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Sounders get back to business after a tough loss
0 Playsin 15 hours
A week after vibes seemed to be moving in a positive direction, the Seattle Sounders had a much more business-focused week of training. Jeremiah is joined by Niko Moreno for another episode of “What we learned this week” to discuss some of the findings.
Perhaps the most notable development of the week is that Pedro de la Vega and Jordan Morris appear poised to be back in the starting lineup.
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Transcript
Introduction and Podcast Network Roles
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
Seattle Sounders' MLS Cup Victory Recap
00:00:11
Speaker
we go. Come on. Hey, O'Shawn.
00:00:13
Speaker
Let's go. What save by Fry. The Seattle Sounders have done it. MLS Cup winning. Here comes Ruiz Diaz through the middle to cloud it for Seattle.
00:00:29
Speaker
And now they truly can start the celebrations. It's the Sounders MLS Cup. Nico Lidero leaves absolutely no doubt. The Sounders rule the region.
00:00:43
Speaker
Seattle, Sounders, it's got built.
00:00:52
Speaker
This feels fucking awesome. This is a tiny dog. Nice work on your little yacht yat thing. And probably can't say shit. know, what was the thought process in terms of who you decided to use and you didn't?
00:01:06
Speaker
Ever since Salter Hart wrote a commentary that we didn't take over seriously.
Sponsorships and Recording Logistics
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 Sounders 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, c Pacific Northwest.
00:01:43
Speaker
Welcome back to another episode of Adientes, part of the Sounder Heart Podcast Network. This is, we're recording on Thursday, but we're going to pretend it's Friday. And what we're going to do, what we learned this week with Nico. I'm here with Nico Moreno at, long back at Longacres. It's been a little while since we've recorded here That's right. Back at our little comfy space designed and provided by the sounders here with the coffee maker we don't really use. and But we go buy coffee. We do go buy coffee because it's really good, actually. is right here. And I really dig it, actually.
00:02:14
Speaker
Yeah. You know, a little shout out. If Gormondo wants to start regularly hooking us up with the employee discount instead of it being kind haphazard, be cool. Hey, I really like it, man. You could even buy other things right there. I know. We may have to work out a deal.
00:02:32
Speaker
So if Gourmando is listening to this and they want to set up a sponsorship of this podcast, we would be open to it if you want to. We'll have that place. Bump Exactly. Exactly. yeah i know with people come out to Long Acres just to get some lunch.
Performance Issues and Team Motivation
00:02:48
Speaker
Anyway, it's been an interesting week. It was funny because I thought the vibes last week were really good.
00:02:54
Speaker
They had that basketball kind of game thing that they played. And it seemed like we were and they were coming off a pretty deep, not a great result, but a good performance against San Jose. And then.
00:03:05
Speaker
They just laid a total egg against San Diego. I don't need to revisit the San Diego game, but this week had a different vibe to it A much more business-like, we need to put our nose to the grindstone. And maybe that's what this team needed.
00:03:18
Speaker
Paul Rothrock mentioned, you know, maybe we needed to hit rock bottom and hopefully that game against San Diego was their rock bottom But to be sitting here 1-3-3 essentially the same place that they were at this point last year feels weird because it doesn't feel like they've got here the same way, especially up until the second leg of Cruz Azul. I actually thought this team was playing pretty well, even though the results weren't great. They were scoring. They were defending okay.
00:03:47
Speaker
But the last few weeks has been a little different where they they haven't been able to – they've only scored one goal in their last four games. And then they had this game against San Diego where they lost three zero They now go into Dallas, who has had some ups and downs, i guess, on the whole that have been pretty good.
00:04:04
Speaker
what What is your sense of the vibes around here? Look, I've called all of their training sessions high intensity. yeah he does feel like there is a sense of urgency, which Brian kind of talked about today, that was a correct way to put it. Not panic, but a sense of urgency. Certainly, it's the feel that I get from a lot of players. I've seen, you know, Stefan Fryby so into a...
Training Sessions and Team Dynamics
00:04:34
Speaker
6v6 game that he like kicked the the goal out of anger. I mean, there's definitely a fire yeah within players competition-wise. I was standing next to you when there was that Costa Rienci, Paul Rothrock, little matchup. That was very interesting. So I like where that's headed. And it gives me a sense that the team...
00:04:59
Speaker
does feel like there needs to be more from the player standpoint, and that's been visible or so this week. You know, another moment with Stefan Fry was they were doing this drill where they do basically a three-on...
00:05:13
Speaker
Or two on one, one on – they do a two-player break and then they go the other way. And anyway, he was yelling at Pedro de la Vega to to go out, to like challenge the the ball more. And he – and the play-ins and then – Steph comes over to Pedro and he has like a talk with them and they seem like they had a real like a genuine moment of sort of like mutual understanding of what he was yelling at him to do and what he wanted him to do. And they seem to walk away from it, both feeling like they got out of that exchange where they wanted.
00:05:46
Speaker
And you don't see that a lot where there's where their players are yelling at each other. And it was, I thought, a positive sign that they were yelling. And then they but they also seem to be pushing in the same direction of like, understanding that we want the same thing here.
00:06:01
Speaker
That I'm not picking on you. I'm trying to help you get better. And that seemed to be how Pedro took it. And there is obviously that sense of. you need to get to know your teammates in ah in a better way and the fact that Steph was able to have that conversation with him and actually even go along the lines of physically showing him what he was hoping to get because whether or not there is a, I mean, Pedro has really good English, but maybe there's things that get lost in translation. So he physically did it and then Pedro gave him the good thumbs up as in, you know, I get what you want. So I agree. And, you know, Steph's been a big leader. He is someone that in the past has been very vocal about upping his game in a certain way as a captain. So that was ah that was a good imagery to bring up of
00:06:51
Speaker
what we have kind of seen in those terms for the collective. Yeah. And this was a week where there was not fun and games. There was not, it was a lot of specific kind of drilling.
00:07:05
Speaker
I don't know that they played any expansive 11 v 11. This, I mean, they, I'm sure they, and I guess tomorrow. Yeah. though I don't think they did line up in any expand. They had a lot of short sighted games, a lot of tactical nuance type of things where they were trying to,
00:07:19
Speaker
relate specific instructions about what they want them to do. And I think that I don't want to say it's gotten loose, but I do think that there was maybe a, they felt collectively there needed to be a correction. We'll see how it works. We don't, we don't know, but Dallas is going to pose a problem.
00:07:37
Speaker
And, ah you know, one of the other things, the other big thing I wanted to, before we get too far into Dallas, and maybe this will be a good transition, but we've been asking to talk Jesus Ferreira for a while. He talked this week and,
00:07:49
Speaker
What did you
Player Perspectives and Adaptation Challenges
00:07:50
Speaker
get out of him? What did you feel like he, what was the vibe you got from him specifically? Look, I think that there is a level of frustration that he didn't vocalize. But if you look into the body language and the delivery of his answers, he is definitely passionate about it. He definitely provides ah a broad answer to question.
00:08:16
Speaker
a question that he could have easily just either dismissed or been very subtle about. But, you know, he talked about lack of connection. He talked about him being in the right places at times where maybe the ball wasn't getting there. He said that he was brought in here as a versatile player that could play the 9 or the 10. And that, you know, he kind of feels like he could do both roles. So, yeah, I just I ah that was my general sense. Yeah, I would agree with that. And I think you picked up on something that I found very interesting is that when a player is in a situation like he's in where he's not performing quite how he wants to be. And he was very clear that he was not happy with how he's performing. He didn't seem to be panicking, but he definitely is.
00:08:57
Speaker
and He wants to score goals. This is the guy whose career is built around scoring goals and he hasn't been scoring goals. But instead I think a lot of players in that position will sort of tighten up and not and give clipped answers. and sort of But he was he was giving like two and three. he was giving long answers to the point that honestly i didn't I didn't use a lot of it because it was just a lot of – he was sort of all over the place in terms of like trying to explain what he saw going on. But I found that kind of – comforting in that he wanted to he wanted to explain. yeah He felt like he had like he you know, he said he doesn't care about the outside criticism, which is fine.
00:09:41
Speaker
But I think what he showed is that he cares about the person like he's aware that people are expecting more of them and he hasn't been delivering and he wants to sort of give his take. And like, if the concern is that this is a player who doesn't, who's not engaged, I don't think that's what's going on here. Like he, like I saw some, I was listening to a podcast yesterday where they were talking about how he wasn't closing down hard enough and, and he seemed to just be wandering around out there. That's not really what I saw. I saw a player who was maybe trying a little too hard at times, who's pressing, who's, just not getting the ball in dangerous spots, not necessarily because he's not in those dangerous spots. But I think what the the ultimately was happening is that he's a new player still, even though he's not, it's not like he just showed up. But I think there's just not an understanding yet ah between him and his teammates about where he, how he wants to play and what he's capable of doing. And again, we're going against a a system that he hasn't played under. And, you know, we can talk a little bit about some of the comments of attention, information and things like that. And I've actually done a lot of work in reaching out to some former MLS coaches to understand a little bit of the nuances and differences between the the three men lineup, whether it's a three, five, two or the in comparison to the four, two, three, one. And with all of that, think that
00:11:07
Speaker
Ferreira has also been down with his adaptation because this is a system that works very different. One thing that he said that I thought was interesting is that he said in Dallas, I was the only guy doing what I do, which is just dropping back, generating... getting the ball where if i had to get the Getting the ball, having the liberty of going everywhere. But here, there's a lot of guys doing the same thing. So there's the adaptation on his personal role, adaptation on the overall formation and system. I just think that there's a lot coming to him.
00:11:34
Speaker
But I'm with you, and I agree from the very beginning in that San Jose game, I believe, where he was very upset and he gets into with a couple of players. Yes, you don't want to see that, but that tells me that a guy gives a mess, right? yeah He cares. He gives a shit. And that's what I saw yesterday. He cared enough to...
00:11:53
Speaker
I'm going to answer this with everything that I'm thinking. Right. And I'm going to try to elaborate it in a way where whether, you know, he talks about the criticism and he said, you know, I just got to worry about my teammates. Yeah. The coaches that have in my family, that's it. But again, on the underliner, he's.
00:12:11
Speaker
Turn it out there for whoever wants to hear If you don't want to hear it, that's totally okay. yeah yeah Continue to criticize me, whatever. But this is the reason behind it. And i I thought that was a mature way to put it. And I'm going stand the hill. That's a good – actually, i mature I think is a good way of describing it because he wasn't he wasn't pointing fingers. He wasn't angry. He wasn't angry. He basically said, look, I could be doing better. I could be doing some things better. My teammates could be doing some things better.
00:12:38
Speaker
But at the end of the day, I came here to be a nine or a 10, to be both. I'm not here to be a nine. I'm not here to be a 10. But I'm also not here to just be... Nico and get the ball wherever I want and roam. have, in a given game, I have an assignment i have to understand that. And and and and that he's sort of struggled.
00:12:57
Speaker
he I think he what he alluded to is he's struggling with the idea that he doesn't have free reign. Exactly. That he needs to be doing a job and that sometimes... He needs to separate that role. When he's at a nine and we where he's in that right pocket, as we talked about, he's being consistently in the right pocket behind the nine. where he's kind of excelled or has looked the most productive. yeah But I do feel like and the end, I asked him, do you feel like you can't do that role as a 9? And he said, no no, I can do it. I can do it. yeah so So I feel like he can. He's just struggling with kind of compromising when he is a 9 and when he is a 10. I will say this before we move on.
00:13:37
Speaker
I think another reason why we've seen such a, I don't want to call it structure, because i mean it's it's always structure here with the training, but there was a lot of emphasis on certain things because Brian was very self-critical and he took accountability for some of the issues that were seen in San
Coaching Strategies and Defensive Adjustments
00:13:56
Speaker
Diego. The restarts, he said, you know what, it is my job to get the guys going.
00:14:00
Speaker
Right off the bat, he talked about not being not being or not micromanaging players, but giving them the tools to say, hey, dan this is where you were at, right? Seattle got killed in transition.
00:14:11
Speaker
I feel like they've been working on that to prevent those things from happening. And although I still believe that the 3-5-2 formation
00:14:23
Speaker
As a lot of your pivots because of where your wingbacks are trying to pin back the opposition and it opens up so much space. And even when Ovid and Rodan are staggered, Rodan kind of gets put on island a lot and it's just difficult. And then you are more subjective or vulnerable to transition moments.
00:14:43
Speaker
and they've been working on all that. And I thought that it was it was big O'Brien to just take that head on. And contrary to popular belief, I have never advocated this year for Brian Spencer to be let go. Last season, we looked at options and we thought about should he or should he not be re-signed or extended, and that was a different conversation. Right now, he's the man in hand on Loving Scorchers. I know I give an analogy that was based towards the fan base and or anybody who's thinking that coaches do gain some cushion by winning trophies and by winning certain tournaments.
00:15:22
Speaker
And maybe that has lessened. But right now... I think it's patience with fans. You're talking about the patience that fans have. Sure, exactly. Or are they even or anybody, even pundits who, you know, well, you know what? yeah we can't we we We can't look at Brian because he won this, that, and that. Right. There's no indication that there's anyone in the organization that is trying to move on from Brian. Absolutely not. And even in my own opinion, i actually, especially this week, I grow confident that Brian can right the ship. And some of the things that he has implemented this week and the way he's handled certain situations, including the Hesos Ferreira, plus some of the...
00:16:02
Speaker
positive from this week, which was Jordan, and Pedro coming back and Ryan Kent possibly you know making the trip. I think that all of those things are gonna give him more tools to potentially get it in the right direction.
00:16:14
Speaker
Yeah, and so kind one of the other things Ferreira talked about is going back to Dallas, which is funny that it's after Djokovic went back to Dallas this week too. I'm sure this is going get the same level of coverage from the national media. of
Upcoming Match: Strategy and Analysis
00:16:28
Speaker
course. ah But you know you could see this being maybe a spark for him. He clearly wants to do well. like he was he he he wants i mean he It's crazy. he played he started playing for the fc Dallas Academy years old.
00:16:42
Speaker
So he was there for over half of his life yeah in that organization. So I'm sure it's a big deal for him to be going back there. He wants to show them it was a you know mistake to move on, I'm sure. This is the the closest thing that we have. And we actually do have a perfect ah you know comparison. If Jordan Morris was to leave to...
00:17:00
Speaker
I don't know, Colorado. Yeah. And Colorado was the comeback. That would be that sort of mentality yeah for Jordan as it is for Jesus. I'm sure. I'm sure. But Dallas, what have you made of Dallas this year? They've been sort of a Jekyll and Hyde team a little bit this year. Yeah.
00:17:19
Speaker
If I could be frank, they're boring to watch, in my opinion. And I feel like Luciano Acosta is still Luciano Acosta, but he doesn't have the magical moments that he had in Cincinnati because it was such a better fit for his skill set. I feel like the movement of the ball...
00:17:38
Speaker
for Dallas is so slow. And although they've had moments where they had been able to get him in the right places, and I think him and Peter Moussa do create a very good duo, everything around him just doesn't quite seem as fluid. It may be something about his adaptation to this new team. But if I could say that there's anything interesting about this team is that they stay in every game. They are in every game.
00:18:07
Speaker
They are in every game. And I think that's obviously something that has been designed to let's not be too overly committed with numbers. Let's be more conservative and let's give ourselves a chance to be in every game. I thought I was surprised with how well they played Atlanta and how they were able to limit Sabatime and how they were able to limit Latelad. I thought that they overpopulated the midfield pretty consistently.
00:18:35
Speaker
And although they have a very average midfield compared to like what Seattle just played, you know, I look at Legette and oh my God, Romero, I think is the other guy. And I look at what Seattle had to face with Godoy, De La Torre and the Danish midfielder who continuously butchered his last name. But they were just so much better that, man, I think you could go either way. But but Dallas...
00:18:59
Speaker
I think we'll make the game slow and sloppy and we'll try to prevent Seattle from getting in a rhythm. But honestly, I'm a little bit optimistic going into this game. I mean, I think there's reason to be honest. This is a team, they're 3-2-2. They're off to a better start than the Sounders, I guess. But admittedly, two of their wins are at ah RSL and then at home against Sporting Kansas City, which was the game that got Peter Vermees fired. So it's not like they're tearing through a murderer's row of opponents.
00:19:33
Speaker
But, you know, it's going to be an interesting this is always I feel like this is always an interesting game. The centers have not historically done great in Dallas. It feels a lot like the game where they played Dallas a similar point in the season last year where that was a that was a zero zero tie. If you remember both Jordan and Christian missed big chances in that game. But I i don't know. I don't know what to make of this one.
00:19:58
Speaker
Have you heard anything? Leo Chu seems to be doing okay. like he's I know he's scored a goal. But that's about it. i mean, people are making it sound like he's lighting it up. Right. But he he has gotten consistent minutes. He's playing. once he's playing And for all that I've heard internally, he seems to be great. I mean, he's spitting in. He's working hard, which at times seemed to be a thing here where he wasn't or not. So in that sense, he's spitting in.
00:20:29
Speaker
But again, offensively, this team is far from a juggernaut. And I actually believe that they're going to try to mirror what Seattle has been doing. So if Seattle goes there with their 3-5-2 or their 3-4-2-1, they've played with that formation before. Interesting. And in supporting Kansas City, and I felt like that's...
00:20:49
Speaker
as As good as I've seen them, they were not as as dangerous against, obviously, Atlanta better team. But I feel like they're going to want to match that up. And with without a doubt, they're going to complicate it and and make it really difficult for Shatter to get move the ball moving and and it having effective possession. Maybe they'll let him have it, tiki-taka, and do your own end. But they're going to make it really difficult for you to come in, maybe even play him.
00:21:16
Speaker
a little bit deeper, or a lot deeper compared to what they just faced in San Diego where the pressure was consistent. Yeah. All right. Well, let's take a break. We're going to come back. We're going to talk a little bit about more what the Sounders are going to be doing, what who they we think they're going available, and how they might be playing.
00:21:31
Speaker
You're listening to Nos Arietes.
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Speaker
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Speaker
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Speaker
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00:24:12
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Player Returns and Impact on Team
00:24:18
Speaker
Welcome back to Notarietes and we are doing we're sitting down with Nico Moreno as we always do the end of the week One of the other big things this week that was encouraging was Jordan Morris Pedro de la Vega fully in at training They were in last week looks like they're probably gonna start and I'm not saying this might sound harsh, but I do think that there's the potential for this to be a net to that. They're all they're not going to get Alex Rodon and Albert Rusnak, who were officially ruled out today.
00:24:50
Speaker
But I feel like that's still a net positive, that trade, not because those were bad players, but because they really did seem to miss Jordan and Pedro specifically. Pedro's creativity and dynamism and Jordan's ability to just be a classic nine.
00:25:08
Speaker
Petro's been the weak MVP. I mean, that yes dude has looked lights out. When there were fans up here, he put on a show, baby. He did, yeah. I mean, he had, I think I counted three goals in mid-range, different angles.
00:25:22
Speaker
I think his... Touching the ball has been very good in the 6v6 games. So good on the ball, so hard to dispossess.
00:25:34
Speaker
So much energy when it comes to like closing down on on players. I just feel like he, as we've always said it, He's a talented player that has a ton of potential. He's hungry as he was at the beginning of the season.
00:25:49
Speaker
So I have no doubt in my mind that he's going come in and just elevate this team immediately. And I'm glad that you said it. we are This is not an indictment against Albert Rusnak. I think that he's been good. I think that i um I'm all in on on on the the positive things he provides. But in this one, two things can be true.
00:26:14
Speaker
that he ultimately, and this is one of the cool things about Albert, he doesn't need any added confidence. He doesn't need anybody to praise him. He seems be a player. A player who doesn't seem to need, like he doesn't, like confidence is not part of the equation it seems like with Albert. No, dude is just like, man, this is what I do. Right. so In this one, you get the potential of sparking Ferreira with a great game in a position where he's looked good before. With Jordan in front of him, who and we can talk about this a little bit later, you know, he's been what makes this system work for Brian Smutzer.
00:26:51
Speaker
And at Pedro de la Vega, that because of his hunger and his skill set, he's going to give Dallas some issues. I think Pedro is very motivated what I saw in him was a player who was frustrated to be hurt and was was was committed to not letting that derail what was, let's remember, a really good start to the season for him.
00:27:15
Speaker
I don't want to let like memory hole the fact that he looked really good during the first few weeks of this season. absolutely And I, and I think that he is ah very motivated to pick up where he left off and to hit the ground running. I thought he was probably the center's best player against San Diego. Granted after the game was maybe a watch was already washed, but still i thought he looked really good. And, uh,
00:27:39
Speaker
And I think getting Jordan back, you know, you had a really good question to Brian Schmetzer today where you basically said, are you over – essentially, i I'm rephrasing, but you you essentially asked, are you frustrated at how reliant you are on Jordan for production?
Team Dependency on Key Players
00:27:53
Speaker
And Brian seemed to appreciate ah that question. Yeah, it was – I'm concerned, right? because Yeah. Moving forward, going have to figure that out, right? Jordan can't play every single minute of every single game. You've got to figure it out. And I use the word codependent because it does feel like his system specifically right now on offense, without Jordan, he has power. It doesn't work. He doesn't have that that blow that you need it to have. You create chances, you get half chances, but without his ability to stretch out
00:28:27
Speaker
defenses and his ability to get on the ball. I think that Jordan has grown into a true nine and now he can play with with his goal, his back to goal and and do so many more things that now you really need him to be that guy. And when you don't have him,
00:28:43
Speaker
and It is funny how that works, right? Where it was like, was frustrating that we, he wasn't the player that they needed him to be in some ways, but now that he's the player they need to be, that he's almost, they're almost too reliant on him to be that guy. And I guess that's maybe just how it works sometimes, but it is frustrating. And, and, you know, Brian talked about how, you know, we've had this next man up mentality and he, he said, you know, it is early, so I don't want to act like it's, that's not going to happen. But he has been, i think, frustrated at the, the lack of,
00:29:12
Speaker
their inability to rise these last few weeks. Like the fact that they have one goal in four games, they haven't necessarily been awful in any of those games, but they, or I guess they were kind of awful in San Diego, but they, they've not, they just have not stepped up at all. There's not, I don't think there's been anyone on the team really that has really raised their game in the absence of these other players. And I think that's what Brian was talking to you about being frustrated that it, you you sort of assume, like you think you've built a roster that is capable of doing it, and then when they don't don't do it, that's really frustrating. And I kind of feel for Brian because
00:29:49
Speaker
look If there was a huge criticism of him last season, it was that the team wasn't fun, the team wasn't offensive. They created this new formation, this new system to completely change that mentality. Get the team with a lot of numbers forward and create a lot of opportunities. And that has happened. And now that you don't have Jordan,
00:30:13
Speaker
not only has it not worked in terms of that finishing product, but now you're more subjective to counters and your defense is taking a hit and you're vulnerable to things that you weren't vulnerable last season. So you're not getting either. Right, yeah, that is a good point because it is worth reminding, again,
00:30:31
Speaker
This was a fun team for you know the first few weeks of the season. They were running up and down the field. They were creating transition opportunities. And yes, they were more exposed at the back than they had been, but it was an okay trade-off. And now they're still trying
Player Acquisitions and Team Strengthening
00:30:45
Speaker
to play. It's like they have the...
00:30:47
Speaker
don't know, somehow they have the mentality or i don't know, it's hard to explain, but they are still vulnerable at the back, but they're not as dangerous going forward anymore. And and it's been very frustrating. ah But this sort of brings us into ah another subject that I've seen brought up a few times. And there seems to be this perception that Brian and Brian does seem frustrated with the roster.
00:31:08
Speaker
But I think that's led people to believe that he is not consulted on acquisitions, I want to, best I can tell, and I've been covering this team for a long time, I don't think that's true at all. I think there is a lot of conversation between Brian and Craig and the in the whole front office staff about what kind of players they want. What Craig has said repeatedly is, once these players are here, it's not my job to micromanage Brian. It's his job to put him in the best place, to use him how he wants to use him. But
00:31:42
Speaker
they aren't giving him players that he doesn't want or know what to do with. If Jesus is not working out the way that the Sounders expected, I think it's a miscalculation on many levels, not just at the talent identification. It's Brian, I think, thought he would be able to play a way that he he wasn't going to be playing, or he thought he was going to be able to adapt him in ways. Or he...
00:32:03
Speaker
Sometimes players just don't work out despite the best analysis. But the idea that Brian is not involved in the talent, he's not necessarily out there scouting, but they are absolutely bringing players to Brian and saying, is this someone that you think you can use? And he's saying yes or no. Yeah, no, he's definitely been in the loop with everything and and nothing that I've heard says otherwise. I have said here in 11 Scorchers that there is a certain miscommunication in terms of concepts of of the way the the roster is built and what is built for and the way Bryan has obviously needed to change it up, like we just mentioned in the reason why he changed that formation up. But he's definitely been on the loop. And maybe the other thing that...
00:32:48
Speaker
I've said is that Brian Smetzer seems to have more juice than his boss, right? Essentially, the structure of things, Craig is his boss, but... But he can't fire him. can't fire him. And Brian has this aura of the zone, and, you know, there's just not that dynamic. Brian carries a lot of weight within the organization.
00:33:10
Speaker
There is a sense... I think that Brian will be here one way or another for a long time, whether he's the coach or not. And so that carries a gravitas about him. He has a direct line. Obviously, like there's is's no I don't think we're breaking any news to say he and Adrian are very much in alignment in terms of what the way this works. I would I would hope that Craig is involved in that. But if anything, I think that.
00:33:35
Speaker
Brian has a lot. like Don't worry about Brian not having enough say in the organization, I guess is what I'm saying. He has as much juice as he can handle, I think, in the organization. i like like that one When Garth was here, Garth was a man that he he carried his own weight. And and that that's in terms of just what he did. There was more different camp. When Garth was here, I think there were more...
00:33:55
Speaker
disagreements that's right about how things were running. then and how and I mean, and maybe that was good, but either way, they were they're much more all in alignment and on the same page about how what they're trying to do.
00:34:07
Speaker
That said, the last player they signed, Ryan Kent, Looks like he will be available on Saturday. We don't know for certain. he is, as of now, not, as far as we know, not on the plane to Vancouver or to Dallas.
00:34:24
Speaker
But it looks, it sounds like what the Sounders are hopeful is that he will maybe arrive in Dallas, you know, either tonight or early tomorrow and be able to train with them in Dallas on Friday.
00:34:36
Speaker
And then, And then if he trains, he'll almost certainly play. Yeah, that is my guess, is that if everything went well, and I think that him not being here does tell me that...
00:34:49
Speaker
there's potential that he's waiting on he's ah waiting on a result waiting on a physical yes he has staff yeah he's gonna i think what brian said is he still needs to get his passport back correct and then you go out of the country you come back in the closest uh embassy uh it was vancouver that's why he went over there But if if I could get give and an educated guess, I would say that he's available. Yeah, that would be my, I would say if I had to bet on whether or not he's on the game day roster, i would say he is more likely than not to be on the game day roster. He'll definitely be, and if he doesn't debut this week, then he'll almost be guaranteed to debut at home against Nashville. Now look, I'm going provide some insight. I've talked to several guys recently,
00:35:37
Speaker
all kinds of positions, all kinds of ages that have trained with Ryan Kent. Everybody loves this guy in terms of what he provides on the field. They say a chill guy, cool dude, but the what he brings into the field, everybody's like, man, that dude, he knows what to do with the ball. Man, he elevates our status. Man, that guy, the way he did this, the way he did that.
00:36:01
Speaker
You know, different different players have different things. Some... really hype up the situation. Some are saying just enough, but it's always that guy is going to be ah an asset. Yeah, i I am very encouraged by what I've seen here. i actually had a chance to talk to Andy Rose ah yesterday a little bit extensively. And so it turned out, you know you had suspected that him and Andy had some Connection. Connection. And you were right. They did. they didn They never actually played together at Coventry, but their time did overlap.
00:36:33
Speaker
And he said he got to know he he got to know Ryan Camp reasonably well. And he more than anything, he knew a lot of his teammates. So he has a lot of mutual connections with him. So even when he was, you know, he played and he played in Motherwell while he Kent was at Rangers. And so they had or he would go indian and so he would go. Sorry. He played at Motherwell. He had. So he would go back to Motherwell and talk to coaches and stuff.
00:36:59
Speaker
And they would talk about Ryan Kent. and And they had a mutual, you know, since they knew each other. And he's basically been following his career. And he was able to vouch for his personality. He was able to talk to a lot of mutuals. He was able to get. He was very confident that he would come in fit.
00:37:15
Speaker
And he has obviously seen him play up close as well. And it so it sounds like Andy was pretty pretty important in and being able to get him here.
00:37:26
Speaker
And I think that should give us a little bit more confidence that the Sounders aren't – they didn't just kind of like open up who's free and then pick out a guy and say, oh, this guy would be a great signing. i mean, I do think there was a lot more that went into this signing. And i still don't – think I completely understand how a player who looks to be in the shape that he's in who looks to have the skills that he has, who has the resume that he has, was just available for free for eight months. I don't think I completely understand that.
00:37:58
Speaker
I guess he had some, he's definitely had some offers that he turned down. i don't know what was so great about Seattle. I think it was MLS as a general. Yeah, maybe MLS in general. And maybe MLS team s slept on that opportunity. And it's possible Sounders just had them on their discovery list and this is when they were able to get them. But it's – I am cautiously quite bullish on this potential.
00:38:22
Speaker
And look, me and you talked about this off camera – off camera, off the mics. Yeah. When i look at him and I compare him to other players that have been brought from Europe that we essentially didn't really know other than when we hear about it, when we write the story, when we do our research...
00:38:44
Speaker
He is above and beyond any of them. Kelvin Leardom, Victor Rodriguez, um Brad Smith, all those players that essentially you're like, okay, I get what they brought him in. Man, that's a great touch.
00:38:57
Speaker
Man, the way he's getting that ball. But Brad Smith, I remember the way he would just put in certain balls. Yeah, he had a sharpness to him. Certain sharpness. This guy is that and more because he has a flair. He has... and attitude. He radiates confidence crazy in a crazy effect. It's almost like a Vegeta type of buff guy that's not the tallest, but he... I've said this a few times.
00:39:25
Speaker
The guy did not miss a lot of gym days while you was it not well he was not playing. paul yeah he is ah i would like There are not a lot of players who have come in as... Like, i mean, he's he's a he's a strong guy. and He looks serious, but he will like talk to you.
00:39:42
Speaker
That's what I'm saying. I don't know why Vegeta can run, but that's kind of what it feels like. I don't know if there's any Dragon Ball Z fans out there, but that's just what... You know what you're talking about. I know what you're talking about. kind of saw him. But maybe somebody will. but But this is exactly why I feel like this guy... Man, if Seattle can hit a home run on this...
00:40:02
Speaker
Ultimately, this front office— changes things a lot. Honestly, this could be the front office best move by turning a bad situation in Paul Arriola's injury to swinging for defenses and essentially changing your season. I mean, that would be the best scenario. Yeah, I mean, that's the dream scenario. And, well you know, I don't want to put too much pressure on the guy. No, no. But it is—it feels like it has—like, I will say that for— A move like this to even have the potential of being excited about, to be talking about they may be actually improving the roster, that says something. you know We'll see if it actually comes to fruition. But the fact that you know if they had gone out and signed a DeJuan Jones just to pick a player that we know that they were – Gressel. Or Julian Gressel, we would have said like, okay, that's a lateral move. Exactly. Maybe we're not worse off. Yep.
00:40:55
Speaker
But I don't think you would be as, i don't think the potential, the upside was as high. The upside. Upside is the right way to do it. I will say that with some of the things that Brian did allude to this week, which I don't think will happen against Dallas, But if there is a formation change, I feel like Ryan Kent would be better used under the 4-2-3-1 than under anything else, just because of the pool of players that you have.
Tactical Flexibility and Formation Discussions
00:41:24
Speaker
And the best way to maximize his creativity and finishing product, because the dude can finish. i mean, the dude with either foot, he can put it away. Yeah. So that's something I want to let you cook on a little bit before we call it a show.
00:41:42
Speaker
You have talked to me quite a bit about the change between or the difference between a three back formation and a four back formation. And my inclination kind of all along has been to say these are differences without much significance because the Sounders want to build out with three in the back anyway.
00:42:01
Speaker
But you've sort of been able to articulate some key differences that it's not as it's not that I'm maybe oversimplifying things. Yeah. And I've been able to talk to Freddie Waters outside of the mics or or or on the mics about this just because different coaches have different ways of managing those formations. But the biggest three major changes that I've been able to look at while talking to you know former and MLS coaches that have used those formations are these. The build-up right now for the Sounders usually and mainly work with five guys.
00:42:41
Speaker
and the goalkeeper. and so you got your three defenders and then you got your pivots coming back. Why? Because you wanna pin back the opposition by pushing your wing backs all the way to at least mid midfield or or higher.
00:42:56
Speaker
So that's five players that are essentially working. Unfortunately for Seattle, you got two guys that are not necessarily great on the ball or their passing isn't the greatest, which is Nuhu and Yehmar. The other two, obviously, Christian has had his struggles, to be honest, getting out of the back and distributing. And then you got Obed and Jackson, who's your main guy. He's the guy that usually you want having the ball. You want him putting those balls through.
00:43:25
Speaker
So that's one. When you have the four-man formation, because you don't need to push your wing backs as high, you essentially have six players. You have all players in the four-man formation, plus your two pivots, yeah and at times, you bring in one of those wingers, and maybe a pivot makes a run up top if you feel like that could create a change where you might want to go direct if you're getting pressed really high, and you kind of get somebody off the rhythm. buildup is one.
00:43:53
Speaker
The second one is transition moments because you are as high as you are with the current formation and all of your width is essentially coming from your wingbacks. It's selective. It's not at times as you do with a four-man back line where your fullbacks at times will go up.
00:44:14
Speaker
They need to be almost readily getting ready to move forward and therefore position a lot higher and um rolled down talked a little bit about this today which is the third thing your two pivots get exposed and they are more vulnerable because their space all of a sudden gets wider, right? Because ah but on the four, two, three, one, at times you got the cams coming back down a little bit. So what you're saying in in the three back, it's a much more narrow build out.
00:44:45
Speaker
Exactly, correct, correct. So when when you are coming back in transition and you get caught with, at times, Roldan today said almost five players essentially on the attack, even when, and they have done this well, Obed and Roldan are staggered the way they're supposed to, Christian Roldan at times just has too much space to cover. And that's why it seems like teams could just play centrally at times. right And all you really need is a little bit of quick passing to get around certain spaces. As San Diego did, not every time did they
00:45:21
Speaker
end up on an opportunity, but there were times where Franco Negri was getting what he should have gotten. they They cut the Sounders up on counterattacks. Like, I actually thought the Sounders, we don't have to get too much into this, I've already said it on other episodes, but like I actually thought the Sounders did okay handling San Diego's press. I thought the Sounders actually did a pretty good job pressing San Diego, but where they really fell apart was on counterattacking opportunities where it seemed like every single time the ball turned over, San Diego had ah numerical advantage going forward. and And a lot of that is what you're talking about, where you were Christian was asked to be kind of covering a lot more space yeah than he was capable of covering. If you pause the moment when,
00:46:03
Speaker
ah Manungu gets dispossessed on a Yamar Andrade pass on the right flank. second goal. There is a line of four players on top and Even Obed is ahead of where he gets dispossessed and only takes his one pass, the dryer, and you're on a foot race. And this foot race so hard to get back to that 40-year-old Anibal Godoy enters the 18 almost unmarked. unmarked yeah And the only guy that's close enough is Georgie Monungu who lost the ball and was dispossessed. So that's how far you're getting stretched out at times. Yeah. because of the formation. And so to not, and again, this is, I'm no tactical guy. I'm not gonna sit here, but I do do a lot of research. yeah have a lot of resources, thankfully. And the way that it was explained to me is that the 4-2-3-1, which is a nuance of the 4-4-2, are just more simple formations. And he lessens the spaces. And therefore you don't have as much vulnerability
00:47:15
Speaker
depending on one player messing up, that it kind of becomes a ripple effect. yeah And it breaks down a lot wider when you are pressing so many numbers up high. Well, and I think one of the things about the 4-2-3-1 is that it's a good formation to use if you feel like you have the talent advantage.
Pressing Strategies and Tactical Execution
00:47:32
Speaker
And this that's part of why the Sounders maybe have not been using it as much because they don't necessarily feel like they have a talent advantage. But if you but there's a possibility that a world where Ryan Kent does sort of change that balance a little bit or the personnel that they can put out on the field changes that balance, you know, maybe. So i don't know. It'll be interesting to see how they they handle this.
00:47:50
Speaker
And same thing goes for the pressing, by the way, because I know that Brian has dismissed the question, but that he's kind of gone back and kind of gave me the right away on it with some of the things. But they're pressing this year at times with three players, way more numbers. It's a different press. He's a lot higher. And the coach that I've actually talked to has in the past played against the Sounders. And he said, you know what, like for me, a lot of times I would mid-block a Instead of pressing as high as people press nowadays, the mid block would at times you you're allowing that that players to come in, the press to come in.
00:48:27
Speaker
And for me, it used to work well against the Sounders. So, well, the thing is, yeah, the Sounders are pressing higher. They're pressing with more numbers. And if you're going to do that, the point of doing it is mainly to create turnovers deeper in your end and and be able to get possession closer to the goal and create scoring opportunities. And the problem is that the Sounders are, like against Dallas or against San Diego, the Sounders were really good about forcing San Diego to just lump the ball forward and the Sounders were able to create turnovers at midfield.
00:48:59
Speaker
But you don't need to expose yourself. If you're if you're just getting turnovers at midfield, you don't really need to expose yourself that high up the field because now you're just taking risk for kind of doing what you could do with a mid-block. And don't know, I think that that's going to be an interesting thing to see how that evolves because it it is kind of like fun to watch the Sounders pressing the way that they are. But if they're going to do it, they need to be able to turn those into – there needs to be more reward. There's a lot of risk without a lot of reward right now. Exactly. And that's the problem is that if you're going to take that risk, it's only worth it if you're getting the reward and they're not getting that right now And we had that conversation because I did and I'm looking at a third time. I'm not I'm down to like the 38th minute right now. haven't got to the goals yet. But there were times where Seattle did gain the ball.
00:49:43
Speaker
in that end, and they either had to just bring it back all the way to Jackson, right or even worse, they make a wrong pass and then turn it back over again. So right you regain the ball, but then you just give it right back. right Yeah, one of the few examples of them at the press working really well was Jesus Ferreira picked up a ball on the wing, and then he fired over a pretty good cross to Rothrock that he took a good shot on, frankly, and Godoy got a a foot to it, hit it out for a corner. That was probably the best example of the press working how you want to work.
00:50:17
Speaker
But it didn't work like that very often. And that's why I believe that, well, I guess Dallas not going to hear this necessarily, but that's why I believe that if there's any formation changes it won't happen in this one because by getting jordan back the guy who kind of makes this work because a lot of those moments that you created either a transition moment or you did get a repress or just a formal press ball back jordan is usually making that right run not not as he this is not to gain on Georgie is just that he hadn't played a position.
00:50:50
Speaker
yeah so there were moments that he could have done better at. So with Jordan, I think he's going to do a lot of the same things and see how it works again with Jordan. And then we'll see what happens moving forward. But I feel like with this formation going into this game, and if Jordan is fit enough to start with his own mini limitations,
00:51:10
Speaker
we'll see how it works and yeah how they press. and And if those moments that we just spoke of completely change with a guy like Jordan, that's just a lot more physical and can get to essentially that ball by Ferreira, maybe Jordan gets to, maybe he gets ahead. Maybe he, you know, ah beats the the defender to the ball and puts it away. So we'll see. Yeah, we'll see. We'll see. But all
Nico Moreno's Podcast Appearances and Soccer Discussions
00:51:30
Speaker
right. Well, Nico, thanks again for for doing the show.
00:51:33
Speaker
ah You can hear him on Lobbing Scorchers on Mondays. You can hear him ah or you see him on Pulse Sports, of course. And anything else you want to plug? Yep, soccer down here. Thursdays with Nico, 7.30 to 8.10, 8.15. We had a really good show today, talking all things CONCACAF Champions League. We talked about Vancouver beating out Pumas, or eliminated them in a fantastic game, by the way. yeah that great. If you haven't seen check it out. Talked about Miami, obviously talked about Sounders. So really good place where I talk a little bit broader about MLS.
00:52:06
Speaker
Awesome. Well, Nico, thank you for doing this. I am Jeremiah Shan. This is No Sariotis, part of the Sounder Art Podcast Network, and we will catch you next time.
00:52:38
Speaker
I expect an LAFC who is motivated ah to prove themselves at home, to prove to their fans that that they're capable of winning in this league. And it's up to us to really ruin the party.
00:52:52
Speaker
You guys like that? and a what Awkward joke, dad joke right there, huh?