What's Going on at Central Valley Fuego?
A string of losses, a missing head coach, players issuing apologies.
Image credit Central Valley Fuego FC
Despite the high-profile hiring of former US Men’s National Team midfielder Jermaine Jones as head coach, not much has gone to plan at Central Valley Fuego in 2024.
They’ve been wrecked by injuries, seeing high-profile signings Moe Espinoza and Jason Ramos miss most of the season. Discipline has been an issue, with the team leading the league with six regular season red cards. They’re the only club without a clean sheet in the regular season, and have given up a league-worst 43 goals for a whopping -22 differential.
With six matches remaining, the club sits in last place, on track for its second-straight wooden spoon. They’ve lost their last four regular season matches by a combined score of 17-4. Rock bottom (so far) came Wednesday night with a 7-1 loss at Lexington, tied for the largest margin of victory in league history.
Fuego Players Apologetic
After the uneven loss at Lexington, several players issued public apologies via Instagram.
Forward Shavon John-Brown stated that he wanted to “personally apologize to our fans, family, friends, etc.,” saying “ya’ll deserve more.” He promised to keep fighting for the remainder of the season.
Defender and long-time professional veteran Ashkanov Apollon said “I personally apologize to our fans, as a team we let ourselves down, but from the bottom of my heart, we won’t give up, we will fight til the end.”
Where is Jermaine Jones?
It was noted that Coach Jones missed his second-straight match, having not been seen with the team since the 1-0 Cup loss at Northern Colorado on August 30th. So far the only word we have was a mention of a “personal leave of absence” by ESPN/USL broadcaster Phil Galati at the start of the match against Spokane on September 7th.
It was around this time that Jones appeared in the starting 11 for Fuego’s UPSL affiliate, Selma FC. While Jones started in the club’s opening match of the fall season on September 1st, they officially announced his presence as a player on September 3rd.
Image credit Selma FC
In the meantime, Fuego assistant Mike Elias has been listed as taking over head coaching duties in that side’s last two matches.
We reached out to several contacts at the club to see if there was an official statement or one forthcoming, and did not hear back. We will provide an update if one becomes available.
Looking to the Future
Fuego has seen some promise from young players, and brought on several academy signings for increased minutes.
Image credit Central Valley Fuego FC
19-year-old Javier Mariona leads the academy squad in appearances with 14, having become a regular starter on the right side at wing and midfield. Mariona has a pair of goals this season.
15-year-old midfielder Kevin Garcia became the team’s fourth first-team academy signing on August 14th, and became the team’s youngest goal-scorer in the match against Spokane on September 7th.
Academy defender David Kabamba and attacking midfielder Zachary Smuck also have an appearance each.
Team ownership also remains committed to supporting development by maintaining a fee-free academy, and fostering affiliation commitments with Selma FC. When announced in April, Fuego stated:
As an affiliated partner, Selma FC will have access to Fuego FC’s coaching resources, player development programs, and marketing initiatives. Additionally, the two clubs will work together to organize youth soccer camps, coaching clinics, and community events.
Stadium Plans
Central Valley Fuego received bad news just before the season started from its stadium hosts, Fresno State University. The university and fire safety officials deemed parts of the stadium unsafe, necessitating the installation of a new emergency voice evacuation system. This reduced capacity to under 1,000, and closed off the north end stands where supporter groups normally congregate.
The initial announcement stated the installation would be complete by early May, but as of September, the capacity is still reduced.
However, team officials also told season ticket holders that a new stadium was in the works, and land had been acquired. The plan is to play at Fresno State for one more season, then move into its own soccer-specific stadium by 2026.
The Rest of 2024 and Beyond
Fuego remains on the road this week, traveling to Greenville for a Saturday evening matchup (7:00 PM ET/4:00 PM PT). The rest of the schedule is a doozy; after Greenville, they’ll host Northern Colorado and Spokane, travel to Knoxville, host Greenville then finish at Omaha.
While playoffs are probably out of the question at this point, not winning the wooden spoon is a more reasonable goal. While difficult, the six remaining matches present a maximum of 18 points, and Fuego is five back from Richmond and Chattanooga.
We still have no idea of the status of Coach Jermaine Jones. It’s likely that he will not be with the squad in Greenville this weekend, and it seems he may not be with the team at all the rest of this season. We’ll await a statement from the club, and report back when we hear one.
Beyond 2024, fans can look forward to increased development of a rich youth talent pool in central and northern California, along with a new stadium in the works. While no players appear to be under contract for 2024 and the team has not shared any details regarding options, we’d have to imagine the club would try to retain a few prospects, including Alfredo Midence.
It’s a rough road, but there just might be some promise beyond the disappointment of this season.
Editor’s note: the first published edition of this story indicated Jermaine Jones was last seen with the team on August 24th. It has been corrected to report his last appearance was August 30th.
That's wild that Coach Jones has seemingly relinquished his coaching, and in favor of playing for the UPSL affiliate!! I can think only of Wayne Rooney as the only other recent example of a player-coach. In Rooney's case, he was playing with the first team, which I imagine is better for chemistry and morale. It can't be a good feeling for the present Fuego first team players, to see their coach ditching them, and in favor of the semi-pro-amateur side?
Perhaps there will be good news and more revenue once their own new soccer-specific stadium gets built. Has it been reported yet how the $100 million-plus construction costs will get paid? From a combination of public & private investments?
Good discussion on this on Reddit:
https://www.reddit.com/r/USLPRO/comments/1flcao2/whats_going_on_at_central_valley_fuego/