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Kickoff: 9-man Seattle Sounders melt down in Vancouver
347 Plays23 days ago
Ɪt was a debacle for the Seattle Sounders in Matchday 18, as the Rave Green got two red cards and lost 3-0 to a depleted Vancouver Whitecaps side. With the Club World Cup now just days away and the player protest regarding the prize money still raging, can Seattle salvage the vibes, or is the 2025 campaign in danger of slipping away?
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Lobbing Scorchers is a Seattle Sounders and MLS focused show brought to you by Sounder at Heart. Hosted by Major League Soccer's Ari Liljenwall and Producer Noah Riffe. Join us as we lob our scorching takes on the American soccer landscape, Seattle Sounders, Major League Soccer, USMNT and more.
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Transcript
Introduction and Viewing Options
00:00:00
Speaker
This episode of Lobbing Scorchers was previously recorded and streamed live on YouTube.com slash at Lobbing Scorchers. If you want to listen or catch these episodes live, see the video, and see all the rest of our content, go to YouTube.com slash at Lobbing Scorchers or LobbingScorchers.com slash YouTube.
00:00:22
Speaker
Well sir, we got a scorcher today. Gonna be a real scorcher today. Why the scorcher today? Well it's gonna be scorcher.
Seattle vs. Vancouver: A Pre-Tournament Challenge
00:00:45
Speaker
Good morning, everybody, and welcome in to another episode of Lobbing Scorchers Kickoff. I'm Ari, that's Nico, and we've got a big show for you here this morning. The Seattle Sounders took a little trip up north to Vancouver, Canada.
00:01:03
Speaker
Did it go well? No, it didn't. Did they get two red cards in three minutes? Yeah, they did. Are these the vibes that you want about, what, six days before you take on Botafogo in a Club World Cup opener in a tournament where you also have to play Atletico Madrid and PSG? No, they're not. Those are not the vibes.
00:01:29
Speaker
That you want. We're going to talk about all that and more. But before we do all that, please like the video, sub to the channel and follow us on all socials.
00:01:41
Speaker
ah Nico, let's just get right into it because this was this was a doozy. Noah and I went up there to to BC Place ah expecting a depleted Whitecaps side that would give Seattle a great opportunity of ah at least taking a result in this game.
00:02:00
Speaker
That did not pan out. Like I mentioned, two red cards in three minutes, which we'll talk about that. I don't know if I've ever seen two and three. ah But I'll give you the floor to start us off here this morning, Nico.
00:02:12
Speaker
If you guys have any topics, questions, grievances, or agendas, as always, feel free to drop them in chat. We'll try and get to as many as we can. ah But Nico, what did you see in this debacle in Vancouver that saw Seattle play the ah pretty much the so whole second half with nine men?
00:02:33
Speaker
Yeah. Look, ah first of all, good morning to everyone who is listening. Thank you for hopping on. And thank you, Ari, for having me as always.
00:02:43
Speaker
Definitely a game that I would categorize as embarrassing and as something that although we're not going to you know dwell on what it means for the rest of the season and I'm not going to you know overreact in in what general sense,
00:03:03
Speaker
you got to call a spade a spade. And whenever you go into Vancouver with a team that has nine absences, seven starters, their best players, without a doubt, not as part of that squad.
00:03:17
Speaker
I said on Friday, I expect Seattle to there and get three points. I don't put that expectation on this team very often, but when I do, I expect them to play at that level. and from the very beginning, it just did not feel like the team was,
00:03:33
Speaker
up for it. And I'm not sure why that was. And i don't necessarily want to blame, you know, Brian Smetzer for the team he chose. I thought he chose the best thing available that he had. And, you know, you saw Ryan Kenney, you saw Pedro La Vega, and you wanted to see Jesus Ferreira up top.
00:03:55
Speaker
But at the end of the day, just the team didn't seem to execute. They weren't connecting. I thought that defensively they were gappy. They were reactive.
00:04:09
Speaker
Every single time they seemed to be behind where the ball needed to be. The angles, you know, from New Who, the whole game, even before the red card, ah were bad.
00:04:21
Speaker
i just don't know. what it is that happened prior to this game that just felt like the team was not ready for it.
00:04:33
Speaker
And it's be sometimes is even beyond the tactics. It's just one of those games where one thing leaps to another and it becomes quicksand. And the harder you try to get back, the harder you fight, the harder you kind of,
00:04:48
Speaker
get sunk into the influence of the game and ah just got away from him. But it just does not take away from ed being an unexcusable loss in a situation where you needed to get back after a Minnesota game that you could have also possibly won. And you thought that you were in
Analyzing Seattle's On-Field Struggles
00:05:13
Speaker
every single minute of that game and you were not ah unable to get a result against Minnesota at home.
00:05:19
Speaker
And now this just compounds the issues that the team has had. And I'm not going sit here and talk about whether or not it has anything to do with the team's protest for a fair share of the Club World Cup.
00:05:37
Speaker
I think that there are two separate, you know, thought processes when it comes to that. This team needs the wins. They need the the good vibes to go in line with what they're trying to get at the end of those negotiations. So if you're thinking that the team is purposely trying to lose, that just makes no sense because the team needs that. They they they need to be able to reflect that they deserve that money by getting some wins.
00:06:07
Speaker
But at the end of the day, i just think that Seattle was not up for it. I felt like the red cars were the biggest problem that that just kind of started everything. And I mean, i I'm not discovering anything that's new, but I expect better from Nuhu in that situation.
00:06:27
Speaker
um i thought J Bell got unlucky when it comes to the actual um impact and where the collision happened.
00:06:39
Speaker
Should I have known better? Should have been better positioned? Absolutely. But this team is in dire need for a leader that just brings it all together. And I'm not calling Seven Friday not a leader. I'm just saying when it comes to on the field and when things start to spiral out of control, you've got to have somebody just calm the team down because it felt like little by little the team just – started playing more towards what Vancouver wanted to do.
00:07:10
Speaker
And just got away from him. So to me, in conclusion, both parties are... responsible for the poor performance.
00:07:20
Speaker
I'm talking coaching staff and the players. I'm not going to hit one or the other. I feel like this was a collective loss. It is concerning. I'm not going lie to you.
00:07:31
Speaker
It is concerning. I'm not going shy away from the fact that when you're having back-to-back lackluster performances and you start to feel like the vibes are heading in the wrong direction,
00:07:41
Speaker
It does make me concerned. I'm not going to give you a statement and say that this team is done and over with and what are we doing and look at this roster. We've seen good performances from this team, but this was about as bad as it gets. I saw Brands Master talk about he thought that the San Diego game was worse because he felt like the team didn't try or there wasn't more effort.
00:08:05
Speaker
I would disagree. I think that this one, San Diego is great team. San Diego is a team that was going to be a problem. This is a depleted Vancouver team that you had the obligation to go and beat.
00:08:18
Speaker
And not only did you not do that, but you were outperformed. You scored and you shot zero times on target in this particular game. You created close to nothing.
00:08:30
Speaker
That's embarrassing, man. It's as simple as that. Let's hit a couple ah things from Chad here, starting with something related to what you were hitting on with the lineup. P. Magno says we lost to their next pro team.
00:08:42
Speaker
ah they they like They really didn't. like When I saw that ah they called in seven whitecaps, two guys before the game, I was expecting a way weaker lineup than they actually put out there. like Don't get me wrong. like They didn't have...
00:08:57
Speaker
ah you know, Brian White, Sebastian Berhalter, Kubas, Pedro Vitae. So yeah, like all their big dogs weren't there. But if you actually look at their lineup, I mean, they had Ocampo, who's their starting fullback out there. Tristan Blackman and Ranko Veselinovich were both in there.
00:09:14
Speaker
Laborda is a a guy who plays a lot for them. Sabi is is a guy who plays a lot for them. Ralph Preso is like ah a player who has a lot of mlx ah and MLS experience.
00:09:26
Speaker
And Daniel Rios is there when Brian White isn't available. He is their backup striker. So it was a it was honestly a stronger lineup than I was expecting from Vancouver. ah But I think even in the first half before it went all all off the rails, I did have the thought Nico that I think this was probably getting talked about like a guaranteed win more than it actually was.
00:09:47
Speaker
ah They were, ah they were certainly short. Like if you saw the status report before the game, you had 17 guys on there. ah handful of those guys ended up starting and playing ah But it was it was not like they threw Whitecaps 2 out there ah to play this game.
00:10:06
Speaker
ah did They did get bammed on by a 19-year-old from Surrey, British Columbia. So that did happen. But like I think this this always was probably going to be a more difficult game than...
00:10:19
Speaker
people were expecting, especially when I saw the lineup, I was like, all right, that's definitely shorthanded, but that's not as much caps to representation as I was expecting. ah But ah Nico, let's just, let's talk about these red cards a little bit more.
00:10:35
Speaker
Two red cards in three minutes. Like I said, I don't know if I've ever seen that. And really you kind of chalk yourself in that game on the first red card on the first one, ah because You're down 1-0 at the time, but if you look at the first half, ah a result was still there for the taking going into the second half.
00:10:55
Speaker
ah You didn't generate enough on offense in the first half, really passed that. Ryan Kent probably generated the best chance of the game for Seattle. two minutes into the game. Like when he had that run down the left side, ah he puts that in, Alex rolled miss hits it.
00:11:10
Speaker
That was a, that was a good chance. That was the type of stuff that you want to see Ryan can't do, but then past that, like Brian Schmetzer mentioned, they just weren't able to generate enough in the first half. but you still have a fighting chance in that game. Yeah, you got bammed on by a 19-year-old from Surrey.
00:11:25
Speaker
It's only 1-0. It's 11 on 11 at that point. Like, you got to go out in the second half and respond to a lackluster first half. And instead, they get two red cards in three minutes.
00:11:37
Speaker
ah The first one that Nuhu got is just...
00:11:45
Speaker
He did a lot of things wrong on that play. starting with the angle that he took to try and ah cut off the runner. He gets beat. ah But then once he gets around you right there, you can't,
00:11:58
Speaker
grab him by the shoulders and throw him like, you know, you know that if you do that before you do it, that if you do that, you're going to get sent off. Like there's no question about it.
00:12:10
Speaker
So that was the, ah that was the first thing that led to the game going fully off the rails. ah The J Bell one is tougher. Like, When I'm when I'm evaluating these things, I try and think of like, you know, what could he have done differently, if anything?
00:12:25
Speaker
ah And it's like, yeah, his feet get tangled up. I don't think he's trying to do that. But it's a situational awareness. Like you have to know, again, that ah that you're susceptible to something like that and that your teammate also got a red card three minutes earlier and just, you can't let it happen.
00:12:46
Speaker
You can't get the second red card and have the rest of the team finish with nine men. ah So ah like Nico, what do you, ah what do you attribute that, that little sequence to? And I guess you kind of ah you kind of mentioned, mentioned it, but there's just, there's so much drama going on with this team right now off the field.
00:13:09
Speaker
ah Christian rolled on has said that it's a, it's a distraction. So, I mean, do you think this off-field drama is starting to seep in or has started to seep in to what we're seeing on the field right now? Because i honestly don't know. Like, I'm not inside anyone's head, so I can't say.
00:13:29
Speaker
ah But, like, you know, when that ball is coming in over the top, is New Who, like... oh man, I can't focus on this right now because of the Club World Cup bonus money. you know like i't I honestly don't know if that's how it works or what to attribute it to.
00:13:45
Speaker
So I guess... ah did Do you have any other thoughts just on that sequence where they got two guys sent off in three? Have you ever seen two two red cards in three minutes? and No, not, and not, not with this team in particular.
00:13:58
Speaker
You know, maybe Sudamericana game. I've seen something like that where, you know, it's been a double yellow and a straight yellow after a yeah reactionary big foul, but,
00:14:12
Speaker
When it comes to what you mentioned, I think that all we can do is speculate and I feel like it's a common or a human sensation to feel like First of all, two things. One, k Christian Rodin has already said that this whole thing has been a distraction.
00:14:35
Speaker
And when players are spending time going over you know CBAs and Zoom conferences and things of that nature rather than film study and and things, I mean, he can't get away with with things. So they've admitted to it being in a distraction. I'll say that it is still continuing to be a distraction.
00:14:54
Speaker
um secondary, i think is a human emotion for you to feel unmotivated. And, and you know, after the whole Adrian Hanauer situation happened, and I know that there was a players meeting and and they were trying to find some common ground and things, but I might still feel jaded. I might still feel some sort of way.
00:15:14
Speaker
And Seattle is a team that It's about that unification and fighting for the badge and all of these things. And when there are things that make me doubt, whether it is commitment from management or or the league or whatever, it can mess with my mentality.
00:15:33
Speaker
So I can only speculate. I'm not going to say that that's the reason ah why this game got out of hand, but perhaps there are factors that are included in bad decisions, in decisions,
00:15:48
Speaker
Angles taken where the line was at. i so I use the word reactive that J Bell red card happens because he is not reacting early to that pass.
00:16:01
Speaker
And it's not just where it drops because he does kind of misreads it. But as soon as there's no pressure on the ball carrier and you as a defender find yourself as high up the field as you were. You have to know that the run is going to come and you've got to previously anticipate Usually this team has Yamer Gomez-Andrade, who is the correction to any issue that happens in in that part of the field whenever
00:16:33
Speaker
a center back or a fullback takes a bad touch or they're misplaced. If there's one guy that's going to correct it because he has to speak to do so is the American was on dry. They don't have that right now. And that is huge for him.
00:16:45
Speaker
That includes new new, despite his speed, he knows that the American was a jar is going to be there to help out. And you can see how much the team needs them. So it is awareness.
00:16:57
Speaker
it It is about understanding what the white cops are going to do. Brian, mentioned something about, he thought that he was surprised that they played with three men backline, you know, that, you know, the fences five and, uh,
00:17:10
Speaker
The way the pressure works, he needed it to be three on three to match the three. And they had maybe not been working on that. they they They were working in four. So he took accountability for that. Maybe that has something to do with how direct they played.
Impact of Team Drama and Tactics Failure
00:17:24
Speaker
But I mean, there was nothing about the starting lineup and the approach to the game that was any different that that we've seen that should have surprised you, except for maybe the the formation. and And that's two different things. The system, the principles were the same.
00:17:40
Speaker
So it all goes back to, is there distraction? Is there an animosity in between what the players feel like it's rightfully theirs? You know, we saw Stephen Fry and a bunch of other teams ah teammates, I believe, put social media, the fair share logo. They all posted it on IG at the same time.
00:18:02
Speaker
They all posted on IG at the same time. So are you maybe thinking of other things? Yes, I think that that's a small factor. But at the end of the day, It is about executing in the field, and that just didn't happen here.
00:18:13
Speaker
I will say one thing. ah Just trying to think and figure out what it is that went wrong. BC plays, and we side with, I think it was Minnesota that played them last over there.
00:18:26
Speaker
And ah Minnesota is a team that plays off the counter. they they They need to be very proactive ah in the passing. They need to be effective in the passing. And Eric Ramsey mentioned that the field makes it very difficult for the passing work.
00:18:41
Speaker
I also know that when it gets hot, it specifically makes the ball really sticky or really slow when it comes to the specific field. So did that have something to do with? Maybe. Seattle's a team that's possession-based, that does a lot of dribbling.
00:18:54
Speaker
ah We saw them struggle with it, ah with the exception of that early opportunity that Ryan Kent had, where he takes on the player, puts the ball into Alex Roldan, Alex Roldan's unable to connect.
00:19:07
Speaker
Maybe that minute or second minute opportunity if that goes in you change the game sure but maybe the field and just the way that they were set up just wasn't for their advantage so looking into what could have possibly gone wrong maybe i'd go there but at the end of the day is players making bad decisions if new who
00:19:30
Speaker
Lockdown defender, MLS experience, Cameroon international. If he can't decide that if that player is ahead of me, I have to try to cut the angle and use my speed and, or hope that Stefan Fry makes a save, then you have to do that. You got to live to play another play.
00:19:50
Speaker
and And he made a decision to not do that. Even the way he walked off the field, he knew what he did. And that just doesn't sit well with me. Because if there's anything that we're not expecting, I don't know who, is maybe being an outstanding attacker and putting perfect balls into the 18 and scoring three or four goals a season.
00:20:12
Speaker
But if there's something that we have an expectation of, it's for him to be a good defender. And that's a bad decision. That's poor defending. So it goes on him. And in terms of Jay Bell, he's put into a bad situation where there's a lot of rotating pieces around him, where ah you're coming into a team that maybe you thought was going to play you differently.
00:20:35
Speaker
But at the same time, you're a pro. You should be able to see that ball coming. You should be able to react prior. So there is individual issues there.
00:20:45
Speaker
I thought that Brian Kent was sporadic. you know He continues to have issues whenever the game doesn't go his way. I thought Pedro de la Vega was okay, not not great.
00:20:58
Speaker
I thought the pivots
00:21:02
Speaker
were not um non-influential, uninfluential, uninfluential on the ball, uninfluential on defending. And that's because not because they didn't want to do it. I just felt like they were kind of bypassing the midfield.
00:21:14
Speaker
You know, that ah the Whitecaps were so direct that it was just difficult for them to influence the game. So you can make excuses about everything, but there just wasn't enough on the field. There was not enough defending in the in the box, in the 18.
00:21:30
Speaker
The pressure was...
00:21:33
Speaker
non-existent from the top. They were trying to put a lot of ah numbers forward to try to prevent Vancouver from getting in a flow, and they were passing through it. It was just a poor game.
00:21:46
Speaker
And although I've said this a thousand times, soccer is circumstantial, that's two games back-to-back where you are not doing what you're supposed to be doing. You're unable to figure out, regardless of how simple the system is in front of you, because you knew what Minnesota was going to do.
00:22:04
Speaker
You knew how Vancouver was going to play to a certain extent, and you're still unable to bring in your system, your identity onto the field, your tempo.
00:22:16
Speaker
Those are the things that are, you know, hard excuse. I think baby Corka put it, put it well here. I think distraction more so as in focusing on meetings, negativity, playing for a badge that feels like it doesn't have your back.
00:22:32
Speaker
Maybe all talking about it before the game, not the same game prep. Yeah. I think ah the, there's just the general air of negativity. Yeah. Like that doesn't, that doesn't help you play well.
00:22:45
Speaker
And like, I think more so than like distracting them, it just like, it manifests like in how you play. So yeah, like another one from BBC Orca, just like if you have a family situation or something to deal with outside of work, these guys have club world cup distractions, families, newborns.
00:23:05
Speaker
One more big thing is a lot on the plate. Yeah, like exactly. And I think that more so than like it being a distraction of them, like thinking about it while they're on the field on an individual play. It's just the the general vibe, the negativity, the drama that doesn't that does not help you perform it. ah It certainly doesn't.
00:23:28
Speaker
ah Nico, I think like if if we're talking about the ah the struggles that they had and attack this game, I just felt like the first half, ah they couldn't get the game state to what they needed it to be to take advantage of the the circumstances the way I I was thinking about it going into this game is all right. Like you got, yes, it's a stronger lineup than I thought, but a lot of these guys were on the status report with having come down with that illness.
00:23:53
Speaker
Tristan Blackman ah was, was really sick in the days leading up but to this game. That's one of their best players. ah So the question is like, what do you have to do to take advantage of that And to me, it's run at them, like run at them from the opening whistle and like to do that, ah get out in transition.
00:24:13
Speaker
And I didn't think they were able to do that enough, which is partially a ah credit to Vancouver. But it just felt like there was a lot of they had a lot of possession in the first half, I thought, in the final third.
00:24:26
Speaker
But it was just... knock it around for a while pump the cross in and it was relatively easy for them to deal with again aside from the ryan kent uh that early ryan kent chance uh there was there was times where they had space out wide but they weren't able to create like any real danger out of it and uh and then vancouver i mean they get they get a A nice little goal, but it's not like ah It's not like the game was out of hand at that point And then you let it get out of hand By getting ah two red cards in three minutes ah we ah Yeah, go for it, go for it And then we'll hit the next topic I want to rebuttal something you said earlier You kind of touched on it right now I understand that Daniel Rios is a
00:25:12
Speaker
serviceable, decent MLS player. i think Ocampo has been a revelation, ah you know, from, um from Cali. He's been fantastic for this team. ah Defensively, I'm not going to argue there.
00:25:25
Speaker
You got your two bosses. You're going to expect them to be solid defensively. But at the same time, I looked at that lineup and said, this is, their B team, regardless their not being their youngest or the Vancouver two, but but it is their B team against your best.
00:25:45
Speaker
This was your best. There was nobody that wasn't there with the exception of Guillermo Gomez-Andrade that you were not gonna have on the field. So to me, I expected that three-point. I absolutely expected it with that same lineup.
00:25:58
Speaker
In the first half, yes, you had possession, but that's because Vancouver gave it to you. They played deeper than they play usually. That that was surprising, perhaps. We talked about the three-man back line.
00:26:10
Speaker
It was five back there. There was a lot of white jerseys any single time that Seattle would get forward, but you got to be able to break it down. You... got to be able to switch the point of attack quicker. You have to be able to take on players.
00:26:23
Speaker
and You got to be able to have somebody that's going to have to stretch out the defense. and And none of it happened. And you had the guys for it. Because, again, Brian's point.
00:26:35
Speaker
Look, he said, I knew that we I wanted runners, like you just said. I wanted to make sure to get at them right off the bat because they were going to be depleted. i think he used the word depleted. So he had his two most talented attackers, wingers-wise, the ones that are going to take on the 1v1s, they're going to be able to beat you off a dribble, and and you were still unable to do it. So that's when...
00:26:59
Speaker
it becomes a little bit about the players. And you know there were opportunities. ah I thought Albert had a poor game in this one. He was not precise. He was not effective.
00:27:10
Speaker
He had a couple of opportunities inside the team that I know he wishes he could have back. Ferreira, you know, I thought he did some decent things in terms of link up, but once again, not a lot of services. Don't know how much I want to put that on him.
00:27:22
Speaker
ah b Brian said that maybe with the three-man back line, he would have started Musowski if he would have seen that coming. Don't know how much that would have really done in my opinion, but I get It's a different profile. different player.
00:27:35
Speaker
Would have been interesting. But the game didn't really open up in terms of half chances, opportunities, until Seattle was with nine players out because Vancouver was, you know,
00:27:46
Speaker
ah kind of, he they took the foot off the accelerator. I also think that guys like Paul Rothrock, they show us again why they should be more respected by the fan bases and, ah you know, more considered for these sort of games because the two-way function, that the duality of defense and offense from Paul Rothrock when he came in as a support club was super important. I wish I would have seen that from the very beginning. so a lot of question marks in terms of just individual performances.
00:28:18
Speaker
I'm not going to doubt the effort. I think that the effort was there. I don't know if the character, the response, once the red card happened and the first goal went in, you're right.
00:28:30
Speaker
The game was still in hand, but if i felt like the, The best five or 10 minutes of of tempo, let's call it five or six minutes of tempo, were at the start of the second half, and that was short-lived because then the red car comes around and it just goes downhill from there. So the the lack of response from the team, that's what I want to question here.
00:28:54
Speaker
And the inability... for everybody to settle down and understand, hey, we just lost a player. Let's just relax a bit. You talked about transition.
00:29:06
Speaker
i thought that Brian was trying to get them to be more calm, actually. He, a couple of times, was doing some of this, like, relax with the ball. we just We just got possession, and we're rushing it into a deep block with five and four. I mean, it's it was it was hard to get through.
00:29:27
Speaker
So, I don't know if there was anything in terms of principles and preparations that that ah didn't necessarily, that were planned, that took them by surprise with a couple of maybe exceptions, but it was the players on the field that didn't perform and they should have performed.
00:29:47
Speaker
This was taught about as a trap game. That's another thing b Brian said. We talked about this being a potential trap game. to acknowledge him. I mean, they focused on the fact that this could be a trap game. So there was nothing that happened that they didn't see coming, in with the exception of how deep they play maybe in the three-man back line.
00:30:03
Speaker
But that does not excuse the team from how poorly they were defensively. This was one of the best defensive teams it last season. that You know, that that's their m M.O.
00:30:15
Speaker
That's what keeps their ah Their bottom so high right Their floor is so high because of their Defense and when that goes Out the window that's when I start have concerns Niko let's talk about ah Ryan Kent a little bit because i think you know it's It's clear that he hasn't been able to Recapture the magic of those first Two three games where he looked like The greatest player I've ever seen ah But it was again Pretty ineffective overall. It was ineffective overall in this game outside of the one early chance that he created.
00:30:51
Speaker
And to me, it just feels like ah they need to figure out a way to take better advantage of all the attention that opposing teams are throwing at him.
00:31:04
Speaker
I don't think these teams, they're all doing pretty much the same thing, and it's not that complicated. When he gets the ball isolated out wide, ah they either just straight up send two guys at him, or if he is isolated, they they drop a guy. like it's It's like zone coverage basically like behind the guy that he's going against and so even if he does win his 1v1 they've got one and usually another guy like ready to shade over and just make sure that he is not getting through there ah which is
00:31:36
Speaker
ah been neutralizing him. But when teams are doing that, it doesn't not create an opportunity to unbalance them and find other places on the field where you can maybe create overloads and mismatches and stuff like that. They're they're not doing that. Like, he's just getting the ball isolated out wide.
00:31:56
Speaker
And ah if he does make it by the first guy, they have defenders ready to make sure he's not getting by those guys. So ah they need to figure out a way when teams are doing that to take advantage of it. And ah I mean, I don't know what it is like maybe ah not like hit switches or something. I don't know. But like ah it just hasn't it hasn't looked as hot at all. Like since those first few games, ah what have you what ah what is your take on what other teams are doing to neutralize him and how Seattle can take better advantage of of that than they are right now?
00:32:36
Speaker
They got to take advantage it's by at times using him a little bit as a decoy and begin to overload that side and switch the point of attack and be quicker at that. And then at the same time, whenever he does get isolated, you got to be a lot quicker on the ball and get him moving faster.
00:32:57
Speaker
positively behind space. ah So anytime that in a counter, you need to get him going a lot quicker. So what that's the moment that he's going to be able to isolate a defender.
00:33:09
Speaker
ah But whenever you're you're getting played with a couple of deep blocks, like you have in the last couple of games, it's really hard to do. But you you You said it. It's about overloading. It's about switching a point of attack.
00:33:22
Speaker
It's about understanding that um if I am having a – they brace a a a player like that. They brace him with two or ah there's there's a point of reference anytime that he touches the ball.
00:33:36
Speaker
Then you've got to use it to your advantage and start – hitting the weak side of that specific defense. So they essentially understand that if they're going to have a lot of attention on Kent, they're going to be exposed elsewhere. And then that data will naturally get away from Ryan Kent.
00:33:54
Speaker
And then you can go back to him. So I also think that when you saw Brian talk about um not rushing and just being more poised on the ball, that's part of it.
00:34:07
Speaker
you You bring the ball back all the way ah back to the back line. you you You keep long spells of possession and you move the ball away from Ryan Kent.
00:34:20
Speaker
And then all of a sudden, when the space opens up, whether it is by bringing him inside a little bit more at times and not keeping him so wide, but you got to make it less... um
00:34:34
Speaker
repetitive. You got to be able to change it up. If he's only doing one or two things, he's going to be easy to defend. If you bring him inside, if you move him around, you're going to be able to get him open.
00:34:47
Speaker
But if all you want him to do is to get the ball and dribble and there's three or two players that are on that side, he's never going to be able
Fan Interactions and World Cup Preparations
00:34:55
Speaker
to get open. So for me, there's a couple of things, him adapting a little bit more, him playing a ah lot more ah patient ah and less predictable, and two, what Seattle can do with the ball to get him open at times.
00:35:09
Speaker
Daniel says, we Botafogo fans are looking forward to facing the Sounders next Sunday. Hell yeah, man. Thanks for stopping by. i'm ah One of the cool things about being in a tournament like this or or CCC is getting to interact with other fan bases and sort of learn about the other teams. So looking forward to that with all three of the teams that Seattle are going to be playing. But ah Nico, I think that's a ah good segue into kind of looking ahead here.
00:35:37
Speaker
It's a it's club world cup time, baby. And like I said, at the top of the show, the vibes are not where you want them to be. You're in a very public and increasingly ugly and contentious labor dispute.
00:35:52
Speaker
You've lost two straight games. And the last game that you played was a rivalry game where you got, I'll say it again, two red cards in three minutes.
00:36:04
Speaker
Uh, How are you feeling about the ah outlook of the Club World Cup right now, Nico? Because it feels like vibes aside, they're also up against it with ah with personnel. i don't think ah Jordan Morris, I have to imagine, is not going to be playing. We'll talk about that.
00:36:22
Speaker
ah But given like the setback that he had with his injury, that seems unlikely. ah Yamar is questionable at absolute best. ah you're You're just still in this situation where your entire striker and center back groups are riddled with injuries, which those are our two position groups that you do not want to be, especially don't want to be riddled with injuries going into a tournament where you have to play Botafogo, Atletico Madrid, and PSG.
00:36:54
Speaker
um I mean... What do you, how are how are you feeling about the Club World Cup starting, Nico? Is this going to go off the rails? Do you think once the game kicks off, maybe ah adrenaline or what have you takes over and they're able to put on a better showing than people are expecting? Just how do you size it up?
00:37:18
Speaker
i Look, it's... um I'm excited. i'm excited for I'm excited for the opportunity for every single one of these players to show up. I'm excited because anytime that you have...
00:37:29
Speaker
A heavy underdog, there's always the opportunity for a Cinderella story. And I'm not going to sit here and tell you that there is a great chance of that. But sometimes players come up and they play beyond their performances when they are playing out of their own weight class, to be honest. and You never know.
00:37:49
Speaker
You never know. but Look, I saw Saudi Arabia beat Argentina and Argentina going to win the World Cup just last World Cup. Saudi Arabia playing against DePaul and Messi and the rest of that fantastic team, they beat Argentina.
00:38:08
Speaker
they They play beyond their their potential and and and beat them. You know, I've seen it with Colombia at times beating teams that are ah beyond their own, you know, talent pool. yeah You know, you've seen it with Costa Rica, done it in cold work ah i think you World Cups. I don't know if at the club level it happens a lot, but there are, you know, a lot of examples of a Real Madrid either getting a draw by, you know, Sevilla or other teams. I mean, it happens in soccer.
00:38:36
Speaker
These sort of situations are unpredictable at times. Now, the likelihood is very little, especially with what we just said, that the way the team is feeling right now, the you know, the momentum's not really there.
00:38:49
Speaker
There's a lot of question marks on some of your best players. I don't think Jordan Morris will play it. I think Yammer is going to try to force himself his way into it, but Brian was very clear about not risking him.
00:39:02
Speaker
So look, I'm excited because I feel like players are going to outperform their overall potential. And I and i truly truly believe that. I think Seattle is going to play at their very best because all eyes are on you. This is the biggest showcase any of these players are ever going to have.
00:39:19
Speaker
Pedro and and... um ob but You know, Obed. I mean, all of these players that are going to get a chance, maybe it's two Hawkins with how things are going at center back position. He gets a chance to play in there. And that's not what fans want to hear because nobody wants to hear that you're playing a club world cup against the best of the best without your best.
00:39:38
Speaker
But that's just the situation that you're in, but that provides opportunities for you to be surprised, man. And no one, that I know is thinking that Seattle is going to get out of the group stage and, and that's fine, but you do want the team to perform it. You don't want them to get outplayed the way they did just now against Vancouver or, or beyond, you know, seven, eight goals. I mean, I'm that serious that there are people who believe that PSG is going to, you know, put out eight on, on the centers. And, you know, I understand that it's not of the realm of, of that it could happen, but I believe that this team is going to play better than,
00:40:15
Speaker
they have. And I think that there is a motivation away from the salary and the issues that they've had with their fair share of the compensation.
00:40:27
Speaker
So I'm hoping that one, those situations get squared away. And I do feel positive that there, there will be a resolution and that those perhaps bonuses of performance motivate this team to play even better.
00:40:43
Speaker
and They have a good showing, and that's all I'm expecting, a good showing. I'm not expecting this team to get out of the group stage. I'm not expecting them to beat PSG. I'm not expecting them to beat Atletico, but it's always a possibility. I'm never going to say never when it comes to sports because we've seen it all.
00:40:59
Speaker
Yeah, you know, when I was a kid, George Washington Mason, whatever, made the Final Four, you know, in March Madness. So, like, you never know.
Player Fitness Concerns for Club World Cup
00:41:09
Speaker
It could, ah anything could happen.
00:41:11
Speaker
um Nico, personnel-wise, though, I mean... ah what What do you know? ah do it What, if anything, do you know about the status of ah Jordan Morris? I can't, I can't tell you that um you mentioned Steve Hawks. I believe he pulled a quad. He pulled a quad with the U twenties.
00:41:30
Speaker
So I would imagine he is going to be out for this tournament, which that sucks a lot. This is was like a player like him. This is a great opportunity to showcase. And he probably would have gotten the chance with all the injuries they have at CB. But like, I don't think they're going to have him. i don't,
00:41:46
Speaker
Think they're going to have Yimar. ah What do you like? What is the deal with Jordan setback? I honestly haven't heard anything other than that. He had one, but I have no knowledge of like, if the, if there is knowledge of the severity yet.
00:42:00
Speaker
Yeah. So we haven't had a chance to talk to Brian beyond what we know now. i think this week we'll know a lot more, yeah,
00:42:11
Speaker
let's talk about those two players, but started with Jordan. Let's talk about Stuart. Let's talk about Jordan. ah Jordan. The crazy part about it is that he's, he had looked so good all week long.
00:42:22
Speaker
He looked physically ready. He was motivated. He was dangerous on short-sighted drills on scrimmages. You could see that this guy had been dying to get back on the field on Thursday. He left training early.
00:42:40
Speaker
And it was a sprint onto the left side that you could just tell he knew. And we kind of stopped. We saw his body language change.
00:42:52
Speaker
Trainer came, talked to him for a little bit, and he walked off. Just the body language at all. You could just tell that it was something serious, that he was disappointed. So that's when it happened. It was during training. It was last Thursday.
00:43:06
Speaker
When it comes to the severity, I have not heard anything. additional to what we know. i think that I heard Jackson Feltz, I think on ah the radio say something about it ah being a not in the same part of the hamstring that it was before, but just below.
00:43:24
Speaker
ah But that they didn't really know what the gravity was at that particular time. I think the severity. ah So we'll know more this week. But Although Brian didn't come out and say, I'm not playing Jordan or I'm dismissing Jordan from playing the Club World Cup.
00:43:39
Speaker
He caked on a lot of the reasons why it would not be beneficial for him Jordan, as a player, for the team to... potentially risk a player that's going to be so important for the rest of the year.
00:43:51
Speaker
And for what? I mean, right. for for What are the reasons to bring a player? Everybody wants to play this, this, this tournament. Everybody wants to be able to say that they played against PSG against Atletico.
00:44:03
Speaker
But at the end of the day, there's more to just this week. about this team. You got to focus on the future. You got to worry about the achievable tournaments that you have coming up. League's Cup, you know, the standings of MLS play, all of that. So by Brian adding so much to that, it makes me feel and seeing that this just happened, that the reactivation just happened. Hamstrings are so difficult to come back to, come back from.
00:44:31
Speaker
they're They're hard to decipher, even with the proper um scans and everything. It's just difficult to know how you're going to be able to bring that player back, especially when it's one of those explosive players like Jordan Morris.
00:44:46
Speaker
There's so much wear and tear that goes into the hamstring that I don't see him coming back into this game. I use the word likely will not play. I stand by that. I do not think that Jordan Morris will be back for this tournament. And let's say at base scenario, he was ready to go against Atletico Madrid.
00:45:08
Speaker
Would you really force him beyond his own, you know, will to to really want to be out there? I wouldn't. and you Sometimes you got to protect players from themselves. And that's what I would do.
00:45:20
Speaker
Jordan's had way too many of these injuries. And and if a setback just happened, I would absolutely, keep him from playing this game. Now, when it comes to Stu,
00:45:35
Speaker
I thought that they the it seems, or the feel is, when when I was kind of walking around on Friday in the facility, that he might not be as severe, the quad injury.
00:45:46
Speaker
So maybe could he be back ah by, you know, Botafogo or by the PSG game? Maybe. ah But again, we'll know a lot more today when it comes to Stu Hawkins. But I had heard, or it seemed like,
00:46:01
Speaker
the narrative that that that I was kind of trying to listen to ah speculated that it's not as bad. And that's why he was sent back. Cause I mean, the precaution is if the player is not going to be ready necessarily for the couple of games that the national team has, let's just send them back.
00:46:16
Speaker
And I think that's what happened here. So I hope that Stu can get back with the quad injury. He's a lot younger as well. that That can at times help. So I would expect him to get back. Yamar, he's doing some work on the ball and that's always a, a,
00:46:31
Speaker
ah key kind of sign that a player is starting to feel a lot better. and he did He wasn't just jogging. He wasn't just, you know, moving around the cones. He wasn't just resistance bands.
00:46:42
Speaker
He was doing some ball work. So I think he's probably ahead. Keehee, although in great um spirits, they They seem to not know exactly where the calf strain is or how severe it is.
00:46:56
Speaker
He has not been doing any ball ah work on the ball yet. So I think he's farther out than Gaymar. So, yeah, those are learned the four injuries that I think are more looming for this team.
00:47:09
Speaker
Assuming Jordan Morrith doesn't play in this tournament, which I think is a fairly safe assumption at this point. Who's the starting nine ah this Sunday against Botafogo?
Strategic Decisions: Striker Choices and Transfers
00:47:19
Speaker
Who do you think will be and who do you think should be? Because i think it probably will be Jesus Ferreira. But if it's me, if I was the coach, which I'm not, I think I run a little Danny Musavsky out there. What do you think?
00:47:34
Speaker
Oh, man, it's tough ah because, look, I'm
00:47:39
Speaker
As much as I i would go with Jesus Ferrer because I feel like his potential is is higher. When it comes to Musovsky, I mean, he does a lot of things that Ferrer doesn't.
00:47:52
Speaker
hey what Some unselfish runs, some of the ah big big component of the way he plays the position. Scores more goals. Well, yeah, the the goal part, I mean, we don't know yet, right? I mean, he he kind of went cold as well, right? I mean, and you're hoping Musowski can get back, but it's not he hasn't been out there and he still hasn't scored.
00:48:13
Speaker
So, yeah, I think it's it's difficult to say. i would start for her. i just gravitate towards the more talented player, towards the player who's got the higher IQ.
00:48:26
Speaker
that can help all my link players that may able to unlock my, uh, wingers ah more that can have a moment of brilliance here and there. Uh, Masovsky is more of like an even kill, a lot of effort, lot of motor, uh, and against the quality talented team, like Botafogo, man, I just, I'd go with forever.
00:48:46
Speaker
Bad Sequels, thank you for the $5 super chat. Appreciate the support. If everyone, you don't have to send a super chat, but if everyone ah watching right now could like the video, like the video, that would also really help us out.
00:49:00
Speaker
ah Bad Sequels asks, does jordan's event does Jordan's eventual return solve some of these offensive woes, or is this something bigger? i mean, I think it'll it's certainly going to help. ah he He offers something that's... ah different and more dynamic than I think that you've got from your other options at the position at the moment ah for as hot as Moose was ah during that stretch in April and May.
00:49:30
Speaker
he he doesn't offer the same ah like pace and ah dynamic ability in transition that Jordan Morris does. And ah Jordan, I thought looked great to start the season before these injuries popped up.
00:49:43
Speaker
So, I mean, I do think that ah a lot of a lot of this is just going to come down to getting healthy. It's undeniably not ideal when your entire striker group and your entire center back group are are riddled with injuries. like Theoretically, you you should expect that when you get some of those guys back, the ah the level will elevate. What do you think, Nico?
00:50:11
Speaker
Yeah, I mean...
00:50:14
Speaker
Jordan Morris is a guy that people tend to underestimate. And they look, I've been someone that's criticized a lot of his finishing skills and, you know, his inability to do certain things. He's grown from that greatly. I thought last year was his best.
00:50:32
Speaker
showing as a nine. And I think that he's even improved his game when it comes to just retention, just overall off the ball movement, understanding of what he has to do defensively.
00:50:44
Speaker
But no one is going to get behind that defensive line the way Jordan is. No one is going to fit better with Albert as they did last season. Once you create a rapport with a player and look, you could ask Raul who his ultimate best partner of all time it is. He'll say Nico every time.
00:51:02
Speaker
Because once you build a report and and that becomes a thing, it changes things. You remember Almiron and Jose Martinez? I mean, it was just beautiful, right? he there there be that There is a level of almost instinctive play that happens that for me, man, Jordan is just the best option.
00:51:25
Speaker
So, There's no doubt in my mind that he's going to come back, that he's going to be a guy that's going to take over that position. ah But to your question, man, I want to go back to it. I mean, but the focus, ah they're a good defensive team, maybe not as good as they were when they were champions in Libertadores. They kind of struggled. You know, they're sixth place right now in the standings in Brazil.
00:51:46
Speaker
they They're second and they've struggled a little bit in Copa Libertadores in the group stage. Yeah.
00:51:54
Speaker
They have a lot of big bodies there. that The both center backs, regardless of where they go, it could be D.R., it could be Barbosa. I mean, did they have some good players defensively. what what I would worry about Jesus Ferreira is the physicality component.
00:52:10
Speaker
Brazilian and South American teams are extremely physical and they're going to hit you. They're going to, you know, play you just body you completely. Maybe Danny could take some of that. Maybe you start them so you could wear down those center backs a little bit.
00:52:25
Speaker
Cause you know, he has that ability to just crash and collapse and you get get forward. And then you bring in a guy like Jesus Ferreira. But, uh, It's just difficult to strategize for something that you haven't seen, that you haven't played with.
00:52:39
Speaker
ah To me, another thing that goes well in terms of playing South American competition is that you gotta make it fast. South American soccer is a lot more on the ball, at a lot slower paced. If you can get them running, if you can get them going, that would be beneficial for you.
00:52:57
Speaker
So who do you want running? in i don't know. I feel like his suit is faster. You might not see that necessarily gameplay, but I feel like I see it on the on on the training field.
00:53:08
Speaker
So I don't know, man. It's just is a difficult decision, but I would still gravitate towards a guy that – has the most talent, but I totally understand why everybody would want to see Masavsky as well and hope that he gets on a, on another hot streak.
00:53:22
Speaker
Got another one ah from chat for you here, Nico. This is from Wade. Wade says, Hey Nico, when can we expect to make that U22 signing? Seems like we should have made a move by now for this club world cup. Any update on when we can see this signing happen?
00:53:38
Speaker
Yeah. Shoot's a tough word. I mean, yeah. I mean, I understand where you're coming from, but, Seattle can only control their desire to a certain degree. You can't obligate a team to make things quicker.
00:53:52
Speaker
As I mentioned, the 10-day window sure works for for Seattle, and it would be advantageous for Seattle, but sometimes you can't make those deals, especially when you're talking about a U22 player that has a lot more components. A player...
00:54:08
Speaker
80% of the time is going to leave a percentage for ongoing sales. And that tends to be a contingency point of how much percentage of that player that club will remain with. Once he makes another sale, there's a, um,
00:54:26
Speaker
There are contractual things that are just difficult when it comes to U-22 players. So let me just say that. So, yes, I think Seattle's out there. Seattle's looking. They are narrowing down those those targets and those options.
00:54:36
Speaker
But that's in the window of the works for Seattle. And it it would be advantageous to make something happen. Sometimes even if they wanted to, it will not happen. so And I get it. I'm i'm not going to tell you don't criticize that and don't – you know just be be more reasonable because that's that's not here nor there. I mean, if you want a player, maybe he should be here already.
00:55:02
Speaker
Maybe this should have been happening. Maybe those conversations should have started a long time ago. But just the way the time window works, it just doesn't work well for everyone. I'll just say that. I still think just the idea that
00:55:18
Speaker
signing a player like as close to the actual tournament as uh as we've been for the last couple weeks and then expecting to integrate them on the team to a point where they could make a meaningful contribution that would actually change your outlook at the club world cup i've been saying the whole time i just don't see that like i think that is a uh It's just not how it like it sounds nice. Oh, you get this special window.
00:55:48
Speaker
You can reinforce the squad and make it better and you'll have a better chance in the Club World Cup. I think the way it would actually play out in reality wouldn't really change that much as far as your outlook for the Club World Cup.
00:55:59
Speaker
That doesn't mean they shouldn't have used the window if they had the opportunity on the guy that they were targeting and ah used it to get that guy in earlier. But ah I think when Craig Weibel says like,
00:56:11
Speaker
we're looking at this U22 spot for like what's going to benefit the team in the long haul and not in a three week tournament. I mean, it's just, that's just the real the reality of the situation is that like this window,
00:56:27
Speaker
i do I don't know. I just don't think this window could have been used to actually change your chances in the Club World Cup. what i do think is What I do think is funny, is I was talking to ah Noah about this on the drive back from BC Place last night.
00:56:40
Speaker
If you were to make a signing with the intent of like helping this team for the Club World Cup, It would be a center back, not a striker.
00:56:52
Speaker
And everyone wants them to sign a striker with it. And that would just piss everyone off. So that would be funny. But like, if you're looking at like, if you're actually are trying to theorize on what the team could use to reinforce, that would help them in these games.
00:57:07
Speaker
That would be it. Not a striker. Like, that's how I see it. Yeah, no, you're right. And if I'm worried about something going against Botafogo, it's not the attacking end, it's the defensive end.
00:57:20
Speaker
ah Because Igor Jesus a monster for Botafogo. You got... MLS known quality players like Santiago Rodriguez, like Savarino.
00:57:33
Speaker
I mean, this team moving forward is what you got to worry about is how good they're on the ball, how many, how quickly they get numbers forward. Last time I remember seeing them was the Copa Libertadores against you with the Chile and they just moved the ball so quickly and they're so good on the ball. Everyone can take on a defender, and as you would expect from you know South American or Brazilian players specifically.
00:57:58
Speaker
But they're just a team that's hard to defend, man. I mean, it doesn't matter how you do it. They're going to get you moving. They're going to get you on the run. They put a lot of um early crosses in. they They kill for those those run runners in the box.
00:58:12
Speaker
And it's four, and it's five, and it's everyone going after it. They're a difficult team to defend, man. So if we're going into this tournament with not even knowing if Stu's going to be there and it's going to be J-Bell and Jackson Reagan who both had difficult games just now that's where I would be worried about