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A New Low for the Seattle Sounders - Ep. 42
30 Plays5 months ago
Noah and Ari discuss the disappointing performances of the Sounders' loss to Sporting Kansas City and the USMNT's loss to Colombia. They also announce that the podcast has been signed by Sounder at Heart! We answer your questions about Brian Schmetzer being on the hot seat, is Frei washed and much more. This week's agenda check features Andrew Thomas and Reed Baker-Whiting.
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- This podcast was made possible through the support of Full Pull Wines.
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Lobbing Scorchers is a production of Just Once Media.
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Transcript
Introduction and Episode Overview
00:00:10
Speaker
What's going on everybody? Welcome into episode 42 of Lobbing Scorchers. This is Ari Lillianwall. I got producer Noah here with me. And Noah, I'm pretty pissed off today. How are you?
00:00:26
Speaker
Where do I even start? Where do we even start? It's going to be a tough show today. It's going to be a tough show today on multiple fronts. But we don't shy away from results here on Lobbing Scorchers. We dive into it no matter what they may be. And this week.
00:00:42
Speaker
It's not good, folks. It's not
Seattle Sounders vs Sporting Kansas City Recap
00:00:44
Speaker
good. The Seattle Sounders went down to Sporting Kansas City, the club of professional wrestling enthusiasts, and lost 2-1, which losing 2-1 would be one thing, but I think it's the fashion in which they did so that is especially aggravating this week. We're also, unfortunately, going to dive into some US men's national team pundentry.
00:01:05
Speaker
They got absolutely boat raced 5-1 in an international friendly with Columbia in a tune-up for the Copa America coming up So that wasn't great for them both of the soccer teams that I'm most invested in and support have had a
USMNT vs Colombia: A Harsh Defeat
00:01:21
Speaker
I mean it was tough showings and you know my first takeaway I'll just give it right off the top you know that I was thinking about at least you know life is inherently meaningless if we're talking about the grand scheme of existence and we are all but specks of dust in this vast infinite universe that are ultimately
00:01:41
Speaker
Insignificant not just as it pertains to sports, but life in general So I mean that's I've been I've been really kind of trying after what had transpired yesterday I've been thinking about these things on a deeper level and None of it matters. Ultimately is The main thing that that's the conclusion that I've come to so Oh wise Ari When you when you have a day of soccer results like that, it really it gets you thinking about these things but
Joining Sounder at Heart: Opportunities and Motivations
00:02:11
Speaker
In all seriousness, we do have an exciting announcement, Noah, that we wanted to leave the show with today. We have some tough results to talk about, but we do have to get this out there. It's been teased, but we wanted to confirm it. Lobbing Scorchers has been signed. We are joining the team at Sounder at Heart.
00:02:31
Speaker
We realize there might be some questions about this and what it means for the future of the show. So I'll address those right off the top. The motivation behind this is multiple. Number one, we're getting paid. We're money hungry. Yeah. I mean, that is I'm not going to lie. That's a pretty big part of it. You know, when we got into this podcast game,
00:02:49
Speaker
I don't think either of us ever thought we were going to be generating much if any money off of it. We were kind of just doing it for fun because we love to geek out on the team and wanted to throw up a platform where we could dish our takes and if people listen to it, great. If not, I wasn't really too concerned about it. My thought was that we'd probably get maybe 40 or 50 listeners per show.
00:03:15
Speaker
If that you know and I didn't really care I was gonna keep I was gonna keep throwing the content up there no matter what But as it turns out we've grown a nice little community here we get a few hundred people who download it every single week it seems like we're growing and expanding and We kind of have realized that there was a potential that We could add at least a little
00:03:39
Speaker
something to our income every month, which that it kind of matters to us. It definitely matters to me because working for the MLS website on the editorial team, it's a lot of fun. I enjoy it. I take a lot of fulfillment and happiness from the work, but it's not especially lucrative.
Content Continuity and New Ventures
00:03:57
Speaker
So having wait, wait, wait, wait.
00:03:59
Speaker
You don't get paid billions of dollars to shill MLS, are you? I don't, believe it or not. Breaking news. They pay me more than they used to, but anything that I can add on to what I generate off this stuff every month, it is how I make my living and it actually matters. And so to have an opportunity such as this, where we're going to be getting paid by the show now,
00:04:21
Speaker
It's it's going to be good for us, Noah. And it's an opportunity that we felt like we couldn't pass up from that perspective. And on top of that, it gives us an opportunity to expand our reach. We feel like more people are going to see and listen to the show now, which that's a good thing. You know, we want as many people to hear it and see it as possible. And this gives us an opportunity. We're conceited. And yeah, exactly. I have an ego about that. I want people to hear this now. Now that now that I know that
00:04:50
Speaker
people do download it. I want as many people to do so as possible. And then also, and this is honestly something that I'm probably one of the most exciting things about this for me at least. I'm going to be doing some written content to accompany the podcast.
00:05:04
Speaker
which I'll also be getting paid for. And that's something I wanted to do for a while. Like on the MOS website, I don't get to do as much of my own writing anymore. I do sometimes. But I used to be the sounders beat writer, which I still do sounders coverage for the website from time to time, but not nearly with the frequency that I used to. Most of my job is editing and web production and, you know, assigning stuff to the writers. It's yeah.
00:05:33
Speaker
boring but also it's kind of I don't really have a platform right now where I can lay down my sounders takes in written form and you know even in my beatwriting days that was more hard news I didn't get to editorialize as much so I think with the stuff that I plan on doing to accompany these podcasts it'll be more fun it'll be more like my own voice and it'll allow me to kind of put my own style into it and
00:06:02
Speaker
just have a platform where I can write down my thoughts in addition to vocalizing them on the podcast. So all those factors combined, we felt like this was the best thing for us as a show right now. So if you have any questions about how it's going to work, you can hit us up. But we just wanted to drop the news. There will be more developments on exactly what it means for us and for you the listeners in the coming days. But yeah, no, anything to add on this exciting announcement for the podcast here?
00:06:31
Speaker
Yeah, I'm super stoked. We love all of the... I mean, we basically know every single person on The Sounder at Heart staff, and we admire their work. And more than anything, this is such a great opportunity to just grow the show. And the best part is, they don't want us to change anything. They literally were like, yeah, you guys cook, just cook. And that's like, have you ever been told, we're gonna pay you to cook?
00:06:56
Speaker
No, we're not chefs. We're not chefs. That's a good point. It's an important point. As far as the content goes and the tone of the show and the types of coverage we do, none of that's going to change at all. It's going to be the exact same thing. So if you're worried about that and you think that the change in platform is going to change anything as far as
00:07:17
Speaker
the types of coverage we do, it's really not. My plan is to just do exactly what we've been doing to a tee, but get paid for it. And also hopefully have more people listen to it. And Sound Art, they went independent recently, as a lot of you are likely aware. Used to be under the Vox Media umbrella, but is now a fully independent platform. And I think that's awesome. And they've been doing really well with it.
00:07:46
Speaker
And we're excited to join on and yeah,
Analyzing the USMNT's Performance and Future
00:07:51
Speaker
stay tuned for more on that. We'll have more information on exactly how that's going to work. Can't believe Tom Bogart didn't leak our transfer. Yeah, I know. He didn't get the scoop on that. Tom Boggs, what are you doing? What are we doing?
00:08:07
Speaker
Unless you had anything else, I think we can dive into the rest of the show here. I do want to thank our paid subs as always. We'll let you guys know what exactly this change in platform might mean for you. I don't really know right now. We're figuring that out, but we'll let you guys know. Thank you for all the support that everyone has given us to this point, but particularly our paid subs. I'll read off the list one more time. We have a new one. Let's go. Samuel Fout.
00:08:36
Speaker
Thank you, man, for the subscription. Much appreciated. I'll go down the list. Nate, Joey, Brenna, Pete, Rhombus, Nate, Tyler, Owen, David, Chris, Bill, Mike, Aaron, Derek Richards, Sounder Naves, Dan Paveto, Mike Standish, my guy, Ryan Shane, Eric Stanley, my nephew, CJ Miles, Mayor Menakis, Andy Hill, Ian Mitchell, and Greg Hoker.
00:08:58
Speaker
Thank you guys so much for all the support. And thank you to everyone for listening. If we didn't have the amount of people listening to this show, as we do, we wouldn't have gotten this opportunity to join Sounder at Heart and get more money off this. So shout out to all you guys. I love you guys. Like I said, I really...
00:09:18
Speaker
I never really envisioned or thought that we would get to a point where we would have an opportunity like this. So thanks for all the support and for listening and hope you guys continue to enjoy the content as we keep grinding it. You get more. You get more now.
00:09:36
Speaker
Yeah, you get more. It's going to be fun. It's going to be a good development. I'm excited. Clearly, we're excited. Yeah, we just we can't stop talking about it. All right, let's dive into this show, Noah, because as fun as that exciting announcement was, it's an unfortunate show. It's time. It's it's tough. It's tough. We're going to dive into this USMNT punter tree first. Get that right out of the way. I don't really want to spend a heck of a lot of time on it. Maybe we'll go on a tangent here.
00:10:03
Speaker
But I did have a few takes after what we watched yesterday in this friendly with Columbia which like I said So the US is playing two two of these friendlies to prepare for the Copa One against Columbia which they played yesterday and then another one coming up against you know who this is against Noah
00:10:19
Speaker
Brazil. Brazil. Way better team than Colombia. Full strength team too by the way. How the match against Colombia went is any indication of how this Brazil match is gonna go. This could be bad. It's not good. It's definitely not good. 5-1.
00:10:36
Speaker
5-1 against the Colombians yesterday, which I didn't really know what to expect in this game. I think we were technically ranked higher than Colombia in the FIFA rankings going into this game, which we probably shouldn't have been. I believe I think we were at 11 and they're at 12. That's what I saw. So I mean, that's to say that regardless of where these two teams were ranked,
00:11:02
Speaker
I was thinking and hoping that this would at least be a competitive game. I didn't know if we were going to win, but I certainly would not have expected it to be this lopsided. But the fact that we got destroyed like this is definitely not good because we're trying to put on a good showing at the Copa. We're hosting it, playing a lot of really good teams. And this is not how you want it. This is not the vibe that you want to start it off.
00:11:31
Speaker
The one thing I will say is I do think it was it was slightly more competitive than five one. What happened was we got bammed on twice right at the beginning of the game, twice in the first 20 minutes, but managed to stay in it. And I did like some of the footy that we were playing in that it was a very like entertaining, like opening 20 to 30 minutes back and forth, up and down. Both teams were playing some good footy. It was competitive. We did.
00:12:00
Speaker
We lost complete control of the game state though. Like you don't want it was way too track meaty. Yeah way too track meaty I don't really know all that much about Columbia and how they play if they're that much of a counterattacking team or a transition team But like when they were getting out in transition We were on our heels and that's just not really the game state that you want at all against the team like that We let it get out of control but you know
00:12:27
Speaker
They the U.S. did stay in it and were able to hack it to two one in the second half on a really nice goal by foreign foreign balligan combined with Tim wea and At that point I was like, okay, we're probably gonna lose but maybe we can scrounge a draw out of this and also just overall I was not feeling that badly about it because it was a back-and-forth
00:12:50
Speaker
competitive game that I mean the goals that They scored the second goal that they scored was an insane bicycle kick. That was crazy You can't I don't know how much you can do to stop that in particular But the first one, I mean the other thing is that there was just so many
00:13:09
Speaker
bad and dumb giveaways. Oh, so a theme that we're going to talk about with the Seattle Sounders soon. But that's in the water. It's just like, you know, I thought I thought some of the attacking sequences and some of the footy that was played was honestly pretty good, at least in the first half. But the defense was a mess. Cameron Carter Vickers, you know, the bots, they told me a lot about him back in the day. You know, he plays for Celtic, whatever.
00:13:36
Speaker
I feel like every time he got the ball, he just passed it directly to Columbia. Yeah. That happened like four or five times. Tim Reem, honestly, who's been of great service since he got back in the mix. I thought the CBs were a mess in this game. Joe Scali, another bot guy. Nope. Not good. Not good. And that's not good because Virginia Dest has a long term injury. Correct.
00:13:59
Speaker
The really uh one of the big things that this team had going for it at full strength was that fullback duo of jedi and sergino dust dust is injured scally is one of the guys that needs to step up the bot said he was good he did not he did not he was He was under it the whole game. He was made. I don't know. Maybe some I feel like every time I do usmnt punditry um
00:14:21
Speaker
I look at one of these players propagated by the bots, and I'm like, this guy's not good. And then they're like, what were you watching? He was awesome. So maybe people are going to come at me with that with Joe Scali. I don't know about this Joe Scali thing. That's what I'm going to say about that. I did not think he had a good game. Didn't think Jedi had a particularly good game. Thought the midfield was a mess. That's why we were getting ran on. And Chris Richards was awful. Frankly, for as Chris Richards,
00:14:51
Speaker
For as good as a few attacking sequences as we did have at times in the first half, I mean, I was pretty disappointed in Balagan. This was supposed to be the guy that solidified the number nine position, and he did have the assists on the Tim Wankle, so I'll give him credit for that. But, you know, he's got to be bamin' in goals. That's why he is supposed to be the number nine that
00:15:17
Speaker
Ascends us to the promised land to the next level. I didn't think he looked much like that in this game You know our goal don't think he got all that cool. Uh, I think he might have had one good chance Yeah, where he almost scored but didn't but just on the whole he didn't look all that dangerous He didn't score. He gave away a pass that led to a column vehicle
00:15:39
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. He did that as well. So, uh, just really in all around, it was a mess. It was a mess, especially late in the game. And you know, it's, uh, it's unfortunate in one respect, which is that I remember how pumped I was on this team after nations league last year and just
00:15:57
Speaker
how good the ball was we played against the CONCACAF opposition that we had. And you know, Balligan looked great. He was scoring goals. Gio looked phenomenal. I mean, I remember going through and shouting out the whole starting 11 down to, down to Jedi, down to the CBs.
00:16:16
Speaker
Eunice Musa, Tyler Adams, everyone was ballin' and this was in the B.J. Callahan days, which shout out B.J. Callahan. There's gonna be a lot of calls for B.J. Callahan to get back in the mix. Did you see the photo of him? No. There was this hilarious photo on Twitter where
00:16:31
Speaker
He's just sitting behind GGG and they like zoomed in on him and he's just like sitting there like his face is just no expression. And then there's the next photo is just him holding an iPad and it just looks like he's telling Greg exactly what to do. It was, I can't believe he's still on that staff. That's fueled with a fire. He probably, he's probably sitting there thinking like, oh, this would never have happened if I was, if I was coaching this team. But you know, I have to say,
00:17:00
Speaker
Regardless of your thoughts on B.J. Callahan versus Greg Berhalter or anything like that, seeing a performance that bad, I can't help but feel my excitement about the feeling of this team, which I was very...
00:17:17
Speaker
My point when I was gassing the team up last year was not that we're the greatest team in the world or that we're going to win the World Cup or anything like that, but it was more like I could see the path to us becoming a legitimate competitive squad on the international stage where when you go into a game against, say, the Netherlands like we did at the World Cup, I could see the path to where this player pool could go into a game like that and
00:17:42
Speaker
maybe not win for sure, but compete. That's what I want to see. I want us to see us go into these games against these heavyweights on the biggest stage at the World Cup and hold our own and put ourselves in positions to where we could feasibly take results in those games. I think that's the next step for this team to reach what its ceiling can be, is to be a credible opponent against these heavyweights, right?
00:18:05
Speaker
What I saw on Nations League last year made me think that with the talent that we have in this player pool, which I still think in terms of raw talent, this is the best player pool that we've had, like, regardless of what you think of that proposition after a result like this. I mean, you still have some class players in this pool.
00:18:26
Speaker
You know, I still love Weston. I still love Tyler Adams. I'm still really high on Gio despite the struggles he's had at the club level at Nottingham Forest this year. I think these are really good, really talented players.
00:18:41
Speaker
Mean you need to show it on the field. You need to go. Columbia is a good team, but they're not super amazing Then you know, they have hummus who was a superstar for real Madrid for a lot of years But he's not what he used to be and they have another five guys or so that are playing in the EPL But aren't like super dominant players or anything. They have John Duran shout out Chicago fire But just doing he's doing pretty well at Aston Villa so they have like a
00:19:10
Speaker
I would describe them as good, not great. You know, like the Albert Rusnak of national teams. I mean, I think that's underselling it because they think Columbia is that good. Well, they came into this game. They're so good that they should be boat racing us like that. I don't know if they should be boat racing us, but like that, but they did come into this game with a 14 game winning streak.
00:19:30
Speaker
Yeah, no, that is true and and they always like their all-time record versus the US is very one-sided in their favor Yeah, and but like I don't know when I was just looking at the starting 11s going up against each other I think you could you could give them the edge. I don't know if
00:19:47
Speaker
It's so lopsided in talent to where 5-1 makes sense. That is one team just drastically underperforming their level. It's one thing to lose the game, but to get outclassed, outplayed, outcoached, out everything like that, I don't think that that was necessarily reflective of what you would think of the quality of the starting 11s.
00:20:13
Speaker
Maybe I'm delusional for that. And maybe I'm underselling Columbia a little bit. I probably am. I don't know all that much about their team. But the US is supposed to be this team. We're supposed to be a team that can go into a game like that and against an opponent like that. And at least compete now. At least compete. And to get 5-1'd.
00:20:37
Speaker
I mean, terrible, terrible performance, even though, like I said, I think it was more competitive than the score line, but like, you know, five, one is five, one. And when you give up three goals from the 77th minute on and played off the field to that degree late in the game, it doesn't mean anything positive. And now you go into this game against Brazil, who's one of the best teams in the world. I mean, we all know they got Vinny, bro.
00:21:05
Speaker
You see what I'm saying? Like, there's levels to to it and Brazil is on one level. I don't think like Colombia is on that level. No, no, no. So you should be getting five one to buy Brazil. Yes. Not Colombia. Yes. In a tune up game. Yeah. And looking like you've never played soccer together in your life. Right. Like, OK, I got it. I got to ask you, Ari. OK. Does this result happen?
00:21:31
Speaker
if there's more MLS players on this roster. That's what you gotta know. Noah had a good tweet about this. I triggered the bots. So many at a thousand likes.
00:21:45
Speaker
If you had Walker Zimmerman, Jordan Morris, Christian Roldon, Jesus, Ferreira, and the whole gang out there, do we get 5-1? I don't know. I don't think so. That squad has grit. Yeah, that squad has grit. Well, if you look at the past results, the last time that the US played Columbia, it was a nil-nil draw. And guess who was playing? It was all the MLS bots. Yeah.
00:22:07
Speaker
Think about it. Think about it. Think about it. Do the math. You put all the heroes out there. Oh, man, this is this is we're going to we're going to rile some people up with this. The one thing I will say is that any time the U.S. MMT loses like this, it's actually kind of a win win from my perspective, because I honestly I do root for the team to do well and I want them to succeed. I'm a U.S. MMT fan, unfortunately.
00:22:30
Speaker
I really am. But if they don't do well and they take an L like this, that's an especially bad L, it makes the bots very upset. And that's a W every time. I think it's funny when the bots are upset, the bots don't like, I don't think they like either of us. They don't like you very much. Yeah. Which that, I mean, if there's one group of people whose opinion about me
00:22:53
Speaker
I care about and respect less than the bots. I don't think there is that group for me. I like seeing them in shambles like this, but I'm not going to say I like watching the U.S. get boat race 5-1 in any capacity. Greg, this is just... Okay, so let's talk about Greg. One thing that I was thinking about at the beginning of this game was just like,
00:23:22
Speaker
How much I don't care the coach of this team is I Don't think especially you know, I've expressed on this show multiple times I kind of have the Garth Lager way of you on it. He said the other day he thinks it's 80% your roster 20% coaching
00:23:38
Speaker
I think that that's about how I think of it. And I think that's even more is probably skewed even more at the at the national team level, because the player pool for national teams, a lot of it is decided for you. It's not like you're building a roster like a club team where you're deciding who to sign and in the case of MLS, how you manage the salary cap.
00:23:58
Speaker
there's you know players on the fringes that you can debate should this guy get called in this guy's doing well at the club level does he deserve a shot there's stuff like that where the coach makes the decision and it matters but I mean just taking the US pool as an example your core of Pulisic
00:24:14
Speaker
Weston, Tyler, Jedi, Des 20's healthy, Balagan now that he's in the mix, all those guys. You're basically, all you're doing as the national team coach is calling in the obvious guys, creating a starting 11 with those guys and putting them out in the field and hope that they perform. Like I really, is there
00:24:35
Speaker
Am I bugging? Is there that much more to being a national team coach than that? You can talk about Greg's tactics versus another coach's tactics all day, but at the end of the day, the guys in your pool have to...
00:24:51
Speaker
It's more incumbent on them, I think, than anything, than whoever the coach happens to be. So I just don't think, I don't know, you could put a big name coach in control of this team. And if the players aren't executing, I'm just telling you, it's not gonna make that big of a difference. I really don't think it is. But I will say,
00:25:16
Speaker
You know, we've talked about coaches that can give you a tactical edge in a game, in any given game. And I do think that there are probably our coaches at the national, international level that can give you more of an edge than others. And I mean, I don't really consider Greg to be on that tier of coach. So, um,
00:25:42
Speaker
Don't know I am my I think the Berhalter stock is anytime you take the most lopsided defeat of your tenure as a coach That's gonna hurt your stock and I don't know like you just you needed to be like more competitive than that So, I don't know. I don't know if that take made
Coaching Critique: Berhalter and Schmetzer under Scrutiny
00:26:00
Speaker
sense. No, I think it makes sense. You got to think about What these but here's the way I saw it to me
00:26:06
Speaker
I don't really particularly like the way that Greg plays like I don't know if plays is the right word but like tactically developed this team that said who gives a shit like you are still you still have like all of these incredible players who at the end of the day
00:26:25
Speaker
If they want to be fluid in play, people say, oh my God, Greg is so strict with his rigid positioning and all this stuff. If you've ever played soccer, man, sometimes you just do whatever the hell you want when you're a player out there and you cook. And I think the national team is a perfect example of that. That said,
00:26:47
Speaker
Who's gonna come in and do anything else plus they're not gonna fire him till after the copa like What are you gonna do? Yeah, if at all, I don't know It definitely like not to agree with the bots, but it definitely uh when you see a result like that it kind of paints the whole Hiring process and not a not a great way. Well, that was a sham for sure. It was a sham for sure I won't deny that like I my thing is I just don't really care that it was a sham Yeah, I don't think that
00:27:15
Speaker
Whoever they could have brought in would have made that big of a difference But you know, maybe someone else wouldn't have gotten can we just get the women's national team head coach to do dual shifts? Is that possible? I mean, you know, I'm willing to try anything I think that it was about that about do it for USM NT probably too much Yeah, we did it We probably went longer on that then we needed to but I guess on one level it was nice to get back into it You know, we didn't do any for like Nations League or anything like that. So I
00:27:44
Speaker
We'll probably I mean now that uh now that they got boat raced and there's been so much discourse about it I'm definitely like we should cook on the on the brazil game for sure because I don't know if it's gonna go all that much better to be quite honest with you I think that could be could be just as bad if not worse and then I mean imagine the discord look like just say it's like as bad as the 5-1 Imagine the discourse
00:28:08
Speaker
It's going to be good stuff. I will be there no matter what. Exactly. So to lighten the mood a little bit, Noah, let's talk about the Seattle Sounders. Oh, thank God. Thank God we get to talk about the Seattle Sounders who lost to Sporting Kansas City, the club of professional wrestling enthusiasts at Children's Mercy Park yesterday, two to one. And like I said, wasn't necessarily the L. It was the manner of the L.
00:28:37
Speaker
so many just frustrating things about this game and we're gonna I have a couple of topics for us to debate we're gonna do agenda check so let's get into it I'll just break down they'll do a little recap of the key moments from this game the first one I had written down was
00:28:55
Speaker
I had a very good chance early in the game, within the first 10 minutes of the game, where it was some good combination play with Raul Rui Diaz. I thought Raul did really well to set him up. Sporting Kansas City, not a good defensive team. No, they were kind of letting Seattle be on the front foot early in this game.
00:29:16
Speaker
And Rui Diaz sent Russ Snack up behind the back line, no one around him, and he skies the shot. And I mean, I just wrote that one down because the thing that went through my head when I saw that was, you know, is it reasonable to hope and expect your DP number 10 to have a shot with no one around him? He's wide ass open. Is it reasonable to hope and expect that he would put that shot on target?
00:29:44
Speaker
No, you can't do that. I mean, that's too much. You know, like it's got to be on target. It's got to be on target. It's got to be on target. Like he's so open. He's so open. If you put it on target and the guy makes a good save, tip your cap, more power to him. But I mean, to sky it like that from inside the penalty box with no one around you.
00:30:11
Speaker
It's ridiculous, Ari. And it keeps happening. It keeps happening.
00:30:17
Speaker
It keeps happening. I've given him the benefit of the doubt. We really have. We really have. And I refuse to give in to the Rusnak haters because their reasoning for hating him is completely wrong. And it's just over the top. Yeah. That's my whole thing with the anti-Rusnak agenda is I can understand thinking he's more of a tan player and wanting a higher caliber, more firepower type player as your DP. I agree with that. But to say that he's like,
00:30:46
Speaker
Awful, I don't agree with that. I think the truth is somewhere in the middle. That being said, a myth like that really underscores why a lot of people feel like him being the DP10 is not a great allocation of resources. Like a guy like Hany Mooktart or Lucio Acosta, you think they're missing that shot? No. No.
00:31:07
Speaker
I don't know. That was just a frustrating moment. He's so open on that play. He's so open. What's the meme you like? You live in a $1 million mansion. You go and play in a blah, blah, blah, blah. You wear cleats that are $400.
00:31:37
Speaker
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00:32:03
Speaker
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00:32:33
Speaker
And you miss the shot? Yeah, exactly. To Seattle's credit, they did score the first goal of this game. And this was a nice goal. Jordan Morris on the finish, JP with a nice assist. And I think if there's any positive from this game at all, there's exactly one positive from this game, one.
00:32:54
Speaker
And it's that Jordan Morris scored and that he's been in a good run of form. He's got three goals in the last handful of games here. And it's another like classic Jordan Morris goal where he's making a run in behind the back line. He runs onto a through ball.
00:33:10
Speaker
Poor defending, St. Louis let him do the same thing where it's just a wide-ass open breakaway. But Jordan has actually been finishing these chances when he gets them. And I thought he actually had a really good game overall. Same. I thought he was dangerous, impactful. He got on the stat sheet. He got the type of goal that this team needs him to be scoring. So I think if there's anyone that I don't blame for what took place yesterday,
00:33:38
Speaker
I would say Jordan is exempt. He should be exempt from any negativity or trash talk for the week. He got on the score sheet and he played well. It wasn't just the goal. You can score a goal and still have a pretty non-impactful game overall. I didn't think that was the case.
00:33:57
Speaker
No, I thought he played really well. And, you know, I don't I it was Jeremiah who put out a position chart at halftime. He was farther up the field than Raoul. We need to talk about how just absolutely.
00:34:12
Speaker
I don't even know what Raoul is doing anymore. At this point we have to put Jordan at the 9. How many more times he was in on goal more times than Raoul was. And when Raoul was in on goal it was like 3 or 4 steps behind where I should be or I'm just not there.
00:34:29
Speaker
Man like there was one play where so this is no this is the only thing about the Jordan with the nine idea I totally agree with what you're saying about Raul But like I thought a lot of the danger that Jordan was generating was from that wide area Yeah, there was one play in particular where Jordan cooked he lost his man going down the left flank put in a great cross
00:34:52
Speaker
Right in the mixer right in front of goal and Raul is just not fast enough to get there if he if he's two one to two steps of quicker He it's a tappen Set up by Jordan from out wide. I think Paul Rothrock would escort that I think not even being like not even being
00:35:09
Speaker
facetious like you I mean anyone who was like a little faster yeah probably gets on the end of that and it's a tap in and it was really it was a chance that create it was fully created by Jordan from out wide and he deserved an assist for that that should have been a goal man that should have been a goal
00:35:27
Speaker
Jordan deserved the payoff for the work that he did on that play and Raul just couldn't get on the end of it. But I think that's sort of something that, you know, I understand the problem with the multiple problems with Raul at the nine right now. I don't I don't even really call him a nine right now. I don't know what he is. He's like a
00:35:47
Speaker
He's like sort of a 10, but he's like, he just gets in the way. He's like, uh, he's like an 11.6. Is that, yeah, I think that's fair. I mean, I don't know. He's definitely not playing as a nine. Yeah. Again, in this game, uh, we've talked about it a lot the last few weeks, but just dropping back way too deep to get on the ball. And then it's like, he, he's not dangerous from there at all. Um, but don't worry. You ripped the shot from outside the box again.
00:36:14
Speaker
Yeah, couldn't quite, he got, I mean, that's kind of all he's got right now. And he, that was one of the closest they got to scoring other than the Jordan goal. But like, that's, see, that's the problem. It's not, he hit a few of those earlier this season in the last few weeks, but that's not going to sustain you like throughout the season in terms of generating consistent offense. Like it's that you kind of saw why like that, that the type of shot that he took in this KC game,
00:36:44
Speaker
The one that he barely missed Like that's he's hit a couple of those but you're just not you're not you can't really live like that. Yeah, but like how long until you Actually make the conscious decision to sit his ass down on the bench and play a striker who has two legs Who can run who can do anything? I mean, I don't want to be harsh on brahul because he's a club legend and Like he is someone who I have admired for his technical and you know finishing a lot of great goals won a lot of trophies
00:37:14
Speaker
But he can't even be in the right position anymore and you have to know when it's time to move on.
00:37:22
Speaker
and the time is now, and you have a striker. Listen, I don't think Danny Musavski is anywhere close to the best nine in the league, but- That's why you're going out all in with that. Let me, let me, let me, nothing to be controversial here, but like, you have, you have Danny Musavski. You could even play like, you could play Rusnak in a weird like false nine position. Like I don't care. Anyone else, anyone else.
00:37:50
Speaker
He cannot play anymore. I'm done with it. I'm sorry. That's I've seen enough. I mean, I think a lot of people feel that way. I just there's not a heck of a lot of options, but you could you could start. But anything is better. You could start Jordan there. But, you know, I think Schmetz even had a quote after the game where he acknowledged that he needs more from that spot. And I think you can't really deny that at this point.
00:38:12
Speaker
Sporting Kansas City equalized about seven minutes after Jordan scored to make it 1-1. Johnny Russell on the goal. I think the thing that people were debating with this goal, which came after a botched clearance and he ran onto it from outside the box,
00:38:29
Speaker
and converted the shot past Stephen Fry, so people were debating whose fault was it, was this one on Rusnak and RBW for botching the clearance and letting Russell get the shot off in the first place, or was it on Stephen Fry for not saving what was clearly a saveable shot?
Sounders' On-Field Struggles and Player Performances
00:38:48
Speaker
I'll tell you the answer to that, Noah. It's on both of them. It's on all three of them. It's on Rusnak and RBW for, I mean, like, when you, when there's a ball,
00:38:57
Speaker
outside the box like that, where they had like three guys around the guy who was trying to make the run in the box and they get the ball off of him. That's one where you just you boot it into the next into dimensions as of yet undiscovered by mankind. OK, like you get that ball as far away from your box as possible. And instead of booting it like you need to in that situation, they just poked it right to
00:39:22
Speaker
Johnny Russell, who timed his run up pretty well to smash the shot. Yeah. But like that, I mean, that ball just needs to be cleared. I think that's pretty obvious to me. But then the shot is saveable. Like Step Fry, I think he would probably tell you that that's a saveable shot and it's a save that he should make and needs to make. Frankly, that that just should never be a goal.
00:39:48
Speaker
No, no, I mean like listen Johnny Russell may be the oldest designated player in the entire world but Excluding intermiami excluding. Yeah. Okay. Well, they don't they don't care but they're still producing so, you know, whatever but he I mean that is like that is a Raoul Rui Diaz outside the box guessing shot like
00:40:11
Speaker
Fry has to do better there RBW didn't cover himself in glory that we'll get to that Bruce Knack okay, but at the end of the day you are a goalkeeper You are the final line of defense. That is it. You are a veteran on this team. You got to make that save. Yeah, you got to have to
00:40:32
Speaker
This game was really decided later on in the match in the second half when it was still 1-1 when the Sounders got another red card, RBW this time, another red card. No, it's silly. It's just ridiculous at this point. The amount of minutes that we've had to watch this goddamn team play with 10 men this season
00:40:53
Speaker
It's incredible. I mean, I should have gone down and enlisted them all. I feel like it's like five or six at this point. You've had Jackson Reagan get one, knew who got one. Now RBW got one who Alex rolled on, got a terrible one. So that's four fry fry. Got rescinded, but still just kind of speaks to the type of I mean, five, five higher back line, literally. Yeah, it's like.
00:41:20
Speaker
It is undisciplined. It's costing the team points. It's really frustrating to watch because when you have all 11 players on the field, you actually have a chance at getting points in these games. And when you're picking up these really dumb and unnecessary red cards, you're talking, you're talking the game.
00:41:49
Speaker
As soon as RBW got sent off with that much time left in the game, the outcome was preordained. You're losing the game. You're losing the game. You are taking what could be a tie or win if you have all 11 players and can find a winner. And you are punting points. You're telling Sporting Kansas City, the club of professional wrestling enthusiasts that, do you want these points? You've lost seven straight games. You need some points.
00:42:15
Speaker
Here they are. We're going to get a guy sent off. You can just take him. Have him. Have at it. The play itself is just not a smart play by RBW. He knows that he's on a yellow already for pretty much the exact same foul. And dude, you're so far away from goal.
00:42:35
Speaker
Yeah, so far away from goal. You can just let him run by you in that scenario and you have cover Yeah, I've covered maybe he makes a dangerous run, but like he's so far away you have to take the chance that your teammates are gonna cover you and Mitigate whatever danger might be there then pull him down and take your second yellow that you know is a second yellow I know one I don't think I actually did see a couple people like arguing that
00:43:05
Speaker
That was a soft yellow. I disagree. Yeah. I mean, he pulls him down when he's making like a what could be a very dangerous. I mean, I don't know what you could be watching, frankly, to think that that's not. You're already on a yellow. You're going to get a yellow for a tactical foul. That is like that is the rule. Like that is what will happen. Yeah. That will happen to you in Sunday. But if you think that it was a soft yellow, which I don't. But even if you do,
00:43:33
Speaker
You have to have the awareness to know when you're on a yellow, that a foul such as that, you're asking for it. You're asking for it. So I mean, I had zero problem at all with RBW getting sent off there. And I mean, like I said, you chalk the game right there. But okay, here's the thing that people were talking about with this that I will say, which is that,
00:43:55
Speaker
I do think Schmetz put RBW in a pretty bad situation by having him on the field for as long as he did. RBW is still coming off an injury. You can't possibly be 90-fit yet. No way. It's the 74th minute of the game.
00:44:13
Speaker
And it looked like a foul where he got cooked by his man because it looked like he was tired. Yeah, it looked like the fatigue got to him. And that's why he did that. He probably shouldn't have been on the field. No, he should. There's not even a probably. There is no reason that a player coming back from injury who is not 95, who hasn't played a full 90 in a year.
00:44:37
Speaker
is legitimately on a yellow, 70 minutes into the game in a defensive position. It is a absolute, I don't even know what you're doing as a coach when you see that and let that happen. We've talked a lot about Schmetzer and his sub patterns and the questionability of them. This is inexcusable. This is inexcusable because
00:45:03
Speaker
For me, RBW had a pretty good game. I was going to say we were going to I was going to hit that on agenda check, but yeah, we'll get more into it. Like, but just like baseline, I think he had a pretty good game. And when your coach puts you in a position where he plays really hard, he's a kid, he's young, he's going to make mistakes. You as a coach have to understand how to protect a player from himself. And he failed. And that's that's him. That is that is
00:45:29
Speaker
You know, I hate that we're both kind of the coaching isn't always what wins or loses you games, but right there, man, that's hard to argue that that didn't play a large role in chalking this result. Yeah, no, it's not a bad point. No, it's not a bad point. I mean, the thing that I wanted to debate, I guess, or or discuss, is this the low point?
00:45:52
Speaker
Man, I think so. Yeah. Sporting Kansas City had lost seven straight games. They're not good. No, they're not. I mean, they're even their own fans know that they're not good. They have been one of the worst teams in the league all year. This game was there for the taking. You scored first. You gave up the equalizer, but you still have a chance to win the game and you just punt them the points.
00:46:22
Speaker
But we didn't even talk about the game winner. I'm sorry. I skipped over that. That's actually an important thing to get to. Yeah. So sporting Kansas City get the game winner in the 80 some odd minute. I can't remember. And it was some 20 year old winger that scored it for them. I don't even know who he is. But
00:46:45
Speaker
This one was on Stuff and Fry. The fact that this one in was crazy. I think his name was Vargas by the way. Vargas scored the goal for Sporting KC. He's at an angle where it's almost harder
00:47:00
Speaker
Have that ball go in at that angle than it would be to make the save What is this after this is a quote from post match here? I'll have Ari read it Okay from Vargas Vargas mentioned he wanted to send a cutback pass into the box But nothing was there quote the first thing in my mind was to give an assist But when I look to see the options I didn't see anybody so I thought I have to shoot and thank God the goal went in right
00:47:22
Speaker
Right. So yeah, exactly. He didn't even have any supporting runners to put a cross in. So he just smashes it at the goal, hoping that that exactly what ended up happening would happen. But I mean, yeah, Jeremiah called it the softest goal that fries ever allowed. I agree. The angle is totally covered.
00:47:45
Speaker
It can just I mean it just can't go in man. It just can't go in it's I don't really know what to say about it I it's a terrible concession and you know the frustrating thing about it is that it wasn't really even a chance that manifested due to them being down a man like that could have happened 11 on 11 and
00:48:08
Speaker
You just have to save it. You have to save it. I don't know what else to say about it. You have to save it. I have to ask, was this the worst game in Stephen Fry's entire career?
00:48:19
Speaker
Yeah, I think it was because usually, like, you know, Steph is a club legend, MLS Cup MVP, one of the best players in club history. So we should say that. But he has he is good for at least one of one of these howlers a year. Correct. And I think that sort of view will go back throughout his career might be one of the things that kept him at least when he was younger for maybe going to
00:48:46
Speaker
going to Europe or maybe going to play at a higher level than MLS is that he has a couple of those every so often. But he's been a great goalkeeper aside from those. It just does happen. But in this game, you have two in one game where really both of the goals that you concede should have been saved. And when you take into the context of everything else, yeah. I mean, I think this was the worst frag game that I've seen. I mean, that game winner
00:49:17
Speaker
It's even the guy who scored it was like yeah, I didn't mean to do that. Yeah, that's like that should be gone He's praising God. Yeah, like that's I mean I saw a lot of people also blaming our Our our man's Cody Baker on that which he does get beat With the pace but like the thing is if you watch the clip he recovers and they push him all the way wide towards the sideline He has no runners the central is the central is covered like
00:49:45
Speaker
You're as a defender. You are going to get beat every once in a while people were like, oh you don't know anything about defensive positioning Noah I'm like, all right. Okay, that's fine. Whatever but They recover It's a shot off the line like it's it's like, you know the Oba the old Oba goal where he like chipped it from like 45 yards out on the end line it was basically that but like a dribbler and
00:50:08
Speaker
Yeah, he just smashed it. He smashed it right in. It goes through Fry's legs. Yeah, like I just embarrassing. It's like it is the perfect personification of this club this season and right now and like oh my God when I saw that I literally just got up. I was watching the game and I was I was watching it on my TV. I got up and I had to I had to take a lap.
00:50:33
Speaker
Had to take a lap Ari I had to take a lap. Yeah, you know I was working, but I felt the same way Should we hit the Schmetz hot hot seat debate real? I think we have to do agenda check then we'll do questions. Yeah Yeah, I mean the Schmetz hot seat debate was popping off in my mentions and I get it I don't blame anyone for feeling like that. They want to see a change right now and You know, I think we both are kind of feeling the same way
00:51:04
Speaker
I just, I still don't know how much of a difference I really think a new coach would make. You might get a little bit of a short term bump, but to me, to me, the problem is a lot more about personnel and an aging roster and underperforming nonproductive DPs than it is about coaching or tactics. That's just how I see it.
00:51:25
Speaker
But I don't begrudge anyone just feeling fed up and that they want to see changes both on the roster and on the coaching staff. I'm not going to tell anyone they're wrong for feeling that way.
00:51:38
Speaker
yeah it's it's really hard to like accept that this has been the season that it is and it's really hard to accept that there has been a structural failure from a roster building standpoint and maybe even from a coaching standpoint i mean i i don't see how
00:51:59
Speaker
the lineup that they're rolling out every single week is I just don't know I think that at this point and we've talked about it when you reach a ceiling you get complacent and sometimes you have to shake things up and change things whether that's bringing in big signings which like Pedro de la Vega was meant to do but he didn't he's never gonna play and so at this point like
00:52:24
Speaker
They've done it before when they were in this position. I think it might be time. And you know what? I'm gonna be honest. Bring in Gonzo. A couple people actually suggested that lowkey might not be the worst idea. Bring him home. Listen, Brian can be an assistant. That's fine.
00:52:43
Speaker
Let's hit agenda check. I only have two written down because a lot of the guys that we normally talk about for agenda check didn't really do much in this game. So I think it's really only worth talking about if the player in question does something to strengthen or diminish their agenda. And most of them didn't really do that this week.
00:53:04
Speaker
The first one I have written down Noah the fry is washed Andy T should start agenda. I mean drastically strengthened correct I don't really even think we need to get much into that Andy T the thing is has been playing like an MLS number number one this year I Think I mean on that sequence on the game winner. I think he probably saves that I
00:53:27
Speaker
I think he saves both of those shots. I think he probably saves both of those shots. I think, yeah, I think if you put Andy T in that goal for this game, the Sounders come home with three points. Yeah. And listen, it's not about having any less love at all for Stephen Fry. I mean, out of anyone on the team that you could name, he has laid it all on the line for the badge and done as much, if not more winning than
00:53:53
Speaker
Arguably any goalkeeper in MLS history not many no goalkeeper in MLS history has two MLS cups and a Champions League title Okay, so never a goalkeeper of the year
00:54:04
Speaker
and never won a goalkeeper of the year snubbed every time. So it's not about that. It's just about where things stand right now. And what you have is a veteran goalkeeper who's almost 40, who had one of the worst howlers, probably the worst howler of his career.
00:54:25
Speaker
in a game where he also allowed a saveable goal and has, you know, let's be honest, he's allowed a few saveable goals this season. And, you know, I think he's still shown his previous level at times, but when you have NDT outperforming him,
00:54:44
Speaker
You're going to get the debate over whether Andy T should be starting. And I mean, if it was me, I would start any team. Yeah. Yeah. I agree. I mean, like to add a little bit to that, what do you do next season? Fry's gone. OK, cool. Awesome. That's like I think that's just a reality unless he's going to stay on as a backup or something, which I don't really think he would want to do.
00:55:09
Speaker
Because I'm sure that somewhere would sign him, you know, whether it's overseas USO, whatever it is But you give Andy T half a season to prepare to be a full starter, you know, I don't know it's like extended Andy T I think with the Likely with the thought that he was going to take over the yeah, exactly. So I think it's time to start that transition I don't think that there's anything
00:55:34
Speaker
I think you should, like I saw some people saying you should blow it all up, blow the entire roster all up because there's too many old guys. I'll take, you know, take from that what you will, but I think that Stephen Fry is the perfect example of being really nostalgic and loving for our heroes, but not necessarily realizing that it's time to move on and that it is not a slight against them that you signed the new players. That's the cycle of professional sports. Yeah, exactly. That's really all it is.
Evaluating Individual Contributions and Potential
00:56:02
Speaker
The other one I had written down for agenda check was RBW, which I think is going to be a good discussion because, you know, before the red card, I was actually I was thinking about the RBW agenda check and I was going to talk about how it had kind of skyrocketed. It was cooking. He is he is a very talented attacking wide player.
00:56:23
Speaker
in a way that we've talked about this, but I don't he's got a skill set in that regard that I don't think Cody Bakes really has and definitely doesn't have the same upside with. And RBW is also he's a dog on defense when he's got his full fitness and energy. So I think I think he just has this potential to be a very effective and potentially dynamic two way player. And you saw that in this game. I mean,
00:56:51
Speaker
I love, you know, having watched Leo, Leo Chiu try and attack from out wide a lot over the last couple of years, seeing RBW take on a guy one on one and just just moss him is very satisfying to watch. He puts in some good service. I could see him as a guy who has like a Jovan Jones type like Gotti assist type season with that skill set.
00:57:17
Speaker
And I thought he was flexing all of that in this game, like I really did. And it's just so unfortunate to have it chalked by a red card when, like you said, he really should not have been on the field, he should have been subbed out before that.
00:57:32
Speaker
But I really did like what I saw from him in the game, other than the red card, which was just an insanely bad play. But I really don't blame him for the red card all that much. He shouldn't have been in that situation, and young players are going to make mistakes. But I still am going to call the agenda strengthened
00:57:55
Speaker
Because I just really like what I'm seeing from him, particularly in the attacking end. I think this team needs that. And I think he has been showing why he's such a highly rated prospect. I still think that even in spite of the unfortunate way that his shift ended.
00:58:13
Speaker
Yeah, listen, I was actually texting with Mark Kastner, one of our Sandra and her friends, and in front of the pod. We loved RBW. Listen, are we the two resident new who dislikers? Potentially, potentially. But you know what? Here's the thing about RBW. He gives you such dynamic attack and such dynamic transition that I haven't seen in a player since Jovan Jones.
00:58:42
Speaker
Brad Smith had a little bit of it. Brad Smith, too. Yeah. Yeah. Brad Smith. Sorry, Brad. We love you. But the thing is he's still young and he's coming back from an injury and working back from that. You you have to you have to like I thought I beat I'm not going to beat a dead horse. Sorry. Sorry to horses. But it's like the coaching of a young player is just as important as the young player performing.
00:59:10
Speaker
That aside, if you go back to the 58th minute, the 57th, 58th minute, he makes this run from basically like, he goes line to line from the top of the box after he sends a cross in, sporting Kansas City comes back to transition and he makes his way all the way back to defend and cut out what would have been an attack.
00:59:32
Speaker
Who does that? He was playing well on defense. Yeah. Like he made a couple of really big clearances. Um, his one V one defending I thought was pretty damn good for the most part. Um, I don't know. I just think he's a fun, good, potentially really dynamic player. And, um, the red card really did not dissuade me of how I, how I feel about that. If anything, I was really, I was going to push this agenda pretty hard until he got thrown out of the game.
00:59:59
Speaker
Yeah, I even if even though you got thrown out of the game I think that like people will take it on face value of like damn like he's so bad like clearly You know knew who wouldn't get this red card, you know, it's fair like I don't think that knew who would have done that But he also might have I mean knew who got a red card like two weeks ago. Yeah
01:00:16
Speaker
Yeah, you know like I get it I I'm but I'm happy to concede that that said like there were three or four attacking Chances that would not have come about if RBW wasn't on the field now if we had someone to finish those chances Maybe we could have won. He might have a couple of assists. Yes. So all right agenda strengthened
01:00:33
Speaker
agenda strengthened we're calling it even though he got the red card. Let's dive into questions Noah and then I really don't have all that much from around the league because there's only four games yesterday so we'll hit these questions briefly go around the league and then get out of here for episode 42. Your mentions were absolutely exploded. They were on fire. We're not going to get to every single one of these but appreciate everyone who submitted. I always like seeing the discussion popping off even though
01:01:01
Speaker
When I get that many replies, I don't necessarily read all of them. But yeah, this one comes from interpersonal living leaving RBW on the pitch on a yellow and his first start in seven and a half months. Seventy three minutes into the game makes no sense, leaving two on the bench. Seventy two minutes in when we are torching their right side. But Raoul doesn't have the speed to keep up with the play makes no sense. Ari, what is happening with this substitutioning? Yeah, I mean,
01:01:31
Speaker
I think they're coming too late in the game. It's funny, like I watched so many Sounders games that I've gotten used to the subs coming pretty late in the game. And I actually think there's been at least one instance in the last couple of weeks where Schmetz made it more in like the 60s, which that's what I want to see him more. I also watch a ton of New Mexico United games, obviously. That's the team I'm arguably the biggest fan of in the USO. And we have this new coach, Eric Quill, who I think he was an assistant for the crew, former MLS player.
01:01:59
Speaker
And I've been watching our games and he he'll make subs in like the 55th and 60th minute, you know, and I'm like, oh, thank you. You know, that is enough time for these guys to actually impact the game. And sure enough, there's been a lot of games this year where New Mexico United has taken results off of goals and and plays made by our subs who were put in the game early enough where they actually made an impact, you know. So
01:02:29
Speaker
seeing that I'm like damn you know I feel like feel like Schmetz could do that sometimes you know but I mean yeah AP you said it RBW shouldn't have been on the pitch right there we talked about that but
01:02:43
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, we can keep banging the drum all day, but I don't disagree with anyone who says that these subs should be coming earlier. I mean, when you make a sub even in the 75th and past it, it's just not a lot of time for a guy to actually make their mark on a game.
01:03:00
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, this really was the worst Sounders match from head coaching down to roster that I have seen in a long time. And I think that those decisions being made were very clear. I don't know if it's indicative of the entirety of the quality of everything, but the reality is that game
01:03:29
Speaker
No one looked good, including the head coaches and assistants. But speaking of, we'll just keep banging on this drum because Bard asks, for no reason at all, who's your choice for a new head coach, Ari? Oh, Gonzo, easily. It makes sense. He just got fired. Bring him home. Bring him home. Honestly, I'll think about that more and might dish out some other names. But that's honestly the one that comes to mind right off rip.
01:03:56
Speaker
Yeah, Ian Mitchell, thank you for being a subscriber, we love you. Ari, do I renew my season tickets, question mark?
01:04:04
Speaker
I guess that question kind of depends on why you have them. Everyone has a different reason for why they like being a fan of the team and why they like going to the games. If your investment in it is tied to results and tied to winning exclusively, then it might be making a negative impact on your life and your mental health.
01:04:28
Speaker
to keep going to the games and to keep watching the games in which case I say you know if it's negative if it's honestly like negatively affecting your your life and your mental outlook that you should evaluate whether it's something you want to continue to do but you know I imagine a lot of you are part of the scene for the community aspect of it and you will just like going to games to hang out with your friends and have
01:04:49
Speaker
have a nice day outside or whatever the case may be and if it brings you joy from those perspectives I would just keep doing it and try and just detach yourselves from the results a little bit. The way I handle it when a team I support is in a poor run of form is I try and see the comedy in it and you know
01:05:11
Speaker
make fun of them for the things that are going wrong just because that's how I cope at least. So it's all up to the individual I guess is what I'm saying and why you like being a fan of the team but if following a team that's struggling like this is negatively impacting you I honestly just recommend that you
01:05:32
Speaker
You should be having fun with this, you know, even if it's not going that great on the field, it should be something that's fun and brings you joy. So, I don't know. Yeah, agreed. Poutine83 asks, has there ever been a less watchable Sounders team, 12 out of the 18 games with one goal or
Fan Reactions and Season Reflections
01:05:51
Speaker
less?
01:05:51
Speaker
Yeah, that's a wow. That's an interesting but not entirely surprising stat. We've talked a lot about this team's inability to score multiple goals in an MLS game and 12 out of 18.
01:06:06
Speaker
That's not what you want. As far as if there's ever been a less watchable team, I mean, there have been bad runs of form before. First half of 2016 was famously really bad. There's been a couple other slow starts since then that have felt about this bad. But I think because we're in the moment right now, this feels really bad.
01:06:30
Speaker
Yeah, is there this one comes from Andrea. Is there an acceptable time frame for when you can't beat the terrible teams that you become one of the terrible teams? Yeah, there is. And like we might be in that time frame. You know, the sample size is not that small at this point. Yeah, I honestly I'm ready to put the sounders on terrible team. They're not really they're not making like all that compelling of a case to be off that watch.
01:06:57
Speaker
Yeah, it's like the how do you lose the sport in Kansas City like genuinely all right terrible when I think of terrible I think of below one point per game.
01:07:12
Speaker
Seattle's at 1.06, so I think they're still technically in mediocre to mid-range, then actively terrible, but like 1.06 is very close to being below one, okay? So I think that kind of shows you where things stand. We'll hit Daniels here. How much patience does this fan base have? And I guess the real question here is, where are we at as fans?
01:07:41
Speaker
I think we've reached the point where the grace and equity from Champions League has worn off. It's been a long time now, and me personally, I think I gave as much equity on that as everyone, because I've said consistently that if you're talking about a trade between a playoff appearance that year and winning the Champions League title, I mean, you take CCL every time,
01:08:10
Speaker
And also those runs admittedly take a lot out of you and it's not necessarily realistic for you to perform at your peak level during your league season after a tournament like that. But that was like, you know, it was like two years ago at this point. You missed the playoffs once already since then.
01:08:31
Speaker
You had a first round exit out of the playoffs in the year after that where you got shut out at home. And now you have a start of the next season where you're performing at a 1.06 points per game clip, which that ain't up to the standard that this club has established.
01:08:47
Speaker
And I really, as emotional as Sounders fans can get sometimes, I really don't begrudge the frustration right now, especially after a game like that where you just lose in such agonizing fashion. Patience is wearing thin and it should be, it should be. Barbara here asks, Ari, have the boys given up?
01:09:15
Speaker
I don't know. Do you see it as like an effort thing a little bit a little bit? I mean, I don't know if it's giving up I think that the way that I look at it is the very clear momentum shifts that happen once they score the 15 minutes after they score and then the 20 30 40 50 minutes after conceding because I think
01:09:42
Speaker
There's a mental hurdle there where they know that they're so anemic on offense that Leaking a goal conceding a goal. It's almost like a nail in the coffin. It's deflating It's deflating and I really truly do see that you can see that statistically like we all know I'm not a stats guy We know I'm a vibes guy But like the stats back up the vibes on this one if you look at the attacking peaks It's like 15 minutes after the sounder score every single time they're conceding a goal and then the rest of the game they're chasing
01:10:12
Speaker
and they're just getting really dumb red cards. Yeah, they're getting upset. They're getting frustrated. They're feeling like there's no hope left. And I think this sounds like a stupid question, but I think it's a genuinely good question. No, it is a good question, especially when I see the
01:10:31
Speaker
like not all red cards are the same thing like the new red card is one thing he's trying to make a play and it goes off his hand in the box but like the Alex rolled on red card and the RBW red card which were just like moments of losing your head and in the Alex rolled on case like frustration and frankly a dirty play
01:10:51
Speaker
RBWs wasn't like a dirty play, but it's just a mental lapse. I don't think that's giving up, but it's like your head's just not in it.
01:11:05
Speaker
Yeah, I agree. It's costing them points. Yeah, it's more than costing them points. It's potentially costing them their jobs. Jobs in the season, you know. Yeah. Well, thank you all for your questions. That was incredibly depressing. Yeah, that was wow. What a depressing episode. Like I said, there's really not all that much. I'm not even going to do winners and losers because there's only four games and not a lot happened.
01:11:27
Speaker
Any of them that was of note The two worst teams did win though, which is funny. I guess that is true So the New England Revolution beat the Red Bulls won zero at Gillette Stadium Which that was that was pretty surprising I guess because the Rebs have been one of the worst teams if not the worst team in the league this year But they've now won two straight, but they beat the Red Bulls who've been pretty good this year. Yeah, they've been pretty good Can Porter stock up? Yeah
01:11:52
Speaker
The Lunes tied FC Dallas 1-1 at home which was not a good result for Minnesota. FC Dallas has been another one of the worst teams in the league this year and Minnesota has been been cooking with their new head coach and without without their DP. One of their DPs went missing and quit the team and the other one is just not really producing.
01:12:12
Speaker
And they've still been an upper tier team in the West, so you would expect them to handle FC Dallas at home, and they didn't. But I'm honestly not all that concerned about Minnesota United. I think they're a good team. And then the Timbies didn't get all that good of a result. They tied St. Louis City 0-0 on the road, I believe. Which, you know, they'd got a point from their road game, which Seattle didn't. But the Timbies, the thing about the Timbies is,
01:12:42
Speaker
Like, they're bad in a way that's at least entertaining, at least this year. Like, they've been scoring a ton of goals. Evander's stuff in the stack sheet. He's scoring bangers. They're really good on offense, to be honest. But they just love, they passionately love conceding goals. It's like their number one passion in life is giving other teams goals for Portland Timbers. But it's been sort of the same result, points-wise, as what Seattle has been putting forth
01:13:12
Speaker
It's way easier to watch that like I'm saying that's kind of what the point I was getting to is like I would rather be bad in that way than in the boring and never scoring type way that Seattle is because at least Timbers fans get to watch like
01:13:25
Speaker
dynamic team on offense that scores a lot of bangers and scores a lot of goals in general. Having a Vander is just such a good bit. It's just, that's just like, you know, like I wouldn't be mad if we had him, you know, exactly. I mean, and he's putting up, he's having a good year. He finally unlocked as much as, as much fun as we make of him. Like he's putting up stats. So, but like what I was going to say is that like this, this timbers did not live up to that in this game. I mean, they got zero zeroed.
01:13:52
Speaker
So, it's not a bad road point for them, but it wasn't like as dynamic a showing as the Timbers have been, had a propensity for putting up on offense. They have the most goals except for we all saw a lake in the West. That's crazy. But yeah, so the way that the standings shape out after that, Portland's in ninth place at 21 points, five, seven, and six.
01:14:16
Speaker
And Seattle's in 10th there. They have 18 points from 17 matches. Three points shy of a playoff spot right now. So not great. Not great. Who do they play next?
01:14:32
Speaker
We play at home. I know that. Oh, at home against Minnesota United on the 15th. Folks, I'm going to be out of town at that game. I have another wedding. Apparently everyone I know is getting married. You're not going to be missing. I have like three or four. I'm not all that bummed to miss it. I have like three or four more weddings before this year is over. It's it's a disaster.
01:14:50
Speaker
But I will be keeping tabs on what happens in the game and we will lay down a show about it. It might be a little later than usual. We'll keep you all posted on that. But I am not actually going to be at the game when the Sounders take on Minnesota United at Loom & Field. Don't worry, I'll get you a Sammy Sonder bobblehead. Appreciate that.
01:15:07
Speaker
Let's call it a wrap right there for episode 42. We went pretty long on this one, I think, so we'll call it right there. Thank you all to everyone who continually tunes into the show. Hopefully everyone's as excited as we are for our new platform over at Sounder at Heart. We'll keep you posted on the details with all that. Thank you to all our paid subs. Thank you to all our listeners.
01:15:29
Speaker
Everyone go subscribe to the lavings quarters YouTube. Yeah, we're up past 115 or something subs We need more subs. Oh, we need more subs sub to our YouTube Appreciate all the support We're gonna get out of here until episode 43 until then. Yeah