The San Jose Earthquakes’ future is looking bright as they have a young team who is still developing. They have a team that is set to win for years to come.
The San Jose Earthquakes aren’t a team built to win now. They are a team built to win in the next few years. They currently only have seven players on their roster who are 30 years old or over. The rest of the squad is relatively young still and developing.
Players like Chris Wondolowski are starting to slow down a bit and that could be associated with age. Wondolowski who is currently 33 years old is having a decent season but it’s nothing like his past seasons. San Jose has done well though to find a player to succeed Wondolowski. The Earthquakes are currently trying to develop young 20 year old forward Tommy Thompson to be the successor to Wondolowski.
Thompson is not yet a player who sees regular minutes with the first team but is a player who has shown glimpses of what type of player he could become in the short amount of time he has been given. Thompson the past few years has been loaned to USL club Sacramento Republic FC to get regular playing time but this year San Jose has decided to keep him on the bench as they are looking for him to take the next step.
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Thompson has also has also been called up regularly to the USMNT U-20 squad and recently played in the MLS Homegrown game against the Mexico U-20 squad. Thompson will be a player that San Jose will feature more in the upcoming seasons.
San Jose also has young players who are giving a large contribution to the squad now. Fatai Alashe is a young midfielder who San Jose should be extremely excited about. San Jose selected him with their first pick in last years MLS Super Draft and this year he has exceeded expectations as he has become a regular in the midfield.
Alashe has played and started in a total of 17 matches this season averaging 82% of completed passes per match, 78% successful dribbles, 2 interceptions, and 1 tackle per match.
Thompson is not yet a player who sees regular minutes with the first team but is a player who has shown glimpses of what type of player he could become in the short amount of time he has been given.
Those numbers aren’t excellent but they are solid for a center defensive midfielder competing at his age. Alashe has also seen time with the USMNT U-23 squad and if he keeps up his good development he is a player who could be featured in the senior squad’s midfield in the next few years.
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Goalkeeper David Bingham has become a top goalie in the MLS as he was the second goalkeeper selected this season for the MLS All Star game. This was Bingham’s first All Star selection. Bingham became San Jose’s full-time starter last season and hasn’t looked back ever since. Bingham has been with this San Jose squad since 2011 and I don’t see them letting him go anywhere for the foreseeable future.
Bingham’s reaction and reflex skills are excellent as he is able to make point blank saves and also extend quick enough to keep out the hard long range shots. Last year Bingham ranked fourth in saves and ranked third in shutouts. This year Bingham currently ranks sixth in saves and he is tied for fourth in shutouts with plenty of matches left to play. Bingham has also received a few call ups to the USMNT but only played once. In the coming years Bingham will compete for the starting goalkeeper spot with Tim Howard and Brad Guzan getting up there in age.
Tommy Thompson, Fatai Alashe, and David Bingham are players San Jose should build around for the future. San Jose currently has the young supporting cast that is needed to compete regularly for playoff spots in the future. Even with how young they are now, they are already competing to make the sixth spot for the playoffs this season.
Fans of the Earthquakes should be excited for what the team has going for them now because in the next few years San Jose has the ability to make a leap to compete with teams at the top of the league.