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Lobbing Scorchers Kickoff: Jordan Morris Dominates & CCC Preview
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Seattle Sounders season is in full force, with a positive start to Concacaf Champions Cup making way for an entertaining 2-2 season-opening draw vs. Charlotte FC that saw them give up a disappointing last-second equalizer. Tune in every Monday at 8 am Pacific for Lobbing Scorchers Kickoff with Ari Liljenwall and Niko Moreno!
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Lobbing Scorchers is a production of Just Once Media.
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
Introduction to Lobbing Scorchers Podcast
00:00:00
Speaker
This episode of Lobbing Scorchers was previously recorded and streamed live on youtube.com slash at Lobbing Scorchers. If you want to listen or catch these episodes live, see the video, and see all the rest of our content, go to youtube.com slash at Lobbing Scorchers or lobbingscorchers.com slash youtube.
00:00:22
Speaker
Well, sir, we got a scorcher today. Gonna be real scorcher today. What, the scorcher today? Well, it's gonna be a
00:00:43
Speaker
Welcome to another episode of Lobbing Scorchers Kickoff.
Guest Introduction: Nico Discusses Seattle Sounders
00:00:48
Speaker
We got Nico. We're going to bring them in. Let's talk about these games. Nico, what's going on, man? How are you feeling?
00:00:56
Speaker
Hey, what up, Ari? What's going on? Audience, familia, how's everybody doing today? Monday morning. I'm doing all right, man. A bit of a late night ah watching some additional games there, you know, midnight-ish.
00:01:11
Speaker
But ah good, man. Just ah ready to come in. ah face the heat and break down a hard-breaking 2-2 draw by Seattle Sounders.
00:01:23
Speaker
Well, i want to ah I want to break down kind of the ah totality of what we've seen so far. I can't wait to break down these these two games with you. I feel like there's a there's a lot to take away, a lot to get into.
00:01:36
Speaker
ah So why don't we just start? Right there, Nico. i I'll nutshell what we've seen so far, and then we can kind of give our broader takeaways and reactions from both the start of CCC and the start of the regular season.
Seattle Sounders' Performance Analysis
00:01:51
Speaker
CCC, I think, got off to about as good a start as you could have possibly hoped for. And for me, ah when they're in CCC... That's the number one prior priority in my mind at the start of the season here. And as you get deeper into the tournament.
00:02:07
Speaker
So really, i think that's the most important thing is how well they started off CCC. And frankly, i thought ah they played pretty well, very well for a lot of the Charlotte game. And it just had about as bad an ending as you're ever going to see from a professional soccer team.
00:02:29
Speaker
Nico, what have you made of what we've seen so far? And ah what are your takeaways from what we've seen across these first two games, one in CCC, one in league play? ah Putting both of them together, i think there is a common denominator.
00:02:44
Speaker
And at it is that this team's still working through some things and they still have a lot of sharpening to do. ah They, ah specifically on the defensive end, and again, we'll we'll talk about about both because there was big difference on what were the issues in one game and not the other.
00:03:06
Speaker
i thought that in your first CCC game at Antigua against a team that clearly had more games of competitive play than you did, eight and eight completely.
00:03:20
Speaker
They seemed to be a more together, cohesive unit. And because of that, Seattle struggled in the first half. I mean, Antigua was the better team in the first 45 minutes.
00:03:30
Speaker
ah Seattle had a lot of issues in terms of their offensive movement. there There was a lot of sloppy play. It seemed like a lot of times people were occupying the same spaces.
00:03:43
Speaker
Pedro on the right side wasn't really working. So there were a lot of things that they were able to correct in the Charlotte game. ah But if there were some similarities that there were moments where ah defensively you just shut off, right? You have a defensive woe, a moment where things don't happen.
00:04:01
Speaker
In the Antigua game is the equalizer. It's a throwing. ah It's, ah you know, Yehmer trying to make a play. He kind of gets his foot caught up. He falls with the player he was trying to make a play on.
00:04:14
Speaker
and all of a sudden you got Romario da Silva on a run on the right side. um He gets to end line, crosses the ball, knew who is trying to find the player that's making a run.
00:04:26
Speaker
He doesn't really have ah an idea where he's at. And Oscar Santis puts it in the back of the net. That was your guy that you pointed out. Oscar Santos, yes sir. He was that that that the main man and he he definitely played like it. He was absolutely lights out. He was the guy that was all over the field. So ah that was the problem there. Here with the Sounders a couple of times that the corner, I understand, I give a lot of credit to the Charlotte, but both Pep BL in the corner, and the the header was fantastic. Obviously, it just overpowers everybody.
00:05:00
Speaker
um And then at the end, of course, the mistake that happened. So all in all, if I'm putting it all together in a nutshell, Seattle still has things to sharpen and work
Offensive and Defensive Highlights and Challenges
00:05:10
Speaker
out. And think was expecting it at the beginning of any season.
00:05:13
Speaker
But the positives are on the offensive side. In Antigua, you get the result and you score some goals. Yes, there were deflections. Yes, you know, things went your way, but you got to take a shot. You got to be able to get there.
00:05:28
Speaker
And I think the Seattle did that. Pedro de la Vega in the second half at Antigua was a lot better ah when he move was moved to the left side. if you really think about that game, you should have been 4-1 because...
00:05:42
Speaker
Pedro de la Vega sets up Ferrer in front of goal where he should have put that away. he doesn't. So I think on both games, you see that offensively, this team is better. They're more unpredictable.
00:05:55
Speaker
they their Their movement is well. They have a lot of firepower and they can score some goals. Against Charlotte, maybe that would have been a difference maker. And that's kind of the issue.
00:06:06
Speaker
But at least when it comes to the concepts, when it comes to getting to prime assist positions, when it comes to ah really being a a team that is going to put the opponents under heels, they were able to do that at moments in Antigua and more consistently against Charlotte.
00:06:26
Speaker
Only issue was, of course, how that game ended. I agree. I love what we've seen from the team on offense so far. i think if you were going to ding him for something in the Charlotte game, it would be not getting the third goal that could have dusted that game. But as far as how they played and what the performance looked like,
00:06:46
Speaker
I mean, Noah, as the big XG guy, he was telling me that 1.77, I mean, that's a pretty damn good game. And I thought that matched up with the eye test. So I agree that it definitely looks like what we saw in preseason that we were hoping translate.
00:07:03
Speaker
I think more or less has so far. So they have to sustain that going forward. Ideally clean up, like you said, some of these defensive miscues. ah But someone in chat asked, are you more encouraged than discouraged?
00:07:16
Speaker
I'm definitely ah more encouraged. And honestly, one of my biggest takeaways so far ah They were fun to watch that game. The Charlotte game was entertaining. I and had fun watching it.
00:07:30
Speaker
They, they were playing in a way that was entertaining and dynamic and they scored multiple goals. So I'm definitely happy to see all that. ah T baby. Thank you for the $1 super chat. first read that We got a $5 super chat from Ian.
00:07:45
Speaker
Thank you, Ian. Much appreciated. He says defense was awful around the whole league, not too worried about cleaning up the mistakes, but better. Yeah. For Cruz Azul. Thanks for the great coverage. Yeah. I mean, you definitely saw ah a lot of goals that were of the unfortunate variety.
00:08:03
Speaker
i think Seattle's Charlotte equalizer was honestly among the most unfortunate Nico. I, I know a lot of people are going to say that I'm being hyperbolic with this take, but or that it's recency bias.
00:08:17
Speaker
I legitimately think that that equalizer was one of the two to three like worst goals I've ever seen conceded by this club, not in terms of like what was at stake, but just in terms of the sequence of events and the defensive breakdowns that took place.
00:08:34
Speaker
don't know. it was that I mean, that was such a bad goal to concede that I almost can't take it seriously as something to be aggrieved or mad about. I mean, you have Jackson Reagan whiffing both the header and the back pass on the same play.
00:08:50
Speaker
It's pretty rare to see him have one of those things happen to him on a play, let alone both of them. And then what are the odds that you have that happen to Yaimar on the exact same sequence at that point in the game?
00:09:05
Speaker
I mean, it was ah it was a debacle, but I almost, ah like I said, I'm almost less concerned about it. I feel like that's not going to happen that many times this season. If it does, I'll eat my words. Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't know. it that it that was That was a ridiculous play. It really was. Yeah, look, a lot of great comments here from ah the audience and the super chats.
00:09:30
Speaker
Absolutely right about the mishaps on defense all around the league. Jordy Alba, a guy with his trajectory, awful pass back. It's a problem.
Key Player Performances and Contributions
00:09:41
Speaker
ah Rodrigo Trachpo in Orlando, awful moment, ends up on a goal.
00:09:47
Speaker
You go back to the LA Galaxy game, Garza's problem. I mean, it it was all over the league. So that's a great point. So because of that, I am encouraged. I'm encouraged of a lot of things. And let's start with that because I was discouraged about other things.
00:10:04
Speaker
Encouraged about Georgie Manungu. We talked about it here. We thought he was going to be a guy that was going to be a difference maker. That was going to be a problem that ah provides Seattle with a different type of player they haven't had in a long time.
00:10:16
Speaker
ah Someone that can just take on the one-on-ones that can stretch out defenses that can um make Things collapse on him, and he had team rim on skates all game long. They could just not handle him, specifically in the first half where he was the sharpest.
00:10:30
Speaker
ah He adjusted very well. That early cross that he puts into Jordan Morris, first of all, great run by Jordan, but for Georgie to put that ball there, he had a couple of times earlier that game where he just got two touchdowns,
00:10:47
Speaker
close to that end line and then didn't really have a lot of options or he kind of just lobbed it ah into space. In this one, it was very deliberate. So just that adaptation and that understanding of the game is fantastic to me.
00:10:58
Speaker
ah we were talking to Brad Evans in the press box when this whole thing happened and he was like, look, man, there is nothing harder for a defender to figure out than an early cross. And that's what happened there from Georgie. So just,
00:11:16
Speaker
Praise him on on on the game that he had. I thought Albert Rusnak was outstanding. I thought he was sharp. I thought he was intelligent. I think he definitely proved that he has that DP level caliber.
00:11:28
Speaker
ah With Jeremiah on Friday's, what we learned this week, I said, look, he's going to amplify the game because he he has that pedigree. And he certainly did that for Seattle. Jordan Morris clearly...
00:11:40
Speaker
You know, the brace, the movement, everything that he did, this just tells you the sort of talent that he he is. In reality, he gets a lot heat, gets a lot of criticism for not going to Europe and and a whole bunch of things. But look, he ties the record with Raul Rodriguez with 86 goal.
00:11:59
Speaker
This is apparently his fourth brace in the first game of the season in his career. don't know what I think about that, but yeah. I thought it was a great nugget, you know? So he's just the guy that that's proven to be,
00:12:13
Speaker
quality and look i've criticized uh plenty of times about his finishing in this one i thought he was great especially when he's coming off of a game at antigua when nothing went his way when he couldn't get on the ball he got no services and just the ability to make that shift and forget about wednesday's game and focus on this one that i applaud and that i feel like his growth from him as a player as a striker so that's what's encouraging to me and I'm going to let you try to talk me off the edge on this one because this is where I'm more discouraged about.
Brian Schmetzer's Reactions and Team Morale
00:12:50
Speaker
It wasn't just, and I totally agree with you, that this is probably one of the top worst conceded goals that this team has ever had because of it was so everything that it did to make you forget about every positive thing that you did and put people back in 2024, where you were just insecure about this team closing games, about this team having a good ah offense, about this team being able to ah really put goals on the board when needed.
00:13:22
Speaker
All those insecurities are back, all because of one play, one discouraging moment from two of your best defenders, two of the best defenders around the league. But this is what was more discouraging for me.
00:13:34
Speaker
Brian Smetzer was really unwound in that press conference. And He wasn't just frustrated with the situation. just, he was unlike anything I've ever seen, man. He usually, i expect him to maybe take more of the heat away from those players and be like, look,
00:13:55
Speaker
it It all comes back on me. It's definitely something that, you know, we could have done better as a team. He mentioned a little bit about nobody's perfect and I'm not perfect and I got to think about my subs or not.
00:14:07
Speaker
I thought he should have been more forward with that. Look, were my substitution patterns right? Were they not? And he wasn't. He was a little bit condescending with the press. He even apologized midway through about him being upset. And that's why he was I forgot what the word he used that that's why I'm so bitter or salty or something like that yeah along those lines.
00:14:27
Speaker
And that was discouraging to me because your coach has to show more, more presence, a little bit more composure and take take that deflect that pressure away from your players.
00:14:40
Speaker
In that specific moment. and i thought he should have done that. Um, so that was discouraging to me. I don't know what you thought about that. I definitely noticed that, that that was about as tilted as I've ever seen him after a game.
00:14:52
Speaker
I agree with that. And, I remember the comment he made where he was like, uh, yeah, I'm, I'm salty or I'm bitter about this right now, right in the heat after it happened.
00:15:04
Speaker
Uh, I mean, I think we have to remember that, uh, Literally, no one on earth cares more or is more invested in the success of the Seattle Sounders than specifically Brian Schmetzer.
00:15:19
Speaker
ah like the The results of this team, like it's like he feels it in his in his core. he i think I think he was so frustrated because they probably drilled a lot all offseason and in preseason. Like, look, our home form has got to get better. I think they drew seven games at home last year. And like you said, it was a lot of them in, ah well, similar in the in the sense ah that they would kind of drop them at the end.
00:15:47
Speaker
But what what I think is... What I think is different is how the team looked in attack. You know, if I think back to last year, the 0-0s against Austin. There was like but there's like a couple other 0-0s at home where it just was...
00:16:03
Speaker
boring and stale in attack. ah I thought the offense looked really good against Charlotte against one of the best defensive teams in the league, by the way, but to get back to ah your observation about Schmetzer's presser.
00:16:18
Speaker
ah Yeah. I think anyone who watched that presser could see how, uh, How upset he was with how that game ended. And ah I guess maybe I don't mind as much ah him ah not deflecting off Jaimmar and Jackson more because those are two of the elite players in this league at their position.
00:16:41
Speaker
And he he holds them to an extremely high standard. Yeah. And he should. but he and To be fair, I think he also pointed out that these are two guys that have saved many, many more points and many, many more results than they have had plays like that. so i'm not I'm not as concerned about the Schmetz presser.
00:17:04
Speaker
ah I would expect him to honestly have a very not unhappy demeanor after Schmetz. after a game and like that. Um, but, uh,
00:17:18
Speaker
Yeah, I don't know. I mean, your point is your point is well taken. ah let's ah let's This is kind of another topic that I wanted to talk about here from Tyler. So let's ah
Late Game Challenges and Tactical Solutions
00:17:27
Speaker
let's hit this one. and Heard in the Schmetz presser a question about the Soundies struggling in the last five minutes of play.
00:17:33
Speaker
What's the backstory there? So yeah, that is one of the things that this goes back to last season, dropping points at home way too often. they If they had taken care of business at home more last year, they could have been up towards the shield towards the top seed in the West and because their road form was very good last year. They won eight road games.
00:17:53
Speaker
So they dropped too many points at home. I'm sure that that is absolutely a storyline that they were intent on, uh reversing this year so to see that kind of happen again in the first game i definitely understand why people are frustrated ah but i also think there's encouragement in a way to be taken from ah i mean i thought the morris rusnak duo was on point uh like you mentioned i thought that was one of rusnak's better games honestly since he took over as the uh starting 10 he had a really great assist and was very effective and dangerous all night uh jordan morris
00:18:31
Speaker
you know I know the second goal didn't count because it got deflected, but you know there's that's two more on his ah on his stat sheet. So really producing like DP is there. so ah Yeah, ah two things real quick. yeah Yeah, that question was very good. And it's one that I was going to ask. said, that was going to be my final question of the the presser.
00:18:50
Speaker
It was made by Diego Palomino. And this is something we've discussed in in Spanish media. And you know we a lot of times we have discussions that are a little bit different than than what you'd hear all around. and it's something that was brought up because it was an issue last year. And it wasn't just at home. It was on the road.
00:19:11
Speaker
And this was always the answers from um Brian, right? It was, we have to stay on 90 minutes. ah it We need to do that more often. We've got to be... ah on the entire time it was, well, maybe I should have rotated this player or that player.
00:19:30
Speaker
ah Maybe I should have done this, that. So so it it had been an issue. And he he he mentioned that he needed to go back and look at it. And, you know, at the moment in time, and to your point, you you're the heat of the moment. you The only thing you can think about is what just happened.
00:19:46
Speaker
ah But I think if he was to, and probably ask him that today, later today, Because it was an issue last season and you did drop a lot of points at the end of of of matches. And that is something that puts you in a bad position throughout the season.
00:20:01
Speaker
And maybe a couple of those games. And if Seattle gets a couple of more games, they might've been second in in the West. And that's, you know, credit to the team, but it is something systematically that I think needs to be looked at closer.
00:20:16
Speaker
and I don't want to be Monday quarterback in this thing and I don't want to be a chair analyst. I'm no Doyle. And, you know, I have an idea of the game. I make sure that i surround myself and associate with people that have done it a long time. And I got coaches within MLS and outside of MLS that were in MLS that I try to talk to consistently.
00:20:40
Speaker
But us as press, we all have opinions. And if there is something that, Closing the game, we were all thinking was, should Pedro de la Vega really be going in at this moment?
00:20:53
Speaker
Should Ferreira really be going in at this moment? I thought, in my opinion, and that's all that it is, that the the game needed a little bit more game management. Someone with possession that was going to protect the lead with the ball.
00:21:08
Speaker
JP was on the bench. I thought that he was a guy that should have came on the field. And he didn't. Were the... substitutions correct, what was Brian a little too forward at trying to maybe put behind the stigma that his team had last season about it being boring, about it not being able to score more goals. And he wanted that third goal so badly that, you know, maybe would could it could it change anything if he would have been more ready to make those changes and maybe possess the ball and manage it a little bit more?
00:21:45
Speaker
See, I see what you're saying, ah but i feel like they I feel like they actually were managing it and killing it off pretty well at the end of the game. And it was it was a freak play where that happened. Where your CB, who barely ever makes errors like that, makes two on the same play.
00:22:06
Speaker
Two on the same play. And I definitely did not feel like... ah i didn't i I didn't feel like it was a situation where they had lost control of the game state or ah Charlotte FC was putting them under constant pressure or was out of control or anything like that. that's I think that was what was the most galling about it is that really until it happened, it really was not even entering my mind that Charlotte was gonna get the equalizer because it felt like they were they were managing it pretty well.
00:22:38
Speaker
But they just and I'm over here picking at at little things. Right. Because and I love the fact that you have a total different view of the game. Right. And not every substitution is should be criticized either. I saw a lot of comments from fans about why is New Who coming off? i mean, he was on a yellow you know, J-Bell's a very minute into the game. Yeah.
00:23:01
Speaker
Jay Bell is a guy that is a solid defender, so that that's why you bring him on. ah but But maybe I thought a little bit of that that that that pressing that they were doing up top when you brought in Ferreira and Pedro, maybe a little late into a game that they thought it was one Maybe that wasn't as sharp as it was with Rothrock and Menungu. Now, know Menungu had a lot of...
00:23:26
Speaker
um Had a lot of minutes. I mean, he he he was in there. he he does a lot. So he he he was showing some signs of just being tired. I thought Paul could probably keep still going, but Ariola didn't do it badly. So I'm just kind of picking at things that maybe when you make four substitutions into a game where you're kind of the better side,
00:23:49
Speaker
Did it make any disconnects? Did anything really, you know, happen in a way that you weren't able to continue to handle the game? I don't know. I was just kind of picking at some of the things that I was seeing online. And I could see where perhaps, again, in my opinion, and I'm the coach, bringing in players that could have possessed the game a little more and kill it, would have changed the outcome of the game and maybe kept it away from that freak accident that we had from Jackson Rae.
00:24:15
Speaker
Yeah, I think, honestly, the bottom line, and Schmetz mentioned this, is that ah you need to get the third goal to dust that game way earlier, ideally. and then And then that concession doesn't hurt you. When you when you have a one-goal lead late in the game like that, you're kind of always...
00:24:33
Speaker
living on the edge. You're playing with fire and not getting the third goal ended up really burning them there. I mean, it cost them two points. ah The best chance that they had to get that third goal that I can remember is, God, this would have been such a good goal when they were when they were pinging the ball around in the box. It was Georgie to Rusnak to Obed.
00:24:56
Speaker
Obed puts the shot on target. Kalina was able to get a hand to it pretty easily, but it almost deflected in. that ball is inches from going in. And if it does, it's three, one. And that game is pretty much over.
00:25:09
Speaker
ah I've loved what we've seen from Georgie over these first two games. Like you mentioned against Antigua, he was, ah I mean, watching them try and defend him was comical almost.
00:25:21
Speaker
And ah he has two assists in these two games. So we're seeing end product. His assist on that Jordan goal, like you mentioned, I mean, that's a that's pretty unstoppable.
00:25:32
Speaker
I don't know how you stop that. So that was great to see. ah I got to get your take, Nico, on the De La Vega discourse. There's been a lot of it flying around.
00:25:43
Speaker
ah The first half in Antigua, I think most people agree, was was rough. And then the second half was a little polarizing. A lot of people out there are saying that ah the goal he scored doesn't count because it deflected, so he doesn't get credit for it.
00:25:59
Speaker
um Unfortunately, it a but but that is not how it works. A deflected goal, actually, if you looked at the scoreboard, they gained a goal for that, and yeah he was credited for that goal.
00:26:13
Speaker
So you cannot, in fact... discount the goal that he scored because it took a deflection. You also cannot do that for the, uh, areola goal. I just think some of the, uh, I we've seen, got a couple of YouTube comments like this way to where we had one guy be like, well, if you just take away the two goals that got deflected, then they wouldn't have had two of the goals that they scored.
00:26:37
Speaker
Why are we taking away the two goals that got deflected? I got to stop you right there. Like there's that's literally Nico. Not one time in the history of this game has a guy scored a goal that took a deflection and the ref stopped the game and said,
00:26:52
Speaker
You know what, guys? he did That took a deflection. He didn't mean to shoot it like that. We're going to disallow this goal on the basis of deflection. That doesn't happen. So just discounting two goals that got deflected is a worthless hypothetical. There's no reason to... I don't understand why we're doing that.
00:27:10
Speaker
I mean, I guess I do. It's the same thing people did with Jordan Morris, his whole U.S. national team career. You know, if he scores the goal against this opponent, then it doesn't
Debate on Pedro De La Vega's Impact
00:27:20
Speaker
count. And then you point out that he scored against Mexico when he was in college. And then i think at El Salvador, kind of to save our U.S. mentees asses in World Cup qualifying.
00:27:29
Speaker
And I guess those don't count either. I don't know. ah ah That was sort of a tangent there. But what do you make of the De La Vega ah performance in that Antigua game?
00:27:41
Speaker
It was, um
00:27:46
Speaker
it was irregular. It wasn't consistent, but that doesn't mean that it was bad. I said this with Jeremiah on Friday. i like to ah talk to media members from wherever the founders are playing at. I like to hear the radio, the broadcast.
00:28:03
Speaker
And then if there is one player that was highlighted in every single one of those things that I just mentioned, Was Pedro de la Vega. I was man, that was the most talented guy. He was the guy pushing the ball He was the one that was trying to make things happen and The shot that he took it wasn't going in but you got to take the shots I mean people that are unbiased that have no idea or not a lot of an idea about who the sounders are That's the guy that highlighted because he has that x-factor that magnetites your eye to that player. So I understand the Expectation for him to be more consistent and sharper and better ah Because of the young DP tag and the price you pay for him and all of these things but at the same time you see why you brought him on and he has qualities that no other player in the Sounders team has and in the second half when he did come to when he did settle into the game when
00:29:01
Speaker
In my opinion, he plays so much better on the left pocket or far on the left side. he was just so good. Breaking through defenders. That that that set up to Ferreira, it's one ball into space from Ovid Vargas. He gets there. He's physical.
00:29:20
Speaker
He out physicals the defender, gets to the end line, picks up his head, puts on the perfect ball for Ferreira. In the the shot that he gets deflected,
00:29:32
Speaker
It goes into the the goal before that he creates a corner kick by a little back heel to Arreola. Arreola could have done a little bit better inside the 18 that it doesn't happen. He made that entire back line stretch and and and really provided some open lanes for...
00:29:52
Speaker
ah Jordan to try to get the ball for um when Albert came on to get the ball. i mean, there was a lot of things that I thought Pedro did in the entire of the game that are encouraging and you will see more of that. But I understand why you want more consistency. There is one um there is one thing that people have a misconception on and it is that Pedro de la Vega was brought in to be the new Nico.
00:30:25
Speaker
And that because he had, he was given the number 10, he has this responsibility to be the guy, the man, but that's not what we heard from the team from the very moment that he got to the Seattle Sounders. And I want to make that very clear.
00:30:43
Speaker
In the first season that we can all say was a wash or a bust or whatever you want to call it when he comes to Pedro de la Vega, Both Brian's Metzer and Craig Weibel said, all we want him to do is contribute.
00:30:57
Speaker
We want him to just come in, help out. What's the perfect season for him? Just contribute. We just want him to grow, get it get get adapted in. He was never ready to be the guy. Yes, he's a young DP, but at at that level,
00:31:09
Speaker
You're kind of buying a prospect. You're buying someone that's going to grow into your team, that's going to eventually explode. Now, season two comes around. Now expectations are high. Now you're healthy. You've got a full preseason.
00:31:21
Speaker
You should be able to perform more. But still, at this moment in time, the guys that have to be carrying the load are the Ferreiras, the Jordan Morrises, the Albert Rusnak. So let's not get that twisted.
00:31:33
Speaker
Pedro... Yes, of course he has the necessity and expectation for everyone and probably has the highest expectation of any signing that the Sounders have had in a second year.
00:31:46
Speaker
But even then, when you look at the squad, when it's all healthy, he's not necessarily a sharp-pin starter for this team. So let's let's give him a little bit of of time to figure himself out on their disformation, on this team.
00:32:04
Speaker
So for me, I'm encouraged by the moments he showed, the displays of talent, and some of the contributions he's had, regardless of whether the shot he put in Antigua was definitely going out of bounds. And then he deflects in.
00:32:18
Speaker
Shooter's got to shoot. You've got to give him that credit. And i thought he did more than just that goal in the second half of that game. Yeah, I think there's a balance with that because on one hand, I agree with you that he wasn't necessarily brought in to be a carry the load centerpiece type of player right off the bat.
00:32:39
Speaker
That is true. At the same time, they did spend seven and a half million dollars. on him and that's why and he was he was brought in at a point in time where the club was really trying to bolster its offense so i understand why people are putting high standards on and expectations on him that's what happens when you get brought in for that price tag with the idea that you're going to elevate an offense with your skill set in a way that sorely needs it um so uh
00:33:11
Speaker
I get why i mean having on high standard for him yeah I said his first half was awful. I mean, he was his spacing was off his first and second touch way too strong and he keeps getting dispossessed very easily.
00:33:29
Speaker
i mean, he he was just not doing well. and And I expect more from him, especially with having such a good preseason. We all thought he was going to come in and just shine, and he didn't really do that. Now, he does take character to just forget about it and then have a better second half, but I understand both sides of the argument, right?
00:33:48
Speaker
Expecting more, what the hell's going on? Is he a bust? Is he not? And then me just seeing what he's been able to do it and what he can do in the future for the team. Bad sequels, thank you for the super chat.
00:34:00
Speaker
ah Thoughts on the double pivot, CR7 balled out. That's a great shout. ah I think Christian has been kind of low-key. One of, if not the best players on the team so far. I mean, he's been...
00:34:15
Speaker
balling out of his mind in that and that role. I thought ah you could really see it in that Charlotte game, like the dirty work that he was doing. that like Every time ah they got out in transition, he's just sprinting back to cover the space.
00:34:31
Speaker
ah He had a couple of his classic patented ball-winning moments where he he gains you so much extra possession through just – being a dog, you know? So I think, you know, we talked about ah couple weeks ago, how Doyle had him as one of the best players in the league at that position when he's been playing right mid a lot the last couple of years.
00:34:52
Speaker
And he, I think he's looked like that for the first two games. So that's a good shout. ah Cameron asks question for anyone here, who do you consider more of a rival Vancouver or LAFC? Yeah.
00:35:04
Speaker
That's a no-brainer LAFC for me Absolutely, absolutely Rivalries that rubberies are but Well, there's all kinds of rivalries regional and things like that but rivalries don't really come to life until there is some competition from either side when when there is no competition from either side maybe for Vancouver is a real big rivalry because the standards have been some dominant over them but LAFC is They're a team that came, has come into the league as an expansion team, took in a lot of the
00:35:38
Speaker
shine away from your team and they've kind of become the elite team and the team everybody wants to look at in the west so there is a real rivalry there obviously sounders have had their moments 2019 and you know all the moments that we've had in this rivalry so i think that's why it's a little bit above but it's a fair question though because of the regional component of cascadia and things like that but i think for the sounders lafc is a a bigger one what was the other comment i uh uh oh oh christian Yes, absolutely. I will say one thing. He took Pep BL's lunch money on one like ah transition moment that Pep was heated because he just got outbodied.
00:36:20
Speaker
And Christian, his his ability to just not just cover space, but angle his body so he doesn't create a foul and he's getting... the entirety of the the center of gravity on top of the ball and push it to the other side, man. It's fantastic. He, he's been lights out for me. So the pivots have been great.
League-Wide Performance Highlights
00:36:41
Speaker
Obed himself, clearly a guy that has been getting that second assist consistently, right? i think he has three all around, ah between the first assist and the second assist, uh, from Antigua to this game.
00:36:55
Speaker
Um, but I am a little concerned of, of how much play time and, wear and tear he's getting I don't know if I'm the only one that's still concerned about the back issue he had, you know, maybe a couple of years ago where he had like an over ah over push of his body yeah and he had the problem with his back.
00:37:20
Speaker
So I'm a little bit concerned. I'm hoping that he gets a rest here coming up ah because he he has put a lot of minutes in, a lot of wear and tear. my name this one He can handle it. Well, that's that's the problem. That is exactly people like people are like, oh, he's young. He'll be all right. Yeah, but I mean, he was younger when he had the back problem. So, mean, i don't know. He was like 16 at that point. Yeah.
00:37:42
Speaker
Nico, why don't we jump into some ah around the league stuff? We've been ah we've been going for about 40 minutes here. We try to keep these around an hour. So ah i think it's worth diving into some other results around yeah match day one, given our takeaways on what else we saw around MLS. Because, you know, you have preseason and you have this these ideas in your mind of how you think these things are going to go. And then the games start.
00:38:06
Speaker
And oftentimes it goes... very different than ah than you would have expected. ah well i'll I'll just kick it to you to start here and then I can ah give my notable results and takeaways. I mean, just was there anything in particular that jumped off the page to you from what you saw around match day one, whether it was a game or a player result, whatever it might be?
00:38:29
Speaker
ah Yeah, man, a lot. I mean, actually, I brought some numbers for you. Just something that I used to do in my Spanish show. You could take it or leave it. 46 goals in total in the first week of MLS. ah Five players had braces. That was interesting. Lata Lott, Marco Pasolik, Jordan Morris, Dreyer are some of the ah the players that that that had those five braces.
00:38:53
Speaker
ah Only one of 12 debuted head coaches lost. You know who that is? The one coach out of 12 new coaches that lost in week one. Who? who Greg Berhalter.
00:39:06
Speaker
Oh, okay. I got that. Everybody else won and and actually she did pretty well. So that that that was interesting for me. Cornell, for me, for Philadelphia, was the the best one and the most surprising because he my question for Cornell going into as a head coach for Philadelphia, it's is he going to hold on to those foundations of Philadelphia or is he going to totally change it?
00:39:29
Speaker
Oh, but he changed it. That team was pressing high. It was a 4-2-2-2. He was just getting forward. i mean, he was very Cardinal. You know, a lot of the things we saw in St. Louis right back to Philadelphia, makes sense why he went and got Andrea Vasilev as well.
00:39:44
Speaker
So that was interesting. um And yeah, and when it comes to the the biggest surprise, and I don't know if it surprise, but it was something I enjoyed watching, was San Jose putting the beating the brakes off Real Salt Lake, Bruiserina, 4-0 game.
00:40:01
Speaker
I don't think they were as dominant as the score line says, but the fact they were able to score four was fantastic. Espinoza was lights out. Some of the balls he put into space were amazing.
00:40:13
Speaker
I think when Townsend scores four goals and neither Chicho or Joseph scored, It tells you what this thing potentially do. Neither of them scored. And they got it.
00:40:23
Speaker
The San Jose Earthquakes got a clean sheet. Like, what is happening? That was one of the ones I had written down, too. I mean, they could not have started the Bruce era off any better. i mean, I don't know if they're that good. I think some of that might have had to do with...
00:40:37
Speaker
ah RSL. They might, i mean, they might be wooden spooning over there. We'll see. Uh, it could have been a fluke result, but yeah, no, the quakes definitely caught my attention. Uh, like you mentioned Atlanta United, i think they've been a trendy pick. I've been talking about them as one of my most likely teams to take a big step this year.
00:40:55
Speaker
Uh, I just think that, uh, They kind of, ah so Paul Tenorio actually had a write-up on this in The Athletic today, kind of going inside Atlanta United's retool.
00:41:07
Speaker
And they really, they took some short-term pain last year to set themselves up pretty well going forward, it seems. I think Garth might have worked some magic there. So they looked really good, even though it was kind of a, ah they conceded a couple goals, but they scored three.
00:41:25
Speaker
ah What else? ah Nico, the Portland Timbers. i mean Yeah, that was a that was a bad game. ah ah Honestly, if I'm a Portland fan, I'm concerned. ah but if they're that i If there teams that I was very ah low on and and worried about in the Western Conference that were decent last season or good in one instance was Arcel, who we just talked about, and Portland.
00:41:52
Speaker
Portland was just barely decent, but I was concerned going into this This season because I feel like they didn't attack the needs of the team and the The Holy e Vander thing everything about it, right?
00:42:04
Speaker
ah But Jaden Nelson just tore this team apart now I understand that there was an early send-off of Kamal Miller which I didn't really love the red. i don't i would i thought it was a yellow.
00:42:16
Speaker
But nonetheless, it was send-off. You're down a player. And Vancouver just took advantage of it completely. But Jaden Nelson, man, I didn't know who was better, the hair or the play.
00:42:28
Speaker
But he was just insane, They made Jaden Nelson look like the greatest player on earth. Jaden Nelson might be good. He's not as good as the Portland Timbies made him look in that game. Even even down a man.
00:42:40
Speaker
you know i think Phil Neves, he was trying to play the card of like, oh, well, it was just chalked because we were down a man. So that basically, i mean, even with that taken into account, that was just... ah yeah was they got posture If you're tilted about how ah how the Sounders game ended, ah you could be the Portland Timbies.
00:43:02
Speaker
You could also be ah the Chicago Fire, which that was... That was my biggest MLS's back moment, seeing them go ahead not once, but twice, and then give up the lead both times and then wind up conceding four goals. Like you mentioned, Greg Berhalter, the only coaching debutante to lose his first game. know. That's crazy.
00:43:25
Speaker
that yeah And that was another game where, talk about defensive woes, I mean, Chicago couldn't get out of their own way. They started with the lead. And still aren't able to neither manage the game or play better after that.
00:43:38
Speaker
In Columbus, man, I mean, Diego Rossi said, baby, Lucho, no lual problem. I'll put the team on my back. I got it. Let's do this. um Bamba, though, was good for Chicago. I thought ah ah him and Gutierrez and Cypress, I think, make a really good
00:43:56
Speaker
there in the attacking end for Berhalter so I do expect them to be better than last season but man they gotta fix up that back end I just don't know and like they works that was that couldn't have been a more vintage Chicago Fire game like I I've fully believe that Berhalter will get them on a positive trajectory eventually, but it might not be as quick as some of the off season punditry might've led us to believe.
00:44:22
Speaker
Uh, Jerome in chat says LA galaxy looks us. So let's, yeah let's talk about that. San Diego FC first game ever going against the defending MLS cup champions, uh, and they get a two zero victory LA.
00:44:40
Speaker
I watched some of this game, but not all of it. Uh, Would you say this says more about San Diego potentially being good or are the galaxy are the galaxy in trouble?
00:44:52
Speaker
It's a good question. I was trying to figure that out myself and I was looking at my notes and I mean the reality is that San Diego came to play and they were able to
00:45:07
Speaker
Execute the game plan and find an identity and stick to it very quickly I think that their midfield with Godoy and De La Torre really set the tempo for San Diego right off the bat, I'd say.
00:45:19
Speaker
First 15, 20 minutes, they were just all over. The Galaxy have a lot of issues, and think it all started in midfield as well.
00:45:32
Speaker
Sanabria, I told you he was a good player, but he was going to need some adaptation. He was at a position... most of the game. And that's why he gets stopped off. And the team is better when Elijah came comes in and plays that position.
00:45:45
Speaker
Defensively, though, I would say that, look, Sandiego should have had four Chuggi Lozano has one in front of goal that he should have put away. um Dreyer should have put a third one in as well.
00:45:59
Speaker
ah but In a Garcés mistake coming out of the back again. I just think he didn't expect the ball there and Jarrett is not able to put the hat trick on for his team. So defensively, there's a lot of issues.
00:46:11
Speaker
But I will say that I think Greg Vanney is going to be able to look at this game and very specifically nip the issues that they had that were very precise.
00:46:24
Speaker
But the biggest problem was on offense. I thought that's where they were going to be. at least competent, and they really weren't. They had, I want to say, two real good chances, and one of them was from Miguel Berry.
00:46:35
Speaker
So that that is already an issue, right? Christian Ramirez looked a little bit out of sorts. Again, not a lot of services in. ah Diego Fagundes himself below my expectation for his type of play.
00:46:48
Speaker
So to your question, i am concerned about el a Galaxy, a team that I was very high on, a team that I had over Seattle in the West. But I think it does say more about how good and prepared San Diego was.
00:47:02
Speaker
We'll see how that plays out in their home opener against San Luis. But it was all good. The fact that Chucky did not have an amazing game, they played a lot of their transition moments and a lot of their offense on the left side. So you can tell they're looking for him, but he was an outstanding. And even then they were able to be really good.
00:47:21
Speaker
But when whenever you have... ah Warrior of a thousand battles like Godoy and and in a quality guy like De La Torre. I think that you set your bar very high or your floor very high.
00:47:34
Speaker
And they just went from that forward, man. And and and they they look good. I didn't think either l a team looked like world beaters. Frankly, I thought the Galaxy looked actively bad.
00:47:47
Speaker
LAFC, they got a win ah against Minnesota, but it was 1-0, and i didn't see all of that game, but it did not feel like LAFC were overwhelming them or anything. I thought Seattle i thought seattle on offense looked better than...
00:48:03
Speaker
both LA teams. So i that's one thing to be, a to be encouraged about it. The LA didn't, the galaxy didn't score at all. LFC only scored once. So you also had struggle. mean, Minnesota was the better team for the majority of that game.
00:48:18
Speaker
ah Jaboa should have had one or two. I think LAFC was a little bit lucky and, you know, a couple of balls on on the post for Minnesota that don't go in and they were just unable to capitalize, but they were there. And LAFC, they look out of sorts. Their possession wasn't as effective the as it has been in the past.
00:48:38
Speaker
And I mean, whenever you're getting a a goal from Ibovesi so late in the game, and i mean, he was about to come off for Giroud, I believe. ah i don't know. they they They seem to have...
00:48:50
Speaker
Maybe 15 minutes of good play in that entire game, and that was enough. So I think Minnesota just let them stay in the game too long. But LAFC did not look impressive to me either. You're right.
00:49:02
Speaker
What'd you think about inter Miami messy in the Barca boys? They get a, i mean, this was a kind of classic inter Miami game. They get a goal like five minutes into the game, maybe less. Uh, then the guy who scored it right gets a red card.
00:49:16
Speaker
They're down a man for, uh, most of that game. And then messy bails them out with another assist right at the end to draw NYCFC two, two, um,
00:49:28
Speaker
For me, watching that, i I felt like it's probably going to be a similar Inter-Miami year this year to what it was last year, which is they're going to score a ton of goals.
00:49:41
Speaker
Messi's going to eat. Obviously, he's going to get his. But ah and until they are able to stop conceding goals...
00:49:52
Speaker
as they do, they're going to be the best team in the league just because they can overpower you and attack. But i think they are still susceptible to outcomes in the playoffs or in tournament play where ah they can see goals that might make it more difficult for them to win trophies. I don't know. i don't know. Maybe I'm coping because they're just going to put up 75 points again this year. But ah that was not like a super great way for Messi and the Barca boys to start off either.
Messi's Influence on MLS and Inter Miami
00:50:20
Speaker
No, look, i'm um I'm not as high on him. And, you know, Matt Doyle might have a heart attack by listening to this because he's so high on him. But the reality is that to me, they have not replaced life for like Leo Campana,
00:50:35
Speaker
Matias Rojas or Diego Gomez look Segovia very good player and I think he has a lot of potential and you saw the finish he had Very good, but the productivity and what you had out of those other two guys that I just mentioned in Gomez and Matias Rojas I don't think you get out of that There's nobody that could replace Leo Campana at what he was doing off the bench because you still had Luis Suarez So you had a different guy coming in and an option there that they haven't replaced and the biggest one is Tata Martino Look, Bacerano was complaining and running around and just pissy mooting all around that sideline, but I just don't look at a confident coach there for this team. And now I'm sure Matt can say that this team plays itself and all you need is Messi and the Barca boys and stuff. But but to me, when you're going against a New York City FC team that it's bland and it's toothless and they lost...
00:51:30
Speaker
To me, their best player is Santiago Rodriguez, who, by the way, I spoke to. ah Now he's in Botafogo, 17 million. He's excited about that opportunity that that entire group provides for his future.
00:51:42
Speaker
I'm hoping to get him on Pulse of Sports here within the next couple of weeks. ah But you know that that guy was a big difference maker for new York City. And they didn't look outstanding. And still, they were able to put you in problems.
00:51:56
Speaker
and And look, that goal, that 2-2 goal... How does Messi just run on three defenders that are just letting him take space and nobody steps to him?
00:52:07
Speaker
And then he just puts a perfect ball to Segoya. I mean, to me, New York City has a lot of problems. And the fact that Inter-Miami is drawing them 2-2. Yes, you were low.
00:52:18
Speaker
You were down a man. Toto Aviles. This to stop getting yellows and reds all around the court. Look he's in my fantasy team. He awful, right? He scores then he gets sent off, ah but he there's a lot of issues to me in this inner Miami team all around Derek Richards. Thank you for the 99 cent super sticker in the $4 super sticker.
00:52:42
Speaker
Appreciate you, man. You're the man. um Yeah. Getting back to, uh, Inter Miami. I feel like I'm taking crazy pills a little bit with this story about the sporting director ah where that was that was feuding with Messi on the team bus and then got demoted to ah facility in somewhere called Coral Gables.
00:53:04
Speaker
And then they now have Messi's Academy mentor. who best i can tell has zero ah experience as an executive of any sort, let alone ah MLS sporting director, which is one of the more difficult soccer ah executive jobs that you can have in terms of like the roster rules and all the stuff that you need to know. I'm kind of a, of the, of the mind of,
00:53:29
Speaker
what you're saying Doyle's take was, which is that as long as you have Messi and the Barca boys and they're even 70 to 80% of what they were even earlier in their 30s, you're just going to score so many goals that whoever I could, I could coach Inter-Miami to the Shields.
00:53:46
Speaker
I like, I really believe that I could coach them to the shield if you, uh, in the Barca boys. So like the fact that the coach is unqualified almost feels like it doesn't matter. And the sporting director being a guy who,
00:54:03
Speaker
is friends with messy and has no experience at all. That might, that might fly for now while you have messy in the Barca boys ah producing and playing like they did last year and probably will this year.
00:54:15
Speaker
My question is what happens when messy in the Barca boys era is over? Yeah. And my this guy as your sporting director, maybe you just move on from him at that point when you move off the Barca boys finally, but it just feels like, uh, I don't know. I feel like it's not getting talked about enough. That whole story of them hiring a sporting director, immediately demoting him and then installing a guy who has literally no experience at all. None.
00:54:42
Speaker
You could tell the issues that, Given a player as much power as you've given Messi provides and now you got to take the good with the bad the good is everything you just said The goals the magic all of that and then the bad is that he's gonna be able to run the show He he thinks he could run the league. Did you see the way he?
00:55:01
Speaker
got in the ref's face after the game, and then he's grabbing the neck of ah another assistant coach in for New York City FC. I mean, look, you give Messi the keys to the league.
00:55:14
Speaker
I mean, right? He might just have a desk right next to Garber. I mean, you know, he he runs the league, too, so he feels like he'll do and say whatever he wants in his team and turn anybody in it. So that's the good and the bad of what you get with Juliana Messi right now.
00:55:30
Speaker
But The reality is to me, and I get your point and I get those points, but there's going to be a moment where you're going to have to hide the fact that Wajad is an awful defender. And as a pullback or a wingback, all he does is attack and he's very poor defensively.
00:55:45
Speaker
ah The fact that Poffa Picole is good guy, but he's not a guy that's going to be there for you every game. That Luis Suarez is going to need some game management at some point. I get the last season he was outstanding, but at some point the wheels of the bus might fall off.
00:56:00
Speaker
So you've got to figure out a way to get him in and out of games. And I just don't see as deep of a team as maybe Doyle and others see in this ah Do you know at all what's what's up with Julian Gressel? I saw that he was a ah DNP, I believe.
00:56:16
Speaker
ah ah feel like they're paying him a lot of money, and he is still... best I can remember, one of the best crossers in the league.
00:56:27
Speaker
like Have you heard anything about why they're not playing him or if they're going to trade him or what's going on with that? I have not heard anything about it, ah but it it it is weird that you have an experienced guy that is as versatile as Julian Gressel is, but it's something maybe I can take a look at.
00:56:43
Speaker
ah You have my word. oh I'll make some calls and see what I can look into that. I'm sure that Tom Bogart will get it tomorrow, but I will try to make some calls and see what's going on.
00:56:54
Speaker
But ah yeah, he's a guy that we could provide some help there for sure.
00:56:59
Speaker
Noah says, I think he's Noah's question in my tank that I could coach into Miami to the shield. I think it's harder to coach Messi and the Barca boys than an average MLS club because there are so many egos. i And I think on one hand, that is that is true.
00:57:15
Speaker
On the other hand, I do feel like...
00:57:21
Speaker
you All you have to do is plug them in and let them do their thing, and they're probably going to score a lot of goals. I don't know. um
00:57:31
Speaker
I won't see what happens in terms of the depth, too, because I'm expecting Falcone to start if Toto is obviously going next game because of the red card. So we'll see how that plays out. But I feel like Miami is going to struggle a lot more than people realize this season.
00:57:45
Speaker
I hope you're right. I hope you're right because i think as I enjoyed watching them last year just from a footy perspective. Like they were playing some of the best soccer I have ever seen in the league and it was fun to watch.
00:57:59
Speaker
I enjoy watching Messi. He's, ah I think the, ah now that I've watched his games regularly week in week out last year, it's, I mean, it's kind of mind boggling to watch just what he's able to do. Obviously.
00:58:14
Speaker
Uh, but, uh, they're definitely like their downfall would be more entertaining, honestly, to me, if it happens and watching them succeed.
00:58:25
Speaker
So, uh, I agree. I'm not preying on their downfall, but I wouldn't mind it. Yeah. It'd be nice to see the wreckage. I I'm with you. That, that, that is something that, uh, I will be looking forward to if that was the case as well. And, and, and again, I, a lot of times, uh,
00:58:42
Speaker
coaches get um overlooked and Tata was a guy that could handle the locker room better than just about anybody in the world.
00:58:53
Speaker
ah And Macerano could be a homie with Messi, but he's going to have a lot of limitations on what he says, what he does with with that those guys. And sometimes you need a Tata to really break things down and switch it up and play with three and hold you off from playing and things that...
00:59:10
Speaker
you need credit for you need that the street cred or soccer cred. You need that. And I don't know Javier has it. Nico, we're, we're past an hour here, so feel free to ah cut out whenever you need to, but ah real quick ah let's, let's talk, let's get back to Seattle. Let's talk about this Antigua game coming up
Preview of Seattle's Upcoming Game Against Antigua
00:59:29
Speaker
midweek.
00:59:29
Speaker
What are you expecting lineup wise? And just, what do you want to see there? They're obviously in the driver's seat. They're, pretty, they're not guaranteed to advance, but they're in about as good a place as they could be to advance.
00:59:44
Speaker
So with it mind that they're probably advancing either way, what do you expect lineup wise? And what do you just, what do you want to see from the game? Oh, definitely want to see some rotation.
00:59:56
Speaker
Getting that third goal allowed you the, I don't know, the ability to just, Be more mindful on when you put guys I do not want to see over in there and I hate to sound like a broken record I would like to see JP and daddy label start his game. That's what I like to see like ah ah i would I wouldn't mind seeing Georgie start again. thought Georgie ah Could he use the second second game.
01:00:26
Speaker
Maybe if not Georgie maybe not let me take that back me Pedro needs needs that so better definitely would like to see in this game um We'd like to see Jordan in this game as well, just so you can keep it going, keep that inertia from a very good game.
01:00:41
Speaker
All in all, Seattle has every possibility to handle this game very calmly.
01:00:47
Speaker
Antigua did have their chance at home. and And even then, They were very good in the first half, but then they slowed down in the second. If they expose themselves and get too far forward, they're going to give Seattle all kinds of space. They're going to be able to dominate.
01:01:03
Speaker
And with the depth of these quads and the rotation of the players and the high floor that we've been talking about all season, I'm very comfortable with any sort of rotational squad that Brian puts out there.
01:01:15
Speaker
Now, of course, if things take a toll for the worst and You're down one zero four minutes into the game and you got to make some changes Then that's all good and well, but I would like to see some heavy rotation.
01:01:27
Speaker
i want Jackson and Yammer to stay in just because Nothing is worse for a player that had him stay to get benched. So I would definitely like to see them in um So yeah, it's ah definitely something that I would like to
01:01:46
Speaker
See Seattle handle at least that back line has to stay intact ah Maybe even the same almost the same team that you had in the first leg. I wouldn't mind But Seattle has a lot of options.
01:01:58
Speaker
I think Ferreira and De La Vega getting rotated for the Charlotte game is an indicator that they're going to start this match. And that's what i I want to see. I want to see that just because i feel like more than the the result in this game, it's a good opportunity to get reps to,
01:02:20
Speaker
for guys to develop chemistry ah and keep integrating them into the team. You know, De La Vega, it's almost like you're integrating a new player. So it's a good opportunity to get reps for him and Ferreira.
01:02:34
Speaker
ah And, know, Really, like, ah you just have to, in this situation, you just have to not let anything stupid happen. ah You've got, if you, basically, if you score one goal in this game, it's pretty dusted.
01:02:47
Speaker
Because then at that point, they would need to score four to win the series, right? So, and yeah odds of that happening, I don't want to say it's impossible, but they don't seem especially high. And look, let me clarify, because sometimes sometimes I just kind of move all over the the comment, and and and I want to make it very clear.
Importance of Winning for Seattle's Momentum
01:03:05
Speaker
I think that the 3-1 lead
01:03:11
Speaker
gives Seattle almost a responsibility to rotate accordingly so they can go get a win in Arcel. You're going to be at Arcel. You're going to be in altitude.
01:03:22
Speaker
So I would like them to have a rotating squad that they trust enough on Wednesday to either hold the lead or you know, get a goal and and and to get a result to get you through the next round and really focus on that second game against RSL because for me, it'd be important for Shutter to get a big win after what happened at home.
01:03:42
Speaker
yes it Just momentum-wise, just for the guys, for the fan base, ah you know, I was a little bit nervous there early in that game. The fans weren't going to show up for this, ah you know, first game because of the rain and all these things. Thankfully, they all...
01:04:00
Speaker
popped up at one moment in time and it was 30,000 that were there and he actually felt pretty good. i would like them to get excited to come to the next home game by Seattle going to RSL and getting a result they haven't had in a long time.
01:04:14
Speaker
and taking advantage of the RSL team that attack looked very anemic over cc i mean CCC and their first game of MLS play. So there's an opportunity for Seattle to go out there and really break that bat streak in RSL and get fans excited and and get yourself in a good position to really start the season off well. So that's what I would like to see overall.
01:04:38
Speaker
It's it's a a great point. I think that RSL game is going to be ah great test of the progress that we've seen from this team in attack. ah Seattle never wins at RSL.
01:04:53
Speaker
it's i mean I think part of it is the altitude, but just for whatever reason, ah it's just probably the hardest away venue for them to get results at in the league.
01:05:04
Speaker
Maybe the quake the quakes for a few years were in that category randomly. But it seems like almost irrespective of RSL's quality as a team. Seattle and a lot and a lot of teams in the league, frankly, struggle to get results there. If they go into RSL, even a wounded RSL that looks like they could be one of the worst teams in the league.
01:05:24
Speaker
and they they keep playing how they've been playing, and they get a win, i think you're right that that would drastically... like The vibes have been really good so far. They were great all preseason. They were phenomenal after the first leg of CCC. Honestly, I thought they were...
01:05:41
Speaker
They were pretty damn good for all of the Charlotte game until the very, very end. If you can just dust this Antigua series and then go get a win at RSL, I think the vibes are fully back back. So, yeah, I mean, it was a gut punch that you suffered here in this first game and there's no way around it. And that's why I've been so focused on it. People were asking, you know, is the sky really falling in game one? No, I'm not saying the sky is falling, but what I'm saying was that it was a big,
01:06:09
Speaker
punch to the gut that you gotta move on from the ending of that game sucked like it was awful it was really i mean anytime you give up a equalizer in the last like two minutes ah yeah that just can't happen like when you're in the 93rd minute out of 95 and you have a one goal lead the game has to be dusted but like i said earlier in the show I think i'm think that play was an anomaly. I seriously doubt plays like that where Jackson Reagan is whiffing twice in the same play and then Yaimar is bamming it into his own net. If that happens more than even one other time this season, I'll be pretty surprised.
01:06:51
Speaker
Yeah. All right, Nico, coming up on an hour 10 here, I think we can just about start to wrap up this episode of ah Lobbing Scorchers kickoff. Before we get out of here, any last thoughts on or and observations either on the Sounders or league-wide that you want to get out there?
League Unpredictability and Recent Match Reflections
01:07:10
Speaker
ah Just real quick, I know that, ah I don't know if this is correct, but Jeremiah had said that Seattle hasn't won our ourselves since 2011 2012. I've never won over there, but it's been a while.
01:07:24
Speaker
So just wanted to put that out there because I know maybe someone had asked about it. All around the league in general senses, I just feel like the West is as unpredictable as we thought it would be. I mean, the scorelines that we had were all over.
01:07:42
Speaker
ah i don't think that Vancouver is a, much better team than Seattle would just put four on the Timbers. I think that San Jose, same situation. I feel like Seattle's a better squad overall than one that just put four on RSL.
01:07:59
Speaker
LA Galaxy issues, LAC issues, regardless of them getting to win. Minnesota concerns. I mean, you know, how were you not able to win that game? So I think Seattle is putting themselves in a good position to, and I'm trying to provide a little positivism.
01:08:12
Speaker
You got a 2-2 game that was awful, yes, but In the bigger picture and on contrast to other teams, you know, you kind of did all right. You could be Portland right now, right? So you're not.
01:08:23
Speaker
And the reality is that you played well the entire game. And ah something you said earlier is that you were not concerned. I'm not either. I mean, if there's something that we all know is that this team's defense is outstanding and that you have some studs back there and that things like that are not going to happen very often.
01:08:39
Speaker
And the fact that you were able to be so good and interested and exciting offensively, man, I just feel like Seattle is underway to be a really good team this season. And everything I saw from the games that I've watched all in all provide that.
01:08:53
Speaker
i mean, Dallas beat Houston on a game that shouldn't won either. i mean, the goalkeeper goes halfway out and, you know, gives Anderson Julio like an easy knocking goal, you know? So neither Dallas nor Houston.
01:09:06
Speaker
I don't see anybody that is on paper at this moment after week one better than the founders. So I feel like Seattle should feel pretty good about that at least. One thing I can tell you guys is that Charlotte FC fans are not happy about that game. I was watching the Top End 90 post-game reaction show that they did. Yeah, you should sub to them, by the way.
01:09:29
Speaker
ah But I was looking at their chat, and ah their fans pretty much universally feel like they got they didn't play well. They got... pretty much handled by a team that was way better than them.
01:09:42
Speaker
And they got lucky and bailed out at the end by a play that that's not like sustainable or repeatable and that they kind of didn't deserve the point. That's not me saying that that's, that's them saying that.
01:09:54
Speaker
So ah make of that what you will from a Seattle perspective. I will, I will say though, as we wrap it up here, ah we got a stat in chat that I'm not, I'm not sure if this is true, but I'm assuming it is.
01:10:06
Speaker
Yeah. The Gern says last year, Sounders conceded after the 80th minute 13 times, nine times after the 85th. that If that's true, I don't know. I mean, I don't know if those numbers are exactly correct, but I think it is clear that this is this is a thing that was happening last season. It happened in the first game this season.
01:10:27
Speaker
I think if there's something that I want to see in the in these next slate of games coming up going forward, it's getting that storyline out of here. Like,
01:10:38
Speaker
you can't be giving up goals late in games to drop points all season. It happened too much last year, happened way too much at home last year. ah So I honestly, I understand why people are tilted about how that game ended because it's honestly not a one-off if you consider what happened last year. Schmetz was kind of pushing back on that in his post-game presser, but I think I'm pretty sure there are stats that bear this out.
01:11:01
Speaker
So yeah, I would love, you know, either Noah or, you know, somebody who's really good with the, that's a whole bunch of guys that are great with stats to really look into that, but it it doesn't feel wrong.
01:11:13
Speaker
I mean, just in my head going over how many times I asked the question about conceding goals, ending games, whether it was to drop points because of a draw or lose points completely.
01:11:26
Speaker
It was repeatedly. It's something that consistently happened. And again, we we had this conversation with a bunch of people just sharing stories and you know, it it is an issue. So, I would love to see the real stats so we could bring it up.
01:11:38
Speaker
So if you are out there and I mean, I'll trust the ah people who you know put the comment to say that they did their, they did the research, but I would love to see it from somewhere else.
01:11:50
Speaker
Closing out a game like that, man, it's all mental. It's all mental. You have to, you can't switch off for even one second where that kind of stuff ah can, can happen.
01:12:02
Speaker
ah I mean, yeah, as far as, ah as far as Charlotte goes, I don't even think that I, that was, that was a big time result for them, honestly, like fair play. Like, People, their their fans were doing the thing where they were saying the last goal doesn't count because it was an own goal. You know, i've I'm telling, like, I don't know if there are any of their fans listen to our show, but you don't need to. get counts. It counts.
01:12:24
Speaker
yeah You guys got the got the two, two. All right. You go, let's call it right there. We're at an hour 15. Another great episode of Lobbing Scorchers kickoff. Appreciate you doing this show with me. It's been fun so far. It was great to have games to talk about. Looking forward to doing this all season with you, buddy.
01:12:42
Speaker
Amen. Thank you for having me on, man. I'm excited. ah You know, it gives me a reason to be up late on a ah Sunday night watching some games, taking some notes. So, you know, hopefully bringing content to your audience or our audience, I guess now yeah in general to be excited about it. So if there's anything else you guys want us to hit on or you want me to look into, I'm going to still spend those couple hours at night on a Sunday. So you want to hear...
01:13:09
Speaker
something different, you don't like the numbers, you don't the stats, let me know, let us know, and then we'll bring it on, man, but I'm excited. Appreciate you, Nico. I'm going to get some real quick shilling here in at the end. Feel free to sign off.
01:13:22
Speaker
um If you haven't done so yet, drop a like on the video, please. That really helps us out. Sub to the channel if you haven't. We were, believe, three short of 1.5K when we started this stream. So if we haven't hit that yet, go ahead and sub to the channel if you haven't.
01:13:43
Speaker
And... Yeah, we will be back at it. Noah and I are going to lay down the draw pod post-game reaction tonight. That should be out tomorrow. And then I'll be back with Under the Lights on Thursday at 7.30 p.m.
01:14:00
Speaker
Thanks for watching, and we'll catch you guys next time.