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The amazing Supporters’ Shield run of 2012 seems like a lifetime ago after four straight playoff-less seasons for the San Jose Earthquakes. The coaching staff, and most recently the front office, have been swapped out and only a few players remain from those halcyon days. One of them is Chris Wondolowski, who’s coming off a 12-goal campaign and will break Landon Donovan’s career goal-scoring record sometime in 2018 if he continues this pace.

New general manager Jesse Fioranelli has arrived from AS Roma and has largely remade the offense, adding players like Jahmir Hyka and Danny Hoesen from Europe. There are some interesting pieces, but it very much remains to be seen how they’ll fit together.

Three reasons to be pumped for 2017 Give us less than two minutes and we'll have you ready for 2017. Posted by Center Line Soccer on Tuesday, February 28, 2017

Key facts

2016 record: 8-12-14, ninth in the Western Conference

2016 playoffs: Did not qualify

Head coach: Dominic Kinnear

Key additions: Danny Hoesen, Jahmir Hyka, Florian Jungwirth, Harold Cummings, Marcos Urena, Nick Lima, Jackson Yueill

Key losses: Clarence Goodson, Alberto Quintero, Steven Lenhart, Innocent Emeghara, Chad Barrett, Henok Goitom

Projected starting XI (4-4-2): David Bingham; Marvell Wynne, Victor Bernardez, Harold Cummings, Florian Jungwirth; Simon Dawkins, Darwin Ceren, Anibal Godoy, Jahmir Hyka; Chris Wondolowski, Danny Hoesen.

Major trophies won, all-time: 2001, 2003 MLS Cup; 2005, 2012 Supporters’ Shield

What we think of our team: The team has always been defined by its blue-collar work ethic, which is cool and everything, but winning would be nice, too.

What outsiders think of our team: “The Earthquakes are a team that seems to struggle with questions of identity and style — how do the 'Quakes play? What's their thing? The closest they had to an identifiable approach were the Yallop-led Bash Brothers group, and that's been a while now. The stadium is beautiful but the football is not. Somehow they need to hearken back to those high-octane Landon/DeRo teams.”

Earthquakes’ biggest rival: The LA Galaxy always sit atop the list of rivals, and with three California Clasicos this season, including the annual showcase at Stanford Stadium, the animosity between teams and fans is ready to boil over once again.

Best social media follow: Tommy Thompson. As you would expect with the perpetually sunny technical dynamo, his Twitter feed is always upbeat and optimistic.

Our season hinges on … whether the raft of new international signings stays healthy and meshes with the existing players to create a team that can generate scoring opportunities.

Why this year won’t be like last year: Fioranelli is already making his mark with a series of shrewd player acquisitions, putting the rest of MLS on notice that “We are back, and we are ready to attack.”

Key player: Chris Wondolowski has scored in double-digits for seven straight seasons, but age is catching up to the forward. He will have to work even harder to convert the paucity of scoring chances he gets.

Predicted finish in 2017: 10th in the Western Conference.

Wild prediction: Team chemistry never fully develops, and Fioranelli cleans house by season’s end.