Has San Jose done enough to improve on their dismal 2009 campaign? (Getty Images)

Forgive me for a second for this coming out as late as it did. I had every intentions earlier in the week to get this one out on Wednesday but a certain clash in Holland kept me from finishing it until yesterday.

Anyways, we continue on with out look at each Major League Soccer club’s preseason happenings here. We’re in the final stretch with just San Jose, Seattle and Toronto to go. Up first today is San Jose, a club that is hoping to rebound after a dismal effort in 2009. Frank Yallop has made some moves this winter to shake things up by the Bay but will it pay off is the key question.

I thought going into the winter that Yallop and GM Frank Doyle would do a lot of work on this roster that only won seven games in 2009. Reshaping an offense that only scored 36 goals was also another issue but the biggest may be redoing a defense that gave up a league-high 50 goals.

So let us dive into the Earthquakes to see who they have going into the new campaign and where else they need to go to get back into the playoffs. Continue Reading…

Not too many goals to bring up this week but there did end up being a couple quality ones. A couple great headers though that could end up winning goal of the week nod from the fans.

Order of video: Alejandro Moreno, Alecko Eskandarian,  Wilman Conde, Jeff Cunningham, Kai Kamera, and Arturo Alvarez.

Plenty of good goals this week for you all here. I’ve put together the usual mix of goals that I thought were goal of the week material. A couple really jumped out at me like Arturo Alvarez’s goal against Dallas, as well as Omar Cummings’ game-tying goal against RSL.

If you think I missed a goal, please let me know below.

Order of goals: Taylor Twellman (New England), David Ferreira (Dallas), Arturo Alvarez (San Jose), Kenny Cooper (Dallas), Omar Cummings (Colorado), Edson Buddle (LA), and Stuart Holden (Houston).

The past couple of days got me thinking, this year we’ve seen so many trades between the clubs. Some moves have paid off and others have been more of a waste than anything. I felt like today was a good day to look back at the moves that have paid off and the moves that haven’t been able to do anything but fill up lines on a piece of paper (or lines on the net).

Now I will stay away from the allocation trades and things like that. So you won’t see a grade for Brian McBride or Will Johnson or guys in that category since clubs signed them, even though allocation position was traded. We can do grades on guys like that later on.

Interestingly enough, only Columbus is missing from the trade game this season. They’ve made some moves (and yes I know they traded for Pat Noonan’s rights) but haven’t gone after a player from another club like some teams have this season. Very interesting, maybe that is why they are on top of the standings and everyone else is looking up at them.

But as for how the other trades have gone this year, here is what I am giving them. Feel free to discuss trades involving your clubs or moves you thought worked out well this year.

Chad Barrett to Toronto FC: For the most this move has worked out well for this club. He’s produced and has actually been fairly consistent with his play. Not to mention he’s signed a contract extension with the club already.WVH Trade Grade: A-

Arturo Alvarez to San Jose Earthquakes: Alvarez wasn’t going to cut it in Schalles Hyndman’s system so a move was going to happen. San Jose was the best destination for him and so far this move has worked out well for the Quakes as they’ve made a serious push for the playoffs in recent weeks.  WVH Trade Grade: A

Abdus Ibrahim to Toronto FC: He had to leave Dallas due to family issues but I must say Toronto got a hell of a deal with this kid. We may not see it on the field this year but in years to come he will end up being a big time player in this league. WVH Trade Grade: A

Ivan Guerrero to DC United: Guerrero didn’t work out well enough in San Jose but his move to the Nation’s Capital has worked out. He’s been a quality addition to DC’s midfield play and has established himself as a starter. WVH Trade Grade: B+ Continue Reading…