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What We Learned This Week: The Sounders are getting somewhat healthier and the Orca Boys travel to SKC match preview
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Tim Ostlund-Foss joins Jeremiah for WWLTW this week to share what Tim viewed at training, which is mostly that a few of the injured players are looking like they are getting close to returning. The guys discuss Jordan Morris, his very good play as of late, and how he fits into this roster. The two then break down the upcoming match away at Sporting Kansas City of which we’re definitely not calling a trap game a trap game.
Follow Tim Ostlund-Foss on BlueSky.
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Transcript
Introduction and Will Bruin's New Role
00:00:01
Speaker
Hi, I'm Will Bruin, and I was just recognized as a Seattle Sounders legend. Now I get to do voice reads for the Sounder at Heart podcast network. Here we go.
00:00:11
Speaker
Come
Sounders' Celebrations and Sponsorships
00:00:12
Speaker
on. Hey, O'Shaughness. Let's The Seattle Sounders have done it. MLS Cup winners. The Sounders rule the region.
00:00:43
Speaker
Ooch of a gooch! All creatures, great and small! Rothrock gonna collect it, he does just about, runs into the advertising order. Low to our left, ball goes in! Oh, what a Where's my copy? got bunch of them How many do you cost them? 50 bucks.
00:01:08
Speaker
I'll deadline you.
00:01:18
Speaker
This episode of Nos Arietes is sponsored by Full Pull Wines, a Seattle-based wine retailer and proud sponsor of Nos Arietes since 2011. Full Pull was founded in 2009, is based in Seattle, and is owned and operated by longtime Sounder supporters.
00:01:32
Speaker
They offer the best boutique wines of the world to members of their mailing list, with special focus on their home, Pacific Northwest.
Seattle's Summer & Training Updates
00:01:43
Speaker
Welcome back to another episode of Nos Adientes on the Sounder at Heart Podcast Network. I am Jeremiah O'Shan. It is Friday. We are at the beautiful Sounder at Heart Studios. We don't have video today, but I do have Tim Foss joining me, filling in for Nico Moreno. How's it going, Tim?
00:02:01
Speaker
It's going great. We're getting into the part of the year where Seattle is the genuine best place in the world to be. Yes, on days like today. Hard to complain too much when it looks like that outside. i know. You know, it is funny. I i constantly find myself checking myself when ah I tell people this summer when the World Cup is here, it's going to be amazing weather.
00:02:24
Speaker
And then I have to remind myself that. it's a lot of it's before fifth July 5th. So you never, you don't quite know, but on days like today,
00:02:35
Speaker
hardly anywhere else I'd rather be. Yeah. Yeah. But ah we ah you you you went to training this week. We ah you saw some some stuff. So we want to talk about that.
00:02:47
Speaker
And let's just start with some of your observations from training today. You noticed a couple of things that I don't know that we have quite talked about too much. Yeah. ah if First, watching training, seeing that just about everyone who's been questionable or some.
00:03:09
Speaker
non-Pedro De La Vega out designation on the availability reports over the last two weeks, really. Everybody was involved.
00:03:20
Speaker
I think we saw Jay Marr was fully involved. It's the day before a game, so training is relatively light, but he was doing everything. Keehee, Albert Rusnak, Christian Roldan, Paul Arriola, they were all...
00:03:36
Speaker
fully involved. um Ryan Saylor was off on the side, but he was out there even had a Nikola Pekovic sighting, which Is it a little exciting?
Potential Transfers and Roster Health
00:03:49
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. He's been, i saw him earlier this week doing, he was like on the side doing a ah cycling essentially.
00:03:59
Speaker
And ah he, my understanding is that he is going to be rehabbing here, at least for the foreseeable future. And the Sounders are interested in potentially bringing him in. I don't know that they are, i suspect they are negotiating, trying to get a negotiated transfer fee, but his time with the Sounders is not,
00:04:18
Speaker
yet over i guess is what i'm getting to yeah it'll be interesting to see how that plays out i was trying to look at his current contract situation and seems somewhat ambiguous i think because he's still on his u-22 deal which was signed before there was a sprint season and then uh
00:04:41
Speaker
fall to summer or season i think his current deal runs through the 20 27 28 season or that the end of the year midway through um so you know maybe with some of that uncertainty Charlotte will be a little more willing to just get something out of the deal rather than end up with a guy who they don't really like. He doesn't seem to love being in Charlotte.
00:05:15
Speaker
Maybe that works out for everyone. Yeah, I would imagine on some level, like if he's able to return in time for the sprint season, like if he's able to sort of like ah if he's on the Paul Areola.
00:05:26
Speaker
schedule where he's able to basically participate in training and potentially play for the entire print sprint season. I would think that's a much more enticing situation for the Sounders than if it looks like he's going to be out until the 27, 28 season. And then you're only buying him for half a season, yada, yada. It, you can see how that might not be quite as, as intriguing, but that's, those are, those are matters for another time that the Sounders are looking relatively healthy is More in the immediate interest, I still don't know that Paul Areola or Albert Rusnak are going to start this week, but just the fact that they are potentially available, clearly a good sign.
00:06:09
Speaker
Definitely a good sign.
Upcoming Matches and Strategic Concerns
00:06:10
Speaker
And, you know, the positive there with... even if neither of them can start the way the team has looked with the personnel available, you're a little bit more comfortable easing them in, especially, you know, Schmetzer was pretty adamant.
00:06:32
Speaker
about this is a possible trap game against right sporting Kansas City. Both of his availabilities this week. They're all three. I guess if you include his time on KGR, but go ahead. I mean, he he was very clear that, you know, that that's a manager who knows how to set his team up.
00:06:49
Speaker
They have good players they just haven't executed i you know it's i don't know if i agree with him on that i don't really agree with him either but i think better to give too much respect to a team in that situation than not enough we don't have enough coaches saying actually i think their roster is trash their coach is trash their front office is trash and we should go in there and win 5-0 but short of that i think that's the right approach
00:07:19
Speaker
Yeah. ah So, you know, the, the way guys have been playing, you feel a little bit more comfortable. Jesus Ferreira seems to have taken a little bit of a step forward.
00:07:33
Speaker
you start him, know, at the 10 for another game and give Albert another game to work his way back to being really ready to start from the beginning.
00:07:43
Speaker
Paul Arreola, less of a locked in starter, even if he is healthy. So, uh, easier, but if you, you know, have Jordan playing really well on the right and Paul Rothrock is causing problems from the left.
00:08:02
Speaker
Again, you're a little bit more comfortable giving him some extra time to work his way back. Yeah, you know, i I go back to I think it was 2023 was the first time where the Sounders really started to lean into this idea that, look, if we have depth, we need to use it.
00:08:17
Speaker
And the way that most clearly manifests, I think, is in the way that Brian Schmetzer is bringing players back from injury, where it's almost unheard of at this point, where if you aren't doing a full week of training, you aren't starting that week.
00:08:32
Speaker
And I think that's sort of a at least early in the season, he sort of set this precedent that, look, if you, great, if you can train at the end of week, we'll get you in. But if you're missing important sessions where, especially when they're running 11v11 sessions and going through tactics early in the week, you can see why they don't want to do it. And also it it does give you, like you alluded to it,
00:08:54
Speaker
It gives you another chance to see Jesus Ferreira
Lineup Flexibility and Player Position Debates
00:08:56
Speaker
at the 10. He looked good in the in the previous game. It gives you another chance. I still think there is the most open position, i think, right now is still the number nine.
00:09:06
Speaker
And it's partly because no one has really claimed it, but it's also because no one has really played their way out of the picture entirely either. Like, I'm sure the Sounders would love to get Danny Masofsky going. They would love to see Osaze De Rosario continue to to get going.
00:09:23
Speaker
And maybe Jordan is the starter there. And and he might. like I think you and I probably both agree that the platonic ideal is Jordan Morris starting at the number nine. But if he's looking good on the right side and that you have another weapon, you know, another another clear scoring threat up top, that's good for the whole team. Right. I there's also the fact that.
00:09:45
Speaker
No one has played themselves out of contention for the number nine spot, but because of injuries and availability, you've also had this ongoing circumstance where maybe Jordan is your best option at the nine, but because of who else is available, he might also be your best option at right wing because...
00:10:12
Speaker
Jesus Ferreira otherwise would be your best option at right wing, but he needs to slot in at the 10. And there are all of these cascading decisions that have to be made in concert. And i I, I agree. I think all things in their best circumstances, Jordan probably is the guy who gives you the most as the number nine, but playing him On the right and having either of Masovsky or dear Rosario and Schmetzer specifically said we need to get Masovsky going. Right. um Which is understandable if a guy scores 18 goals for you across all competitions a season ago. You want to see if you can replicate at least some portion of that. Right.
00:11:01
Speaker
But being able to, you know, Jordan can then interchange and the formation can be a little bit more fluid depending on game state and possession. And maybe it plays more like a three, five, two or whatever.
00:11:15
Speaker
um It gives you that extra flexibility, but also makes it a little bit less clear of what really is. is this is if Kansas city away was a playoff game.
00:11:32
Speaker
Where would these guys be lining up? Harder to harder to make that estimation from the sidelines at this moment. Well, and I think it's it's i don't know if it's ever been harder, honestly, to make that estimation right now. I mean, if we project forward six months and we're talking about potentially having a healthy Pedro de la Vega, ah potentially informed Paul Rothrock, a potentially informed Jordan Morris, Jesus for it, you go down and there's I mean, I would say there's at least.
00:11:58
Speaker
12 or 13 outfield players who you feel like you you can envision a way where they are part of a best 11. And what I, I did a porn job of phrasing this to Schmetzer today. i was able to sort of like recover and phrase it better in the second attempt.
00:12:16
Speaker
But what I was trying to get at today with Schmetzer was the sort of asymmetrical nature of the position battles where it's not just Alex Roldan competing for with Tino Lopez or, or Yamar even for the second starting center back spot. It's
Player Roles and Performance Expectations
00:12:33
Speaker
who gives us a better chance, Albert Rusna or Alex Roldan at center back or, and Kalani Kosarianzi at right back or Yamar or Tino Lopez at center back and Alex Roldan at right back. And you can kind of go around and find a lot of those battles. I think the Jesus Ferreira one is another good example where, okay, so maybe you, you think he's one of your best 11, but is he better on the right?
00:12:55
Speaker
where you push Jordan up top or is he better on as a center mid with Jordan on the right is, you know, and you can kind of go. And so it's not as simple as your best 11. It's sort of your best 11 group, you know, and it's, and it's putting this together, this holistic lineup that I think creates some interesting challenges. Yeah.
00:13:15
Speaker
Well, and even if it you're looking at that back line and making the consideration of setting aside Jamar for now, because it seems like he's even if he's involved in training, he's probably not no he's ready to play. No, I would say he's weeks away at least from playing.
00:13:30
Speaker
But going back to sort of the framing that you posed to Schmetzer today of that decision isn't necessarily.
00:13:42
Speaker
Alex or Costa Rienzi at right back. It's sort of Alex at center back and Costa Rienzi at right back versus Tino Lopez at center back and Costa Rienzi at right back or Alex at right back.
00:13:57
Speaker
Right. But that decision also has repercussions farther ahead where, you know, none of the guys who are going to play right wing are really like,
00:14:10
Speaker
sideline tut like players they're all going to cut in a little bit to accomplish different things and it's also sort of the way that the sounder system right now is designed is that the right mid is not expected to be a out and out winger they're really expected to be more of a like know to use a sh a schmetzer term a pocket winger and almost every game the left winger is the highest player on the pitch Yeah.
00:14:36
Speaker
So then you start getting into, okay, well, if it's going to shape out like that, do we get the most out of playing with these guys in this arrangement where Costa Rienzi then the...
00:14:50
Speaker
the Guy hugging the sideline and providing width, or is it more valuable to have Alex at the right back position where he's coming forward, but when he does, he tucks into the central midfield group and you dominate by possession a little bit more. And, you know, I think...
00:15:13
Speaker
Just always worthwhile from a fan and analysis perspective to consider all of the varying complexities in these decisions.
00:15:23
Speaker
Absolutely. Yeah, I think it it makes it a lot of fun to put together ah best 11 because I think multiple people can have best 11s that have equal viability. And it's not as simple as how do we fit the most talent on the field? It's how do we fit the talent that fits together the best?
00:15:39
Speaker
And, you know, these are these are good problems that the Sounders have created for themselves. and i And I think it also allows them to look at injuries as an opportunity more than as a you know something to get too worked up about. And know we've been talking for years about what's the Sounders Best 11.
00:15:57
Speaker
And invariably, we don't really ever find out because... Very rarely do they have the same group starting week in and week out where you can really point to it and say, this is our best level and this gives us best chance to win in a must-win game.
00:16:10
Speaker
And that's frustrating, and it's but it's also kind of fun and in a weird way, I suppose. But one of the other interesting developments this year, to me, has been the emergence of Snyder Brunel, who...
00:16:23
Speaker
I think is part of that best 11 right now. I can't say that definitively, but it does. Every time I see him, I'm more excited about seeing him men again. I 100% think that Snyder Brunel is part of that best 11. I can understand why they have utilized him at times, you know, in one instance from the beginning of a game, but sometimes flexing him out to that right. I, yeah I do think, especially given how effective the team's play was last year,
00:16:59
Speaker
with Obed Vargas as the pair to Christian Roldan in that midfield, having Snyder as Christian's partner in particular, where he is the most Obed-like of the current he is yeah midfield offering, but is so much more...
00:17:23
Speaker
incisive, I think, i in getting forward. I really do think that there's something to be seen. And it's sometimes i don't know that it always shows up in the metrics, but I do think when you watch him play, you see a ahre there's a forward looking aspect to his game where or progressiveness to his game where every single time he gets the ball, it's how do i advance it?
00:17:47
Speaker
And sometimes it's his body positioning. Sometimes it's his vision. But it's it's always progressive. Like, I would be fascinated to look at sort of like a radar of his passes. And I would imagine that he has a much lower percent of passes that are square or backwards as compared to Obed, even as recently as last year.
00:18:06
Speaker
Yeah. I mean, just thinking of... The assist for Jordan's goal in the last game was the first assist he's had this season, but it's certainly not the first pass like that that he's had And it seems like reliably once a game, whether he plays 15 minutes or 90, he has a handful of moments where he just picks out a pass that you would be a little bit surprised to see like a DP number 10 pull off or he dribbles through not just out of, but through danger and creates an attacking opportunity out of virtually nothing in a way that we really haven't seen from
00:18:56
Speaker
and a Sounders midfielder. No, I don't, I don't know that we have. I mean, maybe you could, I don't know. It's funny because it's such a different league, but maybe Clint had this in, and I don't want to, and don't want to get too crazy, right but you know, and Clint also had a flair to it. Like what I'm not comparing Snyder to Clint Dempsey, but what I am comparing is that the mindset of being every time I touch the ball, there's something special might happen.
00:19:24
Speaker
I think there is a
00:19:27
Speaker
understandable comparison in the ability to recognize opportunities and a confidence in the ability to take advantage of them between those two players i don't think there are a ton of other similarities in their games but he's not he's not trying ah to slap guys in the dick going there but uh that too that that too uh he's not trying shit right he's not just trying shit kind of just to skill check yeah uh which clint certainly was fond of doing uh and i do i am really getting excited about him and and there was
00:20:09
Speaker
You know, there's been an ongoing discussion in the Sound at Heart Discord. ah Speaking of which, if you aren't in that and you want to get into it, just become a member at the supporter level or above.
00:20:20
Speaker
i We don't mention that enough, I feel like. But we have a lot of good discussions in there. But one of the discussions that seems to be ongoing is every time Snyder does something good. it's We better sign him to a U-22 contract now. and And it started off, I don't know how completely seriously people were we're suggesting that.
00:20:40
Speaker
And I know for me, ah my immediate reaction, certainly in preseason and early in the season, was just like, look, guys, there's no you don't pay people money just to pay them money. you You have to and be compelled to do it.
00:20:52
Speaker
But it's getting pretty close the point where like I don't know that they can go through this summer. And like if I think they could very easily justify this summer offering them a U22 deal, especially if they have open spots. Now, there is a I will the the the challenge to that. And I will just bring this up is that if you sign someone to a U22 contract, you have to elevate them into your senior roster.
00:21:15
Speaker
He currently occupies a ah a supplemental roster spot. So that gives him more flexibility. And so I don't necessarily think that you should be rushing out to fill one of your very limited senior roster spots. But every every time he plays the way he did against Dallas, it becomes easier and easier to justify. And you have to start getting more and more worried about you know what ah you know what's what's it going to take to to let him go.
00:21:41
Speaker
Yeah, I think also the the reality is that currently none of your U22 roster spots are occupied. ah That is true. ah And so you start getting into a conversation of you've...
00:21:57
Speaker
accumulated, maybe hoarded all of these assets. Right. What's the point if you're not going to use them? Absolutely. That is an asset that you could use and, you know, maybe preempt second coming of the Obed Vargas situation, because I do think that's a very not getting into a spot where he's running down his contract because he wants a move abroad and it's going to be easier on a free, but that if they play their cards right, particularly because of the ways in which their games are different, that
00:22:36
Speaker
Snyder Brunel is much more of an attack minded eight in his ability to create his box crashing ability. Just his understanding of that part of the game is so much more advanced than Obed's was at this same age, even though Obed had, you know, a couple years as a.
00:23:00
Speaker
consistent contributor and starter at the first division level. At that point, Snyder doesn't have that same level of experience, but It is notable that, you know, not even nine months ago, he made his first first team appearance and he has already reached a point where he's played every single game this season. i think it's easy to overlook that because some of those have been like 12 minute cameos at the end of a game, but he's appeared in every single game and has started something like eight of the 12 and the ones he didn't were basically games where they rotated. Right. um He,
00:23:40
Speaker
He's also started it. He started as an as an eight, as a six and as a right winger or pocket winger, whatever we to call that. Sure. But that he's being that they're fine. My point being it that they're finding ways to get him on the field. Yeah. I think if we are hemming and hawing about whether he's part of the ideal 11 for this team, the Sounders seem pretty confident that he is.
00:24:01
Speaker
But my point is that. There was an ongoing, maybe a bit, maybe some of it is real, genuine opinions during last season about Obed being, and I think Obed is a $10 million dollars player, maybe more.
00:24:21
Speaker
Snyder Runeau could very easily, by the time he leaves the Sounders, be much more than a $10 million dollars player, especially if he continues to grow and develop the way it looks like he is. locking that down so that you don't end up in a situation where you take a sort of cut rate deal because it's better than not getting anything. And, you know I, we don't need to rehash the Obed deal, but I think,
00:24:45
Speaker
we are moving into a situation where it will be very good business to sign Snyder Brunel to a U22 deal. I would totally agree with that. And what also does help is that Obed, can you know, he's still not totally broken through at the Atletico, but that he's consistently getting minutes and he's getting
Jordan Morris's Versatility and Personal Journey
00:25:03
Speaker
starts. Like he started, i think a handful of games now at this point.
00:25:06
Speaker
Yeah. Interestingly, not, he still hasn't made his champions league debut, which is like kind of a, I guess it speaks to the depth of that roster that you can have a player like that playing as many minutes as he does in league play and and not being able to get on the field at all in Champions League.
00:25:22
Speaker
which is just kind of an annoying thing because for me because I've been tracking the ex-sounders to play in Champions League and it's never happened before. ah no one from the Pacific, I don't think anyone from the Pacific Northwest, were including Alex, Alaska as part of that, has actually played in Champions League.
00:25:39
Speaker
ah if Yes, it's true. Neither DeAndre Yedlin, nor Henry Wingo, nor Casey Keller actually played in the formal Champions League, ah which is a strange but true reality.
00:25:51
Speaker
Anyway, ah that he continuing to do well, I think also does well to build the Sounders brand and sort of give people, give foreign scouts some confidence that whatever is happening here is translatable. Yeah.
00:26:05
Speaker
And everything i'm I'm seeing from Snyder is is very, very good. So the other element of the sort of asymmetrical nature of this This position battle is how Jordan Morris fits into it and sort of the the situation around him.
00:26:23
Speaker
and I think there is an open question right now where not no not necessarily his best position, but where he is most useful. You know, he looked, I thought, really good against FC Dallas playing as a right winger.
00:26:36
Speaker
I think there's a very valid argument that as a number nine, he could still be an elite number nine. And, but it's not as simple as that because there are other, other considerations here.
00:26:49
Speaker
I think the real benefit with Jordan is we have seen over the course of his career and particularly in the last few seasons that he is incredibly productive at any of really three sort of four. If you want to play him in a two forward setup where he's either.
00:27:11
Speaker
leading as the point man in a two forward set, or, you know, if you played him with De Rosario and De Rosario is the target man and Jordan sort of makes runs off of him. I think,
00:27:25
Speaker
You can so make an argument that that's two separate positions. And then he can also be very productive from the wings. And there's not a huge statistical drop off from no in any of those spots. No, it's and's funny. I actually looked this up this week and i was surprised to see that. No, I didn't dig too deeply into it, but he's got almost the exact same strike rate at both wide and central positions. But anyway, go ahead.
00:27:49
Speaker
So you can. It is less about. needing to necessarily find the position that he is most effective and which position can you play him at to get someone else into their most effective position where if it is that you feel like the best position potential benefit for the team is playing one of Masovsky or de Rosario up top to really get them rolling.
00:28:25
Speaker
Jordan making runs from whether it's the right or the left, you get a little bit of the benefit of a guy like Christian or Snyder making a late run into the box from deeper in midfield that most teams in MLS just are not going to cover that run as effectively because it's coming from a different spot than they anticipate. Jordan making the, you know, the run he made on his goal more than the,
00:29:00
Speaker
Ferrara goal because that one is just sort of him chasing down a almost a clearance. Yeah. um But with Jordan in those positions, those clearances become dangerous balls to a certain extent. But Jordan making that run from sort of the right channel
00:29:22
Speaker
allows him to not get picked up really by either the left back or the center back because he's sort of outside of both of their zones and teams aren't playing man to man very much. So he gets to take advantage of those miscommunications and spaces a little bit more than he would by just making runs off of the back shoulder of a center back. it is...
00:29:51
Speaker
Jordan taking a more agnostic approach to his own position and just wanting to be on the field allows the coaching staff to consider more, you know, who else they can get the most out of.
00:30:07
Speaker
Speaking what did you did you happen to see the interview that where he talked about his agnostic attitude towards I guess he said it also in the postgame of Dallas. i I did not see it. I have read it multiple times, but.
00:30:22
Speaker
Yeah, that was it. I don't know I thought it was an interesting moment for him where he is someone who doesn't always speak. I don't want to say he doesn't speak honestly, but he does not often speak in a guarded, unguarded way. And I felt like this was a rare time this week where he was sort of honest about his internal emotions. And, ah you know, I can I can see where he's coming. he He if you haven't read it, he basically said that at times during his rehab, he was sort of losing the love for the game. And I think that's understandable for a guy who's in his 30s now, who's got kids at home, who's married.
00:31:00
Speaker
And, you know, the whole reason you're doing this is to play is not to rehab. And he spent an inordinate amount of time over the last year in the training room and not getting to play. And I can definitely see how that would sap your love for the game.
00:31:15
Speaker
Especially a guy like Jordan, who, to your point, is not the most open communicator. And even for all that, you know, he kind of gets flack for his emotiveness on the field at times and the way his shoulders will drop in the past if something doesn't go right whatever but we've also seen him be much more expressive in
00:31:48
Speaker
celebrating goals and things like that over the last few years, a guy like him being stuck in the gym, rehabbing from an injury while the attack flows in a way that it hasn't for him during much of the time when he's been one of the guys for the team, probably an added weight of Like, what am I doing here? What's the point of? Yeah. And I think there's an alternate element of, you know, he was you look you go back to the early season last year where he was so he was very excited about playing with Jesus.
00:32:26
Speaker
He's good friends with Paul Areola. Yeah, I'm sure he was excited about that. And obviously, Areola got hurt. They were both rehabbing together, I suppose. So maybe that was some off field chance for them to to bond.
00:32:38
Speaker
But I do think that there wasn't a a significant element of. sort of missing out. Like i was so excited to be playing with these guys. I can't get on the field with them. This sucks.
00:32:48
Speaker
And I'm sure that was going on this year, especially as Ariel was getting back and scoring, you know, and having these games and no, he missed a big chunk of club world cup. He only got in as a sort of cameo appearance in the club world cup.
00:33:01
Speaker
You know, he didn't really play much of a role in champions league this year. And I'm sure there is a lot of like, look, I don't have that much.
Offensive Improvements and Opponent Analysis
00:33:10
Speaker
time at this point yeah and i want to be out on the field and i hope that he is taking that as a real i hope he's taking that attitude to heart where it's like it really doesn't matter where he's playing is he if he's on the field he's much closer to doing something he loves than if he's not on the field and getting wrapped up in that whole thing so hopefully i think this will be good for everyone and i i think the sounders offense does seem to be clicking a little bit more
00:33:38
Speaker
They have an opportunity to get right this week for sure. But why don't we take a break here? We'll talk about Sporting Kansas City after the break. You're listening to Nos Adiates on the Sound at Heart Podcast Network.
00:33:52
Speaker
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00:34:38
Speaker
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00:35:43
Speaker
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00:35:49
Speaker
Welcome back to Nos Adiates on the Sounder Heart Podcast Network. All right, so Sporting Kansas City, they are in a bad way. And I don't mean this in a... Same way that in 2024 when the Sounders played Sporting Kansas City and they were 10 games unbeaten or winless to start the season.
00:36:09
Speaker
Where that team, you could explain it away a little bit. They were missing some key components that were coming back, actually, as it was timed right when they were playing the Sounders. they The underlying numbers were not too, too bad either, if I remember correctly, during that 2024 run.
00:36:27
Speaker
But really, there is no way to slice this. Sporting Kansas City is an awful, awful team right now It is illustrative that two different outlets have done like long-form dives into the collapse of the Peter Vermees Empire.
00:36:45
Speaker
ah the house that Peter Vilt has fully fallen. ah They over their last six games, they have given up at least three goals and lost by at least two in all six of them, which includes a three, nothing just sweep by a,
00:37:10
Speaker
colorado springs switchbacks yes in us open cup um that's that's not great that's not what you want no um yeah six losses running they just got absolutely bulldozed by the chicago fire five nothing um They've got some dudes, you know, Dan Jovolic is a good player. He'll grab you a goal as he's done in two of the last couple games. The only two goals they've scored, I think, in their last five were both by him.
00:37:48
Speaker
But it's not... It's not a team that strikes fear into into the hearts of many. No, he scored their last two goals and three of their last four. Actually, if you go back to actually take it back, he has actually scored five of their last.
00:38:11
Speaker
Jeez, they are a massive a team. Day on Jovolech is essentially their offense right now. And they have, you they you know, you can kind of run down the metrics and they're last in just about every single one of them.
00:38:27
Speaker
They're, they're last in goal scored. I think they've given up the second most goals. They have the worst XG. They have the worst expected goals allowed. They of course have the worst expected goal difference.
00:38:38
Speaker
They've taken the fewest shots. They, they have, you know, like the third or fourth lowest percent, uh, possession percentage it's it's bad it's really really bad and the main reason i guess is you know you can put it on peter vermise i suppose but i'm a little reluctant my impression of that is that it wasn't so much peter vermise's fault as it was peter vermise sort of holding it together as long as he could Yeah, the soccer wise guys dove into this somewhat earlier this week. Not somewhat. They did a pretty good explanation of it. But.
00:39:16
Speaker
Peter Vermees was. the structure and they tried at a couple points to build some scaffolding around it so they could add on to support that structure. And the scaffolding kept falling down. And then eventually Peter Vermees leaves and the guy that you've brought in to sort of take up the mantle behind him doesn't have a track record of success.
00:39:44
Speaker
And as a result, you just are sort of like, building the plane in midair, but you haven't been able to take off yet. And like they they have some flex. The good news, I guess, is that they have some flexibility. They have not overcommitted to a bunch of big contracts that are going to sort of be albatrosses.
00:40:06
Speaker
But the absence of that is that they just don't have a lot of talent on the on the roster. Their roster is literally short. they they I think they have the fewest players on first team contracts in the whole league.
00:40:17
Speaker
And then they made a somewhat curious coaching decision when they brought in Raphael Vicky, who I guess has a good reputation... in some specific ways, but he has been the head coach of an MLS team before and they weren't good. That good reputation might just be people who are friends with Raphael Vicky and might be his immediate family members because he did not come out of his stint as a U.S. youth national team head coach covered in right accolades. I have been anti-Raf Vicky since that. I think you 17 World Cup.
00:40:56
Speaker
Was that the one with AOC? and AOC and Danny Leyva, I believe. um Which was also, you know, I think it was one of the first looks at Gio Reyna, which that tournament also is where I became anti-Gio Reyna guy. and Ricardo Pepe was on that team too, right? I believe so. Ricardo Pepe started over AOC quite a bit, yeah and Gio Reyna was ah heliocentric player.
00:41:22
Speaker
and did absolutely nothing with it. And that all seems to be Raphael Vicky's decision-making. Right. um I just don't think he knows how to put a team together or motivate a team once it is there.
00:41:39
Speaker
um You can kind of, he's one of those players, people who you're, look, this is going to be unfair, but you look at him, he's got the glasses, he's clean cut, you know, he's got that, i don't know, what is it? A,
00:41:52
Speaker
Swiss accent. I don't know. I do believe he is Swiss. Okay. So he's got a European accent of some sort. And it all sounds like very smart and analytical. And it and it just he has this presentation of being put together well.
00:42:07
Speaker
But then there's just a lot of ah you hear him talking and then there's not it's not like it's filling you with confidence. I mean, it's a lot of i mean, I don't know what you're supposed to do there. He's in a bad situation, but lot of excuses, a lot of, you know, we're doing the best we can type stuff.
00:42:24
Speaker
all sizzle, no fondue. Yeah. For a Swiss guy. yeah i don't that's that i don't know that they're famous for their steaks, but yeah. um Yeah. I,
00:42:36
Speaker
Brian Schmetzer made multiple comments about they're not overlooking this team. It's a potential trap game that he thinks Raphael Vicky knows how to put a team together and they've got some good guys. I think that is a reasonable stance to take if you are the head coach of a of a professional team, because you shouldn't overlook any opponent. Yeah.
00:43:00
Speaker
um I think doing so sets a bad precedent. It puts your own team in a bad position. we are not responsible for the team's performances and jinxes aren't real. So yeah, there's no reasonable circumstance where the Sounders should not expect to go into this game and walk out with a sizable goal tally and all three points um and maybe get a guy fired. I don't know. Right. Yeah, it would be interesting. i don't know It would be interesting if that's something that's on the table. I guess our first year coach being fired at this point in the season would not be probably the most unheard of thing in the world, but it would certainly be a bad sign. And it may be indicative of the state of of that roster.
00:43:48
Speaker
ah Their best player in some ways, other other than Dejan or Dion Jovulic, It's probably been Manu Garcia, who does seem to have some creativity in him. He gave the Sounders a little bit of trouble elastic the last time they played, if I remember correctly. ah And look, this is an MLS team.
00:44:07
Speaker
They have some players who in their moment are perfectly capable. But under there's really no ah barring some weird, you know, early red card or two.
00:44:21
Speaker
This is not a team that the Sounders should be competitive with. They've got somewhere around 20 guys on professional deals. Anything, anything can happen.
00:44:32
Speaker
ah You know, when the ball gets rolling, it could be, you know, the Sounders luck really swung for the San Jose game.
00:44:44
Speaker
Maybe this is the pendulum swing where they rack up. chance after chance and shot after shot and ball just don't go in net and some weird penalty or own goal or just day on you have lich being a good player and combines with manu garcia and gets a goal and that's the only goal in the game that's possible we have seen the sounders play defense at a caliber that should limit the likelihood of that right
00:45:20
Speaker
I'm not going to worry too much about, you know, a 1% possibility. No, it's, it's definitely a
Maintaining Momentum and Focus
00:45:28
Speaker
team. I mean, I guess like if you're looking for reasons to build up your, so your skepticism, the centers do have three home games coming up against teams. They are presumed to be, they're, they're currently battling near the top of the conference.
00:45:42
Speaker
So those will be, you know, you could imagine them maybe losing focus a little bit and looking ahead to those games. Brian Schmester has talked extensively this week about trying to make sure that doesn't happen it is a road game it is a 11 30 a.m local start time so if you are ah setting your schedule i would urge you to in my mind i didn't even realize it was 11 30 a.m so lot of your day ahead of you uh if you're if you're a sounders fan but so i guess those are those are variables that
00:46:12
Speaker
you know Who knows? But this would definitely be one of those matches where if they drop points, they will be ruining it for for i mean for a long time. i mean It's not hard to imagine them coming up a point or two short in whatever standing position they're in and going like, God damn it, we should have had three against Sportingham City. Yeah.
00:46:32
Speaker
I think maybe more important than just getting the three points against supporting Kansas city, which they absolutely should do is that this game affords them an opportunity ahead of a really important series of games against, you know, I don't know that,
00:46:50
Speaker
San Diego or the galaxy are really going to be contenders at the end of the season. Right. But these are teams that it does you a lot of good to get results against.
00:47:02
Speaker
And with a big break coming up for the world cup, If you can continue the momentum you've already built and maybe pick up some more steam there with a really strong performance against SKC where, you know, you rack up a big lead and you start to, you get some guys rest and you get some of the guys who are working back from injury, good little 20, 30 minute runouts where they're building back up their rhythm.
00:47:37
Speaker
And you can keep that ball rolling as you go into this stretch of games to end of the month so that you are that much closer to the, you know, the pointy end of the supporter shield race.
00:47:54
Speaker
You're in contention to be hosting important games at the end of the season and
00:48:02
Speaker
The points really matter later in the season, but the confidence matters a lot right now. And I think this is an opportunity to build that confidence. Absolutely. And, you know, throughout the year, I've been sort of tracking this stat that helps me visualize where they're standing against previous seasons.
00:48:22
Speaker
and i always like to look at the fixture and compare it to what they did last year so this year the sounders i believe are seven points ahead of last year's pace based on the fixtures that they've played and they beat sporting kansas city on the road last year so which is to say that this is you know you want to if you don't want to start giving points back this is this is where you gotta you gotta have to hold serve so it's not even a bonus this road game is not a bonus game the way that some uh the previous road games have been so I think there's, and they play, it sounds like the next game that they play, or is that two games from now? Might be.
00:48:57
Speaker
Well, anyway, the San Jose home game is going to be a tough one, and that is one where they, again, that's another one where they won last year at home against San Jose, and I think we have to be prepared for the possibility that they will give some of those points back.
00:49:09
Speaker
San Jose looks like an absolute juggernaut right now, and if the Sounders got out of that point yeah out of that game with a point, I think you would probably be generally pretty happy with it. But again, the only way that the math continues to work is if you claim the points that you absolutely know you have to. And so that's, you know, if nothing else, that's that's a big reason to to get these three points and to feel like you can't overlook this opponent.
00:49:33
Speaker
Anything else you wanted to talk about today, Tim? I don't think so. i just looking and it is, you know, they run the California teams to end this month. San Diego is next. And then San Jose.
00:49:46
Speaker
um We can wait to dig into those teams until yeah those games come up. But I would just remind people Jordan Morris loves playing against Sporting Kansas City on the road, too. I'd like to see him count again. I would like to see him count. id like that I like that idea a lot. One other thing I'll remind everyone.
00:50:05
Speaker
ah Today is the last day that we're doing the presale on the new issue of four, which is the Sounder at Heart magazine. You can get it for $10. And then after today, it's going to be It'll go to its normal price of 15.
00:50:20
Speaker
We're hoping to send those out in early June so that they will show up to your door by the time the World Cup actually starts. ah Tim, of course, is in the middle of writing a feature ah that we...
00:50:34
Speaker
have tentatively planned and we are really running up against the deadline to get finished, which is not his fault. But I so I don't want us to talk too much about it because I'm not 100% sure what it's going to be.
00:50:46
Speaker
But ah we have that. ah Garth Logoway has actually told us that he he will submit a piece for this ah for this magazine. We have a at least one or two articles from Charles Boehm, who's been someone we've really loved working with.
00:51:00
Speaker
uh leander shell rickens i think it's how you say sherlockens sherlockens uh he also submitted something so a lot of notable authors are going to be contributing to this uh this magazine and i think people are going if you like the first issue i think you're you're really going to like the second one uh and then the chances are we probably won't do another one until the the beginning of next season so uh this gets you you know gets your fix for print until then i suppose But all right, well, let's get out of here. want to say thank you, of course, to our sponsor, Full Pool Wines.
00:51:32
Speaker
Thank you to all of you who are our subscribers and making this happen. i want to also urge you to go check out our YouTube channel, which is basically now moving over to Lobbing Scorchers. We are working out a finalizing a partnership with Lobbing Scorchers where they're going to basically take over our video and social media content. Really excited about that.
00:51:52
Speaker
And ah yeah, good. With that, we'll get out of here. I'm Jeremiah Shan signing off for Tim Foss. This is Nos Adietes, part of the Sounder Heart Podcast Network, and we'll catch you next time.
00:52:33
Speaker
Let's go and sounders.