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Kickoff: How should the Seattle Sounders line up in the Leagues Cup semis?
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After a rotated side pulled out a dominating 5-2 victory for the Seattle Sounders over Sporting KC in Matchday 30, it's onto the Leagues Cup semifinals, where the Rave Green will take on LA Galaxy at Dignity Health Sports Park. We'll review Seattle's 5-goal outburst against the Wrestling Enthusiasts, then break out the lineup builder to project how we think Brian Schmetzer should deploy his XI on Wednesday.
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Lobbing Scorchers Kickoff is a Seattle Sounders and MLS focused live morning show. Join Ari Liljenwall and Niko Moreno live on YouTube every Monday, at 8am Pacific to kickoff your week with the inside scoop on the Seattle Sounders and Major League Soccer. Hosted by Major League Soccer's Ari Liljenwall and Pulso Sports' Niko Moreno. Grab a coffee as we talk about the American soccer landscape, Seattle Sounders, Major League Soccer, USMNT and more.
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Transcript
00:00:00
Speaker
This episode of Lobbing Scorchers was previously recorded and streamed live on YouTube.com slash at Lobbing Scorchers. If you want to listen or catch these episodes live, see the video, and see all the rest of our content, go to YouTube.com slash at Lobbing Scorchers or LobbingScorchers.com slash YouTube.
00:00:22
Speaker
Well sir, we got a scorcher today. Gonna be real scorcher today. Why the scorcher today? Well it's gonna be a scorcher.
00:00:43
Speaker
Good morning, everybody. Welcome in to another episode of Lobbing Squirters Kickoff. I'm Ari. That's Nico. We got a good show for you all planned here this morning.
00:00:54
Speaker
We're going to be talking Seattle Sounders versus Sporting Kansas City, a 5-2 win. for Seattle, a Moose hat trick, a Danny Leyva at the number 10, a Snyder Beagle, a lot going on that I'm excited to catch up with you on Nico.
00:01:07
Speaker
And then we're going to be talking some leagues cup semis. Seattle now heads to Los Angeles thriving metropolis of Carson, California to take on the LA galaxy in the leagues cup semis.
00:01:19
Speaker
ah We're going to be previewing that matchup. We're going to bust out the lineup builder and talk about how she, how Seattle should line it up. Uh, Nico, how are you doing this morning, man? Thanks for hopping on. Hey, what's going on, Ari? Lobbins, gorgeous audience. Happy to be here, especially after a big win, a great win there by the Seattle Sounders, see if you take consideration what Bryant Smetzer and the Seattle Sounders were able to do by giving their starters some well-do-needed rest and still losing no part of their identity, their style of play, and coming across pretty...
00:02:00
Speaker
pretty strongly over Sporting Kansas City. Your dog is happy about it, as I can hear in the background. Yes, can hear He's very excited about the rotation. he Loved the Danny Leva at the number 10 tactics. So that's that's just another benefit from the win. Yeah.
00:02:15
Speaker
but Let's get into it. But before we do all that, please, everyone like the video, sub to the channel, um buy our hot sauce at lovingscorchers.com slash sauce and follow us on all social media platforms, including Instagram and TikTok.
00:02:34
Speaker
ah All right, Nico. Yeah, let's ah let's talk about this sporting Kansas City game to start. As always, if you guys have questions, topics, agendas, observations, grievances, feel free to drop them in chat. We'll get to as many as we can.
00:02:49
Speaker
ah But yeah, let's start with the ah with the lineup because ah this was the game where you know we've been projecting all these rotated lineups and then the 11 comes out and it's the same 11 that they usually run.
00:03:06
Speaker
The Christian Obed double pivot never goes anywhere. ah Christian did start this game, but he only went 45 minutes. So yeah he actually did get some rest. Snyder B got the start and that went very well. Danny Leyva, like we mentioned, started at the at that number 10 spot, that more advanced role.
00:03:24
Speaker
I thought that looked phenomenal. ah Moose had a hat trick. But I guess, Nico, what did you, what were what was your reaction when you saw the lineup come out and it was actually rotated? And then how did it end up playing compared to how you you thought it would when you saw it? Because, i you know, I was happy to see it, but I wasn't sure how it was going to go. I definitely didn't think it was going to drop five goals.
00:03:51
Speaker
I was excited when I first saw the lineup. And, you know, of course, we are there on the day to day basis. So we had an idea of how much rotation there was going to be to that team.
00:04:04
Speaker
I thought that, and, you know, I had said this on Friday that I thought specifically, Ovid Vargas needed a rest. And if it wasn't physical, it was mental.
00:04:18
Speaker
And I thought it was going to maybe be Danny and you keep Ferreira at the 10. ah But as the person who brought up the Danny at the 10 for the very first time here, and you're welcome, Brian Smetzer,
00:04:31
Speaker
um Yes, I think that it worked phenomenal. So I was happy to see him start there. i was excited to see Kalani and Georgie having that duo at the wings because we have seen Kalani play there before.
00:04:47
Speaker
And although perhaps a guy that has been thought of as a a guy that has a lot of those wheels and has that Mexican effort and can't play ah pretty good defensively.
00:05:01
Speaker
And ah Brian has used them in cameos there to kind of play ah higher pressure and and pick up the ball defensively a little bit higher up the field. but um He has shown that he could play those inside channels extremely well. I think he has ah great instincts overall.
00:05:21
Speaker
and And so I was excited to see that. ah But mainly i was excited about Burnell, right? Snyder Burnell is a guy that we've we've been high on that, ah as I mentioned during our last episode, my highest praise is that he's a guy that is always in the right position, that sees the game well beyond his 18 years old ah of age, right? He's a guy that It's cerebral.
00:05:48
Speaker
And although I think that the biggest difference between him and Obed when when they first came on the scene is that Obed maybe be was more dynamic on the ball. It was more dynamic in general.
00:06:00
Speaker
I think Snyder has a huge potential. So i was excited to see him play there. I was a little bit concerned. ah defensively seeing both Cody Baker and Reed Baker Whiten on the opposite end.
00:06:13
Speaker
Reed Baker usually playing on the left. He was playing on the right. um And that kind of proved to be um not not the best part of of of this game. ah But I was excited.
00:06:24
Speaker
I thought that it was important to rotate. I've been saying that at some point, Brian was going to have to play the kids. ah We all wanted to see Georgie get more minutes. So in terms of my general...
00:06:36
Speaker
thought process when I first saw the lineup that could be. And then once it was officially put out there, ah I was excited about it. I wanted to see it. Even if the game would have been more difficult and maybe even a draw, I was very for getting all of this guy's minutes. Absolutely.
00:06:57
Speaker
Everyone who was on the starting lineup, I felt like it was important to see them and see them at specific positions, ah including a guy like Cody Baker that, had been an afterthought for quite some time. And, you know, we see him practicing, we see him working hard, ah but he just didn't really have a spot.
00:07:14
Speaker
And he was it was good to see him, even though, you know, he had some ups and downs during the game. I was excited. So there, that's in a nutshell what was going through my mind initially going into this game.
00:07:27
Speaker
Yeah, you know, Nico, there's been so much talk about the this last transfer window. Seattle didn't make any any moves, fourth straight window, but bla blah, blah, blah.
00:07:38
Speaker
They did make a move. They did make a move. They signed a young, up-and-coming central midfielder who has played two games but Seattle's new signing of the transfer window has two goals in his first two appearances in MLS.
00:07:54
Speaker
How exciting is that? I've been doing this bit. It's not very popular. ah But in all seriousness, like it is a new addition to the to the squad rotation.
00:08:06
Speaker
And I get like no one no one is going to count it they want an outside the league. But the effect is the same. if Like, if you get a new player in the rotation that's meaningfully contributing, and he's getting all literally getting on the score sheet faster than I've ever seen Sounders homegrown since ah Jordan Morris. And I kind of put that in a different category.
00:08:27
Speaker
So, like, the the Snyder B thing is – I don't expect anyone to get as excited about it as ah they would for a signing that comes from outside the league. That's not like an internally brought up addition to the first team, but you should be excited about it. Like this, where we've talked a lot about Obed's potential transfer.
00:08:47
Speaker
this year. ah And that, I mean, I think we all still expect that to happen eventually. And should that be the case to have another homegrown coming up at the, at the same position who already looks very dynamic, who's already getting on the score sheet and really just like looking, uh,
00:09:06
Speaker
Looking like he he fits the identity and the tactics and and all that. it's pretty It's pretty cool to watch. I've been having fun ah seeing Snyder B break in. Every every time he every time he scores, or like the two times that he's scored, the whole team goes crazy.
00:09:22
Speaker
So ah that is that is very cool and it's fun. And i mean, hopefully we get to see him a lot more. I know we'll get to see him a lot more between now and the and the rest of the season here.
00:09:35
Speaker
what did you What did you like about what you saw on on offense? Obviously, Moose gets the hat trick. You can't argue with another five goals. it It was good to see after they got trolled, they got shut out the previous two games going into this game after scoring 26 in their eight before that.
00:09:56
Speaker
They get on track with another five spot. A lot of these crooked score lines, big goal games so far in the last... month or two here. What did you see last night that was working in attack?
00:10:09
Speaker
ah So just real quick, let me just reference what you mentioned earlier. I mean, look, Schneider Brunel is a guy that we've had on our radar for a couple of years, ah going back to every single time we've been lucky enough to one way or another, see the Marbella trainings. And I'm a guy that talks to a lot of senior players every single time they're coming from a preseason camp like that and schneider burnell was always a name that came up uh because of his iq because of his movement uh the the commitment to
00:10:41
Speaker
um play the position adequately, and meaning just the way he closes down space, the effort, um listening to senior players when it comes to criticism, right?
00:10:55
Speaker
Productive criticism is something that is difficult for young players, and he's always seemed to have the right idea of how to get better, how to progress, how to develop. So ah he's a guy that's been coming up, and ah that's something that is part of the Sounders' foundation.
00:11:13
Speaker
It's one of the pillars. It's one of the things that Jeremiah and I have highlighted this whole year, right? I mean, if you go, and and that's why I found it interesting that, you know, when we were ah putting out our frustrations from the last episode, uh, about not this under inability to to sign a U22 striker,
00:11:33
Speaker
ah Some people were like, oh, you guys don't really think about the talent and the way that you would develop. but No, that's not that's not it. ah we We see that as a as a base that is a sustainable talent that that the Sider Sanders have done.
00:11:49
Speaker
i think that the biggest fingerprint or footprint that was left by Garth Lagerwey was the amount of money that was put into the academy and the development. And ever since 2016, moving on, look, the amount of players that have developed through ah the pipeline of the Seattle Sounders system. So ah all the people that had an issue with the Craig Weibulls cooking, you just might have bad taste and all of that stuff.
00:12:15
Speaker
Those are the people that really should be shutting up right now. And they shouldn't realize that ah Craig Bible did a great job of putting together a very good group. And that includes a lot of the Seattle talent and a lot of the Paul Rothrocks who we here at Lobos Corchos have gone ah far and beyond to make sure people knew who he was about.
00:12:39
Speaker
The guys like Georgie and of course, Diner Brunel, the Obeds, all those guys are are part of what the Seattle Sounders have. done for a bunch of time and why we think that if you were to add a lot more commitment into getting certain players, it would take them to the next level. So I just wanted to clarify that because ah it is something that was kind of bothering me.
00:13:04
Speaker
Now, in terms of this game, The first thing that took me into the game and just like made me stop what I was doing, maybe watch it a second time was Georgie. right Right from the very first minute, he was on top of Sporting Kansas City.
00:13:20
Speaker
He is a guy whose explosiveness, defyingness on the ball. makes him a struggle for any defense, right? He's someone that is going to be committed. I think that he's gotten lot better at understanding his moments, at keeping his space, specifically when it comes to pressing moments, those triggers.
00:13:41
Speaker
I think that he's gotten a lot better at tracking back. ah and And so for me, that was the first thing. I know that the the big storyline is going to be Moses Hattrick, and you know he's a poacher, and and and when a poacher is is hot, you've got ah continue to play him, right?
00:13:59
Speaker
And we'll talk about Musavsky here in a little bit, but what i what I thought was the biggest, most interesting, most important part of this and entire game was the midfield play, including the wingers, right? I mean, when you look at what Danny Leyva was able to do,
00:14:20
Speaker
occupying those pockets on the left side, linking up, switching the the the the ball, switching the point of attack. You know, he gets, I think it was two secondary assists.
00:14:33
Speaker
ah You know, he creates the the PK. I thought that. Two secondary, one primary and creates the PK. one primary and the PK. So he was a guy that was part of every single one of these goals.
00:14:44
Speaker
ah He's a guy that ah in set pieces, and we asked him this right before this game, that that that was my question, that if set pieces was a way that he would get more minutes, because then he leaves another guy that has been in the back burner for a little bit.
00:14:58
Speaker
yeah And it's good to see him kind of get a position that I think would allow
00:15:06
Speaker
Brian's message to use him a little bit more, especially when b Brian's been so happy with Ferreira playing that right winger position. So I think this is amazing. And he played phenomenal. It could be his best game after that. He had a very good game against Santos Laguna as well.
00:15:23
Speaker
But in this one, getting on the stat sheet, I think was important for him. He's still looking for his first goal and I think it's coming. But when it comes to being in the stat sheet, I thought that was big for him.
00:15:35
Speaker
He is by far one of the best set-piece takers in this team, and and we've all known this. It's just that he hasn't been able to really get on the field. ah But at thought he was phenomenal. Brunel, just ah in the first goal that Kalani puts away, i counted 12 passes in the series of possession, the possession spell.
00:15:56
Speaker
ah Brunel actually starts by picking up a ball at the beginning of that play. And then he's the one that... takes his space, sees Manungu on the left side, plays him on, and then Manungu puts in the ball that ultimately gets to Kalani, gets saved, and then Kalani, being Kalani, just is hungry. he He's a hunter. He's there. He's not going to let it go.
00:16:21
Speaker
And it puts the ball away ah but in in great fashion. So I just thought Snyder Burnell was, in the midfield was impressive. he He was a guy that fits the part.
00:16:32
Speaker
And obviously having Christian Rodin allows him to do a lot of things and frees him up a lot, but it's just the instincts and and is the the ability to control the game but that I really like from, from Burnell.
00:16:45
Speaker
So for me, Georgie, Leyva and Burnell, what the real story of this game, in my opinion, specifically for the offense. all players that were brought up through the team's internal development system. I thought the coolest moment of the night was watching Georgie set up but Snyder Burnell.
00:17:08
Speaker
That's gotta be Henry Bronner's freaking dream to see stuff like that. Let's talk about this one in chat from Wade because I think this is a worthwhile topic. you see this To be fair, Ari, this isn't a very strong SKC side.
00:17:19
Speaker
Should have won this game with our bench, no problem. Glad we got the win. um I'm going to i'm gonna tell you guys why a win like this should not be taken for granted. Because, like, yes, you would think so. this the Sporting KC is one of the worst teams in the league this year.
00:17:34
Speaker
ah they're not ah They're not nearly on the level that Seattle is in 2025. But another thing that I know is that I've been watching this club play in CONCACAF Champions Cup for years.
00:17:48
Speaker
And I've been watching a lot of MLS clubs try and juggle CONCACAF Champions Cup with their league season for years. And the way that that usually goes because of how MLS rosters are structured and the rules and restrictions and all that is that it doesn't matter when you're juggling tournaments and you're rotating if your opponent is inferior.
00:18:09
Speaker
How many times, how many times ah have we watched Seattle play in CONCACAF Champions Cup? And when they have to rotate, even when it's inferior opposition, the games are horrible to watch.
00:18:21
Speaker
It's like a brutal 0-0 for 83 minutes and then they lose quickly. One zero. And we all go, ah, you know, like unfortunate result, but that's sort of just the cost of doing business with CONCACO Champions Cup.
00:18:34
Speaker
You had to rotate. And it basically becomes this situation where um it's not just Seattle. and MLS clubs are just functionally punting games in league in the league because they have to save their capital, save their best lineups for the tournament that they're juggling.
00:18:49
Speaker
That has been the case for the Seattle Sounders. It's been the case for most MLS teams that you could name when they're in situations where they have to juggle competitions and rotate. A result like that is not a given just because you're playing bad.
00:19:02
Speaker
Not you're playing team that's bad. not when you have to make eight changes where pretty much every and MLS team, if you make eight changes, the 11 you put out there is not going to be able to score five goals.
00:19:13
Speaker
In a lot of cases, it's not going to be able to get a result at all. We have seen that time and again in champions cup over the years with this team. So, uh, It's not a ah result or performance that should be taken for granted just because of inferior opposition.
00:19:30
Speaker
And I think, in in fact, it's the it's the opposite. it's the It's the demonstration that you can be in a situation where you have to juggle competitions and rotate, and you still perform at the at the level that your first choice 11 is.
00:19:47
Speaker
had been had been playing so like uh the the premise that like uh that it doesn't count because it was sporting in kc and they should be handled easily that i mean that's just not it's just not usually how it goes and it was like it should take nothing away from how impressive a performance that was the opposition because i've seen i've seen this very team struggle and lose games in situations like this a lot so the fact that they they didn't do that is very encouraging and i think uh reflective of the of the type of Depth that we're talking about here. Nico, any thoughts on that?
00:20:20
Speaker
I would add that they were dominant. I mean, it wasn't just that they handled them easily and that shouldn't be the case when, as you mentioned, you are making that many changes because you expect a little bit of a a fall ah in terms of either possession or ah execution or movement or building out of the back. And if you look at this game and from the very beginning, as I mentioned,
00:20:44
Speaker
Georgie the first five minutes had two balls into the 18 to Danny Mussovsky that could have very easily gone in the back of the net. I mean, their build out was was great. You know, i thought that Jay Bell and i Yamar and even Cody Baker helping build out of the back were very good. They were inviting Sporting Kansas City to come and and press and they were passing right through them.
00:21:09
Speaker
ah I thought that their ability to move and shift and basically play at their will and and and generate tempo and everything that they wanted to do, they were able to do. So whenever you do that, it has to be impressive when you can rotate and be that good and and do everything that you want it out of that game. i mean, I think it's,
00:21:35
Speaker
It's impressive. So I don't like to do this because I don't like comparing team to team because I've always said that soccer is not linear and it's very circumstantial. But go look at Orlando. They rotated and they ate up five. How did that go and how to go? They were playing a much better team, but they still like you would not expect them to get worked like that. They gave up five goals, got absolutely destroyed.
00:21:57
Speaker
But then Miami, they played a bad team, a very bad team in D.C. United. They rotated and they reallyly drew that game. That is. that the how might What happened to Miami?
00:22:08
Speaker
That's what usually happens. They literally played the team that's wooden spooning ah right now. DC United, I think, is bottom of the league table. Inter-Miami had to rotate for the League's Cup semis just like Seattle did.
00:22:19
Speaker
They tied DC 1-1. If Seattle had tied Sporting KC 1-1 in this game, would have been like, yeah, that's how it you that's how it goes. We would be on here being like, all right, like yeah, it sucked, but at the League's Cup semis are the priority. It's whatever. Those are the kind of games. That you have to pump in these situations Maybe wouldn't have sucked It would have been like oh man now I'm glad I got to see Snyder I got to see Danny play the 10 And the draw is a draw He got a point right Miami rescued that draw I mean it's a goloso That was an insane goal By Baltazar And it was a phenomenal goal They rescued that draw They were losing the majority of the game So that's what I mean by They got dunked on by someone named Jackson Hopkins
00:23:04
Speaker
That's what happened in Miami. It was a good goal, too. No disrespect. No, it was a great goal, too. Yeah, the way he just brings it down and puts it away was a good goal. But that's exactly what I mean. I like to provide a little bit of perspective sometimes, and that helps some of our audience. So it's not as easy as it seems. I think you've got to give a lot of credit to this team that is very deep, that, as Brian mentioned, even during the press conference, the fact that all these players – play together, practice together. they they They have the same notions. I mean, that is why you get that sort of familiarity in that that maybe cohesiveness that you don't see in other teams when you're rotating this heavily.
00:23:49
Speaker
Matt coming in with our first super chat of the morning. Thank you, Matt. Appreciate you getting the train rolling. ah Says my work laptop's random background this morning is a zoomed in picture of a moose. Something's in the air, y'all.
00:24:01
Speaker
Moose hat trick. That's what's in the air. Let's talk about moose. Let's talk about moose. ah Well, I mean, it was good to see him bounce back from ah the unfortunate red card that has him suspended for the rest of League's Cup.
00:24:17
Speaker
Not Moose's finest moment, but, you know, that's how you want to see him bounce back. ah He does get the Hattie with the penalty at the at the end there, but he also, ah his first goal came in a pretty big spot because Seattle had just, ah they had conceded an equalizer about like, I don't know, 10, 15 minutes before that.
00:24:36
Speaker
And they werere about to go in into half with a tied 1-1 in kind of disappointing fashion. RBW sets him up for for that first header. And then he he s smashes home.
00:24:48
Speaker
The Danny Leva corner kick for the second one. and then and then the penalty right at the end. ah Moose is up to 13 goals in the league. Is it 15 all-comps or 14?
00:24:59
Speaker
and I think it's 15. I think it's 15 all-comps. ah Moose might become the first Sounders player in ah and club history to hit 20 goals. for It looks like he's going to hit that at this point, which is... ah I mean, I don't really know what to say about it at this point. He's literally like if they had like signed a Raul replacement, like like a lot of people wanted them to and not have Jordan leading the line this year.
00:25:29
Speaker
And whoever it is had 15 comps 13 in 1300 minutes league play. thirteen in thirteen hundred minutes in league play everyone would be like, yeah, that's i mean that's why you go sign a DP freaking number nine. He's literally producing at that clip this season.
00:25:45
Speaker
I don't know what to do with that that information. I don't know what to tell all you to do with that information. All I know is what I see on the field every week and on the stat sheet, and I see the most efficient number nine in the entire league right now as far as the amount of goals he's scoring for the minutes that he's getting.
00:26:04
Speaker
it's It's pretty... it's It's unreal. You know, he he is a very specific type of number nine. Like like you said, kind of that poacher number nine. it's not what He's not necessarily going to bring you like all this stuff off the ball or in buildup or in holdup necessarily.
00:26:21
Speaker
But he's gonna if you if he gets it looks in front of goal, he's going to convert him. And... ah I mean, I guess. mallet Yeah, no, it really is. And I guess my question, we were kind of talking about it on the postgame live last night a little bit, but like, is there any way they're able to keep him next year? Because someone's going to give him a bag like off this.
00:26:40
Speaker
He's earning himself a lot of money. right now He's going to he's going to want a bag. it And it is a calendrum. I will say that. I'm still a guy that I need to see. You're a moose skeptic. I've always been, right? And i'm very consistent with the way I handle my analysis because the things that I don't like or I feel like he lacks, he still lacks. I mean, he still... he Everything you just said, he absolutely lacks. There's times in this game where...
00:27:07
Speaker
he'll He'll make a run on the ball, and you know he's not going to make it, and then he gets dispossessed, and you're like, I wonder why he did that, because he's trying to do other stuff. but he was I would argue he's ah that's a little bit of a similar attribute to Rui Diaz, though.
00:27:20
Speaker
Rui Diaz offered a little more, maybe, in terms of combination play, but like he was very much a type of striker that would be like, you might not hear from him for 82 minutes in a game, and then he pops up with like an amazing goal.
00:27:33
Speaker
but like Yeah, Moreau was a guy that could... Finish it with his left, with his yeah right, he'd do it It's just the tools that a striker has, right? That he could ah beat you off the dribble. Maybe not all the time, but he would beat you the dribble.
00:27:47
Speaker
He'll give you with the the that sombrero. And and he's with you a way more dynamic finisher. Skillful, right? It's the skillful component of it. so And poachers are poachers. Look, Javier Chicherito Hernandez, by no means was he like an incredibly tacted technical player or skillful in the sense that he was going to just beat you on the dribble.
00:28:07
Speaker
But he made a career about being a poacher. So being a poacher is great. My my mike's skepticism with Danny Musavsky is the the longer, broader...
00:28:20
Speaker
history of his career, right? He's having a career year and it's great. It's phenomenal. I love it. I think that maybe he found it, right? But it'd be hard for me to commit money to Musowski off of one year of having this sort of like incredible performance, right? So it's it's difficult to to move on, right? When it comes to What else is out there?
00:28:48
Speaker
um What can you get? and And look, i'm I have no doubt that the Sounders will talk to him and maybe he doesn't want to move elsewhere because he's found a home.
00:29:02
Speaker
Someone said they have a team option. is that you know I don't know. like Do they have an option on him for next year? Yes, i I'm pretty sure they do. I'm pretty sure they have an option on him. but But do you pick it up? And how much more is he going to want eventually?
00:29:16
Speaker
or Or maybe not. maybe Maybe he's not. I got to look for the profile. Maybe he's he's out of contract at the end of this year. I can't can't really remember. But the the reality is is that this is going to have to be made. And just like you said...
00:29:30
Speaker
If his agent is not asking for a bag, then you got to get you a new agent, right? So it's pretty obvious that coming off career year, he's going to want more money. So does he get it elsewhere?
00:29:40
Speaker
Does Seattle commit to him? i i still think that there is obviously a nuance to his game that is interesting. If he's proven it to you over a year, that is a lot of database for you to at least be able to Give him a raise, right?
00:29:57
Speaker
How much more? i just, I don't know how much money I would be willing to commit Danny Mussovsky, especially knowing, obviously, that Jordan Morris is going to be your guy through 2027, and that's who you are going to be going off of, right? He's going to come in and be your number one.
00:30:15
Speaker
i think it's ludicrous to think that Mussovsky is going to be Seattle's number one over Jordan Morris, right? Yeah. Yeah, no I mean, I don't think that's necessarily the question of if you like build around Moose for the foreseeable future.
00:30:30
Speaker
It's just, you know, it's ah it's a it's a question of like, if you have to give him a raise, ah should you do that? Or how how much of this is a function of ah this system seems to be very kind to number nines.
00:30:48
Speaker
yeah I mean, Jordan was has been banging in goals every time he's played. He's just been injured all year. You got Osase who has three goals in the last few weeks, and he really could have a few more based on the chances that he's getting within the system. He had a couple last night that he that he could have had that he, one, he put into the 27th row from right in front of goal, and then one, God, he made such a sick turn on that guy, where and then he he shanked the shot.
00:31:12
Speaker
a little bit, but oh every every number nine that's been playing ah this year has been getting chances, has been scoring goals. And with the Moose Hattie, pretty sure they have 20 combined goals, or let's see, Jordan has four, Moose has 15. They have 22 goals, Chad.
00:31:31
Speaker
22 goals from the number nine position this year. That is elite production any way you slice it. ah So the fact that ah Moose, like a kind of cast off veteran before he got here and Osaze, a pretty kind of random homegrown or two of the guys scoring those goals.
00:31:46
Speaker
don't really care who's scoring him as long as they're going in. So it it'll be an interesting calculation because there's a, we were talking about this last night too. There are a couple guys, a few guys on this team that are outperforming the money that they're making. Moose is one of them. Paul Rothrock is another.
00:32:01
Speaker
ah You know, everyone everyone's a team guy. Everyone's a team guy. But at the end of the day, if you're a guy like Paul Rothrock or a guy like Danny Musavsky, you're looking around the league and you're Danny Musavsky and you're like, wait a minute.
00:32:18
Speaker
I have more than twice the goals of a manual $22 million dollars latte lot. Why is this man making... 11 times my salary. You know, it's something that he's going to, he's going to, he's going to wonder like anyone would. And, ah you know, there's a finite amount of time you have to maximize this stuff as an athlete.
00:32:37
Speaker
And ah i you know, it would be, it would be stupid not to try and get everything you can out of it. Especially like when you're having a season like Moose ah where you got 15 goals, all comps, like,
00:32:49
Speaker
That's ah he's he's providing one of the most valuable assets that people that every club is chasing right now, which is volume goal scoring. So, I mean, well, though these are more offseason questions, but they are real. They are real questions that are going to have to be dealt with.
00:33:04
Speaker
ah Nico, I know you have to get out of here at 45 today. So anything else on the game last night before we hit this lineup builder and talk about how Seattle should do this in L.A. on Wednesday?
00:33:18
Speaker
ah No, just Kalani is the other guy that I just find extremely interesting. He's a guy that a lot like Paul Rothrock gets ah the same, um not stigma, but you know you kind of assume that the reason why he's out there is because he has that PNW effort and engine and stuff. But man, there was a couple of plays yesterday where he brings down the ball with his with his shoulder, directing it, putting it ahead of himself, the way he moves, ah the spaces he gets to, the shot he put away with no angle and as close as he did to put it where he put it.
00:33:55
Speaker
A lot of his passing, i just i was very impressed by Kalani. He's a guy that I think maybe um I'm very excited to see his progression yeah over the next couple of years.
00:34:08
Speaker
Cause he's a guy that just seems to have all the tools from the attitude, the, the, the, the swag. Yeah. Cause he has it. He has that maybe like, I don't know. It was like that Maui, you know, like swag. He just has it. And the way he plays the game with a chip on his shoulder and he is just big and strong and just, man, I just feel like there is a lot to Kalani's game that I'm very curious to see. You know, at at one point I thought he was just going to be mainly a wingback,
00:34:41
Speaker
but seeing him get better and better at winger is very interesting. He's a different type of winger, but, but, but I absolutely love it. And then finally here, I would think that ah but Danny Mussovsky is going to be a guy that's going to get a lot of ah good services this year.
00:35:01
Speaker
um, I'll say that until Jordan gets back. I mean, he he has that starting spot spot on. I mean, it's his. I like that. Brian Spencer said, look, he's not on my, he's not out of my doghouse just yet, but you know, that's a good way to start getting out of the doghouse. that's yeah That's a great way. Right. So, you know, I like the fact that as always, Brian just bringing it all down. It's like, he had a, he had a hat trick, but let's not forget he's still in the doghouse. So I thought those two things were interesting.
00:35:31
Speaker
Yeah, you know, if you – getting out of the doghouse, as we saw with Nuhu, it's a multifaceted process. It it takes more than ah one game. But scoring a Hattie in your first game post-Doghouse, that's pretty good.
00:35:47
Speaker
All right, Nico, let's talk some lees Leagues Cup semifinals before you jet. Seattle going into LA on, ah on Wednesday earned themselves some, some rest or like, I guess a more charged up lineup through the lineup they were able to put out in, in this game.
00:36:06
Speaker
ah And someone mentioned it earlier, I meant to hit on it. The galaxy rotated as well against the Rapids and absolutely destroyed the Rapids. They should have been running that lineup all year. That looked like a way better team. Like what was going on with that? I think they've, I think Greg Vandy finally solved it. They should have saved that lineup for leagues cup. They had, they had their version of Snyder Burnell, some guy named Harbor Miller,
00:36:30
Speaker
ah coming in and getting his first MLS goal. ah They had a lot of their like young guys out. They had winder out there. I think he got a goal. It was a totally rotated LA side against what I imagine was a pretty first choice Colorado side who felt like they could had a chance to get a result and the galaxy smashed on him.
00:36:50
Speaker
So there, I mean, they're feeling good. And I would say in general, I just don't, I don't expect this to be like a four zero massacre, like Seattle's game there a week or two ago. Like I think the galaxy are going to be up for this.
00:37:06
Speaker
They're going to, they're going to make it competitive and ah Seattle's going have to, they're going put it in, in this game to get a result ah before we bust out the lineup builder. I also, got to say, I got to say this might be sour grapes, but I'm going to say it.
00:37:20
Speaker
I'm going to say it anyway. it's It's silly that they have hosting rights for this. It is silly. They've been the worst team the goddamn league all year.
00:37:31
Speaker
They don't deserve to be hosting this game. ah The team that should be hosting this game is the team that finished number one out of all 36 clubs in phase one of this tournament.
00:37:42
Speaker
ah Seattle should have this game at home. i don't know what we're talking about. Having the MLS cup winner from last year have hosting rights for the whole tournament, the whole thing. Like, where does that you, that is out of left field.
00:37:53
Speaker
All right. So yeah, that the whole ranking before the tournament is, is odd. it's It's a very FIFA thing ah to you know, use the power rankings of, you know, usually it's the national teams. It seems a lot easier to do. How do they calculate that? I want to see the formula on that.
00:38:10
Speaker
Yeah, it's Opta. Opta is the one that that puts it together. But but it's it is a little bit odd, right? um and it it it is funny that, you know, the Sounders should host, right, if obviously Orlando or Inter-Miami were to win. I think that Seattle would host that final, ah if I'm not mistaken.
00:38:31
Speaker
ah But i I just remember it all goes off of the ranking going into this season. this tournament, which just seems odd. Cause like you said, they've been awful. for if It's a good bit. It's good bit that they, they get like full hosting rights for the whole tournament.
00:38:47
Speaker
Uh, they, are they might get into CCC and they are one of, they have been the literal worst team in the league for a not insignificant portion of, uh, of this season, but, uh,
00:38:58
Speaker
all right let's but They looked good against Colorado, man. Like you said, it was interesting watching them play. I will say that they looked a lot better once Payne Solon and Marcus Rose came into the game.
00:39:09
Speaker
ah But ah ah credit to you know the the young guns for putting it on Colorado that you know regardless of what they do, they just seem to Not quite convinced, right? They they got rid of, obviously, they were not got rid of, but they had to let go of Georgie Mihaljevic, and they still go and get some some top players, and and they still can't figure it out. So is it's tough.
00:39:36
Speaker
ah All right, Nico, got the got the lineup builder up right here. we got five minutes to get through this. ah Let's i so I think there's there's a lot of this that's straightforward.
00:39:47
Speaker
But as we know, ah Moose will not be playing in this game. Famously, he won't be playing in the next game after that if Seattle advances. So that, I think, is really the main main thing to talk about, like how they should line up that front four. But ah let's I mean, let's go through it. We're going to have new who on the left here.
00:40:07
Speaker
ah little ah little ah Jackson Reagan right here.
00:40:13
Speaker
Little Yamar right there. Little Alex Roldan right there. Alex Roldan, D-Mid. We didn't talk about that. Started a little bit ah rough, but then I thought it went pretty well. We're going to do the Christian Obed double pivot, obviously.
00:40:29
Speaker
But okay, Mika, let's talk about the front four here. I mean, I think obviously De La Vega is one. Yep. And then, I mean, it's going to be Rothrock on the other side now.
00:40:41
Speaker
or Yep. So really, the but debate is right here. Do you start Osaze up top? Or do you do ah false nine, Ferreira, maybe run that Danieva at the 10?
00:40:57
Speaker
Again, I think this is a good debate based on how Danieva looked in this game. I don't know if Schmetz would want to run something that's still relatively unfamiliar in a game with stakes like this. ah But it... i I don't know. I've been, I've been a little bit torn on, on how I feel about it, but I'll, I'll put in how, how I, how I would, how I would do it. And let's, we'll see if you agree. I don't, I don't know if you're going to agree, but I would start Osase, man.
00:41:22
Speaker
I would, that's how I would do it. I would do Ferreira here and Osase here. ah
00:41:30
Speaker
And, and then, and then if it's not, if it's really like really not working, offense looks bad, you can't score, then you can change it. You can do a subs at half if you need to. Schmetz has been a little bit better about ah pulling the trigger on these things earlier.
00:41:44
Speaker
ah But this, this, this is how I would do it. do you see it? We'll, we'll, we'll fiddle with the other looks, but yeah do you see that differently? Nope. I think that's exactly what's going to happen. I don't think that there's much of a secret of what Brian wants to do. I think that he's a guy that doesn't like to make one too many changes of of players and, ah specifically,
00:42:08
Speaker
For this game, I think he's going to want to see Jesus behind the nine, but I think he'll have Danny Leyva slotted first in that bench. If it's not working and Osase is not finding the back of the net or things are not going the way he wants it, then I would think that he brings in Danny Misofsky in and brings Ferreira up and play the nine.
00:42:29
Speaker
oh You said Mussovsky, Danny Leva. Oh, oop sorry. Yeah, I think he brings in... he will not be bringing in Danny Mussovsky, as we know. is how know I think Danny Leva will be first on the bench to just come in, and you you slide up Ferreira, and then you play with Danny at the 10, because I'm with you.
00:42:46
Speaker
I think that from said pieces, which, to be honest, Jesus had been pretty good and delivering the set pieces, but in the last game against Minnesota, I thought that he struggled a bit there.
00:43:02
Speaker
yeah So Danny does provide that for you, where he's a guy that can really put some very good set pieces in. So I think he'd be a guy that you want to have ready to go. But I do think that he was started off like this.
00:43:17
Speaker
i don't think there's any questions to anybody else in that, in that lineup at all. um And, you know, Pedro de la Vega is a guy that you knew that he was going to get a lot of rest in this one. Cause hopefully they play in 90.
00:43:31
Speaker
I mean, that that's one thing that I want to see. I just want to see, Pedro go through an entire game. I absolutely hate the fact that I continue to take him off the games in this one. I hope that he goes 90. I hope Ferreira goes 90, especially if what we're talking about is part of the ah concepts going into this game is if this doesn't work, this is going to be our our backup. So yeah, I think Ferreira is another guy that's going have to have a big game.
00:43:58
Speaker
But all in all, man, obviously I got to go here, but this game, Once again, regardless of the improvements that the Galaxy have made, I feel like it plays to Seattle's attributes. I feel like they match up very well against the Galaxy.
00:44:17
Speaker
Unless Greg surprises Brian with some sort of wrinkle in his usual system, and I don't see that happening. You know, that does he decide to bunker in a little bit? Does he want to play off the counter?
00:44:32
Speaker
I mean, that'd be pretty interesting if he did that. But if the LA Galaxy played the way they've been playing, the way Vanny plays, I think that Seattle has a a very good
00:44:44
Speaker
percentage of winning this game i regardless of whether it's at la or not i think seattle is the better team that in better form and go get this game no no problem and i'm sorry about my dog he freaked out today i i don't know what happened today he's very excited about the victory over sporting kansas city he thinks danny leva at the number 10 the future and he's vocalizing his opinion on it so i respect I think so, too. I think he's a Danny Leyva fan out there because he's just getting crazy. But thanks, as always, Ari. I really appreciate it.
00:45:15
Speaker
Last thing I'll say is credit to my man, J.O., for in the Craig Weibel press conference asking all the tough questions, including that last one about the timing on when things started ah to to try to...
00:45:29
Speaker
understand where Craig Weibel was coming from, where did things go wrong in their in their scouting or in in when they started to talk to certain players. So if you check out the Craig Weibel press conference, ah check out all three of Jeremiah's questions were on point.
00:45:45
Speaker
I really wanted to be there. I was unable to do so. But me and him, you know, we we were going off of each other's books and I knew he was going to ask all the right questions. And he did, man. He definitely was the the one person that put Craig Weibel to sweat a little bit. So I really appreciate that from J.O.
00:46:01
Speaker
Yeah, absolutely. i It's too bad we couldn't get to the Craig Weibs analysis on that ah this morning. I haven't even watched it yet. I got to the game too late to go as well. ah But ah yeah, well said.
00:46:14
Speaker
I'll watch that today. See ah see what I think. Nico, thanks for hopping on as always, man. Appreciate you and catch you catch you this week. And let's see what happens in the League's Cup semis.
00:46:28
Speaker
Yes sir yes sir sir ah If you want to do one early after the the Champions I mean the Leagues Cup Semifinal I'm ready to go I'll hit you up about that We yeah we might ah we might work that in Alright Chad we love y'all like the Like the video man let's go Later Nico Alright yeah early exit for Nico here this morning So it'll just be me hanging out for the last For the stretch run here Uh Take some questions.
00:46:59
Speaker
Hang out. ah Whatever you guys want to hit. Let you steer the ship a little bit. ah Got a couple super chats. That's how we'll start it off here as I close this one out solo.
00:47:11
Speaker
Jerome says, miss the game, but I have to drop five for them boys. Appreciate you, man. Dollar for every goal. Another five from Matthew. Thank you, Matthew. Appreciate you. Confident in this tourney if it goes to penalties with Andrew T between the posts. That's right. Andrew T.
00:47:28
Speaker
Andrew T. Got to get used to that. Decided I'm not going I feel like you can't you can't be the guy... If someone says that they don't like a nickname, you can't be the guy who just uses it anyway in spite of... It's like basic, I think,
00:47:47
Speaker
Common courtesy. So I don't like the nickname. I didn't know. I had no idea he didn't like the nickname, which it just got so widespread, which I kind of pride myself on Lobby Scorchers being able to to get nicknames that stick.
00:48:05
Speaker
But if he doesn't like Andy T, I'm not going to call him Andy T. What are the Craig W comments? He had a press availability yesterday before the game at Lumen Field. I actually had it pulled up. or I thought I had it pulled up to watch.
00:48:20
Speaker
I'll drop the link in chat for you guys if anyone wants to watch it. ah He was supposedly grilled a little bit. I still I haven't even watched this yet, so I don't know what he said.
00:48:33
Speaker
But it's right there. I just dropped it in chat if anyone wants to watch. He talked about the whole transfer window, how nothing got over the line, how he feels about the state of the roster, all that stuff.
00:48:46
Speaker
So I'm going to dive into that probably right after the ah show here this morning. um
00:48:54
Speaker
But, yeah, I mean, if you're you're looking for more insight into – what was going through his head, how he's, how he's spinning, how he's spinning the situation.
00:49:07
Speaker
Check out that video. Um,
00:49:13
Speaker
between Ohio, Lukovic, or Pukzas, which one do you think would have been the best acquisition? Honestly, the only one that i really researched in depth was Noah Ohio.
00:49:24
Speaker
But to me, to me like this profile of U22 that we're talking about, it's it's like all relatively this a similar guy to me. like They all are all at like similar junctures in their career.
00:49:37
Speaker
a lot of them have similar kind of... paths where they're considered high ups, like potential high upside. But like in no Ohio's case, he wasn't ah breaking into the team for whatever reason. So that's probably why they thought that he might be inclined to make an MLS move, which obviously he turned out not to be.
00:50:00
Speaker
But like, you're just you're just taking swings on guys that you think could pop in the future. And it's pretty hard to tell like which ones are more likely to pop than others. It's, it's just a guessing game.
00:50:14
Speaker
ah But there are swings that like you have the mechanisms to take. So you do need to take them like, and that is ah they they can't, if they want, if they want to say that their targets in the, in this window,
00:50:33
Speaker
didn't come off and they weren't going to make a signing just to make one. Okay. But like, you do have to fill the spot eventually. And that's going to, you're going to have to, unfortunately, that does require spending money.
00:50:46
Speaker
You do have to do it.
00:50:49
Speaker
You can't, I mean, you can do it for free, free transfers, but In this case, with the U22, you unfortunately are going to have to spend money to get like a prospect that's worthwhile.
00:51:06
Speaker
So...
00:51:11
Speaker
Craig was a little spicy. Honestly, if he was this forthcoming all season, fan base would be way calmer about things. I feel like he... I mean, oh i again, i have to watch it. But feel like forthcoming isn't ah necessarily...
00:51:27
Speaker
The issue? It's, a like, we were talking about this in the press box last night. He, ah Garth was a man about town, right? He did hits on ah my friend Jackson Feltz's radio show every week.
00:51:44
Speaker
He was available all the time. So you kind of just had this constant flow of information where no matter what was going on Garth was going to be on the record about it.
00:51:55
Speaker
Craig Weibs, he just doesn't do that like Garth did, which, you know, that's that's his prerogative. as long as they make them available enough times throughout the year.
00:52:09
Speaker
You know, I don't need him to be doing KJR hits every week like Garth was. ah But it does lead to situations like this where if you don't hear from him for a while and then there's the perception out there that the club is dragging its feet on spending money and making moves.
00:52:24
Speaker
That's where I think that's where the consternation comes in.
00:52:33
Speaker
will Messi play on turf if we play Miami in the finals? That is a good question. I have to imagine that for a ah for a tournament final, he'll have to bite the bullet and do it.
00:52:45
Speaker
But that is one of the things like Seattle takes a lot of, a lot of heat for playing on turf and visiting teams. Hate it It's low key. Like it's, it's low key, like a weapon because,
00:52:59
Speaker
ah
00:53:02
Speaker
like especially older veteran players, especially guys like that come, come over from, from Europe like that. They like really don't want to play on it.
00:53:13
Speaker
I still, don't know how much I believe in the like,
00:53:19
Speaker
turf is the devil and causes injuries at a higher rate than grass. There's no actual like data for that. There's not, people will tell you that there is, there's literally not.
00:53:30
Speaker
There's stuff out there where, uh, supposedly like in anecdotal sample sizes, people have this data that they think shows it. I've never seen anything conclusive.
00:53:47
Speaker
like ironclad proof that you're more likely to like take an injury playing on turf than grass. It is harder than your harder on your body, like fatigue wise it after games. I've heard a lot of players say that, ah but it's something that I think has become, you know, like a part of the home field advantage of women is that Seattle's players are all used to playing on it. They know how to play on it.
00:54:14
Speaker
And a lot of these visiting teams don't enter Miami. Yeah. They're not playing on turf in Fort Lauderdale. So, i would i if Inter-Miami makes the League's Cup final and they have to play in Seattle and Messi's like, I can't play on turf, then what are we doing?
00:54:34
Speaker
he played Okay, he played at BC Place for CCC. think you're right. I'm pretty sure he did play at BC Place. Am positive on that? But I think he did.
00:54:48
Speaker
can understand not signing this window, but they cannot have that same excuse for four straight summer windows. Yeah. What you can't, you can't just not do it forever. I, i the four straight windows thing. i mean, we were, we were also talking about, about this in the press box last night.
00:55:07
Speaker
um I understand. I understand the the talking point. I do think that is ah like, what was what was the term we were using?
00:55:19
Speaker
it's like It's more of a fan talking point than an actual reality illustration of how the roster or of what the roster movement has been like going back to the offseason.
00:55:31
Speaker
ah If they had made if they admit had literally had the exact same roster over that time frame, then yeah. But like you've you have had moves in that.
00:55:44
Speaker
Span of time. You had the Ferreira trade. You had the Ryan Kent transfer. you had you had like You had incoming and outgoing players in that time frame.
00:55:55
Speaker
So while I understand why the the four straight windows thing is is tilting... i think I don't think it's reflective. ah like I don't think the team is looking at it like that. They're looking at at the roster movement holistically and then basing their decisions on that. They're not going to be like, oh, like the timing worked out, so four straight summer windows.
00:56:21
Speaker
We didn't do anything, so we have to do one now. I wouldn't expect them to look at it like that. But, you know, that being said, that being said, ah um What I was talking about on the postgame live last night with this is that I really think that one of the best arguments that i think can that to be made in this situation is is just simply that like ah transfer stuff.
00:56:51
Speaker
It's part of the fun of being a a soccer fan and following a club. but Like, you get to you get to hear the rumors. You get to picture in your mind the play the new player playing in your jersey. Then you get the excitement when they get there. You get to watch them integrating with the team. You get the the locker room videos of them high-fiving everybody and, like, everyone's like, hey, it's the new guy. Like, that stuff, that is literally – that is actually – a meaningful part of your duty as a soccer team to give that to your fans, like the excitement of bringing in new players and like being linked to players
00:57:24
Speaker
bringing them into the team, integrating them to the team. ah They're obviously first and foremost, it's the decision should be based on like on-field improvements to your roster. But it's also, it's just about like having an exciting product, you know, like we're trying to get better. We got this new guy, like, you know, so that I think that honestly, as much as anything is the argument that i sympathize with. Like if you're not, ah if you're just literally never making transfers,
00:57:53
Speaker
You're not giving the people like ah one of the most fun things about about following a club. I don't think that that should inform every decision that they make.
00:58:04
Speaker
That's not what I'm saying. But it is something that you got to do sometimes. You got to give that to the people.
00:58:11
Speaker
Got to give that to the people.
00:58:18
Speaker
when is the next transfer window? We could still technically sign any of those potential players and the next one. Right. I don't know the exact dates on it, but the next one's the winter one. Right. So I think, I think it's like, that one is usually like a January. Something is when it opens, it goes to like February or March, something. I don't know. have to look up the dates, but like me, I mean, yeah, I guess they theoretically could sign one of those players. Maybe, you know, Ohio,
00:58:46
Speaker
realizes that now is the correct time to move to mls after all and he still becomes a seattle center i don't know it seems like that ship has kind of sailed i think uh
00:59:01
Speaker
I don't know this for fact, but if i if if I was Seattle in that situation, I would feel like messed with by his people a little bit for it to get that far. And then for him to be like, actually, no, it sounds like his camp was trying to tell him.
00:59:17
Speaker
They were saying, Noah, Noah, you got you should go to MLS. This is it. this is where you build your stock. Like you're not going to build your stock at FC Utrecht.
00:59:28
Speaker
And he said, no. So I don't like, what, ah what is there to what is there to say or analyze there? Like it's his decision at the end of the day, it's his career.
00:59:41
Speaker
GMs miss on every budget, but when you have to find distressed assets, you have a higher chance of picking up a player that was passed up by other club for whatever reason, health, fitness, e etc. Yeah, like it, when when you're balling on a budget, inherently it makes the hit rate smaller, like it just does.
00:59:58
Speaker
Some teams are a lot better at it than others, like the Philly Union come to mind, like they ball on a budget, and it seems like they hit They hit every time on these like distressed assets. And Seattle is very good at it as well. I think Moose is a great example.
01:00:14
Speaker
Moose is like the definition of a kind of distressed asset.
01:00:19
Speaker
Or at least a guy that the acquisition was based on projecting underlying numbers and what he had done over a small sample size over a larger sample size.
01:00:32
Speaker
And in that situation, you've got to give it to him. they They clearly cooked on that. They clearly saw stuff with his with his data where they were like, if this if this guy just got a full complement of minutes, he would probably be a 10-plus goal scorer.
01:00:47
Speaker
And they were right. He has 15 all-comps. Okay, February 21st to April 23rd. Sorry. I had the dates on that.
01:00:59
Speaker
Wrong. But according to Jacob, February 21st to April 23rd. That's the next...
01:01:08
Speaker
That's the next time. Yeah. Pass on Noah Howell. I agree. He had his chance. He didn't want to be here. Like, I don't want, i don't I don't know if I want a guy that is only bought in when
01:01:27
Speaker
when he gets to a point where he feels like it it would it would actually benefit his own career. I want a guy who wants to come to the club and come to the city. He did. So as far as I'm concerned, like he had his chance to be a Seattle sounder and he passed it up, which is fine.
01:01:47
Speaker
But if you, if you go, if you crawling back to him, tail between your legs,
01:01:55
Speaker
you risk bringing in a guy who's just not actually fully bought in. you you need You need whoever it is to be bought in.
01:02:09
Speaker
Philly doesn't win trophies. We shouldn't be looking to emulate them too much. See, this is, i' but I've been bringing up the Philly union comparison a lot lately, and some people don't like it for this exact reason. I think the fact that they haven't won more trophies, they, they, uh, they did get a shield.
01:02:24
Speaker
I see the fact that they haven't won more trophies as like, uh,
01:02:31
Speaker
It doesn't take away from the the blueprint and the method that they have leading to a lot of success. that I don't know just Seattle, but like I think a lot of clubs should try and emulate how the Philly Union do it.
01:02:46
Speaker
Clearly. The team that they had in 2022, I get that they didn't win MLS Cup, but like that was an insane team. That was an insane team. They were built on a budget like the Philly Union always are.
01:02:57
Speaker
They put up a plus 48 goal differential. Seattle's never had a season where they put up a plus 48. I think if there's a critique of Seattle standing in the league, you know, i think yeah there's not much of one.
01:03:10
Speaker
but it would be fair to point out like they don't, they haven't had these regular seasons like 2019 LAFC or 2022 Phil union LA or LAFC where they, they push 65, 70 points and put up plus, plus 25, plus 30, that type of goal differential. They they haven't had that, that those types are regular seasons. Their her last supporter shield was over a decade ago. Their only supporter shield was over a decade ago at this point.
01:03:37
Speaker
Uh, And that's something that I think the club should aspire to as they look at what they want the future to look like. One of these years, have a regular season where you're up there fighting for the shield all year.
01:03:53
Speaker
And they really should be this year. They really should be this year, and they would be, if not, for the crash-out red card boys derailing a few of these games and costing them points. If the crash-out red card boys hadn't had such an impact on the point total, I think Seattle would be up towards the top of the West and up with these teams. I mean, the Shield leader, let's take a look. I think they're 53, 54 points right now.
01:04:16
Speaker
Something like that.
01:04:19
Speaker
Philly's leading the supporter shield race, 54 points.
01:04:25
Speaker
Seattle's 10 points off that pace. ah If you just give them... ah
01:04:34
Speaker
If you give them even some of the points that they dropped due to the crash-out red card boys, they would be at least be up towards 50. And then, I mean, you have a couple of these games where it wasn't even the crash out red card, boys.
01:04:49
Speaker
you had the ah You had the Charlotte game in the first game of the season where you dropped a couple points when you were literally like 10 seconds away from winning the game. You had the Colorado game where you were ahead three zero and somehow managed to drop two points, 3-3.
01:05:05
Speaker
If you give them the four points dropped just from those two games where no one crashed out and got ejected,
01:05:17
Speaker
They'd be at 48.
01:05:27
Speaker
People are saying that Seattle tried to get Cade Cowell. I had not heard that.
01:05:35
Speaker
that would not do all that much for me emotionally. ah i don't really even know what's going on with his career. I actually, i was Cade Cowell guy at one point in the sense that he varies. He's a like, ah he's a physical specimen.
01:05:53
Speaker
He reminds me a little bit of, of George Morris, honestly, just in like the,
01:05:59
Speaker
the big pacey, like when he's running at you, can be like a freight train type of thing.
01:06:11
Speaker
He just never was able to like become the consistent goal scoring threat that Jordan was.
01:06:24
Speaker
In the sounder hard article, they reference USMN team player and the link goes to Kate Cowell's Bob Ma page. I had not heard these. I just don't know. like He at one time was considered a big hotshot USMNT prospect, but I feel like his stock is not that right now.
01:06:47
Speaker
I feel like that's one that people would not be... People want... People want someone like Noah Ohio who's coming from like the Air Visa and has no MLSs.
01:07:00
Speaker
I think that's the main criteria for a lot of people is like no MLS affiliation,
01:07:07
Speaker
which I personally don't really value that.
01:07:15
Speaker
It's not a popular take necessarily, i guess. I don't look at the Jesus Ferreira trade
01:07:24
Speaker
like that differently than I do in addition that they made from outside the league.
01:07:33
Speaker
I don't like, it's not about if you've played an MLS before or not. It's about your quality and what you can bring on the field. If they brought in a guy of the exact quality of Jesus Ferreira from a different league, what difference does it actually make?
01:07:51
Speaker
You know? it's It's optics. It's perception.
01:07:59
Speaker
Trading for Jesus Ferreira gets, you know, tabbed as an unambitious player acquisition. But there's that that has nothing to do with his attributes as a player.
01:08:09
Speaker
It doesn't. The only reason it gets tabbed like that is because he played for FC Dallas. It's the exact same thing with ah Albert Rusnak.
01:08:19
Speaker
The only reason... that that gets tabbed as unambitious and underwhelming is because he played for real Salt Lake first. That's the only reason. And, uh, you know, some people might not want to admit that, but there's nothing deeper to the analysis on those two players than that.
01:08:34
Speaker
That is all it is. It is. They played in MLS beforehand. Therefore they're not like as good as someone who comes from outside the league. That is not true. That is not true. I like,
01:08:48
Speaker
i've I've been telling people for the last couple years now, literally just pretend that Albert Rusnak didn't play for RSL. Just pretend he didn't play for them. Pretend that didn't happen and that he came right from the air to VCA where no Ohio plays.
01:09:01
Speaker
That's where he was playing before he went to RSL. Pretend he came right from there. And then there you go. you have You have like your fancy imported designated player.
01:09:16
Speaker
It's not like, I'm sorry. Like I know some people like don't like those points, but that is, that is, there's no difference.
01:09:27
Speaker
Jesus Ferreira didn't play in the air to be said, but like he was a best 11 player in MLS. And I have no doubt that he is the quality that he could go to a league like that and excel. Like I, to me, that's obvious if you just watch him play, but maybe it's not obvious to a,
01:09:48
Speaker
To some.
01:09:53
Speaker
Is a second choice st striker for a mid air to be set team really going to get people excited? Yeah. I agree with how you're framing it. Like for me, for me, it's like, you're it's a random dark throw. it's It's a swing that has a 50% chance of paying off and a 50% chance of busting.
01:10:15
Speaker
Uh, But yes, that that does get people excited because because he's coming from the air to be safe. That's why. It's not because of anything about him as a player. It's because he's coming from the air to be safe.
01:10:28
Speaker
Which is, you know, I'm not going to tell anyone why they should or shouldn't be excited about a certain player. Yeah.
01:10:37
Speaker
But like we shouldn't act like we shouldn't act like the type of excitement around that type of player is is based on what anyone like knows about them and what they bring on the field compared to anyone else. like it's It's about the fact that it's about the optics of bringing in a player from from a league that people consider you know higher level. it's yeah It's Europe, you know.
01:11:06
Speaker
which is fine, but that we we we should be we should be honest about that. No one knows no one has any idea if Noah Ohio is going to be a good MLS player.
01:11:18
Speaker
I have no idea. no one else has any idea. weren't both Albert Noah Ohio also in the man city pipeline? Yeah. People forget. I don't know about Noah Ohio. People forget that, uh, Albert Rusnak, started in the Manchester city Academy.
01:11:32
Speaker
ah was that because uh, his dad, Albert Rusnak senior was, uh, was coaching their youth sides at the time. Maybe, but honestly, I don't think that matters. Like I think, uh,
01:11:46
Speaker
I think you probably learn and gain a lot from being in an academy like that. And i think i think that people people undersell Ruiz Nack's actual pedigree, in my opinion, because again, because he played for Real Salt Lake before he came to Seattle. That is the only reason why.
01:12:05
Speaker
ah This is a guy that, yes, started his career in the Manchester City Academy and played in the Ayr Devisay at an extremely high level before he came to and MLS like his his pedigree as this like designated player that came over from Europe is real you can you can see it in the qualities that he brings week in week out so uh the fact that he played for Real Salt Lake before and this is another thing I was going to say about that is like I really think that uh
01:12:45
Speaker
There is something to the strategy of ah of acquiring players like Albert Rusnak and Jesus Ferreira, who you already know can produce in the league. It increases the chances of the signing hitting, the acquisition hitting, by quite a lot.
01:13:03
Speaker
If you don't have to, if you eliminate the variable, that we see affect some of these imported signings sometimes of adjusting to the league, the travel, the style and all that.
01:13:15
Speaker
With Albert Rusnak and Jesus Ferreira, you eliminate that variable entirely. You already know that they can play and produce in the league.
01:13:26
Speaker
it makes it like less exciting optically because they're coming from inside the league. But in terms of what actually matters, which is their fit on the team and what they produce on the field, you up your chances. And like Seattle's not the only team to do this. Like a lot of ah the other successful clubs in the league do this.
01:13:46
Speaker
Look at the Columbus crew. They went out and got ah Diego Rossi and Daniel Gosdog. Two guys that they had already seen provenly produce in Excel on other MLS teams.
01:14:00
Speaker
No one's talking about how the Columbus crew are unambitious for getting Diego Rossi and Daniel Gosdog. Those are smart moves. Gosdog honestly has not really popped for them yet, but Diego Rossi has.
01:14:14
Speaker
It's way smarter to go get a guy like Diego Rossi, who you know can do it. than it is to gamble on a player of the exact same profile that you don't know. The Philly Union, who I just talked about.
01:14:28
Speaker
They did this with, ah they do this all the time, actually, but ah Julian Carranza, who he hadn't even popped for Inter-Miami when the Philly Union got him. But it's the same idea, right?
01:14:41
Speaker
It's the same idea.
01:14:45
Speaker
You're getting more proven commodities within the league that you don't have to worry about the adjustment and the adaptation as much. I don't know. I think there's like, to me, it's, ah it's clear that there's something to that.
01:15:01
Speaker
I think it's undeniably
01:15:05
Speaker
proven to, to come good with Albert Rusnak. If you're talking, you know, take the galaxy brain stuff out of it. Take the, take the, it doesn't count stuff.
01:15:18
Speaker
out of it. Purely stat sheet production. The amount of goals and assists that you have gotten from the signing, which is a, I'm sorry, that is a big way that this stuff is measured is stat sheet production and if you if you want to go to the place of having to be like, well, actually his stats don't count because but he does doesn't do it against this team that I consider worthy or or whatever.
01:15:50
Speaker
You're just looking at the goals and assists that you've gotten out of it. That's the way, that's a big way that I judge it. That's the way that people outside the fan base judge it.
01:16:03
Speaker
they were able to kind of ensure that they were going to get that production by targeting a player inside the league. i don't know. it's just something to think about.
01:16:17
Speaker
So true about Rusnak, every bit as good as Gauzdog, but Gauzdog gets more credit because he's from elsewhere. Well, Rusnak is from MLS. They're pretty, they're, they're pretty similar players, I think in terms of, uh, what they bring in, what they produce.
01:16:31
Speaker
But, uh, You know, Gosdog, he's the leading goal scorer all time for for Philly. And that's why i you know that that's that's one where he hasn't really he hasn't looked like the Gosdog of Philly that he did in Columbus yet. i think I still think he will because we've seen him do it in the league.
01:16:55
Speaker
Philly Union is all-time leading goal scorer.
01:17:03
Speaker
know what excites the fan base when you make a player acquisition that is able to help the team? Somebody like David Martinez for LAFC U22 player scoring goals and getting assists. David Martinez is an interesting one, though, because i would argue, i don't know, he is very exciting and he does some absolutely, i mean, we all saw the goal that he scored in and Seattle this year.
01:17:29
Speaker
That was insane. But if you talk to any l LASC fan, they'll tell you he's been pretty inconsistent and has not actually moved the needle that much for them.
01:17:40
Speaker
He's been closer to the Leo Chu outcome than the Dayon Jovolic outcome. He's insanely talented. I think he's going to go to like Bayern Munich or something and probably be a great player.
01:17:52
Speaker
But if we're looking at like his actual on-field impact so far at MLS, it has been closer to Leo Chu than Dayon Jovolic. Like, And ah any LAFC fan will tell you that. Like,
01:18:05
Speaker
I would love a player like him on Seattle just because he is very exciting and he's fun to watch. But if we're talking about, I mean, let's see what he's got this year. Maybe I'm, maybe I'm not, maybe he's like come along in the last few weeks here, dude.
01:18:24
Speaker
All right. I'm just going to show you guys this. This kind of illustrates my point.
01:18:31
Speaker
This is not that hot.
01:18:35
Speaker
For people listening to the audio, I got Davi Martinez's player page.
01:18:44
Speaker
We're looking at seven goals, three assists in 1,300 minutes, which is which is good. It's fine.
01:18:53
Speaker
It's not like setting the world on fire. This year, he's played 939 minutes. He has three goals one assist.
01:19:01
Speaker
that's sort That's sort of what I'm saying with this stuff, man. If they signed Noah Ohio, this is the most likely likely outcome right here for what it would look like. It's not guaranteed.
01:19:13
Speaker
Maybe it looks like Moose or
01:19:20
Speaker
or like a really high-level elite number nine in the league. I don't know.
01:19:26
Speaker
But this is the most likely outcome for what Noah Ohio would actually give you. That's just the nature of these signings. And Davi Martinez is a hundred times like the global pedigree thought of, like the way he's thought of as no Ohio.
01:19:45
Speaker
Davi Martinez is considered the best Venezuelan prospect of the last like decade or something.
01:19:57
Speaker
That he is being linked to clubs like Bayern Munich. Like I wasn't just pulling that out of nowhere.
01:20:04
Speaker
And he has struggled to get on the field in MLS and has three goals and one assist this year.
01:20:15
Speaker
His underlying numbers might look good, Jake, but if he was really crushing it,
01:20:21
Speaker
maybe it's a Steve C thing.
01:20:26
Speaker
I see what you're saying. I see what you're saying. And like, the the The data like that does matter. But I think you do have to measure it of like what your actual output is and then your your effect on results and winning games.
01:20:44
Speaker
A player like this, the idea is that it's like you you hope that he develops into a player that can be like a carry the load week in, week out producer for you. And he's not he hasn't done that.
01:20:59
Speaker
He's had like really good moments and really good flashes that I'm sure resulted and in good underlying data. That's fine. I'm a supporter ah of good underlying data. We talked about ah how it allowed the Seattle to cook with the Moose signing.
01:21:16
Speaker
But at the end of the day, like if if their output from Davin Martinez this year is three goals and one assist,
01:21:29
Speaker
What does it really matter? Like you need, you, you want him to move the needle um like on the field every week. And maybe, maybe it's a situation. I don't know. Maybe it's a situation where Steve C is just suppressing him, but I will say like, you know, I listened to and watch happy foot, sad foot shout out, happy foot, sad foot.
01:21:53
Speaker
And when they talk about Davi Martinez, I'll just tell you, like when they talk about Davi Martinez, usually usually the the tenor of the conversation is like frustration. It's like, man, like you see these moments, but then it's like he disappears through portions of the game.
01:22:10
Speaker
He's just not impacting games like we wanted or hoped that he would when he got to the club with all this pedigree.
01:22:24
Speaker
he He doesn't have more goal goal contribution. well Well, current... Leo Chu had 21 goal contributions in MLS. you know I'm just saying. I'm just saying.
01:22:36
Speaker
let's let's Let's do the Leo Chu comparison. Oh, goddammit. The stats pages are all
01:22:45
Speaker
messed up still. Leo Chu's stats are wrong. Let's pull up the transfer mark.
01:22:55
Speaker
Leo Chu still listed at $2 million. Sorry.
01:23:04
Speaker
sorry Trying to pull up his stats here.
01:23:09
Speaker
Let's, let's, let's compare, let's compare.
01:23:25
Speaker
Leo Chu, 94 appearances for Seattle, 8 goals, 13 assists.
01:23:32
Speaker
That is ah
01:23:37
Speaker
not amazing, but it's not horrifyingly bad. i think he gets talked about as like a categorical bust a little more than then he deserves. It wasn't like there wasn't stretches of good play. It wasn't like he never got on the stat sheet.
01:23:51
Speaker
Some of these U22s come to the league, they never get on the stat sheet.
01:23:57
Speaker
So, I mean, I hear what you're saying, Jake. like
01:24:06
Speaker
Raw stat sheet production aside, a player like David Martinez is totally a player that I would love to see on the Seattle Sounders. I guess I'm just saying that like the actual on-field results and impact that you get from that are not always...
01:24:25
Speaker
what you think or hope they would be based on that excitement. And I think Martinez is a, is a good example. Like he's probably the, the highest ceiling, highest pedigree U22 that we've seen come into the league in terms of how he's like thought out, thought of globally.
01:24:43
Speaker
And he has three goals, one assist this year. And they were phenomenal goals.
01:24:50
Speaker
The goal he scored the the goal he scored in Seattle this year, i was like, I mean, that was one of the best individual runs I've ever seen on a soccer field. It was enthralling to watch for your l LAFC fans, I'm sure, even though they were losing 5-1 at the time.
01:25:09
Speaker
But, like, it was sick. I would love to have a player just who can do that on the on the Sounders. But...
01:25:19
Speaker
the The hit rates,
01:25:24
Speaker
they're just not that. That's why this's why I was just, i was when the no Ohio thing looks like it was actually going happen, I was trying to temper my expectations for like the premise that he's like the missing piece that will put this good roster, make it into a great one, and put the team over the top.
01:25:45
Speaker
That's the 100th percentile outcome. That's like, It's what you hope will happen. It just doesn't always pan out like that. It's inherently a low percentage game.
01:25:57
Speaker
All right, guys. I got to head out of here on that. That's going to do it for me this morning. Thank you all so much for tuning in to another episode of Lobbing Scorchers Kickoff, hanging out while I ran it solo for the last part of it there.
01:26:12
Speaker
If you could all do me a favor and please... Like the video. That's the most important thing you can do in your life right now. Like this video. ah Shout out to everyone who who liked the post game live last night.
01:26:28
Speaker
We pumped over 100 on that, which is what we love to see. Hopefully, let's pump, let's pump, let's get this to triple digits. I bet we can do it. I bet we can do it. If every single person who has yet to like the video that's watching you right now does like the video, we will pump triple digits.
01:26:44
Speaker
So if you if you're not liking the video, I don't know what you're talking about. Like, what are you doing? Like the video.
01:26:53
Speaker
Follow us on Instagram. Follow us on TikTok. Buy the hot sauce. Lobbingscourters.com slash sauce. We will be back at it on Wednesday for our postgame live for what I think, you know, this is the biggest game of the season,
01:27:11
Speaker
This is This is it for League's Cup right here. You win this game, you host a final.
01:27:23
Speaker
Don't get better. Even it is tournament that a lot of people say they don't care about. Regardless of that, this is for CONCACAF Champions Cup and it's for a lot of money that they're not going to spend on transfers.
01:27:39
Speaker
But it is a lot of All right, I'll see you guys on Wednesday. Thanks for hanging out. Have a great rest of your Monday and the rest your week.