For all of Major League Soccer's efforts to make expansion teams competitive right away, the last three debutantes have struggled mightily. In 2005, Real Salt Lake and Chivas USA were out of the playoff hunt within the first few months of their inaugural season. Last year Toronto FC lasted a bit longer before a spate of injuries scuttled their campaign.
The temptation then is to think that the San Jose Earthquakes, who return to MLS as an expansion side after a two-year absence, will suffer a similar fate. After all, the mechanisms for stocking their roster were very similar to previous first-year teams. And San Jose will need to climb over six other MLS sides to reach the postseason, making for longer odds than in years past.
But Quakes head coach Frank Yallop, while well aware of the potential pitfalls an inaugural campaign can bring, is intent on bucking the expansion trend.
"Our aim is to make the playoffs this season," said Yallop. "That's what we're starting with. What I don't want to do is be defeatist from the start. Our first meeting is always the same. Our aim is to make the playoffs like any other MLS team. That's why we're in the league."
While that might strike some as a fantasy, Yallop does have his reasons to be optimistic. Unlike more recent first-year sides, the Quakes' manager has built his side from the back, so much so that there is actual depth in goal, in defense, and all the way into midfield.
San Jose's projected backline of Jason Hernandez, Nick Garcia, Ryan Cochrane and James Riley probably ranks in the top half of the league. The midfield isn't quite as strong, but with experienced MLS players like Ronnie O'Brien and Ramiro Corrales, they should be able to hold their own. According to Garcia, the hope is that the team's veteran savvy will carry them through the lean times they will undoubtedly face.
"The biggest reason [Yallop] got everybody together the way he did was because of everybody's experience," said Garcia. "All of us know how the league works. All of us know who we're going up against. I think from that standpoint, we've got the upper hand over other expansion teams in the past."
But like any first-year side, the Quakes do have their holes, and where this team falls short is on the attacking side of the ball. The acquisition of O'Brien should give San Jose that element of surprise in midfield, and Ned Grabavoy, whether lined up centrally or out wide, could provide an attacking spark as well.
Yet the Quakes' stable of forwards is painfully thin, and some big questions surround the players that the do have. Kei Kamara, despite his respectable strike rate in preseason, has never been a consistent performer when the games have mattered. Gavin Glinton enjoyed considerable success with L.A. last year in a super-sub role, but has struggled when asked to play 90 minutes. And San Jose is so short of forwards at the moment that midfielders Grabavoy and rookie Shea Salinas have put in some preseason shifts up top.
Yallop has indicated that the search for frontline help won't stop once the season starts, although he said recently that his MLS forward pipeline had "gone cold." Should Yallop succeed in acquiring a European import, such a player won't arrive until June unless he is already out of contract.
That means that initially, much of the scoring burden will fall on Kamara, a player who possesses some considerable physical gifts, but who still struggles with the more unglamorous aspects of the game. Yallop contends that simplicity is the key for Kamara's improvement.
"People like [Juan Pablo] Angel are not dribblers or tricky," said Yallop. "They just hold the ball for the team, lay it off to their team to support them, and then they're the one that finishes the play. Kamara is no different. He needs to get to where his general play is decent. He doesn't need to be fantastic; just hold the ball and get in good positions."
Even if Kamara does emerge as a potent striking force, there are plenty of other factors that will have to fall into place for the Quakes to reach their playoff goal. Staying healthy is an absolute must, especially as it pertains to attacking players like O'Brien, who is coming off an injury-plagued 2007 season.
Yallop is also keen to turn tiny Buck Shaw Stadium -- whose capacity will only be 10,500 -- into a cauldron, for the simple reason that "[strong] home records in this league tend to get you into the playoffs."
That will require the San Jose fans to show some patience and embrace a team that will bear little resemblance to the last Quakes incarnation, a side that won the Supporters' Shield in 2005 before leaving for Houston.
"I think it's important that [the fans] come out and are vocal," said goalkeeper Joe Cannon, a member of San Jose's championship winning side in 2001. "I can remember being at Spartan in 1999 and 2000, before things started turning for us, and even in 2001 ... there were times where it was quiet. I do think we have great fans here and it's going to be important to make [Buck Shaw] more to the effect of a Toronto."
The team will also need to develop a chemistry and cohesion that other sides take for granted. A schedule that sees the Quakes play three of their first four league games on the road will put that facet to an immediate test, although for Cannon, that's not necessarily a bad thing.
"I think that could be good for us try to grind out some results and bond a little bit," said Cannon of the early schedule. "For us, I just think it's important that we get better throughout the season and start showing that we'll be better one of the better teams towards the end."
San Jose will also rely heavily on Yallop's steadying influence. The Canadian took his lumps last year in L.A., although the Quakes' underdog role is one that fits him better than the glamour-team persona adopted by the Galaxy.
The one-time MLS Coach of the Year successfully cultivated such a blue collar attitude during his previous stint in San Jose, one that saw him turn the Quakes from a laughingstock into one of the league's best teams. When asked if he could work his magic again in 2008, Yallop sounded cautiously optimistic.
"I actually feel not bad with this group," said Yallop. "Our general play has been pretty good. Our defending has been solid. That's important when you start a team."
Yet for the Quakes to make the playoffs, it's how they finish that will be even more critical.
Jeff Carlisle is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
