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Kickoff: Seattle Sounders year-end roster moves REACTION!
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After a much-needed Thanksgiving hiatus, we are back with our Seattle Sounders offseason coverage. We'll react to the club's year-end roster announcements from last week, as well as Craig Waibel and Brian Schmetzer's press conference. With MLS Cup 2025 now set, we'll also preview Saturday's heavyweight showdown between Vancouver Whitecaps FC and Inter Miami CF.
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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 Overview
00:00:00
Speaker
This episode of Lobbing Scorchers was previously recorded and streamed live on YouTube.com slash at Lobbing Scorchers. If you want to listen or catch these episodes live, see the video, and see all the rest of our content, go to YouTube.com slash at Lobbing Scorchers or LobbingScorchers.com slash YouTube.
00:00:22
Speaker
Well sir, we got a scorcher today. Gonna be a real scorcher today. What the scorcher today? Well it's gonna be scorcher.
00:00:45
Speaker
Good morning, everybody. Welcome to another episode of Lobbing Scorchers Kickoff.
Seattle Sounders Off-season Adjustments
00:00:50
Speaker
I'm Ari, that's Nico, and we've got a big Seattle Sounders off-season show for you here this morning. I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving. Appreciate you all bearing with the schedule change. You know, we usually record these on ah on Monday mornings, and that was the plan for this one. But ah I was coming back from the holidays on Amtrak, and I was already scheduled to get in.
00:01:12
Speaker
Yeah.
00:01:19
Speaker
that i got delayed but i decided you know what i not gonna get up at eight am m to do a show on monday after getting back this late i'll be too brain fried i won't be delivering the good content so we bumped it to tuesday and here we are miko Thanks for tapping in. we got We got some MLS Cup
MLS Cup Preview: Inter-Miami vs Vancouver Whitecaps
00:01:37
Speaker
coverage. We're going be talking Inter-Miami against Vancouver Whitecaps. And then we're going to be diving into Seattle Sounders' year-end roster decisions. They were announced a week ago, but we haven't done a show since then.
00:01:49
Speaker
so we're going to talk about that. We're going to talk a little bit about the Craig Weibel, Brian Schmetzer presser that they gave related to those year-end roster moves. So, ah yeah, a lot to get to ah Nico, good to be back at it. Excited to catch up with you. How are you doing this morning?
00:02:04
Speaker
Hey, Ari. course, our Lobby Scorchers family. How's everybody doing? Hopefully everyone enjoyed the Thanksgiving break. I mean, we we we we needed a break over our own, you know, so I know that there wasn't a lot to necessarily break down other than the semifinals for MLS Cup, and it was actually some pretty good games. Now we have a final, but, you know, after sitting on some of the things that were said during the press conference i feel like it is uh very uh reasonable for us to break down some of the things that were said and kind of came about that emerged during the sounders end of season presser some of the things craig bible said some of the things that uh might be newsworthy so yeah man i'm i'm excited to be on and getting to uh
00:02:59
Speaker
Talk to our audience that I'm sure had been waiting on on on some content. Yeah, absolutely. Before we get into it, everyone, please, right now, stop what you're doing and like the video.
00:03:11
Speaker
Subscribe to the channel. We're on the road. Do 3K subs on YouTube. That's going to be a big milestone for us. We're excited about that. So if you haven't done so yet, drop us a sub. Also, go ahead. Follow us on Instagram, TikTok, all the places. Write us a five-star review.
00:03:27
Speaker
All that good stuff. ah Nico, let's just start with, ah we'll get to the Sounders stuff, but let's just start with MLS Cup. We just got this matchup decided over the weekend. Inter-Miami absolutely destroys New York City FC, and the Vancouver Whitecaps handle San Diego FC pretty easily, which... ah That one was a little bit surprising. I thought that game was going to be more competitive. But you got Miami-Vancouver in Miami for MLS Cup. Messi and the Barca boys with a with a chance to get the MLS Cup monkey off their back, validate the whole Messi project. And then got a Whitecaps team that, you know, they've been one of the best teams in the league pretty much all season. They lose the CONCACAF Champions Cup final, but then they bring in Thomas Mueller, Tommy Mule, Tommy Mulesen, and he just absolutely boosts the vibes. And they've been flying pretty much ever since. They've lost one game since Thomas Mueller joined the team, and that was a game where they got a red card in like the 10th minute. So they really they haven't been losing to anybody. They ripped through the playoffs. And I guess, Nico, my first question when I look at this matchup is, you know, does Vancouver have a chance here? It's a pretty tall task as the road team. Going against an inter-Miami team that –
00:04:43
Speaker
ah They've had their ups and downs this season. League's Cup Final, famously, did not go very well for them. But i don't know about you, Nico. I feel like they've kind of unlocked something different in the playoffs than they had during the regular season. They have outscored opponents 13-1 since losing to Nashville SC in Game 2 of Round 1. And really, i think the whole key...
00:05:09
Speaker
to them uh sort of taking it to a new level in the playoffs was the situation they had with louise suarez and mateo silvetti who suarez uh if you if you uh don't remember got himself suspended shockingly out of character in round one. He couldn't play in game three. Javier Mascherano gives the start that starting spot to malteo Mateo Silvetti, who's a 19 year old Argentine who just joined the team this, this season. And they have been ripping and through the playoffs ever since. Silvetti looks like a demon. He has two goals, three assists, and really more than his stat sheet production. It just seems like the way they're playing, They got, they got more energy. They're playing much better defense than we're used to seeing from inner Miami. So all that's to say, I think they're, they're the pretty easy favorite in this matchup.
00:06:01
Speaker
Uh, but if there's any team, I think right now that's in the form and has, has the firepower to hang with this Miami team and can pull off a result in this situation, I think it is this Vancouver team. And I do think they have a chance to do it.
Inter-Miami's Road to the MLS Cup
00:06:15
Speaker
Uh, if I'm sizing up the most likely outcome from how I see it, uh, I could see an outcome where Inter-Miami cruises in this game pretty easily, like a 3-1 or a 3-0. Messi and the Barca boys is just going supernova.
00:06:28
Speaker
ah But I don't think that is like a ah ah preordained outcome. I think this Whitecaps team can give him some trouble. Thomas Mueller doesn't seem fully fit right now, but you know he's really more about the vibes, and he's been bringing those up.
00:06:42
Speaker
And Vancouver looked fantastic against San Diego. That was, they i mean, they they went on the road and got that done pretty easily. San Diego didn't really look like they had much on them. So, Nico, Nico, what do you think? you are you Are you thinking that this kind of new version of Inter-Miami that we've been watching is going to manifest in this final and they're finally going to get this done? Or do you kind of like ah Vancouver and Tommy Mule and the boys' chances of springing a little upset here?
00:07:09
Speaker
There's a lot to unpack, obviously, because, yes, this inner Miami team has absolutely put it together. i think Javier Macerano, who was a young coach in terms of his trajectory, this was a new project. This is a team that has had a lot of ups and downs. But I feel like a lot of decisions have been made to close the season that have ultimately resulted in a team that just – is more dynamic, the play's a lot better. And those are not easy decisions. And that's why i give Javier Maturano credit when credit is due. I feel like deciding to make Rios Novo your guy on goal has been ah very good decision.
00:07:55
Speaker
Playing over the last three games with Busquets as just another center back and helping to build out out of the back, this team turned over the ball. Grossly sometimes and and almost with with negligence when they were at their worst moments. And I think that Terry Hu-Busquets helps out a lot of that build out from the back.
00:08:17
Speaker
And clearly the biggest one on the attack is moving on from having a guy like Luis Suarez that provides you certain things. But at this point of his career, he's more of another player creating player in the attacking end because of his holdup play, because of a lot of his smart with, with some runs and not necessarily that goal scorer that they were used to seeing. So by adding a guy like, um,
00:08:51
Speaker
Silvetti on the left side and having Agende, just being another reference guy going into the box from the white spaces has amplified what Lionel Messi does. And it's allowing him to just roam as a false nine and ah be that guy that starts off attacks that now with two very quick, very downhill type of wingers that can also very easily become goal scorers. Anytime that there's a transition moment, you could see this team just passing the ball forward quickly. And they did that, um,
00:09:30
Speaker
not just against Cincinnati, which to me was the most impressive out of the two victories, but also in the last game. And now I feel like there has been a lot...
00:09:41
Speaker
of the trashing of New York city thrown around. And I don't know if I necessarily agree. i think that the scoreline doesn't reflect what happened over the 90 minutes, this team, this game against New York city FC does get out of hand a bit at the end, but I feel like New York city was in the game for the majority of those 90 minutes.
00:10:05
Speaker
When Justin Hack gets that goal back for New
New York City FC's Playoff Challenges
00:10:09
Speaker
York City and makes it 2-1 right after that, the next 10, 15, 20 minutes, I feel like you almost...
00:10:17
Speaker
get a sense that New York City has put together some pressure. They're able to create some moments. Nico Fernandez and Maxi Morales, they had moments. They had opportunities. They just were unable to finish. And when you don't finish against a team like Inter-Miami, you suffer the consequences. But there were moments... that in this specific game, New York City creates good pressure, ah forces Nova to a back pass, gets the ball inside the 18, but Maxi Morales just...
00:10:49
Speaker
Doesn't quite push the trigger quick enough. Takes a pass, a bad pass at that inside the 18. And you lose that opportunity to make the game 2-2. And all of those things you cannot do against Inter-Miami. Because at any moment, at any time in transition, they're going to hurt you. And I think that's what happens in this one. I think Agende is a player who a lot of pundits...
00:11:16
Speaker
were kind of given up on already, but that's why it's important to look beyond at times a player that is not finishing and focus more on his movement and the amount of opportunities that he creates. So Agenda, it what he's been in the playoffs is no surprise. or should not surprise anybody because he created those opportunities already.
00:11:40
Speaker
All of ah the the season is just he wasn't able to finish him. But when a player has that sort of wit, when that player has that sort of easiness to either break away with the ball or get to headers because he's a ah pretty big guy for his position.
00:12:00
Speaker
Sky's the limit. And in this one, everything went well for Agenda. He gets a hat trick. Lionel Messi does his thing. Jordi Alba, a guy that does suffer defensively,
00:12:11
Speaker
After the third goal, which was you know brilliant, by the way, Jordi Alba and the movement and the understanding of where Segovia was at, that back hill to give it right back in the one-two they created with Segovia was phenomenal. Right after that, there was just no...
00:12:31
Speaker
There was no more fight from New York City FC, and they allowed the game to get out of hand, and that's why you get those five goals. But I do want to credit New York City for having a good plan. I think that that plan goes out of whack pretty quickly because of a bad moment where the defensive back line is too high. There's no pressure on Busquets. Busquets just...
00:12:56
Speaker
puts the ball perfectly behind the back line. And to be quite honest, Ajenda gets lucky with a little bit of a bounce off the ah ball, and he is able to put it away with a very good shot. So all in all, Inter-Miami has found a more effective way to attack and to put the ball in the back of the net.
00:13:22
Speaker
But I feel like there's still some defensive... um vulnerability that I feel like Vancouver can take advantage of. And I still feel like Vancouver going into this game, despite clearly being the underdog, they have all the components to eliminate what Inter-Miami does well and to replicate a lot of what the Sounders did here at home in that league's final.
00:13:54
Speaker
Because of the way they play the game, yeah the the talent they have at midfield with Kubas and Berhalter, the way that they exploit spaces out wide.
00:14:06
Speaker
All those little things that you need to have in order to stay disciplined defensively and not allow this inter-Miami team to beat you off the counter, they have. And the biggest thing for me.
00:14:19
Speaker
They are the more proven team out of the two this year. They've been battle-tested. They've been in the finals for Kung Fu Cup Champions League. They've already beat this Inter-Miami team.
00:14:30
Speaker
A very different team. A very different team. I get that. But to me, a team that's been battle-tested and has this sort of Cohesiveness is really difficult to outplay in 90 minutes or beyond. So for me, Vancouver will win this game. ah Now, I've doubted into Miami all season long, including all of the playoffs.
00:14:56
Speaker
So call it what you will. But I still feel like Vancouver has the talent, has the game plan and the identity of a very good head coach that will put this team ready to go from the very first minute in this MLS Cup final.
00:15:14
Speaker
Lionel Messi beefing with Maxi Morales was fun content. That was that was that was a good beef. He got like a combined age of about 87 in that beef. It was like ah two old guys at the retirement facility going ah getting into it over who gets to go first in the buffet line.
00:15:33
Speaker
In all seriousness, though... ah that ah That NYCFC team, it definitely, um I'm not saying it ah it doesn't count or anything. they had They had a good year, but with Alonzo Martinez going down, it just kind of felt like they were. Andres Perea going down. Yeah, exactly. And kind of ah more more to the point on that, if you're looking at the paths that these two teams have taken to MLS Cup, Vancouver had the much more difficult path.
00:16:04
Speaker
They had to beat LAFC team with Sun Hyung-min going supernova, bamming free kicks and stoppage time. ah That game could have gone either way. I think whoever won that game was going to MLS Cup. That was the real Western Super Bowl final. But that was a much harder game than anything Inter-Miami had to do. Inter-Miami had a Nashville team that realistically... was just not particularly close to being able to compete with a team like Inter-Miami or any team like that's a true, true contender. And then they waxed a Cincinnati team that was a two-seed, but one of the weaker two-seeds in the last few years. They did not feel like a two-seed. They had not been playing like a two-seed for a while, and that showed –
00:16:47
Speaker
in that game that's in that cincinnati team was not messing with inter miami at all and then they get an nycsc team that lost their star striker to a torn acl had a bunch of injuries and was also probably closer to a middle of the pack team this year all things considered than a true contender so you know it was they they deserve credit for making it through it and i think you're right uh You do. we We've given Mascherano a hard time on this show at at different junctures. I think you got you do have to give and rightfully so, by the way, please know for sure. But, you know, you got to give credit where it's due. The adjustments that he made in the playoffs have hit. Like you said, putting Rios Novo in goal instead of that that other 43 year old guy who's starry. Yeah, that guy's of the worst goalkeepers in MLS and they've just been throwing him out there all year for some reason. They finally switched that. That's been working. And then ah just putting Salvetti in there, you know, ah it was the it was the logical choice.
Coaching Decisions and Inter-Miami's Success
00:17:43
Speaker
most I think most people would have made
00:17:45
Speaker
that choice But he's still, you know, he's a 19-year-old kid who hasn't really, he hasn't played that much with the club. You don't really know what you're going to get. So, you know, I give Mascherano credit for showing the faith in him and then sticking with him. You know, would have been easy to go back. Oh, well, Suarez, he's Luis Suarez. He's been our best, one of our best playmakers all year. We're just going to, we're going to go back to what we know. And he's not doing that. He's been letting Salvetti cook and it's been working.
00:18:12
Speaker
So, ah yeah, I think my my favorite part of this matchup is one of the things you mentioned there. This midfield for Vancouver going again against this Messi and the Barca boys attack. If you think back to the success that Seattle had against Inter-Miami in the League's Cup Final,
00:18:29
Speaker
What was the reason they were able to have so much success? I think the biggest reason was the play of Christian Roldan and Obed Vargas in midfield. And in Sebastian Berhalter and Kubas, you have one of the only midfield duos in MLS that I think can sort of replicate a similar blueprint to what Christian and Obed We're able to do. You've got, uh, I I've been comping Burr halter to Obed a little bit. I think there's a similar aspects to their game and he he plays a very similar role for them that Obed does, uh, for Seattle and he does it at an elite level. Like, ah
00:19:09
Speaker
Berhalter rightfully made best 11 this year, along with ah along with Christian. I think you could argue Obed could have made kind of earned that distinction as well. But Berhalter is one of the best in the league at that exact role. And then Kubas is just, he's nasty. That play he had on Vancouver's first goal in San Diego was one of the better just individual effort plays you're ever going to see as far as...
00:19:33
Speaker
winning the ball in that area, beasting through anyone who tried to stop them, setting up Brian white for that goal. Uh, I mean, that was just like all heart and effort and determination.
00:19:44
Speaker
And, uh, those two guys, if there's anyone I trust can, uh, can scrap against messy and these guys, it's those two guys. And if they, if they uh,
00:19:55
Speaker
that matchup or just make a messy's life as difficult as possible, which I think they're capable of doing and then just do their normal thing. They're both two good two-way players. I think Vancouver will at least be in this game, but a lot of it is going to come down to that matchup. If inner Miami is able to kind of exert the the control they've had over these games in the playoffs and sort of take Burr halter and Kubas out of what they do,
00:20:18
Speaker
then then I think they're probably going to roll. Like, that's – I think it's that simple. But if Berhalter and Kubas are up for the occasion and they play just how they've normally been playing in the playoffs and and get after Inter-Miami's attack and can sort of – avoid those game States where it's just inner Miami, getting out and transition and running all over you.
00:20:40
Speaker
ah I think that, I think if they can avoid that, the white caps actually have a a pretty, a damn good chance of at least keeping this competitive. And then you never know what can happen. I mean, it could, the when they went into the LAFC game, I was not sure if, uh, if they were going to be able to stop son and, uh, and Bwonga and they, uh,
00:21:01
Speaker
They actually, they kind of did for the most part, they had LAFC only at one goal until the very end. And then son just hits an insane free kick. ah So this inner Miami team with, ah with messy and, and so Betty and I ended, I didn't even mention I ended. He has eight goals in the playoffs. which is, I think, tied for the league record for a single playoffs. He might break it. He had a hat trick against and NYCFC, and that's kind of funny because their fans have hated him all season because he's... i don't know why.
00:21:32
Speaker
Well, because he is there's been a lot of plays where he's had wide open chances that he's scuffed and missed. The one in League's Cup is a good example of the title. that he He missed the shot in League's Cup that would have made it one-to-one, think, at Yeah, but that's that's part of the process. That's part of the development component of a player that you picked up that that to me hasn't played this well since he played for Gorda Cruz prior to having his time in Europe. But again, i feel like there is just, and fans get like that and it's normal, right? Fans.
00:22:05
Speaker
can be very passionate about just wanting to meet the results, but I've always liked Agenda. I feel like he has a very good profile to be successful here in MLS. Now, Silvetti is a step up when it comes to just potential and talent and overall um aggressiveness and and being a player that could really – be a goal scorer in this league from wide positions. He could even be able to play the the nine if necessary, although I do like him you know ah coming from the outside in. um
00:22:39
Speaker
But yeah, look, this Inter-Miami team is very talented, but I feel like we're not given... Vancouver enough credit. I thought that Vancouver was the better team going into the LAFC game. ah They are the most balanced the more balanced team, the deeper team.
00:22:57
Speaker
i think that in in this particular game, although the The clear reason why Inter-Miami is going to be a heavy favorite clearly hosting.
00:23:09
Speaker
And then number two is the run that they've been on against what I would consider less competition. Because, look, New York City FC, without those key players that we talked about, without having a real threat up top, forcing Nico Fernandez to play out of position, making Maxi Morales go up there and do things that he just can't really do anymore at his age, they put Inter-Miami into some difficult positions. Now you're adding a much better midfield, a way more...
00:23:43
Speaker
Dynamic and High-paced offense With a ah Brian White That's a absolute killer An absolute killer inside the 18 That's crashing the box consistently To me Vancouver's just a better team ah When it comes to What they've been able to do all season When it comes to The Ability to Adapt to different ways this game could go, whether it's going to be taking an early goal, whether it's getting an early goal. You saw it against San Diego. It's, I don't know, within 10 minutes that they get ahead because they have such a relentless press. That press was relentless all game long, even when Vancouver was up a couple of goals. that team continue to press effectively, continue to be relentless, continue to run, continue to make the the correct changes. I think Jasper Soreson has this team dialed down to perfection.
00:24:48
Speaker
So as much as I understand why Inter-Miami is getting all of the headlines and they're the heavy favorite to me, The better collective team continues to be Vancouver. And I think that they're going to show that in this game.
00:25:06
Speaker
I actually think that it's going to take a a big effort individually from a Messi,
00:25:16
Speaker
Silvetti, for them to win this game. It's going to take a magical performance, in my opinion, for Inter-Miami to win this game against Vancouver. Well, and don't you think all the pressure in this situation is fully on Inter-Miami, Nico? They have to win this game.
00:25:34
Speaker
They can't lose this. They can't lose this. This one game is Kind of fair or not going to be considered the difference between this whole messy era, messy project being if they if they win this, ah you start to go, OK, you know, their trophy haul for the first couple years of this was underwhelming. They got their leagues cup. They got their supporters shield and they set the points record.
00:25:58
Speaker
But they didn't win CONCACAF Champions Cup. They hadn't won. They haven't won. and MLS Cup yet. They have not really lived up to what this whole thing was supposed to be billed as. But if they get this done, they get this over the line and they win their first MLS Cup, then you start to look at the trophy case and be like, all right, they got a MLS Cup, which was the, that that's like the biggest goal out of all of this is to get one of those And, you know, i would I would still argue that even with an MLS Cup in there, it's a slightly underwhelming trophy case considering what it was ah supposed to be. I was i was told when Messi got to the league that ah that he was going to win everything easily. They were going to be the best team in the league by a country mile win every single trophy and no one was going to be able to to touch him and then you know when they brought the rest of the barca boys in it was even oh well uh mls this trash league that's not going able to hang with these guys what happened to that then they have not won much of anything so far i mean i give them credit for their uh their leagues cup in 23 and you know i'm not a shield truther but i do think like
00:27:05
Speaker
winning a shield and winning the points record. It's, it's not nothing like it's a good accomplishment, but that's not, that is not, they were supposed to be ripping up the entire league easily because it's Lionel Messi and he's the goat and he's the best. And MLS is, is a trash league that he's not going to have any problem with. He's been having a lot of problems. They have not been able to win.
00:27:24
Speaker
kind Like if if, if they were that much better than everyone else team wise, they would have won CONCACAF champions cup already. They would not have lost to Brad Guzan in the playoffs last year.
00:27:35
Speaker
But if they if they win this game, I think you can start to give them credit for having a foundation of like, all right, this whole project has been successful and you're starting to do the things that you were supposed to do. If they lose...
00:27:51
Speaker
If they lose this, then the whole narrative that they're underachieving choke artists that aren't living up to what they're supposed to be as ah as a club with Messi and the Barca boys, that whole narrative is going to get ratcheted up tenfold if they if they choke another final and lose at home in front of
The Pressure on Inter-Miami to Win the MLS Cup
00:28:09
Speaker
their home fans. So...
00:28:12
Speaker
with being as heavy a favorite as they are and being the home side with Lionel Messi and your team and all that, with that comes a lot of pressure. And it's going to be interesting to see how they deal with that. Because I think what you saw in the League's Cup final is the weight of that, the weight of that pressure and the weight of those expectations. They cracked under it.
00:28:31
Speaker
And you saw what happened. Not only did they ah lose the game, but they fully, they lost it. They crashed out. They were spitting on people, which, you know, we... Better hope they win this game because, you know, we saw what happens with these guys. You never know what they're going to do.
00:28:45
Speaker
there could be There could be a spit. You could get punched in the face. ah So just for everyone's general safety, ah maybe we should hope. that they win. But I mean, you you get what I'm saying. Like they've shown signs ah in the past of when they're, when they're in these situations, these high pressure, these high leverage moments, it's like, you know, are you going to rise up to it? And are you going to, are you going win? Are you going to crack last time they had this opportunity?
00:29:11
Speaker
They cracked. ah They definitely have cracked before they cracked in the playoffs last year. So they just, there is so much riding on this game for them that it's one of those situations where, you know, the longer it's ah the longer it's zero zero or the longer it's a close game, even if Vancouver can keep it within one goal into the second half and, know, late in the game. You wonder how inner Miami is going to handle those moments where, uh, in the past it's the Seattle game. It could not have been more obvious that it, uh, that it got into their heads. You had messy out there talking crazy, you know, trash talking, everyone, ah go wild and out.
00:29:51
Speaker
out there, then they start an insane brawl after they lose the game and realize that they were not getting one of the trophies that could have validated their ah their whole project a little bit more. So I don't know. I think that sort of that component of it plays into ah into Vancouver's hands, and they should sort of embrace that and relish this little underdog role. They can play the no one believes in us. No one believes we're going to go to the thriving metropolis of Fort Lauderdale again, and do what we did in CONCACAF Champions Cup. You got this Inter-Miami team that's, there' frankly, they're playing a lot better than they were at that point when they played Vancouver in CONCACAF Champions Cup. So, I don't know. What do you make of just the the stakes of this for Inter-Miami? And do you do you think they're going to be up for it? Or do you think that, do you think they're just like a team that mentally, when they're in those situations, they kind of...
00:30:47
Speaker
They don't live up to it I wouldn't say that ah Simply because they have so much Experience and Confidence With the Sergio Busquets on the field With the Jordy Albas With the Lionel Messi's So I don't think mentality is going to be The problem for Inner Miami I just think that Whenever you have a team that has that dog in them, Inner Miami fails to respond.
00:31:20
Speaker
set The Sounders had the right mentality going into that game on their end. I'm not talking about Inner Miami. Inner Miami is going to be Inner Miami. Inner Miami is going to go into every game thinking that they're gonna outplay the opponent out of the park because they have the quality But it's the other team that doesn't respect the Sergio Busquets, that aren't worried about changing jerseys with Lionel Messi, that are willing to go the extra mile to make Jordi Alba feel you every single time that you go try to beat him to a 50-50 ball, that are going to win the duels.
00:32:02
Speaker
That's when Miami has crumble. and That's why they have difficulties against teams like Orlando. That's why we'll go back to the Sounders. And I feel like Vancouver, who has already done this, if you go back and you look at that, what was it? um I don't know it was round of 16 where they played Concaf's Cup Jasper Sorensen on the mics Put all of the pressure on Inter Miami He talked to his team That very easily Talked about how a lot of them had These players in their posters And all of these things And he had them Playing from the very first minute As a team that was given no chances So I think Jasper Sorensen Has already Put together the right equation To get this team
00:32:55
Speaker
to not feel like they need to abide by the rules of a Lionel Messi and a Sergio Busquets that are going to be chirping. You saw it against New York City FC.
00:33:08
Speaker
And rather than that, go the opposite way and get them to react to you. And maybe you get them ah early yellow or just play those sort of dark arts that I feel like this Vancouver team has been able to take advantage of this season.
00:33:31
Speaker
So for me, it's not going to be about whether or not Miami has the right mentality going into this game because it I'll repeat, that's they have plenty of that. They have a lot of experience. But I don't know if they have the physical capability to withstand what they're about to see from Vancouver. This is easily the best midfield that they have faced throughout the playoffs.
00:33:59
Speaker
I think this is the most effective attacking
00:34:06
Speaker
Four, that they're going face this playoff team. And I know that we're talking about a team like Cincinnati with a lot of quality, but I'm talking about a team that clearly understands how they want to attack, the way that they want to build in and get behind you.
00:34:26
Speaker
I just don't know how the overlaps are going to be covered. This team has so much pace withavvi with Savi, with Ocampo, with those overlaps. On the other side, if there's a need to bring in a guy like Jaden Nelson coming into the game, Ryan Gold is a guy that now is back to health. He's going to be key coming off the bench. There's just so much depth and so many ways that Jasper Sorensen can completely...
00:34:55
Speaker
press And Willingly put this Miami team to submission That I'm just excited to see it Now You can never count out a team That is the clear favorite That has the the magical talents Of of an Alba and Lionel Messi But To me Physically Vancouver is so much more dominant That a guy like Sergio Busquets that has had it pretty easily in the last couple of games playing center back and being able to
00:35:34
Speaker
put balls wherever he wants to and scan the field. He won't have that against Vancouver because they're going to be on him immediately. They're going to be able to disrupt what inner Miami wants to do. and And that's what it comes down to.
00:35:49
Speaker
At the end of the day, it comes down to how many duels can you win? how physical can you be? How many ways do you have to win the game? And Vancouver, to me, what they've been able to do, makeshifting center back positions with Preso, Laborda, they just play without Blackmon. Blackmon will be back now from suspension. There's just so many ways and so many um proven moments that Vancouver has shown you that they will not lay down and go easily into the darkness. that
00:36:22
Speaker
Miami just hasn't played a team with this much dog in them. And Vancouver is going to show it on the field. Yeah. Last thing on this, and then we'll ah move on to some ah sounder stuff. But ah yeah, I know that inter Miami, they've been, they've been genuinely much improved defensively in the, in the playoffs in a way that I, we haven't, we haven't seen them play this solidly on defense this consistently true yeah in a while, but I do think ah this Vancouver attack right now, like you said, there's just so many different ways they can get you. Nico, I, they're wingers. Yeah.
00:36:54
Speaker
ah watching Emmanuel Sabi and Ali Ahmed against san San Diego. I was like, these guys are so sick. Just the runs that they make, the way they take on their 1v1s. I was watching it and I was like, this is like ah this is like Georgie Manungu if he had elite end product. like That's what both of these guys are playing like. like if ah If Georgie hits his full upside as a player, I think it'll look something like ah Ali Ahmed or Sabi just in the way that especially I'm thinking of that third Vancouver goal where Ali Ahmed just he's, he's in a one V one and he just absolutely cooks his defender to get wide open in that prime assist zone. And then just smokes the cross right off Brian White's chest and into the net. That is just lethal quality and lethal end product that they have from out wide that ah yeah, inter Miami has been better at defense in the playoffs, but yeah,
00:37:50
Speaker
Like you said, they haven't, had they haven't had to play a midfield like Burr Halter and Kubas. They also haven't had to play wingers like Sabi and Ali Ahmed. If you have not watched a lot of white caps this year, when you're watching MLS cup, just, just keep an eye on those guys and how that team attacks from out wide, how they, how they get them into those advantageous positions and then just their quality in winning their one V ones and sending service in it's a,
00:38:17
Speaker
It they tactically, I would say is similar to how Seattle tries to generate their chances, but they they spam it from out wide even more because they just they have these guys that have so much pace and then so much quality with their delivery. It's fun to watch. And it's something that ah no matter how much Lionel Messi might be cooking in this game or if they get Allende and Silvetti going,
00:38:40
Speaker
They're going to have to, uh, they're going to have to deal with these Vancouver wingers on the flip side of it. And then you got, you got Brian white who is also, been in fantastic form lately and, and had a great game against San Diego. we had a brace in that game. So no, it's a, it's a good matchup. It's a heavyweight matchup. I'm looking forward to watching it.
00:39:00
Speaker
Uh, I'm, uh, I hope Vancouver wins just for the content. That would be funny to watch, uh, inter Miami lose another final. I'm trying not to get my expectations and hopes up too high for that because i do think the scales, if they're tilted at all, they're tilted towards inter Miami as the home team and just, uh, I think that, you know, this is the best they've been playing ah really honestly, probably since Messi got to the club. This is the best that yeah I mean, the Tata year where they set the points record, they played some great footy offensively, but
00:39:34
Speaker
I don't think it ever, even in that year, looked as complete on both sides of the ball as it looks right now. So ah they should they should win all that considered. They better not lose. They better not lose.
00:39:46
Speaker
Can't lose this game. You know, I said it before the ah the League's Cup final when we had... ah when we had the entire Inter-Miami and Lionel Messi fan base in our TikToks and our YouTube comments talking about how easily Inter-Miami was going to win that game ah because they had Lionel Messi. and You know, I said, all right, well, you better not lose then.
00:40:05
Speaker
You better not lose. You got the GOAT. You got everything you need. No excuses. So they really, they better win, Nico. They they better win. And if there is something that maybe has been overly...
00:40:22
Speaker
um I don't know, overly used and and maybe there has been too much put onto it, but that I still want to reference is the fact that Thomas Mueller has been a goat repellent. I mean, he has been a goat.
00:40:41
Speaker
He's beat Messi seven times. Kryptonite for Lionel Messi. I mean, Thomas Mueller going to have this team
00:40:52
Speaker
Ready to go from the very first minute. They're going to be fighting every ball. They're going to be pressing high. He's going to be at his best. He's a guy that i he has been dealing with some aches and pains, but when he comes to this game, i see top Thomas Mueller being a guy that's going to force Miami to defend And when you're talking about what's worked for this team Silvetti and Agenda they haven't had to do a lot of defending In this one, they're going to have to play both ways, baby yeah You're going to have to play both ways If you want to beat this Vancouver team So I'm just excited I think it's a phenomenal team
00:41:31
Speaker
final. I think it has all the right elements. It has the stardom when it comes to both of the internationals, both World Cup winners, Leonel Messing, Thomas Mueller. It has the, what I like to see is the the difference of tactics of what Jasper Sorensen wants to do and Javier Machirano wants to do. I think that you have a phenomenal team variety of duels being played around the field that you just want to see. So, man, ah compared to last year, this final is going to be lights out better. And it's going to have just so much more storylines and reflectors and spotlights that oh this could be one of the best finals that we've seen in MLS.
00:42:23
Speaker
Easily. I mean, it just has all the elements to be phenomenal. Yeah, no, it's a great matchup and looking forward to watching it. All right, Nico, ah let's talk about ah the Seattle Sounders in their year end roster decisions. That's what the people want. They don't want an MLS Cup preview talking about Lionel Messi and the Barca boys.
Seattle Sounders' Roster Decisions
00:42:42
Speaker
Let's talk about the Seattle Sounders before we get into it.
00:42:46
Speaker
Everyone, everyone like the video, like the video. I know there's a bunch of you out there watching right now that are just like sitting there not liking the video. And I don't know what you're thinking or what you're doing with that. Like the video, ah sub to the channel, rate five stars, follow us on Instagram and TikTok, all that good stuff. Uh, all right. So Nico, Seattle Sounders announced their year end roster moves, uh, about a week ago. We haven't laid down a show since then. so we'll talk about that a little bit and then, uh, uh, eager to hear your thoughts on this Craig Weibel, Brian Schmetzer presser. I watched it to be, but to be quite honest with you, I, I don't have like all that in depth that takes and, uh, and analysis. Cause I just kind of watched it through one time just to get the basics of it. So, Eager to hear your more in-depth analysis on that. But before we talk about the presser, let's just talk about any of the notable moves that were announced and if there's any surprises or anything you know that we didn't expect.
00:43:46
Speaker
ah A lot of players had their options exercised for 2026. You got Yimar, Osaze, Kim Kihee is coming back, KKR. Moose's option was exercised. We're going to be talking about that a lot in the weeks to come.
00:44:00
Speaker
I'm sure what the situation with that is. But in order to move him or get anything for him, they needed to first exercise that option. But that does not mean that he's not coming back. uh new who and obed options both exercise the obed situation is obviously a big one to monitor uh so those are the ones that uh got their options exercised and then you have declined options for leo bernie jacob castro ryan kent the ryan kent era is uh no more shout out uh travion sosa also declined and then you got john bell uh stephen fry jp and paul rothrock are out of contract and can enter free agency which uh Those are hot-button storylines as well. J-Bell, Nico, you reported that the Chicago Fire are interested. Seems like the writing's on the wall with that, that someone's going to give him a little bit of a raise to play elsewhere next year, which is, ah I think, well-deserved. want J-Bell to... It would be great to have him back. he was ah He was a really good role player for this team this last year, but I also want him to get paid. but the And JP also announced on his Instagram that this was his last year with seattle he's not coming back shout out to jp great sounder it's unfortunate the uh you know the injury in the 2022 ccc final he never really got back to that consistent best 11 level but as far as you know what it means to be a sounder and the leadership and uh what he brought to the culture and the organization and on the field when he was healthy jp is uh
00:45:35
Speaker
One of the better signings of, you know, this last era for Seattle, I would say. And then Paul Rothrock is obviously another one that we're going to be talking about a lot. I mean, I think the biggest, the biggest storylines here are what happens with Moose, what happens with Obed.
00:45:50
Speaker
ah what happens with Stephen Fry and obviously what happens with Paul Rothrock Nico I guess before we talk about the presser is there anything in these year-end roster moves that they announced that you didn't expect or do you you think is going to have like the biggest implications as we head into Seattle Sounders offseason here there wasn't really anything ah newsworthy or surprising out of the moves that were announced by the team. We had reported most of them to be quite frank in this show, we talked about Jacob Castro and Leo Bernie not getting their option taken and and and um Ryan Kent and JP. I mean, we, we, we had it all dialed up.
00:46:42
Speaker
What I think is interesting is The fashion in which maybe the team is at the moment willing to Part ways with certain players and figure out how they're going to and And by part ways, I mean allowing him to test the market, right? A guy like Jacob Castro to me was interesting because i like the frame. i like the body of work. I like what I saw in training. But when you got a guru like Tom Dutra making that decision, he might be pretty high on some of the academy guys. He might have a guy in the back of his head that ah we haven't quite understood.
00:47:24
Speaker
you know, seen, uh, there could be potential of, I don't know, Stephen Cleveland coming back. Just, you know, ah things that I'm pretty confident the right decision will be made.
00:47:35
Speaker
Um, I was surprised perhaps that there was nothing more, um
00:47:48
Speaker
ah more more More cemented With Stefan Fry I think that he's a guy that The conversations Should have been a little bit more Straightforward um So I'm a little surprised that there wasn't A decision made by by him and and And by the club I'm sure that he's probably Very much like Joe Paulo figuring out what his next move is because the end of that career is so close, right?
00:48:18
Speaker
JP is a guy that eight months ago was probably pretty sure that he was going to retire, was going to do some coaching. That's the route he wanted to go. But once you get back on the field, once you have the energy and adrenaline of the playoffs, you do get that itch on your neck of like, man, I kind of feel like I still have it. Like I could still perform. And maybe that's what Stefan Fry is currently trying to debate, whether he wants to go elsewhere and try to be a starter or whether he wants to, I don't know. He feels like maybe he should be compensated more than the team is offering. But that one in particular, I thought that it was going to be a lot easier to
00:49:06
Speaker
finalize or to lock in. so maybe that was the the one decision that even in the presser, I thought that there was gonna be a lot more context to where Steph was at and that just wasn't the case. But aside from that, everything that we had reported or talked about in several shows kind of came to fruition in the press release by the team.
00:49:33
Speaker
And if anything, perhaps it wasn't um approached the right way during the press conference, or I thought that maybe there were some things that were not said necessarily the way I thought that they would be presented. But when it came to the decisions, no surprises.
00:49:53
Speaker
ah What did you make of the presser, Nico? I mean, I think ah the big takeaway ah that I had, at least, is that Schmetz and ah Craig Wibes we're basically saying that they're, uh, they're more or less by and large happy with where, uh, with where the roster is at. They're happy with how the team performed last year. i got a couple of quotes here. Schmidt says, I like the roster as it sits now. I like the stability stability,
00:50:24
Speaker
ah Craig Weibs says in terms of a specific piece, I'm not sure there's one that would unlock it, it being the team. The truth is this is the exact group of players that won a big trophy. I think we have a lot of quality. So quotes like that, when you when you hear that or you see that that, that indicates that they're trying to say that we're we're not going to reinvent the wheel this offseason. We're not going to blow it up.
00:50:46
Speaker
We're not going to enter... we're not going to enter rebuild a season after, uh, we are, we're pretty happy with the on-field results. I have to imagine that they're, ah they're happy with, uh, the attacking output this last year, 87 goals, all comps. Uh, you can't really argue with that.
00:51:04
Speaker
Uh, did you expect them to, uh, to be that outwardly sort of preemptively get in front of any notion that there's going to be like big blockbuster type moves or, uh,
00:51:18
Speaker
to To me, like that the sentiment of of not blowing it up, being decently happy with the roster and the moves that get made are going to be on the margins, that's kind of that's what I would expect coming off the sea of of a season like they just had where they won a major trophy. and The other thing is I think there was a there was a meaningful step forward taken offensively this year from 2024. Yeah.
00:51:43
Speaker
from twenty twenty four So I think that was the biggest that was the biggest thing that I wanted to see from 2024 to 2025. And that was something that Brian Schmetzer talked about at the end of at this type of press conference last year.
00:51:55
Speaker
And so I think the way they see it is it's more smaller supplemental moves that we're going to be seeing as opposed to like big splashy moves or big ah rebuild type situation, which, you know, I think a lot of people ah aren't going to find exciting. There's going to be a lot of ambition discourse surrounding that.
00:52:14
Speaker
ah But ah what did you what what did you kind of make of just the whole tenor of it as far as all that goes?
00:52:22
Speaker
Oh, man. Look. First of all, we're going to get this chat going. Tell me what you think about what I'm going to drop here. I'm going to heat up. Let's go. Let's go.
00:52:34
Speaker
So go ahead and comment, like, share the video. Don't be out there just checking out the the content and don't don't like the video. Come on now. Let me see you do it. um i'm gonna um i Maybe I'll share some some names as well of some potential guys if you guys give me enough likes. ah But let's let's start with this.
00:52:56
Speaker
I feel like the overall message by both Craig Weibel and Brian was...
00:53:05
Speaker
partially correct. And I agree with at least what Brian Smetzer said. The fact that Brian straight up said that this was a successful season, I can absolutely get behind.
00:53:17
Speaker
I thought that this was Brian Smetzer best coaching year. I feel like the objectives to make this Sounders team a more prolific attacking team that was entertaining, that scored more goals, was achieved, and You were able to figure out what the core group of players, the baseline of your team was going to be next season.
00:53:41
Speaker
And the roster spots where most of your salary is going to felt like they performed and that they are going to next year continue to get better and continue to perform.
00:53:59
Speaker
I thought Albert Rosnack had a great year. Specifically, not just on the stats, but what he was able to do on the field, the eye test, the the defending, the pressure on the ball.
00:54:10
Speaker
A lot of the things that he did, I thought he took a big step this season from his position. I thought Jesus Ferreira, we've given him enough praise. We've said why. so that was a positive for this team. Pedro de la Vega showed you what he could provide you with, obviously, the the big team.
00:54:28
Speaker
Question mark which is can he stay healthy Can this be a problem Luckily this injury Was completely different than what he's had In the past this was a bone injury This was not A hemi or a soft tissue Injury that you might feel like Is a recurring Problem health is health And I get that but the fact that it was A bone injury That should be completely Heal before April And I'm hearing that Pedro La Vega should be in the timeline of being back on the field for April.
00:55:05
Speaker
Seems okay. That's a big thing to clarify because during the press conference, Brian had said something about six months or June or July. That's not necessarily accurate. The six months is from the point of where the injury happened. So that puts him to be back on the field around April. So,
00:55:27
Speaker
The issue that I had is this one, Ari. And this is where I'm gonna get a little agitated because
00:55:36
Speaker
part of your work as a general manager and chief soccer officer is to provide a sense of reassurance when you're on that mic, when you have the capability to express your vision to your fan base You need to take that very seriously. And I feel like Craig Weibel didn't do a great job at packaging, framing what he wants to do next season. And it was a missed opportunity. He, in what he said, played into the perhaps misconception or narrative that there's complacency within the team.
00:56:24
Speaker
And the first one that I will point out is the way he decided to answer the u twenty two question. He said, well, good thing that we didn't go out there and get a u twenty two We brought in de Rosario, and he kind of puffed out his chest a little bit. And I would agree. i think that it was – I would agree to a certain extent.
00:56:45
Speaker
I would agree that Osasa was a a a good find, that he was a guy that deserved to be brought up. But you don't need to frame it in a way that makes you sound like there isn't – U22 players of the likes of Silvetti out there or Segovia that can help this team out because it gives the fan base the wrong idea. And as a GM, you have to be more careful on how you phrase things.
00:57:19
Speaker
The other one was Ryan Kent. The way he said there's just no role for Ryan Kent next season, that was unnecessary too. Because when you have the possibility of Paul Rothrock leaving, no Pedro de la Vega till April,
00:57:35
Speaker
um
00:57:38
Speaker
there's clearly a role that Ryan Kent could have had next season. So it almost feels a little petulant the way he phrased it. And that was unnecessary, right? Because you are adding more pressure into a position where you might need to go out there and get somebody. Now I know, and I'm not upset about the decision. I think the the the decision was...
00:58:00
Speaker
fine. There just wasn't enough of the Ryan Kent that you saw in a limited amount of time in order to pay him what he was probably asking for next season. So not picking up the option, totally fine. Maybe having conversations with him.
00:58:14
Speaker
if he would have phrased that a little bit different and said, look, we tried to bring him back. We wanted to, that there was a possibility that he could help us out. On the left side, we don't really know what's going to happen with Arreola, how quickly he's going to be able to come on and perform, that shows you that you're kind of going and assessing the situation adequately. And the way he phrased it was just poorly. And the last one, the one that really frustrated me and took me over the top completely. And you might be surprised because maybe you're thinking it was the Ovid answer. that's what I was going to guess. It wasn't even it. And we'll talk about that for sure. But that's why I decided to hit you with the curve ball and tell you which one really frustrated me.
00:59:01
Speaker
When I asked Craig Weibel, the general manager of this team, about the calendar change, knowing that it's in 2027, I expect you to give me an insightful and almost a optimistic way to alleviate the fact that you as a GM have been inactive in the summer window and you have not taken advantage of the summer window when most of the most talented players around the world are available.
00:59:39
Speaker
Use that to your advantage, but don't tell me i'll have more to tell you in 12 months because it makes me feel like you're not prepared. I learned from the best.
00:59:50
Speaker
Garth Lagerwey, who, by the way, is not coming back to Atlanta. We send him our best. He's by far the most brilliant GM that I've ever talked to. And I've talked to many. And he is just brilliant. And if I learn anything from Garth Lagerwey, it is that a GM is thinking three years ahead every single time.
01:00:09
Speaker
So by you telling me that you're waiting on 12 months to really know what's going on, It provides the wrong message. It shows that you are not, you don't have that vision and that aggressiveness to use this calendar change to your advantage. So when you have underperformed in the summer window, take this opportunity to create some optimism, to get the families on your side.
01:00:37
Speaker
Because look, this team was good. This team was a team that is that was a true contender disease this season. And I've given you praise. I've sat here and said, look, god like i mean Greg Weibel did a lot of good things with this roster, but don't sit there in front of the press, and in ah an opportunity to talk to the fans and make it seem like this calendar change isn't a big deal and that you are not going to be able to be more aggressive to do your job in the summer window.
01:01:10
Speaker
So those are the things that I feel like Craig Weibel missed the opportunity on as a GM, providing that opportunity calmness that um confidence to your fan base is part of the job.
01:01:27
Speaker
And I feel like that's something Garth Lagerwey did tremendously. I mean, he was awesome at just knowing what to say. You would leave every single press conference thinking, wow, that the team is going in the right direction. This could be a dynasty. I remember thinking one time coming off of presser with Garth Lagerwey. Man, I think I asked him.
01:01:45
Speaker
this thing is probably going to be a dynasty, right? And he was like, no, we don't want to think about that right now. We're going to continue to grind. I mean, he was just phenomenal. And I feel like Craig Weibel in the last two chances that he's had with the press, he's botched both opportunities. One was when the summer transfer window um came to a close and he was able to get on the mics and then this one.
Critique of Seattle Sounders' Management and Player Movements
01:02:11
Speaker
So,
01:02:12
Speaker
I don't want to crucify Craig Weibel because again, I feel like he has done some really good things. He's had some really tough decisions. He hasn't had a lot of flexibility in his salary and in his roster construction, but I have to criticize him when it's fair. And when I'm asking you a question about the calendar change, don't,
01:02:40
Speaker
dismiss it and don't question my intelligence. I know that it's 2027 rather than being coy and cool, cool guy about it. Use that.
01:02:51
Speaker
Use it to pure your advantage to create and erase that negative narrative that is behind this team and you as a GM when it comes to the summer window.
01:03:03
Speaker
A lot to unpack there. That was fire. Good stuff there, Nico. i It is funny contrasting the like the media savvy of ah of Garth with a Craig Wives, who i think is somewhat i think Jake said it in chat. like He needs like media training. I think like that's ah that's what it is because you're right. like ah his His approach to these press conferences and his media availabilities, he doesn't really use them as ah as opportunities to address a lot of a lot of the stuff that you mentioned, like those issues. He doesn't use that opportunity to address those. And he gets... ah
01:03:46
Speaker
he gets like defensive of his methods and kind of starts preemptively pushing back against points that like didn't even get made. Sometimes that, uh, I, you know, I think they all, they all have, uh, burner accounts on Twitter and stuff. So maybe that he probably keeps track of those narratives as much as anybody, based, I think that based on, uh, some of the stuff he says in these pressers sometimes, but, yeah,
01:04:13
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, ah I don't know. let's ah let's let's talk about ah Let's talk about these roster moves, unless you had anything more that you wanted to cook on with ah Craig Weibes. Do you have any takes on what Schmetz had to say, or was your issue more with ah Craig Weibes?
01:04:27
Speaker
Yeah, and it was Craig Whiteball. I mean, the good thing for Brian is that Craig was making him look great. And and and to all standards, I mean, ah Brian said all the right things, said all the right things about the roster, said all the right things about the season. he You could just even see how happy he was, and he should be prideful of what he was able to do in this 2025 season.
01:04:53
Speaker
so I thought he was great. he even He even did a great job by, after Craig Whiteball dismisses the the calendar change question, he's like, I'm not gonna add anything to it. So he's like, no, no, I have nothing to add. And then afterwards he's like, well, you know, maybe the calendar change does, ah make us having to have a more robust roster in here and there. So he added something at the end, but in that particular time, after Greg Weibel decided to dismiss the question, he was like, nah, I'm good. So I thought he was great. So the only thing that I would think that our fans and and those listening right now want to maybe talk about was what Greg Weibel said about
01:05:39
Speaker
Obitavarius potentially going on ah on a free. was trying to think of what to what what we missed. that was what i I don't think anyone would be upset at Craig Weibel if he was to say, look, we really want Obit back. It would be unfortunate or catastrophic, or maybe not not catastrophic is a bad word, but you could say, look, that we don't want Oban Vargas to leave in the wrong way or on a free or or or whatever it might be. Acknowledging the fact that Oban Vargas leaving would not be a good move for the Sounders and he would take a hit
01:06:21
Speaker
simply by acknowledging it would have been better than what Craig Weibel said, because it almost made it seem like it's not a big deal. We're not concerned that he's leaving or may might might not be leaving on it on a free transfer. He went on to say that he didn't see it quite like I did.
01:06:39
Speaker
But in all accounts, all you had to do, because I understand that he doesn't want to create panic. And he doesn't want to probably look weak in the negotiating table by saying, look, yeah, we really need to resign Ovid Vargas because we're going to lose out on a lot of money. I mean, I didn't expect that to be his answer, but he could have framed it better. Just saying, look, this is a team that's going to be playing big games next season. This is a team that has already qualified for a CONCACAF Champions League. Obert Vargas is a player that is in the bubble to get with the Mexican national team. And if he wants to make the national team, he's going to want to have a lot of minutes played. He's going to want to be in the best form of his career. And we can provide that here.
01:07:24
Speaker
But instead of of highlighting his club and highlighting what... the club could do for Ovid, he kind of went on the defensive, like you said, and was like, well, you know, it's not a big deal. and I'm not concerned. And it's, yeah i got you made it seems like ah yeah I don't view things the way you do talking to you yes before adding, I'm not concerned. He's a very good Sounders player. I mean, I'll be honest. I'm concerned.
01:07:49
Speaker
I'm concerned. Yeah. and I think you could use the term catastrophic for a situation where he plays out his contract and leaves on a free and you get nothing for him. One of the most sought after prospects in the world at this point. Like, come on now. whatever that that If you're not concerned, you should be. That would not be good.
01:08:07
Speaker
Yeah, no. And all I wanted was for you to acknowledge the situation. Again, I know that he's sitting at the poker table with his hand of of ah four cards right here, and he doesn't want to show it right to the negotiations of Ovid's camp. But you could have phrased that a lot better and use that again in a way to almost put the pressure on him and say, look, if Ovid wants to make a national team, he doesn't want to go to a European team. ah right before the World Cup, where you don't know if he's going to get more playtime, if there's going to be a learning curve or whatever it might be. So here, by extending his contract with us, he has an opportunity to take his time, to focus completely on the Mexican national team, on performing this season, being in the best shape of his life for this tournament. You know, there were just so many different ways that he could have approached it that...
01:09:02
Speaker
I feel like once again, he he did not use it to his advantage. And I want to reiterate, I feel like Craig Weibel means well. He means well. He wants to do the right job. But when he comes to this pressers, it can be tough. It can be tough. Yeah. It's just sometimes it's hard to to defend almost, right? Because I do, again, see what he does correctly. But when fans say, look what he said, I'm like, yeah, you got a good point, man. Yeah.
01:09:31
Speaker
Yeah, for me, with the with as it pertains to the Craig Weibel discourse, ultimately, at the end of the day, I judge him by what the results are on the field.
01:09:42
Speaker
Is the team winning games? Are they scoring goals? Are they fun to watch? Are they contending for trophies? If you're checking those boxes on the field, I don't really care who the GM is. And that's why I'm kind of past this. Like Craig Weibel is the worst GM of all time. And Albert Rusnak's not a DP discourse because ah it's gotten to the point with that stuff where, and I've said this before, but I'll say it again. It's gotten to the point with that stuff where,
01:10:08
Speaker
Even if you're right about it, it doesn't matter because it's not affecting the results on the field in any sort of negative way. The, ah like, you if you have the most incompetent buffoon GM in the world, but you score 87 goals, all comps, and you beat Lionel Messi in League's Cup, one of the one of the sickest trophies this club has ever won. One of the sickest games they've ever played. Sickest trophies they ever won. One of the best Sounders games ever. ah If you get that done...
01:10:38
Speaker
You score 87 goals, all comps. Obviously, the playoff run was disappointing, but you do have a major trophy that you won to to fall back on. if If that's what the end results are on the field, then i then I don't care if the GM is incompetent. Why does that matter? like Explain that to me. like why do you Why do you care about the...
01:10:58
Speaker
Supposed competence or incompetence levels if the results on the on the field are still are still getting it done and you're still contending for trophies and i think with this last year to you know if you're doing pros and cons of the of the situation like the amount of goals that they scored. 87 all comps, that's undeniably a pro. So as far as like what it means about the the job that he's doing, I just, I don't give a shit anymore about that. I just, I'm sure we're going to have to keep talking about it, but it it's going to be, it's going to be judged ultimately by what happens on the field. Is the team winning games? Are they scoring goals? Are they contending for trophies? All that said, the, his, his media persona, it just, it could use,
01:11:45
Speaker
It could use some work like the the defensiveness and the sort of like, again, preemptively like pushing back on these talking points that like sometimes the question gets asked and he he starts talking about something else that wasn't act because I think he was like stewing it, stewing on it or something. He must be. And it's just like you kind of just don't need to. ah to do that. You got plenty, you got plenty of stuff that you can hang your hat on from this last year. If you, want if you want to, and he, he did do that. And I think that's part of the rationale they were given for why I think it's, it felt like he was kind of trying to get on top of ah that. This is going to be another like off season where, you
01:12:26
Speaker
there's not that crazy splashy of moves like a lot of people want. So he's like trying to get in front of that, but it's like, I don't, I don't even know if you need to be doing that as the, as the GM. So yeah. yeah And again, that's why optics are so important because i would agree with you that the results for Craig and the,
01:12:48
Speaker
Performance of his rosters Have been good enough That i don't think people should Question his um Qualifications Or how good of a GM he he Is because he is in a difficult Position he doesn't have the Blank checks that Arthur Blank gives Atlanta United he doesn't have the Moss Brothers Capita behind him And be able to go out there and Get any player that he wants Right ah We've talked about, you know, this team identifying a guy like Denke way before anyone did, right? But you just didn't have the money to to bring him in. he have been awesome have Denke here, guy that's physical, that puts goals away, that, you know, I'm sure a lot of people would have been
01:13:37
Speaker
Lights out if he came to getting a guy like him But he has a hard time Sitting and negotiating for a guy like that When Cincinnati just throwing money Out the window right so He has a hard job But that's why optics are so important And that's why optics yeah You can't Get in front of the mics and oh Sound petulant as if you would Have won it all at times Even last season right when The team failed to get to a title, right? And he kind of focused on the fact that they were a minute away from getting to the final.
01:14:18
Speaker
That's not necessarily great form to show that you had a really good team, right? But he kind of focuses on that. And this season where he did get a title and and and it's, you know, recognizable and and especially in the fashion that you did, you still don't want to sound complacent. And I think that was the issue in this particular presser is that he almost sounded complacent with everything. You could sound sure of the product and your achievements, but you could always try for better. And and just the way he approaches those situations is where he he kind of fails.
01:14:56
Speaker
ah All right, let's hit a couple things from ah chat here because we got some discourse going on. James says, we won League's Cup because Weibel's two highest placed player players were unavailable. Even the trophy is an indictment of Weibel. I think that's a little bit of ah mental gymnastics there to ah to fit your narrative. like even if even if that's Even if your premise is true that they won it because Weibel,
01:15:21
Speaker
Rusnak wasn't playing, which I don't know if I accept that premise, but even if it's true, the player that you're talking about who subbed in to win them win them the trophy was Jesus Ferreira, who was a Weibel signing so or a trade acquisition. So I think there with with with points like that, I think there's a little bit of... ah only acknowledging, ah what you perceive to be the negatives and not giving not if you're, if you're giving a fair evaluation, you have to give credit for the positives, uh, in addition to detracting for the negatives. And I think that's the difference I have with this, uh, with this opinion, like, uh, you know, we got, we've got other people making the point like, uh,
01:16:08
Speaker
I agree with the sentiment, but to say if they incompetent doesn't matter, i disagree because it will come back. Like, if we're if we're levying the charge of ah incompetence, we're just totally disregarding the the good signings and acquisitions that this team has made since Weibel took over. And if you're honestly being fair about it, you will acknowledge that there are some of those. The Jesus Ferreira trade was a fantastic trade. You can say whatever you want about how it got like,
01:16:36
Speaker
put onto his plate and he didn't have to like do all that much to make it happen. He made it happen. And that was one of the key players, like James even said, that won them, that helped them win a league's cup.
01:16:47
Speaker
ah We're going to talk a lot about Moose this off season. The Moose, signing that was a Craig Weibel, uh, era acquisition and, uh, his scouting department and everything that absolutely cooked. That's one of the better Moose and Jesus Ferreira are two of the better interleague acquisitions that have been made in the last few years in the entire league. So I just think that if you're, uh,
01:17:10
Speaker
If you're making a fair, if you're trying to be fair about it and not only picking and choosing cherry picking stuff that ah that fits your narrative, you you'd acknowledge that there's there's both sides of it. There's definitely, there's critiques to be had for sure. I'm not saying that ah that there isn't. i just When I evaluated personally, I try to give credit where it's due and also detract where it's due. And if we're looking at like his entire track record, to act like it's all misses and he's like ruined the roster and it's not set up for success and all that. I don't think the evidence of what happened on the field is there to, uh, to support that. So that's where I get to the point of like, all right, well, uh,
01:17:55
Speaker
if you're right if Even if you're right about everything you're saying, I don't care and it doesn't matter because it's not... ah it it only the only reason any of this stuff we're talking about matters is as like to the extent that it affects what happens on the field. that's what we like Are we trying to like build the optimum roster that we all like or are we trying to win games and win trophies?
01:18:17
Speaker
I care about winning games. If that's the, ah if that's the final outcome. And I feel like the team is set up to continue to do so, which at this point I feel decently confident that they're ready to go into 2026 as a, ah as a contender, then that's what matters to me. And ah you could put, you could literally put Mickey mouse himself as the general manager. And if that's the, ah and and if he's got the team winning games, scoring goals and contending, I'm,
01:18:44
Speaker
then I don't care. Extend Mickey, give him a, give him a 10 year contract. It like, it like doesn't matter. And I guess that's just what bothers me about all this discourse is the, the results on the results on the field don't affect how people talk about it.
01:18:59
Speaker
Everyone talking about ah like how much of a disaster the front office and the roster was last year. i i really think that if you had been right about that, the team would have sucked. like How do you how do you like get around that in your mind?
01:19:14
Speaker
like how do you How do you have a situation where... what happens on the field and the results the team is taking directly contradict what you're saying and you just don't acknowledge it and continue with your narrative. I don't know. That was kind of a kind of a tangent there, but ah do you have any thoughts on ah on the Weibel discourse? And then we'll, ah if you got some time, Nico, I would love to talk a little bit more. we can, I can stay on a little bit longer today, but if you got a jet, we can we can call it. But ah any thoughts on the Weibel discourse or the take I just cooked on, and then maybe we'll talk some Moose and Rothrock.
01:19:47
Speaker
No, ah look, I feel like there is a lot of validity to what you're saying. um
01:19:57
Speaker
Clearly the the point of contention here is the fact that the team can definitely get better and there are there are objectives that are not being reached, right? um I have said this many of times,
01:20:16
Speaker
Leagues Cup is a phenomenal trophy. It's a huge title.
01:20:22
Speaker
But it doesn't necessarily test the rosters as much as obviously a Leagues Cup. that that the the And I don't want to minimize what the Sounders were able to do. Because i I don't want to do that, especially with the final that they had. But when you look at the pathway to winning that Leagues Cup,
01:20:46
Speaker
The reason why I was so boldish on my predictions is because Seattle fortunately got a pretty good side of that bracket, right? And you know facing Puebla and LA Galaxy of in a very you know poor moment was very fortunate, right? I mean, Pachuca, who lost to LA Galaxy, so again, soccer is not linear, and and you have to take that into consideration because, you know, they obviously got there on their own merits, ah did kind of help the Sounders...
01:21:21
Speaker
get to that that final that they performed phenomenal in. But I understand why v just want a little bit more out out of certain situations. But you don't have to blame the GM because, again, the issues is that there there isn't that capita to go out there and get what everybody wants. Now, what I'm completely on board with you on is that not enough people are giving Craig credit for bringing in a guy like Ferreira on the deal that he got him on. a guy like Mosavsky, who I had given up already on, and he performed for Craig Weibel this season. That was that was a great move, yeah. Bringing in a guy like Osase that performed the decisions that were made, obviously also by the coaching department. I don't want to just focus on on Craig, but bringing in guys like Kosa Rianci and all these guys that were...
01:22:11
Speaker
high contributors this season, you have to, you know, quite a GM on as well. You got to give him his his flowers there. um But ultimately, I feel like the frustration from fans at times is that there's a certain standard that the Sounders have always been on. And in order to keep that sort of eliteness,
01:22:35
Speaker
There is room for improvement. And ah overall, i would I completely disagree with just crucifying Craig Weibull on everything because, again, I give him a lot of credit for what he was able to do this season and the roster. He was able to construct with the problems and the and the limitations that he's had. So I kind of fall in the middle of I like what he's doing, but I understand why fans get upset and I think a lot of it has to do with more of the optics of the way he presents himself in rather than the results which should ultimately be the deciding factor on what makes your GM being good at his job or not
01:23:21
Speaker
I guess I just feel like pretty much not even just related to this discourse, but with and at any situation, like if your take is just super binary or fully black and white, like extreme on one end or the other. Radical. It's like either...
01:23:36
Speaker
Craig Weibel sucks and is the worst GM of all time or on one side, and Craig Weibel is the greatest GM ever. He's the Michael Jordan of ah GMs on the other side. The reality of it is probably more in between those two things. than it is the extreme either direction. I don't think he's shown to be like a hyper elite level executive in the league, but I think he has ah he's shown some savvy. He's made some jet he's made some genuinely good moves. like I think if you're if you're denying that he's made some move some good moves, like you're kind of you're like, i don't know, it's like gaslighting. like we can all We all saw the seasons that ah Moose and Jesus Ferreira had.
01:24:18
Speaker
this year. And we've also seen some of the stuff they've continued to do with the youth development since he's been, been the GM, which you can credit him for that or not, but he hasn't done anything to like squander it or ruin it. And they're still pumping out good players. So it's just, I don't know. I try to take both things into account, look at the whole body of work and not make it like ah it doesn't, it doesn't have to be this like extreme binary situation where he's either,
01:24:43
Speaker
horrible trash going to ruin the entire club or he's the greatest. Sometimes you can just be like a relatively average MLS executive who a lot of I think a lot of his job coming in with the infrastructure that he already had. Garth Loggerway talked about this when he took over the job just about not needing to reinvent the wheel because there's already such good infrastructure in pre in place. I think a lot of the job of a Sounders GM at this juncture in the club is just not like bungling it. not screwing anything up. And if you just, uh, if you roll with the infrastructure that you have and make some good moves on top of it, you're probably going to be able to be a contender, which is, ah this team was contending this last year. And, uh, and like, I hear what you're saying about, ah
01:25:28
Speaker
about the league's cup path and, and, you know, MLS cup is still considered a more important trophy. The playoff run was a disappointment. I get all that for me personally. ah The, the spectacle and the occasion of that league's cup match, just the event that it was for the city and packing 70 K in there, getting to host Lionel Messi at ah in Seattle and have the team get a chance to play against him and the Barca boys and all that, and then their performance in the match.
Creating Content and Team Dynamics
01:25:57
Speaker
It was fantastic. like that's that Stuff like that, I mean, Noah and I talked about it at the end of the season, but stuff like that is like, that as someone who covers the team every day and does a whole podcast and YouTube show about them, stuff like that is
01:26:09
Speaker
all I want. So again, it could be Mickey Mouse pulling the strings behind the scenes. And if you're getting to that outcome, that's what I think is the most important thing. That's just how I look at it. Maybe other people are more concerned with the roster, or the optics of the roster or money signings, all that. You know, I not begrudging any, everyone can fan their own way. I'm just telling you guys how I look at it. Nico, before we get out of here, thanks for staying on a little later here this morning. Appreciate
Player Contracts and Trade Discussions: Muslovsky and Rothrock
01:26:36
Speaker
it. uh let's talk about real quick just two of uh the biggest storylines we're gonna have to keep an eye on and then on on under the lights on thursday gonna go more in depth on uh one of these specifically i think that's my plan for the moment uh but uh let's talk danny muslovsky and paul rothrock what do you think is going to uh to happen with those two guys the uh the moose situation has
01:27:00
Speaker
Option was exercised, but that does not preclude them from ah from trading him or moving him in in some capacity. would be an interleague trade if they do move him, and they could probably get a lot of money for him. So I think there's the decision to be made on do you try and move off Moose and profit some resources off that, or you do you bring him back? And then with Rothrock and free agency, according to J.O.' 's rap at the presser, he says that from all that he can gather, the two sides remain about 200K apart. And that seems to still be the case.
01:27:38
Speaker
And to me, i don't you tell me if I'm wrong, it feels like the writing is kind of on the wall that he's going to sign elsewhere. Someone's going to offer him more money than Seattle is able or whatever. willing to and ah there was also i don't know if you saw this but there's a nashville sc plan uh uh twitter blue sky user nashville sc fan who like uses the plane tracker thing to track their like staff plane and so they were able to get scoops on guys coming to the team by like seeing where they mike jacobs and their club bra black brass was flying and they tracked the flight to seattle uh
01:28:17
Speaker
you know, kind of assuming that potentially they were negotiating with, ah with Paul Rothrock, which I think that would be a really good fit to be honest. Like they need a player like him. And if they want to spend like the 800 K that he's looking for to get them in there.
01:28:33
Speaker
I mean, look, we love where We are the number one Paul Rothrock show, but like he's got to do what's best for his life and his ah in his career and get his bag, and I would not begrudge him that at all. At the same at the same time, Nico, i'm not ah let's talk about Rothrock first because I'm not so sure the discourse ah around this one is reflective of what's actually going on either. you know We posted a graphic on our Instagram saying that he's a free agent, and all the comments we were getting were like, this club is disrespecting our hometown hero and ah pay the man. And you guys are cheap.
01:29:08
Speaker
Well, first of all, I, I think it's funny that like ah the same people who are, uh, constantly talking about how the Sounders don't have ambition for spending money on big name players and making big splashes are also talking about how they're like being cheap and unambitious by not paying Paul Rothrock. I mean, i I feel like you got to pick one.
01:29:34
Speaker
Like, it's a salary cap league. If you devote the amount of resources to Paul Rothrock that it's, that it's going to take to keep him 800 K of your, of your salary cap, that's going to preclude you from being able to make bigger, other bigger additions. That's just the reality. It sucks. But if you, if you actually want like a big splashy signing or a more move the needle type acquisition over the off season, you can't keep Paul Rothrock. Like he's priced himself out of that. Like,
01:30:04
Speaker
someone's going to give him eight hundred k and then the other thing uh correct me if i'm wrong on this nico but is is there not like a limit on how much you can raise a salary year over year like this like he he only made 100k last year that's the thing he outperformed that by so much that the 600 that they're offering him is kind of like isn't that all they kind of can offer or could they theoretically offer him that uh That 800 if they wanted to in their am i Am I off base on that? like ah
01:30:35
Speaker
What's going on with that? Yeah, ah Jeremiah is definitely um The master at that And I think he put the The max That the Sounders could bring him on At 840 or something like that And I think that goes overall I think the most important thing here Is that As much as We all love Paul Rothrock, what he was able to do.
01:31:03
Speaker
The clear tool bag that he has at his disposal to be a great player for any team around the league.
01:31:16
Speaker
When it comes to salaries to certain players or to a lot of players, the baseline sometimes is very easy to see across the league when it comes to players who have a particular profile.
01:31:36
Speaker
And I feel like what's being offered to Paul Rothrock fits pretty well with what I think the rest of the league would offer ah guy like Paul.
01:31:48
Speaker
So let's call it a max of $600,000 for the
01:31:54
Speaker
for Paul Rothrock this year, right? that That's what, let's say, the Sanders are offering them. I feel like that baseline, if you average it across the league and you talk to front officers across the league, they'd probably agree that's about the max. They would be willing to pay for a guy like Paul Rothrock. Maybe there is a team that's willing to pay him seven. Maybe there's a team that's willing to pay him eight.
01:32:21
Speaker
I don't, I don't know how likely that is, to be quite frank. With my experience in talking to teams, I don't know how likely he iss he gets that money. But the reason why I think Paul Rothbard will leave is the same reason why in the past players have left teams and it's just out of principle.
01:32:43
Speaker
That's what it sounds like is happening. yeah yeah Maybe he gets a little race. Maybe it's a little bit over the $600,000 mark. ah thousand mark But it's simply the fact that the team that I was playing for they didn't wanna necessarily pay what I think I was worth. That ends up being the motivating factor for a player.
01:33:05
Speaker
And there has been times where players have left the Sounders, with promises or hopes that they would get more money elsewhere, and they end up making less and playing less elsewhere. So hopefully that's not the pathway for Paul Rothrock.
01:33:22
Speaker
But when you say the writing's on the wall, I absolutely agree, because there is a certain point in negotiations where there's just no longer that way to alleviate the relationship.
01:33:38
Speaker
And one side feels disrespected, the other side feels like you're being taken advantage of, and it just ends there. I feel like that's where the Sounders and Paul Rothrock's team is at. And now that's my opinion based on what I've been able to gather and then come up with my own conclusion of where things are going.
01:34:01
Speaker
That's where I feel like we're at. And I feel like Paul Rother will be playing elsewhere next season. But I don't know if he's going to get the huge raise that he's hoping for.
01:34:12
Speaker
i don't know if there's a team out there that's willing to pay him more than $700,000 a year. His market value is just kind of difficult to truly pin down because what you have is a guy who doesn't necessarily light up the stat sheet. like he's not he's not been like a 10 and 10 type player so far in his career.
01:34:39
Speaker
ah But the value that he does bring as far as his work rate and attitude and how how hard he works on defense and pressing and winning the ball in these dangerous areas, creating these like these hustle plays that lead to dangerous opportunities and create goals. I mean, I'm thinking of the one in the the one against the Galaxy in the League's Cup.
01:35:02
Speaker
semifinals this year where it's just, he's, he's just charging into the box and, gets the ball off the, off the goalkeeper. And
Balancing Team Expectations and Salary Cap
01:35:09
Speaker
that's what created the opportunity for La Vega to finish it. There's, you can point to so many plays like that. And then of course you have his role in leagues cup where they marketed him and made him kind of the face of leagues cup. And he scores that, ah that epic goal. So ah i don't know if Stat sheet-wise, he's got the value of an $800,000 winger, but he there's just so many more things that he brings to the table outside of that that make him so valuable and really, like I think, uniquely valuable to this team, to Seattle, outside the fact that he's a yeah hometown guy. He's literally like the Brian Schmetzer archetype of... ah
01:35:50
Speaker
of players. Schmetz loves guys who are busting it on defense and pressing relentlessly, hounding, opposing attackers and, you know, creating, creating goals through like grit and, uh, force will kind of like the, uh, the Cuba school I was talking about earlier. Paul Rothrock does stuff like that all the time.
01:36:08
Speaker
So, uh, it is, it is just tough because part of me agrees with a lot of the fans were saying it's probably prime time. Just pay the man. What are we talking about? But like, In MLS, it's more it's trickier than that sometimes. it's not It's not always just a matter of trying to shortchange a guy necessarily. It's about trying to be it stay as competitive as you can in a salary cap league that's designed to promote parity.
01:36:38
Speaker
And in a situation like that, paying 800K for Paul Rothrock, you'd very least have to debate that in a... in your mind. It's not, I don't think it's maybe as clear cut as some people are making it. It's at it's at the very least a dilemma and I want them to pay Paul Rothrock. I think he is, like I said, uniquely valuable to this specific team and having him on the team has been awesome. He's been one of my, art he's been probably our favorite story in Lobbing Scorchers history.
01:37:09
Speaker
But the reality is, and it's in a salary cap league, these situations happen sometimes where guys price themselves out of what you can pay while also still, like, really maintaining the strength of the rest of your roster. So, Danny Musavsky, let's talk about him before we before we get out of here, because that's the other big one. And that's one that... ah There's going to be a lot more discourse about this one in the in the coming weeks.
01:37:36
Speaker
They exercise the option. Are they going to trade him? Are they going to bring him back? I think I've been saying, Nico, I've been all alone on this. I'm on an island. No one agrees with me. The whole Sounder at Heart crew and Lobbing Scorchers, greater community, they all they all disagree with me. It's been... talked about as a foregone conclusion that they're going to trade him.
01:37:58
Speaker
i I, A, don't think it's a foregone conclusion. I think it's very possible that Moose comes back. And B, I don't think that that would be a a crazy or a stupid or a bad or an unambitious decision based off the the season that he just had.
01:38:14
Speaker
i think people are way too dismissive of the season that he just had. i think people overstate how easy that would be to replace. And I guess I also, Nico, have come to a place where, first of all, I'm not so sure that I see the just inherent value of going out and splashing a shit ton of money on like a Latte Loth style number nine or even a Sam Surridge style number nine. Just just in general, i think people have the notion that –
01:38:47
Speaker
you need to have a big money number nine like that who can get you 25 goals to have success. I don't think that's necessarily the case. I think we've seen a lot of examples of guys that can get you 15, 20 plus goals, and it doesn't necessarily lead to team success because it can make you one dimensional and it's, it's your better served to try and build an attack that is more well-rounded and can hurt you inl in more and, uh,
01:39:13
Speaker
various different ways than you are to necessarily base it around one guy like a Sam Sturridge, where if Sam Sturridge gets taken out of a game in any given game, Nashville to see chopped Seattle are in a situation where the, you know, it's, it's a much more well-rounded attack and you don't have to necessarily just rely on one guy. But I also think that brings me to a second point, which is I think the Sounders are in a bit of a unique situation where ah some teams you have to go and get that big money number nine because you got kind of no other options to get that production from. Like Seattle was in that situation a few years ago and they went out and they got Rui Diaz and that worked out.
01:39:59
Speaker
Uh, but it's just the roster right now is in a different situation where you have a number nine who was this, I'm i'm going on another tangent here, but, uh,
01:40:11
Speaker
like when we were doing the KJR round table and Noah was, Noah was somewhat facetiously saying like, well, Moose missed so many chances. And if ah if Jordan Morris had been starting all year, he would have had like double the goals. And he he was, he was joking around, but I've heard that ah similar sentiment expressed a lot like, oh, well, if you put Jordan or even just insert any better big money, number nine, they would have way exceeded Moose's production.
01:40:39
Speaker
And, uh, I don't think that's, uh, I don't think that's true. I don't think that's how it works. What, uh, if Jordan had been starting all year, he would have ended up in the exact same range in all likelihood that Moose ended up in. That's not shade of Jordan at all. That's just the type of production that, uh, that Moose had. And I don't think you should just like fully dismiss that, uh,
01:41:03
Speaker
offhand I'm not saying there's like not better number nines out there than ah Danny Musavsky, but if you have a guy that can that's giving you that production, there's no reason to blow resources on that when you already have it.
01:41:17
Speaker
The whole point, and this is what I think people might not understand or acknowledge, the whole point of going out and signing a big money number nine, DP number nine, like people want, is so you can get...
01:41:30
Speaker
the type of production that Moose just gave you. That's, that's the, and that is, that's because he just had a season where, uh, he was producing like freaking like Chris Wondolowski and, uh, Raul Rui Diaz. Can he sustain that and do it again? Was it an outlier? Those are valid concerns to have, but to just immediate, to just immediately just, uh, dismiss it, uh, and say that, uh,
01:41:55
Speaker
he for sure can't replicate it or it was full as gold or, or whatever. I just, I don't know about that. I'm more hesitant on that than, ah than you. And then most, and if they, if they do bring him back this in, in 2026,
01:42:11
Speaker
I wouldn't have a problem with it. People will crash out over it. They'll say it's unambitious, but i think that's just, that's not acknowledging that he literally, he just, he just had a a season where he scored 14 league goals in Like is,
01:42:25
Speaker
fifteen hundred minutes like that is That's what you want. That's what you need. That's any other guy that you go out and sign. Like I said, it would be with the idea of them like doing pretty much that. Am I wrong? So I don't know. Do you think they're going to bring Moose back? And ah do you think I'm a off base on this take? I think I think you do think I'm off base on this take, but ah go ahead. and I think you're so off base that I'm going to focus briefly on what I think is the most. I don't care, chat. I don't care. Crucify me. I don't care. What I think is the most. um
01:43:00
Speaker
important and the biggest hole left and is the Paul Rothrock leaving the team. I feel like replacing Paul Rothrock is going to be a hell of a lot harder than, and what he provides than what Danny Musavsky provides you. that That's how little I think of the possibilities that Danny Musavsky is going to have another Similar season at 30 years old.
01:43:30
Speaker
So the reason why I want to briefly touch back on the Paul Rothbard thing is this. You mentioned Nashville. And I want to just do this exercise with the audience because it's important for them to know where the baseline is because I agree with you. I don't think the Sounders are disrespecting Paul Rothrock. And I think that they would love to have him back. I think that Brian Smetzer, he is a Paul Rothrock guy through and through, wants him here, but at a certain level.
01:44:00
Speaker
We talked about Nashville, who I think is a suitor. for more reasons that you might even, that I can even say right now. But when you look at their wingers and what they're paying their wingers, Jacob Schaffelberg, who's a Canadian national team player, who has been a guy that they've known for a long time, that is ah a very high producer. He's at $425,000 year with compensation And and he's the highest winger in terms of minutes that the team had this season when it came to MLS regular play. The second guy in minutes is Ahmed Kassem, and he's making 650, 650, which in my opinion,
01:44:43
Speaker
which in my um Knowledge of the situation It's about what's being Offered to Paul Rothrock So that baseline that I mentioned That's kind of what Nashville In my opinion would be willing to pay A guy like Paul Rothrock because look I know for a fact that there's A lot of teams that have asked them about Paul Rothrock And this is obvious Because of the type of season he had But the reason they're so excited to go and get a guy like Paul Rothrock is because they, the belief is that they can get him at 300,000, 400,000. That's a really good move for a team, but having to get him at 700, it makes it feel like a lesser of a acquisition than, than it is because of the salary cap space, because of his limited,
01:45:36
Speaker
um productivity ah overall, because he's a guy that is a little bit on the high side. He hit the spotlight kind of late, right? So all of those things, I think, go against Paul Rothrock.
01:45:49
Speaker
And that's why I do believe that he hasn't outpriced himself, but the likelihood that he'll go and get what he's probably shooting for is not very high, right? So going back to Nashville, I think it's a good place for him. But looking at the numbers, I find it really...
01:46:07
Speaker
difficult to believe that they're going to pay him more than they are paying for some of these guys already at the winger position, right? There is one guy that's making a million, um which is kind of surprising. It's Tyler Boyd.
01:46:23
Speaker
It's a million, a hundred. they got to get off of that contract. that's Yeah. They got to get off of that contract. So that's one where you might want to shift some money around. Tyler Boyd making a billy. Well, Paul Rothrock made a hundred K last year. yeah We used to be a real country.
01:46:38
Speaker
And that's the unfairness of of this whole thing. And that's why I i can't um look at Paul Rothrock and be like, man, you're being selfish or whatever. You can't. Because, I mean, when you have these sort of discrepancies, he should be able to go out there and try to find what he wants to get. So going back to the whole point that we just brought up and and trying to close down on the possibility of Mussovsky staying or leaving...
01:47:06
Speaker
I think the real question is this. I don't want to get into the what-its because the reality is is that
01:47:15
Speaker
Danny Masofsky put himself in some phenomenal positions. You got to give him credit for some of the goals that he got this season. Not all of them were sitters. He's a poacher type of striker, but he had some some really good goals this season, and he was a key part of an offense that reached an all-time high in goals.
01:47:34
Speaker
Let's leave it at that. Do I think that Jordan Morris is a much better striker and a more complete player? 100%. I agree with that. Someone said in chat like they want they want someone there who's more well-rounded and contributes like a more complete body of work to the whole offense. I think Jordan is that like falls into under that criteria. But I also i think there's a lot to be said, and there's a lot of value in a guy who can just get – in in really good positions and really reliably and efficiently put his chances away too. Like that's, that is a, that's valuable in its own way, even if he's not as well-rounded, but anyway, sorry, cut you off. Continue. No problem. So do I believe that in a perfect world and a fully healthy year,
01:48:21
Speaker
Jordan would have had just as many goals at as Danny Masovsky. I do, but it's irrelevant to bring up that point of conversation. The reality is that the way that you want to approach that striker spots for this team is based on overall potential.
01:48:40
Speaker
So in my opinion, I think that if there is a good offer for Danny Masovsky, the Sounders would be happy to move on from him and allow Jordan Morris and Osas de Rosario to be the guys that take over that spot, the possibility of Ferreira also playing that position, as well as anything that could be added there Now, if there isn't that big offer, I'm more than happy to play out the contract of Danny Misofsky as a guy that has shown you that he can do the job and can be proven. Now, I would bet
01:49:23
Speaker
a pretty large amount of money to say that Danny's not going to score double digits this season. But that could also be based on amount of minutes and, you know, things like that. If Jordan's going to be healthy, he's clearly going to be your guy. So I don't want to completely dismiss the fact that it's going to be solely on Danny that he's not going to reach the double digit mark. So I'm happy to have him on my roster.
01:49:49
Speaker
At his price range right now, you already picked it up. You already picked it up. Now, would I resign him? Absolutely not. Absolutely not. Because you do want to get players on merit and on potential alone.
01:50:05
Speaker
Milos Lukovic is the guy that the Sounders have been targeting for a very long time. He's the you twenty two He's playing at Las Palmas. He's doing very well. That's the sort of player you want to bring in to take the torch from Jordan Morris. And when you hear me say all GMs should be thinking three years ahead, that is a no-brainer move that you need to...
01:50:30
Speaker
find your way away from Danny Misofsky contract, and then bring in a guy like that. But again, if the right offer is there for Danny Misofsky, I have no doubt in my mind that the Sounders would take it.
01:50:43
Speaker
But if that price range is not out there, then they're happy to have him. They're happy to have a guy like Danny Misofsky here. Now, I think if Danny Misofsky is your starter going into the season,
01:50:57
Speaker
That's a problem for the Sounders, absolutely. I have no doubt in my mind that you want your highest ceiling players on the field to start off that season and to hopefully perform. And to me, Jordan Morris still gives you that high ceiling. So I don't have a problem with Danny Stane. I don't foresee it necessarily happening because I do feel like there's going to be some teams that are going to offer some money for Danny Masovsky.
01:51:26
Speaker
And it would be good business for the Sounders to cash in on a player that for all accounts could have had a fluke season. If you compare his trajectory and cash in on it rather than wait for that bubble to burst. But again, the Sounders are happy to keep them if the right offer doesn't come about.
01:51:50
Speaker
Yeah, no, if they ah if they got a God offer from ah ah from one of these teams that needs a number nine, I would have no issue with them ah with them taking it. I just, you know, we'll talk about it more in the in the weeks to come, but i just, i i don't i don't like how I don't like how people talk about the Moose thing. I don't like it. doesn't It doesn't sit right with me. I think, I don't know. I just think it's, to me, it's it's very obvious that, like,
01:52:16
Speaker
a lot of the discourse is just colored by the fact that it's, uh, it's, it's Danny Mussovsky, who's an MLS lifer who never had like a starting job before this year. And people either can't believe or don't want to acknowledge that a player like that just had the type of season, like he had, but, uh, Let me ask you this and then and then we'll get out of here. This is ah this a serious, serious question. And I realize there's a little bit of a difference in track records with this comparison.
01:52:44
Speaker
ah But like, what is what is actually that different in terms of player profile in the seasons that they just had? What is actually that different between Danny Mussovsky and Brian White in Vancouver?
01:52:58
Speaker
There's not that much of a difference. It's pretty much the same idea, same type of players, similar type of production. And ah no one, no one would be, no one saying that like the white cap should move off Brian white.
01:53:10
Speaker
Like, and it's just it's because It's because it's Danny Musavsky. Am I wrong? Am I wrong? It is because it's Danny Musavsky because he doesn't have a trajectory of great scoring seasons. Brian White has had two 16-goal seasons and an 18-goal season over the last three years. So clearly has to do with the fact that Danny Musavsky hasn't even got close to that. Even when he's been over 1,000 minutes, in other clubs and has been unable to get even close to that margin. Not to mention the fact that Brian White is a guy that you can consistently see do other things. He's just not a poacher. He's a high Q guy. He's a high um ah profile player that can get to a lot of balls over the top. He's just a more complete, better player. It's a bad comparison because Brian White is a national team bubble type of guy in comparison to a
01:54:08
Speaker
God, I hate to say it this way, but it's just to the argument, a career bench player or rotational player like Mussovsky. When Brian White has been the lead attacker of a team and a guy that has increasingly gotten better over the years at what he does best, which is put the ball in the back of the net. Now, if Danny Mussovsky had had a couple of 10-goal seasons and you know he had been great and the lead guy in other teams... That conversation would be very different. But the reality is that Nisofsky is nowhere close to that.
01:54:42
Speaker
I could keep talking
Rising Talents and Future Prospects
01:54:43
Speaker
about this all day. And we're going to keep talking about this probably as soon as Thursday for Under the Lights. But we've been going for two hours. So let's get out of here, Nico. I'm going to blast through these super chats real quick here. And then we'll it a day for this episode of Logging Scorchers Kickoff. We got Hebrew Hammer rejoining as a YouTube member. I think he already was one, but he's back again. uh magno thank you for the five appreciate the support uh shout out asking the tough questions keep cooking that's right yeah keep uh keep grilling uh craig wives nico um and then uh rosalie hopefully i said that right thank you for the 10 appreciate the support we will keep we will get more production from bringing up you tsukunome as a roost snack backup then keeping moose as a backup for jordan That's a I'll have to think about that take I don't know my Yusuke Nome that well Other than that he ripped up MLS I like that take I will say this about Yusuke Nome
01:55:38
Speaker
I could almost bet that he will be ah on a first-team contract next season. um And that's with insight. I do think that there's already a pathway for him to be signed for next season as a first-team player. And as much as I've seen him perform in a very limited time frame with the Tacoma Defiance, including the Open Cup,
01:56:08
Speaker
the biggest praise I could give him is that first team players have all said that guy can play. That guy is good.
01:56:19
Speaker
Who stood out today out of the Tacoma guys? Yutsu Konomi. I've heard that from multiple players. And that to me is an immediate reason to be like that guy can, can have what it takes to perform. So, uh,
01:56:34
Speaker
i do I would be higher Tsukonomi than Danny Musovsky, but I think that's more of an indictment on how little I think of the possibilities of Musovsky having ah a second season than obviously an unproven player at the first team level like Yud Tsukonomi. But I hear great things, though. that's ah It's a great comment. I hear great, great things from everybody when it comes to him for sure.
01:57:00
Speaker
keep uh keep
Conclusion and Upcoming Matches Preview
01:57:01
Speaker
cooking me for the moose take chat keep cooking me for the moose take to your worst i'm i'm i'm still gonna be still gonna be fighting the fight uh all right uh that's gonna do it for this episode thank you all for uh tuning back in it was great to be back uh sorry we missed it yesterday but we went two hours for you all here oh it's a good show good show today Good show, good discourse. Looking forward to keeping the offseason discourse, the Moose debates, the Rothrock debates going. It's going to be some good stuff. And then MLS Cup on Saturday.
01:57:28
Speaker
Let's see if Inter-Miami, M&M, Messi, and Crash Out Barca boys can ah can get it done against the Whitecaps. It's going to be fun to watch. So we' I'll see you guys on Thursday.
01:57:41
Speaker
Until then, be out. Love y'all. Peace.