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Sounders vs The World: Club World Cup Begins Now - Ep. 106
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It’s finally here — the Seattle Sounders are kicking off their Club World Cup campaign against Botafogo in Group B at Lumen Field. But it’s not all sunshine and trophies. Amid a growing dispute between MLS players and league owners over Club World Cup prize money, the vibes around the Rave Green have taken a hit. Will this tournament be the reset Seattle needs?
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Lobbing Scorchers is a Seattle Sounders and MLS focused show brought to you by Sounder at Heart. Hosted by Major League Soccer's Ari Liljenwall and Producer Noah Riffe. Join us as we lob our scorching takes on the American soccer landscape, Seattle Sounders, Major League Soccer, USMNT and more.
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Transcript
Sounders' Club World Cup Opener
00:00:00
Speaker
Well sir, we got a scorcher today. Gonna be a real scorcher today. Quite the scorcher today. Well it's gonna be scorcher.
00:00:21
Speaker
What's going on everybody? Welcome in to another episode of Lobbing Scorchers. We've got a
Pre-World Cup Stress and Preparations
00:00:27
Speaker
great show for you planned here tonight. It is Club World Cup time as the Seattle Sounders are getting set to take on Botafogo in their Group B opener at Lumen Field on Sunday.
00:00:39
Speaker
Noah, it was always going to be one of the seminal moments of Seattle Sounders season. This tournament, it's finally here. How are you feeling? It is a very long and stressful week leading up to the club. World Cup Ari will talk about why we went to Vancouver. We're back from Vancouver.
00:00:59
Speaker
ever These last two weeks have been busy and we're not even at the Club World Cup yet. We're not even there yet, Ari. We're not even there yet. Yeah. And, you know, the the vibes are super great. You know, everyone's ah I think everyone's got a real positive, happy mindset. Everyone's in good form and ah locked in. No drama controversy to speak of. ah But no, in all seriousness, the the vibes could be better.
00:01:23
Speaker
I think it's fair to say that they could be better. So, ah yeah, we're going to talk about ah about all that. We got our agenda check. We're going to do a big protest update. ah Just got off the phone with J.O. to explain the fine points of it because ah ari his lawyer had I'm not a lawyer. Let's just say that. So we got a protest update you. This lawyer, dog. I'm going to jail.
00:01:47
Speaker
we got a We got some news from ah from elsewhere in the league that we're going to hit in our bonus episode for YouTube members as well. So stay tuned for that.
Podcast and Community Engagement
00:01:57
Speaker
ah But before we do all that, I do have to let you all know that Lobbing Scorchers is a part of the Sounder at Heart podcast network.
00:02:05
Speaker
If you want to get the best independent Seattle soccer coverage, consider supporting us by going to sounderatheart.com. Noah, what's that link? Sounderatheart.com. LS. l Scroll down to subscribe and support to get 30 days completely free. Every sign up through our link helps support and grow this show.
00:02:22
Speaker
I believe where the road to 100 Sounder at Heart subs is still alive. We've slowed down a lot, Ari, and frankly, I don't understand why. Sounder at Heart just put out...
00:02:35
Speaker
Literal articles on every single team playing in the Club World Cup in Seattle. In-depth, deep dives so you can learn about who's playing on these teams.
00:02:45
Speaker
Just, like, get your scouting report in. Soundedhardt.com slash LS. Sign up. Become a member. Because listen, you're going to probably go to these games. Maybe you're going to go to Red red Diamonds versus Inter Milan. And you're like, I don't know anyone on these two teams.
00:03:01
Speaker
You'll learn. You'll learn from the articles. They're great. They're amazing. Ari even writes a damn newsletter. So the fact that you are not subscribed to Sounder at Heart is a personal offense to Ari and myself. Well said. And, you know, we've been on the ah this road to 100 for a while now, so I'm tired of that. Let's get us to ah triple digits here. And subscribers also get access to the audio-only versions of our live shows right to your podcast feed.
00:03:26
Speaker
So that's another perk. yeah You don't have to look at Ari's face. Yeah, yeah. ah Shout out to our sponsors, Hacks and Ferments, who we've got an exciting project with on Saturday that I'm about to talk about in a second.
Social Media and Watch Party Announcements
00:03:38
Speaker
Podium Menswear and Edmonds, Full Pull Wines, and My Data Removal.
00:03:42
Speaker
ah And also, As always, please subscribe to the Lobbing Scorchers YouTube. Noah, today was the day. Oh, my God. This was a happy milestone. Yeah. We have hit 2K subscribers on YouTube.
00:03:54
Speaker
that's Our personal vibes, they're up. Yeah. Oh, yeah. I mean, honestly, for the content, this this whole last couple weeks have been a boon. Yeah. where Our stuff is getting, it feels like viewed more than ever. i know. But we have summited 2K subs on YouTube.
00:04:07
Speaker
Big milestone for us. Got there faster than I would have anticipated. That's a testament. To all of you, our listeners, our viewers, our audience. And the road to 2010 is underway. yeah, yeah. 2.10.
00:04:21
Speaker
Yeah, yeah. Get us to 2.1K. 2010 was a great year, Ari. get us to ah two point one k two thousand and ten was a great year ari That's ah the year I graduated high school. oh my God. I was 10. Yeah, I know. It's wow it's problematic age. Crazy to ah think about.
00:04:37
Speaker
Also ah follow us on Instagram, which has been heating up lately as well. And TikTok, which has been heating up in not ah necessarily a positive way. Yeah. I just, but ah follow us on all socials.
Lobbing Scorchers Hot Sauce Launch
00:04:50
Speaker
Also, We are having a Club World Cup watch party at Fast Fashion on Saturday, starting at 4.30. ah We are going to be hanging out with you, the people. We're going to be watching the Club World Cup opener between Lionel Messi, Inter-Miami, and the Barca boys versus Ali, a familiar foe to us in Seattle.
00:05:14
Speaker
We're going to be taking that in. ah The plan is to do a watch-along for that game like we did for the charity match. ah except it will be a watch along among the people yeah ah that will be that we're going to stream on our YouTube.
00:05:28
Speaker
ah So it's going to be fun. Sounder at Heart has ah hosted events at Fast Fashion before, and it's been a ah ah great time. So yeah, come out. They even have a Sounder Heart beer. Yeah, they have a Sounder Heart beer.
00:05:41
Speaker
Hang out with us. IRL. Eat some pizza. Drink some beer. And watch Messi and the Barca boys. try why Watch these old guys try and keep up with all Ali. lets they're gonna like we're gonna we're gonna look This is content, okay?
00:05:54
Speaker
And a couple of other things with this too. okay Saturday, June 14th, 4.30pm to RSVP. Go to lobingscorchers.com. slash RSVP. You don't have to, but it is helpful for us to know because we're going to have a few things going on. We've got the debut.
00:06:13
Speaker
Ari, do you want to announce this? No, no, no. The debut of the Lobbing Scorchers Hot Sauce. That's right. We partnered with Hacks and Ferments and made an official Lobbing Scorchers Hot Sauce called Lobbing Scorchers, by the way.
00:06:24
Speaker
You're going able to taste it. There's going to be tastings of other hot sauces there. You can purchase it there. It's going to be awesome. This is the first time anyone's ever going to be able to get it. So you've got to come here and and and taste it.
00:06:36
Speaker
Second, Club World Cup themselves, they're bringing swag. They're bringing free swag for all of the people who are attending. They're going to be there. ah We're also going to have for sale limited edition T-shirts designed by myself.
00:06:49
Speaker
This a Seattle Summer of Soccer. You can also get them online, but you can get them in person here first. um And we're going have a special guest, potentially, potentially, potentially. I can't leak anything yet, but potentially...
00:07:03
Speaker
you're going to want to be there. Yeah. yeah lovingtors dot com slash to find out Yeah. ah Definitely come to the watch party. Also hang out with us. hang out with us I wrote a feature on Obed Vargas that went live on MLS soccer.com today.
Obed Vargas Feature and Match Preview
00:07:17
Speaker
It was to accompany the breakaway Apple TV docu series that they've been doing on different players throughout the league. It's a really good article. I did. It's a good good article. i i like I was happy with how it came out.
00:07:29
Speaker
I got ah interviews with Christian Roldan, double pivot partner, and Cody Baker, who I don't know if everyone knows, but Cody Baker was actually Obed's host brother when he was doing the Homestay program when he first got here, so knows Obed very well, one of his best friends.
00:07:45
Speaker
So I got to talk to them for it and wrote a big old thing that ah is accompanying the Breakaway documentary where they went and ah followed Obed to Alaska, actually. So it's I believe it's still front page 1A right now on MLSsoccer.com. We got a bunch of Club World Cup content up there right now, and I wrote some of it. So also, if you just want a quick way to get there, lobbyingscorchers.com slash Obed.
00:08:10
Speaker
It'll take you right there. I just created the link for you. That is done. That's fire. Lovingscorchers.com slash Obed. um As for an in-depth preview of Botafogo, I'm planning, I got an interview lined up with... We have so much news today, are It's just like six minutes of us. We got to plug all of it, though. Just tune in to Under the Lights.
00:08:31
Speaker
Tomorrow, I'm going to be interviewing another YouTuber. This is coming out tomorrow, so it's tonight. but Yeah, tonight. Glorious Boda Fogo is what their show is called. I messaged them today, and they said they're down to come on Under the Lights tomorrow and give us the intel on Boda Fogo, which I'm very interested for that, Noah, because it's like when we're previewing and MLS clubs, I kind of know what's up a little bit.
00:08:55
Speaker
I don't really know what's up. I know the basics about Boda Fogo, but I don't know the fine points. so Yeah. Tune in into under the lights tomorrow for that. All right. I think
Vibe Check: Current Atmosphere
00:09:05
Speaker
that was everything. Do we, yeah do you have anything else? I think that's it. Let's do it. Yeah.
00:09:09
Speaker
All right. Well, bye. Check. Vibe check. We are going to start it off with a, ah with a vibe check. As I mentioned, the vibes aren't super great right now going into the club world cup.
00:09:22
Speaker
it's kind of hard to imagine ah ah greater degree to which they could have deteriorated. Noah, I feel like as recently as two weeks ago, the vibes were, they were pretty much fine. I thought they were actually kind of good.
00:09:37
Speaker
ah It's been an up and down season vibe wise so far. It started off poorly. CCC was a flop.
Performance Analysis: Recent Matches
00:09:46
Speaker
Jordan Morris got injured immediately.
00:09:49
Speaker
The squad started the season like one, three and three. That was a, Classic Sounders. that was the Classic Sounders, slow start, but the vibes weren't super great. And there there's been other times, and you know, the San Diego game comes to mind, the St. Louis game comes to mind.
00:10:06
Speaker
ah So those were the low points. ah But it seemed it felt like they had course corrected little bit ah from April 12th. Up until the Minnesota United game, I believe the record was 6-2-2.
00:10:19
Speaker
So that's good. Jesus Ferreira got a goal finally. You had the moose hot streak. They were moving up the table. Going into the Minnesota United game, I was feeling fine. And ah it felt like it was there was a good opportunity to go into the Club World Cup on a high because you had a Minnesota United team come into town who never wins at Lumen Field.
00:10:43
Speaker
And then you had a white caps team that you already knew was going to be depleted from the CCC final, regardless of how it went. Right. Even if they want it, they were going to be coming off a huge, uh, international break CCC run.
00:10:56
Speaker
So it felt like these were two winnable games against some of the, two of the West's best teams. And if you could put in some good performances and good results, yeah, you had a chance to be going into the club world cup on a high. Uh, but instead,
00:11:12
Speaker
uh it's it's deteriorated the the squad is currently uh embroiled in a labor dispute and a feud with their owner who uh famously went into the locker room and had a ah had a little he was not happy yeah he was not how we describe this in uh non-political terms uh he was uh He was vocal. He was vocally unpleased.
Labor Disputes Impacting Performance
00:11:37
Speaker
He vocally unhappy.
00:11:39
Speaker
Vocally unpleased with the with the protest shirts. And then kind of under the cloud of all of that stuff going on off the field, you had ah not great at all performance ah or result against Minnesota United, where you gave up three goals at home and lost the game.
00:11:59
Speaker
And then it looked bad. And, and yeah, didn't, didn't look good at all. And then you had the Vancouver game, which was a chance to course correct that, which went what happened are he's fully off the rails, famously, yeah ah two red cards in three minutes and lost to a white caps team. That was, it was their B side and lost to them handily.
00:12:20
Speaker
Yeah. So That all leaves us in a situation where, like I said, I think it's hard to imagine a much greater downturn that the vibes could have taken. Noah, how are you feeling just ah vibe check wise as we sit just a few a couple days now from the Club World Cup starting? I think the vibes are atrocious, Ari. I think that these are some of the most rancid, super sour, rotting milk carcass vibes. Like this is roadkill in the middle of Arizona in the summer vibes going on right now. And how do you turn it around?
00:12:56
Speaker
I have no clue. I have no clue. But this is also funny enough, somehow the type of team where the vibes are like this. They go play in the Club World Cup and somehow get out of the group. Yeah, I think maybe maybe maybe that's wishful thinking.
00:13:10
Speaker
But like, I don't know, like did it's everything is such shit that like maybe this is just a chance to play these damn games and get it over with. And you've got that on your mind and you're like, all right, I don't have anything to lose here.
00:13:24
Speaker
But let's be real, Ari. The vibes are atrocious and something you did say. um i don't know what episode it is because you do so many podcasts, but you said, i don't think I've ever seen two red cards that close together before.
00:13:39
Speaker
I can tell you I have and it wasn't a Sounders game and it wasn't the most infamous Sounders game. Ari, the red card wedding. There were two red cards mere 30 seconds apart from each other. i get it. But never. I've never seen two run of play red cards.
00:13:53
Speaker
Yeah, exactly. like That was a little bit of different circumstances. yeah But ah yeah, I mean, I think the way you turn the vibes around is you go out on Sunday against Botafogo and you you have a good performance. You get a draw.
00:14:05
Speaker
the Like, ah I think... a positive result would of any sort would, that would, that would yeah do wonders multi for the vibes. But I think even if you, even if you go out and you don't get a result, but you, you play well, you're competitive, you have a good showing and you just look like a ah good competence, competitive soccer team, like unlike what you did in Vancouver,
00:14:31
Speaker
I think that would help. Like, yeah, I would feel like speaking for myself, I think I would feel better about the state of affairs if they just did that. So that's like the baseline. And then of course I like if you, if you draw or win this game on Sunday, I think the vibes are fully back, baby like that. I don't like, ah do you see that differently? No, I think you're completely correct. I think there's one shot to kind of turn this around and you've got to make it count against Funny enough, like this is the game. This is the game. Like, i and this is not a great game either. Not not in terms of like, it's not going to be a great matchup. I'm just saying like, Botafogo is like one of the best teams in the world still.
00:15:15
Speaker
They like won Copa Liberadoras last year. Yeah, like they're they're good. They're good. They're actively good. This group is so stupid. It's so silly. do like I know this is whining and I know this is sour grapes, but like it's just a little tilting that- LAFC gets to play Tunisian team. The one team that actually earned their spot here yeah is the team that gets by far and away the hardest group. Can I flip it though? Can I flip it? Yeah.
00:15:43
Speaker
please We get the hardest group because we were respected enough with the warm balls to play in this group because we are effectively the biggest club in in North America. I like that.
00:15:53
Speaker
Every other club needed an easy path out of CONCACAF and they were like, you know what? If anyone can do it, the Seattle Sounders can do it and they stuck us in that group. Gigi was like, you know what?
00:16:04
Speaker
They can do it. Honestly, like I'm going to go with that narrative. I think that's the better narrative. That's good. spin and And also like we have an opportunity to win this group because they have to play here. Right. OK.
00:16:15
Speaker
Why don't we just take a page out of all of the Mexican team's handbook and food poison them? Why don't we know we're poison Botafogo? That's not where I brought this up yet. Why am I the only one bringing this up?
00:16:29
Speaker
it's not a bad It's not a bad point. It's not a bad point. you know if you If you're overmatched, sometimes you've got to pull out drastic measures. um Aside from the off-field disputes, Noah, this was already a situation where
Injuries and Squad Depth Challenges
00:16:49
Speaker
the personnel situation, I mean, it's tough right now.
00:16:52
Speaker
I would... it's It's so unfortunate that they they have to do this shit without Jordan Morris, without Yamar, without Kim Keehee.
00:17:05
Speaker
Stu Hawks also not going to play in this tournament. that ah I think schmidzer Brian Schmetzer confirmed that today that his quad injury is going to keep him out long term, six to eight weeks.
00:17:15
Speaker
So no Stu Hawks. Yamar's not training. Kim's ah not training. Kim was back in training, but I don't think he's going to be fit. Yeah, I would not doing ball. I would be shocked if Kim plays at all in any of these games.
00:17:27
Speaker
And I think it's it's cooked for it's fairly safe to assume that it's cooked for Jordan. if Anyone deserves to play in this goddamn tournament. It's Jordan Morris, man. Like ah also they have them and all i don't know if you get the pr emails but i i get all 40 of them every day we love you guys thank you for giving us info but uh they literally are spamming jordan morris quotes and like jordan morris videos into my inbox and i'm like you guys know he's like not gonna play a single minute maybe that mean maybe that's an indication that he could play a single minute i don't think so yeah i'd put i'd put money on i'd put money on no No, I mean, I think the safe assumption is that he's not going to be playing. None of those guys are going to be playing.
00:18:10
Speaker
And ah that just makes it even harder. I mean, what? So you're looking at ah the ah Jackson Reagan J bell ah duo, which, you know, it is what it is, but it's like, what if one of those guys has to Jackson Reagan is still just coming back from injury. yeah What are they even like Leo Bernie?
00:18:27
Speaker
Yeah. Like Leo Bernie might be Leo Bernie is going to be cooking bro. you'd Come on down. Leo Bernie. me i see be i like Defender of the year. Let's see what you got. I mean, like that's where that's where it's at right now. michael Bernie playing against Simeone midfield and then playing against PSG.
00:18:47
Speaker
Yeah, like MLS next pro guys may legitimately get minutes in this tournament. Which is ah it's cool. But like, is that what you were expecting? No. And it's it definitely makes the task at hand harder. Like these are situations where experience is crucial. Yeah.
00:19:04
Speaker
So you're you're likely not going to have that in central defense for at least some portion of it. ah You're going to have to ride Jackson, Reagan and J Bell through this entire group stage.
Club World Cup: Showcase and Experience
00:19:18
Speaker
uh which you know ah like i said it makes the task at hand a lot more difficult it also would serve to make it a lot more epic if they do that's true yeah so call up omar hassan come on that would be that i'm down for that agenda he played tonight for uh defiance so just saying anyway yeah twenty five you know we're just out here pushing agendas listen the vibes in general are like I have always said, and we've been saying this, or at least I've been saying this since the beginning, is this is a showcase tournament. This is fun. We get to watch good teams play the Sounders.
00:19:53
Speaker
We're not probably going to win any games, but like just just just like treat it like that. Just have fun. The people who are crashing out and are like, this is the biggest tournament of our lives, and the fact that we haven't done anything, and my but but um bla um it's like, bro,
00:20:09
Speaker
relax reframe have Modelo, okay? Sit down and watch some soccer because you're never gonna be able to see PSG coming off of winning the most emphatic Champions League I've ever seen in my life.
00:20:25
Speaker
at Lumen Field in a competitive match. Yeah, maybe it'll be their B team, but like, who cares, man? Like, just... Even if it's their B team, it's a game that matters. Just like, just rock it. Just enjoy it. The vibes are chalked.
00:20:36
Speaker
It makes it almost even easier to just sit down and enjoy these games for what they are, which is a celebration of winning Champions Cup, which no one has ever done and no one will ever do other than the Sounders in MLS.
00:20:48
Speaker
Yeah, no, I mean, I think that's the, I think that's the right way to look at it. Uh, it just feels like, uh, with everything going on and all the drama, it's kind of hard to get there yeah or harder to get there than it would be if these were just like anywhere approaching normal circumstances with, uh, something approach, approaching your, uh, your like first choice personnel, which you're also not going to have.
00:21:12
Speaker
So, uh, I think, you know, we'll see what happens on Sunday. i have a feeling once the game gets started, I'll find it easier to be, to do what exactly what you said, which is just a sit back, enjoy it, appreciate it for what it is. And, uh, I mean, I think you and I have been pretty consistent the whole time that we're not, uh, going to get too wrapped up in the results of these games.
00:21:36
Speaker
No. Uh, I'm certainly not like even this Botafogo game, like you said, is they are, they're the best team in Brazil. At least they were last year. I know their league season has not started off super great this year, but this is a, uh, this is a Brazilian powerhouse. It's not like the, you have the PSG and Atletico games and then you get this like big break. Like this is, this is going to be a really hard game. So and it's a teams with history, man.
00:22:03
Speaker
Nico Ladero. Botafogo number 10, man. Like, what are you talking about? boca Juniors. I don't think Nico played. I think he played for Botafogo as well. Oh, he he might have. I know Jao Paulo did. JP played there, and I'm pretty sure Nico also played there. um If not, I'm just disseminating misinformation. Well, I think you're in the clear because, ah oh, no, you're right. Yeah. 2012 to 2014. I forgot about that. He played there, so there's history there. You've got JP. It's awesome. Like, JP is going to play against his old club.
00:22:30
Speaker
They love him there. And they love him there. And then not to mention, he played the tournament that qualified them for this tournament. So like he's he's full circling the whole thing like this. You know, you got to feel you got to feel some kind of way for the players.
00:22:45
Speaker
You got to feel like they want to compete, but you also got to feel like this has got to be a great moment for them to like celebrate because like at the end of the day, they're people, right? And like they earned this and that rocks. And that's that's where I am. I'm just trying to keep the vibes positive here, Ari. So now that means you have to be the brigade and toss some negative counterpoints.
00:23:04
Speaker
They didn't sign anyone during the Club World Cup window. Where's the ambition? They didn't buy out Jordan Morris. Oh, my God. It's over.
00:23:15
Speaker
Yeah. Club's gone. I think, ah like I said, I'm hoping once the game starts, ah the negative air around this team that's been around the last couple weeks will go out the window. And I think that...
00:23:30
Speaker
I'm expecting them to rise to the moment a little more in the sense that like, I would be surprised if there's like meltdown stuff type happening, like multiple red cards in a three minute span. Like, uh, I think as a baseline, my expectation is that we don't see anything like that. Uh, and then, you know, if they still lose the game, it is what it is.
00:23:51
Speaker
Uh, Noah, anything else vibe check wise before we do this protest update? Well, I think we should slide into the actual negative vibes or what's bringing down the vibes the most, which is this protest. So, I mean, that's that's basically all I had to say. Just, I don't know if you want to lead this section off or I can. oh ah I mean, I can lead it off and then why don't you nutshell what's exactly going on. Sure, I mean, ah the biggest update that came out of Sounders training today is well, is mostly that there kind of was no update. Christian rolled on was speaking with media at Long Acres today, and he said that the players had not ah heard back on their counter offer that they made to the league's initial offer, which the players very clearly deemed that an unserious offer.
00:24:40
Speaker
ah the The way they described it, it sounded like the type of offer that you make to someone that you know is going to get rejected. That's what it sounds
Ongoing Labor Dispute
00:24:49
Speaker
like. That's how they took it. It's a fuck you offer. That is exactly how it's been described. To put it in English terms. They made a counter offer.
00:25:00
Speaker
and as of We're recording this Wednesday evening. As of Wednesday afternoon, they had not heard back. and Christian was, you could tell he was... and annoyed at this. like they They feel like at the very least there needs to be like ongoing dialogue and not these long periods of ah of silence or what they consider to be unserious offers.
00:25:23
Speaker
So as we record this right now, this doesn't seem to be particularly close to getting resolved, which is great because the game's on Sunday. So that's a lot of time to work with here. like so Yeah.
00:25:38
Speaker
Anyway, ah Noah, why don't you, ah we we called J.O. to get the, ah make sure our facts were on point with all this. ah But why don't you give the people the nutshell of just like what's going on with this, where things stand right now and what it might look like going forward. Yeah, so there's obviously a lot of he said, she said, because you've got what the league is telling reporters, you have what the Players Association is telling players. like fli And I think that you can kind of ride it down the middle and see through it. I think that we can probably give you a little bit of analysis that can make you see through it. But I want to give a full picture
00:26:13
Speaker
Because we're we're slowly like revealing the fog is clearing as we get more information here and there. So this reporting comes courtesy of Sounder at Heart and Jeremiah O'Shan. If you want to subscribe to Sounder at Heart, this information has been available on there. And this reporting wouldn't be possible without it. So sounderatheart.com slash LS and scroll down to subscribe and support.
00:26:34
Speaker
Here we go. So... Initially, there were informal conversations about the pay structure for this tournament that started two or three months ago. Right.
00:26:44
Speaker
So this is not some new thing. Then i would say three or four or five weeks ago, something around there, Albert Rostak started talking about this. And Jada Evans of the Seattle Times did a whole article and report about this, which kind of kicked off the public conversation.
00:27:03
Speaker
From there, then you saw the protest shirts and all of that, and it all escalated. But that's kind of been the backdrop. We haven't really known any of the details. That's just been the general view. So when we're looking behind the the screen, this comes from sources, is that the players in league went back and forth informally, feeling out the situation and one another,
00:27:24
Speaker
And at one point, the owners had informally suggested 25 to 35% of the performance bonus as a additional incentive on top of the 10%. It's 10%, correct? or Of the of the nine yeah point five billion ah So that's 1 million. I think it's like a million for a draw, 2 million for a win, and then 7 million if you advance and then more and more after that. Right. So the players would get 25 to 35 percent of the performance incentive bonuses, ah which makes sense because they're playing the games are advancing and you want to encourage your team to to win games. Right.
00:28:04
Speaker
um There were back and forths about that, and then they kind of heard radio silence. ah The players did. The players union and the players.
00:28:15
Speaker
So they protested. They wore the shirts, and they wanted to get the wheels moving because MLS was trying to drag their feet on this. ah And so after that protest, as was reported,
00:28:29
Speaker
The powers that be were not happy, Ari. there was There was some crashing out, there was some frustration, there was some anger, and the board of governors slash owners allegedly offered did a formal offer of 20% of the performance bonus on a Friday night at 6 p.m. in retaliation for this protest. So they basically low-balled what they informally told them they would offer as an F you because they protested and were like, okay, you want to protest?
00:28:58
Speaker
Cool, we can protest you too. So they tried to strong-arm them with that. Then the players union and the players retaliated with a counter offer of 40%, not just of the total ah like performance bonus, but of the entire prize package as a whole. So that includes the $10 million dollars for qualifying, any additional bonus revenue ah generated from it, um and the performance bonuses, right? 40% of all of that.
00:29:28
Speaker
And as of 1 p.m., June 11th, there has been no response from the league, and the players are rightfully frustrated. And from what i um have gleaned from what Jeremiah has reported is that basically what the league wants to do right now is just drag their feet until the games kick off.
00:29:52
Speaker
Because that's clearly what's going on. They don't care. they They think that they're in the right and they are happy to piss off their players in the long term for a short term game.
00:30:03
Speaker
That's very clear to
Negotiation Criticisms and Tensions
00:30:04
Speaker
what it is. So their argument, the league saying their argument is that teams already got ah That are in the Club World Cup got an additional $750,000 in allocation money.
00:30:16
Speaker
And so that that should be taken into account when considering the prize pool allocated to players, even though that money doesn't go directly to players. That's general salary, all of that kind of stuff, right?
00:30:27
Speaker
Um, the argument from the PA or I guess, and then the argument from the league as well is that they say there is no global standard, which was something that the players association has claimed that there's a global standard of 50, 50 for tournament sharing.
00:30:43
Speaker
Uh, the league says, well, this tournament is completely different. This is unprecedented money. And from what we can ascertain, uh, there are almost zero teams that that are giving out um any kind of guarantees other than a slight percentage potentially of player of performance bonuses.
00:31:02
Speaker
um So and MLSPA has not been able to prove to them from what has been reported that ah there are there is actually a global standard because there just hasn't been a lot of reporting in general about how teams are compensating their players for this tournament.
00:31:19
Speaker
Now, on top of that, um On top of that, ah you have this information coming out that the reason that all of this is boiling over and absolutely insane, the cherry on top, Ari,
00:31:35
Speaker
is that Major League Soccer renegotiated with the Players Association the compensation structure for Champions Cup. When did this happen?
00:31:45
Speaker
In 2024. When was the PA signed? 2022. And guess what that compensation structure is? 50% of the total prize pool, which if you win CCC, would take you way above $1 million. $1 million.
00:32:00
Speaker
which is what the cap is, right? 50% up to a million dollars. Guess what, buddy? Blows way past that. So all of these arguments are happening under the pretext that they've done this before. They just did this. And MLS is acting like this is some unthinkable, unfathomable conversation to be having.
00:32:22
Speaker
I can just read the ah the ah Blue Sky post from the and MLSPA right here. They say, fact, there is direct precedent for a fair renegotiation of tournament prize money for MLS players.
00:32:33
Speaker
When changes to the CONCACAF Champions Cup significantly increased the prize money to over $5 million dollars for the champion, andls and MLS and the MLSPA reached a fair agreement to equitably distribute the money.
00:32:44
Speaker
The result... A 50-50 split was agreed upon for all the prize money, including both participation and performance-based payments, substantially exceeding the $1 million dollar cap applicable to the Club World Cup. They even made a little graphic to ah to illustrate their point. It's it's a very sleek, well-made graphic. Mm-hmm. Uh, but, uh, yeah, so that's a development that i didn't know about, which is that, uh, there is precedent for this type of negotiation. And, uh, to me, like, it feels like, it feels like Noah, that this has just become a, like, uh, like a pissing contest, like,
00:33:23
Speaker
the ah The original offer that they that they made, like you said, was clearly retaliatory. And that all that does is escalate the situation, right? Because you ah the other side feels disrespected and like they're not being taken seriously.
00:33:41
Speaker
So they throw back an offer that's like going to be clearly way beyond what ah what the league would grant. Right. It's like, no, I don't think anyone thinks that they're going to give them 40%. But it's not because like, yes, it is retaliatory, but they have precedent for it.
00:33:59
Speaker
They have precedent for 50% of a prize pool, which I'm not saying that there's not going to be a team that gets out of the group, but let's say they don't. That's 50% of $9 million. dollars Like that's, yeah, you're right. That's,
00:34:16
Speaker
two and a half million more dollars than what they would get for the, uh, for, for winning CONCACAF champions cup, but not, not that much more money. Yeah, not really.
00:34:26
Speaker
So they're essentially asking for 40%, which is still less than what they would get if they qualified for, um, for, for, if the, or they won champions cup and didn't win a game that said,
00:34:42
Speaker
just doesn't feel like this ends well. Feels like, uh, I mean, these negotiations, CBAs, stuff like this, it always gets contentious. Uh, but this, doesn't this feel just like a little uglier than even usual?
00:34:56
Speaker
I mean, I know there was almost like a lockout a couple of years ago, right? I remember that. And like you see that and that's not something that's only happened in MLS. Like that happens in, uh, in other sports.
00:35:07
Speaker
Uh, but this just feels like, uh, Feels like it's it's ah just escalated and it's continuing to escalate. And I mean, do you see any scenario where they get like an actual deal hammered out by this Sunday?
00:35:22
Speaker
Like, I just have a hard time seeing that. So what happens in that event? Like the players, like they could they could just not play, but I don't think that they're going to do that. I would be surprised if like a strike happens.
00:35:37
Speaker
But ah it it doesn't it doesn't seem good to have this hanging over the club and all the MLS clubs that are in this tournament while it's ah while it's going on. And it can't bode well for future relations between the sides, can it?
00:35:54
Speaker
So ah I don't know. like How does this end? i I have a hard time prognosticating that. I mean, here's what I will say and what I can guarantee is that Major League Soccer is making a very, very short-sighted decision here because they are pissing off some of their best players at the biggest clubs for a very small short-term gain for their owners, which is essentially just stupid because they know they're going to have to come back to the bargaining table at some point.
00:36:31
Speaker
And they're going to pay for this one way or another. They're going to pay for this in one way or another when they renegotiate the new cb CBA. sorry That's the truth. And so if they think that they're going to... Even if they do run out the clock and the players are pissed off and all of this...
00:36:49
Speaker
I promise you there's going to be a get back and they're not going to like it and they're going to get more or try and get more than whatever this just like payment would be. why why why why Why, why, why, why, why does the board of governors think that it is a good idea?
00:37:05
Speaker
to piss off your players for such a small amount of money. It's stupid. That money doesn't mean anything to them. You're silly. You're silly. It's like it's become about like, it feels like it's become about like the principle of it. It is. It is. Ego, like you're damaging my pride by questioning me type situation, which is like, that's,
00:37:26
Speaker
To me, like we can get bogged down in the fine points and the legal technicalities of it. At the end of the day, like if we all agree that ninety ten is not like a fair allocation of the money that we're talking about here,
00:37:42
Speaker
then ah it shouldn't be like this hard and dramatic and drawn out to just get to some sort of arrangement where, ah where people, everyone feels like they're being treated fairly or at least more fairly than 90, 10. Yeah. So that's just, that's just how I feel about it. Like it, yeah.
00:38:02
Speaker
does it like It doesn't need to be like this. It's got it's gotten to a point where it seems clear that it's not about like the merits of the situation. And it's about, again, like pride, ego, and like having a go at people because you are like person you you're personally aggrieved by how it's been approached or how they're subverting you or whatever it is. yeah And that's just like...
00:38:29
Speaker
Like you said, it's silly. It's silly. They got mad because they protested, but they protested because the league dragged their feet for two months. Like you reap what you sow is all I'm trying to say. It's that you are setting yourself up for way more pain in the long term than then just give them a little bit of money.
00:38:49
Speaker
Just give them a little bit more money. You criminally underpay your players as it is. Just give them some goddamn money. You're going to be fine, and you're going to build goodwill.
00:39:01
Speaker
My... That genuine long-term thought is that they're trying to damage the PA. Because if the PA can't get a deal done, the and ml like MLS can go to them and be like, look, what what the hell is the Players Union doing for you? They couldn't even get you this money, right?
00:39:16
Speaker
You have Jeff Cameron out there, fucking dumbass. He's out here saying like, oh, the PA has always been dog shit. They've always sucked. I can't believe it. I can't believe Shocking. Jeff Cameron, buddy, you were at the Capitol. Like, let's yeah like let's let's calm it down, okay? And second, you're at TST trying to beg your way to $1 million dollars prize split amongst, like, 22 guys.
00:39:40
Speaker
No disrespect to TST, but it's like, maybe you should worry about your own bag, bro, because clearly you're hurting for it. Anyway, I just hate that anti-union rhetoric that pisses me off. um But regardless, this situation, you're right. It's a pissing contest. And it's stupid because you're pissing on your employees that make this league go around. And we've almost seen it before.
00:40:02
Speaker
And I wouldn't be shocked to see it again as a lockout happens. And a lockout close enough to the World Cup or close enough to post-World Cup where you're trying to build momentum. It's like, dude, you're playing with fire you're playing with the fire are you yeah i was gonna say uh the next round of cba negotiations are probably gonna be super great like that's gonna be uh that's gonna be fun for everyone yeah it's 2028 so it's it's a long ways away but regardless yeah but i mean you know like remember remember how stressful it was uh when the when the prospect of a lockout was fully on the table the last time this happened was that shit sucked The refs, people forget about the refs literally did a lockout. Do you and remember how dog shit the officiating was? There was like a whole like seven week stretch where basically every MLS game was just unwatchable. That was insane content. That was incredible.
00:40:56
Speaker
Like, do you, like everyone was like, this league is a joke. Do they want that again? they want that again? And it was over that even better. That was over. They were like, hey, can we like get flights? Can we just get like business class instead of having to ride coach and be able to pick our tickets? That was literally their argument was like, hey, like we don't really make that much and we just want to be able to get back to our families and pick when we do it.
00:41:20
Speaker
They were like, you should die. You should die actually. Like, God damn. All right. We're never going to be league shills. Dude, they're never hiring us for 360. Unless season pass. Noah, anything else on the protest? Should we keep it pushing? Let's keep pushing. With an ad to pay us 10% 90%. We'll right back.
00:41:38
Speaker
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00:42:09
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00:42:31
Speaker
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00:42:58
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00:43:28
Speaker
Welcome back from the ad break in which you definitely did not skip the ads. Don't skip the ads. It's a part of our collective bargaining agreement between viewer and watcher that you watch our ads because if you don't, we will retaliate. yeah We will retaliate against you. I promise you that.
00:43:44
Speaker
I promise you that because you'll get 40% more ads. ah All right, let's hit our agenda check, Noah. i only i have two written down here, yeah and then ah you can add whatever ones you see fit.
00:43:56
Speaker
ah This first agenda is one that I've ah that i've seen percolating a little bit, and it's the ah Ryan Kent is fraudulent, and ah those first couple games, he was just feasting on bad teams agenda.
00:44:10
Speaker
Incredible. This has got to be a brigade agenda, right? I think there's some overlap in all likelihood. Yeah. But lower tier Brigaders though. But the genesis of it being that ah we were all excited about what we saw in the first couple games. He looked incredible.
00:44:25
Speaker
And then ah he and the team have both not managed to recapture that since. yeah and then And then it becomes a it what he did doesn't count thing because it was St. Louis City and the Houston Dynamo.
00:44:39
Speaker
So that's sort of, uh, that's sort of where this agenda is coming from. and like, uh, I guess I'll just give my take, which is that like the, the, it doesn't count thing.
00:44:51
Speaker
Like, I don't think it, uh, I don't think it applies here because the stuff we're talking about from those games, that stuff that transfers over regardless of opposition. yeah And even if he hasn't been doing it as consistently in the last few games, as teams have scouted him up,
00:45:08
Speaker
Just the fact like the stuff we witnessed in those games, just that he has the physical ability to do those things is the thing that was exciting about it more even more than the results of the games to me or like the ah the contributions he was getting on the stat sheet there.
00:45:26
Speaker
Uh, the quality in the talent is, is evident. It's obvious. And it, and it is when you watch his Rangers tape as well. So, uh, I don't think what's been going on with Ryan Kent the last couple of weeks is to do with talent or a ability.
00:45:42
Speaker
I think it's to do with the fact that teams realized how dynamic he is right away and have very clearly all been using a similar strategy to neutralize him, which is just double teaming him or just putting extra guys in that space on the left side where he operates and making sure that he can't just moss guys one on one and lay crosses in or lay service into the box.
00:46:09
Speaker
ah So they're very very intent on trying to stop that. And Seattle's not doing a good enough job of capitalizing on the on the numbers advantages that those doubles and triple teams can create. That's what it's about more than like him falling off or not being as good as we thought.
00:46:26
Speaker
Like it's ah it's about game planning to to adjust to the other team's adjustments, which I don't think the team has been doing a good and enough job of the last...
00:46:38
Speaker
few games. Uh, but even with that said, you still like, there's still been moments where I love what I'm seeing from him. him He should have had an assist on that Georgie goal that was offside in the FC Dallas game.
00:46:50
Speaker
That was another good example of the type of stuff Ryan Kent can do.
Tactical Adjustments for Ryan Kent
00:46:53
Speaker
And even in this Vancouver game, ah that chance that he, uh, that he generated yeah right after kickoff that Alex rolled scuffed the shot.
00:47:02
Speaker
Classic bro. That was still a ah ah very like that's exactly the type of stuff I want to see yeah from Ryan Kent. And so he he like you you still see it ah like what he did on that play to get himself into that space and get by his defender and then the movement to get into the box.
00:47:20
Speaker
put the ball in a place where it's a great chance for Alex rolled on. Uh, that was great. So it's just, they need to, uh, figure out a way to get him more, get him more opportunities in transition. I think is a big thing.
00:47:32
Speaker
Uh, it's a lot easier to do those double and triple teams when, uh, the team other team has their defense set. And then again, just like, adjusting to how ah how they are attacking him and ah taking more advantage of that, whether that's switching the point of attack or having more overlappers. Like, Nuhu's not necessarily the greatest candidate for that, so you have to... But you can you can have other guys in that space. I don't know. but Just do something so that other teams have to think about ah sending all these extra guys at him. So that's what I think of that agenda. Noah, what do you think? I mean, we had a long tactical discussion about this on the drive back from Vancouver because I think we both have been seeing this.
00:48:16
Speaker
um For one, I think it's fatigue. I think there is a bit of fatigue. It's getting used to Major League Soccer. Major League Soccer is a lot more challenging than a lot of people want to give it credit for.
00:48:26
Speaker
The travel is intense. Physically demanding. there's It's a very physically demanding league. It's a very pacey, fast. heavy, heavy, uh, distance covered kind of league. You're playing on a surface. He's playing on a surface. He's not used to.
00:48:40
Speaker
He, he's basically only played on turf since he's been here. And like, I think the best games he's played have probably been on grass. It's a different surface. It's completely different to play on.
00:48:51
Speaker
I'll tell you that much straight away. Like, that's that's just the truth. um and second and And second, to your point, like, yeah, teams teams have scouted him now. Teams respect him.
00:49:02
Speaker
The first few weeks, you don't know what you're going to get of him, right? We hear murmurs. We see training. We can do whatever and be like, okay, yeah, this might be the greatest player to ever touch turf. But the reality is other teams are feeling that same way, and it's mystifying.
00:49:15
Speaker
Once it's not mystifying is when they realize, oh, yeah, The only other guy which he can have interplay with on that side is fucking Nuhu, who... who There actually have been times where that's looked better than I would have thought.
00:49:27
Speaker
But that's like never that's the problem. I mean, he got ejected. He got ejected, whatever. But like, that's a problem is when your best option for a guy like that, who he's really great in those tight spaces. He's really great off the pass.
00:49:40
Speaker
He's, you know, he wants a one, two pass. He wants to, he wants to play around defenders. His only option is new who, who I'm telling you, this is the two new who movements. take the ball, fake shot, fake cross, fake cut in, and then just blast the ball into the box.
00:49:55
Speaker
Has he gotten better at it? Absolutely. But he's a one-trick pony in and attack. that's That's just the reality of it. The cross he had to Rusnak in the Whitecaps game was so good. Dude. and so He just has him wide open yeah and just hits it at 110 miles hour. Just 1,000 miles an hour, like terrible. So my my thought is, if you if you got him to link up with a player like KKR, or you got him to link up with a player like Paul Rothrock, or you got him to link up, when you see him link up with Albert Rusnak, when he's able to interplay with Albert Rusnak, like at the edge of the box, I distinctly remember this one play where they
Paul Rothrock's Potential Impact
00:50:29
Speaker
were just pinging the ball back and forth and just like triangling around defenders and going in and able to to to attack in the box.
00:50:37
Speaker
You need to bring someone in closer and give him some support. We don't need to do this fucking Brian Schmetzer slamming crosses every single time. This isn't 2016 FIFA. that...
00:50:49
Speaker
we can we can work our way into the box and i think that He is such a technically qual technique, technically talented player that they were kind of just like, go out there, bro. Just, just do your thing. No stress because that was working at first. And to your point, like it's not anymore. And it's time to adapt his position and it's time to adapt his role. And it's time to understand that he needs some support out there. That's not fucking new who Tolo. I'm sorry. That's the reality.
00:51:16
Speaker
New who is great for certain things, but, but I just don't think that they they they um play off of each other's positives. These things are a constant chess match. yeah Teams figure out game plans on how to neutralize what you do well.
00:51:31
Speaker
You have to adjust to what other teams are doing to neutralize your strong suits. And ah to me, one of the biggest issues that's gone on with this team in the last few weeks is that they have not ah figured out. They either haven't figured it out or they're not executing yeah the adjustments on the new ways that teams are attacking them and what ah what what teams, they're going to keep doing it until it stops working.
00:51:57
Speaker
You have to make them pay for that. You can't just say, find 77 on the left flank all by himself and double sea and just let him like do his thing. like you gotta to You got to be multifaceted. You got to make adjustments. So those are the issues at play, in my opinion. And I got to be honest with you, Ari, listen, I think he's also just, the he's being overworked.
00:52:21
Speaker
He's being overworked. And I think that potentially his best position could be coming in as a sub in these moments. You wear them down with someone who is relentless and physical like Paul Rothrock to the point where the second half always opens up. It always opens up in major league soccer.
00:52:36
Speaker
That's the reality of the sport. You bring him on for 60 minutes and or 45 or whatever, right? And you let him run at this guy who's already going to be a little bit tired against a fresh Ryan Kent. I think that that's more effective.
00:52:50
Speaker
The three goal contributions that he had, what two came from 33 minutes against St. Louis, and one came ah in 66 minutes against the Dynamo. So you've got to look at this as he was a super sub.
00:53:04
Speaker
That could play a role in it. maybe Maybe adapting his role. I understand you want to put... your best players on the field to start the game. But some people are just in and MLS. They need a different rhythm.
00:53:16
Speaker
You need to play them differently. And um this is my agenda next. Maybe I can roll into this, um is that I think Paul Rothrock should be starting.
00:53:26
Speaker
I think Paul Rothrock is a really good antidote to a lot of the problems that Ryan Kent is having. And I think that he has shown and played well enough to think he should, he should be getting talked about a little bit more.
00:53:41
Speaker
Yeah, but it is. So the, so the agenda is you would start Paul Rothrock over Ryan Kent though, specifically, or just, I think for, I think you can interchange them, but I think that he should be getting starts in equal amounts as Ryan Kent.
00:53:56
Speaker
I think you can tinker with it based on matchup. I have a hard time, like this Botafogo game, for instance, I have a hard time conceptualizing starting 11 without Ryan Ken against Botafogo.
00:54:11
Speaker
I wouldn't do that because I think... uh, what you're saying tactically has some merit, uh, but ah like particularly in a situation like this, you need your highest level talent out there as much as possible. And I think it's, to me, it's quite clear that he is, um among the highest talent on the team, if not the most like just raw talented player on the team.
00:54:32
Speaker
So, uh, it is an interesting point though, that, uh, He got here two months ago and he's almost played 500 minutes. yeah like that's a That's a lot of time. That's a lot of time. Especially like like you mentioned while adjusting to- And he hadn't played consistently in two years. Right.
00:54:49
Speaker
And I think part of what's happening too is you're probably seeing you're likely seeing the effects of that. Like going to one of the most physically demanding leagues in the world, coming off as long a hiatus as he had. Yeah.
00:55:02
Speaker
ah the fuel tank is probably not running on full for all of this. so And that's not even making excuses. That's just the reality and trying to keep a player motivated, healthy, and and successful.
00:55:18
Speaker
That's my take. And that's why my agenda is my agenda start Rothrock. So if you were making the 11 for, uh, for Botafogo, which I am, which I am, Brian, Brian said I could pick. So if if you don't like any of the lineup for Botafogo, it's, it's, it was me.
00:55:35
Speaker
Um, but yeah, I would start Paul Rothrock. I'd play him 45 and then I'd put on Ryan Kent I'd let him eat. I don't hate it. I don't hate it. I i think Ryan Kent should and will start.
00:55:46
Speaker
i think it's I think it's pretty obvious that Schmetzer considers the first choice front or the band that band of three as Ryan Kent, Albert Rusnak, and Pedro de la Vega.
00:55:59
Speaker
I think that's who you're going to see to start the Botafogo match. But I will say like Paul Rothrock, he needs to play a big role in this in this group stage.
00:56:11
Speaker
And really... He's the down and dirty player. This is the game where you need to get down and dirty. I'm sorry. he's he He should play. the The Vancouver game solidified for me that Rothrock and KKR... Yeah.
00:56:21
Speaker
yeah like You can't you can't ah not give them a full compliment of minutes with the rationale of being like, oh, well, De La Vega is our our highly paid dp so he has to start.
00:56:39
Speaker
You can't tell me Pedro De La Vega is at a better season than Paul Rothrock. You can't. No. I don't agree with that. And it's not to say that Pedro de la Vega is bad by any means. I think we've seen flashes of incredible talent, but it's like Paul Rothrock is... he's just he's just He's just a guy, dude. He's just a guy, and he's a guy that works.
00:57:01
Speaker
And I just... i I think you would be stupid to keep doing the paper thing. Best squad on paper, best squad in training doesn't always translate. And I just... and just I think Paul Rothrock needs the respect.
00:57:15
Speaker
I think he needs respect. I like it. ah Yeah. All
Measuring Success in the Club World Cup
00:57:19
Speaker
right. Next agenda. ah There's been a lot of talk about what exactly would constitute a success in the Club World Cup. We've given our takes on that. I edited this for you, by the way.
00:57:30
Speaker
different Different junctures. Oh, okay. Did you? Yeah. You just said get a positive result is what you said. But I i put a I put a period on it. I said, this is what I want. All right. So this agenda is the Seattle has to get a draw in the Club World Cup for it to be a success.
00:57:47
Speaker
And ah I mean, I think what what I was getting at is like any sort of like positive results. Like if they lose every game, it's like automatically an abject failure based on that.
00:58:00
Speaker
I don't mean the idea of them actually getting out of the group. I think most people understand that that's a, ah that's a long shot. ah But to me, this is like, to me, this whole thing is the ultimate like performance over results situation.
00:58:12
Speaker
ah You're talking about some of the best teams in the world right here. PSG might be the best team in the world. Atletico Madrid, I think that's undebated. That's pretty undebatable right now. And at let him go Madrid, ah you could look at them in any year and they're going to be one of the best. They're a contender every single year in the second best league in the world.
00:58:30
Speaker
Yeah. So like, I think we have to approach this with the knowledge of that reality. and And for me, like, I don't think that you have to get like ah a draw or win in this group stage just to, ah to have it be a successful tournament.
00:58:48
Speaker
People might say that's unambitious. ah I call it like just living in basic reality, which I think like has escaped some people on this. but But I think there's a difference between...
00:59:01
Speaker
um like a, a, uh, an acceptable performance in a, in a successful performance and a successful showing, because if you're framing it as a successful showing, you have to get a result.
00:59:16
Speaker
If you're framing it as a understandable, respectable performance, it's don't embarrass yourself. Don't lose seven, one, but, I don't think that's what we're talking about. I think we're talking about if we want a successful, if you want a successful performance. think there's different degrees of success. I think to me, if you lose every game of this tournament, ah but you acquit yourself well in a dignified manner and don't embarss and don't embarrass yourself and put on a good showing for for the players and for the club and all that.
00:59:48
Speaker
I would still consider that like a degree of success, even if it wouldn't be like, I think for it to be like a smashing success, you would have to actually take the result. I think smashing success is getting out of your group. I think a success is winning or drawing a match. And I think an acceptable result is not getting embarrassed. I think yeah I agree with that scale because i don't think that even the Sounders and the Sounders players will tell you and truly believe that,
01:00:17
Speaker
It is impossible to somehow, someway get a result. Whether that comes via Botafogo, which maybe. Funny enough, I think that the easiest matchup for them will be against PSG because I doubt that they will play any of their starters.
01:00:34
Speaker
Does that mean it's easy? Absolutely not. But they just came off winning... The tournament that they want to win. I don't know how seriously they're going take the group stage, Ari. i That's just to be honest.
01:00:44
Speaker
I don't think it's going to be the easiest game, but I think... Most winnable, maybe. Well, not as unwinnable as you might think based on it being the best team yeah in the world. Yeah.
01:01:00
Speaker
Like, you know, let's be real. PSG's B squad is still insanely good. Yeah, that would win MLS probably. Yeah. Oh, well, I mean, I don't really know the depths of their roster, but like if we're just talking about spending. They're spending like $500 million. Yeah, exactly. Their third string left back. They probably bought for like $85 million. that's.
01:01:18
Speaker
yeah That's just like what they're able to do. Their entire salary for their B team is more than like all of MLS combined, probably. but yeah so i don't know. We'll see how people react when the games actually happen. I don't want to say that they're winning the PSG game. I'm not sitting here saying that. I'm just saying if I'm thinking about it in what might be the most... like resultable game.
01:01:45
Speaker
I don't know if it's Botafogo because Botafogo wants to win this tournament, man. That's that's a lot of money in Brazil.
Botafogo: A Formidable Opponent
01:01:51
Speaker
Atletico Madrid, that's a shit ton of money for them. And they could really use that money.
01:01:56
Speaker
ah And PSG, it's like, they I mean, if I'm PSG, I'm like, dude, we just, we just, you're like, yeah, we want to compete. But like, how bought in are you? You know, like, how bought in are you really?
01:02:08
Speaker
You just won. You just won Champions League, which let's be real, is way more impressive and interesting and important than the Club World Cup. I'm interested to see what this matchup with Botafogo actually looks like yeah because i think i think that it it's probably the most resultable game and ah they are ah they are reigning Copa Libre de Torres champions and the reigning champions of the of the Brazilian top flight.
01:02:41
Speaker
ah But they haven't started off this season super great. I'm interested to learn more about that on ah on Under the Lights. But they haven't started off this season super great. And ah like I think everyone realizes like the the gap between any MLS club and a club like PSG or Atletico Madrid.
01:03:00
Speaker
i don't I don't really know exactly what the gap is between MLS and the Brazilian top flight. ah The Brazilian top flight is a very, very good league. ah But a lot of times with leagues of that tier, ah if even if they're rated consensus above MLS, it's not necessarily like the most outlandish gap. It's certainly not as big as a gap between MLS and La Liga.
01:03:27
Speaker
or Or, you know, League Oom where PSG play, that's not even that good a league. They're just like they have like an insane team and they proved it by winning Champions League. So PSG is just like a little bit of a different discussion.
01:03:40
Speaker
But the I mean, the gap but between Seattle and Botafogo, it could be huge. I honestly that's what I i don't really well i have a gauge on. I'll give you some some market values here. This is courtesy of TransferMarkt, so this is all just assumed general. It's not real, but it's whatever. They're all across the same plane.
01:03:59
Speaker
ah The Sounders' total market value are 51.75 million. i think that's euros. Yeah, euros. 51.75 million euros. Botafogo, 163.2 million euros. Atletico Madrid, 508.5 million euros. And guess how many? Hit with PSG. 1.06 billion euros.
01:04:14
Speaker
athleticical madrid five hundred point five hundred and eight point five million euros and guess lady with psg hit me one point zero six billion euros 1.06 billion euros. So, so the easy quote unquote easiest opponent is worth more than three times as much as the Sounders in terms of their roster is worth that much.
01:04:41
Speaker
Their second easiest quote unquote is worth 10 times. And the, uh, Oh God, I don't even know the math. Like 200 times, something like that. Can you look up the ah the disparity between LAFC and Club America?
01:04:57
Speaker
Sure. Yeah. LAFC just as a, like a frame of reference for a situation where an MLS club was going up against a team worth like way more than that. Yeah. So they're, they're valued at 45.9 million. Yeah. And then club America is 86.6.
01:05:17
Speaker
Yeah. 86.6. Okay. So what so i mean that makes sense. That's a situation where you're talking about almost double. LAFC has an open DP slot. So, I mean, that makes sense. Okay. so that was And we have multiple DPs on this team that aren't technically DPs. You know what I'm saying?
01:05:31
Speaker
But if we're talking about the gap between LAFC and Club America, it's roughly... But isn't it around double? No, it's way smaller. It's smaller, but it's still quite large, is point. Yeah, but not three times.
01:05:46
Speaker
No, but it's, it's an example of a situation where there was quite a large disparity and, uh, but also you have LAFC retreads playing for club America. They've played this team before. Like it's, it's, it's a very different situation. That's way much easier for them to scout this team. It's much easier to understand how they play because they've played them before. They literally have players on their roster that were playing that had previously been on the other team. Like,
01:06:13
Speaker
I'm not trying to like downplay what you're saying, but also like, I think it's a very different situation. It definitely is. But I think way less just from the spending. i'm I'm looking at it from just a broader lens of like, uh, is it can, can we see like a recent example of a team that you would think like,
01:06:32
Speaker
I get that it's not as much of a difference between Atletico and Seattle, yeah but it's it's a big difference. And they ah they were not only competitive, but they won the game. So I'm i'm not saying that means anything towards Seattle's chances versus Botafogo. Right.
01:06:49
Speaker
But... It's not, I don't think it's unthinkable that in spite of that gap, that Seattle could at least be competitive in the game. Maybe we'll see. We're going to find out. That's what we're going to find out on Sunday. I mean, LAFC have to play Chelsea. You have a $1.03 billion dollar valuation. So that's it they have not they have a large gap there. They're not, you know Yeah. i mean, that's why I thought a club America would be a better, like, because they're, uh, at least in the ballpark of Botafogo. Like, here's the, here's the funny part. They also get to play experience to knees, which is a Tunisian team, which has a $20 million dollars transfer transfer, uh, value or not transfer value, but market value.
01:07:28
Speaker
And then flamenco who has a $221 million dollars So they're still not like the least about like, it's going to be hard for them. They're, they're probably won't make it out of their group because I think Flamenco and, uh, Chelsea will, will end up moving out of there, but like, it's, it's, it's a little bit less hard for them.
01:07:47
Speaker
Oh yeah. it's I don't think there's any question. no no one's down. No one's, no one's saying that. I'm just, I'm just saying, speaking. Um, did you want to hit this, uh, this last one here? Uh, Oh, yeah. So that's this brings me to my yeah my agenda.
01:08:00
Speaker
No Major League Soccer teams will advance in Club World Cup agenda. This is your agenda. This is my agenda. If the Sounders don't do it, no one's doing it, man. I'm sorry. It's it's not happening. Messi and the Barca boys are going to get torched in this first s match.
01:08:12
Speaker
It'd be funny. Maybe. I mean, not funny. I'm not wishing this on, on, on my God, my King, my Argentinian sweet princess Leo Messi. But like, what if he gets hurt? You know, like this is, this LLE team is physical and fast and you know how you beat LAFC. I mean, I'm sorry, not LAFC, um, inner Miami. You know how you do it, Ari?
01:08:31
Speaker
youre You're physical and fast. It's going to be a, they don't have a defense. They don't have a goalkeeper. It's going to be quite the test for, for the old men. We're going to, we're going to see if, if they're up for it, if they can ah dust off their ARP credentials and get out there and run with, run
Community Engagement at Watch Party
01:08:49
Speaker
with these guys. Cause you're right. like ah That was one of the biggest things we noticed about all we when Seattle played them was just their, their pace, their athleticism, the exact type of team that does give inter Miami trouble.
01:09:02
Speaker
The only thing that ah the thing that gives me pause about ah preemptively declaring the demise of Inter-Miami in this tournament is, ah you know, I still do think about the times where I have seen them hit their apex level.
01:09:16
Speaker
And if, for whatever reason, they're able to channel that channel that in the group stage, I think it's definitely at least possible that they could perform quite well, just because when they're firing...
01:09:29
Speaker
ah their their attack is, i mean, it's potent. But it's against Palmeiras, who's an amazing Brazilian side. Again, pacey, quick, fast, physical, very physical. The Brazilian league is super physical, right?
01:09:43
Speaker
Porto, who that's a top tier better, lot better team than inner Miami. Yeah. And, and then all Ali. And we understand, we understand all Ali because we watched it. That was a, that was a sounders team that was really, really damn good. And they battled it out and they were super defensive, but you know, one bounce went their way and they're out of the cup world cup. i'm I'm just saying like, I don't know.
01:10:06
Speaker
I don't think, I don't think inner Miami is defensive like that in any way. So yeah, i just I just don't see it for them. I'm not saying that it's impossible and that they won't do something and that FIFA won't do anything that they possibly can to get Messi to advance.
01:10:22
Speaker
But like, I don't know, it's it's a more competitive It's a more competitive group that people are giving them credit for, I think. Absolutely. But... ah
01:10:34
Speaker
Messi also is a potential X factor, obviously, in any game that he's in
01:10:41
Speaker
So that' i just I just have a hard time counting them out. cause they They have struggled this year, so like I think your skepticism is... Warranted like especially their form in the last like month or so before they have looked a little better their last couple games ah But i so I still think they're like ceiling like their highest level is is definitely it's definitely high enough to get out of their group I think like it's just about if they can actually like find that level or not because they haven't been able to recently and they've got a shitty coach there yeah They have a coach who is, ah yeah I mean, he's boys with Messi, so he's got that going for him. But, I mean, I don't know. they're I think they're they're a tough one to peg for me because, i still i like I said, I still think that they're their top level team
01:11:33
Speaker
is elite for an MLS, but they lost to Vancouver in, in club world or in, in CCC, and then Vancouver got dog walked by Cruz Sassuolo and they're playing teams that are, I'm not saying Cruz Sassuolo is bad, but I'm saying they're equal or more talented than that. And, and they got dog walked by Vancouver. They didn't, they didn't just get beat. They got dog walked five to one aggregate. Yeah.
01:11:55
Speaker
Well, like I just, I don't, I don't think it's happening for them. I don't think it's happening for them. Well, we're going to find out at our watch party at Fast Fashion on Saturday starting at 4.30. You'll be there.
01:12:07
Speaker
All right. We are going to take another ad break. Then we're going to come back and close it out with ah one last topic that I had. We'll be right back. Welcome back from another ad break in which you definitely didn't skip the ads.
01:12:21
Speaker
Noah, i got ah i got i just got one more topic that I had for the night, and then we can we can wrap it up here for this episode. i wanted to talk about The players, the Seattle Sounders players that have the most at stake in the Club World Cup. I like this. There's a few different lenses that you could ah look at this through. And I think there's a few obvious candidates.
01:12:45
Speaker
I'll start it off with the with the most obvious, ah which I think is Obed Vargas. Wrote a feature about him, mlssoccer.com. Go read it. ah But the timing of this for him is ah pretty incredible in the sense that ah this transfer buzz around him has been building and building and building for certainly the last year or so and really the last couple years when it kind of became evident how talented he really is.
Player Performances and Career Implications
01:13:14
Speaker
ah Like I was just thinking about like, what if he, ah what if he goes out in the PSG game and just rips like a unreal galazzo from outside the box?
01:13:26
Speaker
Like it's funny. One individual play like that. I like shouldn't inform your valuation of a player or influence how much money you spend on them. But if he does that, like we joke about, Oh, the price went up. Like literally the price is like, uh, like related to this. It is. If he goes on a big game player, Yeah. You want a big game player. And, uh, if he capitalizes on this moment and balls out or scores any type of goal, he literally, like it has a direct impact on the future of his career. Like the types of clubs that might be interested in him, it might actually like have an effect on who that is, how much the fee is going to be.
01:14:13
Speaker
So this is a, like, uh, huge, this pivotal moment in his career. Like what happens in this tournament is going to have a direct influence on, uh, on his future. So a lot on the line for the kid.
01:14:28
Speaker
I mean, on top of that, he has made it very vocally clear that his favorite team to watch, his favorite team of all time that he's he's wanted to play for his entire life is Atletico Madrid. Yeah, I didn't even think is that.
01:14:41
Speaker
I think that he is the perfect player for like a Simeone midfield and like the type of identity and strength and defensive structure it's It's not similar to Brian Schmetzer, but like you know what I'm saying. it's it's like he He's a workhorse.
01:14:59
Speaker
He wants to do the dirty work. He wants to put in all of that work. And I think that if he can show out in that game specifically... I think that there's going to be ah at least some interest from Atletico Madrid because that's such a good fit. The more I think about it just now, that's a phenomenal fit. That might be the best fit I've heard yet. And and he wants to be there.
01:15:25
Speaker
Like, he wants to be there. So, like, how How much better does it get to you have an incredible young talent who has dreamed of playing for this club, is a hard worker, grit grits it out, plays day in and day out minutes in a top 10 league in the world already.
01:15:42
Speaker
And you get to see him play against your first team in a competitive match. that's probably That's probably the biggest single moment for any player during this Club World Cup across the board. that's I think that's going to be the single biggest moment for anyone in this tournament. And all his all his like best attributes ah make perfect sense. like his His skills in possession and ball retention and ball progression yeah are all world-class.
01:16:12
Speaker
That plays in La Liga. And that's like the exact type of player that Atletico Madrid, I would think would be all about at least taking a look at. so And maybe it's not Atletico Madrid at first, but it's like the exposure of...
01:16:27
Speaker
him to La Liga even more. I mean, they've said that they get inquiries about Obed Vargas from everywhere. Right. Like, I mean, who would but anyone who has, I think ah someone said it at some point, it was like anyone who has a pulse knows about Obed Vargas. Well, Craig, Craig Weibel, uh, and I included this quote actually leading my Obed feature, but, uh, he, he said what I think we already knew, but it was interesting to you hear it confirmed.
01:16:53
Speaker
ah all Every major team in the world has a set of analytics that are specific to their club that they use ah to evaluate players and what players are going to be the best fits on their teams and all that.
01:17:09
Speaker
ah But there's kind of a... there's like a relatively uniform kind of set of stuff that a lot of these teams look at. And, uh, they're not necessarily even watching the tape to start it off. They're just looking at the, uh, at the performance metrics.
01:17:26
Speaker
And the, the, um, the term that Craig Weibel used was red alarms. Like he said, every team in the world using these analytics has, has seen like the, what he's putting up.
01:17:37
Speaker
And, and when that happens, it's like, woo woo, we that and And he's done that. Yeah. so Yeah. Like if you've ever played a football manager and you're like scouting players or whatever, and you're looking at all those digits, that's basically what they have. Actually, football manager itself actually does that. Now they supply ah scouting statistics to teams, which I think is hilarious because it's like, okay, bro, I guess I'm a GM now.
01:18:01
Speaker
Cool. ah But yeah, dude, I just, he is, we know that he is not long for the Sounders, but I really do think if there's, if there's one even positive about this tournament, it's get that kid as many minutes as possible and get him in, in his, in front of as many coaches as possible. And just like,
01:18:25
Speaker
skyrocket his value and do what you have always promised him. You can do and move him onto Europe so that he can, he could do the things that he wants to do in his career and lead the Mexican national team to winning a world cup in 2028, which is, or 2026. It's going to happen. Whatever.
01:18:42
Speaker
Um, the next player
Pedro De La Vega's Challenges
01:18:44
Speaker
I wanted to talk about. No, he's actually not on the, uh, on the, okay yeah. but i yeah Pedro de la Vega. Oh yeah. With all the transfer buzz surrounding ah Obed Vargas, Pedro De La Vega is the one that Craig Weibel has said generates even more interest and he gets more phone calls about ah than even Obed Vargas. Maybe that's changed in the last couple months or so, but as recently as the last few months, ah Craig Weibel said that De La Vega is still the one generating the most interest. And even if that's cooled off a little bit, I would imagine that's still the case, at least to some degree. Yeah. ah But this is a player that still has a lot to prove.
01:19:33
Speaker
He has at least stayed on the field for ah most of this season, save for the one injury spell, but he's played 600 plus minutes this season. You've seen glimpses of it.
01:19:44
Speaker
He has three assists. He had the goal in the Nashville game. ah There's been... I would argue that his assist total should be like a little higher based on like high quality chances that he's created that didn't get finished.
01:19:59
Speaker
ah But Noah, I mean, I was talking about this on the ah call-in show with ah one of our callers, Gianni. ah We were doing De La Vega discourse. And, you know, when we think about what's gone wrong with this team this year, why they're seven, six and five and at one point four, four points per game, there's a lot of different things that ah you can point to.
01:20:24
Speaker
But dating back to last season, I think and and look, this is not a ah this is not bagging on De La Vega at all. Like, I think it's it's very it's obvious that he's a very, very talented player.
01:20:36
Speaker
And it's obvious that he is like a great guy that is great in the locker room and ah he wants to succeed in incredibly badly. And he is doing his best. He's busted his ass physically to get back to where he's at.
01:20:50
Speaker
And he's playing better this year. But you have to acknowledge the simple reality of the situation that if you have a a player who's been on a DP spot on your roster for a year and a half dating back to last year and the output that you've gotten out of that roster spot is two goals, four assists in 1300 minutes, which is what De La Vega has during his whole time in MLS.
01:21:16
Speaker
ah That is going to be- fat That's bad. That's going to be reflected in your record and your points per game to an extent. That is just like the fact of it. And that so again, that's not to like, uh, that's a lot of it. Like to be fair is not his fault. Like like what happened last year was not his fault.
01:21:34
Speaker
He, uh, he couldn't stay on the field because he kept getting injured. Uh, but it's, it has created a situation where going into this tournament, he has a lot to prove still.
01:21:45
Speaker
He has a lot to prove for the rest of this season. And this is like a big opportunity for him to kind of, Make the statement that he is is the caliber of player that you spend $7 million dollars on and that can be an impact needle-moving player for this team in this league in a situation like this. So I think he's got as much on the line as anyone here.
01:22:11
Speaker
And that that was why at the beginning of the season I was trying to pump the brakes on everyone saying... It's his breakout. He's breaking out. He's blah, blah, blah, blah. All of this stuff because now the minutes are bearing it out and he's not.
01:22:24
Speaker
He hasn't done anything. I think i think this is an under-talked about storyline, so I'm glad that you guys chatted about it. But it's like he has been disappointing. He has been a disappointing player this season for the minutes that he's gotten, for the salary that he's being paid, for the spot that he's taking up.
01:22:41
Speaker
I think that this is a tournament where if he performs really well and the phones start ringing, you pick it up, you answer it, and you hit the eject button. I got to be honest because it's not even necessarily that he's a bad player. It's just sometimes you have to read the tea leaves.
01:22:56
Speaker
In Major League Soccer, you don't have two seasons to wait for a player to figure it out. You don't. You have one DP spot. you you are you you You use that one DP spot on someone who can make an impact, right?
01:23:10
Speaker
like Albert Rusnak. Okay? That is a way more justifiable... set If you're comparing the two, Ari, if you're comparing Pedro de la Vega and Albert Rusnak on DP contracts, Albert Rusnak looks like a goddamn slam dunk steal.
01:23:24
Speaker
Right? And I think he Production-wise. Yeah. But that's the reality. It's like... They were buying this player to try and, you know, hit some upside on him.
01:23:34
Speaker
And like, you got
Designated Player Performance Importance
01:23:36
Speaker
to know when to sell. You got to know when your asset is is depreciating and you got to realize that like he's an amazing player, but maybe this just isn't the league that he's going to get it done in.
01:23:46
Speaker
And that's okay. That's okay. That's doing right by your player and doing right by your by your wallet in and your cap space. And it's like, I'm not down on that. I don't care what they do. Honestly, like whatever. Like this this is this is not where I think ah a lot of contention comes from. i think that this team has been riddled by injuries, which has hurt the team more than this. But...
01:24:09
Speaker
I think this is a part. You're right. Like, this is this is a part of it. And you got to think about it. Like, if he does well and he shows out and those teams come calling, I think you should truly entertain those calls and maybe even make a deal even losing some money.
01:24:26
Speaker
When I think about, again, why this why this team's at 1.44 points per game right now, i mean, we can debate the ah the tactics in individual games and the and the setup and the lineups until we're blue in the face.
01:24:38
Speaker
ah The reality is when you have ah your DP number nine miss missing ah pretty much the entire season with ah with injuries, so you're not getting production from that DP spot.
01:24:50
Speaker
And then your other DP spot ah is at one and three in 600 minutes. and like It shouldn't shock anybody, honestly, that there would. There's a lens to look at it like that. The fact that they're in that situation with two of their DP spots and they're still seven, six and five is like it proves the point that this is the deepest team in Major League Soccer. it's like that is true that is true Is it not a testament to the depth? Yeah.
01:25:16
Speaker
Like I know ah it is that's going to piss people off, but like, I think you could, you could at that is. that afloat right now is actually it's incredible. It's incredible. Like, yeah. It is.
01:25:28
Speaker
And there's ah like, ah the depth has been ah big reason for that. You know, like guys like Paul Rothrock and KK are stepping up. Sure. But regardless, you can't have a guy taking up a DP or it's hard to have a guy taking up a DP spot when your other starting DP is injured with.69 expected and 1.49 expected goals.
01:25:49
Speaker
and one point four nine expected goals I'm not saying that those are completely accurate. I mean, you know, you're the one who brought it up who said he probably should have more assists. I'm proud of you for dishing those. But I'm saying, like, if you if you agree with the numbers, if you agree with looking at that, he's not good on that, right? He's not. he's not That's bad numbers. He is in the 48th forty eight forty Lower 48th percentile for that for for goals and the.33% for expected assists. okay if you ah if If that's your your mode of understanding soccer, he looks bad.
01:26:23
Speaker
If you look at the actual statistics, he looks bad. If you're looking at just eye test, you see moments where he's great. That's it. It's moments and it's not DP quality. It's not.
01:26:35
Speaker
Albert Rustak, DP quality. Jordan Morris, when he's been on the field, DP quality. Pedro de la Vega, you can't even compare them to those those two players, like at all, at all. and And there is- ah And that's not the hate on the guy, by the way. we we i like Pedro. It's just, that's the reality of the situation. got I mean, you have to be like ah brutally honest and realistic when it comes to to these DP spots. yeah They're too important.
01:26:59
Speaker
That's what I was trying to say at the beginning of the season. Everyone got on my ass, man. So I just shut up about it. But like, I've been feeling this. Yeah. And like, okay, the thing is there is still the rest of the season for this narrative to change, but that sort of comes back to what I'm saying about why this club, this club world cup is so important for him because yeah he could really, he could put, I'm, I'm fully willing.
01:27:23
Speaker
I would love to be, uh, for my concerns to be proven invalid on this. Yeah. And I'm i'm i'm willing to give him every opportunity to do that.
Showcasing Talent on the Global Stage
01:27:32
Speaker
ah But... I guess he did, to be fair, he did score two against Antigua and then one against... And he had an assist in... Yeah, yeah. and And an assist... I think... i one No, he scored three against Antigua, but...
01:27:44
Speaker
I mean, I wouldn't categorize. I don't can't remember the term that ah that you use like that. He was like had that he had done nothing like I don't think that's the case.
01:27:55
Speaker
But like you have to think of it on a scale of like what you expect. indeed For a DP, he's done nothing. Yeah. Like he's done well at times. He's done. He's done. Had good moments.
01:28:08
Speaker
He's what? He's done Tam quality. That's but kind of a fair way putting it. I think that if you put Jesus Ferreira in his DP spot, people are still disappointed.
01:28:20
Speaker
You know what I mean? People are probably more vocally disappointed. And you put Jesus Ferreira on Tam at that money, you're like, okay, well, he's been injured and you know he'll figure it out. I really do think it's the spot in the money that he's making. That's the issue less than it being understandable that he's struggling.
01:28:38
Speaker
Yeah. And like you can see, cause, uh, Ferreira hasn't produced like a DP this year, but he's not a DP. So it's like not as, uh, it's not as much of an issue.
01:28:49
Speaker
Yeah. So I don't know. We'll, uh, We'll see what he does with the opportunity, but if he if he goes out there and balls out, ah we'll be the first ones here to give him his praise for it.
01:29:02
Speaker
And he can really, he can up his stock both with this team, but like globally with a good showing. So lot on the right line for him. Noah and Craig, you had, a oh yeah, Noah, you had ah two to here. What you got?
01:29:20
Speaker
Jesus Ferreira, right? I mean, we originally thought this guy's going to come in here and he's going to tear it up and we're going to see him for ah season and then he's going to be gone to Europe. I think that was the assumption of ah of a lot of fans and maybe even myself to a certain extent.
01:29:37
Speaker
um And ah he hasn't done it. You know, he's been... Fighting for comfortability, i think, ah is is a good way to put it.
01:29:49
Speaker
And he hasn't necessarily settled in in any one role or one position. He's looked great in flashes, kind of like Pedro. ah But this is an opportunity for him to be like...
01:30:00
Speaker
I get an opportunity. Okay. You're going to be the starting nine. but Brian is putting it on you. You are going to be the starting nine. If you can get it done against some of the best teams in the world, I promise you, the stock like your your your stock is up.
01:30:15
Speaker
Your stock is up. That's what you came here for. To get a fresh a start, to get an opportunity like this. You come here, take a pay cut for this opportunity, and guess what? You're getting it. So...
01:30:27
Speaker
He's got to take it and he's got to run with it and he's got to perform. ah and i And I really do. I think that this is going to be where our valuation of him for this season comes from.
01:30:38
Speaker
I really do. I think that there's going to be a what did you do with the minutes you got? And I think that if you can do something here, it's like tip of the cap. OK, if not, it's like, all right, like.
01:30:52
Speaker
I don't know. Like that's, it's kind of a determining moment in a way for him. I think, and I'm not saying he has to go out and score 50 goals. I'm saying he needs to look dangerous. He needs to look like the striker that we knew him to be previously and score a goal as well would be great. But you know, cause for my own agenda, cause I don't want to get a tattoo. I don't want to, I don't want to get another one I mean, was your, was the bet was the tat bet all cops or league blood? think it was all, Oh, I don't know.
01:31:18
Speaker
can't remember. All cops. it's ah that's ah That's a great one. yeah Who you got next? Ryan Kent. yeah I think um he's he was another one where we're like, you're not long for this team.
01:31:33
Speaker
um And I hope it's that way as well. He's a really talented player in the prime of his career. If he wants if he wants to, if he wants to, that's really where it's at. is If he wants to go out and play somewhere else,
01:31:45
Speaker
This is his opportunity to go show that he's still got that level that he played ah at that ah in that Rangers club that, ah you know, did so well that year and and he was dominant. I just think he could um get his groove back a little bit and feel like the top class player that he is.
01:32:06
Speaker
so I think if we're ranking them though, I think that's probably in order is Obed, Pedro, Jesus and Ryan.
Engaging Listeners and Social Media
01:32:16
Speaker
Lot on the line in general.
01:32:20
Speaker
You got a labor dispute. You got PSG, Peletico Madrid, Botafogo coming to town. uh you got transfer buzz you just you there's a lot there's a lot going on lots of news there's a lot going on uh we're gonna keep covering all of it noah uh unless you had anything else you wanted to hit for this one uh i was thinking we could call it right here let's call it right here join us in the bonus content uh at our youtube uh become a youtube member by hitting join or scrolling down and that's the first link in our description
01:32:57
Speaker
we're gonna We're gonna talk about RA. The brigade might been right. What? The brigade might have been right. You're not going want miss this. You're going to want to miss this. Hit the bonus episode after this. Come to our event, LobbyingScorchers.com slash RSVP.
01:33:13
Speaker
And I'll toss it to you already to close it out with anything else. No, I think that was it. Fast Fashion, Saturday, 430. Be there. And sub to the YouTube and follow us on all socials.
01:33:26
Speaker
Yeah. Until next time, we out. Peace.