4 - Anonymous.

Kei Kamara, 4 - Tried hard, but was ineffective.

Subs:

Ryan Johnson, 6 - Time to give this guy a start

Shea Salinas, 6 - Ditto.

John Cunliffe, NR - If Johnson isn’t the answer, then maybe Cunliffe is.

Garcia 50/50; more on Jean Philippe

The hits just keep on coming for the San Jose Earthquakes. As the match against New England approaches, it has emerged that the odds of Nick Garcia playing are 50/50 due to a groin strain. The Quakes’ defender had maintained all week that he should be good to go for Saturday, but now those hopes are in doubt.

If Garcia can’t go, expect Jason Hernandez, who appeared to be the odd man out otherwise, to take his teammate’s place in the lineup.

As for injured forward Peguero Jean Philippe, manager Frank Yallop refused to comment publicly on his status, other than to say that the Haitian would be reevaluated next week, at which point a course of action would be determined. Yes, it doesn’t sound good.

Jean Philippe out for Saturday; maybe longer

Just weeks after joining the San Jose Earthquakes on loan, Haitian striker Peguero Jean Philippe is already having problems with his surgically repaired right knee, with swelling in the joint ruling him out for Saturday’s match at New England. There is also concern that the problem may keep him out for an extended period.

Jean Philippe was conspicuous by his absence at Tuesday’s training session, but head coach Frank Yallop stated that the striker was back in Miami attending to some personal matters. It now appears that Jean Philippe reinjured the knee some time during Saturday’s 3-2 home loss to Columbus. An MRI has been performed, although no definitive reason has been determined for why fluid is continuing to build up in the knee.

When asked if Jean Philippe’s absence might be long term, a Quakes’ spokesman replied, “It’s possible,” and that San Jose doesn’t know the time table for his return.

Jean Philippe joined the Quakes on April 24 as part of a loan deal with Danish side Brondby. It was while playing in Denmark in 2006 that he tore the anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments in his right knee, requiring surgery and a lengthy rehab. Now it appears as though his return has hit a setback.

Where this leaves the Quakes in terms of finding additional frontline help is unclear. General Manager John Doyle had hinted previously that the way the loan deal had been structured, San Jose had some protection should Jean Philippe suffer another injury, but whether that insurance was financial or otherwise isn’t known at the moment.

I should be hearing from Yallop some time today, so we’ll give you updates as we get them.

Quakes second in line for Huckerby

San Jose G.M. John Doyle confirmed to CLS today that former Norwich attacker Darren Huckerby is “a player that we’re interested in,” while also admitting that Toronto FC “have 100% of his rights,” at least as they relate to MLS.

Huckerby was released from his contract at the end of the just-concluded English season, and is in the market for a new club. But TFC were the first MLS team to place a discovery claim on him, giving them the right of first refusal should the 32-year-old decide to cross the Atlantic.

If Toronto decides not to sign Huckerby, the Quakes, who filed a discovery claim of their own after TFC did, would be free to pursue the winger. Doyle added that working out a trade with Toronto is also a possibility, although he admitted he doesn’t know if that is something the Canadian side would be open to.

“I don’t know [TFC’s] salary cap all that well or what their plans are,” said Doyle. “I can’t read their mind. But if we had an opportunity we’d be interested in him for sure.”

Even if the Quakes were to jump to the front of the line for Huckerby, Doyle stated that a lot of leg-work would still need to be done. This would include determining Huckerby’s  level of form and fitness, his level of interest in coming stateside, as well as his wage demands.

“We can want [Huckerby], but does he want us? Does he want the MLS?” said Doyle.

When asked if there were other discovery claims pending, Doyle admitted that the Quakes had “10 discoveries out there” on file with the league, although he wouldn’t elaborate on who those players were.

Given that the Quakes are winless in their last four league and cup matches, there is a tempation to think time is of the essence, and that a deal needs to be done soon. Doyle feels that kind of thinking is a trap to be avoided.

“We don’t want to be impatient, [because of] one result, or one performance,” said Doyle. “Then you panic and you make poor decisions. That’s one thing for sure we won’t do.”

The Monday morning midfielder

Frank Yallop has clearly forgotten more about soccer than I, or most other media types will ever know. But in the aftermath of Saturday’s meltdown against Columbus, it’s clear that even for someone as astute as Yallop, the best-laid plans can sometimes go awry.

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San Jose bonus quotes: Quakes vs. Crew

Quakes head coach Frank Yallop:

“Disappointing to lose the match. You score two at home, which is what we’d talked about all week, we score two goals in the end and end up conceding three.”

“I think Ronnie’s chance at 1-0 was a good chance for us to maybe get a good lead in the game, and maybe we would have gone on to win it, but it wasn’t to be.”

On whether the Quakes’ substitutions hurt the team’s defensive discipline:

“I don’t think so…we were under the kosh before I made the change. I felt that Columbus were coming on to us, getting  a lot of set plays, and I think you try to make a change a to make a difference. It sparked us a little bit. Ryan [Johnson] ended up scoring. Shea [Salinas] didn’t do badly. They’re not at the back, but the defending starts with the whole team.”

“We didn’t play particularly well tonight. It didn’t feel like we played well…It was an unusual game. We stumbled a bit with the ball.”

On the reason for the O’Brien substitution:

“He’s not been training fully the whole time. He’d come out the last time around the 60th minute or so. I felt that putting Gavin up front…and I felt that Ned was playing fine, I felt he could last the game a little bit better than Ronnie.”

On whether the team missed Ryan Cochrane:

“I wouldn’t say the back four were horrendous, but in the end, we conceded three goals, and that’s hard to take. I don’t like to make judgements because I want to look at the tape again, see where the stuff comes from and go from there.”

“I don’t think anyone was really terrific and I don’t think anyone was really bad tonight. Team-wise, we just looked loose.”

Defender Nick Garcia:

“We made Robbie Rogers look very, very good tonight.”

On how Columbus were able to get in behind so easily late in the game: 

“A mental lapse for us, maybe not being as compact from the back line into the midfielders. It gave them more of an opportunity to win some second balls and be a little bit more adventerous. We were a step or two behind closing the ball down, tackling. In turn, it wasn’t just one play, it was a succession of plays where maybe we could have broken it up in the midfield, made a better pass. It was no one individual. It was multiple guys, but hey, we’re a team, we win and we lose together. It was disappointing.”

On how much this hurts the team’s confidence:

“It hurts a little bit. Whether it’s game five, or game 15, or game 45, a loss is a loss. ”

Ronnie O’Brien:

Was this a game you let get away?

“Yeah. We got lucky a couple times. They hit the bar and they came close a couple of times. But then we went up and scored, and at the end of the half we were controlling the game and I thought we were doing pretty well in the first half.

“In the second half we had a couple of chances. I had a chance I should have put away, and then they start controlling the game, they put in a few good balls behind us, they take their chances and they win the game.”

Was fatigue a factor?

“No. I think we’re a pretty fit club. It was just one of those things. Three good passes. Whether we were in bad positions or gave them too much space in the midfield, those are things where we have to do better. You don’t blame individuals. It’s not one individual mistake. As a team we have to do better.”

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