Transcript
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.
Speaker: Come on. Hey, O'Shaughness. Let's The Seattle Sounders have done it. MLS Cup winners. The Sounders rule the region.
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.
Speaker: I'll deadline you.
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.
Speaker: They offer the best boutique wines of the world to members of their mailing list, with special focus on their home, Pacific Northwest.
Speaker: Welcome back to another episode of Nos Adietes on the Sounder at Heart podcast network. It is Friday. we are here in the Sounder at Heart headquarters in the International District of Seattle.
Speaker: And I'm joined by Nico Moreno for another episode of what we learned this week. Nico, first off, how weird week. It's always a weird week when it might be the last training session. We might not.
Speaker: We might not see another training session. We don't know. Yeah, the uncertainty is definitely odd for what we're accustomed to, right? Typically. Especially this time a year. This time of year, yeah. Typically, I'm thinking, okay, how am I going to swing around certain things? I got to make sure to, is it going to hit Thanksgiving days or near those days? I mean, I'm trying to figure things out.
Speaker: And it does feel odd. It feels weird because i like that. i I really do enjoy that preparation for what is essentially the most important games of the year. And it doesn't quite feel like I have any sort of belief that we're going to get there.
Speaker: But after the week of training, I will say that I found myself slightly more positive because the the demeanor, in the facility, the demeanor of the players when they talk to us. And even Brian Smetzer have left me ah least ah feeling good about the team. Yeah, the vibes were better this week.
Speaker: ah Not that they've been bad. I mean, that's one of the things that's kind of funny about the Sounders is, you know, even during the worst stretches, people would ask, man, it must be dire over at Longinghurst. And it really wasn't. Like, the players do a pretty good job of compartmentalizing the game and then coming in the next week and being, like, you did not see moping. You don't see, you didn't ever see tempers flaring. And maybe that was, maybe that's part of the problem.
Speaker: But it was it's a group that likes each other's company, it seems. And maybe they like each other's company too much because there isn't there maybe there needs to be more anxiety and more tension and all of that stuff.
Speaker: But this week, it did feel good. ah Paul Rothrock was back. We talked to him. And you know he, as always, exuded confidence, exuded positivity.
Speaker: He had a message that he drew inspiration from Tuesday's election, which I thought was kind of funny. He made a point of saying it at least twice. Yeah. Yes, he did. ah So you he definitely wanted that on record, that he was very happy with how Tuesday went.
Speaker: But he he brought just the whole, you know, he, at the beginning of the week, if you are just now catching up on everything, the Sounders on Tuesday announced, or didn't announce, but they they shared that they sort of changed training up a little bit. They didn't do their normal film session on Tuesday.
Speaker: And instead, they sort of had a what seems to be like a venting session. There was a lot of people that were able to air their frustrations to share what they think was going wrong, to share what they think was going right.
Speaker: And what the the Sounders did is they incorporated a lot of the suggestions that the players had and tried to tie that into training and change things up. They said that training was a little bit more competitive this week. that that I think my impression was maybe that players didn't feel as though there was enough open competition for starting spots. Does that seem like a right takeaway from one of the things they were saying?
Speaker: i think there was more of, it yes, I think there's part of that. i think there was a little bit lack of of confidence and trust that people would be honest with each other or honest with, you know, where the course of things were going Paul Riola is one that always, he's so articulate in the way he talks, but if you really go through some of the statements that he had, it's like he was happy that certain things were said and yeah and there were true conversations. I think I heard from a couple of players like open, honest conversations, right? So to me, there was a level of,
Speaker: like you mentioned, to start off the show. Maybe these guys like themselves a little too much to the point where they weren't saying certain things. And so to me, that that's a lot of this venting and opening up. That's why I like so much what ah Steven Leinhart does for this team. He provides this other...
Speaker: view of point of view and other person that players can talk to and share. That's the way I see it. We don't know a lot about what he does because he does keep his role and, and what he does very private, which is respected, right? i respect it completely. um But he does seem like that guy. Brian mentioned him at least twice this week in regards to some of those exercises to get the team mentally ready.
Speaker: what I don't like is that it took a little too long. it yeah To me, it's a little late. ah I think it should have been done after the Montreal game. And game and the the latest, after the gut-wrenching 1-0 loss to Houston, because this team did need something else. and And we continue to hear from people, hey, guys don't need a reason to get motivated. And these are pro players and all this stuff. They're still human beings and people don't like to to think that, but but that's just the way it is. Any professional...
Speaker: at any level, with the exception of very few who are the elite and the best of the best. Guys like Kobe with the Mamba mentality. And, you know, there are others that are able to kind of just not not allow that to just influence you when you're going to come work hard and all these things. But a lot of guys, especially in a 11-team situation,
Speaker: 11 player collective team, you need everybody to be in the same page to have the right attitude. And and i don't know if this team has enough guys that really focus on that to get the team right.
Speaker: And therefore, by having a guy like Steven and Brian kind of seeing and understanding, perhaps reflecting within himself that he maybe was doing too Much of business as usual is ah is a term that I've used way too many times in this in this show.
Speaker: he just wanted to do it different. And and I appreciate that. Yeah, I think the, I would like to think that the players appreciated it too. I think that you are, make a good point that it it feels like it could be a little too little, a little too late. The reality is that the Sounders season is not even in their own control at this point, which we've talked about ah the Sounders.
Speaker: I, I, the odds are that if they win, they will most likely get but that is nothing guaranteed about that. There is a scenario where if that they could even finish as high as seventh, if they win and two of the teams ahead of them were to drop points.
Speaker: But again, The fact that they're going into the season finale without even controlling their own destiny, it's only the second time this has ever happened. ah The other time was 2022 when they, of course, were already eliminated going into the final.
Speaker: So this is, in a way, the first time where they are playing with a chance to get in, but they don't actually have their own, ah they don't control their own destiny. They also, there was two other times where they hadn't clinched going into the final day.
Speaker: believe it was 2013 and 2016. Okay. and two thousand and sixteen okay But they didn't, they ended up not even, they want, they tied the Galaxy. It ended up being plenty to get them in.
Speaker: They beat ah RSL in 2016. I think as it turned out, they may not even needed to get a point in that game. But they, the scenarios were never, they've never had their back against the wall the way that they do now. That's sort of the point I'm trying to make.
Speaker: And this is an uncomfortable, it's an unfamiliar place for the Sounders to be. And it's it just created a different atmosphere. You know, one thing that i always, I realized today that I always love about playoff soccer at Lumen Field is coming into the stadium and it's already dark when you get here and the lights in Pioneer Square are all lit up.
Speaker: And this is something I think they, they might, maybe they, they I don't know if they do this all year round, but certainly the only time we really see it before the game is in the post season. And I guess maybe at the beginning of the season, but I always look for it. It's one of the things that makes playoff soccer feel like playoff soccer to me is these lights.
Speaker: And I was riding my bike ah down here from the stadium. I realized like, we're not going to see that tomorrow because we're going to get to the stadium at like two, it's going be in the afternoon. And so I was kind of bummed that we don't get to see that ah unless they get into the playoffs.
Speaker: which we will get into. We'll make some predictions later in the show in another, in a ah segment that where you have been calling buy or sell and it's sponsored. And I have a little read for everybody. It's a lot of fun.
Speaker: ah But how, I don't know. Did you feel like that this was a positive change in the net? Do you feel like there is something that will come out of this?
Speaker: I do. And I,
Speaker: for what it's worth. I respect Brian for, even though maybe it took too long reflecting within his own coaching style, the the reflecting within some of those lineup decisions.
Speaker: You know, we we asked him about what you just said, the the uncharted waters that it is going to a decision day where you don't control your own faith, where you're not eliminated like it was in 2022. And he went around and talked about all those moments, all those points, some of the decisions that they dropped, that they dropped points. And so, you know, I do think that,
Speaker: that's worth something. And maybe that does put the team trending in the right direction. i think that the level of intensity wasn't higher, but the, the level of accountability was there from a lot of players. I saw more focused, more serious conversations on the field. um,
Speaker: Some of the 7v7 groups were different. They weren't this the the usual. I think that was one of the things that we you and I both noticed on Tuesday was that it was not obvious who the starting yeah the starters were. Even in the scrimmage, you're right.
Speaker: And i think that that's maybe something that I could see players saying, look, on Tuesday or whenever or the first full scrimmage day, we almost always go 11 v. 11 where the starters are all on one side.
Speaker: And if you're telling us that there's an open competition, shouldn't that be mixed? Shouldn't it be not so obvious to everybody who's starting that early in the week?
Speaker: And sure, there are times when it changes. But for the most part, it is almost always that way. And i wonder if there was some some ah real thought that went along those lines.
Speaker: This week, it will be interesting to see what they do lineup-wise. Brian had, you know, we asked Brian about the lineup, you know, without giving it away. What do what can you say? And he said, well, we've got to make some changes from the 5-1. And one thing I clocked from that is after the...
Speaker: Timbers loss, they really didn't make very many changes. The 5-1 loss to the Timbers. They sort of just rolled it back, even though it was on short rest. And I remember there being a lot of frustration, at at least specific players. And so I'm curious to, it'll be curious to see which changes he makes because he already announced that Alex Roldan is not going to start.
Speaker: I assume that means he's not going to play because he hasn't trained at least the last two days, but he picked up an injury in training. We didn't get a specific specific injury, did we? No. I guess that'll be in the injury report. That means that we did a bad job at not asking. Right. That's on us. But he caught us off guard by volunteering the information. Yes, because we were going to ask. It was definitely the question was going to ask for the follow-up. But when he brought it up, you're right. I literally just realized that we did not ask what that injury was. Not an ideal time. It does kind of fitting for the way the season has gone, but we figure, so Kalani will most likely be playing right back. Totally. And that opens up a center back spot.
Speaker: And there are, there are options. Uh, Kim Ki, he was training all week this week, or for the most part, he was training this week. Uh, I suppose he might be an option. Stu Hawkins is a, is the obvious option. Uh,
Speaker: you know I suppose they could go Ryan Saylor and Tino Lopez. I don't think those are the the players that he's going to consider. So it's probably between Kim and and Hawkins. And in Hawkins, you have a young player who has a lot of energy, who has a lot of upside.
Speaker: In Kim, you have someone who's a little bit more of a steady veteran. Now, Kim hasn't played much. That's the problem. And that's the problem. Kim has spent most of this year dealing with one injury or another. You know, he might only have a handful of appearances.
Speaker: ah He has been good when he's played for the most part. And it'll be, you know, there'll be an interesting test of Brian's, you know, where his mind is. Is he going to go with the veteran or is he gonna go with the young guy?
Speaker: Other changes, i kind of expect Dotson will be back starting. He has to. ah He mentioned them today. He did. Yeah, yeah, he did. He yeah actually mentioned, he he called out your comment about Dotson earlier this week.
Speaker: And then i guess the other spot is in on the wing. Are we going to see Seb Gomez? Are we going to see Areola? Are going to see Ferreira? Are going to see Morris? I would imagine that that's another area where we could see some changes. Yeah.
Speaker: One thing that we do know, and it's something that um openly Brian has said, is that he has a certain type of player that he wants on the field.
Speaker: Yep. And that's another where I think it's for better or for worse, because I do feel like a lot of coaches get stuck to certain players, certain players. feel and they marry ah you know a group of players and so I'm a little concerned because if anything if Brown's going to play ultimately his job. If you know, we could say that going into this game, he's going to go with his guys. So whatever 11 you see out there is likely going to be the ones that he trusted the most. Yeah.
Speaker: He's talked about grid and effort and endeavor and all these things. I hope he makes the right decisions because this game Every decision that you make is going to be amplified. Every mistake that you make is going to be looked at even worse because that's what you're going get stuck with for two, three months until January and or February. right the The most famous example of this, of course, being when Siggy in 2013 went with Shalri Joseph at Ford. A thing that we still talk about today where, you know, a coach makes a, ah you know, they, they sort of make a swing and it, sometimes it pays off and sometimes it doesn't. And it can definitely linger if you make the wrong, if you make the wrong swing. Now,
Speaker: ah There's definitely you and there's some potential for for a similar swing, and we'll see how it how it works out for for the Sounders. I hope for them that they i hope that they just get a win here. I am less concerned about whether or not they make the playoffs. i I feel like this is a team that I would like to see them go out on a positive note, and winning this final game would be a positive note. But again, we can we can get into our predictions later. Yeah, but but one thing that I do want to talk about is Another um
Speaker: subject that we've touched in this show, or at least at Sounder ah Hard, has been empowering certain players. And b Brian touched on it on Tuesday.
Speaker: He talked about the lack of confidence individually or collectively from this team. And so... I hope that those players that he's choosing have that confidence, have that, you know, some sort of continuity because he will – play into this game. And so, you know, if you saw the clip of me talking about Hassani Dotson and maybe being empowered to be more of this like hard nose dog, right. That is going to be a defensive presence. Disruptor is a word that I love to use. I do mean that. I'm i'm not saying that Hassani is going to be the next Ozzy Alonso. Of course not. I mean, you don't find Ozzy Alonso's just hanging around around the corner. I mean, those are,
Speaker: generational players are guys that you're going to have to really scout and and bring in. But the roles that maybe you don't have right now, he could play those. And that's what I mean by empowering and and providing confidence. And that does come with more minutes and more time and more continuity, because as you said, ah and and I really liked the way you, you, you put that when we were at training, Jeremiah is that Christian will then always plays a lot better when he is, when he has a backup next to him, whether it's Gustavs Benson, whether it's Joe Pablo, when he first came on, you know, whether it was Ozzy himself, I mean, the,
Speaker: Having that other person allows him to do other things because there's no doubt in my mind that Christian O'Donnell a legend, that he's going to be in the best 11 of this team moving forward when he decides to hang up the cleats. But one thing that he doesn't have is is malice in his heart or or that that that DNA of just being able to just shoulder check somebody and without spit on him, act like you're about to spit on him and maybe... slowly put your foot over his head. I mean, just that anger, that that guy that's coming in strongly into tackles, not afraid of getting a yellow. This is a team in the Sounders that has the least amount of yellows. You want to be able to set the tempo, and it and that's part of the game is sending a message.
Speaker: and And by not having that person That's not Christian's game. So he could be as talented as he is because he is your most talented center midfielder. But having that other smash brother next to you, that enforcer, always helps his game. And so that's one of the things that I'm thinking that Hassan is going to start there. But in terms of that same mantra of things, the center-back pairing You know, we're talking about Kim. Kim, I just looked at the stats. He's played eight games whole season, 357 minutes. That's not a lot of no of time to put all your eggs in that basket against, if anything, an extremely dynamic, fast Danny Bwonga, who's been playing at that ninth position. So...
Speaker: depending on that, you're going to be exposed when it comes to that speed level. I mean, he's physical. I love that about Kim. And maybe Stu has other attributes. He's the the faster guy. So I really hope that for Brian's sake, that when he's putting together that formula, that equation, he's putting the right factors in there because the result could be catastrophic. It could be. It absolutely could be.
Speaker: ah One other piece of news that we got today was Albert Rusnak got called into the Slovakia national team. This is his potentially his first cap since 2022.
Speaker: The last time we talked to him about it, which was... Maybe not even this year. I just remember Jada at one point asked him about it oh yeah the national team. And he was like, i just don't even think about it anymore cause I have no have any.
Speaker: I've had no contact with them for years. And so it is kind of funny to see him suddenly back in the in the national team picture for ah nation, a Nations League window. It's not like it's just a random friendly window.
Speaker: I don't know what to really make of that. but I thought it was an interesting little tidbit. ah We also found out that Seba Gomez and Snyder Brunel have been called into the U23, the U.S. s sort of pre-Olympic team.
Speaker: ah You would think that New Who would be called up. I haven't looked if Cameroon has any sort of... But we know Jovolych did not get called in, right? We do know that Jovolych did not get called in, which was a surprise, but a pleasant surprise. yeah Because at the time, I still thought that this team could perhaps make it into the playoffs.
Speaker: So now, although it's not as certain... it would be nice if they made it and they didn't have the risk of missing their their nine. But let's talk about the nine. Let's talk about Jovich real quick because this week, you know, he is a guy that I do believe does a very good job at giving you that poker face. He has that icy look, like nothing bothers him. But man, he is, without a doubt, one of the guys that to me looks more...
Speaker: frustrated that things are going the way they are because I believe he probably thought that he was going to be the answer to all the issues. Yeah. And and he hasn't. So like today in training, there was a couple of, you know, situations. He usually puts the ball in the back of the net. He couldn't do it. I really do think that he is really hoping that in this game, all of that kind of comes to a great place and he could win a game for this team and he's going to be key against LAFC. So I like the attitude because i don't, I don't,
Speaker: I appreciate that there's – if he was just sitting there walking around, checking his phone, eating some mints, like I would have an issue with it. But the fact that he's angry and he's like, I need to get it back. yeah I like that. I like that in in my in my in my striker. So I'm really hoping that things go his way against LAFC because I believe he's one of the guys this week that I've seen – more focused on, I think we got to get out of this rut.
Speaker: Well, yeah. And you got to imagine that when he came here, he came here very much with the idea that you go to Seattle with the hope of winning championships. That's the main reason you, uh, and you know, and I don't think he feel, I would imagine he's frustrated with the way he's played. I would imagine he's also frustrated with the way he's been used in that he hasn't gotten a lot of service since he's been here. Uh, most of his five goals have come more on individual play than on great team play.
Speaker: But am sure he also feels like he could be doing more. You know, if he had, you know, if he had scored another goal in San Diego, to give an example, or, you know, there's there's many games where the Dallas game is probably the one that stands out the most, where if he had just finished one of the chances he had in that game, the Sounders are in a very different position.
Speaker: They would be sitting on 44 points. They would potentially be playing for a chance to move all the way into sixth. ah So, you know, that's how the margins are right now. And so, you know, it would be nice to see Jovlich come through.
Speaker: um The other thing that we saw this week is Paul Rothrock is supposed to be available. I'm sure he will be available off the bench.
Speaker: He was not available this last week because he ended up coming down with the flu. Do you think it would be smart to use him, though? Because he hasn't played in almost two months.
Speaker: I don't know if I would set him with the task of with the amount of ah data that we have. He's probably not ready to start or to know have a significant amount of minutes. So if you're using him, using him to either go save a game. Right. And so that that is a difficult task for a guy that I felt like he was pretty honest.
Speaker: with us and he never committed to an amount of minutes, a percentage of how healthy he is. On the contrary, he actually said, look, if you're right, because I asked him, you know, he's a guy that always gives you 110%. And he's like, you're right. ah But if I, if I cannot give that, then I'm not going to play. Right. Cause i don't think he wants to ah be a player that's going to hurt the team. Right. If he goes in there and he's not a hundred percent. So I would think that he is, if anything, he's,
Speaker: an emergency situation type of call. and And even at that time, I feel like you do have, whether Sebas starts or not, I mean, he could be a guy. Paula Riola's come off the bench, scoring some goals in late moments.
Speaker: So you do have other possibilities depending on what Brian goes with. So I would think that, because what I learned this week is that
Speaker: Paul Rothrock, I don't think I've ever seen him be that cautious about saying, I'm going to be available or I'm going to give my all. Usually when I give him that softball, he gives you a statement that is going to be like plastered and is going to get the team going. It's going to get fans going. But his conservative way of answering that tells me that I don't know if he's hundred percent. well He's definitely hundred percent ready, but he might not be even 80% ready to go. Cause he would usually use that situation to be like, yep, whatever the team needs. He didn't quite say that.
Speaker: you He didn't say that. Uh, I, I tend to think that it might be to your point that he's really only there for a, the right circumstance. Uh, you know, the, the circumstance has to be the sounders are chasing a goal and they want him to bring some energy,
Speaker: I guess the the final piece of news, and then we're going to take a break and come back. But the final piece of news is just a reminder. We talked about this on Monday, talked about it on Tuesday, but Saturday tomorrow is the last day for the GM vote.
Speaker: You have until 1159 PM to vote online. But if you want to vote in person, the last chance to do it obviously is during the game. And then the results will be announced sometime later.
Speaker: But i mess I wrote a story today that sort of does a whole FAQ on the the voting process and how it works and what it means. But the math, I got a little bit wrong. It's 6,700 votes they would need to vote.
Speaker: why we'll out. Oh, wow. Which is a not as high of a bar as I thought because it's 66% of 40%. I think I originally did 66% of the entire fan base.
Speaker: I don't know that I'm guessing the, the season ticket holder is about 25,000. But it's ah that's not a huge bar. And just sort of like reading the tea leaves among fans, I think it's going to be a very close vote.
Speaker: I think so, too. I think the best case scenario that Craig is looking at right now is probably something where they don't reach quorum or they don't quite reach 67%. no confidence because if it's just a straight majority vote of who voted, i think he would be in a lot of trouble.
Speaker: Yeah. Yeah. I will say that there have been a lot of fans whom I've talked to that have through either listening to us or having a realization of what ah Craig was able to do when he did get the amount of money that he needed by going out and get Joe Village.
Speaker: A few of them told me, look, I just wanted to see if he could bring in a guy that I could be excited about. And he did. He brought Joe Village. He brought in the best deal, arguably, of the the the transfer window closing. And so that has been enough for certain people.
Speaker: Some others obviously are still on the... thought process that they will change the change is needed and not so much for him, but because he sends a message, which is totally okay. I think that's totally fair. I don't mind that, that, that thought process. And all we can do is provide you guys with the facts, the insight, and then you guys decide you guys are the voters. i absolutely love the fact that there is a democracy here.
Speaker: One other thing that I will say that I want you to add on is the fact that they are opening 300 levels. That's right. right they are opening the 300 level we've heard about 35 000 tickets have been distributed so far uh i i don't we didn't actually check to make sure that was on the record but uh we may as well say it here uh and they're hoping to do more would imagine sun being here is a big part it but it's also the the final it's the fan appreciation game and i think it's good that the sound it's it's definitely interesting that
Speaker: The Sounders ended up opening up the 300 section twice over to the last few games when they had not done it in a long time for a regular season game for that, which I think is probably indicative of some change ah in the in the approach upstairs.
Speaker: So, yeah, 35, you know, if they were if they're able to do you close to 40,000, that would be a great send off. Hopefully that can bring some energy to the Sounders. uh you know it used to be when we drew big crowds they had a really amazing record i'm sure it's still i don't know that they're going get into the 60s which is usually where we start counting that yeah no but uh they you know the energy in the stadium is good and and ah And it's important. And look, the the players feed off of it. ah Brian sounded certain that the fans were going to go out there and and and perform in their own way, right? They were going to show up. They were going to put pressure on top of LAFC. They were not going to allow LAFC jerseys to be anywhere close to sounder jerseys. And I would, I would agree. And and obviously the the season has not been great. And he,
Speaker: basically said that it's not been up to standard, but the funds are going to show up. So I have a, a, a confidence that there will be at least, you know, between 37 to 38,000.
Speaker: to thirty eight thousand Yeah. I mean, that would that would be a good number. Well, why don't we take a break? We're going to come back and do the latest segment of buy and sell.
Speaker: We'll do a little bit of a preview of LAFC. You're listening to nos adietes on the sound at heart podcast network.
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Speaker: Welcome back to Nos Adietes on the Sounder at Heart Podcast Network. All right, well, let's just jump right in We have a sponsored segment that we're calling Buy or Sell. And ah if you pardon me, I will read the ad copy, as it were.
Speaker: You're the boss, man. This is Buy or Sell, is sponsored by Marnie O'Shann of Windermere Real Estate. And yes, if that last name sounds familiar, it's because Marnie is my sister. ah Nico and I have some questions.
Speaker: Nico and I may have some questionable takes on what to buy or sell when it comes to the Sounders. But when it comes to Seattle real estate, Marnie actually knows what she's talking about. With hundreds of home sales under her belt, she can help you navigate buying, selling, or finding your next home anywhere in the Seattle area.
Speaker: Find her at Marnieoshanhomes.com. That's M-A-R-N-I-E-O-S-H-A-N homes.com. All right, let's get into buy or sell.
Speaker: How about that? Yeah, very nice. How about that? All right. So let's start off with the the big question. Buy or sell, the Sounders are going to make the playoffs.
Speaker: I sell. I sell. I just don't know if they have enough runway to take off. I feel like Brian and and this team are doing the right things this week and I like where they're going. But when it comes to the game, there's a lot of but muscle memory. There's a lot of the continuity things that I feel like they don't have necessarily. And although LAFC has struggled ah and and they have issues of their own,
Speaker: when you have two teams that are not quite where they need to be, it ultimately is decided by individual talent. And I still feel like LAFC has more individual talent.
Speaker: The Sounders superpower has always been the collective play. And if that's not there, which it hasn't been as of late, then I just don't know how they win this game. I think they draw this one.
Speaker: And I think that they find themselves out of the playoffs. Yeah. Well, I am going to buy this. I'll be the resident positive guy. And I hope you're right, my guy. Positive guy, that's not the most eloquent way of putting that. I'm going to this.
Speaker: And i think the Sounders are going to win the game. And i and i the good news is that they don't need a lot of help. Just as a reminder, the Sounders need one of the three teams ahead of them, not just to not to lose, but to just drop points. And so we got the LA Galaxy are going at RSL.
Speaker: That's going to be the toughest one. for the, of all the, that's the toughest opponent that anyone's playing RSL. If they win, they aren't guaranteed of getting into the playoffs because they're sort of in the same boat as the Sounders.
Speaker: but they know that a win is going to put them in a decent position. They are the most, they are, they are very motivated in this game, obviously. And they, so I think that that's where that drop points will most likely come, but they also have two other outs where they have the Colorado Rapids who are playing at FC Dallas. FC Dallas does not have much to play for, they,
Speaker: This is, they're they've got nothing else to play. for they There's no other games coming up. So it's a similar situation as LAFC that's on the road. So that's a decent one. The Timbers are also at Austin.
Speaker: That could be tough. yeah that's That's a tough one for the, for the Sounders there. ah Timbers are probably going to just eliminate Austin. Yeah, like that one, that one feels that one feels rough.
Speaker: ah And if they were to win that game, they would likely move into the seventh spot, leave the Sounders in the eighth spot. But that's the that's the synergy. I do think the Sounders are going get in, though. I just feel like.
Speaker: There are too many veterans on this team. There are too many people who know what it's like to play in big games to just fall flat in front of the home crowd like that. Sure, that's what happened to Houston. and We can argue all the way, but I'm going to choose to believe that they'll get it done.
Speaker: Yeah. And look, I don't want to get too much into the, you know, historical aspect of it where LAFC has, you know, essentially won more of those games. The last time they were here, I believe we beat them 5-2, but that was a rotated lineup. But I do feel like there was a part of me that thought LAFC doesn't have anything to play for.
Speaker: But if I'm that coach and I'm coming off of a bad game, got create momentum. So he's probably going to want to get a win out of here. He's also got an assistant who knows the Sounders quite well in Andy Rose. That that could be part of it. I think he's going to be able to know where to hit the Sounders. um I do say this. Look, LAFC has a couple of issues when it comes to defending. A lot of issues, actually. But I feel like in the box, they're horrendous defending. I feel like in set pieces, they're vulnerable.
Speaker: And unfortunately, the Sounders haven't been... great at any of those things as early over the last four games but if they can put it together they can find jovel it's inside the 18 they can be at least dangerous on set pieces i think they could find a way i just i just don't know if we can hold them on the defensive end i the defense has looked so out of character so gappy so um lethargic in so many ways. And maybe that's just because I still have the stink of that Vancouver Whitecaps first half. But man, I just, unless they prove it, only unless they prove it wrong, otherwise, i just don't know how they're going to it.
Speaker: All right. Buy or sell Craig Weibel will be retained as the Sounders general manager. I buy, i buy. I think that I've, I've talked to enough people that,
Speaker: know more about the intricacies. I feel like there is an understanding that as long as the ownership is not shy to give him the budget that is needed for this team to be competitive, that he could do the right job. And I feel like there's enough things that Craig can point to during his time here to satisfy a part of the fan base. And although there are a lot of louder voices on social media, and again, it is their right. I love that they showed that passion, but I was surprised at the business meeting and in other places where I've been where
Speaker: Maybe they're not the loudest, but they're definitely have a lot of numbers. this Yeah, it's going to be close. I think my suspicion is that they are going like i i feel like the threshold be hit.
Speaker: But I think that the outvote is going to be like 55, 60 percent. So fall just short of what it would need to actually oust him. And I don't think there's really any chance that Craig would be fired. Because obviously, Adrian can still choose to fire Craig if he wanted to.
Speaker: I don't think that's going to happen. That would be a little shocking. yeah It would be shocking. If Adrian, if he survived the vote and got fired anyway, he has a year left on his contract. ah You know, what happens next year, I'm not to make any predictions about. But I do think that he'll be back for the sprint season at the very least, and and then we'll go from there.
Speaker: All right. So buy or sell, kind of related to this, there will be at least five players currently on the roster who leave in the offseason. At least five players that leave yeah in the offseason.
Speaker: Five. feel like five is a big number. So I'm going to sell. I'm going to say that maybe three at the most, four, but five, I don't buy five, especially right before the spring season where yeah they're going to need more of that core group and even more of their depth players. I do feel like the centers are going to go out there and look for a couple of guys, but I'm not sure if they're going to spend a lot of what they have right off the bat. I do feel like,
Speaker: waiting for that summer to hit is when the Sunners might make most of their moves. So I'm not going to buy. I'm going to sell. Yeah, I think I'm with you. I think three or four is maybe a little bit more realistic.
Speaker: Kim seems almost certainly to be gone. He's out of contract. Yamar seems very likely to be gone. He will also be out of contract. But other than them... I think everyone else is either on club options or already on contract. So it would require the Sounders to get kind of aggressive actually to do to, to make more changes than that. Yeah. what did Which they did to their defense. That's what they did last off season. They, we did not see the Reed Baker whiting trade coming.
Speaker: Danny Leiva, maybe less of a surprise. Obed less of a surprise, but. George Imanungu really was a surprise. and And so there maybe are there's some surprises. Sure. There's definitely some pieces that I think that could move if they were so inclined.
Speaker: Yeah, look, I think there's going to be a big market for Jackson Reagan. I think that there might be a small market for Stu Hawkins. So, you know, where do they fall? You might get some calls for Seba.
Speaker: um ah You know, I think Jordan Morris is a guy that, could also benefit maybe from moving. i said this, I believe it's in in this same Friday show, where I do think that it would do right by him if he doesn't have any guaranteed minutes here to move him somewhere where he where he can.
Speaker: And that's no disrespect to him. I just think that there's a lot of competition there. yeah there is going lot of competition there, and it's going to be interesting to see how the centers sort that out because it would be – I guess that's sort of where one of the other potential changes. You you figure they've got to move one of their wings. Totally.
Speaker: They can't come into this season with five or six guys, none of whom are clearly the number one. You've got figure Pedro is going to – they're going to want to see what they have in Pedro in this season. Totally, 100%.
Speaker: I would think that Areola is someone that would be worth bringing back. I would. Seba Gomez. unless you get blown away, you're going to bring him back. Obviously like he's, I think real high upside on him.
Speaker: And then Ferreira and Morris are two players who can, they bring them both back. I don't know. ah And maybe they've sort of committed to risk snack as the number 10 for at least a little bit more time. Yep. And so does Ferreira make sense as a, as a winger?
Speaker: And so I think that's a big question that they're to have to ask yeah Yeah. And I mean, you might see it in this game, right? I mean, if the Raider doesn't start, you know does color but you know, does the coach, you know, you know,
Speaker: rate them and and how is that going to work? And, you know, does Brian come back next season? I mean, i don't know. There's, there's a lot of things that can go there, but I'm with you because they are very different players. And I feel like Jordan is more of a all out winger as of the other sense of forever as more, in my opinion, more of an inside player. And so, you know, is him and Russ neck,
Speaker: Rustank is a guy that, yeah, you committed for a long time, but you also lowered his salary. So can he be a rotational guy? Can you change the system? It's something that I've said for a very long time. So we'll see when it comes to that. But I do feel like you're right. We don't know what's going happen with Ferreira because he, honestly, you're talking about not empowering.
Speaker: In two years, I don't know what's the mis what was the lack of connection there, but Ferreira hasn't felt like a big-time player because they haven't empowered him to be. He hasn't been treated like a big-time player, like a DP-level player on a TAM salary, which is the thing that we talked about when the Blackbuster move happened, when when we broke it at Sounder on Heart. Yeah,
Speaker: we thought it was going this huge thing and it hasn't felt like that on the field. It certainly hasn't felt like that in the locker room. So, you know, so we'll see, we'll see how that plays out. Yeah. All right. So I got one more for you by or sell the Sounders will advance beyond the first round. So meaning the, I guess you don't think they're going to get in the playoffs. So that maybe answers your question, but let's just assume for the sake of this question, how far can they get out of the first round if they make the playoffs?
Speaker: I guess it depends on where they land. I feel like they're if they're in a play-in, think if Vancouver smokes you all over again, ah maybe if you change the tactics and you don't necessarily go all out trying to impress Vancouver in their own house, maybe you can...
Speaker: manage that result but vancouver is just too good too talented too well coached they have everything that you need to be successful in uh a a playoff run la ross is doing his best uh barrel halter impression i mean you have white players with phenomenal talent you have a goal scorer that just hit 100 goals i mean that that team is too good so uh So only if they get like the number the number seven. Yeah, if they get seven, that then maybe. But but I'm still going to sell. I don't think that the Sounders are going to get through.
Speaker: i Yeah, I got to admit, this is a sell for me too. It feels like the Sounders ceiling this year is unfortunately stuck at getting into the playoffs, maybe getting out of the plan round.
Speaker: But if they are in the plan round, I have no confidence at all that they can beat the Whitecaps. And a miracle of miracles, they get to seventh, which would require all three teams ahead of them to to drop points because they would have to, yeah, they'd have to jump all three of them.
Speaker: And ah i i don't I don't really see that happening. But if they if they were a miracle of miracles, get the seventh seed, they would be playing... Are they playing Dallas?
Speaker: Is that what that is? That is who they would play. yeah And I like their chances. I would rate their chances against Dallas. I am not big on Dallas, and and I know that the pundits, I haven't listened to Suckerwise in a while, but I know they they were high on Dallas ah a long time. so he didn't He didn't mean that.
Speaker: David. Oh, no. no And I'm in a long time. like In the past the past two weeks, to be honest, because I've had so much going on, I usually i love that show. Love Gas, especially. love all the guys. But they I think it's Tom the one that's usually pretty on Dallas. yeah yeah I'm not. I don't... i don't dallas is his dallas is my orlando well i'm always feeling like orlando's gonna do it uh but anyways but but i just don't see it i think that is a good team uh but ah in my opinion they are easy to defend against they have a leaky defense so i would i would i would like those odds but again it's hard to say because if they do get seven then brian might as well go also get a power paul a powerball ticket because you know it's very fortunate yeah it would be It would require a lot of things to go the Sanders way, which has not been going on lately. Not this year. ah Do you have any buy or sell any other ones that you want to throw out there? No pressure.
Speaker: No, no, no, no. Not really. Not not enough for this one. I think that we're going to have some really good buy or sell segments coming up as we get into yeah that the offseason. Yes.
Speaker: that could be coming rapidly. And so we'll have some good ones. Maybe we should, with a future guest that we might be having. Oh, that's a good idea. We've got a little teaser for you guys out there. I like that. I think he'd be great at it, by the way. Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker: All right, well, LAFC, we have... do we have We might as well do a little preview of LAFC. LAFC is a team who, if you haven't been paying attention, you might be surprised to learn that they are stuck in sixth place. Essentially, there is a very, very fantastical such and ah scenario where they lose a something like 15 goal advantage to LA Galaxy and drop out of the sixth spot. But they are pretty much locked into the sixth spot going into the final week.
Speaker: but they've only won two of 15 games since the end of league's cup. They have been struggling, really struggling. That's why Mark Dos Santos got fired as coach.
Speaker: And their new coach has not really turned things around. They, they had been playing a little bit better until this season. pretty embarrassing, frankly, lost to Minnesota United, ah three, one at home where they were down three zero heading into stoppage time. And then they got a bicycle kick to a great goal, a great goal, a great goal, but to make it three, one, yeah ah kind of a wasted, wasted goal. Yeah. Why can this team not quite perform above the sum of their, i mean, they have two of the best players in the entire league in Bwonga and Sun and nobody else, it seems, is is producing anything.
Speaker: I do think that there was a lack of understanding that the roster as you moved away from Chirundalo needed to change.
Speaker: I feel like there was a lot of very easy conclusions made on MDS and you kind of scapegoated him out and you thought that was going to just...
Speaker: make all things good and well. But the problem was still within this roster. there There isn't a a big leader in that team when it comes to the personalities personalities, right? I mean, you got the Eagles, you got the talent. And sometimes that those talented players aren't not necessarily the leaders. And so I feel like ah Son, for us, as ah talented as he is, he's a big personality and he's hard to manage.
Speaker: And when things don't go his way, in my opinion, he gets frazzled. And is and him being such a big part of that offense makes him – Very inconsistent. And that's just my opinion. um i feel like they're using Buonga wrong. They've been using him wrong.
Speaker: They have no whiff in the way they used to have it. And Buonga's been playing as a 9. As a 9 instead of a winger. And Son has basically been playing as a 10. Yeah, so when you used to have Martinez and you used to have Buonga White and give you some width, you were getting results. And it's funny because as it is normal for the big market teams, MDS at the beginning the season was getting all these results and it was still not good enough. And they wanted to be more entertaining and all this stuff. And then things went down the shitter. I also think that defensively they're bad. And the funny part is that they spent a lot of money on this. But to me, Porteous is not a good center.
Speaker: And again, please correct me if i wrong. mean, maybe ah Doyle's going to, torch me for this but i i don't i don't feel like he's a good marking defender like when he comes to defending uh-huh at least he's bad inside the the the box i also feel like with segura playing that left back uh whenever he does get forward i feel like there's a lot of room behind him so i feel like there's a lot of structural things within this team that are not working and that's the reason why i feel like they've struggled
Speaker: Yeah, I mean, it it definitely has not been the season that a lot of people thought they they would have. You know, if you go to ah LAFC message boards, they are in probably the same place mentally as the Sounders, frankly.
Speaker: ah they They are not happy at all. This is not what they're used to doing. And you know you can't really blame them. Now, I would say the difference with LAFC is that they've shown a willingness to spend money. So it's a different kind of frustration than we have here, where it's mostly about when are we going start spending more money?
Speaker: Whereas in LA, it's like, you know, supposedly we have one of the best GMs in the league and why are we not getting better players? Why, why is our roster feel so thin? And, you know, outside of son and Buonga, they have no one currently on the roster that has two more than two goals, which is quite an indictment of the depth. They're, they're scoring at least, uh, you know, the sounders aren't exactly lighting it up, but they have a whole bunch of players that have three or four goals, uh,
Speaker: So, I mean, I don't know. I don't i don't have a great a great thing here, but I do think that this is a reason that Sounders fans should be reasonably confident that we can get a result, potentially win this game. Yeah, and look, something that has really... ah been a front foot item ah by ah brian has been the lack of intensity and physicality uh and they just got almost doubled up on duels against vancouver uh you know it was a team that just beats to every ball lfc has similar issues when it comes to winning duels that they they don't do very good on secondary balls uh they the Jesus is back, which helps in that category. Bachelorette is not that type of player. I feel like the the fullbacks and the center backs are not as physical they should be, including Aaron Wong. And so i I do feel like the Sounders have the ability to make it difficult.
Speaker: But again, my my biggest concern is this team in transition, those individualities, Sonny feeling himself, and only takes his one goal in the first half and it's over. Let me tell you this right now. If LAFC scores first, it's over. You want to just wrap, wrap that as up. I mean, wrap it up because if they get in front, it's just going to be a bad day at the office. Yeah.
Speaker: Yeah. That is a, that tends to be how it is. I, there's a stat that I saw today that I guess they've won every game where they've scored and inside the first 15 minutes. I don't, know how meaningful that is, but it's it's it's notable. Yeah, and i mean and if you look at the way Minnesota play them, Minnesota, if anything, they have a lot of physical center backs. I love Jefferson Diaz. Obviously, Amarconic is a guy that's ah very good at that. Trance is a guy that gets forward very easily. So the the Sounders are going to really need some of attributes that they haven't shown in so long that it's just difficult but but i think that it might be enough for them to at the very least get a a result it's going to be in my opinion 90 minute affair to where i think you're to at the edge of your seat all the way down to the last minute of this game it's about which way it goes that i have you know some concerns i'm saying a draw but it could go either way
Speaker: Fair enough. All right. Well, let's get out of here. i wanted to say thank you to everyone for listening or watching. i want to encourage everyone to become a subscriber of Sounder Heart. If you can't do that, at least give us a like, give us ah a follow on YouTube, maybe go rate us on whatever your favorite podcast app is.
Speaker: But with all that said, I am Jeremiah Oshan. This is Nico Moreno. This is Nos Adietes, part of the Sounder Heart Podcast Network, and we will catch you next time.
Speaker: Let's go at Sounders.
