San Jose Bests West Ham United in Preseason Match.

By: Ben | March 8th, 2010

   

Tweet

On Monday the San Jose Earthquakes beat the English Premier League team West Ham United 2-0 in London.

Check your weather report. It’s snowing in hell.

First of all, no, this was not a reserve team. This was nearly the same West Ham starting eleven which goes up against other Premier League teams.

Secondly, this was not a lucky game. During the entire 90 minute span West Ham posted a total of 0 shots on target. Yes, zero. So no, this was not the kind of game which was won by the crossbar, nor by the goalie miraculously becoming a gymnast before the match.

So look. This may have not been their full team, and it may just be one game, but it really does mean alot. I don’t mean to rag on San Jose fans, but this is a team that finished 2009 in 2nd to last place. They have no place beating West Ham team, even if they are in 15th. The Premier League is the best in the world, and just being there means somthing.

I’m just gonna lay it out straight: either San Jose did get lucky, West Ham is just a bad team (they aren’t, I assure you), or maybe, and just maybe, MLS playing standards have risen just a teensie bit. I know this is a jump, but before maiming me in the comment section just think about what this game, along with other such games including the Red Bulls defeating the Champions League side CSKA Moscow and many others. For most of us they are just David and Goliath games and it’s fun to see MLS take home a few wins, but perhaps they are something more.

Keep in mind that I’m not trying to be the definitive word, just trying to start a conversation.

What do you think?

Category: MLS, San Jose Earthquakes

   

Tweet

« Let’s Talk About Cheerleaders. | Home | The Good, the Bad, and the Silence »

Comments  

• Imrblackburn |  March 9th, 2010 at 12:50 am

  
  
  

  1) I think you are right, the level of play has improved a teensy bit
  2) it’s noteworthy, that basically since the Quakes traded Garcia to Toronto FC they went 8-8-8 which was equivalent to CO Rapids for the season, and the CO Rapids almost made the playoffs
  3) lastly, soccer is the hardest sport to predictthr outcome (I think I read tha somewhere anyway), especially if one opponent does not expect much of a match (not to put so much on WestHam, but I’m fairly sure all they read about MLS is pretty negative)

  

• Martin |  March 9th, 2010 at 7:12 am

  
  
  

  Well, as far as the Prem goes, West Ham is a completely rubbish team, even their starting 11, but rubbish teams in the Prem are still better than most, so this is fantastic news. I do wonder how things would differ if it weren’t a friendly but a match that meant something, but its really great to see MLS post some results like this.

  

• Anonymous |  March 10th, 2010 at 11:39 pm

  
  
  

  I like your writing style, and I’m hoping for more stories like this one.

  

• Sebastian Quiznos |  March 13th, 2010 at 11:12 pm

  
  
  

  A very witty article Ben. However, San Jose did get lucky. They are one of the worst teams in the MLS (no offense to any San Jose fans) and they beat the 15th place team in the EPL. You may say that this is just luck but in the 2006 World Cup, Australia, an mediocre team, almost beat Italy, the winner of the World Cup, in the Semi-Finals. Now, you may say “So what? They almost beat them. Almost doesn’t count.” However, the only reason the Italians beat the Australians was because of a foul in the box which caused a PK. When the announcers put on the replay, the PK causing slide tackle was not actually a foul. The Italian attacker tripped himself (Whether it was on purpose or not, I cannot tell)

  

• male enhancement |  June 4th, 2010 at 7:34 pm

  
  
  

  I thank you for your very informative post – I will bookmark and I hope to see more informative posts from here!