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Nos Audietis Mailbag World Cup Break Edition
1 Playsin 8 hours
Aaron joins Jeremiah to answer your burning questions as we roll into the 8-week World Cup break. I’m sure none of you have any lingering queries that you are just dying for an answer on. Topics range from Jordan Morris, the rise of young Snyder Brunell, tactical formations and the longevity of our long-time coach, Brian Schmetzer.
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***
Nos Audietis is the flagship podcast for Sounder at Heart, which has been primarily listener supported since 2023. You can support us by becoming a paid subscriber, learn more here. You can also watch many of their shows on YouTube.
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Transcript
Introduction & Host Background
00:00:01
Speaker
Hi, I'm Will Bruin, and I was just recognized as a Seattle Sounders legend. Now I get to do voice reads for the Sounder at Heart podcast network. Here we go.
00:00:11
Speaker
Come on. Hey, O'Shaughness. Let's The Seattle Sounders have done it. MLS Cup winners. The Sounders rule the region.
00:00:43
Speaker
Ooch of a gooch! All creatures, great and small! Rothrock gonna collect it, he does just about, runs into the advertising order. Low to our left, ball goes in! Oh, what a Where's my copy? got bunch of them How many do you cost them? 50 bucks.
00:01:08
Speaker
I'll deadline you.
Sponsorship & Episode Context
00:01:18
Speaker
This episode of Nos Arietes is sponsored by Full Pull Wines, a Seattle-based wine retailer and proud sponsor of Nos Arietes since 2011. Full Pull was founded in 2009, is based in Seattle, and is owned and operated by longtime Sounder supporters.
00:01:32
Speaker
They offer the best boutique wines of the world to members of their mailing list, with special focus on their home, Pacific Northwest.
00:01:43
Speaker
Welcome back to another episode of Nos Adietes, part of the Sounder at Heart podcast network, sponsored by Full Pull Wines and our subscribers. We're recording on Wednesday, May 27th, 2026. I am your host, Jeremiah Shan.
00:01:55
Speaker
Today, i am joined by my co-host, Aaron Campo, and our engineer, Lickett.
Sounders' Current Form & Listener Q&A
00:01:59
Speaker
After a team record tying start, the Sounders are stumbling into the world cup break with a one zero loss to LAFC that left them one, two and two in their last five games.
00:02:09
Speaker
And they're sitting six in the West as we prepare for eight weeks without a Sounders game. But rather than in focus entirely on that, we figured now is a good time for a mailbag.
00:02:21
Speaker
So that's what we're going to do. Aaron, first off, how are you doing? Oh, you know, I'm hanging in there, I suppose. Uh, Had to commute for two days last week and still not recovered. Into Seattle?
00:02:35
Speaker
Into Seattle. Did you drive the whole way? no no, I didn't. I went Federal Way and took the train and that was nice. And I'm sure everybody that has to commute ah is just seething right now.
00:02:48
Speaker
As they should be. It's a really annoying thing to complain about on your podcast, but, you know, that's the way it goes. ah And ah to be fair, it was like... I think that's people can relate to our very...
00:03:00
Speaker
Human fallibility minutes, 90 minutes each way. Right. That sucks. So that I will tell you, I used to when I lived in California, I would do a 90 minute each way commute and it was yeah soul sucking.
00:03:15
Speaker
It's ah yeah, it's it's it's insane. It's insane to expect people to do that. My wife does it every day. I have no idea how she does it. ah I would. Well, I won't get into what I would do if if I had to do that every day, if I ever have to do that every day again.
00:03:30
Speaker
Uh, so yeah, but, uh, you know, on the plus side, I got to watch the Mariners lose and, uh, horrible fashion. So, you know, great week. That's the baseball team. but It is. Yeah. Yeah. Theoretically, theoretically, the baseball team. That's, that's what they say.
00:03:45
Speaker
They call themselves. Sometimes I'm not so sure, but, uh, you know, uh, yeah. Well, on that uplifting note, ah should we just jump right into this thing?
00:03:56
Speaker
Yeah, I'm sure the questions will be really positive and they'll probably pick the yeah they'll the energy up uplifting. and Yeah, let's let's
Tactical Analysis of Sounders' Attack
00:04:04
Speaker
go. First one is from Professor Insufferable 74.
00:04:08
Speaker
Can anyone identify what changed structurally with our attacking patterns compared to last year? You know, i I will be honest with you. i I don't know that to my eye, I see a lot different. I know there's going to be, i know one of the things I've heard people say is that there's just not as much off ball movement in the, and it's not as dynamic And i don't know, i don't, to my eye, it's not, it's not quite that like there is definitely some, you know, the Sounders at the, by points last year were absolutely rolling. And I don't want to present what they're doing now is being close to the peak of what they were. But I, I do think their chance creation has been better than I think a lot of people realize, you know, their eighth or ninth, I believe in expected goals per game, which
00:04:55
Speaker
you know, there are some games, you know, we've talked about this a lot where there are games where that can be pretty deceiving, but you know, we're at 13 games now. I think it's pretty, you know, I think it's somewhat reflective of their chance creation.
00:05:09
Speaker
And, you know, I, I, like I look at the LAFC game and, and it actually was not a particularly high XG game, but they had three or four good scoring chances that, you know, they, they probably should have done better with.
00:05:21
Speaker
And, know, you know that That changes the game a lot. They're defending still pretty well. I don't know that there is an obvious thing that they're doing differently. They're just less clinical in front of goal than they were last year. and Last year, they they finished at a rate that was basically on in line with a very good XG.
00:05:41
Speaker
And this year, they are one of the biggest underperformers in XG. So... I think it has ah it's not a satisfying answer, but I don't know that there's anything structural as much as it is they just don't have players who putting their chances away the way they were last year.
00:06:00
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, that that definitely passes the smell test for me. I don't really see any difference in the way they're approaching games. I think they they go a little more direct at times, especially when Asase is playing up top, which you would expect, right? You've got a big dude up there. You might as well use that.
00:06:17
Speaker
But I don't think it's been drastically different by any stretch. I think the most notable thing is probably that, you know, the Sounders attack didn't really round into form until Pedro de la Vega started of playing on the left. And that was when stuff really came alive. And he just hasn't been there this year. So I don't I don't think that's by any stretch of the imagination.
00:06:35
Speaker
the the extent of the problem because frankly, the Sounders attack has been much better this year by the underlying numbers than it was prior to Pedro de la Vega moving out left last year.
00:06:47
Speaker
And that was, and as we, in case anyone needs a reminder, that wasn't until after the club world cup, which is when their season really started to pick up. You know, they, they went into the club world cup break. If you, you may or may not remember with two straight losses, which is pretty similar to how they, you know, it was, I guess you can actually find some similarities to last year ah in this way that, you know, the sounders before the two games, those two games, they were,
00:07:14
Speaker
like kind of pushing it. They they were looking really good. They look like they might be able to ah maybe even chase down Vancouver in the Western conference last year and be in the supporter shield race.
00:07:25
Speaker
And then they lost to Minnesota at home. And then they lost, they got, they lost that horrible game to Vancouver on the road where Vancouver was missing a whole bunch of guys due to illness. And they just came out completely flat and got pummeled by Vancouver.
00:07:42
Speaker
And, and then they, they kind of turned things around in the club world cup. We don't have to get into all that, but, I think there's, I guess I bring it up though, because there's plenty of reason to think that they can still improve that this last five games is not indicative necessarily of the way their season is going to go.
00:08:00
Speaker
And in fact, I looked this up recently because someone made the statement that every supporter shield winering team goes through a stretch like the Sounders just did. And that didn't sound right to me, but.
00:08:13
Speaker
I mean, I didn't go and check every team, but I can tell you the last two years the that the Philadelphia Union and Inter-Miami both had stretches where they had fewer, five-game stretches where they had fewer than the Sounders did in this last five-game stretch. So if this is the low point, that's great. Now, it's always hard to see the top of the hole, right?
00:08:40
Speaker
when you' brain you're in the, at the depth of it, but, uh, you know, the centers are not in a bad position. There's plenty to think that they can turn around. And if, you know, if it is a big if, if De La Vega comes back and is fully fit at some point, you know, before we get too deep into the season, you know, it could happen. It certainly could.
00:09:00
Speaker
Yep.
00:09:04
Speaker
Oh, I guess I asked you the question now. That's how this goes. All right. This is from it. It's been while since we've done one of these. Yeah. yeah And I should, you know, that's a good reminder. We try to do these once a month. We have not done. ah We did not do one for a while. We have not done one for a while.
00:09:19
Speaker
And in case you forgot, in order to ask questions, you need to be in our discord. In order to be in our discord, you need to be a subscriber at the supporter level or above. That's $75 year level.
00:09:31
Speaker
And I do admit I spend a lot of time in our discord. I, I, it's a you know, there are times where it drives me crazy, but I, I do enjoy the, you know, the community that is there. And so I would urge people to check it out, but, uh,
00:09:47
Speaker
Another question that came from there is from interpersonal. I look at the underlying numbers for the Sounders. Good dovetail from the last conversation.
Evaluating Player Contributions & Transfer Needs
00:09:54
Speaker
And I see the Jordan Morris leading the squad in XG plus XA per 90.
00:09:59
Speaker
Yet a lot of folks seem to think the Sounders don't have a starting striker and that a TAM U22 player is going to change that. If the underlying numbers say that Morris is as effective as up top as ever, wouldn't it make more sense to target another position than to add a fourth or fifth striker option?
00:10:15
Speaker
I don't think it will come as a shock that I largely agree with this. and I do think that Jordan has not played a lot at the nine this year. He hasn't been super effective when he has. I don't think anybody's arguing that he has. He he has not put the ball in the back of the net.
00:10:32
Speaker
And one of the things that I've been really frustrated about this year is that I think the the underlying numbers are good. i think the Sounders are creating chances. i think that the luck will even out.
00:10:43
Speaker
But I think the guys who were paid to put the ball back of the net need to put the ball in the back of the net. It's okay to be frustrated by that. But at the same time, you know i do think Jordan is largely the same guy he he always has been. I see people say, oh, he doesn't have the speed that he used to. He's he's getting bullied off the ball in ways he didn't used to.
00:11:02
Speaker
And I just haven't seen that, frankly. I think that when players are struggling, people look for whatever the most plausible explanation to them is. And Jordan's two greatest weapons diminishing as he ages are plausible explanations.
00:11:15
Speaker
It just doesn't, it doesn't match what I've observed personally. And I think if you keep playing him at the nine, he's going to score, you know, probably 10, 10 to 12 goals with the amount of season that they have left. Right.
00:11:29
Speaker
However, The problem is is that you could say the same thing about most of the other places on the field. Why don't we just, we have quality at this position. Why don't we target a different one? Well, there's quality at it all over the midfield, right? Rusnak, Jesus, PDLV when he's back, Rothrock, Paul Arriola, obviously.
00:11:56
Speaker
In the central midfield, that's maybe the thinnest spot, but you've still got Christian. You've got Snyder Brunel. You've got Dotson. um You have options there, right? You have Kingston.
00:12:08
Speaker
um Left back, right back, maybe. I guess i've I've heard some folks say that we should just consider Alex to be center back at this point. I don't think that I agree with that, but you know if if you think that's the case, we probably need some depth at right back, right?
00:12:24
Speaker
um It's true everywhere. And I think that what the Sounders have struggled to do far so far this season is put the ball in the net. They've been elite defensively again.
00:12:35
Speaker
They haven't been quite as good over this stretch, but I mean, that was always going to even out a little bit, right? There's still a very, very good defensive team, probably the best in the league. I don't think that anybody's going to displace Christian.
00:12:48
Speaker
I don't really want to sign somebody that's going to shift Snyder to the bench. I think it's really critical to stick with young players when they have played as well as he has. So I think you have to sign an attacking player, right? And i think that i
00:13:07
Speaker
Osadze De Rosario is somebody I want to make sure there's minutes for. If Danny Musavski loses minutes because we sign another guy, i can live with that. If Jordan Morris can't score and he gets shifted out to the wing and and they you know change the tactics otherwise, or even he he loses his starting spot, if somebody is producing at that number nine spot, I can live with that. I just think you have to improve the attack somehow. yeah And if the best way to do that is signing a striker, that's that's what you got to do and you figure it out.
00:13:37
Speaker
Yeah, i'm I think I'm with you there. And I'm not, I would say I'm somewhat agnostic about what position they add. And I think that Andrew is making a very valid point here, which is this doesn't strike me as the weakest position. So why are we trying to upgrade it? And yeah look, that's a...
00:13:57
Speaker
that's a valid perspective. I guess I, my thing is and I don't think the sounders are so like laser focused on finding a nine, but I can see why they, you know, that a nine is maybe a little easier to identify.
00:14:12
Speaker
And, you know, especially if you're going to, like, I would think that if you sign a nine probably makes sense to try to move Danny Masofsky at the same time. So it's like, it's not going to be, it doesn't necessarily mean you're four deep at that position.
00:14:25
Speaker
So I don't know. I probably have to eat salary to do that for what it's worth. I think you might. Yeah. But, ah you know, I think that that's it. But that's why you have all this game. Right. um Right. Yeah.
00:14:36
Speaker
You know what? So, yeah, I. You're not wrong, I guess, is what I'm saying. I just don't. I just I just I just think you need to add talent.
00:14:46
Speaker
You need talent. Yeah. Yep. All right. ah Go ahead. right, this one is from Spaceman Spliff. Snyder has been awesome this year, earning that starting spot alongside Christian. How soon would should we be locking him up to a U22 contract so that don't end up taking an 80% discount like we did with Obed?
00:15:06
Speaker
You know, I do think that the Obed situation was unique. Like, he got into a specific situation there where...
00:15:17
Speaker
you know, the Sounders tried to do what was right, I think. And they offered him a U22 contract at a time when it made sense. And I think you have to be careful about offering U22 contracts but before it makes sense, just because you're afraid of it going sideways.
00:15:35
Speaker
But, you know, Snyder is signed for a few more years and you know, I, I think it, I wouldn't be upset if they went and if they signed him to a U22 deal now, but I also think that there's something to be said about like, he hasn't done that much. I mean, he looks good.
00:15:56
Speaker
Uh, is he, is he a million dollar player right now? I, I mean, I don't, I don't think so. Uh, right. So yeah, I, I think I want to see a little bit more of Snyder before we give him a u twenty two deal.
00:16:11
Speaker
just because you start to set a bad precedent of saying like anytime a player shows us anything really. Right. Right. Yeah. I think that, I think that there's this takeaway from the Obed situation that Obed didn't sign the U22 deal and left as soon as he could because he felt disrespected because he wasn't offered it earlier. And I don't, i don't think there's any, I don't think that's where it is.
00:16:38
Speaker
I think that Obed had, folks that wanted him to be aggressive with his career moves and there was an opportunity to go to his boyhood club and you know they they jumped at that and i think you know they they i think they saw that as a possibility for that farther out and they didn't want to hamstring themselves in any way and Look, I mean, we talked about it a lot on the show. i don't know that it was the safest approach, but it's pretty impossible to argue with the results. You know, he's, he's playing regularly for Atletico Madrid.
00:17:13
Speaker
And, I didn't see that happening, but, no you know, here you go. So it's probably good. It's probably one of the best things in the world that he, for for him, at least that he didn't sign that contract, even though it ended up, ah you know, not being the ideal situation for the Sounders.
00:17:30
Speaker
I don't think you can reasonably expect every player to go that route. And I think it's a really big mistake to, as you said, overcorrect so far in the other direction from that situation, especially because it wasn't necessarily a typical situation that you end up committing yourself to, you know, a long-term deal for, for a young guy who ends up not being worth a contract. And I know a lot of people would say, well, the contract's off cap, who cares?
00:17:59
Speaker
I mean, think about who the ownership is, right? Like, do we really want and to hand out contracts that go poorly? Well, and I also think it's worth noting a lot of folks act like a U-22 contract is the equivalent to a homegrown player contract in terms of the way it
Youth Contracts & Financial Strategy
00:18:16
Speaker
hits the cap. And that's not true.
00:18:17
Speaker
ah You know, you have to elevate a player to the senior roster, which is, you know, a finite thing that you have. ah And you have to and they hit they hit the cap at $200,000. Right now, Snyder Burnell is off cap and is a supplemental roster spot.
00:18:35
Speaker
like those are Those are not insignificant things to consider. ah and And by the way, he's signed through December or he's got an option through December of 2029. So the Sounders have him for quite a long time.
00:18:49
Speaker
ah you know they this is They're in no rush. I think it would be at the very least... I think you have until this off season to make that adjustment and it's not. yeah And I, and if you, if you, if the difference between signing him to a U22 deal is do it now, or he's going to have, he's going to spend three years playing out his contract.
00:19:11
Speaker
I mean, I don't know. I guess that's a risk you take. Right. Yeah. I also think there, you have to also consider how other players on the roster are going to react. Right. Right.
00:19:21
Speaker
To a kid who has played really well and and done, I think more than people expected, but has still been not like a, he hasn't been an all-star this year. mean He doesn't have an a goal or an assist. I mean, that's just right.
00:19:35
Speaker
Yeah. And yeah how, you know, if you're a veteran player, How are you going to react to that? Like where you, when you had to scrap and claw your way, like, and yeah, right.
00:19:46
Speaker
Exactly. Uh, all right. This is from MCB. As much as it's not fun, I think the team management will be vindicated for doing nothing in the summer window. Areola coming back alone will juice the attack and finishing luck.
00:20:00
Speaker
We'll
Summer Transfer Window Possibilities
00:20:01
Speaker
even out. If Pedro three fourths of his best, the team will be a wagon. Do you disagree? I do. And not on the merits of the argument ah that the Sounders can... If the argument is that the Sounders can not do anything in the Summer Window and probably they'll be fine, sure.
00:20:20
Speaker
that's I don't disagree with that. um That's not the only reason to do something in the Summer Window. No. like people are frustrated with the lack of signings.
00:20:33
Speaker
Um, people are frustrated with the Sounders doing enough to get into the playoffs and hopefully they can make a run. um people are frustrated with the penny pinching.
00:20:45
Speaker
a lot of these guys, as much as I love them man, like they've been on the roster for ever and ever and ever. And they've been the backbone of the team forever. And I appreciate it. That's great. But I think it's okay to want to see some new guys every now and and then, yeah you know?
00:21:00
Speaker
And every window we go without making make every summer window, we go without making a signing, you know, in the off season there, there were signings, but they were basically just replacing guys that that left.
00:21:13
Speaker
it's a little more frustrating for people. And I find the argument that, well, look, the team is fine. We don't need to improve that much. I find it a little less compelling. And I think too, if the finishing luck doesn't even out and Paul Arreola doesn't juice the attack and Pedro isn't three quarters of his best and the way they've performed over the last five games ends up kind of being the norm and they finish like fifth or sixth and they get knocked out in the first round again, it's,
00:21:43
Speaker
I think that's a huge failure. And I just don't understand why you wouldn't want to empty at least a couple of the bullets you've got in the chamber to try to avoid that. Yeah. I'll just say finishing fifth or sixth and going out in the first round of the playoffs.
00:21:57
Speaker
But like the thing that made last year a success to the degree that it was a success was they won a trophy. I mean, that's it. they They had, they had a great run that they won a trophy that the, uh,
00:22:10
Speaker
the, the, uh, leagues cup final against Miami is an absolute highlight. It's something that every fan who is there will remember and talk about. And, and that's, you, you build that. You want that moment, right?
00:22:25
Speaker
But like let's also not pretend as if finishing fifth and going out in the first round against Minnesota didn't suck. And if that's how this season ends, and it and it like look, if they I guess you can argue that that the approach last year was vindicated because they won that trophy.
00:22:41
Speaker
But I think you can also argue that it wasn't vindicated, that it wasn't. like For all the the good feelings about you know when when Craig said, well, I'm glad we didn't sign a striker because we wouldn't have known that Osaze a chance to shine.
00:22:54
Speaker
Like, I guess there's truth in that, but there's that, that isn't what this is all about. And I think the other thing that is going to be even tougher to sell this year is that, look, you sold Reed Baker Whiting. You sold Obed Vargas. You sold Georgie Manungu.
00:23:11
Speaker
You sold Danny Leyva. Those are four useful young pieces that the whole point of moving them was to bring in someone else who could help raise the bar.
00:23:24
Speaker
And look, if Hassani Dotson and Nico Petkovich are the only two players that you bring in to replace them, you cannot ask people to be happy about that. i mean, that's just, it's not just about results. There is an entertainment factor here and you just can't, I'm sorry, you can't sell that.
00:23:42
Speaker
Like they have the ability to make summer moves and, I think they have tried in the past to do it. And I suspect they will try their darndest to do it again. And if they fail to, if they fail to close the deal, that's a, that's going to be a failure that, and there's not really much to be, so you know, like that's just kind of how it is. um Yeah.
00:24:05
Speaker
And whatever the cause of the failure is, whether it's Adrian gets gun shy and doesn't want to, spend the resources right whether it's whether it's i mean the thing that's weird is that the money is spent right like right the gam is spent it's been converted to gam no so yeah if they it's okay there's two things here one of them is that if they don't sign a player from outside of the league and they don't want to spend money i could you know look i could talk myself into living with that but if they also sit on the gam and they don't make an interleague move
00:24:40
Speaker
on someone who could really help the team that that's where it's becomes, what, do what, what are we doing here? Like, what's the point? What was the point of all the other stuff? If it wasn't to, to make a signing like this.
00:24:52
Speaker
Yeah. And this, this team, i mean, the core of this team is not young anymore. Christian is not young. Jordan is not young. Albert Rosnack is not young. There are young players on the team that are, that are promising that you can build around for the future.
00:25:08
Speaker
But the guys that are getting you to the championship are not young. And you don't want to throw all of that gam at an imperfect solution. But you're you're doing your fans and the players a disservice if you're not at least trying to get better with the resources you have.
00:25:25
Speaker
Yep. ah All right. So let's talk about specifics then, I guess. From KW2026, positional priorities for new player acquisition in the summer window if you could spend all the available XAM resources and how that changes if you're only able to spend up to 75% of that same month.
00:25:42
Speaker
I mean, I don't... I'll be honest with you. i don't know that the...
00:25:47
Speaker
I guess it's the number of players that you are able to sign. Like, I, I don't know that there is one player out there who is worth emptying your gam bank on, but I guess the, if you, okay, let's put it this way. If you are willing to so empty the gam bank account, I think probably what that involves is you are figuring out how to open up a DP spot and,
00:26:16
Speaker
And pushing that money forward. And even if you're not spending it all now, you've sort of, you're, you're structuring it in a way where you're, you're kind of now all that money is spoken for. And so like, if you can go get like a Dion Jovlich or a Google Kuypers, or, you know, someone of like clearly a top class number nine, i guess that's how it looks if you are emptying it.
00:26:40
Speaker
And if it's 75% of it, you know, you're probably looking at more like a Tam level signing and, right you know, I, I don't have anyone off the top of my head that I'm like, that's the guy that they should be going after.
00:26:54
Speaker
But, uh, you know, like ah a Prince of Wusu to use ah a player that I've seen thrown around. This is a 29 year old, uh, striker who plays for Montreal and,
00:27:08
Speaker
You know, he's having a great year. I think he's overperforming his XG, which gives me some pause. But, you know, that's an interesting player who I think people could get kind of excited about.
00:27:20
Speaker
Yeah, um I think there are also there are probably international strikers that are going that are going to be free agents that you could theoretically sign, coming you know, coming in from Europe. Oh, yeah, sure. Yeah.
00:27:33
Speaker
wouldn't take up all of that gambit would take up a decent chunk of it. But I do think that an interleague move is the most likely thing. You have liches would be perfect. if If you can find a way to make that happen.
00:27:47
Speaker
i know some people would be frustrated that they weren't spending a transfer fee to go get a DP nine and they were just trading for a DP nine. But I think, I would be over the moon with it. I think the risk is extremely low. He's he's proven to be a really, really good striker at the MLS level. He's 26. I would go nuts for that. I don't think it's going to happen. I just don't i don't see it happening. um I don't think that... The only plausible route they have to get there is extending Jordan probably through the 29-30 season, I guess, right? Right.
00:28:24
Speaker
And i just don't know if we're we're going to see that, whether he, if he would even want to do that, if the Sounders would want to commit to him for that long at, at you know, a max TAM number. So, but it would be cool. I wouldn't, I wouldn't to complain. But yeah, otherwise, I think if you're going for a TAM guy, there there are options out there where maybe it's not a guy who comes in as your, and as your unquestioned starter.
00:28:45
Speaker
But if you're bringing in, you know, a guy like Owusu off the bench as your first sub, rather than Danny Mussovsky, or if he's scoring and you ship Jordan back out to the wing, I don't think anybody's going to complain about that.
Challenges in Replacing Key Players
00:28:59
Speaker
I mean, and I think the other thing, i guess the other, you know, to go back to Andrew's or interpersonal's question is I think what makes it tough is honestly, it's, it's a little hard for me to wrap my head around the player who is an upgrade over Georgie Manungu, who costs less than what you got for him.
00:29:22
Speaker
And so that's part of why I'm just sort of skeptical of the idea of going after a, and I guess you could bring in someone who costs more because you have more flexibility than that. But yeah, it's, I think that's what gives me some pause is my concern that are we really like, how realistic is it to upgrade over, over him?
00:29:43
Speaker
Apparently, right. Diego Luna is going to be a free agent soon. Is that right? Oh, that would be interesting. That would be interesting.
00:29:53
Speaker
Yeah, good player. 22 too. Wow. That's i know ah good for him. He's going to make some money, I think. He's probably going to be... It looks like he has club options coming up. so okay. Gotcha, gotcha. yeah But he's at a contract at the end of 26. But ah yeah, you would think he's probably in line for a DP extension if anyone is. Yeah, nothing else. Yeah.
00:30:19
Speaker
You've put the idea of Yo'Bloach in my head, and I'm annoyed at you about that. because's I know that it's not going to happen. and ah All right. yeah It's AllGoody wants to know, it feels as if our team has a very high number of good to great players, but very few, if any, top tier talents.
00:30:36
Speaker
I don't disagree. with that I'd call that a high floor, low ceiling roster. Are y'all aware of any correlation between teams which prioritize high floor, low ceiling rosters versus low floor, high ceiling rosters in the context of success, long term stability and ability to perform in must win games?
00:30:55
Speaker
I don't, I think that would be a really difficult thing to to try to quantify um because who who's determining right what the, you know, what that means.
00:31:07
Speaker
I do know that there is no correlation between and spending. there's There is a mild correlation, I should say. There's not no correlation. There's a very mild correlation between spending and success.
00:31:23
Speaker
um In MLS. In MLS, right. Elsewhere, there's a huge correlation between wages, not transfer spending, be clear. there's There's very little correlation between transfer spending, but wages and success, there's a huge correlation.
00:31:38
Speaker
Um, so yeah, I mean, I think the MLS roster rules mean everybody is going to be spending about the same money on all but a few players. And so it's more important to pay the players that you have some freedom, make sure you're getting the right ones.
00:31:57
Speaker
Um, so yeah, I mean, I think that it's the best measure we have to determine that is that there's not really a strong correlation. Um, and, and to be clear, the correlation is more shows that you have to spend some money rather than it literally doesn't matter. Right. Um, right. It's, which I think was an interesting little tidbit that came out of the salary data was that the players, the teams who are way at the bottom of the spend are,
00:32:27
Speaker
pretty much the worst teams in the league. Right. Right. But like once, but there is like, but there does seem to be sort of like a level, like around the 27th, 26th highest spending team where it's like the difference between them and the fourth highest spending team is almost non-existent on a correlation basis. Right.
00:32:44
Speaker
and And on a year-over-year basis, like you can look at some really horrible teams that have spent a ton of money. Chicago Fire forever. ah This year, they're they're they're pretty good. But for years, they had super high price payrolls, and they were awful. um A lot of Toronto FC teams over the years have have been very expensive and very bad. So, um yeah, it's it's really, I think, just there's more important stuff than...
00:33:12
Speaker
spending money, which is the whole point of the structure of the league, right? Like you have to be smart and and make sure you sign the right players rather than just spending your way out of trouble. Right.
00:33:24
Speaker
All right. Next one is from Marth 107. I'm going to paraphrase this a little bit. it's It's a long one, so hopefully I don't leave out the wrong stuff. um What is the process for making changes or improvements to VAR? Would MLS be able to make changes on their own or is it purely up to IFAB?
00:33:42
Speaker
Can any of these changes be actually made? I think some of the suggestions are like limiting the amount of time um and, you know, having a better standard for clear and obvious. ah Can any of these changes actually be made or are we doomed to the cycle of eventually forgetting about virus problems until the next time it happens?
00:34:00
Speaker
I do think that MLS has some flexibility in terms of how, for sure they have flexibility in terms of like the direction they give ah the video.
00:34:13
Speaker
ah review sort of like each league sort of has a different standard and you can see that, you know, in England, for instance, for offsides, they're using, ah they're using automated offside, right? Still.
00:34:27
Speaker
Yes. Yeah. So like, that's an example of something that is so I, ah and like, I don't see any reason why MLS couldn't institute a sort of a time limit on how long an official is allowed to review a call.
00:34:40
Speaker
ah I do think that the, you know, I think they actually have tried to clarify what clear and obvious is and it just isn't,
00:34:52
Speaker
you know, like that's just not, it's like what what's clear and obvious to one person is different from another. Right. And even in, in CONCACAF, they actually don't use clear and obvious. They, I guess they have some different standard, but yeah, I mean the, yeah the short answer is yes.
00:35:07
Speaker
MLS does have the ability to make the kind of changes that you're talking about. i I think I would be, you know like i don't I don't mind the way VAR works on a broad on a broad level. There are individual calls that still frustrate me a lot, but sure i i still find it compelling that the most egregious mistakes are usually fixed.
00:35:31
Speaker
And... And I, you know, I've, I've heard people suggest that it's like, we used to argue about refereeing less than we do now. And I don't, that's insane. Insane. That's an insane thing crazy here. Yeah.
00:35:43
Speaker
Yeah. that's great I think you have to, you really have to like work hard to forget how much time we spent talking about officiating in the pre VAR days. Yeah. And like just offside debates and all that kind of stuff. Right. Yeah. Um,
00:35:59
Speaker
Yeah, I think MLS does a pretty good job with her VAR implementation. i would i would not mind seeing a time limit. um I would prefer it if offside was not reviewable and it was just the call in the field personally.
00:36:13
Speaker
But otherwise, I think it's generally pretty good. i think the issue with it is that the whole like the way that VAR is kind of sold is that this fixes officiating. We'll get all the calls right, and that's crazy.
00:36:27
Speaker
ah and that shouldn't be the way it's presented it should be like this this is a tool that helps us get closer to perfect right but these are still
VAR Rules & Potential Improvements
00:36:36
Speaker
humans decisions are still subjective um the rules of the game are subjective ah to a large degree some aren't right like there's an objective standard for what offside is um but everything else is, is, is open to interpretation to some degree or another. And so, um, I think acknowledging that and just saying like, look, like we got multiple people's opinions on it. Everybody weighed in and this was the call that ended up being made rather than this is the right call.
00:37:07
Speaker
I find the VAR reviews a little like the, the VAR post game analysis thing that they do a little frustrating for that reason, because it's like, you're pretending like this is a binary thing and there's clearly human judgment at play and that's fine.
00:37:23
Speaker
But, um, yeah, anyway, it could, it could be worse. and MLS, uh, does VAR a lot better than a lot of other leagues, but, uh, yeah, a few minor changes would be nice.
00:37:33
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. All right. Well, this one's coming from Dorcas. i Champions Cup has switched to a one game final. Would you switch that back to a two game final? Why or why not? Would Campiona's Cup be better if it was two games also?
00:37:49
Speaker
Why won't MLS switch to three game first round of the playoffs to a point system? First to five points with one point for a tie and three for a win. Um...
00:37:59
Speaker
I don't so I wouldn't mind the Champions Cup final being a single game if it was a neutral site from a competitive standpoint. That doesn't make any sense from a financial standpoint to have the Champions Cup final being a neutral site.
00:38:10
Speaker
So I would personally switch back to the two game final. i don't think there's any chance in the world that happens. But I think competitively, it just doesn't make sense to have... a team host the knockout final. I just, and whatever standard you're using for, well, they earned that spot and then I, come on. Like what, are I mean, I think it makes a lot more sense in a league where you can say field advantage over the a long season, but,
00:38:36
Speaker
They're doing it in Champions Cup where you theoretically earn it in how you play in the tournament, but you're playing very different opponents. It doesn't. It's very stupid. It's it makes no sense. I don't like it at all. I think it should go back to a two game final. Like unless you said if we get to a point where.
00:38:53
Speaker
We can have a CONCACAF Champions Cup at a neutral site and have any expectation that people will care and show up. That's right fine and good, but do not getting into that point think we're anywhere near that point. And I would not want to see that. I had to honestly, when they said Campionas Cup, I actually was like...
00:39:16
Speaker
I don't know. I don't even know. not sure I know what Campions Cup is. And i ah it is i do know what it is. It's the winner of League of MECs versus the winner of MLS. No. every year What are we talking about? Do not need a two-game final for that. really should exist.
00:39:30
Speaker
Yeah. uh and yeah for the for the playoff system i mean yeah they should get rid of the playoff system they have now but they're probably going to so i'm gonna i mean i i have been a champion of this format that he is talking about which is instead of i do like it for instead of it two wins it should be a first to five points and the uh like the so the way would work in case people are wondering is you get one point for a tie, you get three points for a win, and if you and then you would have ah you'd have at the end of a a shootout, you would have a you you would i guess you would get three points in that? i agree i Yeah, but you only have the shootout if it's tied in the latin the third last game. right so
00:40:20
Speaker
um In that event, the Sounders would have gone through over minneapoli or Minnesota. bre And I don't say that that's not to say it's a good format because the Sounders would have gone through. But you shouldn't be able to go through with two ties.
00:40:34
Speaker
Yes. I say that as somebody who watched the games and saw how the series played out and recognize that the Sounders played much better than Minnesota. As frustrating as it was that they shouldn't, it shouldn't have been that close.
00:40:45
Speaker
The Sounders should have gone through and in that series. So. yeah Yeah. But again, they're going to change up the playoff format. Yeah, exactly. Don't don't worry. This format is going to go away at the end of this year anyway.
00:40:57
Speaker
Yeah, maybe. I don't know if it actually is. I'm not 100% sure that they've confirmed that we have this playoff format this year. Yeah, I mean, it wouldn't be the first time they changed it without really telling anybody. So.
00:41:12
Speaker
Another one from Dorcas. The Sounders have been blessed with having only having two head coaches since 2002. How rare is that? It's very rare. I'll just answer that. ah What do we know of the future after Brian Schmetzer finally says goodbye?
00:41:25
Speaker
ah By the way, i just I guess they have confirmed the playoff format for this year. Well, that sucks.
00:41:35
Speaker
it's i mean, MLS, there's no precedent for a coach being around as long as b Brian Schmetzer has between the two stints that he's been the Sounders head coach. shirt Yeah. ah Certainly there's no precedent for one coach being involved in the coaching staff for as long as Brian Schmetzer in MLS.
00:41:56
Speaker
I have no idea how common it is in the world. I would imagine it's exceptionally rare. ah You know, Sir Alex Ferguson was the coach of Manchester United for
00:42:09
Speaker
20 years, a long time, a long time. But that's like, that's, that's the sort of like rarefied air you're talking about. The exception that proves the rule. Almost. um He was manager of Manchester United for 27 years. Yeah. I mean, so, I mean, that's,
00:42:27
Speaker
that's longer than Brian's been the head coach of the Sounders, but a lot longer, but it's, you know, that's, that's the sort of like rarefied area that we're talking about at this point. So it's, it's really, really rare. ah We, and we don't know what the future whole, like, I don't think we like we could guess as to like the succession planning,
00:42:45
Speaker
you know, if, if for some reason he stepped down at the end of this year, I i wouldn't be totally shocked if they were to hire a Freddie Juarez, depending on the the circumstances of his departure. i think they could go look abroad. Like they could go. look I think they would probably try to find someone who has Sounders DNA, like a, a former player or coach or someone that is connected to the club in some way.
00:43:11
Speaker
but I mean, your get honestly, your guess is as good as mine. I've not heard anything even approaching now credible rumors. Yeah. ah And i that makes me happy because I don't want to think about it too much.
00:43:25
Speaker
I have over the last couple of years, I've always appreciated Brian Schmetzer. I've always thought he was a great coach. the last few years I have really come to appreciate him on a level that surpasses how I felt before.
00:43:38
Speaker
um i think that when he leaves, it is going to be a rude awakening in a lot of ways for the fans, maybe for ownership to some extent. ah I think that he is a miracle worker and I would be curious to see what he could have done at a higher level, but I also think he, he understands American soccer and he understands MLS on a level unlike very few people yeah um the only i've done a little quick research here the only person i can find that's had a tenure longer than schmetzer is peter burmese and that's just an mls play right peter burmese was at sporting kc for 16 years um and schmetz has been at uh at sounders this is season 10 right so consecutively
00:44:24
Speaker
consecutive now obviously he's with the usl team and has what much longer history with the club itself eight by eight more years the head coach in usl but even just in mls right like he's already i think the second longest tenured coach ah in league history i believe um so well jim curtain actually got to 11 years with the union oh i'll take that back but Um, yeah, Ben Olsen 10 years at DC United. So if he's around for a couple more years, it'll be him in and Peter Burmese. Right. Um, I would love to see him break that record. I don't know how likely that is though. He would have to be here through, uh, 2032. So another six seasons.
00:45:05
Speaker
Seems to be tough, but yeah. Seems, who know i don you know, yeah. Uh, you know, before we do any more, just want to say we should probably take a break, uh, And we'll come back and we will finish up with the rest of the questions.
00:45:18
Speaker
You're listening to Nos Adietes.
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Speaker
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Sounder at Heart Magazine Launch
00:45:41
Speaker
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00:46:06
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00:47:14
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00:47:20
Speaker
Welcome back to Nos Adietes on the Sounder at Heart Podcast Network. All right. ah Just pick up where we left off. This is from... bely Wait, is this is that me asking? Yeah, I'll ask. Twimberly23, I believe Pedro is still on track to be available, probably limited minutes after the World Cup.
00:47:39
Speaker
What are you most looking forward to for his reintroduction? Also, how does his reintroduction impact summer targets or positional questions for current players like Morris as a striker or winger?
00:47:50
Speaker
um I think the thing I'm most looking forward to is I just think that he has a skill set that none of the other current wingers do. Rothrock is probably the closest, but I think Pedro is just, i mean, he's just a more technical player, right? He's a little less direct, but he he can be very direct. He will ram the ball down his throat if he gets the space to do so.
00:48:08
Speaker
um But he exploits space in a really effective way, and he's just capable of doing stuff that nobody else on the team is capable of doing. Like, I don't think that he's necessarily a better soccer player than Albert Snack or even Jesus Ferreira or Jordan Morris.
00:48:24
Speaker
But he does shit that they do not and would never attempt to do. And that's that's useful, right? He's unpredictable. And when he is at his best, when he is on one, he's unplayable. And and I don't know that there's anybody else on the team that offers that. So I think he's just a he's ah he's a wild card, right? um He had even after moving to left wing, he he still had games where he was largely invisible.
00:48:47
Speaker
but they were much, much less frequent. um But when he was effective, he was effective and teams had to worry about him. And i think that's the biggest thing.
00:48:59
Speaker
um I think it probably does have to impact, you know, potential summer targets to some degree. But like we talked about earlier with, you know, the question of why you would go out and sign another striker. I just think they need help at,
00:49:14
Speaker
in the attacking band and whatever the best player they can get with the resources they have to, to provide that help, I think is what they have to do and figure it out later. Yeah. Yeah. I would, I, I, I, I don't know what to expect about his return, but I think you have to sort of, ah my, my impression is that you kind of have to assume he's not going to be fully back this year. Like,
00:49:43
Speaker
And so I don't know why you like, I just feel like you, don't know. I think it, and that's also part of why I feel like it would be okay to sign a nine because you're probably going to be moving. You can move Jordan back to play, to play there.
00:49:57
Speaker
Yeah. All right. ah Next one from W. Is there anything we can take away from the stretch looking forward to when play resumes against Portland in mid July?
00:50:09
Speaker
i mean, I think any stretch of games you have to take, somewhat seriously. Like you can't, I don't think you, I think it would be a mistake to look at these five games and say, Oh, that was a aberration, even though we were about as healthy as we'd been all year.
00:50:26
Speaker
And like, yeah, there's something to be taken away. And I think the thing that you take away is that this team still lacks like a great offensive player, like a real ceiling raising offensive player. And yeah you are prone to stretches like this.
00:50:43
Speaker
like any team is prone to stretches like this. And so you should be doing what you can to safeguard against it, I suppose. Yeah. Yeah. I don't think I really have any, anything else to add to that. um I, I think that they are better than this stretch.
00:50:57
Speaker
Yeah, for sure. But I think that it's a reminder that they probably not on par with the greatest teams in MLS history. Right. Yeah.
00:51:08
Speaker
Yeah. I mean, I think that's, that's fair. You know, the teams that are at the top of the standings right now are trending like a record setters. And I don't think that this, this Sounders team is a record setter that said, I don't, I don't think they're far off from Nashville. I don't think they're far off. I mean, they beat Vancouver twice. They beat San Jose twice.
00:51:28
Speaker
So, you know, know. It's tough to say. Yeah. Tough to say. All right, this is from Boomstick315. Do you think the World Cup is going to actually have any positive impact on MLS?
00:51:39
Speaker
First World question. I mean, I don't know. it's is it going to raise the profile of the league in any way? I don't think so. I was i was watching some scrolling Instagram the other day and saw a clip of like...
00:51:57
Speaker
I think it was like fifth division English soccer. Right. And the top comment, thousands of upvotes was like, well, it might be fifth division, but it's still better than MLS. Like people are going have like the perception of the league that they have. And there's literally nothing yet. Like the best player to ever play the sport has played here for several years and people and hasn't really done anything that much more impressive in terms of like personal achievements than he did anywhere else.
00:52:24
Speaker
Right. And like, so who like, so in that sense, I don't think so. um And the sense that some MLS players might feature and and make their team some money, maybe that helps in the sense that maybe, you know, some some players who are skeptical of coming to the US decide they like it. I mean, I think that one's probably a little less more, a little less likely yeah than the others, but.
00:52:46
Speaker
and That seems vaguely possible. ah You know, like I love the idea of someone from Belgium falling in love with Seattle and saying like, yeah, yeahll take a I'll I'll just like let me stay here and I'll we'll figure out the money later. Yeah, I don't think that's like out of the realm of possibility. No, no.
00:53:05
Speaker
And the same is probably true of some other MLS cities. Vancouver, I could see very easily that happening, you know? And know I, and I think it's see the global profile of individual cities raising.
MLS Growth Post-World Cup
00:53:15
Speaker
Like I, I really do think at the end of this,
00:53:19
Speaker
a lot of people in the world, including very good soccer players are going to see like, Holy shit. Seattle is really amazing city. Like what, ah like like Seattle, I really think it's going to come out looking very good in this thing. I think Vancouver is going to come out looking really good.
00:53:35
Speaker
And, you know, and so I could see it' sort of attracting talent. I don't know that the average soccer fan in the United States, who frankly is who we should be most interested in attracting,
00:53:50
Speaker
is going to be moved one way or the other by this. Yeah, I think that's that's the thing, right? is like There's this... and i'm not This has nothing to do with what Boomstick is saying. We're just free selling now. But there's this perception that like the most important thing about MLS and its its place in the world is what Europeans think about it.
00:54:12
Speaker
And I don't I don't care what like on the list of things about the country I live in Europeans care about MLS is way, way down on the list of things I'm concerned about. Right.
00:54:26
Speaker
And that was true, you know, 10 years ago. It's certainly true now. um ah But Americans like, yeah, I do like I because that's the thing that's going to level continue leveling league up, right, is getting Americans hooked on it.
00:54:41
Speaker
And I do think they did a pretty good job of of capitalizing on that momentum after 2014. um the the you know The league went through a pretty rapid period of growth after that. um And so I think in that sense, when the World Cup captures the attention of Americans, and MLS tends to do pretty well and in the you know in the ah in the wake of that. So in that sense, maybe.
00:55:07
Speaker
I mean, although I think Matt Doyle is where I got this from, but i I think he said that the league that stands to benefit the most from this World Cup is probably the Premier League. And like that, I really do think is probably true.
00:55:19
Speaker
Like whatever the Premier League rights sold for last time, i would imagine they could probably 2X that at least in the United States. And And I think the World Cup is going to do a lot to raise the profile of soccer in the country.
00:55:36
Speaker
And so there might be some trickle down positivity that comes to MLS as a result of that. But I do not think that this World Cup is going to be in any way transformational for the league. And I put that mostly on, you know, on some level, I don't know what the upside potential really was.
00:55:55
Speaker
But the league has not done virtually anything to capitalize on this moment. And if I can take ah another digression just a little bit, I got an advanced copy of Paul Tenorio's book, The Messy Effect.
00:56:09
Speaker
And there is actually an excerpt in from the book in our magazine that is ah currently being sold. So if you want to go get that and get a look at this this excerpt, you're welcome to do that. ah Go to centerheart.com to buy the magazine.
00:56:25
Speaker
ah But. his point, like the theme of this whole article is that messy came in and he provided this moment for MLS to capitalize and say, look, if like messy coming in, cannot just be about messy selling a bunch of shirts. It has to be bigger. And that's what, that's what the Beckham thing was. It it brought in a whole big change to the league structure and the way they thought about things.
00:56:49
Speaker
And the book essentially says MLS missed the opportunity to do that. And, ah you know, maybe that's not completely gone because Messi's still here, but they certainly missed on the opportunity to fully capitalize on the World Cup. And I think that that's probably true.
00:57:05
Speaker
ah So that's too bad. Yeah. Yeah. Maybe good for, I don't know. ah In some ways, i't I don't think that's so bad for us as fans of the Sounders. Like it's like, we've got a few more years where even without being the most high spending team, we can still be competitive. for freight Yeah, yeah, but that's true.
00:57:29
Speaker
I do think that the Premier League being the league to benefit most from the World Cup is some real, its that's ah some real sports explains the world kind shit, isn't it? Yeah, yeah. All right. This is from look forward. Which teams are you looking forward to watching in the World Cup and why for the quality of play for the potential drama and chaos agents other than the USA? Who will you be rooting for? That's a bold assumption right there, brother.
00:57:51
Speaker
ah And ah second part of the question kind of piggybacks on what we were just talking about. Which of Belgium's players should we be rooting for to fall in love with Seattle and what to stay? ah All right. Let's take within reason.
00:58:05
Speaker
i mean, i don't know. Is Lukaku so far outside of our like, I realize he's a little on the older side. He is on the team, right? Yeah, he's 33. Yeah, i mean, he's a little older, but like just turn 33. He,
00:58:19
Speaker
he you so you know, give me a little piece of that action. I'll i'll take it. Sure. I have to open up a DP spot. Yeah. um Yeah, he would definitely require a DP spot. um You know,
00:58:32
Speaker
All right. ah ah My two favorite Belgian players both play for Villa, so you can't have them. Oh, why not? Because we need them. We're playing the Champions League next year, brother. then theyll hands on edit How surreal is that?
00:58:47
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, it's it's it feels weirder than the last time, um which is saying something because that felt really weird ah just because I didn't think it was ever going to happen again. So now that's like twice in three years. that So it's ah it feels like a thing now. It's it's crazy.
00:59:02
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. It's pretty wild. Yeah. Yeah. yeah I would say if anyone, i would I'll just say this. If anyone from Belgium falls in love with Seattle and we're able to get them as a result of that, it's like, I, I would take it.
00:59:19
Speaker
Like, I, I don't know that there's anyone on Belgium's roster who would not immediately help the sounders. That's probably true. Yeah. I mean, I think there are players, young guys who maybe wouldn't break into the lineup right away, but they're,
00:59:32
Speaker
probably going to be extremely good players so um but what was the oh the second the first part of the question was who are you looking forward to to watching and why uh and who who will you be rooting for i mean i guess i'm becoming interested in belgium just because they're going to be training here yeah ah I honestly have not spent any time thinking about who else like the, like I've, I always enjoy, like I do enjoy watching France. I've found myself chair for France a lot.
01:00:03
Speaker
So I guess there probably will be who I ultimately default to, but I, I, I have never been less in, ah let me put it this way. I, the first world cup that I,
01:00:16
Speaker
ah was working in soccer media for was 2010. And I don't think I've ever been less engaged on a broader, on a broad scale with sort of like the anticipation of the world cup than I would have been this year, which is really surreal because not only is it here, but you know, I'm spearheading a magazine and I've done a lot of stuff as it pertained to our magazine. And maybe that's why, because I was just too focused on that, but I don't, I, I don't,
01:00:46
Speaker
i don't i don't have i don't I don't have a good entry point for myself other than I'm interested in the US, I'm interested in Belgium to some degree. But yeah, um that's boring answer, but that's the truth. No, I think that's i think that's fair enough. ah World Cup for me is generally more about individual players, ah good narratives, good stories that emerge.
01:01:06
Speaker
um I'm looking forward to seeing if Ollie Watkins can get some meaningful minutes. you know i love I love Ollie. he's He's not going to start, obviously, but Man, if he could get like a big goal for England to, you know, to go down in history with them as is kind of a hero, that'd be really cool for him.
01:01:21
Speaker
I'm looking forward to being a hater. I love being a hater. So Portugal, you know, crashing out of the group stage would be great for me. um Whatever, whatever big team that doesn't make it out of the group stage, unless it's what I'm have some kind of sentimentality for. although It seems gonna be funny.
01:01:36
Speaker
I mean, it seems impossible, right? Yeah. i mean, famous less words and all, but it seems really unlikely that a big team is like a team that people have expectations for. Isn't going to make it out. I feel like the new version of that will be not making it into what you would have previously around a 16. Yeah. That'll be the new, like, okay, great. You made it to the knockouts, but then you lost to Greece or whatever. know Greece is in the tournament.
01:01:59
Speaker
Um, so yeah, I think that'll be, that'll be fun to watch. Um, I mean, my my investment in this US team is at a historic low.
01:02:10
Speaker
um I hope Christian gets a chance to play and and does well. That might be the thing I'm most interested in. Yeah, that's the thing I care about the most, right? I hope he gets to play some meaningful minutes and I hope he shows well.
01:02:22
Speaker
um I just find it really hard to connect with this team for a lot of reasons. If they make a run, I'm sure that'll change. I'm sure, you know, my grand chart will grow three sizes, but for now, it's just, feels like it's going to be really hard for me to get super invested in the, in the U S this year, aside from Christian.
01:02:41
Speaker
Well, I'll, I'll tell you, I'm really happy. This question is for you because I, i barely know what pandered to. And for the record, I love it. All right. Well, this is from Andrew and he says, swerve Darby or Nick Wayne, who would make the best summer signing?
01:02:55
Speaker
I honestly don't know who any of those three people are. That's probably for the best. So all three are local boys, right? Swerve from Tacoma, although he grew up in Olympia. Oh, are these? These are pro wrestling? Yeah. Not Olympia, sir. He grew up in Florida.
01:03:13
Speaker
ah Swerve is the best athlete of the three. He's got the best size of the three. ah He also would probably i get a red card every three games because he's a um Darby would die for the badge. Yeah.
01:03:32
Speaker
but he would literally die for the badge. So he probably wouldn't be around too long. Nick Wayne though, I think is the blue chip here. ah He's, he's got, you know, he's, he's quick, he's young. ah He's hungry. He's, he's from Everett. Like I said, these guys are all local boys, but Nick still lives in the area. So he fits in that, in that regard. And yeah, coach's son. Right.
01:03:51
Speaker
So I think you got to go with, with the prodigy Nick Wayne for for this one. All right. Yeah. All right. Last question from, ah from Bard. i'm not I'm not using your Discord in-joke name. i hope that's okay.
01:04:05
Speaker
ah A magic wish-granting billionaire emerges from the grounds at Lumen Field and offers you one of the following three options, but by taking them, the others are out of reach for at least the decade.
Future Scenarios for Sounders
01:04:15
Speaker
oh One... I really like this question. and This is a great one from Bard.
01:04:19
Speaker
A soccer-specific stadium just for the Sounders' reign in defiance in prime Seattle location, comparable or better than Lumen? Option two, unlimited financial roster flexibility to rebuild after this current core ages out.
01:04:32
Speaker
And for the next round of DPs after that, I'm talking messy numbers for DPs, pipeline flexibility, the money to properly replace Christian. And the last one, a proper financial and developmental connection with three major soccer leagues around the world, Spain, England, France, et cetera, for the next 20 years. Which would you take and why?
01:04:49
Speaker
Wow. that That is a really thoughtful question. It is. Yeah. That has a lot of, ah different angles and all three of those things are attractive and not, but also not entirely unrealistic. If for say, like, let's just say like the Sounders somehow, I guess the prime Seattle location throws it off a little, but,
01:05:18
Speaker
You know, like theoretically current ownership could make a soccer specific stadium happen within Seattle. i I mean, I think realistically that this does, that feels a little bit that it would be better or at least as good as Lumenfield.
01:05:31
Speaker
Like, I don't even know what that would be, but right. I digress. This is the nature of the question. Unlimited roster flexibility. I mean, hey, if Steve Ballmer ends up buying the Sounders, I guess that's sort of like what you're getting, right? Right.
01:05:48
Speaker
And potentially you're going to stay at Lumen Field and you're going to be stuck it stuck at Lumen Field forever. ah Or a proper financial development connection with three major soccer leagues.
01:05:58
Speaker
i that's...
01:06:01
Speaker
probably, i mean, let's be honest. Number three might be the most sustainable. Yeah. For a long-term success. But I mean, I don't know. I guess I'm a, I'm a, I'm a simple guy. i mean, number. That's the one Adrian is picking. I'll tell you that right now.
01:06:19
Speaker
Right. Exactly. But number two, ah look, I,
01:06:25
Speaker
I'm a sucker. I, I would love to root for a team that has like that kind of roster flexibility. Like it would be, especially since it probably means you're still like, I love Lumen field. I don't feel the need to leave Lumen field.
01:06:40
Speaker
ah And just to have a soccer specific stadium. Like that's a great point. You know? um Yeah. If you don't need the money that a soccer is specific, that's a good point.
01:06:53
Speaker
I'm thinking that now. Yeah.
01:06:57
Speaker
My answer was the stadium because I think it gives you lot of what the second option gives you, right? If the Sounders are gifted stadium that they control in downtown Seattle, they're going to be making a lot of money. The question is that the sustainability, that the money is out of reach for at least a decade. Well, the unlimited financial roster flexibility out of reach.
01:07:23
Speaker
But I think... I mean, look, if we're just saying nothing about the amount of money that the Sounders spend changes, yeah they still spend like they don't control their own stadium and all you're getting out of it is a soccer-specific stadium in downtown.
01:07:35
Speaker
Absolutely, it's the second one, right? okay Because I'm with you. I don't i don't care about being in a soccer-specific stadium. But if it's you get the stadium and all the benefits from it, you just don't have unlimited financial roster flexibility. Like they're still going to run the club as a sustainable business. they're not going to spend beyond their means, but but blah, blah, blah, blah. I think I'll take this. I think I'd, I'd take the stadium ah if they get to spend the money. Yeah.
01:08:00
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. I mean, yeah, i mean, it's the, I do think there's something to be said about the ah proper financial development. Cause that, I mean, I do think that sort of sets you up for,
01:08:12
Speaker
many more decades than that's true no it's true then like the potential you know because the i will say the danger with the second option which i am like a fly to ah you know a moth to light i guess but the danger with that is that once your rich owner gets tired of you uh that it's that the money, that the money well dries up unless there's, you know, a sustainable kind of project behind it.
01:08:43
Speaker
And there's nothing that's necessarily sustainable about spending a bunch of money. i mean, that's sort of the Arthur blank. You know, I guess you could say like, if you could be, you know, number two, honestly feels a lot like Atlanta United right now.
01:08:56
Speaker
Right. Yeah. Yeah. But that would be fun.
01:09:02
Speaker
Kind. I mean, that's the thing, right? Like if it was run better, you've got me thinking again, because it was run by the guys who brought a Champions League trophy to Seattle.
01:09:14
Speaker
And they so they got worse. So it's like you would have to like. This is not a slight against Craig Weibel, but I don't think I'd want Craig Weibel in charge of running a team with unlimited financial roster flexibility. Right.
01:09:29
Speaker
I don't know if he's the most appropriate guy for that, but I don't think Garth Lagerwey is either. Right. Like, I mean, this is the thing. This is what the fascinating thing is, is that there's no, there's actually no ah good example of a of a team in MLS that has sort of this unlimited financial flexibility And has been able to translate that into sustained success.
01:09:55
Speaker
Right. Except to the degree that Miami has. But like, does anyone think that Miami is being run but like so much of what their success revolves around literally just signing Messi and and sort of like the extra powers that gives you to attract more sort of like very talented people who are sometimes willing to pay play for less than their market rate.
01:10:20
Speaker
and Because they like got know they ha them they spent too much money. They broke the rules to spend too much money for years and were terrible. Right. And so i it's like number two might be a poison chalice. I mean, that that yeah that could be the the reality, at least the way MLS is currently structured.
01:10:38
Speaker
i don I don't know if it's... if it's a, when you have a hammer, everything looks like a nail problem where instead of taking like a holistic view of your roster and how they're going to just like, we'll spend money. You're just churning through DPs over over and over again, thinking they're going to be the magic bullet. Yeah.
01:10:54
Speaker
Yeah. I mean, not going to change my answer, but I do think that it's a more, think there's a lot of nuance to the correct answer. i'm with you. I came in thinking it was very obviously the stadium and I don't know anymore, but.
01:11:08
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. Good question. Good question. Thanks, Bard. Yeah. I, I gotta, I gotta hand it to you. That one. Uh, that's, that's, that's one of the more thoughtful, thought provoking questions we've had. Uh, and doing this for a long time, to be honest with you.
01:11:24
Speaker
So thank you. Uh, hopefully everyone enjoyed that. Um, we're going especially the question about pro wrestling. That was, yeah, to exactly for for me alone.
01:11:34
Speaker
we're going to still be doing shows during this break. I honestly don't know our exact cadence for it. Well, what it will be. i am going to be doing a show with Nico later in the week.
01:11:46
Speaker
Uh, we are going to be doing interviews. We'll have interview shows. I don't know that Aaron and I are going to be doing a whole lot of proper shows like this. There's going lot of content on this. channel uh i just don't know exactly what it will look like but we'll have plenty of audio content for you to consume we're gonna have lots of digital content for you to consume as well so don't get too worried but it's gonna look you know we've got eight we've never had this where we've had eight weeks off in the middle of it's pretty crazy yeah I think, I think we'll probably try to do a monthly mailbag. Uh, yeah, I would check in. yeah We can at least do a couple of more mailbags, get back into that cadence as well. But yeah, that would be good for us.
01:12:24
Speaker
Uh, in the meantime, go out and buy four. That's the sounder heart magazine. We're going to be doing a couple, at least two live events. ah gathering type things. On June 18th, we're doing sort of a meet and greet mixer type deal the night before the US-Australia game at Project 9 Brewing up in Maple Leaf ah from 6 to 10. So if you want to come out and and see me, I hope Aaron is going to come out. It's a Thursday night, so I don't know if you'll make it out to Maple Leaf. But ah Then on June 19th, we are doing a whole day thing with the Scuffed podcast, which you may or may not know is a U.S. s national team podcast. I'm good friend. I've become good friends with some of the people associated with that.
01:13:06
Speaker
But we're going to go to Fast Fashion at 8 And then they're going to do, uh, even if you don't have tickets to the game, they're going to watch party at fast fashion and Soto. And then after the game, the scuffed folks are planning on doing a live post game show, which I may or may not be involved in. i'm not a hundred percent sure, but, uh, there'll be lots of stuff going on at fast fashion.
01:13:28
Speaker
We're, we're going to try to do a couple other events potentially just to, if there are no other reason to give people and a chance to buy our magazine in person. But, uh, Yeah. So, uh, keep be tuned in and, uh, I guess we'll get out of here. er Sounds like a plan.
01:13:47
Speaker
All right. Well, uh, thank you for listening. Uh, once again, thank you to our sponsor football wines. Thank you to all of our subscribers. With all that, I should get out of here. This is no study yet. This part of the sound or heart podcast network.
01:14:00
Speaker
I am Jeremiah Shan. This is Aaron Campo and lick it. Thank you for listening. And remember you'll never get alone.
01:14:36
Speaker
Let's go at Sounders.