The Kansas City Wizards announced Monday that they have completed a trade with the San Jose Earthquakes, sending Striker Scott Sealy to San Jose in exchange for allocation money. The 27 year old Trinidad native made 75 appearances for Kansas City scoring 26 goals, over a 3 year period, and received 22 Trinidad and Tobago National Team call ups. San Jose has been active lately, acquiring Darren Huckerby, in an attempt to bolster a lacking attack force. What do you think of the move?

Popularity: 24%

According to this report, the San Jose Earthquakes have reached an agreement with Darren Huckerby after trading with Toronto FC for his rights. Huckerby has been a target for San Jose and several other MLS clubs for several months now and will join San Jose when the transfer window opens for July 15th. The 32 year old had been in prolonged talks with Toronto FC but decided to join San Jose. Huckerby most recently played for Championship side Norwich City, after previous stints at both Manchester City and Leeds United. What do you think of the acquisition?

Popularity: 28%

Apologies for being late this week, but it was an intense weekend of sports here in So. Cal. You had our favorite Galacticos visiting our most storied rivals The Smurfs, the Lakers making history in all the wrong ways, and the US showing the rest of CONCACAF that they are, indeed, the biggest fish in this small pond.

God, I wanted to be on that bus to Oakland this weekend, but alas when you have a month till your wedding you don’t get to go away for many drunken weekends of debauchery, besides the bachelor party. For those who may not know, the Riot Squad in conjunction with the front office organized the fantastic opportunity to travel with 300 other Galaxy fans up to Oakland via bus to support the Galaxy. My hat is off to you guys. By all accounts, including mine on the Biggie HD (Yes I name my TV), you guys did great. Through the whole game chants of “L-A Galaxy” could be heard to a nationwide audience. Congratulations to the Riot Squad, Angel City Brigade, Galaxians and all the other Galaxy fans who represented.

The Galaxy’s 3-0 win was the type of performance that makes you feel, maybe it is finally safe to trust this team again. The shutout alone should hopefully do wonders for the defense’s confidence. The good news? They now have two shutouts on the year. The bad news? They both are against expansion side San Jose. The good news? They are both against expansion side San Jose. So while it feels good to beat those little Smurfs, it’s kinda like the bully beating up the kid at school with the helmet on… It’s just not very fulfilling and kinda sad.

In terms of team analysis I really have one question for the Galaxy fans. Does this team need Carlos Ruiz? By that I do not mean to trivialize the man’s talents. His career speaks for itself. But consider the following, with no contributions from Ruiz this team already possesses the #1 offense in the league. Yet it lacks strength in defense. So is Ruiz’s max salary slot being used to its utmost potential? There are plenty of teams out there in need of strikers, with an unused DP slot available in trade. Both Real Salt Lake and San Jose could easily trade their DP slot for Ruiz, assuming that either team is willing to try to spend the money to resurrect their playoff hopes. The Galaxy could then turn that DP slot into a quality central defender.

In other So. Cal soccer events I had the pleasure of sitting with Sam’s Army for the United States’ thrashing of Barbados on Sunday. What a day. 8 goals and every time this was my view of the field.

I don’t know if I can ever go back to a regular seat again. Plus that flag provided the only shade on a brutally hot day. The best part about the 8-0 win for Galaxy fans is that this means Landon Donovan will be back in town for the return of Sigi and his Columbus Crew. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t looking forward to getting a first hand look at Robbie Rogers. The kid has looked good so far this season.

Exciting announcement this week here at ASR. Julian Valentin has signed on to do a weekly blog. My question to him… Are there any interesting prop bets going on revolving around player’s Euro picks?

Lastly, a moment of silence for my fallen Lakers. I’m afraid in this scenario LA was the kid in the helmet.

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San Jose Earthquakes striker Kei Kamara has been called up to the Sierra Leone national team for their upcoming World Cup Qualifying matches. Sierra Leone will play Equatorial Guinea and Nigeria, and South Africa twice, between June 1st and 21st.

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Rating: 3(Likely) 

According to several sources out of Guatemala, the San Jose Earthquakes are close to securing the signature of 33 year old Costa Rican forward Roland Fonseca. Fonseca has been capped 107(scoring 47 times), and is currently with Guatemalan side Comunicaciones(netting 8 goals in 16 appearances.  What do you SJ fans think? Fonseca is older, but obviously still capable of finding the net. 

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So it comes to this. Friends turned to enemies. The lost lover come home to bring back all the bitterness and heartbreak you thought you’d forgotten. That’s right, Houston comes to town tomorrow, a game that’s been highlighted on Quakes fans’ schedules since we knew that we would have a team back. I can’t speak for everyone, but for myself I approach tomorrow’s match with a mixture of the excitement that comes with every upcoming game and trepidation at the thought of having to see our old Quakes in that orange uniform. Yes, I was there to watch the Quakes play Houston during preseason, but this is different, more real and concrete somehow.

There are those who would implore us to move on and forget the past. They are surely right, but it is also surely easier said than done. Those were our warriors, our champions, as I’ve written before, and to see them play for another city has always been a slap in the face. We’ve been able to shut our eyes to it and revel in the sweet bliss of ignorance, but now we will be presented face to face with the reality. No turning away now.

Our new Quakes versus the old Quakes. Such confusion and strong emotions is a recipe for a rivalry in the making. No matter what happens tomorrow, I think Houston and San Jose will be a grudge match in the years to come. Tomorrow will be the final goodbye to those players, the farewell we never had. Hopefully we can send them off with a loss. Nothing personal, but we have a new team now. Even if they are bottom-dwellers, hey, those are our bottom-dwellers!Speaking of our squad, we added two new members, Jovan Kirovski and Kelly Gray, and gave up Preston Burpo in a trade with Colorado.

Gray is another former Quake come home to roost, and I was hoping that he would end up in San Jose since the beginning of the season. He was a solid member of our amazing defense in 2005, though his performance dropped off a bit towards the end of the season. He has bounced around the league since and has yet to reach his 2005 level, but I’m hopeful. Last time around, he seemed genuinely excited to return to his hometown of San Jose, and I believe that another such return will galvanize his play to reach those former heights. He can play a variety of different positions, which opens up some intriguing possibilities. Gray can fill in at fullback if Riley continues his shaky play, or he can be placed in the holding midfield position if Corrales is injured or cannot nail down that spot. I’m less hot on Kirovski. He seems like one of those players with potential and skill who never seems to conjure up the heart and energy to make good things happen. Its hard to believe that he has a Champion’s League medal. Still, perhaps the opportunity to grab a key role that an expansion team provides will motivate him.I will only deal with the New England game briefly before we move onto the analysis of tomorrow’s game. It was a forgettable game in every respect. The Quakes defense sorely missed Nick Garcia.

Defensive miscommunication has been a problem all year, but without Garcia it reached new heights of absurdity, culminating in Riley’s horrific own goal. Our midfield looked absolutely lifeless. We did not manage a shot until the second half. The only highlights of the game were when Ryan Johnson and Shea Salinas came onto the field. These two need more playing time. Johnson always plays hard and works for every ball, something that cannot be said for some of our players. Its worth trying him out up top, because of his strength, size, and workrate. Hey, he’s actually scored a goal too. Salinas is dynamite and will only get better the more playing time he gets.

Hey, we’re losing anyway, so we might as well get him some experience. Finally, if it hasn’t been confirmed before, let’s bury the Corrales-Grabavoy partnership as soon as possible. Corrales is not a convincing holding midfielder and cannot dominate the center of the park or distribute as well as he should. Grabavoy is not an attacking midfielder and lacks the necessary vision and creativity. In my book, our biggest weakness is not our forwards, but this central portion of our midfield, which exposes our defense and starves our offense.

Quakes/Houston Pregame Analysis

Goalkeepers: Wow, it already gets weird. It’s hard for me to conceive of Pat Onstad as the enemy, but I guess I better get used to it. What can you say about Pat? He is not the most athletic or gifted, but he finds ways to make epic saves and keep games close despite his advancing years. There will always be an endless debate among Quakes fans as to who the better keeper is: Cannon or Onstad. Cannon continues to have a bit of a shaky season. Hey Joe, next time tell Riley to get the hell out of the way or clear it to the side! He needs to command the troops better. Communication, communication, communication. So for the first time, I am going to give this category to the opposition until I’m proven wrong.Advantage - Houston

Houston Forwards vs. Quakes Defense: Welcome back Garcia and never, ever get injured again. I think it is now obvious how integral his acquisition was to the Quakes. Also, its time for Denton to head back to the bench and return to the Riley, Garcia, Cochrane, Hernandez line-up. Its not fool-proof by any means but its the best we’ve got. I wouldn’t mind seeing Gray get a chance at some point though. Brian Ching has yet to find his scoring touch, and Caraccio has yet to really impress either. The Quakes seem to have a problem of unproven strikers who can’t score. Houston has a problem of proven strikers who won’t score at the moment. Unfortunately, with Houston back in business and on the upswing, its only a matter of time before their strike force comes to life as well.Advantage - Even

Midfield: I’ve already said it but our midfield is woeful. Its even more painful because we know what a great midfield is because we’ve had them, and now one of our previous midfield incarnations is coming to town to put on a display. DeRosario and Clark have not been the same dynamic duo as in the past, but are now returning to form. Against the likes of Corrales and Grabavoy, they should be rubbing their hands together in pure delight. Mullan continues to be on San Jose fans’ wishlist because he works hard for ninety minutes and takes on defenders with abandon. Ronnie O’Brien, by contrast, seems unwilling to take anyone on at the moment. Stuart Holden is a rising star. To win, O’Brien needs to be the focus of attack once again and can’t be anonymous as he was against New England. Corrales needs to focus on staying back, marking DeRo, and distributing out of the back of the midfield. Grabavoy…well, I don’t know what to say anymore.Advantage - Houston

Quakes Forwards vs. Houston Defense: Another painful experience will be seeing fan favorite and likable character Craig Waibel playing against us. E. Rob and Barrett are solid. Boswell is the weak link on the Houston defense. He can be beat and we need to focus our efforts on attacking him. Certainly he is improving but his confidence needs to be shaken. How will this happen? Hell if I know with Kamara and “who knows” up front. I’d like to see Johnson up front as I said. I doubt Frank will throw Kirovski into a game right after being traded and without having time to practice with the team but you never know in these desperate times. I do expect for him to come off the subs’ bench. Doesn’t look good once again.Advantage - Houston

Coaching: Dom vs. Frank, another eternal debate among Quakes fans. Frank has a chance to answer those questions this season and in years to come. Can he build a team from nothing into a championship contender? We shall see, but he is far from it now. Dom has built a reputation for savvy trades (Ngwenya and Jaqua for Houston, Davis and Chung for the 2005 Quakes). Will Kirovski and Gray pan out as well for Yallop?Advantage - Even

Intangibles: Let’s get one thing straight. The old Quakes coming back is only a factor for us, the fans. For most of the Quakes, it will be just another game. Houston players who are returning may have some mixed emotions, but don’t expect any favors from them. The confidence of this Quakes squad is at an all-time low, while Houston’s is steadily building.Advantage - Houston

Key Man: Ramiro Corrales Its time for Corrales to take control of that midfield. Win balls, stay at home, and mark DeRo like you’ve never marked anybody before. If the Quakes can’t keep possession and clog that center of the pitch, this game will be over quickly.

Probable Line-up:                  Johnson-Kamara

Guerrero-Corrales-Grabavoy-O’Brien

Riley-Garcia-Cochrane-Hernandez                

   Cannon

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Ask A Quake is a new segment that I will be featuring in my blog this season. I gather questions from Earthquake fans for a particular player, and give the fans a chance to, in a sense, interview players and ask the questions that are burning in their brains. First up is defender Jason Hernandez.

ASR: With Cochrane out with an injury, how will it be filling in at the centre back position?

JH: In college ball, I played on the right, but as soon as I got to this level, I really became a centre back. My three previous years I was a centre back, so its not that foreign to me. I’m excited to be back there. With Nick and Joe behind me, they’ll do a good job of helping me to readjust. I’m just going to try to hold down the fort until Ryan Cochrane gets better. I think we should be alright.

ASR: Do you feel pressure being a young guy, the expectations from fans in San Jose who have been starving for soccer?

JH: I wouldn’t say I feel pressure, not any more than I put on myself to come out and perform each day. Soccer is a really big part of San Jose and the Bay Area in general. I’m just excited to be here, I want to prove myself, and show the fans that we’re a bunch of guys who are here for the right reasons and to show that we can play.

ASR: What are the primary differences in training between Chivas U.S.A. and the Earthquakes?

JH: Every team, every club, every coach has its own style. My previous coaches were Preki and Bob Bradley, who were very structured and we did the same thing each day of the week, really getting into a routine of things. Here, we make adjustments as we go depending on the team we face or how the guys are feeling. We make it a point to make adjustments in training based on whatever the team needs, and that’s something I’ve noticed to be a difference. Other than that, football is football, so we go after it the same way.

ASR: What do you see as the Quakes’ strongest and weakest points right now?

JH: Right now we’re struggling to establish ourselves as the force we did in preseason. We just need to step back a bit and really buckle down. We need to make sure we’re tough to play against and our scoring opportunities and our goals will come. I think we’re making strides in the right direction with Chicago and Colorado, we suffered a bit in New York away from home, but the eleven guys on the field and whoever comes in are going to make it a point to keep us going in the right direction.

ASR: Do you have a favorite team outside of the U.S.?

JH: Obviously you can’t be at this level without watching a lot of soccer. To see guys in Man U, Chelsea, Barcelona, they’re all really great. For me, I wouldn’t say I have a single squad, I just love to watch particular guys: Messi, obviously Ronaldo. Any EPL team or La Liga, that stuff is just great to watch because those guys are really at the highest level and its everything we strive for and we try to get to that level day to day.

ASR: Who on the team would you least like to get in a fight with?

JH: I would have to go with Jay Ayres. I don’t know if you saw, he took a knock in Salt Lake. He’s still ticking and if he can walk away from that, then that’s not a guy I’m trying to see one-on-one. [Laughs] I’d say our new guy, our young guy, Jay Ayres.

Got a question for a Quakes player? E-mail me at Ian@americansoccerreader.com or look for me on the BigSoccer boards where I will be gathering input. Coming up in the next weeks will be: Nick Garcia, Jean-Phillipe Peguero, and Ronnie O’Brien.

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New York Red Bulls striker Juan Pablo Angel saw a nerve specialist this week and was told his recent injury problems stemmed from nerve damage, not what had been thought to be a hamstring injury. Angel will receive a cortizone shot and most likely be available for NYRB’s game against Toronto FC. Striker Oscar Echeverry has sustained a strained left lateral collateral ligament in training on Tuesday and will miss around 4 weeks. New York plays the San Jose Earthquakes this sunday at Giants Stadium.

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The San Jose Earthquakes are on the brink of officially signing ex- Red Bull Jean-Philippe Peguero, according to several MLS sources. The 26 year old Haitian Striker has played for both Colorado and New York in MLS, and most recently playing with Brondby IF of Denmark. Peguero has 10 caps for Haiti and should go a long way towards bolstering the SJ attack. Expect an official announcement later today or tommorow.

Popularity: 6%

 Rating- 3 (likely) 

 The 31 year old naturalized Mexican playmaker is negotiating a move to the San Jose Earthquakes, according to several sources. Naelson has 38 career caps for Mexico, including an appearance at the 2006 World Cup. Naelson currently plays for Mexican Primera Division side Deportivo Toluca FC, who he signed with in 1999.What do you all think about this potential move? Would it help what has been a lacking SJ attack?  

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