Related Articles San Jose Earthquakes end home season with 0-0 draw

San Jose Earthquakes fire John Doyle as general manager SAN JOSE — Dominic Kinnear wasted no time jumping into the Earthquakes’ offseason where the operating word is change.

The coach of a playoff-challenged enterprise attended the Cal men’s game against No. 16 Washington on Thursday as the staff began preparing for another reboot even without a permanent general manager.

“There are more questions to be answered this year than there were at the end of last year,” said Kinnear, who evaluated college players in Berkeley.

The Earthquakes are stuck in a four-year MLS playoff drought despite a first-rate stadium, owners willing to loosen the pocketbooks and a 2016 roster that looked as good as any since the team rejoined the league nine years ago.

They finished with a league-low 32 goals, and other than 2014, San Jose had its worst showing since winning the Supporters’ Shield four years ago.

It’s not what Kinnear expected in his second season back in San Jose, a year that saw general manager John Doyle lose his job because of the poor showing.

“With players getting injured and some guys not fulfilling the potential we hoped they would it leaves us in a position where we will have to go out and make some changes,” Kinnear said.

One of those moves includes the release of reserve striker Chad Barrett, who told this news organization Thursday that the team didn’t pick up his option.

The situation is so fluid some speculated that Kinnear also was out when he didn’t appear at the postgame news conference Sunday after the season finale in Kansas City. It turns out the coach didn’t have time to speak because he had to get to the airport for his flight to the Bay Area.

Interim general manager Chris Leitch and Kinnear have started plotting offseason moves as if they will be the brain trust for the team’s future. President Dave Kaval has hired a search firm to identify possible candidates to replace Doyle but has said Leitch is in the mix.

About a half dozen players have guaranteed contracts, including captain Chris Wondolowski, Cordell Cato, Shaun Francis and Shea Salinas.

Team officials almost certainly will want to retain All-Star goalkeeper David Bingham, midfielders Fatai Alashe, Darwin Ceren and Anibal Godoy and defenders Kofi Sarkodie and Marvell Wynne.

But the rest is murky.

As nine-year veteran Salinas said Thursday before his season-ending physical, “Nothing is guaranteed. At least I have a contract.”

San Jose could lose one player in the expansion draft in December when newcomers Atlanta and Minnesota start building their teams. But San Jose also will get the fourth pick in the college draft in January after its abysmal showing near the bottom of the standings this year.

The team’s first priorities, however, are naming a new general manager and signing a striker who can share the goal scoring with Wondolowski.

Acquiring a forward moved to the top of the list when starter Quincy Amarikwa suffered a severe left knee injury last month. He is not expected to return until next June, meaning the feisty target forward will miss at least half of the 2017 season, if not more.

The team should have salary room for a potential goal scorer. Innocent, the team’s highest-paid player at $1.3 million, isn’t expected to return after making only six appearances this year.

Other big question marks involve Clarence Goodson and Marc Pelosi, who missed the year because of injuries. Goodson suffered a back injury, leading to speculation about his ability to rebound at age 34. The Quakes’ other central defender, Victor Bernardez, also turns 35 next year. San Jose probably needs to find a new generation of players to anchor its defense.

Pelosi has shown promise as a central midfielder if he can overcome nagging leg injuries. He had surgery on his left knee before the season began and an operation last month to repair chronic quadriceps tendonitis.

Also, winger Alberto Quintero’s loan deal has ended. The Quakes will have to negotiate with Mexican club Lobos BUAP to see if they can secure his return after an impressive season.

The loose ends highlight how fickle Major League Soccer can be. Kinnear genuinely felt good about the prospects after major upgrades last offseason that included English forward Simon Dawkins and Quintero, who starts for Panama’s national team.

“At 2-0 expectations were really high,” Kinnear said of the fast start.

The Earthquakes looked good for the first three months then faded into irrelevance because they couldn’t score. Wondolowski had a team-leading 12 goals and three assists — his second-worst output in the past seven years when he became one of the greatest scoring threats in league history. He acknowledged Thursday that he missed too many good chances, blaming himself for lost points that would have put his team into the playoffs.

If it were only that simple.

“Every year we depend on Wondo and if he doesn’t score then no one else does,” Salinas said.

The Quakes signed Swedish striker Henok Goitom, who arrived in August with a short-term free transfer deal. He had one assist in eight appearances, mostly as a late substitute. His future in San Jose is unclear, especially with a salary of $729,000, according to figures released last month by the MLS Players Union.

As bleak as the future might look, veteran Quakes players remain steadfast that San Jose has the ingredients to become regular playoff contenders.

“We’re right on the cusp,” Salinas said. “It takes three or four more goals and we’re in the playoffs.”

Bingham, whose goalkeeping play has the attention of the U.S. national team, still isn’t over the season in which the Quakes finished ninth in the 10-team Western Conference. Bingham won’t even bother watching the MLS Cup playoffs.

“You get so mad,” he said.

Earthquakes officials have four months to figure it out.

Key dates of the MLS offseason:

Dec. 11: half-day trade window.

Dec. 12: list of protected players announced (11 from each team).

Dec. 13: expansion draft for Atlanta and Minnesota and the beginning of free agent negotiations.

Dec. 14: announced players for waiver draft.

Dec. 16: stage one of the re-entry draft.

Dec. 22: stage two of the re-entry draft.

Jan. 13: college draft.

Jan. 23: preseason begins.