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Kickoff: How should the Seattle Sounders line up at LAFC?
362 Plays10 days ago
Coming off yet another dominant display in Matchday 12 at Houston, the Seattle Sounders finish their three-game road swing with back-to-back matchups against Western Conference rivals LAFC and the Portland Timbers. With a short turnaround between games, how should the Rave Green line it up come kick off on Wednesday at BMO Stadium?
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Lobbing Scorchers is a Seattle Sounders and MLS focused show brought to you by Sounder at Heart. Hosted by Major League Soccer's Ari Liljenwall and Producer Noah Riffe. Join us as we lob our scorching takes on the American soccer landscape, Seattle Sounders, Major League Soccer, USMNT and more.
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Transcript
Introduction and Episode Context
00:00:00
Speaker
This episode of Lobbing Scorchers was previously recorded and streamed live on YouTube.com slash at Lobbing Scorchers. If you want to listen or catch these episodes live, see the video, and see all the rest of our content, go to YouTube.com slash at Lobbing Scorchers or LobbingScorchers.com slash YouTube.
00:00:22
Speaker
Well sir, we got a scorcher today. Gonna be real scorcher today. Quite the scorcher today. Well it's gonna be a scorcher.
Episode Agenda and Seattle Sounders Discussions
00:00:43
Speaker
Good morning, everybody. Welcome in to another episode of Lobbing Scorchers Kickoff. I'm Ari. That's Nico. We've got a great show for you all here this morning. We're going to be breaking down yet another Seattle Sounders win, this time 3-1 at Houston Dynamo.
00:00:59
Speaker
We're going to be sizing up a massive two-game road swing that they have. at LAFC midweek and at Portland Timbers on the weekend. And then later on in the show, we're going to be bopping around the league a little bit, ah talking in some inter-Miami perhaps, maybe a little Atlanta United.
00:01:18
Speaker
And then we got a little clip from ah of a Club World Cup audio that we're going to play later. So a lot to get to. But Nico, first of all, good morning, man. How are you doing?
00:01:30
Speaker
Good morning, Ari. Good morning, audience. Hope everybody had a fantastic Mother's Day weekend. Happy Mother's Day to all you moms out there. ah It was a ah good weekend, sunny Seattle.
00:01:43
Speaker
I had a good time. I was at Emerald Downs putting some cash on some horses. it was It was a good weekend, man. In terms of the Sounders, it was even better.
00:01:54
Speaker
Another big win for ah your Seattle Sounders. Another dominant performance. Maybe be surrounded by a little controversy that you know might put a little bit of an asterisk on the win and the dominance behind the second half.
00:02:10
Speaker
But no less, a good result, a great result. And Seattle continues to just move forward. itself up the standings and uh the group just seems to grow more confident every single game including one danny i am the truth musowski that just continues to score and uh you know five in a row it's just hard to even say i don't know how it happened i can't explain it but it's going on that's that's what's going on with the founders right now
00:02:44
Speaker
Happy Moose Monday. Yeah, we might have to change the name of this show to Moose Monday until he stops scoring. But not yeah, I mean, let's just let's start right there, Nico. Let's get into this Houston match.
00:02:56
Speaker
I think there was there's a lot to like about this performance on the road. Like you mentioned, Moose gets another goal. He's making history right now. He's on one of the hottest runs a Seattle Sounders striker has ever been on.
00:03:10
Speaker
And then you get two goals in the second half. Wow, up a man from Albert Rusnak. Another great assist for for Ryan Kent. You had a Pedro de la Vega assist after he subbed on for Rothrock in the second half.
00:03:23
Speaker
You had a Rothrock assist that they took away from him somehow. ah I think they they better give that back to him. I don't get it. If they don't give that back to him. ah But I guess, Nico, why don't you just lay down your overall takeaways from this match and that performance, and then ah we can get into the red card call and what we saw in the second half a little bit. up But what did you take away from this 3-1 victory Houston?
In-depth Seattle Sounders Analysis
00:03:51
Speaker
My biggest takeaway is that this Sounders team is slowly, but now consistently, really found their principles and concepts to be efficient on the field.
00:04:06
Speaker
That first half before the the red card to Obafemi, even then Seattle ah was playing a great game. I mean, you look at that goal by Moose and the way they come out of the bag, the quick...
00:04:21
Speaker
uh ball to paul rothrock or rothrock again i don't know how you don't give him that assist he puts the ball in it's a quick deflection and daddy musowski i mean you got to give him credit because it is a deflection that the ball does change his trajectory and he's able to just put his hat on it and uh put it away ah i thought that uh the sounders for about 10 minutes did get put into some pressure ah right before the goal and right after the goal.
00:04:48
Speaker
Set pieces is something that we were looking at going into this game, right? I mean, we talked about it on Friday with Jeremiah. and There were three players to watch. They were both... decent in this one um and one of them was mcglynn and and because of his services because of that quality left foot uh and unfortunately in this one i don't know if uh stuff could have done more i saw some criticism of stuff but i guess that just seems to be a thing of uh what happens now every single time there's a goal uh but ah all in all in that particular moment i think we could have done or the sounders could have done something more defensively i think that obed
00:05:26
Speaker
Out of all the things he does great, set-piece defending isn't necessarily one of those things, but you know credit to a great header by Al Buffemi that later gets the red card. ah But even when set into pressure, I think that Seattle's build-up was so good all game long. And maybe there were moments, there were times where it wasn't as sharp, but for me, it's just working And he he continues to get better.
00:05:53
Speaker
I love to see k Christian Roldan having such an impact right now. I thought that he was a big-time player in this one, defensively, offensively, ah being the guy that at times gets ah brought in in between the two center backs when necessary to help it to build up, to help defensively.
00:06:11
Speaker
I thought Alvarosta had a hell of a game and it wasn't just the brace. It was just the movement off the ball. And of course, how can we not talk about Ryan Kent, right? Ryan Kent is just another player that's red hot.
00:06:22
Speaker
First time that we get to see him starting off and I was happy. I thought that he was influential. I thought he had several opportunities to get an assist.
00:06:34
Speaker
ah There's one that he gives to Alex Roden in the first half where ah Again, just that body movement, his ability on the ball. He gets into the 18 and he puts a perfect cross into a small space where Alex Jordan was located.
00:06:48
Speaker
Alex, unfortunately, doesn't connect the way he wants. But if he hits that semi well with the top of his laces, that thing is going in the back of the net. So Ryan Kent just continues to be a player that...
00:07:00
Speaker
slowly and and i think in bryant's metrics notes continues to rise when it comes to being a starter i love what the team does with paul rothrock and i thought that he was good on the right side so you know credit to him but when pedro de la vega came in came on i thought that he was very good right off the bat again seattle's upper man but Credit to Pedro de la Vega, how quick he gets that perfect ball into Albert Rustic, that cut in pass that seems to be a new signature for the Sounders to create opportunities.
00:07:34
Speaker
And Pedro does it fantastic. So there's a lot of competition, which is making every single player in that field leave it all every single minute because they know that they're playing for their starting minutes. They're playing to retain their position and, uh,
00:07:50
Speaker
That took effect into the second half. So credit to the Sounders. Again, my biggest take is that their principles, ah their concepts just continue to get better and better every single game.
00:08:01
Speaker
I was super happy when I saw the starting 11 for this game. i wasn't sure how they were going to. line it up, but I was thinking that De La Vega was for sure going to start.
00:08:12
Speaker
And so at that point, it became a debate in my mind of Rothrock or Ryan Kent. And I was really of the mind that you had to start Rothrock in this game because he owns the Houston Dynamo specifically.
00:08:24
Speaker
So yeah I was definitely happy to see the Rothrock start, but the fact that Ryan Kent got a start, That was exciting. And, you know, the first half wasn't as electric as that shift that we saw against St. Louis City SC.
00:08:38
Speaker
But i think, you know, what I was thinking about was, right, like, yeah it's not going to look as dominant every single game, game in, game out, as it looked against St. Louis, right? Like, that would be an impossible level to sustain. He looked like the greatest player I've ever seen.
00:08:56
Speaker
So it's not going to be that like moment moment dominant week week out. But then that assist that he gets on on that last goal. I mean, look at where he starts that run and he just charges all the way through the Houston Dynamo defense.
00:09:12
Speaker
And then Nico, the way that he used Obed. as like a shield to free itself in this space that's just such a smart play. it is sad Yeah, savvy. And then the technical ability to lay that, lay that ball in where two different guys, that it was such a high quality chance that it was an easy point blank finish for either Albert Rusnak or De La Vega.
00:09:36
Speaker
Rusnak gets the goal, but De La Vega easily could have had that goal too. ah So the chance generation over this last stretch of games continues to be phenomenal. uh even the uh the uh de la vega one where he cut it back to rusnak he's got moose right there too that's another one where he's got two options to pick out uh i love what he ended up doing and finding the trailing runner with rusnak i think uh that ended up being an even higher percentage look rusnak from that area of the box with no one around him that uh that's just a that's just a great look so
00:10:10
Speaker
Yeah, ah let's talk about the red card, though, because that was the fork in the road moment of this game, so to speak. it was ah It was a memorable shift for Femi, friend of the show.
00:10:24
Speaker
The one player that Lovins Horgers has interviewed for an opposing team ended up being the main character in this game. He gets his first MLS goal. Like you mentioned, set-piece defending continues to be an issue for this team. We'll get to that.
00:10:39
Speaker
But he scores the goal to equalize it. And then just six minutes later, the the play of the game happened where Steph Fry boots it long.
00:10:50
Speaker
And it's really it's a great play by Moose Nico. It's a great play by Moose to position himself in a way that puts the CB under a ton of pressure there. And then as the ball's coming down, I think, I mean, it does hit Femi in the hand.
00:11:06
Speaker
And where do you come down on this call? Because I've watched it a lot, thought about it a lot. It's unlucky. I feel for the kid. I believe that he wasn't trying to do it.
00:11:17
Speaker
i also understand how that's considered dog. So because Look, if he doesn't have his hands there and the ball doesn't hit his hand, that ball is down right where Moose has a free look on goal. That is an obvious goal scoring opportunity.
00:11:32
Speaker
And it hit his hand. So I don't know if the ref let that go. I probably wouldn't be super outraged about it. Betty O was not happy about it. ah He was calling it like too rigid of adherence to the letter of the law in that it should have just common sense be let go.
00:11:50
Speaker
I don't know about that. Like if it doesn't hit his hand, Moose is in there. So I don't know. Did you have any issues with this call? It's a, it's a, it's a tough one. It's definitely a debatable one. Yeah. I don't think that I saw it as a red.
00:12:04
Speaker
I've looked at it a couple of times and ah he's playing the player. I mean, he he's not going after the ball. And I understand that by the letter on law, it is an unnatural positioning of the hand, but yeah,
00:12:16
Speaker
To me, there's always going to be, although that got taken off the letter of the law, is the intent. I don't think there's any sort of intent from a young player that, like you said, credit to Moose. He showed his experience and even Benny after the game, although he did say that He feels like there's something, he didn't say this, I'm paraphrasing this part, but he feels like there's something weird about that the the fact that he's played the Sounders seven times and he's gotten six cards in those seven games.
00:12:45
Speaker
He says we earned three. So he's wondering what or why the other three have been given, this one being one of them. But... maybe that's a little bit too outrageous there maybe it's a little bit too uh conspiracy for me but uh going back to the just the the call i think that the referee makes a early judgment on it and i feel like this is an mls issue and maybe not mls but just refereeing issue Because after you make the call, then you have to sustain the call.
00:13:17
Speaker
And then you have to try to figure out if there is enough evidence to overturn it. And that's where I feel like Seattle's been at the other end of it, where there's an early call.
00:13:28
Speaker
And because that's the call on the field, the referee is going to kind of try to stick by it unless there's something that's Blamed it and obvious to overturn it. And that's where I think I understand Benny's frustration.
00:13:42
Speaker
And white to me, this wasn't necessarily a red card. It could have been a yellow. yeah Give the the penalty kick. I just do think that it's maybe harsh, a harsh red.
00:13:55
Speaker
it was ah It was tough. I felt bad for the kid. ah But, you know, the call was the call. And then, you know, from there, I think – the the onus is on Seattle to capitalize on on that advantage.
00:14:10
Speaker
And that's what they did, Nico. I loved ah how they came out of the locker room in the second half there. After the red, i was thinking, okay, you have a few minutes before halftime here.
00:14:24
Speaker
i So if you could get a goal right here, that would obviously be ideal. They couldn't quite do that. They couldn't quite capitalize on that set piece. But then they come out of the locker room,
00:14:36
Speaker
And immediately they're knocking the ball around in Houston's end, spreading them out, trying to take advantage of ah being a man up. And the Houston Dynamo didn't even touch the ball before Seattle got the second goal of the game.
00:14:51
Speaker
Excellent ball movement. And then how about that dime from Yamar? to slide De La Vega in. And then De La Vega, like I said, picks out Rusnak as the trailing runner.
00:15:01
Speaker
And that's how you, that's what they needed to do is get the goal as early in the second half as possible and really put Houston under it. ah And they did exactly that.
00:15:12
Speaker
And then Ryan Kent makes a great individual run to get the third goal. So really it was an absolute clinic in a how you play up a man,
00:15:23
Speaker
on the road, just well executed all around. Got a couple of super chats to get to here. We got DJ Wulite, $5 super chat. Thank you so much for the support.
00:15:35
Speaker
Unpopular opinion, but that was definitely Dogso. I mean, so if you're if you call it Dogso on the field, like Nico said, you have to, you can't overturn that once once the call has been made,
00:15:48
Speaker
so I don't think, I don't know, i didn't think it was as out egregious Benio was saying it was, but I understand. what I think Benio gets too conspiracy on it, but but but I totally understand why he mentions the letter of law and a little bit of common sense from the referee. and And, you know, again, at times I feel like the referee should take his time before making that first call and then give himself a little bit of grace.
00:16:17
Speaker
ah But I think it's just the immediacy of the play that kind of killed that. So either way, ben olsen i credit him because he also talks about look the call was the call but uh obafemi should have done better there he should have been he should have had a little bit more he should be more physical he should have had the striker feel him more he should have lowered his shoulder you know he kind of talked about some of the things that he could have done better and he says anytime that you play a young player this many times you're gonna have
00:16:51
Speaker
Ups and downs. and And that's kind
Strategizing Seattle Sounders' Upcoming Matches
00:16:53
Speaker
of what happens here. i mean, we can't forget that this is a player that was playing MLS Next Pro last season. Now he's got 12 starts and, you know, he's having to kind of go with what he has. And this is one of those plays where you have an experienced striker that just kind of wins position and on you.
00:17:08
Speaker
And that kind of leads to that issue. So, yes, I don't like the call personally, but then there's also a credit to Moose and a learning experience for, uh, of family to kind of learn from, from the future.
00:17:23
Speaker
Bad sequels. Thank you for the $5 super chat. Moose is not the sounders best striker, but I think there's an argument that he might be the best striker for the scheme that we're trying to play. And you can, do you think of that? I love this. Cause it's a point of conversation. Cause we tend to have the immediacy of the result, you know, take over.
00:17:44
Speaker
common sense and that's all good and well. I think you play the red hot hand. I mean, it'd be really hard to take Moose off even if Jordan was completely healthy. I mean, it would almost be unfair because the guy's in such a hot streak, but I do not agree.
00:18:00
Speaker
ah This system, well, actually not necessarily this system because the four two three one which I think should have been the scheme from the beginning. i applauded Brian's match are in the coaching stuff to try to figure out something different this year to make the offense more exciting, but it didn't quite work.
00:18:19
Speaker
ah Going back to the 4-2-3-1, I feel like put your best players out on the field, but both of the systems are designed to work better with Jordan and I think Jordan can do every single thing that Moose does.
00:18:32
Speaker
and He just has more tools to his ability. He's got a higher ceiling, more potential. And I realized that there's a lot of stigmas about Jordan Morris. And look, I'm one that has criticized Jordan in the past for his lack of finishing and his lack of certain abilities. But I think that he's really grown a striker. I feel like he has he can play the part.
00:18:54
Speaker
ah So I do not agree. i feel like Jordan is the better option and an option that can work just as good as Moose under this system, but that does not take away the credit and the effort and everything that Mussovsky has done. And I wanna clarify again,
00:19:11
Speaker
If this kid continues to just put it in the back of the net every single game, let him go. that let Let that ride unless he's unfit to play or you need to manage his minutes.
00:19:23
Speaker
You got to play the the hot hand because and the buy at the end of it and the bottom line is that he's just feeling it. And when when you're feeling it, you just go with it.
00:19:34
Speaker
Ride the wave. It's gonna be interesting to see what happens if Moose stays this hot. I don't think he's gonna score a goal every single game for the rest of the season. But when he's in right now, I wouldn't put it past him to stay stay productive going forward. so ah You know, it's not going to be an issue for a few more weeks, but we'll see what happens.
00:19:57
Speaker
Derek Richards, thank you for the $3 super sticker. Appreciate you, man. Noah says, subbing so you change your mic input to the correct one. Sorry, sorry. Does it sound better now?
00:20:08
Speaker
do i say Does it sound like it's coming through my microphone? Because my input is selected correctly. So hopefully that's fixed now. Yeah, I was having some audio issues too there, Noah. but i sound good you figure it out Yeah, I think you sound fine. But Noah is the the expert. you know He has that certain ears that ah you know our mere mortals don't don't understand so i i would listen to my god noah i i'm i'm at a uh i'm at a loss i i have it absolutely selected so i don't know why this keeps happening sorry guys uh i'm gonna have to keep it rolling uh all right nico but uh in terms of um
00:20:58
Speaker
the the The overall thought on Moose, I think that he'd be happy to continue to play. and i don't think you'd find him be upset about just kind of switch back to the role he he had before.
00:21:12
Speaker
ah We all know that the duty that we have when we are part of a collective unit, part of a team. And I think that Moose has proven that i he's reached the the most goals you've ever had in a season already. i think that it'd be easy for him to at least get to double digits at this point in time for by the end of the season. So he's about to have the best season of his career.
00:21:38
Speaker
ah So when Jordan comes back, I don't think that you would find him upset that you know he's going to be part of the rotation or not. But when you look at the roster, the way it's constructed,
00:21:51
Speaker
Jordan Morris has to continue to be your striker, and there's there's no ways around it. And I think we should all just feel lucky, or the Sounder fan base should feel lucky, that they're having a guy like Moose that's feeling as good as he's feeling.
00:22:02
Speaker
And Brian mentioned this, and I think this is something that we need to remember. When Jordan Morris and even Jesus Ferreira were trying their time, that their slot moment, there when they had their number,
00:22:17
Speaker
at that ninth position, the team was not playing as well as they are now. And that's something that run of form does is that it creates better opportunities. he creates better services.
00:22:29
Speaker
It creates a moment where you can amplify what you do on the field. So let's just keep that in mind when we once again, see Jordan up there and then we can judge it. i mean, if Jordan goes and and he is unable to score, then you know what?
00:22:45
Speaker
Again, mean, I'm wrong and I will put the Moose back in and let him cook. But I just have a really hard time with the concept of putting Moose over Jordan, regardless of whether is the system or the talent or the moment. I just think you need your best players on the field.
00:23:03
Speaker
Miko, let's talk about what I think is the obvious concern coming out of this game, which is set piece defense. It's been a recurring issue for Seattle this season, and it's surfaced once again in this game. Obviously, they conceded the goal off the set piece ah for the equalizer.
00:23:22
Speaker
But then I thought even the bigger issue was how many fouls they were giving up in dangerous places in the second half. you know, I think the thing about that is especially when they're down a man, Houston really only had one pathway back into that game.
00:23:36
Speaker
And that was Jack McGlynn taking free kicks from those spots and putting the ball in the box. Uh, they almost got another one. Steph Fry had to make an insane save to, uh, deny Griffin Dorsey on that one. And then Georgie and each had fouls at the very end that gave them more free kicks, uh, from, uh, from dangerous areas.
00:23:57
Speaker
Nico, uh, how What's your concern level about the set-piece defense right now? I think it's concerning, especially because it has become a trend, right? And I am all in for being confident in your team. And Brian has said that even in the Colorado 1-1 draw where it seemed like every single corner kick and set piece that Colorado would put into a team will result in an open header into goal. And, you know, he
00:24:29
Speaker
Brian kind of touched on it there. He said, look, um I'm confident in how we defend it. And I'm okay with that. You have very good defenders, but that there is a way for teams to kind of realize which players to pick on. And it's typically going to the far post that is limiting your team.
00:24:47
Speaker
ah Obviously, once you get the ball past Kim and yamar it the mismatches are there, right? You got, I think Christian does a good job defensively actually, but i ah guy like Obed Bargers is struggling defend.
00:25:03
Speaker
And I think that's some of the things that whenever you have certain players on the field that might be picked on, that's where you got to make a change or you got to try to figure out what it is that's wrong. I'm hoping to talk to, uh,
00:25:17
Speaker
Andy Rose this week on a little tactical talk and maybe we'll ask him about how do you improve set pieces and and you know what his thoughts are on what's kind of been going wrong. So you know wait for that.
00:25:29
Speaker
ah But in terms of concerns, it is a big concern because like you said, Anytime that you're down a player, there's one way that going to let a team back into the game and it's set pieces. And this is something that's going to be a recurring issue, not just if you're down a player, but there are limited teams in this league that they just focus strictly on set pieces. And when you play those, you're going to have to be more careful. You're going to have to figure it out.
00:25:55
Speaker
So it is a concern and I'm hoping that he is taken care of. Noah's asking, do we think we should let Moose go if he goes crazy? Do good by him and maybe get a starting spot somewhere.
00:26:06
Speaker
i mean, the way I see it right now with him playing like this, you got you got to keep Moose if if you can. He's not the week-in, week-out starter.
00:26:18
Speaker
He's a phenomenal option to have as your as your second striker. this I mean, he's doing exactly what you want. the guy in that roster spot to do. So i don't know. We'll see how he keeps playing for the rest of the season. But if he keeps playing like this, I think you got to keep him.
00:26:37
Speaker
Oh, yeah. I mean, you you held on to Moose for a couple of years when he was ice cold. You're not going to give him up and let him be on his way when he's actually starting to produce, you know, and with the schedule.
00:26:51
Speaker
Coming up, Cubball Cup, Leaks Cup, I mean, there's going to be some need for rotation. And um when you've got a guy like Moose that's producing for you and that seems to have found his groove finally, yeah, mean, you keep that and it it try to squeeze all the juice out of that lemon because you've had to struggle with it for a couple of years.
00:27:12
Speaker
Get your money's worth now when it's it's actually working.
00:27:17
Speaker
Nico, anything else you want to hit from this Houston game before we take a look at these couple of road games that Seattle has coming up at LAFC and Portland? Yeah, I thought Georgie came on and was good. I think Georgie's a guy that off the bench is a spark plug that is necessary. I mean, he destroyed Dorsey in a way that I didn't really think he can get destroyed because he's such a good two-way player and he has such ah an engine and he's so fast and physical.
00:27:46
Speaker
And Georgie just put him to shame there on the left side and almost gets a goal and opportunity. ah So I like Georgie coming off the bench. I know a lot of you had been concerned about was he going to make the 18 was he not going to make the 18 i think that this team does have so much talent on the attacking end that there will be times where georgie won't be in but having his number called whenever it is called, I think he's going to come in and do it exactly what he did right now.
00:28:14
Speaker
ah We've seen him do well in in Tacoma. He's clearly outgrown that league, so you've got to find the minutes in MLS play. ah So I just wanted to praise Georgie for when he came in, he worked, he was dangerous.
00:28:28
Speaker
ah Alex Rodan thought he had another solid game He's a guy that was also kind of on the cusp of you know Do you keep Kalani do you not and I feel like over the last couple of games? he has solidified that position as a starter gonna one more time applaud brian smetzer for switching to the four two three one i feel like that's working so well it's make making things a lot simpler you're getting a lot of guys uh in the box you're attacking especially in transition seems to be so much better
00:29:01
Speaker
There were opportunities here that were missed against Houston, but those quick moments of transition and the this sequence of passes, the patterns, the combination play was very good for the Sounders. And it's going to continue to get better.
00:29:15
Speaker
Look, like and you said, this wasn't as perfect and as dominant as that St. Louis game, but... taking a look at a team that eventually had to just drop in, play more compact because they're down a player and they're having to be selective and go off the counter.
00:29:30
Speaker
I thought Seattle managed that well, right? So every single game is different. Every single game gives you the opportunity to work certain circumstantial soccer. And I thought that Seattle did it well. So all in all, I see the progress and that's all you could ask for when he comes to this Sounders team.
00:29:50
Speaker
The situation right now is you got l LAFC on Wednesday and then obviously huge derby at Portland on Saturday.
00:30:02
Speaker
So I think the question is, you know how do you rotate? How do you mix and match the lineup? Is there one game you prioritize over the other? who do you start in what game?
00:30:13
Speaker
So how do you how do you see this? Do you maybe rotate more for this LAFC game, knowing that they're coming off short rest as well with an eye towards Portland?
00:30:26
Speaker
Or do you take a different approach? Nope. I think you rotate. I think that was the plan. That is the advantage of getting the points when you can get them.
00:30:38
Speaker
And going into this Houston game, I had said it on Friday, when you look at the three-green road trip, if there's one game that you could almost guarantee yourself a win was against Houston.
00:30:49
Speaker
They had issues defensively. They were with without Franco Escobar. They were going to have to play Starris. ah They're a team that's up and down, that although has some new players, that has a lot of limitations. And Seattle did that. So they took care of business, handled those three points.
00:31:03
Speaker
It is fantastic. obvious that against LAFC, you're going to see a high rotation number when it comes to it. i I'm not sure if they might be asked how formation will change. Maybe Brian might be willing to go back to the three men ah back against LAFC because they pay a 4-3-3. Maybe he wants to even out numbers.
00:31:24
Speaker
Not sure, but whatever it is the case, this win gives you all of the leverage to be able to manage players, manage minutes, decide to just switch up things, ah try to surprise LAFC.
00:31:39
Speaker
And if you get a result, you get a result. And then you focus, of course, on El Clasico against ah Portland Timbers. We know that Brian is a big Seattle guy. He's not going to want to go in.
00:31:50
Speaker
not play his best players against Portland. Portland's a team that, although has some defensive issues, they're very good offensively. So for me, yes, you rotate now. LAFC has a lot of things to think about. They have an upcoming game against sta Leone for $9 million, $10 million dollars game for a spot in the Club World Cup.
00:32:10
Speaker
They have to figure that out. They have to deal with this short rest. They have a lot of things going on for them right now. And after seeing Vancouver just... Being against the ropes, come back, Brown, White cannot be denied.
00:32:22
Speaker
ah Yeah, man, I think that Seattle can say, hey, look, we're going to switch it up. We're going to get certain players some play time and we'll see where that goes. What do you make of this LAFC team now in general? I mean, if you just look at the table, they're there one point off Seattle, ah but their recent form hasn't been as good. They're 5-4 in three, points per game with plus one goal differential.
00:32:49
Speaker
They are four, one and one at home. So they've still been taking their home results. But I don't know. I kind of, the vibe that I get from the outside is that this is not like as much of the juggernaut LAFC as we're used to. Is that how you see it? And what do you think is behind their relative downturn this year compared to the team that we're used to seeing tear up the league?
00:33:15
Speaker
Yeah, they're not a star studded, and that's just plain and simple. You can look at the lineup and just see that they just don't have those sort of players anymore. I think that there was a huge turnover from midfield to the the defensive end all the way to the attack where you're missing so many pieces and you're changing so many things.
00:33:35
Speaker
You have a lot of young players that you know are are coming up. ah but those are inconsistent performances. Look, I love ah Martinez. You know, La Perla, I think he's a fantastic player, but he has his ups and downs.
00:33:47
Speaker
He is not, ah you know, Kike Oliveira, and he's not, you know, ah player that's going to be as consistent as the ones that they've had before ah for LAFC. I think that the...
00:34:00
Speaker
Giroud experiment has been um a huge waste of of of money and it has not played out the way that they wanted it. And that is clearly seen by Ordaz just continue to get more playtime. And actually he's been ah pretty productive to be quite frank, to be give the kid credit.
00:34:20
Speaker
ah But it just, to me, seems like Denny Buanga went from having two, three players that are X factors to him being the only X factor. And you're kind of waiting to see what uh danny wong is going to do to get this thing going uh i also although you know delgado has done a very good job at midfield and he sets the tone and i think that he's a player that leg misses extremely this season um It's just not as exciting as it was once at one point.
00:34:51
Speaker
ah Igor Jesus has been pretty good when he comes to that role of that Ilya Sanchez had before. He has his more rangy. He's more of a fighter. He can disrupt more play.
00:35:03
Speaker
ah So there are things about LAFC that are good. They're just not as good as we we're used to seeing in this team play.
00:35:11
Speaker
but it's not something that we haven't seen before. and And you know that once the summer window comes in, they're gonna go out there and get some players. so I don't know if that is stylistically and by design what LAFC wants to do, but this is not the first time I find myself talking about LAFC early in the season.
00:35:30
Speaker
And then once a summer window comes around, they just turn into a hollow team. So ah we'll see what happens in that summer window. But for now, I just feel like they are not as vast in talent as they were at one point.
00:35:43
Speaker
Yeah, Denny Bawanga is still one of the most single terrifying players ah in the league when he gets going in transition. And seems like he's been playing better lately. But it feels like the storyline is sort of that, like you said, he doesn't have as much support as he once had.
00:36:02
Speaker
And it's really like it's kind of all on him. And if you watch their games, he – There's a lot of plays where he is trying to take on like two, three guys all by himself.
00:36:14
Speaker
And I think it's gotten into his head a little bit. His decision making and is it hasn't been as good as a as it used to be. But I guess it's a long way of saying that if Seattle can keep Denny Bawanga at bay,
00:36:30
Speaker
they have a great chance of taking a result in this game, which seems like it's stating the obvious, but in previous years, it's like, all right, if you if you ah do a good job against Denny Bawanga, there's all these other ways that they can get you, and it doesn't seem like that's the case right now. So ah going against this guy is always a good test for any and MLS defense. We all know what Denny Belonga can do.
00:36:58
Speaker
But really, if they're able to to win that matchup, then i think that puts this game in ah in a situation where a result is attainable and you shouldn't it shouldn't feel like three points is out of the question.
00:37:14
Speaker
It's just about, it's really, he's it feels like he's the one guy right now. feels like he's the one guy. Yeah, and look, even if they decide to do a lot of um rotation, which it could be the case. I mean, you never know with Chirundolo, to be quite frank, sometimes when you think he's going to sink his eggs and, you know, more than in one occasion, I've tried to figure out what he was going to do for ah open cup or for a three-day week. And sometimes he'll just three-game week.
00:37:41
Speaker
And sometimes he'll just leave his lineup just set. But, ah you know, when you look at the bench, you got Guys like Jeremy Obobese that, you know, no disrespect to him, but he's a solid attacker, but nothing beyond that.
00:37:54
Speaker
I have not been impressed by under. um You know, Frankie Amaya was in League MX and didn't quite work out. Ended up being her alone. So when you just look at the paper, the the the team on paper is just not as scary as as it used to be. And I think Seattle it could do well. but You know, potentially Ferreira maybe might be available for that game.
00:38:16
Speaker
um We'll see what what happens with Jackson Reagan. you know He has some testing to do. ah You figure that out, but you still got Jay Bell. He's been very good ah when he's had to come in.
00:38:29
Speaker
i mean, there's options for Seattle. You got JP that has to play, in my opinion, and he's a guy that's just dying to get in there. I think he's going to come in hungry. He's going to come in with a chip on his shoulder.
00:38:40
Speaker
ah You got a guy like Danny Leyva that's been very good. So to me, when I look at the possibilities, even with rotational players, I think Seattle can get out there and and compete and compete well in in a tough stage, will say, because I will. yeah I think that that's a tough place to play at.
00:38:57
Speaker
But I think I can do it. Do you think we see the Danny Leva, JP double pivot in this game? Because that's kind of that's what I want to see. I think so. Yeah. I hope so, almost. ah That's a lot of minutes for a Christian Rodan that's been all over. And, I mean, he's been ah pleasure to watch. to I mean, that the way he plays the game is just...
00:39:19
Speaker
relentless the disregard for his own body and health. i mean, he's putting his body out there, just, you know, sweating tears and and and and blood for you. So yeah, I think he deserves a a game off.
00:39:32
Speaker
He probably hates me for saying that because he's a guy that wants to play every game of every minute, every game. It's always like his homecoming too. It is. It is. But I would not mind seeing that change of pivots there with, uh, JP and Danny Lever.
00:39:47
Speaker
I'm glad you, uh, You brought up Christian right there. I think it's ah we we did it on the postgame live, but I think it's worth shouting him out again because Nico, his ball winning and like work in possession right now, work as a facilitator.
00:40:04
Speaker
I think, you know, for whatever questions there might have been about his form early in the season, especially after the San Diego game, I feel like this is some of the best ball that I've seen him play like in his career these last few weeks at least.
00:40:19
Speaker
Yeah, no, i and look, Alex, Christian Roldan is always going to give you certain things. He's always going to give you effort. He's always going to give you a range of play. He's going to give you a physicalness.
00:40:31
Speaker
But there were some moments this season where his ball distribution wasn't as sharp. He was, to me, getting exposed a lot by the way the 3-5-2 would work in the three-man setup.
00:40:46
Speaker
And, you know, we talked about it a little bit. Sometimes Obed kind of disagreed with my take, but I felt like Christian didn't in terms of how that system just kind of makes you work a little bit more.
00:41:02
Speaker
And depending on what certain players do on the field, he can put you off position. And I feel like to me, Christian was exposed the most on it. Now, under this new 4-2-3-1, although concepts and principles are very similar,
00:41:16
Speaker
uh i just see him more sure of himself and i see the space kind of condensed a little bit for him and he's just been on point so i agree with you i think christian rodan despite some issues early this season and he continues to be a guy that is necessary and he is one of those not seen you know heroes he's not like at the highlights because he's doing all of the dirty work all of the the things that no one else sees he's not on the stat sheet or whatever but his work rate is unbelievable
00:41:50
Speaker
talk about the Portland Timbs a little bit. ah They're coming off a 1-0 win over Sporting Kansas City, the club of professional wrestling enthusiasts, which, you know, a win's a win, but ah Sporting KC is not that good this year.
Rivalry and Upcoming Challenges
00:42:04
Speaker
It wasn't like a super convincing win, at least not on the not on the scoreboard. But the way I see the Timbs right now – Honestly, they were one of the hotter teams in the league for the last few weeks before they got blown out in San Jose.
00:42:18
Speaker
But I think it's pretty much a similar story to what you're usually going to get with this team, which is, look, it's a high-powered offense. They can score goals on their day with absolutely anybody.
00:42:30
Speaker
So you're always going to have to deal with that. But they're also liable to, as as you saw in the Earthquakes game, they're also liable to concede a few at any given time. So, yeah.
00:42:40
Speaker
In a game like this, Seattle, with how Seattle's attack is playing right now, I feel like it should be a good matchup. They should be able to score with them in theory. But ah also, the I mean, I already talked about it when we were talking about this game a little bit, but ah there was a storyline for a long time of Portland dominating this rivalry for what, like the last two years before last year where Seattle finally beat them after a stretch of like eight, nine, 10 games, whatever it was.
00:43:13
Speaker
They were, uh, they, and they were dominating the rivalry, even though their team wasn't that like, it wasn't anything special. Uh, but they would always use it as like a course correction. They would be in a poor run of form.
00:43:29
Speaker
They would look at the Seattle game. Uh, they would play like absolute God forsaken maniacs out there. And, uh, Brian Schmetzer even acknowledged that there were times where Seattle wasn't matching that intensity.
00:43:43
Speaker
So they really, i think the one of the biggest things with this game this weekend is just making sure that you do match that intensity. And if you're able to do that as a baseline, ah it's not like the Portland Timbys impossible to score on even at Providence Park.
00:43:59
Speaker
ah So what what do you what do you make of the Timbys this year and what Phil Neville's got going I think they've been ah good and they've done enough to, and I said this earlier,
00:44:14
Speaker
on our live show there at Starfire, they're a team that understands their weaknesses and they know what they need to do to win games. And it's usually scoring more than the other team that wasn't necessarily in display against Kansas city. I was actually disappointed with the attacking movement for Timbers overall.
00:44:33
Speaker
Fantastic goal by Santiago Moreno. If you haven't seen it, go ahead and check it out. I mean, it's a beautiful half Bali sort of situation there that that was just, excellent. Just the control.
00:44:43
Speaker
DaCosta has been unreal. I still don't put him in the vendor category. I've heard a lot of Timber fans and ah some pundits talk about DaCosta being as good as Evander. I don't think he's as good, um but he's been very good.
00:44:59
Speaker
Anthony has given this team a Problem type winger and or wing back depending on how they play him, but on white areas Anthony is an issue every single game. He's so creative.
00:45:11
Speaker
can come inside He's good on the ball. He'll beat you off the dribble He is someone that can be very gold dangerous if you let him ah So, ah you know, a lot of components there. I'm trying to figure out ah how and in what form Jonathan Rodriguez is going to come in, had a leg injury. ah He finally got some minutes left against Sporting City.
00:45:32
Speaker
We'll see how he plays moving forward. But I think Moura has been very good. Moura is that Danny Masowski type that, you know, he's going to do what the coach asks. He's going to be frustrating to play against. He's going to win a lot of aerial duels.
00:45:46
Speaker
I think he's a very good finisher when he gets a chance to. this is a team that offensively does a lot of good things. For me, the Achilles heel continues to be the midfield. ah Whether it's Ayala and Jao Ortiz or various formations that they've tried at midfield, I don't see the consistency that they had at one point ah with Juan Diego Chara and that's an issue.
00:46:13
Speaker
It's an issue. I think Joe Artis is very limited. i remember him from Delphine, from Independiente del Valle, and he's a player that's good, that that you would see, that you would on that I would call an experienced midfielder that's more of a...
00:46:28
Speaker
um slide disruptor and he's going to play simple and he's going to do certain things, but he's not as range. He doesn't have the speed of others in that specific position. And I think that you can play through Timbers midfield pretty easy when he's out there.
00:46:43
Speaker
And when both of your fullbacks are as ah offensive driven as Bravo and Muscara are, there's always a ton of space to play behind them. So Timbers are going to go get you.
00:46:56
Speaker
They're going to want to put you in a Mexican bra in the middle of the ring. We're going to go one for one shots. But if you're able to put them in a bind and not allow them to get forward and really make it difficult for them to make direct transitional play, I think it's anybody's game between Seattle and Timbers.
00:47:15
Speaker
Jax, thank you for coming in with the $5 Super Chat. Appreciate the support. We should calm down. We only beat a 10-man Houston. I hope we rotate the lineup a lot against l L.A. and treat Portland away like an effing final.
00:47:29
Speaker
don't think you even need to qualify the Houston win like that, though. It counts. And ah another thing, what I would say about a game where you get a red card in your favor is you still have to capitalize on you know.
00:47:43
Speaker
So I think what you can credit Seattle for there is they handled it professionally. They, they did what they had to do to start the second half, get the lead and you know, had one insane fry save and had to absorb a little bit of pressure, but all in all, like, I think it was great how they, how they handled that situation and how they executed.
00:48:04
Speaker
And they also, it's not really, if it was just the Houston win in isolation, then yeah. But, They've won four out of five. They've scored three-plus goals in three of those games, including against the Nashville team.
00:48:17
Speaker
That's a good team. so No, but but but I like the comment. I mean, let let let's let's make sure that we don't put this team in a stratosphere that they're not necessarily at. um They are a work in progress. They are growing.
00:48:32
Speaker
Immensely, my opinion, you're starting to see guys that are looking great. the The fact that Ryan King got 66 minutes is huge. ah But I agree, we haven't necessarily played the elite. I mean, look, good win against Houston, good professional win.
00:48:46
Speaker
But you were, he's right, you were up a man for more than 45 minutes. This is a 14-place Houston team that it was an expected win for me. I mean, you were going to go over there and win this game.
00:48:59
Speaker
ah because you were better than Houston on paper and on form. So I'm with it. I'm with it. but let's Let's say this team is good. They're not great. Let's wait and see. Let's see if they can get and turn the page and take a step into being great.
00:49:16
Speaker
LAFC is a good place to start, but i mean, you're going to have to rotate, but the Timbers game. That is the one that is going to be the parameter for where Seattle's at right now. and And I hate to say that because we always talk, at least I do, ah statement wins. They've had a couple, had big wins, Nashville win, St. Louis win.
00:49:33
Speaker
But a big win against Portland kind of does things different, right? You play that game different. It is a derby. You're going against a quality team that's above you ah in the standings.
00:49:45
Speaker
So, you know, this could catapult you. This could be a momentum shifter ah in terms of just – Expand it on what you're already doing a boost of energy of where you're currently going because it it is trending in the right direction for the sounders But this could push over the top. So I like the comment. I like the comment, you know a little bit of ah humble pilots
00:50:10
Speaker
And like just looking at the schedule in general here, I think we're gonna we're gonna learn a lot over the next few weeks. This is a outside of these two road games. It's a difficult portion of the schedule.
00:50:21
Speaker
If you can come out of this in a good spot on the table, I think. ah You'll be feeling great about where about where you're at going into the sort of second part of the season after the Club World Cup and all that. But you've got LAFC and Portland coming up.
00:50:35
Speaker
And then FC Dallas after that. a San Diego team that beat the Brakes off you a few weeks ago. really That was the game that kind of started this hot streak.
00:50:46
Speaker
yep Then you've got a Minnesota United team. That's good. And then you've got a Vancouver Whitecaps team. That is the greatest team I've ever seen. So ah that's how it lines up before you hit that Club World Cup opener against Botafogo on June 15th.
00:51:04
Speaker
So, yeah, this is going to be a ah tough part of the schedule. That's a difficult stretch of games, man. I mean, Minnesota just embarrassed Miami. I mean, Minnesota's a good team. San Diego's a good team.
00:51:16
Speaker
I mean, that's a tough stretch of games. and that's why it's so important for Seattle just to continue to trend in the right direction. And I think that Portland game could definitely give this team that extra boost of confidence moving forward. So, man, it's ah not easy for this team.
00:51:32
Speaker
you You seem to have the quality. You seem to have the talent. You're going to be lot healthier. I'm waiting to see, ah you know, Jackson Regan back and Ferreira completely fit. Jordan Morris eventually.
00:51:43
Speaker
Obviously, he's going to be later down the road. I wouldn't expect him to be ready for the, even the first game of the Club World Cup, to be honest, me, personally. And that's no inside information necessarily. Just kind of,
00:51:55
Speaker
reading in between the lines of what I'm seeing and making my own ah hypothesis. I would think that you don't necessarily see Jordan Morris for up with the Botafogo game, but we'll see after that.
00:52:10
Speaker
DJ, thank you for the $2 super chat. New future segment, end of season, start bench trade. I like that. Ooh, I like that. Nico, I think one of the last things you hit on there is a good segue into what I wanted to hit next, which is let's jump around the league a little bit.
00:52:28
Speaker
There was some, ah there's a few results that I wanted to talk to
MLS Team Performances and Challenges
00:52:32
Speaker
you about. And let's start with one that you mentioned, Inter-Miami, 4-1 defeat at Minnesota. The vibes are off, Nico.
00:52:41
Speaker
The vibes are way off. Starting to think that hiring Javier Mascherano Might not have been a good call. I don't know. We'll see. We'll see. But if you look at where they're at right now, they crashed out of CCC pretty emphatically. Vancouver handled them like it was pretty much nothing.
00:53:00
Speaker
They did get a win against the Red Bulls, but Messi notably did not look happy after that game. And then they get boat raced by Minnesota team that – is good but this and this inter miami team is supposed to be able to uh dominate week in week out uh and even if they take a negative result here and there definitely not getting a boat raced by anybody let alone a minnesota team that uh any prognosticator before the season would have said inter miami is way better than uh
00:53:35
Speaker
what's so what's What's going on, Nico? I mean, we've talked about it a lot, but it seems like this week it hit like a kind of a new low for the for the poor run of form that they're in right now. where is Are Messi and the Barca boys chocked? Are they chocked?
00:53:51
Speaker
Yeah, it kind of felt like the clock struck midnight and everybody's turning back into a pumpkin a little bit for this Miami team. And look, I think Messi and in France,
00:54:03
Speaker
Their window was very, very short. It's starting to close down. ah they they They need a nine. they They don't have one right now. And the fact that Luis Suarez just looks like those knees finally decided to retire before he did, ah it's an issue. And now you're having to play with Messi as a false nine and you're doing all these things to kind of make it work and and it hasn't you you lost that gunpowder at the end of that Lionel Messi spear and when it's not him off a set piece that it's not him off of you know we're running to the 18 it just becomes very difficult that when you play a team like Minnesota that if anything
00:54:42
Speaker
They have an identity. They're going to have a lot of numbers behind the ball. They're not going to allow you to have a lot of space. They're going to overpopulate the half spaces. ah It just becomes difficult, and and that that's what happened.
00:54:54
Speaker
You saw the frustration build. You saw Machano trying to make certain things happen, and it just wasn't working. I think Busquets has taken a step back from last season.
00:55:04
Speaker
i think that Kramaski, regardless of – the progress he's had ah since Tata Martino started playing him. He is just not that guy that's going to put the the game on or the team on his shoulders.
00:55:19
Speaker
And I feel like in in the white play, they just don't have that guy that's going to stretch out your defense and he's going to make a problem. Segovia is a guy that has been doing it, but hasn't done it consistent consistently for this team.
00:55:32
Speaker
ah So all in all, man, ah I think you saw it coming. And, you know, I hate to say that because they did start off pretty hot and I had my reservations about Machirano and letting go of Campana and what they didn't do to try to replace Gomez and Matias Rojas. So I had this whole...
00:55:54
Speaker
concept of what I was going to see for any Miami and they started pretty good. They started red hot and this, you know, making me look like a buffoon, but now it's all kind of starting to go back to that alone.
00:56:07
Speaker
ah The amount of players, I mean, the amount of games, the amount of tournaments, the amount of travel time, all of that wears deep on a team, especially when they're as old as Inter-Miami.
00:56:18
Speaker
And look, Vancouver kind of put the plan for everybody to follow, man. did You just got to make them run because they're slow. and You got to make them work. And Sores said it in in a press conference, man. You just got to make sure you you do what you do. And that's kind of what Minnesota did.
00:56:35
Speaker
They had somewhere close to 30% possession in this game, but it was just quick counters. We're going to put the ball ah direct and we're going to get you running. And but that's the way they won this game, man. So,
00:56:49
Speaker
Inter-Miami just looks like they were found, and now if you play them to exploit all the things they don't do well, it's just a different game, especially when you're reliant on Messi to do magic. And i just don't know if he has it consistently enough. I mean, he just he's a little bit older, man. was just ah ah Father time is undefeated.
00:57:15
Speaker
Turns out you can't buy and MLS Cup or a Champions Cup. Exactly. That's fair. I think what this season has gone so far is the is perhaps the most clear evidence that we have of that yet.
00:57:26
Speaker
ah Look at what's happening to Inter-Miami. Look at what's happening to Atlanta United. Look at what's still happening to Toronto FC. Look at what's happening to Austin FC.
00:57:40
Speaker
mean These are all clubs that dropped bag after bag after bag. Inter-Miami, you can't fault the ah scouting or recruitment on that. They scouted up a pretty good one and then kind of reaped the rewards of that in building a roster that, to be fair, ah did set the single-season points record and win the Shields.
00:58:01
Speaker
Whatever you think of Leagues Cup, they – played very well in that tournament. ah But really, I mean, they were clear cut far and away the best team in the league and played some of the best soccer I've seen played in the league.
00:58:13
Speaker
So you can't take that away from them, but nope it hasn't got them the the trophy haul that they were expected to get from it. And Nico, in a league with Lionel Messi and ah Emmanuel Latte Loth for $22 million, dollars uh, and, uh, Lorenzo Insigne and Bernadeschi who got bought for a combined 30, whatever, plus $40 million. Uh, the best goal scorers in MLS right now are, Brian White and Danny Musavsky.
00:58:44
Speaker
So go figure. Like, I don't know what to, uh, what to do with that information. I'm just, uh, it's statistically, that's what's happening right now. And I think that's great.
00:58:56
Speaker
Um, Nico, the LA galaxy seven to zero. That was crazy. It's we knew it was it was bad.
00:59:06
Speaker
We knew it was bad. We knew it was worse than even thought it would be given the off season that they had and all of the departures that they had. I think a step back was fair to expect. Uh, but this is, I think the worst start in MLS history, not just for a defending champion, but for anybody,
00:59:25
Speaker
ah This team is 0-9-3, three points on the season, 0.25 points per game, negative 20 goal differential after losing to seven zero I mean, what do you what do you do if you're that like Alexey at this point? Like, I think, like, can you can you fire a coach that just won you MLS Cup?
00:59:52
Speaker
I mean, you can. And credit to LA and look great to Greg Vanney for withstanding a 7-0 beatdown and still have a job on Monday morning. I mean, that alone.
01:00:04
Speaker
it I mean, I tip my hat. I tip my hat. He's done enough to to just hold that on because that was yeah was shameful. I mean, sat there and watched that with my youngest daughter. i mean, my my my youngest, my daughter.
01:00:17
Speaker
And she just was like, daddy, this defender sucks. I mean, she's just like, why is he pushing so high? I mean, she's 11. I mean, they were just so flat and it was so easy ah ah for a meal to just come.
01:00:32
Speaker
cut them down and it's through ball after through ball. And it just seems like there was so much space for them to run into that it was just too easy. And when it rains, it pours that own goal to finish off the seven zero was as bad as seen it. I mean, it was a great shot, to be honest.
01:00:48
Speaker
I mean, if if you're forward taking that shot, it's a beautiful goal. when When you're a defender and you hit the ball with that much space back into your own goal, I mean, that just says, We're just struggling right now. So ah New York Rebels are not that good. Let me let me tell you that right now.
01:01:05
Speaker
They are not that good. They are not that good, especially offensively. that Say whatever you want about discipline positionally. And, you know, Emil's a fantastic player, in my opinion.
01:01:16
Speaker
i think he's been great from the moment he arrived. But they are not that good, man. And 7-0 is a beatdown that I cannot imagine, man. I honestly thought that at one point...
01:01:28
Speaker
Vanny was going to go in there. I mean, Greg Vanny was going to go in there and be like, all right, guys, let's call it, man. Mercy rule. I mean, it was bad, man. It was really bad. I just don't know what they what the Greg Vanny situation should be because obviously this start is apocalyptically bad.
01:01:49
Speaker
It is. But he's a proven winning a coach in the league. He built Toronto FC into this juggernaut, which The further we get away from that, the more impressive an accomplishment that looks like when you consider what they looked like before and after.
01:02:05
Speaker
the Greg Vanier, right? And then he he built the galaxy into what they were last year, which is a team that played some of the best attacking soccer that we've seen in the league in the last few years.
01:02:18
Speaker
So it's kind of, it goes to the discussion of like what the impact of coaching really is. I think we've seen that Greg Vanier is a coach that can have a positive impact.
01:02:31
Speaker
But wait Just when you look at what happened to the roster, obviously the they were up against the cap and they had to withstand a lot of departures. But like it shouldn't be as bad as it's gotten. There's just no way. There's no way they should be 0-9-3 with a minus 20 and getting seven zero by the New York Red Bulls.
01:02:52
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah, yeah but but it is tough when you rip that column of players that have been holding you down for as long as they have. been again And again, we talk about Delgado, a guy that you wouldn't think you would miss that much when you have Marco Reus as part of your your lineup. And and i don't know where he's been. i mean, you know he has just not been even a shadow or a shell of what you know a player of that category is, right?
01:03:17
Speaker
So between the fact of your midfield is just... inefficient and your back line. i mean, Garcett went from being a guy that I was following closely because he was so good last season as a center back. He came in and was a difference maker for this exact same Galaxy team.
01:03:39
Speaker
And now it's just mistake after mistake. Yamate is a guy that goes very well forward, but struggles defensively. I mean, man, It's not even the about the players, man. it's you know I sat on my Thursday show trying to figure out ah what it is that was wrong with the LA Galaxy. And aside from changing the formation and simplifying things, I just couldn't find anything.
01:04:04
Speaker
And after this game, I don't even know if that's going to do it. I just don't know if there's any answers. And what I said on Thursday is like, it's almost as if maybe... Somewhere in this planet, you know, maybe Lionel Messi's playing against the Monstars in a soccer version of Space Jam, and they came and took the talent from the LA Galaxy because these players look nothing like the way they did last season.
01:04:29
Speaker
But whatever's going on, man, it's not going to be an easy solution. It literally needs to be studied how bad the LA Galaxy have been. It really does. Do you still think that you take a losing game you'd trade a losing season for an MLS Cup in particular if it was this Galaxy season.
01:04:45
Speaker
So I've been pretty consistent in saying that you make the trade-off that they made all day, which is selling out for MLS Cup. And if you pay the price the next season, then so be it.
01:04:57
Speaker
you got the You got the shiny trophy. ah You should make that. I think most fan bases would take that deal every time. They are pushing like the how much i can still believe in that.
01:05:09
Speaker
like there This is so bad that it's making me reconsider whether like the um MLS Cup was worth it. That's like... Yeah. I've always said that I take it. I mean, i you know we go back to...
01:05:23
Speaker
ah CCL for the Sounders, and I'll say that I'll take that any day of the week for the next seasons to follow. when we're weren It was bad. No, of course. It was astronomically bad. It was unseen bad.
01:05:38
Speaker
yeah And obviously, regardless of, I'm still going to take the ship, even if I'm getting embarrassed the next season. ah But it is tough to see. It's a tough break, man. and to be fair, though, I mean, they all three DPs were out for this game, right?
01:05:52
Speaker
Paintsville, Peck, and Ricky, who's been missing for forever. ah But it still doesn't necessarily be ah Yeah, but it's still... It's 7-0, man.
01:06:03
Speaker
Like, we here that is... And it's the Red Bulls, man. is I mean, it's not a team that's a, you know, ah offensive joker now. Like, I'll take that even against San Jose these days.
01:06:15
Speaker
But against the Red Bulls? Jesus, man. That's tough. it tough. Yeah. Let's do our let's do our atlanta United analysis. This is another. I feel like this segment is just where we talk about all the downfalls going on around yeah in Miami. We got the LA Galaxy.
01:06:33
Speaker
But Atlanta United, did you see this game? This was funny. they ah So they went down to the Chicago Fire late in the game. Big Sam Rogers actually ends up gifting... and Beautiful on goal. Beautiful on goal, clinical finish.
01:06:51
Speaker
But it was like... I feel like it was almost... kind of more sad how they got their goal. It's like, you can't score one yourself. So you have to get like the biggest gift of an own goal I've ever seen.
01:07:06
Speaker
But then you just like, you knew they were going to concede like immediately. I don't think there was even question when I was watching it. I was like, the fire are probably going to get the winner here. And even if they hadn't, it still would have been a poor result.
01:07:18
Speaker
But how much longer does Ronnie Dala last? Cause I really can't imagine it's much longer. god That's a great question, man. And obviously, like, admit defeat if he does that.
01:07:32
Speaker
What like what's he going to do? yeah hit mean, it's tough, man. When you think doesn't respond to you and it feels like every single game, you're just waiting for a mistake to happen because the first goal is one of.
01:07:48
Speaker
10 mistakes that I could point out as easy mistakes that have led to a early ah deficit for Atlanta United. That handball, man, I mean, what are you doing?
01:08:00
Speaker
What are you doing? I just, didn't understand what's going on with Atlanta looked like he was trying to do it. He was trying, I swear. you It's like point-shaven, man. Like, I'm just, he looked at the ball and did this. I mean, what are we doing?
01:08:14
Speaker
I was one of the craziest handballs I've ever seen. i I don't think he was trying to do it, but if he was trying to do it, he wouldn't have done anything different. So... So, yeah, so look, Ronnie's issue is that if the the players are not responding and he is going to be left with the decision of having to bench certain players, he's modified information, he's modified concept, he's moved players around.
01:08:39
Speaker
He's done just about everything he can to get this group going. But if they don't, man... I guess you pull the plug in it early, ah but where does that leave you ah as Atlanta, right? I mean...
01:08:51
Speaker
ah I've said this before, and maybe it's not fair because Tata Martino left for a better opportunity, but it's almost like the the curse of the Argentino for this Atlanta game, Atlanta club.
01:09:06
Speaker
Ever since Tata Martino left and who had success when he did, it's been champs, especially with the ah coaches. Go back and look at the coaches. I mean, he's been mistake after their mistake after mistake and quick and let go after quick let go. ah I think Gonzalo Pineda might have been the one that lasted the longest.
01:09:24
Speaker
I mean, it's it's insane what's happening with Atlanta. Too much money, too much talent, just not good enough. Simple, basic mistakes. This game was tough to watch. and And again, at least you're hoping that they'll hold on to the 1-1 draw.
01:09:37
Speaker
And then the way that game-winning goal came from Chicago, it was just unreal to me. Unreal. Unreal. It's wild. Nico, I think we're about ready to ah wrap it up here. We do have this Club World Cup clip from Arsene Wenger.
01:09:53
Speaker
Did you want to hit this before we get out of here?
Club World Cup Insights
01:09:57
Speaker
Yeah, man, I just wanted to, you know, kind of get the ball rolling. We are getting close in on Club World Cup, you know, huge stage for the the Sounders. And in all general senses, I want to start hitting up a couple of these clips that, ah you know, we're getting from FIFA. I was ah lucky enough, and this was a while back, that I was able to talk to Warson Banger, who was the chief of soccer development for FIFA.
01:10:20
Speaker
And, you know, my question to him was, what was the benefit of having this new format that, you know, I've heard a lot of players, even this week, I think Latour Martinez, Inter Milan player, um had said that, you know, it kind of reminds him of the Real World Cup because of the groups and all these things. So it seems like players are digging it, but I wanted to know from him, Arsene Wenger, his experience and, you know, what he thought was the the ah the the positives of having this new format. and And if you want to play that clip of of what he said.
01:10:55
Speaker
Let's do it.
01:10:59
Speaker
would say it gives a chance to every confederation to do well. And that, for me, was important. And I believe as well the unique way this competition is organised that they're all there together. you know At the same time, and for one month, you show who has the quality, of the stamina and the determination to win it.
01:11:25
Speaker
And maybe we'll have some surprises and that some conversations will gain ah confidence and encouragement to do even more. For me, it's all about... i travel all over the world and believe me, the clubs are an important part in developing the players.
01:11:44
Speaker
And the fact that we can contribute ah with this competition to develop even more clubs all over the world is a good thing for young talents who don't get a chance.
01:11:58
Speaker
So there it is. I totally agree. a lot of people, ah especially those that are anti-MLS and that, you know, believe that this is the world's worst league in the planet, although they are top 10. And that's not my opinion. That's a fact per FIFA and Optus that is their top 10 league right now.
01:12:20
Speaker
that it's pointless for the Sounders to play Botafogo and play PSG and play Atletico and that you got all of these small clubs playing in this big tournament. And I agree with Arzen. I think there is a huge benefit for players to just battle battle it out and being this sort of tournament in a big stage, in a competitive stage,
01:12:41
Speaker
you know, performance against this type of quality players and quality teams. When else is Ovid Barker going to be able to touch the field with some of these players or, you know, Yehmar or younger, le Paul Rothrock, all of these players that, you know,
01:12:57
Speaker
kind of came through various ways into professionalism and now they're having a chance to play that that develops in different ways so i i love that he talks about smaller teams just being able to play and compete and maybe surprise i'm not sitting here telling you that the sounders are gonna beat all these teams and they're gonna pass and just get close to ah even moving on from this group stage. But I think it does benefit the players and the clubs as an opportunity to just battle it out, compete.
01:13:30
Speaker
I'm genuinely curious to see how these, uh, these games go. Everyone, uh, everyone seems to be taking it as a given that Seattle is going to get absolutely destroyed in, uh, all these games. And, uh,
01:13:42
Speaker
That's fine. You know, maybe that is what will happen. Seattle definitely has to. They got to deal with some pretty good players on ah PSG and Atletico Madrid. But, you know, those teams, have they had to deal with Ryan Kent? I don't think so. No, no. We think that Ryan Kent's going to forget how to play like Ryan Kent just because he's out there against PSG and Atletico Madrid and Botafogo.
01:14:11
Speaker
Maybe. I doubt it. you know Nope. So, I mean, I don't know. It could be non-competitive. I think it could be more competitive than then people think. Everyone's got their own barometers for success.
01:14:23
Speaker
But I will say, you know, everyone everyone assumed that Seattle was going to get blown out by a Ali in the last Club World Cup, and they were they were competitive at least, which, you know, we're talking about different levels.
01:14:36
Speaker
But that game was in Morocco. This game will be in Seattle. And I think it was before the preseason or like during preseason. Exactly. They think they're a full-on sounder team.
01:14:48
Speaker
people thatt People never take that into account when you talk about this. In this case, we're talking about Club World Cup. But for all the narratives about how much ah MLS clubs struggle in Champions Cup, it's never really taken into that much account that they're playing. It's their their preseason games.
01:15:05
Speaker
It'll be nice to see ah them play in a tournament like this when they're actually in form and fit. I think though they should benefit from that. Yeah. We'll just we'll we'll see what happens.
01:15:17
Speaker
We'll see what happens. My barometer for for success is just competing, putting on a good showing and just show just showcasing what you can do.
01:15:28
Speaker
The results, the chips will fall where they may. But we'll see what happens. We'll see what happens. All right, Nico, I think we can call it right there. Thank you everyone for tuning in to another episode of Lobb and Scorchers Kickoff.
01:15:42
Speaker
ah Big week coming up midweek at LAFC and then we'll be in Portland. Nico, are you going to Portland? I'm trying to figure that out. it's It falls on my wife's birthday weekend, but we'll figure out. Maybe so.
01:15:59
Speaker
That might take precedent, arguably. i don't know. That's a tough call. But if you do end up making the trip down there, see you you down there. Lobb and Scorchers, under the lights, Thursday at eight 8, what time is that? 7.30.
01:16:18
Speaker
Thursday is 7.30. ah We might try and put out another pod after the LAFC game as well. And then we'll be on site for the Timmy's match. So if you're going down there, come say hi.
01:16:31
Speaker
And Yeah, let's get out of here on that, Nico. Thanks for having me. I appreciate it. Appreciate all the comments as well. I got to see some of you guys at the US Open Cup game as well. So ah thanks to everybody to say hello.
Conclusion and Listener Engagement
01:16:45
Speaker
that wanted to chat for a bit. You know, it's always pretty cool to see the audience come in and say how much they like the show and takes and all this. So I'm grateful for all of you guys out there.
01:16:57
Speaker
Absolutely. And apologies for the audio issues. I got no idea. what's going on with that, but we're going to fix it for the next one. Appreciate everyone bearing with that. All right, we're going get out of here on that.
01:17:08
Speaker
Later, everybody. Have a good week.