Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
Mailbag: Is Ryan Kent the answer?
616 Plays59 minutes ago
Jeremiah and Aaron field questions ranging from a potential change to two strikers, how the Sounders might use their U22 roster spots, what’s going on with Cody Baker, how well the Sounders managed their fixture congestion and what they think of rumored signing Ryan Kent.
***
Nos Audietis is the flagship podcast for Sounder at Heart, which became a reader-supported website on Aug. 21. You can support us by becoming a paid subscriber, learn more here. You can also watch many of their shows on YouTube.
Aside from becoming a Sounder at Heart subscriber, you can also support the show by using this link to purchase MLS Season Pass or checking out our merch table to buy various shirt designs.
“Diversions” audio provided by Sounder at Heart subscriber Lars; find more of their music here.
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction & Will Bruin's Legacy
00:00:01
Speaker
Hi, I'm Will Bruin, and I was just recognized as a Seattle Sounders legend. Now I get to do voice reads for the Sounder at Heart podcast network. Come on, Shad, let's I saw you, my fry!
Sounders' Approach to Competitions
00:00:18
Speaker
The Seattle Sounders have done
00:00:40
Speaker
This
00:00:51
Speaker
is a time nice work on your little yacht yacht thing
00:01:06
Speaker
I've ever since sounded hard, what a commentary that we didn't take the open cup seriously.
Sponsorship & Community Engagement
00:01:18
Speaker
This episode of Nos Arietes is sponsored by Full Pull Wines, a Seattle-based wine retailer and proud sponsor of Nos Arietes since 2011. Full Pull was founded in 2009, is based in Seattle, and is owned and operated by longtime Sounders supporters.
00:01:32
Speaker
They offer the best boutique wines of the world to members of their mailing list, with special focus on their home, Pacific Northwest.
Match Frustrations & Player Updates
00:01:43
Speaker
Welcome back to another episode of Nos Adiates, part of the Sunder at Heart Podcast Network. I am Jeremiah Oshan. Joining me today is Aaron Campo and our engineer, Lickett.
00:01:56
Speaker
This is the mailbag episode for March 2025. And we got a lot of stuff to talk about. We got to get we had it just had a game on Saturday. The Sunder's tied 0-0. Very frustrating result.
00:02:11
Speaker
as most scoreless ties are. That one was, that was frustrating. ah There's a good, nice little rumor though, that we have to talk about. Paul Areola, not great news, but Paul Areola had his surgery. It was successful. That's great.
00:02:26
Speaker
But he was also put on the season ending injury list. And we'll be talking about all this stuff, but Aaron, how are you doing? How are you
00:02:36
Speaker
You know, I'm chilling. I'm doing chilling, I suppose. Uh, Yeah, you know it's another lovely day in March in the Pacific Northwest. so Today was lovely, though. Today was actually lovely.
00:02:50
Speaker
It was. It's supposed to be terrible tomorrow, but today was beautiful. Got a nice five-mile walk in and you know so soaking up the vitamin D. you know That's a good walk. not bad Where do you go walking, Aaron? When you go for a walk, are you going?
00:03:08
Speaker
I'm usually going to stroll up. i don't want to dox myself too much, but I stroll up Proctor and I live on the south south end of Proctor. and i'm not I'm not one of those bougie types, but I stroll up Proctor and then usually take a right at 6th Avenue and it just kind cruise down 6th Avenue and okay you know pop into the record store maybe if I'm feeling froggy. There you go.
00:03:30
Speaker
Yeah, it's nice. you know i'm getting I need to mix it up a little bit. I'm getting a little a little bit burnt out of that route, so I might... I might switch back to walking up all the way up Proctor to up to like 26 or whatever at some point. But yeah,
Hosts' Personal Insights & Humor
00:03:44
Speaker
but that's my current. My current route takes me down six. Usually I'm realizing I've never visited you at your house in Tacoma. It's true.
00:03:51
Speaker
It's true. Well, you didn't visit me at my last house either. You did once, I think, actually. but So it's seen and in a Skyway. That's right. Yeah, I did visit there. You come over.
00:04:02
Speaker
You came over once. You did come over once. At least one. I came over every time I was invited, I think. that's probably That's probably true. Well, you're definitely invited so this house since it's not 600 square feet.
00:04:17
Speaker
Okay. Well, ah I may take you up on that, Aaron. We don't really do banter on this show, but today we apparently we're feeling bantery. guess so. I guess so. Yeah.
00:04:29
Speaker
ah You know, anything to distract ourselves from our crumbling democracy that I don't want to get too into. But um let's get into it. I don't know. Can you imagine? Can you imagine?
00:04:41
Speaker
Just pivot to a politics podcast. Yeah. I know we've been steering clear of politics for the most of the last 15 years, but what if we just dive in today? Yeah.
00:04:55
Speaker
Good times. Good times, Aaron. So ah we got some questions. We do. Do we want to do we want to get into those? Might as well.
Tactics & Team Strategy
00:05:05
Speaker
and First one is from MCB.
00:05:08
Speaker
The Sounders regularly played with two strikers in past years. Why haven't we seen it yet this year? Well, I guess it depends, right, on how you're defining two strikers, because the Sounders have rarely, if ever, played with two, like, high strikers where they were sort of, like, tandemly moving, high it's keeping high lines.
00:05:28
Speaker
They did do that kind – I mean, I guess you could kind of say they did it with when they Raul Ruiz and Will Bruin for parts of 2021. But even then – but even then Bruin dropped in a lot and was sort of acting as almost like a second playmaker.
00:05:46
Speaker
So I don't know. they I guess I bring this up because they have played with Morris and Ferreira on the field together. Some. And I think this question did come in before.
00:05:56
Speaker
you know, we've been taking these questions for almost two weeks, frankly. And I think this one may have come in before Jordan got hurt. But maybe not. Maybe he's talking. I guess now I think back, he might have actually been talking about Herp Ferreira and Masofsky playing together. And they played a little bit with them together. And it might help. Like, I will say that I think Nico asked Brian at training today about that possibility or someone did.
00:06:28
Speaker
maybe Maybe it was Jackson. And Brian admitted it might help. But I don't know I don't I don't I'm not of the mind to think that that's really the main problem.
00:06:41
Speaker
ah Because I think even if Ferreira had a second striker on the field, it wouldn't necessarily mean that he's going to stay high. He's going to that's just means that he can drop in and play it more naturally. They don't have to. They don't still have to strike or to real. Like, are you going to play Masofsky and Morris together, even if they're healthy? That doesn't I don't think that's what this person is asking for. it Right.
00:07:01
Speaker
Yeah, I don't think so. I mean, i think a lot of the two striker setups we saw last year, in addition to, as you alluded to, the fact that they were really more it was kind of like a throwback to the the early, early days of the MLS Sounders with Jaqua and Montero, you know, where you got one more of a target forward, one guy who's kind of playing in behind.
00:07:22
Speaker
um But I think that was as much to do with trying to keep Raul in the lineup long enough to let him play his way out of the lineup while also, you know, trying to get um Jordan in more dangerous areas rather than ah really like a purely tactical decision.
00:07:45
Speaker
And I think I just, I think it's like you said, I think if you you play Masavsky and Ferreira together, more often than not, what you're going to end up with is Ferreira sliding back into that 10 role that he seems more comfortable in.
00:08:01
Speaker
and Musavsky playing higher. And we've got a more in-depth question about Musavsky's performance so ah so far this year coming later. So I don't want to, you know, give away the story with yet just yet with that one, but I don't think anybody is really under the illusion that Danny Musavsky is going to be the guy that,
00:08:18
Speaker
unlocks this offense yeah yeah so yeah i mean i i think what's so frustrating is that the sounders look pretty good offensively through six games they had 13 goals through six games in all comps and then then they had the the loss to crucisul where they had the injuries and then they haven't scored in the two games they have since then so they've been yeah sort of it's ah hard you know It's hard to balance, I guess, what are the genuine struggle. like Is this roster just not well-constructed?
00:08:53
Speaker
Is the offense not good? Or are we sort of like trapped in a moment of time where things just aren't really clicking? And then once guys get familiar with one another, things will start to come together. I'm a i'm inclined to want to believe that.
00:09:07
Speaker
I don't know if I... I'm frustrated, is as everyone is right now, with the Sounders' lack of scoring. But I and just don't... I guess what I'm saying is I agree with you. I don't think Danny Masofsky is the key to unlocking this current struggle. Right.
00:09:22
Speaker
ah Yeah. And I will add before I ask this question that all these questions come from our discord community. And if you want to get involved in our discord community, you can do that by becoming a subscriber the $75 year level above. That's supporter level. Yeah.
00:09:38
Speaker
supporter level Of course, we love our backers as well. That's the $25 level. But you don't get access to the Discord, unfortunately. This is sort of the perk
Community & Fan Engagement
00:09:48
Speaker
of getting in.
00:09:49
Speaker
One of those perks are getting to ask questions. We also do AMAs, which we're lining up one right now with ah Frank McDonald of Washington Legends of Soccer in case you need more reasons to join us on Discord. And if you are a so supporter at the $75 a year level or above, I would urge you to like join the Discord and check it out.
00:10:09
Speaker
It's pretty fun, even though we sometimes get heated in there and it's little wild. It can. It can. it can. All right. This question is from 509.
00:10:21
Speaker
ah The price is heavy and the rewards are few. Can we opt out of the CONCACAF Champions Cup from here on out? I'd much rather see us in the open cup. Uh, no, we cannot do that. I don't believe, uh, if we could and chose to do so, i think there would be a ah riot.
00:10:37
Speaker
Um, well, let's just say hypothetically that we could like, I think you're right. I don't think this is a, I don't think this is a genuine option that the Sanders have, but let's just say they did. Would you rather the Sanders compete in the open cup than the champions league? No, essentially championship.
00:10:52
Speaker
No, I would not either. And I understand there's a lot of challenge that, that come with this tournament and we learned it this year, big time. But I want to keep competing in it. i think this is I think there's a lot of truth the idea that this is an important tournament. like We're going to be able to gauge the progress of MLS more accurately and the Sounders, frankly, more accurately through this tournament than any other tournament MLS competes in.
00:11:19
Speaker
I think the idea of let's not do this because it's hard is the complete antithesis of what you want from your sports team. Like, yeah, it's, it's hard, but, but it's also the, the highest, most important competition the Sounders can play in And I am including the club world cup in that. Like it is the most important, most prestigious competition they can play them. Winning it was maybe the best moment of my life as a sports fan.
00:11:47
Speaker
um Yeah, I mean, it sucks when guys get injured. um i do think that maybe the... I don't really think they get injured anymore in in the Champions League than they do in any other competition.
00:12:03
Speaker
i think if if there's a calendar switch, that's going to help a lot because I think yeah guys playing a lot of minutes early in the season... can't really help.
00:12:14
Speaker
I think that's really that's really the challenge. And if you go back to 2022, the year of the Sounders won this tournament, One of the big things that happened that year was and MLS was able to work their schedule so that they had a lot of bye weeks while they were competing in Champions Cup.
00:12:31
Speaker
That's not something the calendar allows for them to do anymore because, frankly, of League's Cup and because it's just a much more crowded calendar now than it ever was. And so you could move games around, but it would just be so much more you're you're really robbing Paul to pay Peter. I don't know. Peter to pay Paul. I don't really know that how that saying goes. I don't even understand it.
00:12:54
Speaker
But it's, you know, ah it's just they don't whatever reason they don't they don't let them move the schedule around. the They don't give them the same flexibility that they gave in previous years. And that that's a that's a challenge.
00:13:09
Speaker
Yeah, that's a challenge. But um again, just because it's a challenge doesn't mean you shouldn't be trying. Yeah, I agree. ah Next one's from Ken w Are we likely to fill any of the open U22 spots prior to the end of the current window? Positional priorities in the event we do?
Player Development & Team Dynamics
00:13:27
Speaker
i don't think that's going to happen. ah i i get the sense the Sounders are sort of fine with waiting on that, which is a little frustrating, I'll admit, because the the argument is that they aren't these players aren't going to come in and compete right away.
00:13:45
Speaker
So you may as well wait. But of course, that means that they're probably not going to compete late. like The longer you wait to bring them in, the longer it's going to take them to bet in. right And i i don't know. It'll be interesting to see what the Sounders do with these spots. like I have heard that they've been looking around intraligue to sign someone from another team with like a cash transfer, which would be an interesting move.
00:14:11
Speaker
I'm not sure how many guys out there I'm dying to get. I honestly, I don't, I don't know what the Sounders are targeting, but the question really was, what do we, well, what do we think they're going to do?
00:14:23
Speaker
i still think looking for a forward makes the most sense, but I would be totally lying if I said I knew that's what the Sounders were targeting. I think it's a, I think the Sounders are so still sort of assessing what they need.
00:14:38
Speaker
Yeah. I kind of go back and forth on it because forwards or just attacking players in general make more sense for some reason, for I think a lot of reasons, but there's also the fact that defensive minded players tend to peak a little later.
00:14:56
Speaker
And so I think, you know, you can probably get like defenders or defensive midfielders little bit more cheaply that have a little bit higher upside um because the attacking players are getting a lot of attacking players by the time they're 19, 20, 21 years nineteen twenty twenty one years old who are going to develop into really, really good players have already started playing regularly, you know, competing for first team minutes and in good leagues.
00:15:22
Speaker
And so that means they're either going to be really expensive and there's a limit to how expensive they can be with a U22 mechanism, um, or they're going to be really, really raw and it's, it's kind of a crapshoot.
00:15:32
Speaker
And so I do wonder if maybe the ceiling is higher with more defensive minded players, but, uh, i don't you know It feels like a best player available to me. right It feels like a guy that they identify, who you know they think is a good cultural fit, who they think has a high ceiling, who they think you know maybe they're prioritizing contributing sooner than later as well, whatever their criteria are.
00:15:57
Speaker
I just think it's going to be whoever the best fit is regardless of position. Yeah, it's not the most satisfying answer, admittedly. No. It's not. I mean, it's I do think, though, the U22 mechanism is something that people are more excited or and or worried about, I guess, than think is really justifiable on the merits of it.
00:16:18
Speaker
Yeah. I want them to try to do something with it. But I think anything that has like I kind of think you're playing with house money almost. Yeah, I mean, Backfield did, I think it was Backfield, did it, or maybe it was even Brian McKay who writes for Sound at Heart as well.
00:16:33
Speaker
But there I'm pretty sure it was in Backfield that there was a story that looked pretty extensively at the success rate of U-22s. And it basically found that it's a crapshoot.
00:16:45
Speaker
These are not yeah players that are hitting at a particularly high rate. And the players that do hit oftentimes are players who are signed from within the league and and elevated into those positions.
00:16:58
Speaker
It does sound like the Sounders are going to use... like i will say it's a littlera it's definitely frustrating that Sounders have three open U22 spots. And they're talking as if they can only use one.
00:17:10
Speaker
ah Like almost openly. And I think that means because they're going to probably sign one or two players internally to U22 constructs. But it's it's not the most, you know, imagination inspiring.
00:17:27
Speaker
it's not It's not the most fun way of running ah using the roster mechanisms. Like these are kind of hope cast spots and the centers aren't giving us a lot to work with there.
00:17:38
Speaker
which is you know kind of unfortunate. ah This is from wood bushery. This Cody Baker has been on the bench or a bunch so far this year, but he doesn't seem to have made an appearance.
00:17:49
Speaker
How does Cody get on the field this year? And do you see him going back to defiance for minutes?
00:17:55
Speaker
Uh, I, I just, I don't know where he's going to get a lot of those minutes unless a spot opens up. Um, I think that if he were likely to be high in the pecking order for minutes, Areola getting hurt means he would have probably been getting some um and and he hasn't really. And I think that that kind of I think that says a decent amount, maybe about where he is is in the pecking order right now. um You know, I think that when Leagues Cup comes around, there there are going to be minutes to be had, um unfortunately.
00:18:33
Speaker
ah So, i you know, I wouldn't be shocked to see him get some minutes there. But i I don't know. I mean, i don't know what he gets out of going back to Defiance, really, um other than staying sharp, I guess, which is, you know, there's yeah certainly a bit of that.
00:18:47
Speaker
um But yeah, I don't know. I mean, it's he's not he hasn't aged out of relevance or anything like that, I don't think. But it's starting to feel like maybe it's it's not going to happen, at least as a regular in Seattle. So He's still he's still only 21. So I'd say there's yeah some i ah is is a player who in a previous era would be considered a young MLS player who is just kind of coming out of you. You know, he'd likely be coming out of college this year.
00:19:22
Speaker
So it's not like he's old, but I agree with you that I think it's tough to see a path forward for him at least at right back where it it sure seems like Kalani Kosarienzi has passed him on the depth chart. i mean he has. He clearly has. He's yeah played multiple games. He's started multiple games.
00:19:41
Speaker
Baker has not. And, you know, Cody's and a nice player, but he's sort of also a little bit of a throwback player. Like he's a defense first fullback. Now, could he maybe work out as a right center back or even a left center back? He had played left back previously, sort of in a and new who style role.
00:20:02
Speaker
I think that's possible, but I don't know how high he is. on the depth chart there either. You know, he's, he's not, i i don't think he's ahead of Stuart Hawkins. He's probably not, he's surely not ahead of Kim key. He, so he's got competition all over the field for him.
00:20:17
Speaker
And I, I think he will get some minutes at the fines just to keep him sharp, but you know, he he's, yeah i think he may have played a little bit more if the sounders were protecting more leads.
00:20:31
Speaker
Cause I think that's kind of his role right now. But you know Reed Baker Whiting is getting – he should be available this week. And he seems to be behind him as well.
00:20:42
Speaker
So there's just – he just – there's not a – it's tough. I don't think there's a pathway. I don't see the path forward for him in terms of getting real minutes here. I would think he's a good candidate for maybe a loan out somewhere, which maybe transitions us into this this next question.
00:21:01
Speaker
Yeah, it's from from South Sounder, and it's it's a similar question, but a different player.
Player Fitness & Strategic Decisions
00:21:06
Speaker
Stu Hawkins hasn't yet received any playing time. Is having him on the bench hurting his development, and might the Sounders actually loan him elsewhere so that he can continue to grow, especially once Kim Ki-Hee is fit?
00:21:15
Speaker
I think he has played very briefly since this question was asked, if I recall correctly, right? ah Just to hallucinate that. I think he played he played in the Open cup So maybe that's what you're thinking of.
00:21:28
Speaker
He did start the open cup. He played 45 minutes in the open cup for the defiance, ah not for the first team. And, you know, I really like Stuart Hawkins. I think he's going to be a very good player. i think he probably needs to ah like If he was going to break into the first team, i think that period, we're through that period where he there was opportunities to play him and the Sounders didn't play him for whatever reason.
00:21:56
Speaker
I think it probably does make sense to send him on a loan and it probably makes sense to send him on a loan outside of the defiance because the he's proven that he can... play in MLS next pro. He was one of the best center backs in the whole league last year as an 18 year old.
00:22:12
Speaker
He needs to be tested at a higher level. And if that means sending them to someplace like Sweden uh, I don't know, Denmark or something like Belgium. i don't know if they can get it. Like these are how realistic these, but if they can find a loan like that for him, i think that's a great option because I think yeah those, he needs to play against adults on a regular basis and he needs to play in meaningful games.
00:22:36
Speaker
And I don't know that he's going to get those with the Sounders for like for better or for worse. so Yeah. I, I wonder, I wonder what the Canadian premier league is like in comparison to MLS next pro.
00:22:49
Speaker
i I don't know that it's that big of a... like Yeah, it's dwayne it's probably like... Oh, God. Sorry. I was going say, like I look at Osase De Rosario, who was one of the top young players in Canada and then came to MLS Next Pro as his sort of hope to get more noticed.
00:23:07
Speaker
So i don't I don't think he's going to get... i would be kind of disappointed if he got loaned to... to the Canadian premier league. I w I would hope it's like a first foreign for, you know, outside of North America of situation. I mean, and that's, that's a really valuable experience for other reasons, just the level of competition as well. Yeah, exactly. I mean, he's the guy who I, as far as I know, still lives at home.
00:23:30
Speaker
i which, hey, and he's 19 years old. I don't begrudge that at all. But in terms of like becoming a pro athlete, sometimes moving out of your comfort zone is ah is a good thing. that You hear people talk about that all the time.
00:23:45
Speaker
and But this is one of the drawbacks of ah my playing in MLS Next Pro versus the USL Championship. In the USL Championship, you could maybe justify playing him there. And i don't know, maybe that's where he ends up getting loaned.
00:23:57
Speaker
USL Championship, probably a better test, I would say, than the Canadian Premier League. But yeah, even then i would, i don't know if you're raising his profile, like, cause ideally going to send him someplace where you not only make him better, but you're also raising his profile a little bit. And you know, in the, on the yeah chance that he's not going to play here.
00:24:15
Speaker
um Yeah. That's a great, that's great job. ah Next one is from, Oh, go ahead. i was going to... Is it... I think it's me reading it, right? Oh, it is. You're right. Gosh, sorry.
00:24:26
Speaker
That's okay. ah This is from DoubleCubed. What, if anything, would you have done differently to manage the schedule? The players look gassed against Cruz's soul, and I think we believe too many minutes contributed to Morris's hamstring.
00:24:40
Speaker
I believe that, but I don't know if it's like... I think they probably did, but I don't know that you can credibly say it did. Right. um Guys that are fresh hurt their hamstrings all the time.
00:24:54
Speaker
um I think that playing the starters as deep into the game against Antigua is like the biggest criticism I have. um Because when you look at the other games, they rotate a lot against RSL.
00:25:09
Speaker
They rotated a lot against LAFC, which was the game that preceded the Cruz Azul one. They did. um And i just you can't. You can't throw away league games entirely, especially against LAFC. Like, yeah, they could have started ah an all, you know, bench guys and defiance alone is line up against LAFC, but that's not a good thing to do, you know? um And I don't think Pedro's injury didn't look like an overuse injury to me necessarily. It just looked like he kind of twisted his. Well, they were also, I thought they did a good job with Pedro too. Like they weren't playing him a ton.
00:25:49
Speaker
And, and Morris, like, I will say this about the, to defend the Morris situation is he had been really healthy. Like he'd been remarkably durable since his second ACL injury. You know, the last season that he was playing,
00:26:06
Speaker
um He started basically every game regardless. that like He was playing on short rest all the time. And maybe it was too early in the season to push him as hard as they pushed him. And I think it's easy in hindsight to say that's the case. And and that might be true.
00:26:20
Speaker
But on some level, I i kind of trust the the technical staff to or the physical staff yeah to to know that. Another...
00:26:33
Speaker
Yeah, another great segue actually I'll just I'll stop you right there. there you go. Next one because there you go this one's from Spencer. There have been a lot of justifiable ah justifiable and friends comments last questions about minute management.
00:26:46
Speaker
I'm thinking specifically about Morris is heavy load relative lack of Ferreira and even the slow ramp up of PDLV last year. How much of the lineup subs with the regards to fitness is an art versus a science. My assumption is that the team is doing all sorts of tests between coaches physios And we should apply some Chevron deference because it's a data thing.
00:27:03
Speaker
Or is it more subjective and therefore more critiquable? I think it's critiquable because it's sports in the and you get to yeah to talk about the results that are separate. Like we get to, right? That's the the glory of sports is that you get to the debate the results even if you – as much as you can debate the process. Even if the process was sound, it's not going to lead to the results you always want.
00:27:27
Speaker
And, you know, I'm inclined, like, I think I agree with this person that there is some deference that you pay to the the analytics that are feeding their their decision-making process in this case. Now, who knows? maybe Maybe the physios were throwing up red flags and telling Schmetzer that they they needed to hold off and not let Morris run as much as he did.
00:27:55
Speaker
i If that's the case, i that's news to me. But as far as I know, they were in alignment. As far as I know, Schmetzer was following the guidance of the physios.
00:28:07
Speaker
And it's fair to criticize it because it didn't work out. But i I think they practiced mostly reasonable caution. I think there was one game where they probably could have rotated out Obed and Christian when they they played them you know back-to-back games one time where they probably could have rotated that.
00:28:29
Speaker
Morris obviously started, i think, ah all but one game in that stretch. Yeah. Maybe you could have and the one but like the for one game. He didn't start. He played 45.
00:28:40
Speaker
Right. ah The Ferreira thing. i don't know. I think that they probably were being appropriately careful. I mean, it like he only played 90 minutes for the first time on.
00:28:52
Speaker
On Saturday and. You know, i i tend to trust that there was a reason for his minute restrictions. ah You know, and that's a tough one.
00:29:05
Speaker
I don't know. Yeah, it's it is one of those things where. um I know that I know very little about the Sounders and Turtle Analytics, but I know that they put a lot of effort into them.
00:29:19
Speaker
They have a really well-respected analytics department and that a lot of their analytics are around fitness data. And so i do, like you said, I trust that they are doing the best that we could possibly expect them to be doing with fitness data.
00:29:36
Speaker
And i know that Schmetzer has talked in the past, sometimes with feigned, maybe annoyance, ah about adhering to the data and the recommendations of the of the training staff and and the the you know what the data is telling them. So I think that there's a tendency of of sports fans to think that their teams injury struggles are uniquely bad. And I actually think the Sounders have been a little luckier than other teams in that regard, which seems hard to believe because they've had like high profile injuries.
00:30:11
Speaker
They've had these bad runs that coincided with injuries, but you know, in general, like it feels like it's been a while since they lost a key player for like the season, i guess Pedro last year, but was he really a key player last year? i don't know.
00:30:27
Speaker
um So I, I don't know. It's, it's frustrating. The timing of it is certainly frustrating. The fact that it it has happened last year is certainly frustrating, but I really do kind of trust that they're making the best decisions that they, they can based on the information that they have, you know?
00:30:45
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. Well, another question about the the fitness. ah This is from Kenny and he says, I've been surprised by Schmetz's apparent reticence to play Jesus Ferreira at the nine and slightly disappointed JF's contributions on the whole to date.
00:31:01
Speaker
What have you heard about and how he's how he's been training and what his coaches and teammates have made it him? Yeah, ah um I don't have any insight into how he's been in training or or what his coaches and teammates have said about him. That's really more your department, but I think that um there' there's definitely there two schools of thought about Jesus Ferreira and his positions.
00:31:24
Speaker
And one of them is that, look, he had couple of great seasons playing as a nine. He played in a World Cup as a nine. There's no reason to think he's not still that player. And then there's the other school of thought.
00:31:36
Speaker
And I increasingly kind of find myself in the school of thought. That is, he has changed. His game has changed. He's had some injuries. And FC Dallas had that guy and decided not to play him as a striker last year and played him as more of a 10. And kind of have to wonder why they made that decision, right?
00:31:58
Speaker
Like that's, ah I would say, a you know, a striker that could put in goals the way he did earlier in his career is a little more valuable than the player he was as a 10 last season.
00:32:10
Speaker
So I wonder if there is a reason for that. And similarly, if there's a reason that Schmetzer seems, you know, like Kenny says, reticent to play him at the nine. Yeah, I mean, i I would guess that Schmetzer, when he sees a nine, he wants someone who's going to.
00:32:28
Speaker
Body defenders and be physical, and that's not, you know, that I guess that wasn't really Diaz's game, and so maybe that's unfair, but I think the Sounders have sort of adopted, have worked their system a little bit more around Jordan's game right now.
00:32:44
Speaker
And it's pretty obvious that best you could say all you all the nice things you want about Rara, but he's not the same. He's a different kind of player than Morris. Like they just fundamentally want to play the position differently.
00:32:58
Speaker
And. I think in that sense, it like i can see why the owner i can see why Brian specifically would like to play with Jordan at the nine as opposed to Ferreira.
00:33:09
Speaker
So, I don't know. i'm not I'm not totally shocked by... his reticence to play him there in part because he's actually looked pretty good as a 10. Like he's got good feet. He's got good vision. He, he sees plays.
00:33:24
Speaker
Uh, it's just, you know, he's not, but the, you know, this the last two games, he's had two shots or no, sorry. He's had one shot, uh, And total.
00:33:35
Speaker
And so, you know, that's, you know, that speaks to an inability to get them into positions where they want to get them. So I don't know. It's going to be an interesting to see how that evolves. Cause I think we're going to see them at the number nine, at least for another game or two.
00:33:48
Speaker
And, you know, we'll see how how it works out. Yep. Thank you for listening to the sounder at heart podcast network, which now includes no Sonia test, lobbing scorchers and the cooler guild.
00:34:02
Speaker
We've been independent since August of 2023, but need your support to make sure it continues. Although this podcast is free, it's only made possible by your continued support. Memberships start as low as $25 a year, which not only helps make podcasts like this one happen, but also gets you access to everything we produce.
00:34:20
Speaker
If you're able to support us at higher levels, starting at $75 a year, you gain access to a host of other perks, Most notably, entry into our members-only Discord where the smartest, funniest, and most engaged commenters share their thoughts and ideas.
00:34:36
Speaker
To find out more, just visit sounderatheart.com and click the subscribe button in the top right corner. Thanks for listening.
00:34:45
Speaker
It's getting to be that time of year when you need to figure out how to watch Sounders games. If you're an a Alliance member, you are getting a free subscription to MLS Season Pass and you're covered. Similarly, if you're a T-Mobile subscriber, you're also covered.
00:34:58
Speaker
But if you're going to have to pay for one, you may as well give us some of that money. By using the link sounderathart.com slash MLS Season Pass, You'll help support independent media while also getting access to every Sounders game, every other MLS game, MLS 360, and all sorts of other content.
00:35:15
Speaker
Just to make things extra easy, we'll put a link in the show notes too. Thanks.
00:35:22
Speaker
Nos Adietes, admittedly, is not exactly known for our spicy takes, but that doesn't mean we want our food to be mild. Spice up your life with Hacks and Ferments. Handcrafted in Georgetown and made it with the best local ingredients from across the Pacific Northwest, they specialize in unique small batch fermented hot sauces and vinegars.
00:35:40
Speaker
Hacks and Ferments brings bold flavors and natural fermentation together for something truly special. Whether you're a heat seeker or just looking to elevate your cooking, you'll find something you love at haxanferments.com.
00:35:53
Speaker
That's H-A-X-A-N-F-E-R-M-E-N-T-S dot com. And right now, if you use the code SOUNDRATHEART, that's all one word, at checkout, you will get a free hot sauce with your order.
00:36:09
Speaker
Again, go to hacks and ferments dot com. Use the code sounder at heart at checkout for a free hot sauce with your order. Hacks and ferments is a proud sponsor of that sounder at heart podcast network.
00:36:22
Speaker
ah This one is from almost cool. Why do the sounders always play better in the second half of games? Or I guess this was your question, but I'll ask it anyway. Is it just down to coaching and adjustments?
Performance Analysis & Field Considerations
00:36:34
Speaker
Uh, yeah, I guess, gosh, we're just doing a bad job keeping track tonight. Yeah. I'm not sure that I agree that they always play better in the second half of games. um I thought they were actually better in the first half against Houston.
00:36:46
Speaker
um I thought that they were much better in the first half on the road against Cruz's old than they were in the second half. ah I do think they tend to make good halftime adjustments. They they definitely do.
00:36:59
Speaker
They definitely do. I do. I do think that when they do have those games, like against LAFC is a great example of that, right? They looked like a different team in the second half. um And so I think when the initial game plan hasn't really gone the way they wanted it to, or has gone the way they wanted it to, and they were just trying to get half to halftime to make the adjustments, I think that it is down to tactical adjustments and personnel adjustments in the halftime. But,
00:37:23
Speaker
um I guess I just don't think it's an always thing. right I think it's ah you know a little more evenly spread out than that. yeah I don't know what if I had to choose. Would I rather have a team that starts strong and struggles in the second half or a team that struggles a bit in the first half and then finishes strong? I guess I'd probably rather have the one that finishes strong. right but For sure.
00:37:48
Speaker
Ideally, it's both. It is. it is. i also think there's something to the idea that the Sounders are playing against teams who want to yeah play in a low block and and just play for a point lot of the time.
00:38:02
Speaker
And it's hard to do that for 90 minutes. I mean, it should be. It's not always. it wasn't yeah it wasn't that hard for Houston to do. But I do think that that can kind of contribute to that um that perception. It's just it takes a while to break down teams sometimes.
00:38:16
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. ah This one is from Bill Jones TRPT. If First and Goal somehow agreed to change the plane surf from turf surface, from turf to national natural grass, what would be the ramifications for them?
00:38:30
Speaker
Would that mean limiting what kinds of events they could lease the building for, i e no monster truck rallies? Would the maintenance costs be prohibitively higher? Can you discuss the negatives for First and Goal as well as any potential benefits?
00:38:43
Speaker
So I think we can safely say that if they were to decide to put grass in permanently, that that would limit the number of non-sporting events that they have at Lumen Field. maybe Maybe entirely. like it's like There might be a ah concert or two or something that happens in the short period of time between the Sounders and Seahawks seasons.
00:39:08
Speaker
But i I would imagine that it would make it very difficult to have events during the season and i think there is a real challenge i think to even maintaining it for the seahawks like there aren't a lot of nfl stadiums and don't know there are any nfl stadiums that host soccer games that share a field with the soccer team and play on grass like i don't i'm not
00:39:39
Speaker
I don't know if there are any, at least in like the, I think the best example is like Brentford, I think is the team that's in England that has a rugby team and, and Brentford and they do, ah they have a really nice pitch. It's a hybrid. They even host some concerts in the off season.
00:39:58
Speaker
but there's just not that many good examples. So yes, I think that that's the, that's the first trade off is that there's going to be fewer events there. And i think the maintenance cost is probably higher.
00:40:12
Speaker
Like I don't want to make it sound like it's, it's an easy decision. Like there's a good ah pretty valid reason that move that first and goal is not put in grass. And I think it's that it's a, there's a host of challenges, uh,
00:40:24
Speaker
Like even when they bring in, so they're going to bring in temporary grass this summer for the club world cup. I don't know how long it's going to be there. That'll actually be an interesting test, but it's not going to, but then next year they're going to have grass, real grass in. And i as far as I know, like the Sounders might not even get to play on it, frankly, which is so funny.
00:40:51
Speaker
Yeah, like there's a possibility the Sounders might have to like open the season not playing at home. And then when they come back, the grass may already be gone. Like it's it's going to be interesting to see how that they manage that. But yeah, I mean, I guess there's the the the answer is there's real challenges.
00:41:08
Speaker
Yeah, there there definitely are. i mean, i think that I think that concerts would still largely be OK. I mean, like they probably can figure that out. In Europe, generally, concerts are at soccer stadiums, you know, big ones.
00:41:21
Speaker
um But they're also not sharing you know the grass with ah NFL teams. But i think the like the most plausible scenario in which there is ever grass at Lumen while both the Seahawks and the Sounders are playing there is a the NFL Players Association succeeds in winning the right to to play on grass, which...
00:41:44
Speaker
I don't know how big of a priority it is for them, but it seems like it's much more of a priority than it used to be. um And it's a thing they talk about. and Yeah, they do. They do. I'm guessing that's a bargaining chip more than anything else. But probably not.
00:41:57
Speaker
You know, maybe they maybe they deeply care about it. And I think also Lumen would have to be remodeled extensively and they would probably put in some kind of, growth you know, tray system. Yeah. Yeah.
00:42:09
Speaker
Like they have in Arizona or what have you. um And maybe, maybe they even have it, you know, double-sided where put in grass for Sounders and turf for the Seahawks. If, although they wouldn't do that if they, the NFL PA wouldn't let them, I guess. But yeah.
00:42:24
Speaker
Maybe you have two grass surfaces, right? Maybe you have two trays, one for the Sounders, one for the Seahawks. And that pays for itself and in the you know reduced maintenance costs. I don't know. But i it just seems far-fetched to me um for for a lot of reasons.
00:42:39
Speaker
And I guess what the Bill brings up a fair question, which are what are the benefits? Like there's aesthetic benefits. The Sounders would like it. Yeah, there may be a you might be able to attract more high profile soccer games.
00:42:54
Speaker
But it probably doesn't, there's probably no way to justify it from a dollar and cents way. um There's no business justification for it. The justifications are entirely the athletes prefer it.
00:43:08
Speaker
And that's it. um And, you know, I mean, it's the argument against that is who cares? It's a publicly funded stadium um making first and goal as much money as possible should not be the aim. Right.
00:43:22
Speaker
And I agree with that, but too bad. Right. So, yeah, it's ah it is what it is. Be cool. It would be cool. It'd be really cool.
00:43:34
Speaker
Yeah. All right. This is from Aria. ah Silly, but no pyro during the national anthem anymore. Curious. Thanks.
00:43:46
Speaker
Yeah, I think that they have just kind of done away with Pyro generally, right? And they're just using drones and and LEDs and stuff. um that yeah that might Yeah, I think i I do. I suspect that the LED d thing is, I I guess there's no reason they couldn't do both.
00:44:01
Speaker
Yeah. But yeah, they they got they did a lot more LEDs this year. I don't know how expensive like i don't know if that's even a cost-cutting thing. like That might just be they may have made an aesthetic choice that they liked and stuff other than pyro. I don't know. Maybe they were getting a complaint. site I'm sure some people were relieved to have fireworks not going off. I'm curious if they do if they do it for the Hawks or not.
00:44:23
Speaker
But they they've done a lot of stuff presentation-wise. Yeah. If I remember correctly, all of the fireworks for the Hawks have been replaced by drones, I believe. Oh, really? Yeah. Well, I don't I could very well be wrong about that. If I am, please don't get mad at me.
00:44:39
Speaker
um But I know they were doing drone shows last year a lot. So, OK, interesting. Well, and that is me. That's way preferable to fireworks. Yeah, that's fair.
00:44:51
Speaker
I think the for the Sounders, they have seemingly done away with more of the presentation elements. like i know they I want to say they stopped supporting the March like during COVID and they never brought it back. I'm not 100% sure on that, but I feel like that that's true. like They never brought back the pregame rally, which is kind of a a shame.
00:45:15
Speaker
yeah And that is, i think that kind of speaks to sort of a thing we've harped on over the last year or so about there's just elements of the of the presentation that have just diminished. Whether you like the pyro in pregame or not, I think the reasonable minds can disagree.
00:45:34
Speaker
But there's just less there. There's less meat on that bone. And I think that's sort of made the whole event feel less like a big event. And i I remember saying ah few years ago like how great the Sounders
Team Changes & Fan Experience
00:45:49
Speaker
presentation felt. like Every game felt like a big game. They'd have these big you know the flags and do all this. like Some of which I could give her.
00:45:57
Speaker
I don't necessarily love every element, but just that they did all this stuff made it feel ah grandiose and big. Yeah, they they treated it like a big deal. and And yeah, it felt like ah this one's from the Joshua. If we get a replay and this is a great, ah great opportunity for us to talk about the oh the answer to this question, which ended up yeah being answered before before we got a chance to answer it.
00:46:21
Speaker
If we get a replacement for power, Paul Areola, would they get a short term replacement? I imagine we still want to keep Paul for next year. Yeah, I think they are looking at Paul as a as a keeper, you know, like the they keys signed for, I believe, at least two more years after this one.
00:46:40
Speaker
So I think whoever they bring it now, the the rumor is that they're talking to Ryan Kent, who is a player who I was not familiar with, admittedly, before this came across my desk.
00:46:51
Speaker
But. he's an interesting player. he you was very good for Rangers for a period. He went to Fenerbahce on a, on a free transfer, but he had basically, I think he, his last season at Rangers was cut short by a knee injury. And then he went to Fenerbahce and he,
00:47:10
Speaker
kind of fell out of favor with Jose Mourinho. And then he had to go through like a, he threatened, i believe like a ah court case to get out of his contract. Cause he was felt like he was sort of being held against his will in Turkey.
00:47:23
Speaker
And anyway, he's an interesting player. But my understanding, he's 28. My understanding is that the Sounders are only signing him to guarantee on a guaranteed deal through the end of this year. They're talking about, they haven't done anything, but they're talking about bringing him in just for this year, and then he'd have an option for next year. And i think that makes sense because they don't want to get overcommitted to you know a player who is ostensibly replacing someone who they expect to be back.
00:47:51
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah, makes sense. I mean, he's he's definitely...
00:47:57
Speaker
a like for like player, but also different enough. I think that's a, you don't feel like you're it's he's duplicative once. once or Yeah. yeah and He, he's a winger, like a real winger. Whereas earlier it was kind of more of a a wing back.
00:48:12
Speaker
But right i don't know. is it I looked at his highlights. His highlights look like he's the kind of player you can put together a really compelling highlight reel of because he's very dribbly. He has a lot of dynamic actions. He's a pretty good passer.
00:48:25
Speaker
He scored some cool goals. I don't I've never watched him play 90 minutes, so I'm not going to sit here and and say I know a lot about him. But like I watched a highlight reel just of his game against Dortmund and Champions League, and he was like tearing them up.
00:48:40
Speaker
Yeah. He, I mean, he's definitely a player who was exceptionally talented, who for whatever reason just didn't live up to that potential. um It happens a lot.
00:48:52
Speaker
And, you know, sometimes those guys just lose it completely and then they can't stick anywhere. And sometimes they just lost a little bit of it and, and they, you know, can be really effective players in a league like MLS. So I, I don't,
00:49:10
Speaker
I think the potential upside is like a guy like Johnny Russell, right? Who could be a cornerstone piece on a really good attacking team. I don't think that's the most likely outcome necessarily, but um to me, this is an exciting signing for the kind of signing it is right. Like it's a guy who's all upside who I think it's pretty reasonable to expect is going to be able to at the very least eat some minutes and give you decent performance.
00:49:37
Speaker
and And has some real, real attractive potential. if If, you know, he's he's a good cultural fit. And if it was really just down to him not being comfortable ah in Turkey.
00:49:49
Speaker
So I'm i'm all for it. I hope it gets over the line. Yeah, I will say if you compare him, he's a similar age to Johnny Russell. Johnny Russell was 27 when he came to MLS. He was coming from Darby County, who was in the championship.
00:50:05
Speaker
And Russell had put up some decent seasons, not necessarily great seasons. He was, you know, two years removed at that point from his last really good season.
00:50:17
Speaker
and You know, he I would say he can be that's a good comparison, actually. this is ah I would say he has us so a broadly similar profile. And Russell had a lot of really good years in MLS, like whether or not you liked him personally. like I was not the biggest fan of his necessarily, but he yeah he he put up numbers.
00:50:40
Speaker
Certainly he yeah killed the Sounders a few times. Yeah, he did he definitely did. And, you know, I mean, obviously it's been a while since he was that player that he was in, you know, that 10 goal season for, for Rangers.
00:50:54
Speaker
um But, you know, I mean, the rain Rangers are a weird club. I think going from Scotland to Turkey, Turkey is ah could be a challenging move for sure. And especially when you're playing for Jose Mourinho.
00:51:10
Speaker
So, um, Yeah, i I think it would be about as exciting as a, oh, God, one of our key players just got hurt. Let's go find somebody to sign. and think this is about as exciting as one of those signings could be.
00:51:22
Speaker
Right. Yeah. I mean, I think that's the thing is that people have to sort just accept that he was a sort of different.
00:51:34
Speaker
like This is not this is not the player that they're. signing to be the permanent like this this is not a a traditional uh big time signing like that's not what this is supposed to be right no this is someone who we need a guy right exactly and you know what they needed a guy last year and they didn't go get him so that's an improvement big time right uh yeah if they can if they can actually get him signed right Yeah.
00:52:06
Speaker
All right. ah This is from
00:52:11
Speaker
ben W. Zero, zero, zero one.
Squad Evaluation & Historical Impact
00:52:15
Speaker
Are the tactics and a squad right for each other? I think the tactics and the squad when the squad is.
00:52:25
Speaker
Close to full strength are ah great fit for each other. love the way that they were playing earlier in the year. And unfortunately, in MLS, they're that's kind of the best you can do, right? You you can say, this is how we're going to play.
00:52:38
Speaker
And if guys get hurt um now, obviously, if key players get hurt and they're out for the whole year, yeah, you're probably going to need to change things. Or if, you know, your star designated player striker completely falls off a cliff, you you might need to to change up your tactics. But I think that, um you know,
00:53:00
Speaker
Jordan and and Pedro are going to be out a few more weeks. I think you said earlier today, two in Pedro's case and three in Jordan's case um before, you know, before they're back. So I think it makes sense to largely keep things the same, try to do as best as you can to to keep the tactics, tactical approach ah the same and tell those guys are back with, you know, some tweaks here or there, obviously.
00:53:23
Speaker
um Because I do think that the way they were playing against LAFC against Charlotte, even though they only got a point out of that game, um was a great fit for the players. Yeah. I think that's one thing I would like to not lose sight of is that if assuming Jordan and Pedro can come back in relatively short order when that seems to be the indication this team should be in decent shape like they are not too far off I guess like we've we've seen them beat LAFC you know two weeks ago.
00:53:57
Speaker
yeah So it's not, it's not that long ago that they've, they've looked good. um Yeah. But ah go ahead. Yeah. Next one is from Ian Mitchell. How are the locker room vibes right now?
00:54:11
Speaker
You know, I think they're okay. I, I think this is a locker. Even last year, as bad as things got players seem to be sticking together. Like there was this sort of a notorious locker room or players only meeting. But I think that even then this was a sign of players who did believe in each other and had each other's back and, and sort of saw each other as, as pushing in the same direction.
00:54:40
Speaker
But, you know, it was a I think it's still like i don't I don't get any sign. I've seen no sign at all, frankly, that the vibes are bad in the locker room.
00:54:55
Speaker
That's encouraging. ah All right. This is from Coffee IPA Beards 206.
00:55:02
Speaker
Uh, can you give an analysis of Masofsky's performance this season and how you see him being utilized during and after the injury period? you see him getting a lot of playing time when Jordan returns, if he is playing exceptionally well?
00:55:16
Speaker
Uh, I think he's been fine. Um, you know, he's, he's not going to score a ton of goals, but I think the things he's been asked to do, um fill certain spaces, um you know be a physical presence up top, win duels, provide some hold-up play. he's He's been pretty good at it. I don't have any real complaints.
00:55:40
Speaker
um The thing about Masovsky that he is a third-choice striker who has gotten a lot of second-choice striker minutes last few years. And um I think...
00:55:57
Speaker
Last year, i don't really think you could fault the roster construction too much because i think people expect a grow old to be a little better than he was. He clearly lost a step, but he he didn't show any signs and in 2023 of being ah total black hole like he was in 2024.
00:56:17
Speaker
um And so can't fault the roster construction too much this year. i mean, if Jesus can't, be that guy that can be a reliable second choice striker, i think that's, then it is fair to criticize the roster construction because you kind of knew what you had in Masovsky.
00:56:36
Speaker
And i think it was pretty clear that wasn't good enough to be your second choice striker. You know, all the best sounders teams have had reliable goal scorers that they could count on that weren't the starters.
00:56:47
Speaker
Kenny Cooper, Chad Barrett, Wilbur, and, yeah you know, all guys that, know, uh could provide you something off the bench and they just don't have that right now and i think if you know his performance continues to kind of be where it is and jesus doesn't click as is that second striker i think that's a clear opportunity to upgrade um you know in the in the second the the uh summer window so ah If he's playing exceptionally well at some point, if he starts playing exceptionally well sometime in the next two, three weeks, um you know I think that that is great. And it maybe Brian trusts him to give him some more minutes to see if he can keep that up. I just think that's a pretty big if. I think we kind of know what Danny Musavsky is, which is a perfectly serviceable third choice striker.
00:57:35
Speaker
Yeah, and I understand the frustration because it would be nice if the Sounders were getting more production out of that spot. And it feels like he is sort of doing the same thing that Eber did in 2023.
00:57:49
Speaker
three And so i I get it, but i'm I'm with you. I feel like you sort of have to remind yourself this is the third choice player here Yeah.
00:58:00
Speaker
maybe they could have tried to upgrade that position and maybe they did. i don't know. I don't want to be surprised if they did try to upgrade it, but $350,000 that, you know, striker is like, you're getting kind of what you pay for. There's just not a lot of sure things at that level.
00:58:18
Speaker
I guess you could argue, go out and get Kai Kamara. uh sure who's currently out of contract but you know i don't know it's it's a tough one uh but if he i guess the question this person actually seemed to be spinning it positively and saying like well what if he is playing well how much should we expect him to play once everyone's healthy and i don't know and probably not a lot frankly yeah like I mean, if he goes nuts in the next couple of weeks and he is finishing all of his chances and and just looks like a different player, maybe that means Brian is a little more comfortable pulling Jordan at 75 minutes and giving him you know giving him a rest. Or maybe he feels more comfortable rotating, although there's really not any need to rotate until the League's Cup.
00:59:05
Speaker
But he's not going to be starting, i don't think. Yeah, no, I don't think there's not a world where the Sounders are shoehorning him into the starting lineup. Like they're not going to go to a 3-5-2 so they can get Jordan in and Misofsky on the field together, I guess, is sort of yeah like that's the question.
00:59:27
Speaker
All right. Last one is from Dorcas. ah Jordan has fought his way onto the MLS Sounders Mount Rushmore. Is there any way Christian can knock off anyone from up there and take a place himself? And I'm going to expand on this and say, what is your Sounders? Not Mount Rushmore, because I don't like the Mount Rushmore framing.
00:59:46
Speaker
ah So we'll go with your four pillars of heaven. And I'm not going to explain what that is. The one person that is listening to this that knows what that is, is having a great time right now. um But yeah, but who who are your four guys in Sounders history?
01:00:02
Speaker
Well, I'm going to stick with MLS era only. And frankly, I think that probably is what it should be. Like, I think if we're being honest, like the best era of the Sounders is the MLS era.
01:00:14
Speaker
So it's Steph Fry's got to be on there, right? Yeah, man, I guess so. I mean, he's like started 60% of their games. so He's going to be on there.
01:00:31
Speaker
I don't does he maybe he doesn't get Nico Ladero. Nico Ladero has to be on there, right? Yeah. Nico and stuff have to be on there. Right. Nico and stuff have to be on there.
01:00:42
Speaker
Jordan, I think i jordan it's Jordan or Raul or maybe Jordan and Raul.
01:00:50
Speaker
Maybe, maybe. i mean, i think, I think I can, I'm okay with putting them both over there over Clint. I think I'm oh both. Yeah. Because Clinton wasn't here that long. Oh, but definitely wasn't here long enough. Freddie.
01:01:06
Speaker
i don't, I think they were better than Freddie. Yeah. Maybe. So i think, so it's like, I think the the last two of these three probably need to be on there. Ozzy, Raul and Jordan. And,
01:01:19
Speaker
I would put Christian over Ozzie. Okay. So I would i guess that's, he was ah great player in the period of the Sounders history where they really didn't ever have a great team.
01:01:33
Speaker
Yeah, well, I think you could probably argue. So like, i think a good way of looking at this is that you want players representing different things of those four. So I think it's probably a competition between Raul and Jordan, frankly, and a competition between Christian and Ozzy.
01:01:50
Speaker
ah So yeah if you look at it that way, i think you got to, he's got to do something to push him past Ozzy. And maybe you already, if you already, if you're convinced of that, maybe he's already on your Mount Rushmore. I don't know.
01:02:05
Speaker
I mean, i think Christian at his peak is a better player than Ozzy at his peak, just in an absolute sense, right? not I think Ozzy was more important to the Sounders when he was at his peak than Christian was.
01:02:19
Speaker
But I think Christian's a better player. And Ozzy won the the four Open Cups. ah He won the supporter the the Shield.
01:02:30
Speaker
He won the 2016 last Cup. um Christian ah didn't win the Shield, ah hasn't won an Open Cup, but has won everything else with the team.
01:02:44
Speaker
i think it's i think it's close, man i I would not blame anyone for saying it's clearly Ozzy, but I i think it's close.
01:02:54
Speaker
I really do. I mean, I think it's an interesting company that we could probably do a whole show. Yeah. And I think Jordan and Raul is, is, is interesting too. I mean, Jordan is all time leading goal scorer and that, that has to count for something.
01:03:07
Speaker
yeah, but He's had a lot more time to do it. He's had his ups and downs, but he's a homegrown guy. He's still got you know several good seasons ahead of him. You kind of almost have to have a you got to have at least one local guy, right?
01:03:23
Speaker
You do. you do. I don't know. It depends on how you want to put together your, I think it's an interesting conversation. It is. is. I mean, I think the peak role years are clearly better than peak Morris years, but the peak role years aren't that, there's not that many of them. That's the thing is that he was really good. Like 2019 was really the only year that he was here all year. Right.
01:03:48
Speaker
i guess you could say he was here all year during COVID, but. You know, Raul, like, here let me just put this three. 2019 was the only season that he played. ah Whoops.
01:04:06
Speaker
No. OK, so in 2009, he only played 22. He only made playing 22 games in 2019. His highest, the most he ever played for the Sounders was. 26 games in 2021.
01:04:20
Speaker
he had 17 goals yet that year. So that was his best production year. He didn't have any assists. Like any, he also had a few, let's see how many panels did he have that year?
01:04:34
Speaker
He had, he had five penalties that year. Yeah. Or four, sorry, four penalties. So, I don't know. I think roleland the thing with Raul is that so many of his best years were his best performances. He came up in the best. like He had so many big game performances and in the playoffs. and you know He scored a championship. He scored some some big goals in playoffs as well, but clearly He has. I'm just saying that that's that I think sometimes we ah conflate
01:05:09
Speaker
peak Raul with like 20 goal scorer. And he never even came really that close to scoring 20. No. And I mean, we, we definitely had conversations on this show about how streaky Raul was. Yeah.
01:05:23
Speaker
yeah i mean, it was, you know, it was something people complained about. I think that the, really the, the arguments are between Jordan and Raul and Christian and Ozzie. I think there are really good arguments for both of them.
01:05:36
Speaker
I'm going Jordan and Christian just because I think they were around for more of what I consider the best years of the team. I think the 2019 MLS Cup was a ah more impressive season.
01:05:51
Speaker
I think obviously the Champions League win was the peak. um So that's why I put Christian above Ozzy.
01:06:02
Speaker
And I just like Jordan more than I like Raul. I mean, it's really sometimes it is that simple, right? Like I just I love Raul. Raul is one of my all time favorite Sounders, but Jordan is my all time favorite Sounder. And I think that that and has to account for something. So.
01:06:15
Speaker
All right. You know, so guess who played played more games for the Sounders between Ozzy and Christian? Well, Christian. Yeah, I didn't know. They just honored him at the on so on Saturday. I'm having the most games. I wasn't oville I wasn't paying.
01:06:31
Speaker
I wasn't paying that much attention to that game. I was I was hosting a dinner party. You're right. But yeah, i that's an interesting it is an interesting little tidbit. It's going to count for something. It does have to count for something. I think it's it's I think Christian's in the conversation. I think that's what we can say.
01:06:47
Speaker
Three times as many more than three times as many goals to all those. I mean, he's a more balanced player for sure.
01:06:55
Speaker
What's funny is I think if you would ask this question in 2015, like Brad Evans would have been on there. Oh, yeah. I mean, it's interesting. I think the other thing that is interesting about this conversation is I think you are invariably there's a lot of recency bias or you're. Yeah, I'm I think these conversations always have some recency bias.
01:07:13
Speaker
um But I think what's tough is that the Sounders are. The nature of MLS is that the league is is getting better. And so the best players now are usually better than the best players in the previous era.
01:07:26
Speaker
And for the Sounders who have been consistently competitive all this time, that's especially true. So you can say like, oh, well, Mauro Roussalt at his peak was better than Nico Lederro.
01:07:39
Speaker
People aren't really saying that. But ah I think that those are... You know, it's tough to compare Eddie Johnson to Raul Rui Diaz, even if.
01:07:54
Speaker
Oh, well, I guess maybe these aren't like like the Sounders had some really great seasons before the Nicoladero era. But it's like i feel like the Nicoladero era really defines what the Sounders are now.
01:08:07
Speaker
Like and so it's maybe not it shouldn't maybe it's not unfair to have. everyone on the team on this mount, on this four pillars or whatever we're calling it, ah be relatively recent players.
01:08:21
Speaker
Yeah. I mean, I don't know. it' i think it's really, it is an exercise in what is the most important thing to you. And I mean, for me, like ah there are so many people who the 2014,
01:08:33
Speaker
Sounders were the peak of their fandom and their answers are going to be a lot different than, than I think. But I i mean, i think one of the realities is that that team just wasn't together very long. And so none of them, like their best players just not like Dempsey was the longest tenure was a cent. Well, I guess Fry is still from that era, but of the, when we think of that team, we think of Oba and Clint and Oba and Clint only played something like 45 games together or something like that.
01:09:01
Speaker
ah it's kind of crazy. like they They were sort of just a ah flash in the Sounders history, but we remember them very fondly, I think in part because it was such a short thing. And it was cut off earlier than we were ready for it to be cut off.
01:09:17
Speaker
And that's kind of that plays into it all as well. Whereas Jordan's been around forever. Christian's been around forever. And so we have... mixed emotions about them because of, because of that, but that's no, that's fair.
01:09:31
Speaker
It's totally fair. Anyway, ah this is good one. Good mailbag. ah Thank you to everyone who's listening.
Website Updates & Accessibility
01:09:37
Speaker
i did want to share a little bit of, uh, sort of,
01:09:43
Speaker
housekeeping with stuff that's going on Sounder at Heart. We recently, as you may or may not, if you're a paid subscriber, you probably haven't noticed any of this stuff because it doesn't really affect you. But if you aren't a paid subscriber, you've probably noticed a few maybe annoyances, things like we've ah we've we've installed some systems that have created like a metering of how many stories you can read for free.
01:10:05
Speaker
We're still trying to figure out what the right number for that is. ah We are also giving more prompts to become a paid subscriber. We're giving more prompts to become a free subscriber.
01:10:17
Speaker
There's just more stuff. So hopefully you find this to be not too annoying and it's you understand that it's for the purpose of just trying to keep Sounder Heart growing and and moving in the right direction. And I think we keep trying to add new features to the site.
01:10:34
Speaker
you know we I've started doing more videos. We are doing a ton of more podcast content, which I get comments on all the time, ah both obviously from us, but also from Lobbing Scorchers.
01:10:46
Speaker
and And Nico Moreno has been showing up all the time. So we're doing all this new stuff. And in order to make this new stuff happen, we need to keep bringing in new subscribers. ah We have a new partnership, a new so ah sponsor that we're going to be rolling out next month.
01:11:02
Speaker
And hopefully people find that to be not, you know, ah it's someone that Aaron has used in his ah his own life. We won't get into that all right now. I went i went this morning. I went you went this morning. Oh, you we're going to have to lean into your. Oh,
01:11:20
Speaker
into your testimonials on these things. But anyway, we I'm just telling people we're we're going, we're trying to figure things out. If you have feedback for us, please do share it. We want to hear what is working for you. What's not working for you.
01:11:33
Speaker
We want the site to be accessible, but we also want it to be sustainable. So we're trying to find the right balance. um Thank you. Of course, to our longtime sponsor, full pool wines. If you haven't bought wine from full pool lately, I would suggest doing it That's always helpful.
01:11:51
Speaker
ah But we're we're probably also going to start putting some more ah programmatic ads into this podcast, which will which will not be on the the unified feed. So if you're a subscriber and you want to listen to a version of this that has less ads, you can always go to that other feed.
01:12:13
Speaker
But anyway, i guess that that's ah that's my spiel, Aaron. Got anything you want to add? No, I think you did great. All right. Well, ah thanks, of course, to Aaron, my co-host. Thanks to Lickit, our producer.
01:12:27
Speaker
Thanks to you, our subscribers, and and everyone else that is listening. I am Jeremiah O'Shan. This is Nos Adietes, and we'll catch you next time.
01:13:14
Speaker
I expect the LAFC who's motivated ah to prove themselves at home, to prove to their fans that that they're capable of winning in this league. And it's up to us to really ruin the party.
01:13:27
Speaker
You guys like that? and a what Awkward joke, dad joke right there, huh?