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Nos Audietis, Episode 246: Harry Shipp and season preview
67 Plays8 years ago
We're now just a days away from the Seattle Sounders' first game as defending MLS Cup champions. Has a pretty nice ring to it, right?
Well, we figured we better get the band together for a season preview, inviting Richard Farley onto the show to give us another perspective on the Sounders as well as the rest of the competition.
We all seemed to agree that FC Dallas and Toronto FC are probably the biggest threats to unseating the Sounders. We've also decided that if the Portland Timbers can't put it together with the squad they assembled that the guy who deserves the blame is almost certainly Caleb Porter.
In between the Sounders and MLS segments, we sit down with Harry Shipp. Suffice it to say, you're probably going to end up rooting for him after listening to this interview. Shipp talked extensively about how he never felt his head was right in Montreal and was generally quite introspective. This is a player who seems to have a coaching career in his future.
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Transcript
Sponsor Introduction and Episode Kickoff
00:00:00
Speaker
This episode of Nos Adietes is sponsored by Designers Marble. Designers Marble is the premier custom cultured marble manufacturer in the Pacific Northwest. Their synthetic marble products, made with patented true stone technology, offer the beautiful look of natural stone at a fraction of the cost, while maintaining exceptional durability and ease of maintenance.
00:00:23
Speaker
Their products have been used in beautiful furniture, custom countertops, and stunning shower enclosures. Designers Marvel is also a licensed general contractor that has over 30 years of experience in bathroom design and remodels. Give them a call, visit their website at designersmarble.com, or stop by their showroom in Woodinville. They would love to give you a free estimate for your project, large or small. Like it's a long story, but we came up with this thing you'll never yacht alone. And so we were very excited that there was a hairy ship.
00:01:12
Speaker
The bluest skies you've ever seen are in Seattle
00:01:19
Speaker
And the hills the greenest green in Seattle Like a beautiful child growing up
Sounders' Preseason and Early Season Challenges
00:01:33
Speaker
Welcome back to another edition of Nos Adietes, sponsored by Full Pool Wines, Consolation & Company, Queen Anne Acupuncture, Verity Credit Union, and our newest sponsor, Designers Marble. This is episode 246, I'm recording on Wednesday, March 1st, 2017. I'm your host, Jeremiah O'Shan, I'm joined by my co-host, Erin Campo, and her engineer, Lickett. Also joining us is Richard Farley, who's back after his starring performance at Yacht-Con. Later in the show, we'll have an interview with Harry Ship,
00:02:01
Speaker
So, we're just a couple days away from the start of the 2017 season. The Sounders will play the Houston Dynamo on Saturday in their first match as defending MLS Cup champions. Feels pretty good to say that. That said, the Sounders did not exactly light the world on fire during their preseason matches.
00:02:21
Speaker
They only scored more than one goal in one game, and that came after they were down 4-0. But they did get through preseason without too many problems. That said, Aaron, going into this early part of the season, what's your biggest question mark facing the Sounders?
00:02:39
Speaker
I think the biggest question mark is, you know, how the first month or two of the season is going to shake out. I mean, I think that, you know, it's kind of tough to get a real clear read on things from the preseason, I think, just because, you know, the Sounders were missing. Jordan Morris, Clint Dempsey is starting to, you know, is getting back into game shape, I guess. And it's just, it's always tricky to know how things are going to go from preseason.
00:03:09
Speaker
But, you know, I think there are some real concerns in terms of, you know, Brad Evans being injured.
00:03:15
Speaker
how, you know, what shape the Sounders are going to play, whether Will Bruin starts or Harry Shipp starts or Ralph Rofrenanda starts, just, you know, there's some question marks there. And Garth Lagerwey has talked about, you know, wanting to give Jordan Morris a little bit of a break and wanting to maybe give some of the veterans a break a little earlier than you might expect.
Sounders' Squad Depth and Transfer Considerations
00:03:38
Speaker
Clint Dempsey is probably not going to be 90 minutes fit right off the bat.
00:03:42
Speaker
So, I mean, I think that that's the crucial thing, is how the Sounders can deal with that. They had some, you know, they had a rocky start last year, obviously, and there were a different set of circumstances, but some kind of similarities as well. And they didn't deal very well with that adversity. So, you know, are they more well prepared to deal with that? That's a key question.
00:04:07
Speaker
I think it's good to try to find out now because there's another transfer window. There's still quite a bit of time in the current window, the primary window as well, if they need to make some moves in the leak to strengthen things up. But it's going to be interesting. It's going to be interesting to see whether the areas of concern in terms of the depth prove to be
00:04:31
Speaker
realistic early on in the season. I certainly hope they won't, but I mean I have my concerns and I think we're probably going to get into that in a little bit more detail later.
00:04:41
Speaker
I'm not expecting them to come out of the gate going 100%. I think it could be a rough month or so to start the season. And so how well they're able to grind while they're still trying to gel, while guys are getting a little bit more rest than you would expect since the offseason has been so short.
Attacking Potential and Player Dynamics
00:05:01
Speaker
And while people are trying to get healthy, I think that's going to be the biggest thing. So Richard, one of the areas, I think,
00:05:11
Speaker
Aaron brought up here is the ability for Clint Dempsey, Nicholas Ledero, and Jordan Morris to kind of pick up where they left off last year. Those four games that they played together last year, I know it's easy sometimes to forget this because of the amazing run the Sounders went on, but the Sounders actually looked better in those four games than they probably had at
00:05:31
Speaker
at any point in the season before or after. They went 3-0-1 in those games. They scored nine goals and they took something like 65 shots and they were just goal dangers in ways that they hadn't been and frankly they weren't really in the same way after. We didn't see much of that in the preseason. Is that something that you look at and you think
00:05:54
Speaker
Oh, maybe that was just a flash in the pan or is that something that you think that other teams look at as maybe being scared of what the Sounders are going to do? I think other teams are definitely scared of the Sounders. I don't know if it goes back to those games because I don't think a lot of other teams remember just how impressive they were in that road game in Orlando, which to me was the best Seattle performance last year.
00:06:16
Speaker
But they just look at the names and they know, they know those players are good. And they're not like, I guess me, whereas I look at what's, you know, the team and kind of go, you know, they had that stretch that you just alluded to, but that was like the only time last year Clint Dempsey was good.
00:06:35
Speaker
Uh, so you can look at it and say, well, with Nico and everybody healthy and Ziggy gone and the tactics in place, he's more likely to play like that than he is at the beginning. He did at the beginning of the year, Clint's always been streaky since coming to Seattle. And this is just the, the Clint that you have at this age, right? And, you know, I think at some point he's going to be 90 minutes fit and he's going to be in there.
00:06:57
Speaker
But the Clint that we saw in those four games and the chemistry that we saw That would be unrealistic to expect from any team in any combination of players in this league the question is really where it settles in between The level that we saw for the rest of the year for Seattle that had kind of a decent offense and really the defense was amazing to Between that and what we saw in that stretch. I think you know, I think it's gonna be
Speculation on Keisuke Honda Joining Sounders
00:07:24
Speaker
a really good attack. I think it's going to be a better attack than we certainly saw before Niko's arrival, but not quite as good as we saw during that awesome stretch.
00:07:33
Speaker
So we talk about those three guys, and then the sounders are also, there's these rumors of Keisuke Honda coming to the sounders. I know Aaron, I'm guessing Aaron is not super high on this move. I don't know how you feel about it, Richard. But what, I don't know, do you feel like this is a player that adds to what the sounders have, or is he
00:07:57
Speaker
You know does he potentially is this a situation where you know I I kind of wonder if it's a situation kind of like when they got Clint Dempsey where
00:08:05
Speaker
They didn't need a Clint Dempsey at the time, but they felt like if you can get Clint Dempsey, you have to take that opportunity and you figure it out later. But it seems like to me that Honda has a lot of redundant skills, even though it doesn't look like he's going to be here in this transfer window, AC Milan's ownership situation looks like it's going to be enough of a mess to keep that from happening.
00:08:29
Speaker
But do you think that that's a, I'll start with you, Richard, do you think that's a move that the Sounders should be looking to make? Yeah, I think so. I have my questions about where he fits in, given how the Sounders personnel already sets up. I mean, you would assume they would bring him in with the idea that Jordan Morris is going to be the lead attacker with some combination of Honda, Lodero and Dempsey behind them. And I just can't figure out the positioning of those three guys where it really works.
00:08:57
Speaker
And maybe it'll be the type of thing that they've talked about before where Dempsey essentially kind of, even though he's playing as an attacking midfielder, he's really like more withdrawn forward and then Nico drops in to fill the space to connect to the rest of the midfield. And if that happens, that actually creates a lot of room for Honda to potentially be effective in a lot of different ways.
00:09:15
Speaker
But then in the defensive phase of the game, I'm not so sure I've ever seen Honda be effective in that kind of role. And the idea of him having to track full backs conceivably or basically sail into the wide midfielder role you would have in the way that Brian Schmetzer was playing at the end of last season, even going back to his time with Seska, where I think that's when he was really at his best when he was playing in Russia. And he really broke through with the Japanese national team kind of playing as the second striker in attack.
00:09:43
Speaker
He's not going to be doing those things for Seattle, you would think. Aaron, what do you think? I know you, the reaction that you had at least in our conversation was, if you're going to go get Hondo, why don't you go get, I don't want to put any words in your mouth. Yeah.
00:10:01
Speaker
I know where you're going and it's why would you go and get Honda when you could have gotten Montero? I mean, I was just pissed off. So, you know, I mean, I don't know if that's completely fair. I do agree with Richard that I think that one of the more baffling things about it is that Honda is at his best when he's playing the role Clint Dempsey is playing. That's sort of a second striker kind of role. And he's not going to be doing that this year.
00:10:29
Speaker
And secondarily, it seems like his next best position is the position that Lidero is basically playing, which is cutting in from the right. And I think that Honda makes the Sounders a better team if they sign him, right? I think that's clear. I think he's a really good player. I think that he would be in the top 10-15% of MLS players, I think it's probably fair to say.
00:10:54
Speaker
But with that being said, I mean, there's a huge opportunity cost that goes along with signing a DP, you know, that you've got three of those slots that you can use on high caliber players. And I'm just not convinced that Honda is, that it's worth it really. His upside?
00:11:15
Speaker
is he's one of the best players in the league. And he can kind of slide into the position Dempsey is feeling after Dempsey moves on, which may or may not happen after this season. And they've kind of got the guy that they can build around him in Ledero for the foreseeable future. The downside is that the player he has been at Milan is just the player he is now, and that he's an impactful player, but he's not
00:11:45
Speaker
he's not what the Sounders want to get out of their designated players slots. And that's a huge lost opportunity if that's the case. If he were 25, 26, 27 even, if he were in a similar position to Lodero, let's say, where he went to Europe, wasn't fantastic, and was playing really well in a lower league than he had been in,
00:12:13
Speaker
okay, that's one thing. Or even if he hadn't left Europe and was rotting on the bench in Milan, but he was 27 years old, I think the upside is worth it for a lot of reasons that I think are pretty obvious. At 30, there's just a chance that he's regressed quite a bit and that he's just not the player that he once was and that he's not gonna get back to that level and that he might continue regressing and maybe even more quickly.
Future of Clint Dempsey and Sounders' Strategic Moves
00:12:42
Speaker
You know, it's one of those things where if the Sounders came out tomorrow and said they were exciting or they were signing Honda, I would get excited about it because at that point it's done and hope that it works out for the best. I will say that I think it makes a lot more sense to sign him now if you can do that than bringing him in in the middle of the year because at that point
00:13:05
Speaker
you know, there aren't a ton of great game-changing players available right now. And if the sounders feel like they need to make an addition in this window, which would kind of break with what we've seen from them so far, but, you know, just let's just, you know, assume that that's the case. Okay, I get it because, you know, they feel like they need to make an addition and he's available now.
00:13:28
Speaker
But if they're signing them in the summer, the caliber of players that are available, it's just much higher. And I'd like to think, okay, they're not going to go out and pay huge transfer fees for every designated player that they sign.
00:13:43
Speaker
I'd like to think that they could get a better caliber of player, maybe one that brings a dimension that the Sounders don't currently have. If they're signing a winger, I'd really like to see them sign a more classic winger that can play two ways, that can give you a little bit more of a direct threat, maybe somebody with a little more speed than they currently have in the attacking band.
00:14:05
Speaker
I don't know I mean it's you know I don't want to pee in anybody's cornflakes I know that a lot of people really like like Honda as a player and you know he's certainly a good player I don't want to sound like I'm I'm trashing him and saying it's an awful move it's just it would be pretty underwhelming I think do they like for me do they like Honda or do they just like the idea of getting a kazooka Honda that's the thing is that I feel like
00:14:32
Speaker
three years ago, that would be a more realistic scenario. But I think in everything that Garth has said about the way they want to do things, I mean, that's kind of the opposite, right? I mean, the interview, Richard, that you did with him for 442, I mean, he said that pretty clearly. We don't have to assign players like that. So it would kind of seem like a pretty major break from the strategy that they want to go with.
00:14:59
Speaker
You know, to me, it would almost make me question how much control Garth really has because it's if that were their rationale because it's so drastically different than the vision that he sort of laid out. Well, there is it does. I was going to say there's one scenario to me where it does make sense that this would happen. And it also makes sense why they wouldn't publicly talk about this the same way that
00:15:21
Speaker
they talked about the plans that Aaron, you just alluded to where, you know, Garth has been pretty open about not only what he thinks the team needs, but when he feels like is the best chance to get them and where he thinks the best opportunities to get these people are from. I mean, he has said that Latin America is more value for our money. That's why we spend more time looking down there. Those players adapt better, et cetera, et cetera. But, you know, going back to what we said about Kaisuke Honda's best position is probably what Clint Dempsey plays.
00:15:49
Speaker
This move only makes sense if you are hyper insecure about Clint Dempsey's future. And you feel like the person that you want to bring in for that role is somebody that you want to have a high level of security regarding
00:16:04
Speaker
What they're going to be able to produce and maybe they feel that way about Honda Maybe they feel like his resume and what the connections he would make and how they want to play it cetera Means that he's far more likely to be successful coming into Seattle than somebody they would get from Latin America's and while it would create a short-term pinch Over a few months to have Kaisuke Honda playing wide to in maybe they feel like they can make it work and maybe they feel in the long term They need to get another
00:16:31
Speaker
high probability success veteran designated player because one of their high probability of success veteran designated players right now, it just has too many questions for them to feel comfortable with. And again, I don't think that's something that you're going to see Garth log away and the rest of management be as open about as they would be the last designated player chase that they went through.
00:16:54
Speaker
Yeah, I also kind of wonder if there's part of that is is they know like Clint's smart enough that he's gonna see The sounders going after Honda and you I almost kind of and you've and I hadn't thought about this before But I I took sure if there's a part of this that it's like trying to light a thunder fire under Clint and not that he's needed it this preseason I mean he's looked great this preseason and I and I say that as someone who was ready to be pretty skeptical of how long it was gonna take him to get back and but I think that
00:17:24
Speaker
You know, when you've seen him out at training, he's been a good guy out at training. He's just looked really sharp. So I don't know that they necessarily needed to light a fire on them. But at the same time, there's part of me that's now wondering if they kind of want him to see the sound. They want to see them going after...
00:17:42
Speaker
Kaisuka Honda, they want him to and he knows that well this guy doesn't he kind of play the same position I do and so I don't know maybe they because I know that it's been kind of this ongoing thing like they want Clint to like play a little bit more defense and be a little bit more of an on you like kind of for lack of a better term a bit more honest player and I wonder if that's maybe part of it just to kind of let him know that you know he he's not the one driving the bus essentially and
00:18:10
Speaker
Is that too Machiavellian? No, I don't think it is, too. And also, if we go back to just the idea, you know, Clint has had these incredible highs and then also these periods of a lack of production during his whole time, not only in Seattle, like going back to his last couple years in the Premier League, too. So if you're looking at this from the point of view, you know, come the summer transfer window.
00:18:28
Speaker
Clint is either gonna have fit in with our team and we can go out and get that winger that Everybody knows that we want and we can go try to find the next the second coming of Steve Zakuwani or Fabian Castillo Or we need to have a backup plan in place because if Clint is not hasn't clicked by then We have to start planning for a future where he's not gonna click because it's not even about oh is Clint gonna be like early 2016 Clint where you know he wasn't that good at the beginning and then it kind of seemed like he wasn't really vibing with how Siggy wanted to play him and Essentially, I mean, I'll just say it seemed like he just tuned out
00:18:59
Speaker
Well, they need to plan for a scenario where that key position that they're building their whole structure, their whole style, their whole roster, as far as its actual money management around, they need to have a backup plan for it because they just can't sit there and have that be an unproductive spot.
00:19:16
Speaker
So, you know, maybe that's the case or, you know, maybe Seattle is just smart enough to play up these rumors as much as possible, knowing that it's a nice little smokescreen for the next time Chris Henderson tweets a picture from Columbia or Ecuador.
00:19:33
Speaker
So the other the other element and not to spend too much time on this Honda situation But the other element and I think you guys both kind of alluded to it is this Idea that not only is is Honda whatever kind of player he may be but there's also this kind of this
Market Benefits and Media Attention of Signing Japanese Players
00:19:48
Speaker
X factor of what it can do to open you up to other markets and the sounders have have said and I think that they're correct and and
00:19:57
Speaker
saying that they don't need to sign guys just for their name recognition, but I do wonder if there's an element of that, that if there's an element that this is a guy who, while I don't think he's gonna draw anything like Ichiro media attention, it could draw, it could get a lot of attention of Asian media, specifically Japanese media. I mean, I don't know, do you think that's even really a significant part of it, or is that something that's really
00:20:26
Speaker
Like on the periphery. They certainly seem happy with the attention that Clint's got them since he came in. And while that's obviously a different situation, it shows that they're conscious of the fact that players bring value beyond the field. And I don't think anybody would really debate the positive effects of having a prominent Japanese star on your team.
00:20:49
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, I guess that's probably a good way. But you think it's a bonus, not necessarily, I don't know, do you think it is a bonus or is it something that's like an active part of their thinking of why do we want this guy? The first question that popped to mind to me is if they decided that they wanted to just have a Japanese player for those effects, would Kaisuke Honda be the name that came up for them? And I'm not sure that it would.
00:21:17
Speaker
Well, it might not be the guy at the top of the list, but I think that they it looks like they went after this, uh, kyotake. They, oh, that's true. I don't know how many about that. Um, that I guess rumor is that it seems like it was stronger than a rumor, right?
00:21:33
Speaker
Yeah, I mean they had given I mean at one point Garth actually went on the record and said that that was a player that they looked at now Were they continuing to look at him during this last little saga? That's never been a hundred percent confirmed But I think we can draw some conclusions that if they were I mean, I don't know maybe they weren't you know and that's all that's actually something I was really curious about is I think I was the first
00:21:56
Speaker
person to write about the sounder like it came up that this player might be available and then I said well the sounders had expressed interest before and then all of a sudden all the reports were saying like the sounders were one of the teams interested but I never there was never anything like a source that was saying specifically the sounders well I guess that's not true there were claims that the sounders had offered him a contract but you never know what to make of any of that stuff
00:22:21
Speaker
So I don't know. I also wouldn't be surprised if, uh, if agents are using the sounders to leverage their guys to get better deals, particularly if it's, uh, if it adds to a narrative that seems viable, like if you're a Korean or Japanese international and you're trying to get, you know, the extension now, as opposed to a year from now, it's just like, you know, there are these teams now I could go to. I don't necessarily have to go back to the J league. This, this Seattle sounders thing, they, they pay. Of course you did end up going back to the jail.
00:22:53
Speaker
I don't know. Jay Lee looks fun to me. I think it does too. And joking aside, I actually think that Jay Lee, I don't think this was a situation where he was trying to, where agents were trying to kind of work anything because it sounded like he had some personal issues that we wanted to take care of back home.
00:23:13
Speaker
I guess so the so I'll leave it this is the last Segment before we get to our interview with Harry ship and then we're gonna do kind of a broad preview of the MLS season But the Sounders are gonna open the season with five games on the road of the first seven They don't play their first home game until March 19th.
Sounders' Challenging Season Start
00:23:32
Speaker
They have road games back-to-back against Houston and then Montreal and
00:23:38
Speaker
What, Aaron, how many points do you think the Sounders need to have from those seven to feel comfortable at that point? Have we lost, Aaron? Maybe he's just thinking about it. I mean, you probably, you did really kind of split this up. I don't know, what do you think? Is there a point, do those seven games, do you think really matter enough to be counting up points or is that like,
00:24:05
Speaker
Have we learned so much from the Sounders last run that we just write off early season results? Part of me says, after last year, does it really matter? And the other part of me says, would Sounders fans really want to live through that spring again? And as far in the past as that seems, I do remember the existential crisis going into the summer of having the team be as bad as it was.
00:24:29
Speaker
I don't know you know if you do the whole thing about one point on the road three points at home Allow for some couple losses in there. I would say if you have less than Eight or nine points, maybe I don't know even then like yeah, I guess if you were at seven points in seven games at some points like 1.0 points per game is not anywhere good enough So you know even if it was eight or nine I would I would still be able to talk myself into the fact that oh we had a lot of road games And it's early
00:25:00
Speaker
I think I'm probably with you there. If you can get to eight or nine points, I think you feel maybe not good about yourself. I would be much more concerned about how the team is actually playing than the results. I mean, I guess that kind of goes without saying, but if they were at seven or eight points and playing well, I'd feel better about that than 11 or 12 points where you got late penalty kick luck. Although I wouldn't mind 11 or 12 points with late penalty.
00:25:25
Speaker
I don't know. I mean, I guess I kind of would if the team was like kind of, you know, subjectively crap. That's true. So but, you know, the other thing that last year kind of reminds us is that the team has the resources to change midstream too. So even if they are kind of as bad as last year, I mean, they obviously cut it super close last year, but
00:25:47
Speaker
You know, if you can identify two or three things that the team does well, there's a high probability that a team with the sounders resources and front office acumen and attitude are going to be able to build on those things come the summer window. We should probably get to our Harry ship interview. We'll come back. We'll do some MLS preview stuff.
00:26:14
Speaker
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Speaker
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00:27:08
Speaker
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Speaker
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00:27:50
Speaker
Welcome back to Nos Adietes. We are here with one of the newest sounders, Harry Ship. Welcome to the show. Welcome to Seattle. I hope you are enjoying yourself so far. Yeah, thanks for having me.
Harry Ship's Transition to Seattle and Personal Insights
00:28:02
Speaker
I definitely am enjoying myself. It's nice to actually get the season started this week for sure. As fun as preseason is, I think it's nice to kind of put that behind us and start settling in in Seattle. So you've been here now.
00:28:13
Speaker
Two months or so? Yeah, I got here January 10th or 11th, I think. Six weeks-ish? Yeah, it's a six weeks-ish. I had a little time before preseason actually started, which was nice. And then, I mean, the last month or so has been kind of a blur being done Tucson back. And then I moved in between Tucson and Charleston, so it's like I kind of said all that.
00:28:35
Speaker
You took that like week downtime? Well, that's when I moved into my place. I had all my stuff. I had to get furniture. I had to get my stuff shipped from Montreal here. So it's kind of been that wasn't really the most settling time. And now I just got my bed finally delivered yesterday. So now I have a bed to sleep in in my place, which is all good for athletes. Somewhat important.
00:28:55
Speaker
Yeah, Dave Tenney is a big person on sleep too, right? So you're just crashing on the couch until then? Yeah, I've been kind of like in flux for about a month so it's nice to finally get settled and of course we're going to Houston tomorrow but once we get back from Montreal then I'll feel like, you know, this is actually starting to live here.
00:29:10
Speaker
It has been a, I mean, this is off-season for, especially for the new guy. I mean, this has just been such a crazy off-season, because even for the guys that were here last year, to have the season end on December 10th, you know, a handful of them go to training camp in the U.S. nationally on January 10th, so they only have a month off. But even then, everyone is like, you're going from Tucson to Charleston to everywhere. I mean, does that make it,
00:29:37
Speaker
Easier or harder in terms of getting adjusted to the new I mean, maybe it's a I don't know Maybe like you appreciated having that those road time to be you like meet guys and do you know once everyone's hearing people have families here people have their life kind of outside especially guys that were here last year, so I think
00:29:53
Speaker
to kind of go away and you have to go out to dinner with those guys every night. Here it's like you'll hang out with the people that are similar age to you outside of soccer, but a lot of those guys, it's tough because, like I said, they have family, kids, wives, so you're not doing as much hanging out, especially in the nighttime and dinners once everyone's back in Seattle. So who have your road buddies been?
00:30:15
Speaker
road buddies. I'm kind of like in the age where I'm in the middle. I can hang out with the younger guys who are out of college who are 22, 23. I can also hang out with the guys because I do have a fiance and I've been in the league for a few years. I can hang out with the older guys who are 30. So I think I'm kind of in the
00:30:31
Speaker
that perfect age range where I can hang out with both the young guys and the older guys. Have you found someone that on the road that you can like sync up your meal plans with so that you're like you know what you're you can kind of agree on a place to go out to? Yeah actually while we're down Charleston um
00:30:48
Speaker
I was, Will, Bruin always had me pick a place for dinner because he trusted my ability to pick restaurants. He said I hadn't failed him once. That's a nice compliment. Which is a nice compliment for me. So I think, you know, it's something I like doing. I like picking restaurants and, you know, there's a few guys that trust me to pick them most nights.
00:31:03
Speaker
So you went, so you've been in three pretty good culinary towns. You were in Chicago, which is obviously very well thought of for food, Montreal, another city that people rave about the food. I guess speaking of, and then of course Seattle, which I think you'll find, I don't know how much you've found here so far. I've done a little bit and it's been, it's been, I like what I see so far. Did you find yourself trying poutine while you were in Montreal though? I only had it one time. And it wasn't your thing?
00:31:31
Speaker
And it was late at night. Not get athlete food. It was late at night after a few drinks. So for me, it was good at the time. I don't know if I would want it for dinner, like some of the local people eat it all the time. I don't know if I could do that just from a peer health perspective. I would feel too bad about myself. But the one time I had it, it was tasty.
00:31:49
Speaker
That's good to hear. So switching up to soccer, you had a great start with the fire. I know you spoke about being kind of heartbroken when you grew up in their academy. You grew up obviously playing with them early on. I assume you were probably consider yourself a fan at some point. And you seem like you got really blindsided by that move.
00:32:13
Speaker
Yeah, I think it was hard. I grew up, I went to games back when they played in Soldier Field back when I started. I remember from the time I started playing travel soccer, I was going to fire games. So I think for me,
00:32:23
Speaker
You know, to be there was, you know, our team obviously results wise didn't do as well as I would have liked, but for me that was, you know, the best two years I could have possibly asked for. I loved having friends, family at every game. You know, I did personally well. So I think for me, all of a sudden going into third preseason, getting traded, I think it was, it was just something that I didn't at the time, maybe I was naive. I say that now, maybe I was naive, but at the time I didn't expect it.
00:32:49
Speaker
I think you know no matter where I would have gone to I think I would have had a hard time adjusting it wasn't necessarily at first Montreal that was you know the reason why I had a hard time adjusting but I think then
00:33:02
Speaker
You know, a couple with the fact that, you know, because of, you know, cross border, you know, my fiance couldn't move there, I think all that stuff kind of, it was the language, I didn't speak any French, so that stuff, like after a while of being there, it kind of, it like wears you down and it's hard, you know, I like to find stuff to do outside of soccer to try to take my mind off soccer when I'm not actually in the facility and I think I had a hard time finding things there that allowed me to take my mind off of soccer.
00:33:30
Speaker
And how much of an impact does that have on, you know, you went from being a starter and really a featured player with the fire to coming off the bench more in Montreal. Was that, I mean, was that kind of chicken egg kind of situation or? Yeah, I think, you know, when I first got to Montreal, you know, I started the first half last year and I think I wasn't in a good place mentally to be able to start. And unfortunately the timing of
00:33:58
Speaker
of when I played a lot versus when I didn't play a lot didn't sync up with my comfort level. So I think at the beginning I realistically shouldn't have been playing because I wasn't in a spot mentally where I felt good to be playing. I was not in a good place. And then I got to the point was probably around the summer
00:34:16
Speaker
june of july where i finally got to the point where i was like all right i'm here let's not worry about the last two years and the fact that i'm not in chicago anymore and not compare everything here to chicago let's just move on and start again and i think at that point in the season you know i played a little bit in the summer i did well but then i got hurt
00:34:35
Speaker
In June or July, I got hurt and was out six or seven weeks. And then when I came back, the tactics of how we were playing had totally shifted. We went from being a team that tried to possess to a team that was sit back and counter, which didn't fit what I was. So I think for me, I didn't play a lot the last third of the year. And that was probably the point where I finally felt good enough mentally to
00:35:05
Speaker
play well and contributing. I was playing well in practice. The way we were playing didn't necessarily fit my strengths the last third of the year going to the playoffs. So was it less of a surprise this offseason when you were traded again?
00:35:20
Speaker
Yeah, I think, you know, I didn't want to do anything last year. During the year I said, you know, I wasn't happy a lot of the year. I really wasn't, but I didn't want to make any decisions. I didn't want to come to any drastic realizations about my future in Montreal. I just wanted to wait until the year was over, whenever that was going to be, whether it was October, December. I just wanted to wait. And I think, you know, once our season ended, we lost to Toronto. I kind of, you know, sat back and
00:35:45
Speaker
said, you know, do I want to be here long term? And I came to the conclusion, no, I do not, you know, I'm really appreciative for the year I spent there because it forced me to grow up a lot and I'm a lot different. I'm a lot older and more mature as a person now than I was a year ago. But I think I didn't want to waste
00:36:01
Speaker
four or five years in Montreal. So I think, you know, I started the process of feeling out how, you know, whether I could get out, whether it was a realistic possibility. And, you know, luckily Seattle from the beginning of when I first made that known, Seattle was always extremely interesting. That was a place that I targeted wanting to get to. And, you know, luckily for me, it worked out well.
00:36:20
Speaker
Well, I'll tell you, I read a lot, it sounded hard, and we're part of our network. One of the guys that runs the Chicago Fire Blog, a hot time in Old Town, we asked him to give us a scouting report of you, and he was effusive in his praise. When you got traded away, he was extremely upset.
00:36:42
Speaker
And he was, you know, I don't know if that he was happy that he was going to, that you were moving to the Sounders, but he was more than happy to like talk about what a great player the Sounders had gotten. And so it's, you know, clearly something, I mean, it wasn't hard to see that something maybe had changed while you were in Montreal. Yeah, I think for me it was comfort. You know, I went, I went from a place where I was very comfortable and I think, you know, that for me allowed me to play better. And I learned that,
00:37:12
Speaker
You know I was very uncomfortable in Montreal not just from a city perspective and off the field stuff but you know the way we played some of the play I just I think I had a hard time ever feeling at ease or at home on the field I was overthinking everything and I knew in my mind as we were playing you know I'm telling my mind slow down slow down I'm overthinking everything and I think for me that was something I had never experienced before I was always confident I always
00:37:35
Speaker
was very in control of what I was doing. And I think last year was the first time I ever, one, went through a period where I lacked confidence and two, felt out of control when I was playing. I didn't feel like it was me who was on the field. And I think for me, my biggest asset is my brain. I'm not the most athletic guy. I'm not fast or strong or anything. So for me, if I can't control my own brain, I think I'm going to struggle in the field.
00:37:58
Speaker
I've already noticed in the first six weeks being here, I feel mentally more like I did the first years in Chicago. Whether it's the city, the fact that my off-the-field stuff's gonna be more settled here, the fact that I actually want to be here long term, I think it's the same feeling where in Chicago I wanted to be there for a long time and here, it's like now that I'm here and I've
00:38:19
Speaker
nor the organization, I know the city, it's like, all right, this place, I want to do my best to make it work because this is a place that I want to be for a long time. So you, right, and so unfortunately, early in the preseason here, you got this ankle injury. It seems like you're beyond that now, but it's also kind of, I don't know, from an outside perspective, it's hard to figure out what position, how you're being used here because you've been moving around a lot. You've played with a lot of different groups. I mean, what do you see as kind of how you're fitting in?
00:38:48
Speaker
Yeah, I think, you know, for me, I always pride myself in versatility and I think, you know, I'm not in a point yet within the club and organization to be picky. You know, I say that like once, you know, you've earned your stripes here and, you know, I say, you know, I become a week in, week out starter. I think then you can start to say, have those conversations. You're like, let's lock down one. It's just easier to focus when you're doing one thing. But for me, coming from the outside perspective to a team that won an MLS Cup, it's like, I'm not going to walk in and start
00:39:16
Speaker
Every week right away. It's like I got her or in that respect so for me I want to get on the field as much as possible whether that's Number six number eight number ten out wide right or left. It's like any of those five positions I think I can play and you know just talking to the coaching staff is the first time where
00:39:32
Speaker
You know, I've been trusted in, you know, it's been preseason games. That's the first time I've ever been trusted to play deeper in the midfield in games. And it's always something that I talked about in Chicago, you know, before my second year. They talked about before there was new coaching staff. I talked about, you know, progressing, moving back to like more of a number eight role. And then unfortunately, the coaching staff switched and.
00:39:53
Speaker
And last year, you know, we talked about it moving back and how that could be a long-term fit, but then I never actually got trusted to do it in game situations. So I think for me, it's the first time where I've been trusted to do that. And I think I can do that. So that's for me, something exciting because I know I can play higher up in the midfield. I know I can, you know, be creative, make that final pass. And now it's for me, it's.
00:40:17
Speaker
It's exciting to at least have the potential to kind of, I'm not going to start through every game, especially with Ozzie and Christian doing so well. But if something happens, if one of those guys gets hurt or get tired late in games, I think to have that opportunity to play there beyond just the top three midfield roles is something I'm looking forward to. So going the other direction, Nicolas Ledero obviously is a player who
00:40:40
Speaker
It seems like from a distance has some similar kind of tendencies as you do. I mean, have you enjoyed watching him? Have you enjoyed kind of playing with a guy like that? Yeah, I think for me, most of my first years in the league were spent playing on the left midfield. And the way he plays right midfield is very similar to the way I played left midfield, inverted. Moving creatively, I think when someone who is supposed to be an outside mid, I had a lot of success my first years in the league.
00:41:08
Speaker
showing up in spots that the other team does not expect a normal outside mid to show up in. I think it's almost you catch teams by surprise because it's like you're so out of position that they don't have someone pick you up and you can be extremely effective. And I think he does that very well. He finds little spots in the field that other teams kind of forget about him because they're not expecting a bright mid to show up there. Sure.
00:41:29
Speaker
So that's something for me, playing with him the first couple weeks, I like the times I've been on his team playing, I like the spots he shows up in because he thinks through the midfield the same way I think through it.
00:41:43
Speaker
So one of the games the I think maybe the longest run out you had at least in Charleston was the Atlanta game Didn't go the way you guys wanted, but you were also the only I mean you I think you're one of the only guys that had any endless experience So it was very a very different situation for you to be in
00:42:01
Speaker
But what do you think you learn in a situation like that where you're playing with guys who frankly aren't going to make the team or are going back to high school or whatever? Well, it's easy to, especially the way the game started, it's easy to freak out and kind of, you know,
00:42:16
Speaker
throw your hands up and say, you know, this isn't because of me. This isn't, you know, it's easy to take that approach. But for me, you know, obviously that that 11 guys is never going to start an MLS game here. So it's like you got to take a step back and say, what can I do to help them? So I think, you know, I spent a lot of time, especially in the first half.
00:42:33
Speaker
You know, talking with, we had, you know, our left back was a 17-year-old, our left mid was a center forward, so I think for me it was how can I teach them about the relationships. I've played, I came from a position where I never played outside mid in growing up or in college to having to learn about it and having to learn about that relationship, so I spent a lot of time
00:42:55
Speaker
You know, Atlanta got success, especially the first 20 minutes with their right mid tucking inside, playing him, him turning and going 2v1 or outside back. So I think, you know, for me, it was just it was it was a good learning experience for them. It was a good.
00:43:09
Speaker
It's teaching experience for me. I think I've never been in a position where I've been kind of a more senior guy on the field. So I think for me, you know, I like I said, I can think through the game. I can see what's happening as it's going on and kind of diagnose issues. So I think for me, it was a it was a chance for me to speak up a little bit and kind of help guys, even if it's not me.
00:43:28
Speaker
Yelling I'm not someone who's gonna ever yell and scream from afar but I think if I can just you know It's a throw-in or someone's injured on the field I can pull two guys aside and talk to them calmly They're more likely to respond to that then you know someone yelled at them from a sideline So this was I want to say the most in you obviously wouldn't necessarily have any
00:43:46
Speaker
context for this but the sounders haven't always brought in as many young guys as they have and they brought in I mean the fact that they had I think they've had four guys at any various times that are literally in high school what have you thought of the the young guys what's it been like being in a in a training camp where
00:44:04
Speaker
You know, you have players like that that are going up against, you know, full national team players. I think it's I mean, from a club perspective, development is awesome. I think back when I played for the fire in high school, the whole academy system in the US was very different than it is now. I mean, it was.
00:44:20
Speaker
Seven eight years ago and it's really growing up and I think I never we never got opportunities back then to Integrate with the full first team and they've kind of changed that since and a lot of clubs I know they start doing it a lot of clubs are doing that now, but it was always something for me I always said I wanted I wanted and finally when I was in college After my freshman sophomore year I trained with the first team some which I think for me not being a pro having that experience and
00:44:47
Speaker
and then bringing it back to their level, it forces you to grow as a player because if you stay with the same, you know, those guys have obviously excelled at their age group or, you know, an academy, so I think...
00:44:59
Speaker
It's easy to get complacent, I think, for them if they never see what they need to grow to. Right. They only learn so much by dominating age group opponents. Yeah, exactly. 100%. So I think, you know, and you can even tell their attitude when they first came in. It's like they expect to know everything. And now, you know, six weeks later, I think
00:45:23
Speaker
One, they're better players now than they were six weeks ago. A lot of the guys that have been training consistently with us. And two, it's like their attitude of wanting to learn has shifted in the last six weeks, which is something that's encouraging for us, for the coaching staff, for the club. And it's kind of proof that it is a positive to integrate those guys at a younger age. Is there any one of them that's maybe stood out as you've appreciated what they're doing?
00:45:49
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, you know, you have a guy like Sam, you know, I've talked to him, even Jake Morris, you know, those guys from, you know, the willingness they've showed, especially the last few weeks to learn. And I think they feel more comfortable with the group, so they're more willing to kind of ask questions. It's intimidating when you're a 17-year-old coming into a locker room. You just want to kind of stay quiet. You don't want to like ask anything. You don't want to make yourself known. And I think how they feel comfortable, it's like,
00:46:17
Speaker
they're actually willing to ask more senior guys questions, whether it's me or whoever. Guys who are in their 30s, I think it can't hurt them to ask questions. It's only gonna kind of improve their perspective on what they need to do to get better.
00:46:35
Speaker
Well, great. Well, a couple more questions, and I'll let you go. One thing we always like to find out on the show, are you a dog or a cat person? Dog, for sure. I'm going to get a weird, you know, I found Sarah talking. She wants a little golden retriever puppy. So do I. I grew up with a golden retriever. So for me, at some point, we're trying to wait and decide whether we should get it this year or after the wedding. But definitely at some point in the next year, we'll probably get a golden retriever. Some dogs. And so now I'm going to guess. I'm guessing you're moving on to the east side then.
00:47:02
Speaker
Are you an East Side or Seattle guy? I guess is the other question. Seattle. Oh, you are? Yeah. I just moved into a place in Seattle. So for now, I mean, I like being close to the city. I like. You have to find some good dog parks. Yeah. And that's that's the one. That's the one issue. But there are some good. I'll tell you, there's good dog parks. Not all the best ones aren't like right in the core of the city, but you're not going to have too much. I need to have I need to live at least at this point in my life without kids or anything. I need to live close to restaurants and shops. There you go. OK, I like to hear that. Good. Good.
00:47:30
Speaker
I'm glad Brad hasn't got his collections in two yet. No, not yet. Give him a few years, maybe. Well, Harry, it was really good getting to know you. This was great. And thanks for coming on the show. Yeah, absolutely. Anytime. All right, you're listening to Nos Adiattes.
MLS Cup Contenders and Season Predictions
00:47:50
Speaker
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Speaker
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Speaker
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00:49:14
Speaker
Welcome back to Nos Arietes. So we're going to do things a little differently this week. We're not doing questions. Instead, since we have Mr. Farley here, who has such a wonderful global view of MLS. It would be a good time to give a little bit of an MLS preview, take a wider view. And we might as well start off with the generic stuff.
00:49:39
Speaker
What do you, who do, who's the MLS Cup favorite going into, going, going in right now? I had no opinion on this until Champions League started last week, and if somebody wants to look at what FC Dallas has done, granted against a Panamanian team that's not at the same level as, you know, a Mexican league team, but if they want to look at the FC Dallas team and think that that team can't
00:50:01
Speaker
build on what they did last year, I'd love to hear their reasoning because I was pretty convinced. So before that, I was kind of thinking Dallas and Seattle look like they were the strongest teams in the West, Toronto and a couple of teams in the East. I was talking myself into there, but somebody's going to ask me for who I think is going to be the best team in Major League Soccer this year. I'd have to put some money on FC Dallas right now. Do you have anything to dispute that, Aaron? No, I mean, I think that, um,
00:50:30
Speaker
I think that Toronto has a good shot at winning the shield. I think New York has a good shot at winning the shield. I think, really, I mean, I think whoever is the best team in the East has a good shot at winning the shield, because I think the West is going to be really strong. But I think that, you know, as difficult as it is at this stage to try to predict who's going to win, you know, a knockout tournament at the end of the season, I think you're crazy if you don't think FC Dallas is the favorite. Yeah, FC Dallas, so do they end up beating
00:50:59
Speaker
Uh, was it Erebe Unito? Is that how you say that? They were up 1-0 when we started this broadcast, which means they were up 5-0 on aggregate. Right, I think it ended up being 5-1. 5-3, 5-3. 5-3? Sorry, 5-2. 5-2. Oh, okay. Uh, Arabe Unito scored 2. Roberto Chen actually scored a goal for Arabe Unito. Yeah, I wonder if Roberto Chen is gonna ever find his way back to...
00:51:23
Speaker
Seattle I was a little surprised last it seemed like I mean, I guess he was maybe really not right when he was here But it seems like a world ago when he was just hanging out at remember He was those pictures of him hanging out at Queen Anne Beer Hall for that introductory thing and he was like wearing sweatpants. Oh Good old days still wear like straight-up sweatpants and not like, you know joggers No, they were like well, they were definitely were not they were like kind of stylish sweatpants, but they like sweatpants and
00:51:53
Speaker
Okay. That whole event was like a don't do it of style. It was a lot of questionable style in that. Are you talking about the Yacht-Con or? Yacht-Con also, but this was an event at the beginning. Did Eric tell you about the guy that was dressed exactly like you? Was it me?
00:52:13
Speaker
No, there was a guy there that was dressed exactly like you, like a jacket and a purple shirt. I think you were wearing like a purple shirt with like a- Oh yeah, I think I met that guy. Yeah, I met him too. He was nice, but I didn't realize until I was driving home that I met the guy that accidentally dressed the safest you. You know what? That didn't even dawn on me at the time, but you're right. He was more excited to be dressing in his yachty outfit. Really nice guy though. I don't want to say anything bad, but yeah, I think I did meet that guy.
00:52:43
Speaker
No, he was a cool guy. I mean, it's not like he was dressed poorly. I mean, it was just like a t-shirt and a jacket. It just happened to be like the same thing you were wearing. I know. I know. That was good times. Good times. So FC Dallas, though, they're missing Maro Diaz, and it doesn't seem to matter. Like, it's scary to think that they're playing the way that they are, and then they're going to just get Maro Diaz at mid-season.
00:53:04
Speaker
I mean the scary thing is they had to switch to like they started playing with a 4-4-2 at times last year and then they had to kind of really dive into that when Diaz went down and now they actually have the depth to play that effectively and if Kellen Acosta steps up like he's been doing they can play a two-person midfield without having a huge disadvantage there.
00:53:23
Speaker
And they've got more danger on the wing, so they've kind of replaced what Fabian Castillo was giving them. And then at some point, Maro Diaz is going to come back. So I don't know. There's a lot of reasons to love Dallas right now. You can even add to all of that, just like the age-based progression from so many of their players. It's a lot to love, man.
00:53:43
Speaker
There is a lot to love there. Toronto FC is a little different. They were, I think we can say with a straight face that they were the best team at the end of last year. The Sounders I think stood, they clearly stood toe to toe with them. I don't think it was like some kind of
00:53:58
Speaker
Robbery that the Sounders ended up winning MLS Cup, but if you look at the you know you look at the whole picture of the last 20 games of the season it's hard not to come away feeling like Toronto FC was probably the best team down the stretch and they seem like they've also gotten a little bit I was a little surprised that they were as
00:54:17
Speaker
what's the word I'm thinking of that they were as static in terms of the way that they Went into the offseason like they basically brought the same paint team back with this Victor. I think it's Victor Vasquez. Mm-hmm I mean is that I Would think MLS is a league where you if you're not improving you're getting worse if you're not getting better you're getting worse but I don't know is that was TFC good enough last year to afford to not really have to do much and
00:54:45
Speaker
I don't know. I mean, I got my theories, but I'm kind of interested in what you think, Aaron, because I think my theory has less to do with their talent level. Yeah, I mean, I think that they have two of the best attackers in MLS and they're pretty good everywhere else. And then they also have, you know, the guy who I think is probably the best midfielder in MLS and Michael Bradley. So, I mean, they have a ton of talent.
00:55:12
Speaker
I just, I think the East isn't great. And I think that, you know, it's just easier for talented teams to win the supporter shield. And if you can win the supporter shield, it makes it easier for you to get to the MLS Cup. So I think they're a very good team, but I don't, you know, I don't know. I think that
00:55:37
Speaker
I think that the class of the league is in the west and there are probably four or five teams better than Toronto. What scares me about Toronto is the prospect of Brendan Morrow and Drew Moore. If they just go from being very good to just good this year. And then the whole idea that I think that if you can do something to kind of create a tactical stalemate, then you create an environment where talent can win out. And I think the fact that Vanny kind of switched between four at the back, three in the back through most of the season, then settled on that three.
00:56:06
Speaker
I think that worked, but I also think that teams now have a steady target. And maybe Vanny can do that again. Maybe he can create another kind of tactical stalemate. And with all that talent in midfield, they can leave it up to their forwards to decide games. I just think that the Toronto that's going to succeed this year is going to have to find a new way to succeed.
00:56:32
Speaker
Yeah, I'm pretty skeptical of this three-back defense, mainly because I don't know that they have any, like Drew Moore was good, but like I'm not at all sold that, why am I blanking on his name? Former sounder. Eric Zavaletta. Eric Zavaletta, like I'm just not at all sold. This is like, this is a guy that you want to be featuring in your three-back defense.
00:56:55
Speaker
defense. Similarly like they had a they really had a five defenders on the field at all times with with Moro and and Betashour. I mean I don't know I just I'm not like they made it work they made it work really really well but I tend to think that that's a formation that once teams have a whole offseason to kind of break it down and figure it out that it's might be in trouble.
00:57:20
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, I completely agree with you. I think also, you know, Bradley is obviously great. I mean, like great in the sense that the worst you're going to get from Michael Bradley is a really decent performance every time. But that that midfield really has to protect Zavala and Haglund, I think.
00:57:39
Speaker
I think it really is demanding on those wing backs too. But like Aaron said, even if they want to flick it into neutral, at some point you can just get the ball to Giovenco and Altidore and they can make something happen. So I think the floor for them is really high, but I do wonder what their ceiling is and I think it's conceivable that their ceiling is not as high as it was at the end of last year.
00:58:02
Speaker
So let's talk about some of these teams out west. I, for one, was really hopeful that this was going to be the year that LA kind of had its reckoning and they were going to fall off. I was really, really, I can't say this enough, I was super unimpressed with the decision to hire Kurt and Alfa. This is a guy who the last time he was the head coach of an MLS team got fired midway through DC United's 2010 campaign. And that was because they were well on their way to posting the worst
00:58:30
Speaker
It's probably the worst season, non-expansion season in MLS history. I'm a little amazed that he's been able to pull himself up and not just get a MLS job but get the maybe best, one of if not the best jobs in MLS. But yet they went out and they signed, they made some really impressive signings as they always tend to do. Do you guys think that they're a contender or is a null foe going to hold them back?
00:58:57
Speaker
I don't think coaches necessarily matter enough to hold teams back. I think that their, their talent level is solid enough that they're going to be a playoff team. Um, I think that maybe under a coach like Bruce Arena, they, they could be a, you know, a supporter shield contender. I don't know. Um, you know, whether or not, uh, and also we'll, we'll be able to deliver that kind of performance, but I don't think he's going to crater the team. I think they're going to be a pretty good team.
00:59:25
Speaker
And, you know, I could see them being in one of the top, you know, two or three spots in the West. But, you know, I could see them seeking in the playoffs as well. It'll be interesting. I mean, the galaxy have been such a sort of known quantity for so long where even if they start slow, even if they have big slumps during the middle of the season, you know that they're going to, you know, pick it up at the end of the season and get into the playoffs.
00:59:51
Speaker
Um, but that's kind of changed the last couple of years, but you know, they've, they've kind of retooled. And, um, I think they just have too many good players to, to be a bad team. Um, and you know, maybe, maybe Bruce, uh, made some kind of impression on an offo and, and he's, he's a genius now too. I don't know. We'll see. But, uh, I don't, I don't think this is going to be the year that they fall apart now. Was I, am I being too harsh on Kurt and Alpha?
01:00:20
Speaker
Yeah, probably. But I mean, I don't I don't know if that means you're wrong. I mean, like there's a range of possible outcomes here. And I think you're within the reasonable range, but you're at the low end of it. Yeah. No, that's fair. I mean, it's entirely possible that he has improved. I mean, you said it was he was unimpressive. You didn't say it was destined to fail or anything. I think that was right. Right. So yeah, I don't think it's destined to fail. I just am. If you're if you're the L.A. galaxy,
01:00:47
Speaker
And you have a coaching opening after your coach had been there for nine years, I believe it was. You would think you'd maybe look a little farther than your backyard, but maybe not. I don't know. Yeah, they had this plan in place, though, and I think they had to execute it sooner than they wanted to. I think they were thinking Bruce was going to be there another year. But credit to them that they stuck with the plan that they put in place. This was always what was supposed to happen when Bruce left.
01:01:13
Speaker
I mean, I think the thing with the Galaxy for me is, you know, a couple years ago, title contenders, and we kind of just assume every year that they were going to be title contenders based on Bruce Arena Magic, but over those last two years, they went from kind of that last really good team that Bruce has that was very possession-oriented and they moved the ball very quickly and they were packing the midfield and they were
01:01:34
Speaker
They were actually really kind of interesting in their movement and how they were playing off each other to where they got away from that and all of a sudden they just look slow. And all the other teams that you would hear talking about them just say, you know, they're good players, but they're just slow. Alright, so when I'm thinking about the Galaxy this year, that's what I wonder. Are they going to play the ball faster? Are they going to move faster? Are they going to actually be able to keep up?
01:01:53
Speaker
With just the pure speed of play and athleticism that there is a major league soccer And then I look at Giovanni dos Santos who is a good player, but nobody's gonna say that he either plays faster is fast I look at Jermaine Jones who I have a lot of respect for but I don't see him as like the kind of pace setter that they need he's just an incredibly resourceful player and
01:02:13
Speaker
And then I look around at some other people and it's like, okay, you're relying on some of these kids then to pick up the slack. And I just think there are like a lot of questions there. I would be really shocked if they finish lower than fifth, but I don't know. I don't know that their ceiling is in the same place as Dallas or Seattle or even Portland or Kansas City, to be honest with you. I can see scenarios where Portland or Kansas City, just something clicks and they're amazing. I mean, Portland's been pretty amazing this preseason. They're kind of in mid-season form way too early. But I don't see the Galaxy having that level in them.
01:02:41
Speaker
You mentioned the Timbers, another team who I was really ready to, I would love to say how bad I think they're going to be, but I hate to admit it, but I'm kind of impressed with the moves that they made this offseason. They seem like they did patch some holes, although I will say that I got a huge kick, a huge kick. Matt Pence wrote about them for, who was it, Yahoo!
01:03:06
Speaker
And he had some quotes from Caleb Porter, and the quote that just stuck out at me was something along the lines of, we just weren't talented enough and we weren't deep enough on the road.
01:03:19
Speaker
And first of all, I love that he totally absolves himself of really any blame from the team going winless on the road. But on top of that, he tries to, he wants us to believe that there is a real, like a significant talent deficiency between the road and home versions of the Portland Timbers.
01:03:39
Speaker
You tried to make some sense of this, but it's a ridiculous statement at the same time, right? I don't think anybody looks at Portland and thinks there's a lack of talent there. Right. Like between Adi and Valeri and Nagbe, and even at their back, Liam Ridgewell is a really admirable central defender in the versatility that he brings to your line, right?
01:03:58
Speaker
But I think each team has to set goals for themselves. And to me, covering the Timbers last year, I never got the impression that breaking that road slump that they carried in throughout the year was ever a priority until things were so bad that they couldn't fix it.
01:04:12
Speaker
So I don't think it was a talent thing. I think it was an attitude thing. You always have to pick your battles in a season, especially if you're a team that's in Champions League and wants to be able to compete for everything. But I don't know if this is some kind of like off-season rationalization that they've gone through to convince themselves that it was something other than just not taking it seriously enough. Because there are lots of performances, I can tell you, where the team just didn't look up for it.
01:04:35
Speaker
And I've definitely heard people around the team just kind of say, hey, this is a team coming off a title that just didn't get up for those early road games to New Jersey and DC. And that's perfectly understandable. But at the end of the season, you got to be where you need to be. And they just never got there.
01:04:53
Speaker
Yeah, I actually do think that there are some questions about Portland's talent, but I don't think that those questions are on the field or the players themselves. I think that if you can't get your team up for those early games in New Jersey or DC and you can't get them to win on the road and they don't look like they're prepared and they don't look like they're really invested, then you're a shitty coach. So I don't know, man.
01:05:21
Speaker
Portland has a wide range of outcomes that I think are plausible. I think that they could, you know, they could totally click and go on and run. But I could see them just as easily missing the playoffs. And I think that for a team with that much talent, if they miss the playoffs two years in a row, there's something very wrong. And I don't think you can continue blaming it on Gavin Wilkinson.
01:05:44
Speaker
I don't
01:06:03
Speaker
No, they're more like third to seventh. Yeah, so I mean, you know Even like the timbers biggest weakness they have they went out had to get Lawrence Olin for Kansas City to play right center back right now I just don't think he's that terrible a player I think he's decent and when you look at the other players they have around him I mean, they've got some enviable players in a lot of positions and I I think expectations are
01:06:26
Speaker
are reasonably very high in the organization, but I think at the same time, if they have another season like they did last season, or even if they have a start like they did last season, I've written about this before, I think the John Spencer scenario comes back into play, and the reason John Spencer got fired in the middle of that second season is because basically he and Gavin Wilkinson weren't on the same page as to what was wrong with the team and Merritt Paulson had to choose.
01:06:50
Speaker
So at some point, if the Timbers don't continue winning or just don't start winning, Merit Paul is going to want answers. And personally, I don't really think you can look at the Timbers and go, wow, Gavin Wilkinson should really be doing more with this roster. No, man, he's got...
01:07:05
Speaker
He's got Adi, he's got Valeri, he's kept Nagme and it hasn't had to put Nagme on a DP deal. He went out and got Davi Guzman, he went out and got Sebastian Blanco, he's got Liam Ridgewell. Alvis Powell is developing into one of the best full backs in the league and then he made the right move to put Gleason in goal last year and let Quarcy go. What else do you want Gavin Wilkinson to do?
01:07:24
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, I think that I was pretty harsh on Kevin Wilkins. There was a time when I just thought Kevin Wilkinson was a complete snickle salesman. But I have to I have come around to thinking that any problems that the timbers continue to have is is Caleb Porter.
01:07:41
Speaker
Yeah. I just, I can't see any scenario in which you can get six points on the road in a season and not get fired unless you won the title the year before. And, you know, and I think that, uh, yeah, it's, I dunno, man, I, I feel like 2013, everybody thought Porter was a genius. And then people were kind of starting to wane on that maybe a little bit. And then they won the cup and.
01:08:06
Speaker
Um, whether it makes sense or not, people started to, to, you know, think, Oh, maybe, maybe he is still a really good coach. Um, I think it's put up or shut up time for him this year. Uh, and I really hope he shuts off because I just cannot stand the dude. Yeah. I think, I think Caleb is a really good coach, but at the same time, you can think he's a really good coach and completely agree with the scenario that you just outlined. And I think, I think that's pretty clear.
01:08:30
Speaker
So on the subject of coaches, we love to hate. Peter Vermees has gone into another off season in which I think, you know, I was tempted to say that they didn't really make a ton of changes, but they made a few notable changes, but yet the team that are still relying on is very much a Graham
Team Analyses of Sporting KC, Vancouver, Colorado, and Others
01:08:48
Speaker
Zoo. It's still effectively the same team that, the core of the team is the same that won MLS Cup in 2013 and then subsequently lost in the first round of the next three years.
01:08:59
Speaker
Yeah, I think it's really dependent on Benny fail Harbor at this point, too Right, you know, they've got a pretty solid midfield behind Benny Zeus. He's gonna move back to right back. I think that's gonna be fine They've got a solid central defense. Oh, is oozy. He is gonna move the right back even for that the club level
01:09:15
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, see how long that lasts because they have brought in two more attackers this offseason too. So they've got enough depth up there to move him back. It'll be interesting to see because a lot of times Zusi ended up kind of making some of the connections whenever Benny Feilhaber had to drop deeper. So that'll be interesting to see if they can replace that. But yeah, I mean, I think I can see scenarios where Kansas City finishes second in the West or sixth in the West. I really don't see a scenario where they're going to be like out.
01:09:44
Speaker
Of the playoff picture maybe seventh if like both portland and vancouver click but uh Yeah, I mean it's generally a solid team, but they need somebody to step forward like domed wire needs to be the domed wire of two or three years ago Um, you know, he's still putting up decent numbers, but two or three years ago when he was in the mvp discussion, uh, they need somebody to Play at the all-star level that gram zucy was playing at when he was an all-star and if those things happen, you know It's a solid team, man
01:10:12
Speaker
I do think they have more just outright collapse potential than any team in the league. They have a lot of players that are getting into the...
01:10:22
Speaker
the phase of their careers where it wouldn't be unheard of for them to fall off a cliff. So I don't think it's a likely scenario. I think it's pretty unlikely. But if there is a team that just falls apart this year in the West, I think that there's a good chance it's sporting KC. I don't look at any sporting Kansas City player, though, and think that they're like so irreplaceable. I mean, like I think if they lose Benny, like they're going to be like a lower end playoff team because they just won't have enough chance creation.
01:10:47
Speaker
But they've got a lot of people in central midfield that can fill in at an MLS level. Even in central defense, players like a Kevin Ellis can step in. They've got depth at fullback and everything like that. I mean, I guess the nightmare scenario is that the new attacking acquisitions don't click. Dom Dwyer is just kind of this worker bee and not really a true goal scorer, and then Benny gets old.
01:11:12
Speaker
Vancouver was the team that, so ESPN just put out a preview and they have guys like Graham Parker and Jason Davis, and then of course all their on-air talent, Steve Nichols. Yeah, explain your boy Herc's pick.
01:11:28
Speaker
Yeah, so Hercules Gomez says he thinks Vancouver Whitecaps are the favorites to win MLS Cup and I'm sitting here and his reasoning is that the team that was almost that was contending for Supporter Shield two years ago
01:11:48
Speaker
without much offense or without like a premier striker just picked up Freddy Montero. And I'm thinking, wow, you've really talked yourself into buying this because you're talking first off two years ago when the team missed the playoffs last year. And hey, I love Freddy Montero, but am I crazy? He's totally, I mean, if they're planning on him being a nine and that really seems to be the case, I don't know that that's gonna work out how everyone is expecting it to work out.
01:12:15
Speaker
I think he's going to be really good and I think he's going to make the team a lot better. And I think there's a pretty good chance they make the playoffs, but I think thinking that they're a contender. I mean, if they get into the playoffs, they can win the MLS Cup. I think we all know that, but I think them being in the discussion of like, yeah, this is a team that I can really, I think that's a little bit nuts, but.
01:12:36
Speaker
I don't know. Who knows? I mean, uh, the 2011 sounders were really good and they're doing their best to, uh, recreate that team. So there's something to it. I don't know. So let's let, so I guess the best case scenario here is Montero comes back and is Montero who could have money is healthy. Russell Tibert finally gives lava a real partner in central midfield.
01:13:01
Speaker
Makes his vaunted year eight leap, which we which is happens all the time Kendall Watson stops getting red cards What else am I missing here? Okay, let's just say those are the those are the three or four things that need to happen that gets Vancouver to fourth
01:13:18
Speaker
Like in MLS right now, you need to make major additions just to keep up. And this is what we were talking about with Toronto. Like did they do enough? But you look all across the West, RSL goes out and get Rusnak. Portland goes out and gets Blanco. We talked about LA's acquisitions. Even San Jose has gone out and gotten people. Like you need to make changes with this TAM money and the designated players just to keep up.
01:13:43
Speaker
So Vancouver is keeping up at a level of a team that didn't make the playoffs last year. And if things click, maybe they can get over that line. But they're not even in the same discussion as Dallas and Seattle to me. That was the most I was like shocked to see them in being mentioned that way. Like it's just yeah, it's they would have to have like a rapid zesk turnaround to be in that in that discussion. And well, the rapid entire season was bullshit. And I think we all know that now. So
01:14:12
Speaker
I just don't see it happening. That's the other thing. Robinson plays super conservative with all his talent. Is he all of a sudden going to open it up and give these talented attackers the opportunity to do something other than get the first goal and sit back in the final third of the rest of the match?
01:14:27
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, I just maybe you already arena ends up being a huge star. I don't know. I just want to be back. He broke his foot. Oh, that's right. Yeah. Shit. I mean, yeah, I just I don't know. I could definitely see them making the playoffs. But I I think they're an ourselves level right now. Yeah, that seems like right. Or maybe even Colorado's like Colorado is another team is
01:14:50
Speaker
You know, I'm not buying that last season was anything close to real. Yeah. And so I think that like RSL Portland, Vancouver, Colorado are kind of in that that same space and two of them are going to make the playoffs probably. It seems like the Rapids, though, is another team that, you know, they they seem to have like bought the hype that they were.
01:15:14
Speaker
this kind of transform that they kind of found this extra gear but then they give away Jermaine they don't get I mean they essentially let Jermaine Jones go they not that Marco Papa was a huge part of their team but this is a you know he was one of the guys that came off the bench to help them a little bit they didn't really replace him they seem to really be expecting Marlon Harrison to essentially
01:15:36
Speaker
ascend to greatness and this is a guy who had a solid three goal six assist season but is there you know they seem to be really expecting a big season from him and I don't know do they do do they do much else
01:15:50
Speaker
I'm trying to think. I can't think of anything that should enter the conversation here. Not really. I mean, when's Tim Howard supposed to be back? Mid-season? He's supposed to be back in training this next week. That was the original timeline. Okay. So... Well, we... Yeah. But it's not... There's goalkeeper situations, a big mess or anything. Yeah. I mean, Zach McMeath has proven himself capable, but... I just... I don't think that you... I don't care how many points you got. I don't care where you finished in the table.
01:16:16
Speaker
I don't understand how you can score 39 goals in a season and say, yeah, we're good. We're in good shape here. It's just, it's crazy to me, like, because as good as their defense was and their defense was legitimately terrific. I mean, they had a great defense and I don't think that that part of their success was fake.
01:16:36
Speaker
they lost a huge part of that. I guess I can also see them falling apart in garbage as well.
01:16:51
Speaker
Dylan Cerna bounces back Dylan Powers with more playing time. Maybe having Kevin Doyle healthy I don't know like even with all this discussion It's just not up to the same level I mean once you factor in just the regression back to the level of play that they were at at the end of last year There's still a team that like their best-case scenario is to create coin flips because of their defense
01:17:13
Speaker
Right. Right. Yeah. And I guess while we're running down teams in the West, is there any reason to spend any time on Houston, San Jose, or even RSL? I mean, I think RSL might be a playoff team, but is there any reason to think that they're serious, that they've done anything to dramatically improve?
01:17:32
Speaker
I mean, RSL just has these kids coming in. They went and got, um, they went and got Rushniak. Um, you know, yeah, that's a good one. They got, they got Lennon coming in who looked really good and, and, uh, it has looked really good so far at the U20 World Cup. I mean, they're, they've got insane amounts of talents, but then again, like their best case scenario is like, if everything clicks in a couple of teams slip, they might get a home playoff game in the first round or something like that.
01:17:56
Speaker
Like I could see that team finishing third or fourth if everything goes right for them. But again, like I don't think there's any reason more reason to talk about them than Vancouver. And I definitely don't think there's any reason to talk about San Jose, Houston or Minnesota. Yeah, Minnesota is I guess the question with Minnesota is how.
01:18:15
Speaker
Like, are they gonna, I don't think that they're gonna be the disaster that some have made them out to be, but I am not seeing a path to, like, to me this feels like a team that was put together to just avoid embarrassment and not be, you know, not have like done some serious damage when you got there. I think they're gonna be starting like Bobby Shuttlesworth and Jermaine Taylor in their back five, man. I don't, I mean, their attacking talent is good, but man, they have nothing beyond that.
Atlanta United's Debut Season Prospects
01:18:43
Speaker
They could be like Vancouver expansion year levels of that, I think. I mean, it seems reasonable. That Vancouver team was horrendous. It certainly was. It certainly was. So the other and I guess we may as well close with this. The other expansion team, what is Atlanta United? We saw what they could do against the Sounders fourth stringers.
01:19:10
Speaker
what I don't know I don't know what to think of Atlanta they have a lot I'm like legitimately excited to see to see them play to see like I was super skeptical of Atlanta as a market they've proven me wrong have they ever man and they remind me man I'll tell you I still get people literally the other day I had some tweeting I've never even read that post but I know what we're talking about here
01:19:33
Speaker
People still like every like on somewhat regular basis people tweet at me like saying what an idiot I was for doubting Atlanta United now granted just three years ago It's always it's easy to find stuff that's old, but I was skeptical. I was clearly wrong That said this is a team that is I admire their ambition I mean they've put together They have like six guys that in a in another world would or in you know years past may have been designated players It's pretty impressive
01:20:03
Speaker
Yeah. Sometimes I look at the 11s that they've thrown out and I wonder how they're going to be that different than Minnesota. But then like the places that they're strong are just, they're stronger than Minnesota is. And the places that they're weak, they're just not as weak as Minnesota is. Like they're the same places basically too. So, um, yeah, I don't know. A lot of people are really high on them. Some people are picking them like in the top places in the East, uh, top places being like, you're going to get a home game early. But to me, that just says more about the East than it does Atlanta.
01:20:33
Speaker
Yeah, I'm not, I just, I can't help but feel a lot of, like I look back at two years ago when Orlando and New York City came in and a lot of people seem to think that it was almost a given that one of them, that both of them would be in the playoffs. And I went, and I remember my outside the box record, like prediction that year was one of these two teams won't make the playoffs. Of course, both of them missed the playoffs and Orlando still hasn't been to the playoffs.
01:21:00
Speaker
And New York, to your credit, learned a lot of lessons, but that just kind of shows you how many lessons have to be learned, right? Right. And I think that's exactly it, is that no one hits the ground running really. The Sounders, it's tempting for people to say no one hits the ground running anymore in MLS expansion, but the reality is that it's never been normal for teams to do well in their
01:21:24
Speaker
first season, but the Sounders happened to make the playoffs their first year. Chicago obviously was, it's even hard to call them an expansion team. They were only two years younger than every other team in the league. Yeah, but these are all different eras. There have been so many rule changes since even the Sounders came in. The idea of having this many designated players, this much TAM money, it's a completely different landscape. In that way, the Seattle Sounders' accomplishment kind of gets frozen in time.
01:21:51
Speaker
But for Atlanta to be like a contender that's like a lot of teams have to have messed up their designated players in their tan money Which you know, it's the Eastern Conference. Maybe that happens Yeah, and I think Atlanta's big thing too is that they have a ton of upside You know What they also were trying a lot of new shit. I mean, you know Tata Martino is I think it's fair to say the most accomplished coach that that MLS has ever had
01:22:18
Speaker
Although maybe I'm missing some big name, you know, early on, but I mean, he's, you know, he's a, he's a legendary coach. I mean, he's coming off coaching the Argentina national team. That's, that's a caliber of coaching less than an ab, but you know, it's, it's a new approach. Uh, if he takes it to the league right away and, and, you know,
01:22:34
Speaker
Maybe they're great. I don't know if they hit on all of their DPs who are all younger guys Who except for Kenwin Jones, although I guess he's not actually DP. Is that I don't think that's crazy Yeah, I mean but they you know, they all have a ton of a ton of upside but They're you know, they're all sort of projects if they hit their upside potential sure they could finish you know second or third or fourth in the East and be a force and
01:23:04
Speaker
If they hit their downside potential, I could see them missing the playoffs. And they're just, I just think it's crazy to think that everything is going to go right in their first season as talented as the team is. And plus they still have Jeff Lorentz to win on the roster. I mean, how good can they be if Jeff Lorentz is getting playing time? I mean, having Kevin Jones is interesting because it gives them like, it raises their ceiling a little bit because worst case scenario, Kenwyn Jones is still going to be somebody you can kick the ball to. He'll knock it down for Al Maron and Al Maron can do something.
01:23:33
Speaker
but at the same time you look across the Eastern Conference like would I rather have even what the spending Atlanta has done would I rather have their talent than having like Ola Kamara and Pippa Iguain I'm not sure that I would would I rather have Atlanta's talent than New England's talent I definitely wouldn't well I just named two teams that didn't make the playoffs last year in the East so while the East is kind of like mediocre it has depth in its mediocrity right
01:23:58
Speaker
There's a ton, there are some really flashy, really talented players on the team, but there's still an expansion team everywhere else. And I think that it's easy to get caught up in some of the names that they have, but I think that if any lesson was learned from the sounder season last year, it's that as important as the DPs are, you have to have a strong supporting cast and Atlanta just doesn't look as good as I think a lot of people are giving it credit for.
01:24:27
Speaker
Which is totally fine, because they're an expansion team, but like, you know, they're an expansion team in 2017, not 2009.
Community Engagement and Podcast Closure
01:24:34
Speaker
Right. Right. Yeah, I mean, they certainly have, if you were able to put that talent on a 2019 would be a different situation, I suppose. When you think that the Sounders in 2009 started, Zach Scott and...
01:24:49
Speaker
pyrone marshall you look at that slightly there's some good players and you better watch it so you're talking about some legends here now and i don't know if you're just you are at one of our own pockets we just encouraging those people right exactly uh... you're right i i don't know what i was thinking well uh... that's probably a good place to to call this uh... thanks richard for joining us it was nice having you so i wouldn't get to get licked on the air he's probably sitting there just
01:25:15
Speaker
Stewing probably I'm completely stewing. Yeah, it sounds bad. He sounds bad Hey, can I thank everybody for coming out to Yacht-Con because I don't think I've been on a show since then and I got to meet like you haven't you want to thank everyone I want to think like the 20 or 30 new people that I met because you know going up there like
01:25:32
Speaker
that was the big payoff is all these people that I kind of know or didn't know at all and being able to talk to them for like one or two minutes each that was really cool uh I like that was like my favorite part of the day in addition to catching up with you guys because I don't get to catch up with you in person that much but like I don't want to like pick out any people but there are definitely like a lot of people in my mind that I was just so thankful to have talked to for like two or three minutes and be able to put faces with names and
01:25:58
Speaker
It actually made me think that the whole yacht con thing might actually be a net positive for the world. Oh I like net positive for the world. I mean this doesn't get much. That's that's high compliment right there These times man. Absolutely. Where are you saying? No, we know the net positive we can get are you saying we're carbon neutral I
01:26:22
Speaker
I should speaking of yokon and I made I finally made the deposit to Seattle Children's the other day and we we did in fact hit our entire $5,000 goal and So Seattle Children's Autism Center is gonna be getting the $5,000
01:26:40
Speaker
funding boost from us, from No Study Yet just listeners and Yacht-Con attendees. So really want to say thank you again. I know I've said that before, but thank you again. And it was a lot of fun, and I think it would be something that I'd definitely like to do again. I don't know that when we did the first one, if I was thinking that it was something that we were definitely going to do again.
01:27:04
Speaker
this was good I thought it was I thought it went well and I don't think I got to talk to virtually anyone that like the whole show I don't think I talked to any like virtually no listeners I don't even think I talked to you guys much but that's how it goes
01:27:20
Speaker
But anyway, thanks to Richard for coming on. Thanks to Harry Ship for being our guest this week. I thought that was actually a really insightful interview. He was much more introspective than I expected him to be. But I'm now going to be rooting for Harry Ship to do well. So that will be interesting to see him develop. And that's a guy who I think might have a future in coaching at some point whenever he decides to hang it up, hopefully not anytime soon.
01:27:48
Speaker
But anyway, I am Jeremiah O'Shan, or I should probably thank our sponsors as well. Before I get too far ahead of myself, Verity Credit Union, Queen Anne Acupuncture, Constellation & Company, Full Pool Wines, and Designers Marble. I am Jeremiah O'Shan, signing off on behalf of Aaron Campo and Likit. This is No Study at Dis. Remember, you'll never be alone. Green Douglas, where were the waters cut through?
01:28:15
Speaker
Down to wild mountains and tangents you flew Canadian northwest to the ocean so blue It's Roll On, Columbia Roll On Roll On, Columbia Roll On Roll On, Columbia Roll On Your power is turning our darkness to dawn Roll On, Columbia Roll On
01:28:45
Speaker
We love you. Let's win another one!