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Seattle Sounders trade Reed Baker-Whiting to Nashville SC!
396 Plays9 days ago
Seattle Sounders homegrown fullback Reed Baker-Whiting has been traded to Nashville SC in a cash-for-player trade (reported $800k plus add-ons). We'll analyze the move and the implications for Seattle's depth chart as we near the start of the 2026 season, and be joined by special guest Favian Renkel for some talk about the Sounders and MLS from a national perspective.
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00:01:45
Speaker
This episode of Lobbing Scorchers is sponsored by Full Pull Wines, a Seattle-based cellar. Not only are they a local company, but they've been supporting independent Seattle soccer media since 2011 and are run by Sounders fans. They offer the best boutique wines in the world to members of their mailing list with special focus on their home, the Pacific Northwest. Their model is simple.
00:02:04
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One, they email compelling offers. Two, you request bottles that sound appealing. Three, your wine arrives at their Soto warehouse and is ready for pickup or shipping. Their Soto tasting room is also open to the public. If you're interested in joining their mailing list or learning more about them, visit fullpullwines.com. 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.
00:02:42
Speaker
Well, sir, we got a scorcher today. Gonna be a real scorcher today. What the scorcher today? Well, it's gonna be scorcher.
00:03:05
Speaker
Good morning, everybody, and welcome to another episode of Lobbing Scorchers Kickoff. I'm Ari, that's Nico, and we got a big show for you all here this morning. We are officially in countdown mode to the start of the 2026 regular season for the Seattle Sounders. Last preseason game against Louisville City FC. At Long Acres yesterday, we were out there. We did a post-game show. But now there's real games coming up.
00:03:29
Speaker
Very exciting. And as we look ahead to real games, we got some real big news to talk about as well. It broke when we were streaming at Long Acres yesterday. Tom Bogart.
00:03:42
Speaker
Tom Bogert, Jeremiah O'Shann reporting, Reed Baker Whiting, RBW, off to Nashville SC in a cash-for-player trade, reported compensation of $800,000 plus incentives. We're going get the latest on that from Nico. We're going to give our takes on that trade and if we think it was good or bad. And then, hopefully, at some point, we're going to be joined by a special guest, Fabian Rankle of KickBase and The Athletic. I lined Fabian up to get on this show this morning, and...
00:04:10
Speaker
I was texting him beforehand. I said, brother, I sent you the link. And he said, okay, 8 p.m. And I was like, oh, that's on me, man. That's on me. It's at 8 a.m. m And he said he's going to start still try and hop on. And I think he will at some point. So we'll get Fabian on later and talk some MLS from a national perspective, get the national lens of the Seattle Sounders, hopefully. So a lot to get to. Nico,
00:04:34
Speaker
What's up, man? How you feeling? RBW trade season opener coming up on ah on Saturday. Exciting times. What's going on, man? Good, my friend. Well, I just want to clarify that it was Nico Moreno, of course, first to Jeremiah. And of course, me and Jeremiah work as a tandem, but it was Nico Moreno reporting there first. And then, of course, tom Tom there with the additional information in regards of the cash transfer, which is that that was a big deal. i was hoping to get that. Me and Jeremiah are working hard in the morning to try to get some details. But considering
00:05:12
Speaker
that Tom was probably chasing the same story. We decided to go with it. And yeah, it's a, it's a big one. We did our due diligence to confirm because it made sense to a certain degree. You know, the Chris little,
00:05:28
Speaker
um relationship to Nashville made sense. He knows and who Reed Baker Whiten is. He knows his potential. a lot of the interest probably drew from that area that he was a factor in in the interest for RBW. But we all know how much this...
00:05:49
Speaker
club really likes RBW and going into the season, although there is a lot of depth at winger and wingback fullback specifically is not necessarily no a lot of depth and,
00:06:04
Speaker
We have started to realize that Nuhu is here for the long run. i I so ive have been saying that he is a guy that because of his profile, because of the interest, he's definitely a guy that every single season I'm looking as a potential transfer. um And that has to do with that relationship that relationship and the Confidence that the club has shown for RBW. So when we started hearing.
00:06:35
Speaker
that that was a possibility. And i talked to my people in Nashville. And it sounded like it was a real deal. And we started kind of trying to figure out. Throughout the process of it. And I'm talking to J.O. We're both like, man, we got to make sure that we get this right. Because, you know, it it is kind of a.
00:06:50
Speaker
not out of left field, but at this particular moment in time, it has to be a really good offer or it has to be somewhere where, look, we, um I think all realized that going into the season, RBW we had no guaranteed minutes. And that has been where he's been at over the last couple of years, unfortunately, whether he has not been able to own and and earn a full-on starting spot, or he's been unfortunate with injuries and other things that have kept him from being part of this team consistently, he just never really...
00:07:32
Speaker
made a mark in a way that he was going to be a guy that was either getting consistent minutes or was a starter. So in that area, it made some sort of sense. It also, he's a great fit for BJ Callahan system. He's a great fit for Nashville for what they like to do. um So all in all to say,
00:07:52
Speaker
I think this is a good move for everybody involved. I think it's good for RBW to get a new team where he might have more consistent minutes, where there might be a more specific role.
00:08:03
Speaker
It's good for the Sounders because they ah finally these are starting to become a team that starts to –
00:08:12
Speaker
take advantage of their great academy and development system by at least earning some money. Now, the second part of this is still to be determined. What do they do with that money? Where do they put that money at back to the team? Is there replacement coming up to have depth for that position? Do you put it somewhere else? Do you trust Paul Arriola to be both fullback and wingback and replace completely what RBW did perhaps?
00:08:42
Speaker
I trust the coaching staff knowing what they have in the roster. I trust the talent evaluation and scouting of Sean Henderson. So all in all, I think this is a good move for the team.
00:08:56
Speaker
Yeah, let's let's get into this RBW discourse a little more because I think I actually i see some facets of it a little a little differently than that. So I think it'll be some good discussion. But ah before we get into that, everyone, please like the video and ah sub to the channel.
00:09:11
Speaker
The road to 3K YouTube subs for Lobbing Scorchers is very real at this point. We are just... four away from 2.9 the fine 2.9 which was also my grade point average in college right 2.9 and ah a hundred away from 3k so I know I know for a fact I know for a fact there at least four of you watching or listening to this right now they're not subbed to the channel if I could just get four of you to get us to that 2.9 we will be on our way to the 3k also ah
00:09:42
Speaker
Toss us a follow on Instagram. A lot of good stuff always going on on there. TikTok, Facebook, rate five stars, write us reviews, Lobbing Scorchers, hot sauce, lobbingscorchers.com slash sauce, all that good stuff. ah Yeah, RBW trade.
00:09:57
Speaker
ah So when this when this first broke, I think I was thinking a lot of the the same things you were. Like his role was not guaranteed. He never really broke through to the... extent that ah we hoped or thought he might at one point when he was coming up in the Sounders Academy. It's a good fit for Nashville. And if you look at the compensation, it's not total it's not dissimilar to what they got for guys like Danny Leyva and Josh Atencio. And I think we all were pretty much in favor of those moves. Josh Atencio, there wasn't a lot of backlash to that. To me, that was a move that he...
00:10:32
Speaker
It seemed pretty clear that he was pushing for it because he wanted to go somewhere where you get more minutes Danny Leiva gets to go to Nacoxa where he's absolutely balling out by the way But that was for a fee if I'm remembering correctly was that like a million to 1.2 with incentives for Danny Leiva or Yeah, it's it's under a million but with the possibility to go over to that 1.1 1.2. Yeah on incentive for depending on its sense of Yeah. for dany lefa So that's pretty much the exact same bag RBW. So, so all of that, I think ah that's what I was taking into account, but you know, I slept on it overnight and I thought about it a little more. And i definitely, I think there's a lot of merit to every, everything you were saying, but i don't know. I don't,
00:11:14
Speaker
I don't think i don't think i like it. I don't think I like it. I think it's too low. and And it's also, I think it's a different calculation when you're talking about guys like Josh Atencio and Danny Leyva because that position, you're so stacked. like The depth chart is really hard to break into at all for any homegrown midfielder or anybody playing that position in general. And you know you had Obed outgoing, but now you have Hassani Dotson in there. That area of the field, that's going be hard for...
00:11:39
Speaker
Anyone coming up who's not Snyder Brunel to break into but like you mentioned left back is not really in that situation you got new who as your starter but Now I kind of feel like it's like if he knew who can't go or has to rotate out or rest or whatever the case may be Who's your backup left back? It seems like it's the Paul Platoon, the Paul Areola, Paul Rothrock duo, which I was advocating at one point. I had a whole par Paul Areola for left back agenda. I wanted them to like try that, but I meant that as like experimental just to see what you had, not make him the primary. choice And i think I think that actually they're looking at Rothrock there probably. And I think that the Paul platoon could work to spot start or fill in at left back when you need to or when you who can't go. but they're But they're not natural left backs. it's that you're kind of You're playing them out of position. And so there's no guarantee that they're going to be able to do that at as high a level as you need, especially like, you know, i one of New Who's out for a couple weeks at some point. And then you got like two non-natural left back. I don't know. it makes me it just makes me a little uneasy, the depth behind New Who. So to me, it's like...
00:12:51
Speaker
i wouldn't have done this I wouldn't have done this unless it was for a pretty significantly bigger bag. I was guessing... I get i guess when we when we saw that the report broke live on our show, I was saying... i was guessing 1 to 1.5, which theyre there' they could end up getting 1. But ah I don't know. I just feel like with where the roster and the depth chart is at, I would rather have RBW than the than the eight hundred k i know that he...
00:13:20
Speaker
hasn't broken through and he hasn't gotten his regular minutes but i think he did show last year that when they need uh when they need someone to fill in at left back like they did in the league's cup final that knew who was suspended for famously rbw came in in there and he at least did a capable job and so you're just kind of you're sacrificing depth i guess for a bag that's like not that uh not that big i mean are those uh are those valid points or am i am i tripping that There is some validity to it. i just think that RBW's value has taken a hit because of lack of minutes. You could be a prospect all you want. And there was a time where you had European scouts come in and and there was almost a an expectation that RBW is going to break out and it's coming and it's coming and it's coming and it's coming.
00:14:14
Speaker
And it never came. And so that absolutely hits the value of it. So now you're, getting X amount, right? The 800. And then you're hoping that with those incentives, you pick up at least part of what that potential was at one point, but an opinions in regards to RBW and people being upset because they thought that at some point he'd go for 10 million. i mean, i was going to bring that up next. Yeah. i was going to, I feel like that's really, um,
00:14:48
Speaker
It's a stretch, you know, ah to to just to say the least. ah Ten million dollar players aren't just made and and it's very difficult. You just saw what Atletico paid for Ovid. You know, it's less than three million, you know, two point five. So you just got to take that into consideration. Now, in terms of the depth, I agree. You are taking a bit of a gamble. Yeah.
00:15:14
Speaker
you do have to understand that the system for the Sounders does need one of those fullbacks to be more of a stay home, more of a defender because of the way they, you know, Alex Rodan is going to push and then Newt was usually the guy in the States. So if Newt was unavailable, you – essentially one another, like let's say a Jonathan bell, when he was here, he'd be someone that you could be like, okay, he's going to stay home. He's going to give you some of those new who trades right now. You don't necessarily have that. Exactly. Can you teach, you know, I i love Polariola. I think Polariola is a guy that could absolutely demand, um,
00:15:54
Speaker
he's not He's not the biggest frame guy, but he demands respect because of the way he handles his defensive composure. like that The guy is defensively sound. yeah He knows how to cut off angles. He knows how to beat someone ah ah on ah on a 50-50 ball. he He understands the game, but he's definitely not a like for like to Nuhu. Now, neither was RBW, but he did have a little bit more of a bigger frame where you were hoping that he was going to be a guy that could do that.
00:16:24
Speaker
Now, statistically, which I'm not a stats guy. i don't I'm not about numbers. I'm about the eye test. But statistically, I had heard that when it came to defensive duels, when it came to um tracking back, when it came to those defensive roles, RBW wasn't necessarily off the charts. So to me, that also has to do with, well...
00:16:47
Speaker
Maybe Paul Arriola or Paul Rothrock can do some of the RBW stuff, and we don't need to necessarily go and find a replacement. However, in the summer window, you have a lot of flexibility to a couple of things.
00:17:04
Speaker
How are the pivots working? How are the guys that are supposed to be replacing players? obit working out and do i put those resources on fixing that or adding talent there or do i go get myself another debt piece for that left back position what i will say is that i wouldn't freak out necessarily well i think when you look at the whole thing you're saying new has been extremely durable new who is not a guy that really gets injured and that you're missing time other than maybe national play national team play you're not really losing him at all so you can go with what you have you can roll the dice and if and hopefully not let's knock on some wood right now there was to be a oh wow i just freaked out my dog what a dummy not a not a fan of the rbw trade very upset about the compensation
00:17:58
Speaker
Yes, exactly. i knocked I knocked on the table and he thinks is the door. That's what a terrible way to. Anyways, but going back to it, i do think that at the end of the day, there's enough in the roster to just hold it down until you realize or figure out what you need to do for that specific depth in the summer window or maybe in in January.
00:18:20
Speaker
Yeah, I don't hate the idea of the Paul platoon in theory. ah Again, I was the one who was advocating for Paul Areola left back and i know that they're giving Rothrock some look there. And I think that can work. We just don't know for like a fact if that is going to work. And again, i don't know. When I do the calculation in my mind, I'm i'm just like,
00:18:41
Speaker
I would rather have some more security at that position than I would 800K bag, which, you know, we'll see. I guess we'll see what they do with this kind of... They've accrued a kind of mini war chest over this offseason. That might be overstating it a little bit. But, you know, they did sell on Danny Leyva and Obed Vargas and now RBW. And you got to combine like a few mil.
00:19:07
Speaker
There so we'll see what they do with it But I guess it just makes me a little Uneasy about the depth of that position That's that's all I'm saying That's all I'm feeling right now And look there's a true concern from the audience And you know people have Either through X Or on Blue Sky Their biggest concern is that it feels like we're getting rid of a lot of players and aren't necessarily getting some back. And now that's a fair assessment. That's a fair look because you did lose Danny Leyva and you did lose all of these other players. And maybe what you brought in isn't exactly number-wise going the Sounders way. But i I do think that there are players involved.
00:19:48
Speaker
in the system that they really, really like. And so when it comes to a guy like Peter Kingston, that he does play right back, right? And yeah maybe he could play left back. ah He's a guy that I find very interesting Marbella. I thought that he was a more interesting player within his play, his dynamics, his motor, ah just the way he handles the,
00:20:15
Speaker
his roles than Petkovic. So to me, he's a guy that they're potentially looking at and saying, we might have to sign this guy or he might be a guy that could replace or or give us some depth there. So I know it's something that our audience hates to hear because they want new shiny toys and that's totally okay. But there are some players in this system that I think are going to be brought up. Tino Lopez is one of them. I think that you can only –
00:20:46
Speaker
put Alex Roldan at center back and Cody Baker at center back so many times. So I think I got like Tina Lopez is pushing to get a first team contract. I think Peter Kingston has done really interesting things to get an opportunity there. So yeah, I think you gotta keep that, you gotta take that into consideration when thinking about this move for RBW.
00:21:08
Speaker
Jake's asking, are we forgetting to ask if Reed asked for this trade himself? That is something that I was talking about on the show yesterday, but I will say on that, like my impression of it is that ah RBW is like Sounders till I die. Like he Danny Leyva and Josh Atencio, I think they probably were pushing for changes of scenery where they could get more minutes. I think Danny Leyva saw the opportunity to go to Liga and Mechie's team as a huge opportunity to kind of advance his career and go to a place where he would have a more prominent role. And so far it looks like that that's proving accurate. Like that's been a great move move for them. um Excuse me. Yeah. He's been on he's been so good for Nick Cox.
00:21:50
Speaker
I would argue that if you had told me going into the season, what player was going to have a bigger role, Between RBW and Danny Leyva, would have told you that Danny Leyva without a doubt, right? I thought that it was going to be a big season for him. I thought that he was the slot on guy immediately after Obed Bargues left. But like you mentioned, he saw the opportunity. I think that he has grown greatly by taking that leap of faith.
00:22:15
Speaker
we have a fantastic phenomenal exclusive with Danny lay, but, uh, that's coming up this week, uh, within the next day, if not today, within the next couple of days, we're going to be putting it out on Sandra ah hard. And we talk about that, you know, he, that the culture chalks, some of the things that he's learned, right. He had only been played from one team and one team only from the Academy to Tacoma to the first team, right. He's been one single club. Now he kind of changed that up. He,
00:22:43
Speaker
diversifies if you will a lot of the things that make him a soccer player so I think he's made a phenomenal phenomenal decision I think he's been really good for Nekaxa and Nekaxa is fun the watch he he looks like a different player I swear like he's like fast, athletic, flying around. like when When he was on the Sounders, he did a lot of really good stuff and they got good value out of him for the first team. But I think it was mostly as a a kind of tempo setter, string pulling, facilitator type player. I never really thought of him as like a cover a lot of ground and fly around type midfielder. And some of the stuff I'm seeing... ah
00:23:21
Speaker
from the cox and highlights i'm like who who is this guy what that but it's that's awesome to just to see you like that's what you want to see ah as you kind of sell these players on and you you want them you want them to have success at the next step in in their careers so you can go to the kids that are coming up and say see see this is what if you do what we coach you up to do and you are you apply yourself and you're committed to your role and you execute on the field, we're going to do right by you. We're going to send you to a big club if they're interested and you know you can really advance your career. Proof of concept. But ah we got our first super chat of the stream. Thank you, Tibbebe. I think that's think that's good pronunciation. Nico, how do you think Nuhu can stand up with a full season AFCON season World Cup?
00:24:12
Speaker
Um, that's a good question. I think that his ah
00:24:19
Speaker
fitness and his durability ah has been tested before and he has passed with flying colors. I think that i see a new who that has realized that this is his home. This is his, ah and it not like he didn't know that before, but I feel like when a player passes a certain age, they started realize, you know, maybe I'm not going to go to the next best thing, which, you know, being ambitious is always great. But when when you kind of realize that this is where you're going to be for a while, or you're going need to maybe step up in a leadership role, or you're just doing different types of things, I hate to use the word maturing, but but, you know, of growing.
00:25:09
Speaker
you become a different player. And I see a new who this camp ever since week one, that is taking things a little bit different. Not not as if he was ever a guy that was slouching when he came to training, but he just has been a lot more vocal and and a lot more of a leader. And you you just see him being different. And then when it comes to his play, I think that he's added a lot of things to his game as well, that I think he's going to do just fine. Um,
00:25:38
Speaker
Regardless of how much he gets called up throughout the ah FIFA breaks and and things of that nature, I think that he's going to be, I think he'll he'll do just fine. Hopefully this is not the year where something happens and and and now of a sudden, you know, you kind of jinxed it, but but he just hasn't had those issues. So I think that he is going to pass that with flying colors.
00:25:59
Speaker
New has quietly had a pretty good camp. He had that really nice assist against Hammerby. And then at the scrimmage against Louisville yesterday, it really felt like they were drilling the new who feeding Jordan Morris up the left flank kind of combination. And he was hitting some, some nice dimes. So, you know, I think the starting position at left back, you know it's, it's, it's covered, but he does have like you like you mentioned he has a lot of games coming up this year and he's been durable throughout his career but they're just with this RBW trade they're now in a situation where they're very heavily dependent on new who being as durable and as reliable in that way as he has been throughout his career which you know
00:26:40
Speaker
there's very little precedent to suggest that new who's going to miss a lot of time for anything except Cameroon duty, but you just, you just never know. And you want to be prepared and you want to have cover in these situations. And I just feel like they have a little bit of less, they have a little bit less of that, but Nico, let's, ah let's talk about some of the reaction to this RBW trade a little bit, because you know, I just said that I'm not the biggest fan of it. I think it's too low of a bag, but you know, I'm I'm crash out Chris over it. I get why they did it for all the reasons that you mentioned. And it's not, it's really not that different of a situation fundamentally than the moves that they made for Danny, with Danny Leyva and Josh Atencio, which no one seemed to have a problem with. So I was not really expecting blazing hot discourse.
00:27:24
Speaker
Over this, I figured there I figured there'd be a lot of people with valid concerns and maybe kind of feel how I feel like not a huge fan, but whatever. ah But what happened, Nico, was that. Well, so first of all, this was a very unpopular move in the USMNT bot community, which I I saw this. I went on Twitter, which was a mistake.
00:27:46
Speaker
But I saw this and I was like, oh yeah, I forgot that RBW is a with a former, I guess, USMNT bot guy, which for anyone anyone who doesn't know, a bot guy is a youth prospect that is highly touted by the USMNT bots with anonymous ah profile pictures. But ah I think the kind of bit with the bot guy is like they very clearly have never watched any of the players that they are talking about. And they're just absolutely firing on the Twitter timeline. And there was there was a lot of blazing hot.
00:28:21
Speaker
takes flying around about the RBW trade, which, so my first reaction to that was like, are we really, are we really doing this? Are we really crashing out over Reed Baker Whiting's interleague transfer to Nashville SC? Is that, is that really the, uh, the biggest thing that we've got to crash out about right now? But apparently it is. Uh, and,
00:28:40
Speaker
Specifically, the one of the bot leaders, there's like three or four accounts that I consider the the leaders of the bot army. And one of the leaders was really upset. And he was basically saying that RBW is this super highly touted prospect. And if they had just played their cards right with him, they could have got, and this is a direct quote. This is a direct quote. This is not me embellishing. He said, they could have got easily $10 million dollars for RBW, which I saw that and it's like...
00:29:09
Speaker
Okay. All right. You all are up here and I need you to take it down all the way down here with $10 million dollars for RBW. I get that he was very highly touted prospect at one point and that some of that prospect shine has worn off over the last couple of years in Seattle. This is not the type of bag, especially when he was first coming up that we all imagined him going for. And I also get that like the Obed bag was lower than a lot of people wanted to. So maybe there's a feeling of,
00:29:38
Speaker
oh man, like, Obed, first Obed goes for 3.5 instead of 10, and then RBW's going for like 800K, when at one point he was getting scouted by Manchester United and stuff. Like, it feels like we're getting shortchanged a little bit. i You know, I don't necessarily agree with all that, but I can see where that line of thought comes from.
00:29:55
Speaker
But ah this expanded, the $10 million dollars take expanded into like a broader take about how Seattle is actually trash at youth development, guys. They're actually trash. And people in Seattle are brainwashed and they have a way higher bust rate than I guess everyone else. And I don't know. I was kind of looking at this take and I was like, I think I realized like why i will never be on anywhere near a similar wavelength as these people, which is that like.
00:30:24
Speaker
He was touting ah Danny Leyva and Josh Atencio as like failures, as busts, as like examples of young players that they were bringing up that could have been these big time, big money transfers, but they missed out on. And I needless to say, don't really see it like that. I think Danny Leyva and Josh Atencio are actively good, like feathers in the cap of the Seattle Sounders youth development. Like, uh, One to $2 million dollar bag for a homegrown player is pretty good, first of all. But also, they got a lot first-team value out of Danny Leva. He played a lot of games for the club, a lot of minutes, and played pretty well at times. And when they were in situations where they had injuries, he was a guy that stepped up and filled in on numerous occasions. Not everyone needs to be Obed Vargas to provide value. Like...
00:31:13
Speaker
They got great value out of Danny Leva, I think. And they even got pretty good value out of Josh Atencio for the minutes that he did play. Like he looked pretty good in the games that he played for Seattle's first team. He just wanted an opportunity to go somewhere where he could take on a bigger role. And I think when you are a team with a roster like Seattle's, sometimes these homegrown kids aren't going to be able to break through and get minutes, even if they theoretically have earned not. deserved it. But it's also, it's just like, so ah if someone sees those as examples, like ironclad examples of busts and failures of development, I just am, I just, there's no, there's no common ground there, I guess, in how I i view the game or how I view youth development. And it's like, I was thinking about it as it relates to other transactions too. Like,
00:32:00
Speaker
I see the Jesus Ferreira trade as like an awesome move, like a great trade. One of the better interleague MLS trades, honestly, that I've seen in the last few years or ever, maybe like I'm a huge fan of a move like that where you can get a guy who's made best 11 on a non-DP deal. And then also when it turns out, like I thought he ended up being a really good fit stylistically with Seattle and he's becoming a really great sounder. So I see that move as like a total...
00:32:25
Speaker
banger success awesome move a lot of people see a move like bringing in jesus ferreira from inside mls as like an active active example of non-ambition and cutting corners and not like splashing basically and so they actually hold it up as like a bad thing that they got jesus ferreira and i just don't agree with that so i don't know like the 10 million dollars rbw crash out into 14k words posted over the course of an hour and a half about how Seattle's youth development is actually trash and they're all failures.
00:32:58
Speaker
ah I don't know. I just think it feels like an example of like, you know, how everything has got to be the most extreme take. Like you can't have you can't have any sort of nuance or take in the middle.
00:33:10
Speaker
A full on crash out like we witnessed from the bots over RBW going to Nashville. It's just, I think it's kind of an example of that. But, Nico, did you say see anything as far as the reaction to the move goes that ah caught your eye?
00:33:25
Speaker
ah That was the biggest one. And, look, I always say that opinions are like belly buttons. You know, we all have one, and you got to just kind of take it for what it is. But in those opinions, there are some that are very far-fetched. And a lot of that – Has to do, in my opinion, with just lack of knowledge. Lack of knowledge of how things work. Lack of knowledge of the intricacies of the league. Lack of knowledge of what...
00:33:49
Speaker
youth development is. And i think that's the biggest one, because there's there's different routes, right? There's different ways that you want your youth development to go. You know, you could be Dallas where you're putting young kids into European teams before even touching the the club or the first team. Or you could be like the Sounders where they do the opposite. They are trying to make a sustainable way for that youth development to feed your first team and give you ah a baseline and a foundation to your team. I think that's a phenomenal one because that's the way, you know, the big clubs do it. That's the way, you know, Barcelona used to do it. Just getting in all of these guys that would come out, play together, play for the club and eventually obviously move on to other, other teams. Now I'm not comparing the two. Please do not go and say that. I'm just saying that that sort of,
00:34:40
Speaker
ideology, that sort of a way of of using your development system, it there's plenty for you. So for someone to say that the Sounders are trash, it's just, again, um what I would call ignorance and not ignorance as an insult, but just as an adjective or just someone who just doesn't know enough about the the matter to really have an educated opinion on it. So The Danny Leyva move and the Josh Atencio move, to me, are perfectly good examples of how the Sounders have developed players. There's been a a true pipeline from the academy and their lower systems with, of course, the Tacoma Defiance as well being part of those tools that they're using to develop these players into full-on professionals. And Danny Leyva...
00:35:36
Speaker
it's the prime example because although I do wish that he would have got more time with the first team here, because I do think that he's a set piece specialist that the Sounders never really used. And although I do understand that there were certain...
00:35:52
Speaker
concerns about his dynamism and, ah you know, limitations physically. I think that he's, he worked on that so much last season that he did look like a different player, but he looked like a different player before even moving to the Cox because he really worked at it. So,
00:36:09
Speaker
for me, he is going to be one that will be just as telling as Obed Vargas, right? He's a different level, right? Obed playing in Atletico Madrid, in Europe, that sort of big name team is held at a completely different standard. But what Obed Danny Leavitt can do in Liga MX and the player he becomes I think it's also going to reflect How successful The development system for the Sounders is And he's already shown as a player that
00:36:41
Speaker
is a starter that he's played 90 minutes time and time again, that he's become a big part of that club. But what happens moving forward? i think that it's going to be an indictment on, on exactly how good or how ah poor, if those doubters are still out there, a development system really is. Right.
00:37:00
Speaker
I said a couple things from chat here. Wade says, Ari, only concern I see with this RBW trade is that we gave away a depth piece. i agree. That's also my main concern. Are there any signs that point to strengthening our defense?
00:37:12
Speaker
I mean, I think what the way they're going to approach it is sort of just assess how the team plays leading up to the next transfer window. Like, Nico, you referred to it as a checkpoint. I think that's a good way to think of it. like They're going to try and get to that checkpoint. And I think probably see if the Paul platoon can do this. I actually think I actually think it is a pretty good idea.
00:37:32
Speaker
It's just when you're playing guys out of position and you're having them play positions that they've never really played before. I think Paul Areola probably has played some left back in his career. I think he did do that a little bit. Yes. He doubt. So it's not like an entirely new thing for him. And I think maybe that's how they're thinking of it thinking of it, honestly. Like the Paul Platoon, they probably think the Paul Platoon is a better secondary option than having RBW just be the guy for all those minutes.
00:37:59
Speaker
Are they right about that? I mean, time will tell. But if I had to theorize on how they're thinking of it, to me it seems pretty clear that they think that they already have the cover that they need at that position.
00:38:11
Speaker
I don't know if I see that the same way looking at the roster, but they're the ones who are looking at training every day and see how and they they see how this actually works when they're running it in practice. So ah and I also I literally I specifically advocated for Paul Ariella playing left back. So I think it's something that can be done, but I don't know. I think they're going to they're going to I think they're going to see how it plays and then evaluate whether they need to go out and get reinforcements.
00:38:36
Speaker
at that spot but until then it's the uh it's the Paul Platoon show or move up the Peter Kingstons and the opuses right and you know may the best man win in those competitions uh Kyle says we should probably stop caring about what the USMNT area think about literally anything let alone the Seattle Sounders very true very alive fair point and I usually do Kyle I usually do but uh apparently I gotta to turn my mic down hopefully that's better sorry guys um Usually, usually i do ignore what the USMNT bots think about ah about the Seattle Sounders, but this was just such blazing hot discourse. Like $10 million dollar crash out over RBW? I had to talk about it. I had to talk about it. Okay, audio is still bad. I'm going to keep ah just trying to adjust that. and Yeah, that's but but that's what we hear. I mean, I always tell people this, for better or for worse, ah what we try to provide is an insider look at how things really work. And when there is you know outrageous claims such as there should have a $10 million dollars offer for people,
00:39:46
Speaker
you know, read Baker White, and, you know, we we do kind of have to comment on it. So there's a better idea on how things work. I think our audience, and I think those that are Sounder Aja readers and and some of that community that's really involved with the Sounders community, it's very well-trained.
00:40:04
Speaker
um educated on exactly where things are at. But, you know, there's times where there is, it is always a positive to bring in some clarification ah to to the matter. And again, I'm totally okay with people being upset, right? ah Because you you have kind of heard and you had some pre-assumptions of where you thought that Rebaker Whiting could go at some point. Look, I remember talking to a player from Botafogo and he had seen the, um, Athletico game and he was like, Hey, who's that left back that he was going to toe with, uh, Simeon, his son. And I was like, Oh, you know, he's a Rebaker Whiting and, you know, he's got this frame and nodada all these things. But then afterwards, uh,
00:40:51
Speaker
I forgot if it was some pains and aches or just ah injury. or he he was out. like I don't know if it was the next game, but a couple of games thereafter. And that was Reid's biggest problem. and And I'm hoping that he can figure that out, that he can take that load of consistent minutes because I do feel like he's a very, very, very talented kid.
00:41:13
Speaker
He just needs to get there. He needs to be able to be consistent in order to really break through. Sounders EBFG. Thank you so much for the five. Appreciate the support. I had Sounders deaf doing a repeat of 2024 stats. Then the RBW trade happened on top of Obed leaving. It's been a, it's been a, ah there's been a lot of outgoings this off season, Nico. And I think that's actually a good segue. Well, actually, okay, what I wanted to talk about real quick before we get into the other topic, what do you think of this from a Nashville perspective, Matt Nashville's perspective? Because I feel like they're kind of cooking this offseason. They were the team, they were the Espinoza team. They went out and got Christian Espinoza, who I think that is, that was really the number one perfect fit for Christian Espinoza in terms of team he could go to that needed his exact skill set. So they cooked on that. And now they got RBW for what I think is a relatively, uh,
00:42:07
Speaker
friendly bag of 800k plus add-ons and there's they're they're gambling on upside that hasn't necessarily been achieved yet but man like what if it what if it does what if he does turn out to just totally break out for them then that would be a huge move for them and that's also another reason why i wasn't a huge fan of the of the move to begin with is because if if you got like a bag that you really, really couldn't pass up, like say it was like two or 2.5 or three million dollars, then if you transfer him out and he breaks out, then you can at least save face a little bit by saying like, whoa, I mean, look at the bag we got offered. It was a huge bag. No one in their right mind would have passed up that bag. So yeah, it sucks that he broke out for someone else, but we kind of did what we had what we felt we had to do in that situation. I think for the bag that they ended up getting, if RBW goes to Nashville and breaks out and is like a big time contributor for them and starts getting USMNT caps and all that, maybe he even starts getting the overseas attention again that he once did.
00:43:07
Speaker
Then I think people are going to rightfully look back at it and be like, yo, why did you guys do that for that low of a bag? So that's sort of another concern that I have with it. But what do you, how do you think he's going to do on Nashville? Like, what do you make of the fit?
00:43:24
Speaker
I think he's a good fit. I don't know if he's a started right off the bat. I think he's going to have to earn that. I do think that there is a possibility that he has a clearer role as, as a left back for, for Nashville.
00:43:43
Speaker
Um, But I like the fit. I think that he is what BJ Callahan looks for on a wide player. And if anyone understands maybe how to get the best out of RBW, it's Chris Little. So both of those aspects of that that coaching staff, to me, leads me to believe that he's going to have consistent minutes, at least as a contributor, as a rotational contributor.
00:44:13
Speaker
Do I think he's going to break out for Nashville? I don't. i Not right now. just There just isn't enough of what he's shown me in his time in Seattle to say that he's going to have like a breakout season right off the bat. I think that he could work himself there maybe in in the next couple of years, maybe next year. But I do think that he's going to have significant minutes and more minutes that he would have had here.
00:44:43
Speaker
Yeah, I'm rooting for him. I'm rooting for him to take on a bigger role and really get his get his career going because I do still believe that he has ah a lot of potential and he he's shown that. he's ah He's a great raw athlete. He does a lot of fun stuff in attack, especially like when he's playing fullback. I think there's a lot of potential for how he plays that position as sort of the modern style. So we'll see what happens. We got another person asking, do you know if Reid was pushing for the trade initially or are we shopping him around the league? I I don't I mean, I don't I don't know anything for like a total fact But I don't think he was it was this Josh attention or Danny Leva situation where he was pushing for it like and that's that is kind of the sad thing about it is I think that he like he loves this club He loves the city he came up here and he really he really saw himself as a sounder So that is that is a sad element of it. It is part of the game sometimes that stuff does happen so Yeah, as as far as I know, it was just Nashville with the interest, and they initiated the move. So that tells me that he wasn't pushing for it necessarily. um
00:45:50
Speaker
i do think that there was maybe a part of him that, looking at his age and where he's been, he probably wants more minutes, and he was more than okay with – going somewhere else, but I don't think that he was the one that was forcing his way out.
00:46:12
Speaker
ah Nico, let's talk about this a little bit, I guess, as it pertains to Seattle's offseason as a whole, because I feel like this kind of ties off all the all the movement that we're seeing before the start of the regular season. You got Danny Leva outgoing. You got Obed Vargas, big-time transfer to Atletico. You got RBW outgoing, and then you know we all know the incomings. ah They filled the U22 with a gigantic, awesome blockbuster.
00:46:36
Speaker
i'm I'm just kidding. I'm just kidding. It's not actually a huge blockbuster. like that, Ari. Sorry. Sorry. Sorry. ah They filled the U-22. They went out and signed Hassani Dotson. There's a couple other moves that probably... Those are, the I think, the biggest ones. what do you What do you think of the offseason? I think that...
00:46:56
Speaker
with Danny Leyva and Obed. Well, Danny Leyva, I think most people were in favor of that, ah mostly for him in his career to go to a place where he's now playing. With Obed, there was so lot there's a fair amount of consternation about how the fee, you know, we talked about him as a $10 million, $10 plus million dollar player. They end up getting three, five, but he does get to go to his dream club and they did avoid the situation of him playing out his contract and leaving on a free. So there's that. And then you got this RBW trade, which, you know, I said I'm not the biggest fan of, but they do get $800K bag. what do you What do you make of how they kind of approach this offseason and then like where the roster stands as we get set to get the 2026 campaign underway here?
00:47:40
Speaker
I like where the roster's at. I have been telling everyone that this was going to be the case. This wasn't a big year for the Sounders in terms of moves. It was never going to be.
00:47:51
Speaker
They understand that what made them a significantly, not just competitive, but but a team that turned a lot of heads in 2025, both at the Club World Cup, Leagues Cup, and in league play specifically after the midterm, like you know June and going on after, was the collective play.
00:48:16
Speaker
And it was the versatility and it was – I'm not going to take away from certain individuals like Pedro de la Vega just breaking through and um a lot of what Danny Mussofsky did in ah in a year where he just blew up.
00:48:32
Speaker
So they wanted to build on that. And that is totally fair because continuity out of a season where you just had your best scoring output, where you had your best offense, where you won a title, it's valid.
00:48:50
Speaker
And when I look at this roster, that's exactly what I see now. It depends on how you look at the offseason. If you ask me, hey, Nico, do you think that the Sounders did a phenomenal job at getting better with the transfer market and and and in the offseason? I tell you, not necessarily. you know I think they did a good job at keeping it right where it was right and making sure that if Ovid was leaving, that you had a collective group of players that was going to Try to replicate aspects of his game If you were to tell me That this team Was Maybe bleak or boring Or or not ambitious When he comes to When he came to this offseason I wouldn't disagree with The most returning most returning Minutes from last year Of any team in the league I think it is the stat Exactly, so and so so that's where I'm going
00:49:48
Speaker
But then when you look at what you have available, some of the guys that you brought up last season, and I'll repeat something that I said on Friday that I know is incredibly triggering for a lot of our audience, and that's fine.
00:50:04
Speaker
When you have a guy like Osasio De Rosario that you picked up late in the season, or you know and you brought him up, and he became a guy that you saw a lot of potential.
00:50:18
Speaker
that now is killing it in the preseason, he's kind of ah an acquisition. mean And I don't want to sit here like, you know, Craig and say, hey, well, I'm glad we didn't all get a U22 because now we got a U22. But the reason why I brought that up and what we learned this week with Jeremiah Shan was because Toronto just got one of the targets that...
00:50:43
Speaker
was on my list that the Sounders were watching closely. Emilio Aristizabal ends up going on loan to Toronto, And his profile of player is very similar to Rosace. He's the big guy. You know, he's at 6'3 on paper, which I don't know if he's 6'3 for real. I think he's more like six one But he plays big. He is a a box scorer. He could pivot. He can hold up. He could do a lot of the things that Rosace is doing now, right? I would say that Rosace maybe hasn't even an edge in terms of the explosiveness in some of the –
00:51:20
Speaker
speed and pace part of of the game. Now, Emilio is a guy that he'll score out of absolutely anywhere, and I love i loved him. I really thought that he was going to be a good player for the Sounders if they were to you know go and get him. But you have to take Osas de Rosario as a guy that...
00:51:36
Speaker
for the purposes of your season, he could be an acquisition. I mean, right now he's pushing Jordan out wide, and that's a good thing, right? If a guy is playing good enough that he is putting that that nine, who we all thought was going to be the nine for the team, to to play out wide, that that those are good problems to have. You're looking at Snyder's second season. You're looking at Kalani's second season. You know, there is – A potential that Jordan Morris is Completely healthy this season And I know that you're trying to go off Of the best possible book scenario And you're like, oh, but you're saying a lot of what ifs Well, yeah, you look, that that's
00:52:13
Speaker
That's soccer. no, and that's soccer. I mean, you you could go ahead and bring in you know, Messi's already hurt. Or, you know, you can go out there and and get um a guy like Timo Werner. He could get hurt. I mean, that's what ifs happen to all of it. But when it comes to the roster, I just think that The team didn't need to do a lot because there was a lot of indications that this team and certain players were going to have a better season than last year. I think Jesus is going to have a better year. I think Albert's going to have a better year. I think Jordan's going to have a way better year. So when you put all those things on paper, it makes you think that this team is going to be good. And continuity and collective and cohesive play, man, that goes long ways. especially when it comes to short tournaments, especially when it comes to the start of the season. So in order to answer the question, I had to go long, but I am very happy with the roster. I think that this team, can they improve in certain areas? Absolutely. Is there going to be a big summer window checkpoint? As I've mentioned, absolutely. We got to figure out where –
00:53:23
Speaker
these players are at. We've would only been able to see Hassani in preseason games. We've only been able to see Hassani in the training grounds. Where is he at halfway through season? That's going to be the big question. I'm not high on Nikola Petrovic, but what if he does play well? What if he is a guy that you can count on? What if he is a guy that you are thinking about purchasing next season? So all of those things, I think, put Seattle in a good position.
00:53:51
Speaker
advantageous position where you have a group with a high floor and you're trying to figure out how high that ceiling can be midway through the season. On the topic of returning players kind of acting like new signings or Osase kind of being functionally like a new signing, Paul Areola, I think you could throw in that ah and that category as well. He barely played last year. We have yet to see the type of impact he can have on this team. I know he's on the wrong side of 30 and he's coming off a torn ACL, but I've watched a lot of
00:54:21
Speaker
Paul areola in his career to to know the type of player that he can be, especially in in Major League Soccer. So I'm i'm high on the impact that he can have as well. And then the Osase thing, matt Max, Max is saying it in chat. This is going to be a very unpopular take, Max. That's why I'm going to put it it, put it up here. Max is saying it, not me. If we brought in a foreign U22, that was a carbon copy of Osase. Everyone would be singing Craig's praises. Yeah, that's and that's kind of the type of stuff that we always try to point out, which is that if you're getting the if you're getting the production that you are would be trying to get from U22 or signing, and you already have it, who cares who's scoring the goals? So...
00:55:02
Speaker
yeah And that's exactly why I brought the Emilio Aristizabal take, right? Because, right, he's this Colombian U-20 that, you know, you look he's the son, very similar to Osase. He's the son of a Colombian legend. And, you know, Osase is the son of an MLS legend. So...
00:55:21
Speaker
I'm going to really look at those numbers side to side and see how things play out because I think Osase was more productive than you know some acquisitions last season. And he came in you know later, right? And he did some really good things for Seattle. So we'll see where that goes. But i totally agree with what the comments are. Yes.
00:55:39
Speaker
Wow. Sorry, I'm feeling a little under the weather this morning. I've been trying to fight it off, but it's kind of mine like coughing and stuff. So I'm going to try and power through the ah the rest of this one. Appreciate you all bearing with me. As we hit the home stretch of the show here, if you could please like the video. There was not enough likes for my taste earlier.
00:55:57
Speaker
yeah and and Ari, look. Just to put it in perspective for everybody And I was hoping that Fabian would ah Be part of the show today because I i have some questions like him We'll get him back on There was some sort of disconnect where he he did not get What time or day the show was there's some That's on me, we'll get five ranks On here But but this is the reality Was it more exciting Was it a more exciting offseason for San Jose than for Seattle? Absolutely. With Timo Werner. I mean, it's amazing. It's great. It's lovely. Get all of the the marketing and put him all over the city. And, you know, that's great. It's a great, huge player for the fan base. But you look at that roster and you look what they did in the offseason. And that's
00:56:40
Speaker
They're a losing team in the offseason, if you ask me. You can't just go off of one player, lose as many players as you did this offseason and hope that one player just fills it all in. i would even go back to Pellegrino last year, losing Pellegrino for absolutely nothing to San Diego, losing Cristiano Arango, losing Cristiano Espinosa, Pellegrino.
00:57:01
Speaker
I mean, Christian Arango, Chichico Arango, all of these players that you lost, you have not replaced. And right now, what's going to be Werner and Judd up top? I mean, come on. i mean just So those are the things, right? You look at Portland. They didn't do a lot, and they lost some players. Cabezita Rodriguez gone, right? So... ah Portland's another team that, you know, they haven't done much. I look at New York City FC, lost a whole lot, haven't done much. I look at Sporting Kansas City, it's an S show. I mean, you know, all of these things where...
00:57:35
Speaker
people don't realize how good sometimes it is to just have a team that's ready to go. that You can absolutely tell, look, this is where we're going to be at, right? And so I think that the line between three and six for this team in the Western Conference is not exciting, but it's ah it's it's a high floor. And I'm not saying that that should be the expectation because I love that guy. People are like, no, expectation should be third or or or whatever. And I agree with Jeremiah that it's not even the standings, but how far you go in the playoffs, that's totally true too. But I just think that when you look at this roster and we look at off seasons, you should be looking at the entirety of the roster and what that's going to look like in game one all the way through the halfway through the season rather than you know how much noise you made.
00:58:22
Speaker
Sounders EBFG is asking by the way is pekovich injured didn't see him play Not to my knowledge, but Nico. Do you know anything on his health status? Well ah apparently you guys didn't get to see the second game So I do not know throughout the week he was playing he did not seem to have an injury He was not off to decide he was full-on training so unless he picked up a An injury right before the game?
00:58:50
Speaker
um i don't think so. ah Because like I said, on on Friday when we were there, he was practicing normal. um So, yeah, I don't know if that's the case. I think he did play in the second game, and they scored five goals and 5-0'd Louisville City FC's second team, which, you know,
00:59:10
Speaker
Don't know how much to read into that, but they did. They did have a good performance. Georgie got a goal. Pete, Pete Kingston got a goal. I think we know that much. So it was a good, it was a much better performance from that lineup than they got in Marbella, but that was also on a mud pitch. So who knows what to make of that? Nico, I did want to get your take on this whole Osase thing a little bit. I mean, he's been ripping it up all preseason already to the point where when I went to Long Acres yesterday,
00:59:39
Speaker
the way I was thinking of it was like, Oh, Saz it looks like he's going to be in the starting 11 for the regular season opener against the Colorado Rapids in a few days here. But, you know, you never, you never know if that is like him being a starter in preseason is evidence of that, or if it's just something they're really trying to run. And then they're going to go back to the four, two, three, one with Jordan up top when the season actually starts. But,
01:00:04
Speaker
I just think that he has played his way into the starting 11, like without a shadow of a doubt. I don't see how you could not at least try giving him the starting role there at the beginning of the season. And you can always mix and match and rotate as needed. But I mean, this guy, he absolutely dominated the game yesterday.
01:00:23
Speaker
Again, a drawn penalty and two more goals. And really it's even outside of the stat sheet production he's had in preseason. He's just also, ah Really, he's a physical load. He's making great runs. The way he's combining with everyone has been excellent. Did did you did you see this coming? Because to me, it's for him to be looking this good, it's a little out of left field. Did you see it coming? And also, do you think that this is just like who he is now and he's going to be this type of player when the season starts? Because if he is, mean, that has a lot of implications.
01:00:56
Speaker
I did not see him pushing for a starting position. I saw him improving and sharpening a lot of the things that we saw as a learning curve last season. And he's done it well. And right from the very beginning, right from the first week of training, 2026, where we were there, he looked like a different player. He looked like a guy that was perfect.
01:01:23
Speaker
even either working all off season on the the physical part, the tactical part, the technical part, but he just looked like a different player, man. And he was putting, he was putting balls from everywhere on the field, short, mid range. He was bringing down the ball. He was shouldering guys off the ball. I mean, he just looked like a different player. So I saw the,
01:01:48
Speaker
It wasn't a surprise that he was a guy that was going to be a lot better than last season, but it is absolutely surprising that he was so good that he is right now asking, almost earning himself a spot in the starting 11 for Brian Smetzer. To the point that how the team looks might start with...
01:02:11
Speaker
Is Osase playing? Because if Osase is playing, then immediately you're going to have to push Jordan out to the right. You're going to have to figure out exactly ah the way that you want to play the game. what Who's going to be the odd man out? Is it going to be ah Paul Rothrock? Who's going to be the guy that's not going to be able to come in? Because you have Herrera and you have Albert Rusnak. So it's all going to start with...
01:02:35
Speaker
Osase. If Jordan plays up top, then you know it's a lot easier to just slot certain guys in, but he makes it difficult for that attacking third to figure out who's the guy in, guy out. And I only say that because Pedro De La Vega will be coming back. And Pedro De La Vega is a guy that you need to get on the field, right? So those are the questions that Osase is forcing right now. What are we going to do when Pedro comes back and Osase is playing as well? So to me,
01:03:03
Speaker
It has been a pleasant surprise to see how good he's been, but I did expect him to have a ah better year than last season. It looks like we have official goal scorers for that second game. Petkovic was one of them, apparently. it was Sebastian Gomez, Rothrock got one, Georgie got one, Petkovic got one, and Pete got one. That's honestly kind of a who's who of guys that I would i love to see score goals. Sebastian Gomez, ah you know, i i still don't know. all Like I haven't watched him play all that much, but everything I've heard is that he he's excited. Like the thing I keep hearing about him is that he's got this like flair and kind of swag and juice that he plays with. I think this team could use some of that. So that's just exciting to hear that he's a player of that ilk. And I'm looking forward to seeing what that's all about.
01:03:49
Speaker
Obviously, Paul Rothrock heavily pro Paul Rothrock, pro Paul Rothrock show. over here uh it's good to see georgie getting on the score sheet uh it's good to see petkovich getting on the score sheet and then we'll we'll see what happens with with pete do you think pete's gonna make the team i feel like he's kind of making a pretty good pretty good case yes i i think he is i think he's a guy that willll list we'll Will at some point get get on the team. ah and And mainly because of his versatility as well. It's not just his play, but Brian loves versatile players and he is definitely versatile. So um I think out of that bunch, Georgie is the one that catches my attention the most because Georgie is,
01:04:36
Speaker
is a player that going into this season, I was excited to see. i thought that going into his national team and having the sort of influence that he had on that team and having to get ready for a competition of that level was going to give him an edge going into this season across the The positional battle But right now he's On the outside looking in And i think that there's part of his game That's demanding him More minutes And it's going to be a real the cut Puzzle to figure out how to put him in and And to the point where Look I think in the summer I think Georgie could be gone If there's a good offer for Georgie And he's played enough I think he's out of here
01:05:26
Speaker
I was going to ask you that and that next because we we know that they got an offer, correct, from Hammerby of like a million dollars or so. I'm really glad that they didn't take that. I think that there's ah still a lot of potential that Georgie could show himself to be worth a lot more than that if he gets enough minutes this year, which we'll see if that happens. ah But I guess, how do you kind of how do you kind of see that that situation? like Because the way I see it is if they don't give him enough minutes to show that he is worth more than what Hammer be,
01:05:57
Speaker
offered for him, then they're probably they're probably not going to get significantly more than that offer, even in the in the next window, because it'll kind of be this unknown commodity still. Whereas I just hope that they get an enough minutes for him to make the actual evaluation, because you know I know that ah underlying metrics and numbers, some people don't like them, and that they're not guaranteed to extrapolate. They only mean so much much until you actually see the player get more minutes. But I mean, all the stuff that's come out about Georgie, like dating back to last year, but also over the off season where all the nerds are like, this guy could be incredible. He would put up this, this, this, and this, if he played this many minutes and all that stuff.
01:06:39
Speaker
I, I, I don't know how accurate all that is, but I want to I want to find out because I do think there is ah pretty, there's a pretty growing degree of evidence, especially from what we launched last year that he actually can be.
01:06:52
Speaker
that type of player and we don't know that yet and if they do find that out then you could get a huge bag for him it's also like if he plays well enough to get really good offers then that probably means he's playing so well that he's helping the sounders a lot right so uh what do you where do you kind of size up that whole situation as it stands right now and where it could like leading into the next window i mean i just i think it's difficult man i really do think it's difficult because I think we all like Georgie on the left side.
01:07:23
Speaker
Paul Rothrock is a guy that is going to demand minutes there. You got now the necessity almost of adding Jordan to the left side.
01:07:35
Speaker
But this is the way I see at working out. i I think that there has to be a couple of games this season where George is the starter and you figure out exactly what he could provide on that left wing. Maybe you even put him on the right side if need be, right? I mean, I understand that what...
01:07:54
Speaker
makes this system work is having a guy like Ferreira that tucks inside and is just another playmaker, more of a pocket winger. But you just have to see what Giorgio can provide because he has all the goods. Look, Giorgio is a guy that continues to grow, continues to develop. He's an exciting player. There's no better 1v1 attacker right now for this team. Nobody's beating you off the dribble the way he Even De La Vega, who's excellent at that, I would put Georgie's ability to just win these 1v1s and totally eliminate defenders above even De La Vega.
01:08:27
Speaker
like oh Yeah, that's a that's true. That's true. i maybe Maybe by a half, maybe I might put Georgie. Just because he's so difficult to to defend. um He has such an unorthodox way of going at you. it Sometimes is not as clear-cut. And sometimes that...
01:08:47
Speaker
The fact that he's not as sharp sometimes in his movements, the the way Pedro is, it's even harder to to defend. And at times he'll just get you with that physicality and that explosiveness that he has. I think he's more explosive than Pedro de la Vega. And maybe that's what gives him that slats a slight edge. Now, obviously, Pedro is more of a finished product, but... In the 1v1 category, I would say that Georgie maybe is slightly better than than Pedro. but But you got to see what you're going to get out of Georgie Manungu because he's too talented, too strong, and is getting too much attention for you to just sit him on the bench too long. So I'm excited to see him play, but I think he has put himself in a situation where –
01:09:30
Speaker
Even through his work rate in training. Because, look, Brian's not going to give anybody minutes if they don't deserve it. And I love that about Brian. You better be able to come in here and show me that you won these minutes. And I think Georgie will.
01:09:43
Speaker
But I do want to see a couple of games where Georgie is a starter. Just to see what you get out of him. Yeah, totally agreed. Kyle says Georgie played like a thousand minute minutes last year, man. Like, yeah, but...
01:09:54
Speaker
I don't know. never i thought it was more like 800 for some reason. yeah i think it was I think it was in the vicinity of 1,000. But like I think sometimes like the minute the total minutes number can be a little misleading. like If it's a situation where they're only in spot duty or only in kind of super sub duty, that's just...
01:10:12
Speaker
Sometimes you can get a pretty good evaluation off a player like that. But in this situation, I feel like we still, we still didn't get the type of evaluation that you need to know exactly what type of asset you have in the player. So I don't know that that's, that's one where I'm just, I'm very hopeful that he'll, I just want to know, I just want to know one way or the other. I think there are going to be situations where they can start them out there, especially because De La Vega is not going to be back till like,
01:10:40
Speaker
April, right? Or April or May. So there should theoretically be more minutes floating around at that spot on the field than there would be otherwise, even though it is one of the most stacked positions on the team. ah But hopefully they either find out that he is actually the cutback pass God and becomes a 15 plus assist guy for the Seattle Sounders, God willing. Or if not, he still shows himself to be good enough to merit a a hefty transfer somewhere else where we can see if he can become a star player. But that is, that is going to be, that's probably the most like volatile stock right now. you could probably, uh, you could put Petkovic in that discussion as far as like range of outcomes and uncertainty and not knowing, but like Georgie, it just, it just feels like the upside is still, which we've been talking about for years. I get that, but like the upside is still very, very high.
01:11:30
Speaker
ah And but like it also could be a situation where he doesn't he never ends up being a key contributor for the first team. And they also never end up using him for a back. And and the difference is that you want to see him with with the A team. I mean, ah for lack of a better word, a Brown probably jump over this table if you heard me say 18. But ah ah the I think you want to see him with certain starters as well. Just going off of.
01:11:55
Speaker
the MLS pitch, which not everybody loves. And this is, I think it is this is just MLS play. Georgie only started six games last season and played 713 minutes. Pretty sure this is not all comms, but you want to see that maybe rise for sure for Georgie. ah Again, nothing's given. He's going to have to earn it, but I just find him so interesting.
01:12:20
Speaker
That he would need to assess where he's at. And then if you were not going to use him, then you absolutely have to move him on for for his sake and for, you know, purposes of hopefully the Sounders figuring out that they have a pretty nice budget and they're going to have to bolster certain places in that roster as well.
01:12:40
Speaker
Nico, just a few minutes left to go here and then we can call it a wrap for this episode of Lobbing Scorchers Kickoff. ah I mean, we can kind of we can kind of go wherever at the end here. You got anything on your mind, either Seattle Sounders wise or league wide? I mean, season opener coming up against the Colorado Rapids this weekend and then they're not at home for like over a month.
01:13:00
Speaker
after that how while they install grass at lumen field so that's i'm kind of back i was looking at the schedule and looking at how long of a road trip they're gonna have after this home opener this weekend it's gonna be tough man it's gonna be a gauntlet like you're they're gonna be traveling a lot they're playing a ccc game in spokane uh they are not gonna be playing a home game for over a month after this this Rapids game. When they get back, they have a few in a row and it'll be on grass. So that's kind of cool. But like, I think even with the bye in CCC, this is lining up to be a pretty tough start to the season. So that's kind of what I was thinking about this morning, just looking at that, like, man,
01:13:43
Speaker
that is they're They're going to be up against it, but in a way, i don't think that's the worst thing to start the season because if it doesn't go that well, ah you got a lot of time to to recover and get right. But also, I really think, man, like if this roster is as deep as we think it is and as deep as it showed to be at times last year where it almost it almost felt like They had a lot of injuries last year and they were just able to withstand it and still take results anyway. And it was pretty impressive. So they showed that they're the the type of team at the level that can do stuff like that. And this is going to be like one of the ultimate tests. A huge road trip like this against some good teams. You got a CCC game in there. that if you If you have the depth that we think that they have,
01:14:30
Speaker
they should be able to to tackle that gauntlet and come out of it. You know, I'm not expecting him to take a dub every single one of those. There might be an L in there. There's probably going be a couple of draws in there, but you should be able, you should be able to get out of that gauntlet in like good shape to tackle tackle the rest of the season and not be in like a crazy hole or anything. So that was sort of, that was sort of my, ah my thought for the morning, just on how,
01:14:58
Speaker
difficult this schedule to start the season is and how well they're set up to ah tackle that. I feel like they're set up to tackle it pretty well, but we're not going to know until these games get started. So, I mean, yeah, what do what do you think ah the start of the season coming up here?
01:15:13
Speaker
Yeah, look, I like the way set up the calendar for the Sounders and other unpopular players. comment or opinion, but anytime that you have a playoff-based system, it's not how you start, it's how you finish. And I'm sure that Brian's going to want to hit the floor running, but I'd rather have those home games later in the season than than to start it off. That is going to pay off. That's going to pay off.
01:15:38
Speaker
So I feel like that's that that's good. i don't I don't mind that at all. I think that Seattle did a good job at once again making – their home place of fortitude and somewhere where they were going to win games. I think that that's going to continue. But what I will say is that the Colorado game presents a very good up, a very good bar, right?
01:16:00
Speaker
bar about where the team is at to start off. Because I'm hearing some really good things about Colorado. It sounds like Navarro is doing great. They just came off beating Orlando, I think, 4-1 in their last preseason game. He got two buckets, ah two goals. Yappie,
01:16:19
Speaker
Aaron said that they have some really good attackers. So that's really gonna set the framework for where the Sounders are and what they need to fix going into the season.
01:16:32
Speaker
Everyone, absolutely everyone from Christian to Brian, Job one is fixing the the the defense and not conceding goals, not conceding set pieces. So ah Colorado is going to give you a real nice baseline of what you were able to do, how good the Marbella preseason or European preseason was. Brian asked me, he said, give me five games to figure out whether – we did a good job or not.
01:16:58
Speaker
Game one is going to be ah a very good breakdown of where this team is at because, you know, there's a lot of people who thought that Chris Armas was the problem in Colorado and that this roster was a lot better than it was compared to the record.
01:17:13
Speaker
ah So I would agree, at least on on on the offensive end, that they're theyre they're a team that could be, you know, dangerous on the attack. So Seattle gets a ah really good test to start off the season.
01:17:25
Speaker
Yeah, Rafa rafa Navarro, a pretty good MLS striker. And, you know, from from that, it sounds like he's on his Osase game for them during preseason. yeah they They got a new coach as well, Matt Wells, who I know very little about. i was getting kind of Rick Ramsey vibes from him, but, you know, I'm not going to put that on him.
01:17:45
Speaker
Just yet. I'm going wait to see how the Colorado Rapids play. We're going to get a look at them this weekend, which is exciting. I mean, I can't believe the games are finally here. We can stop talking about preseason. We can stop talking about the offseason. I enjoy the first like month of offseason content. And then by month two of offseason content, I'm like, all right, let's get some let's get some games going. It was fun being out at Long Acres yesterday and getting to watch that game. That got me a little more amped up for the weekend and amped up for the season to start.
01:18:14
Speaker
ah So, yeah, i'm not gonna lie of you back I'm excited for this window to close, man. It's been it sometimes it's hard, man. You know, I feel like I got this expectation to catch all of these things and and you do so much work and you stay on the phone and you're taking calls, you know, 1 a.m., 2 a.m. You're waiting for people to call you back. They don't.
01:18:33
Speaker
that The Obed one, i mean, that's going to leave a mark. it But, you know, with with with all of it, I'm ah kind of excited for, like you said, the window to close, focus on covering the team, covering the games um and seeing where the team is at.
01:18:51
Speaker
It's going to be a fun home game. I'm curious about the attendance for for these games, and specifically knowing that they're going to be out on the road for as long as they are. So yeah, man, I'm just excited to see it all at Lumen.
01:19:07
Speaker
All right. Why don't we call it right there for this episode of Lobbing Scorchers Kickoff. Thank you all, as always, so much for tuning in. We really appreciate the support. ah Please sub to the YouTube, like the video, like, comment, subscribe, follow on all platforms, including Instagram, including TikTok, including...
01:19:26
Speaker
Facebook. we'll be We'll be at it this week for some more season preview content. going try and do some more in-depth stuff on the Rapids. We'll try and get Favrakes actually lined up for you guys. So we'll be going we'll be going hard this week. It's going to be fun. I'm looking forward to it. i'm I'm looking forward to having a game to cover and getting this thing underway. So yeah, we're going to call it on that. Thank you all for tuning in. Love y'all.
01:19:49
Speaker
Peace.