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Seattle Sounders: Legal Owners of Pumas UNAM (feat. Niko Moreno) - Ep. 58
142 Plays1 year ago
Join us on Aug. 22 for a celebration of Sounder at Heart's 1 year anniversary!
It’s a jam-packed episode as we dive into another League Cup Dub Pod! We break down the Seattle Sounders’ 4-0 thrashing of Pumas at Lumen Field that devolved into chaos and anarchy late in the match. We’ll also hit our agenda check and take your questions.
Headlining the program we bring on our friend Niko Moreno from Pulso Sports to talk about Craig Waibel's press conference at Longacres and our takeaways from another Sounders transfer window without a major addition.
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Transcript
Introduction and Sponsorship
00:00:00
Speaker
This episode of Lobbing Scorchers is sponsored by Full Pole Wines, a Seattle-based seller. 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. 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.
00:00:29
Speaker
If you're interested in joining their mailing list or learning more about them, visit fullpolewants.com.
Episode Introduction
00:00:36
Speaker
What's going on, everybody? Welcome to episode 58 of Lobbing Scorchers. This is Ari Lillianwall. I've got producer Noah here with me. And Noah, I think this might be the most jam-packed show in Lobbing Scorchers history. We've got so much to get to today. How are you feeling?
00:00:53
Speaker
you know we waited to record this episode because we knew that there was so much news coming but honestly i didn't think that we said we've also said a few times that this is the most jam-packed episode i genuinely believe that this is actually the most jam-packed episode so much to get to uh we're gonna dive into another league's cup dub pod coming off the seattle sounders 4-0 thrashing of pumas at louvin field
Seattle Sounders vs Pumas Match Recap
00:01:16
Speaker
What a fun game devolved into chaos and anarchy late in the match and also has them advancing to the quarterfinals of the league's cup. So we're going to do our game review breaking down the fine points of what was really another excellent performance from Seattle. We're going to hit our agenda check. We're going to take your questions.
00:01:31
Speaker
Later on, we're going to bring on our friend Nico Moreno from Pulse Hill Sports and Sounder at Heart, and he's going to be talking about today's Craig Waibs press conference at Long Angers. That's right. Craig Waibs, he was on the mic. He was ready to get grilled, and we're going to give our takeaways from that and get Nico's takeaways from that presser as the sounders close out another transfer window without a major addition.
00:01:52
Speaker
Um, then we're going to preview another God forsaken match against LAFC, who Seattle is unfortunately playing in the next round of the league's cap, which, uh, you know, I'm pretty irritated by, but you know, it is what it is. We're just basically going to, uh, I mean, we've previewed LAFC like
00:02:07
Speaker
lot of times this year. And we're going to do it again in the open cup. So that's unfortunate, but we do have to do that. We're going to hit on some other results from league's cup.
Mauricio Pochettino's Appointment
00:02:16
Speaker
And then we've got a little bit of a, some minor USMNT news as Mauricio Pochettino has been hired as the new head coach of the USMNT, which is about
00:02:26
Speaker
Among the splashiest names I think that they they could have made for this hire. So, you know, with so much to get to, I don't think we're going to spend all that much time on that, but we do have to hit on that. So I think that was everything. It's going to be it's going to be a jam pack occasion, but I'm looking forward to it.
Sounder Heart Podcast Network's Subscription Drive
00:02:43
Speaker
But before we get into all that, I did want to let you all know that Lobbing Scorchers is a part of the Sounder Heart Podcast Network.
00:02:49
Speaker
If you want to get the best independent Seattle soccer coverage, consider supporting us by going to sounderatheart.com slash LS. That's sounderatheart.com slash LS. Scroll down to subscribe and support to get 30 days completely free. Every sign up through our show helps support and grow this show.
00:03:06
Speaker
And even more than that, there is a drive, a subscription drive happening right now for Sounder at Heart as they are approaching their one-year anniversary. So if you do have a Sounder at Heart subscription already, check your billing information. Make sure that your renewal will go through on your card. Mine didn't. Mine didn't. And Jeremiah called me and said, Noah, what are you doing? Check your card information. And then I fixed it. We're all good. And even more than that,
00:03:33
Speaker
If you want to come meet and hang out with me and Ari, there is a one year anniversary party that I don't remember the date. It's in the description. 20 seconds, 20 seconds, seven PM, seven, seven 30 PM. All the information tickets down below. We will be doing a live edition.
00:03:50
Speaker
of agenda check on Nos Adietes. And so that'll be really fun. You do not want to miss it. It's going to be a big time occasion. Please come out. We'd love to meet all of you. Also, if you haven't done so yet, please.
00:04:06
Speaker
Subscribe to the Lobbing Scorchers YouTube.
Lobbing Scorchers' YouTube Milestone
00:04:08
Speaker
We're doing numbers. The drive to 350 has been completed. And actually, the drive to 400 is also almost completed. We're at about 383 or something. So please help us on the drive to 400 YouTube subs. We should be able to get there in short order. Appreciate the support from everyone who's helping us grow and expand our presence on that platform.
00:04:30
Speaker
And shout out to all of our new audience members that we're getting on YouTube. We've kind of broken into a different crowd there, so thank you all for tuning in and listening. We really appreciate it. All right, let's get into this game review,
Seattle Sounders Lineup Consistency
00:04:44
Speaker
Noah. This was a great game.
00:04:47
Speaker
Great game. We'll hit our lineup reaction first. It's not really all that much to this lineup reaction. It was the exact same lineup as the Galaxy game, was it not? So first choice all the way through every area of the field, except for Andy T was in goal once again. But really not much to break down there because there was nothing different. I mean, Seattle was locked and loaded. No rotation, nothing like that.
00:05:13
Speaker
Um, so first choice 11 for this matchup against this league, a Mickey's opponent. Um, and Seattle went on to absolutely obliterate this team. It was a, uh, it was a tough game for Pumas on multiple fronts. Um, and really it's funny because actually the first about half hour of this game,
First Half Match Dynamics
00:05:36
Speaker
I actually thought Pumos was pretty comfortably in control on the front foot, generating the chances. And in fact, they actually had an opening goal that they scored in that first half hour waved off for offside. The guy was way offside, but if they had scored the opener at that point, it kind of felt like it was coming.
00:05:56
Speaker
They really did. They looked like the home team. They had most of the possession. They were carving Seattle up a little bit. And I think it was felt a little ominous. This game could get away from Seattle if they weren't careful. But then.
Paul Rothrock's Impact
00:06:12
Speaker
Noah, in the 32nd minute, a man by the name of Paul Rothrock. Pumas, they had been in control, as I said, but Paul Rothrock, 32nd minute, I think this was probably the best Paul Rothrock goal yet in terms of just degree of difficulty. It was great execution on this play, on the set piece by JP and Rusnak. Pumas left all the space in the world out on the right side.
00:06:39
Speaker
And so it was a good heads up play by JP and Rusnak to see that and make that read. Rusnak make the run, great delivery by JP to put him into that space. And then God, that cross by Rusnak is perfect. His delivery into the box continues to be elite. It was once again. But, you know, if you told the out of any of the guys that I would have expected to get that much vert
00:07:05
Speaker
to win that header and put it on target. I don't know if I would have picked Paul Rothrock. Jordan Morris has scored a couple of those this year. That's probably who I would have picked. But Paul Rothrock got up. He wins his header and then just inch perfect placement on that. So just a really well executed goal all around on this. Great assist by Rusnak. Nice little secondary assist for JP. Noah, what did you think of the latest goal by Paul Rothrock?
00:07:34
Speaker
You know, I saw it happened basically right in front of me, right in front of my seats. I was there with a fellow Paul Rothrock Enjoyer, my buddy Liam, and I can see him making his run and I'm like, oh my God, it's gonna happen. It's gonna happen. I see that cross coming in and my life was literally, it was like slow motion, Ari. And I see him get up over his defender and I'm like, oh my God, he's gonna score this. Jump up out of my seat and just boom, clips off the post, back of the net.
00:08:02
Speaker
The game felt wide open at that point. It turned the whole game around pretty much from that moment on. Seattle took back over, I thought. The whole period at the beginning of the game where Pumas was dominated became a thing of the past, thanks to the dynamic combination of Albert Rusnak and Paul Rothrock.
00:08:21
Speaker
Um, it would stay one zero all the way into the second half in the 58th
Jordan Morris' Outstanding Goal
00:08:25
Speaker
minute. That's when Seattle got their second goal. This was a, this was a great goal. Um, good awareness by Rusnak to find Jordan Morris with that header. He wins his header and plays Jordan right in on goal. Um, but this was a great, this was one of Jordan's better goals of the season. I thought he chested down to himself.
00:08:42
Speaker
That might be his best goal of his career, honestly. It was a really sick finish. Not just the fact that it was left-footed, which we all know that that talking point has unfortunately been a thing throughout his entire career. Not so much in the last couple years, but any time Jordan Morris scores a left-footed goal, everyone's like, oh, he's left foot.
00:09:00
Speaker
But he really, I mean great finish, great control to bring that ball down and set himself up for it. He had the defender all over him and he banned. So that made it 2-0 and then at that point it felt like Seattle was in cruise control but they would add two more goals before this thing was done and dusted.
00:09:19
Speaker
The next one came in the 71st minute off a penalty kick converted by Rusnak. That was all about Obed Vargas. He makes another great run into the box. Continues to show his attribute of file drawing, which I believe was imparted on to him by Niko.
00:09:36
Speaker
It just, whenever he draws those fouls like that, it reminds me so much of Nico. He has the same body language as him, too, when he goes down. They make it look so convincing, where even if the contact maybe wouldn't necessarily mean that you have to go to ground, they make it look like just so convincing.
00:09:56
Speaker
I think Obed actually was fouled in a way where he had to go to ground there, but it was just a great play by him.
Seattle's Dominant Victory
00:10:02
Speaker
Yeah, go ahead. Yeah, another big thing by him, too, is he picks and chooses his moments really well of when to go down like that, which was exactly one of the things I love the most about Nico.
00:10:13
Speaker
Yeah, great heads up play to win that PK nice clinical conversion by Rusnak and then this game really popped off late This is this is the point of the game that I was looking forward to talking about 3-0 in second half stoppage time and Seattle gets another penalty kick What happened was Christian rolled on played Jordan through and he's off and running I mean he's got a breakaway that he's probably going to finish
00:10:38
Speaker
And the Pumos defender steps on the back of his ankle from behind. Out of frustration, dirty play, gets a red card. But then it really set off a mass dispute. And Jordan was fired up. He was pissed off. I did a little lip reading, Noah. I put my John Boy hat on, did some lip reading. He was scoreboarding the guy. He said multiple times, it's 3-0. It's 3-0, bro.
00:11:08
Speaker
Bro, he hit him with the Trey Saucero. Yeah, he hit him with the Trey Saucero, and then the camera cut away, but it looked like, to me at least, what he was saying. I read, what the fuck are you? And I'm pretty sure what he was saying was, it's 3-0, what the fuck are you doing? Fowling me like that in a 3-0 game.
00:11:27
Speaker
Come on. Like, what are we talking about? But anyway, it was popping off back and forth. Paul Rothrock got in there. He got shoved to ground. He got punched in the face. He got hit in the face. Jackson Reagan was in there. It was, it was... Andy T made a sprint from the back line and there was...
00:11:42
Speaker
He sprinted in there, he was pumped up. We know how pumped up Andy Teigen did. He was doing his Andy Teigen thing now. So anyway, Puma's basically disgraced and embarrassed themselves in every capacity. That's a play that you make when you're frustrated about getting bammed on by Paul Rothrock and company.
00:12:00
Speaker
So it was definitely entertaining. I mean, it's honestly good, though, that Jordan didn't get hurt. That's why you don't do that, is because you can injure somebody. But it was definitely a fitting way, I thought, to end what was a dominant performance from Seattle. They move on. Pumas is going home. I don't think this is how anybody really predicted this game would go. I definitely thought it would be competitive. And it was for a bit, but it definitely wasn't.
00:12:27
Speaker
basically from the hour mark onward. I'm going to hit my rapid fire takeaways here, Noah, and then you can tell me what you think of these. Just more electric stuff from Albert Rusnak. One goal, two assists. Perfect cross on the Rothrock goal. He sets up Jordan's goal with the other assist and sunk his PK.
00:12:45
Speaker
I mean, he is up to, I mean, I think it's like six goals and 16 assists or something this year across all comps. The form that he showed during Seattle's kind of resurgent run before League's Cup started, it seems to have carried over. So more good stuff from him. This felt like this, the whole sequence we recapped at the end with Jordan.
00:13:09
Speaker
felt like kind of like a new like a symbolic moment of Jordan turning a new leaf and almost taking on a new persona. Jordan has become he's known in his career as he's not like a fiery guy like off the field he seems like a very nice guy laid back kind of guy. He's not like a
00:13:28
Speaker
Getting your face type of guy and I think this year I've already kind of seen him shed that a little bit in this and just even in this game earlier He's never a guy that Complains at the refs all that much but even earlier in this game He was complaining at the ref, which is not always what you want to be doing But like I like to see the fire from him, but then also
00:13:50
Speaker
Him getting in that guy's face and cussing him out and just talking trash, getting in a shoving match. It's just stuff that we haven't really seen from him that much, if at all, in his career. And I think that this is a turning point moment where he goes from nice guy Jordan to badass Jordan. He went Joker mode. Yeah, he went Joker mode, and I loved it.
00:14:13
Speaker
Like I said, Puma, I mean, they totally embarrassed themselves and their fans were coping about as hard as I've ever seen on Twitter after the game. They were actually... They were actually CCL final on Twitter. They were the League of Mechis fans when their teams lose like that.
Social Media Banter with Pumas
00:14:29
Speaker
They're pretty funny about it. They're very kind of self-deprecating about it.
00:14:34
Speaker
You saw a lot of that after the game, which I appreciated. I thought that all that stuff was hilarious. The Sounders social media team was on about as big of a heater as I've ever seen them go on because I think they kind of read the room that emotions were high after how the game ended. So they capitalized on that and they were basically clowning on Pumas. They had multiple tweets go viral and those got picked up by LeagueM, Ekis fans and media.
00:14:58
Speaker
That created a lot of really fun discourse. I had one bot in my mentions, though, that he was just coping so hard. I don't like to necessarily give the bots a platform like this, but in this case, just the points he was making was really funny. He was saying that if Seattle went and played at Puma... He was saying that the travel was to blame. If Seattle went and played at Puma's, there's no way.
00:15:23
Speaker
that they could have won, which a few people correctly pointed out that when these two teams played in Champions League, Seattle did go there and Pumas did not win. In fact, they choked away a win at the very end and gave away a penalty that caused it to end in a tie and then famously got bammed on 3-0 in the second leg at Looman to give Seattle the first distinction of the first ever MLS team to win the modern incarnation of CONCACAF Champions League.
00:15:47
Speaker
but so like that was just incorrect but what he kept saying them like you need to see I don't need to come play at our stadium at the specific day at noon this specific time of day where we always play which I've just never seen that yeah and that kind of made me think like this has got to be a bit
00:16:09
Speaker
Like you're talking about like it has to be at your stadium Otherwise you can't win and also it has to be at exactly at noon Like I don't know if he was serious. I just I the novelty of that was pretty funny. I've never seen that level or that type of cope My other takeaway Pumas does have one one player who
César Huerta's Performance
00:16:30
Speaker
I want for the Sounders. This guy sees a Huerta. So the broadcast, they were talking about how he was making a case for tournament MVP. He'd been dominating this competition before this game and you just saw these moments of how good he is.
00:16:45
Speaker
He's the exact type of player that I want Seattle to sign. And I know that the De La Vega signing was supposed to provide some of those attributes that he was displaying. But that obviously hasn't happened due to his injury issues. Leave that guy in Seattle. I want that guy on the team. He can stay. He can stay. The rest of them, just get them out of here. Go home. You guys totally. I mean, that's embarrassing. They might leave everyone but him in Seattle, honestly. They probably should, because that was just a joke of an ending.
00:17:15
Speaker
Did you see the Rothrock? He did him pretty good. He did Caesar Huerta pretty good. Well, yeah, we were going to talk about that in the Paul Rothrock agenda chat. Okay, we'll hit that. Sorry, too early on that. So that's actually what set the whole thing off, was the Meg on Huerta.
00:17:30
Speaker
Like he like during that opening 30 minutes or so where Pumas was dominating I was like, oh this guy this guy's gonna be yeah Yeah, this guy's good. This is bad. He's good and it's bad for Seattle, but luckily it didn't pan out like that But the dude is nasty. I mean he's a 10 million dollar player and you saw why I thought
00:17:48
Speaker
final takeaway folks I can report to you the national pundits are finally taking notice they got I mean it was partially because they were one of the only games going on I like for that slate but like the they got a lot of air time on the league's past wrap-up show on Apple TV
Paul Rothrock's National Recognition
00:18:06
Speaker
specifically Albert Rusnak. So they have a Star of the Day segment, the national pundits that they do where they pick one player who's the star of the day and then they put a big graphic on the screen behind the pundits and it's got Rusnak's name on it and it's got like a portrait of him like
00:18:22
Speaker
celebrating and and then they do a five to ten minute little segment where they talk about why they're the star of the day. So it wasn't just a pundit who was bringing up Rusnak to name drop him and then moving on. It was a whole it's just star of the day segment.
00:18:38
Speaker
so that was nice to see from the national pundits because Rusenak for how well he's I've been saying that the national pundits need to be taking more notice of this like a lot of other you know I guess quote-unquote bigger names in the league if they were putting up the numbers he's been putting up lately they would be lead the lead story on season pass he hasn't gotten that attention so it's good to see him get star of the day and then after that
00:19:00
Speaker
the pundits who were doing the broadcast for the LAFC game, they were talking to, LAFC of course destroyed the earthquake, so they were talking about how LAFC was going to play Seattle, and I think it was Moedu who was on the call for that game, and he was talking about, you know, LAFC is playing the Sounders, and they've got this guy, Paul Rothrock, who is really
00:19:20
Speaker
stepped up and he did like a whole riff on Paul Rothrock. I was like, is this a pundit that's doing the Rothrock thing? And it was, he went on and he gave Paul Rothrock his flowers. And then I think BWP was also talking about Rothrock at some point. So lots of attention from the national pundits after this game. I think really with the galaxy game and combined with this game, they're finally taking notice and the team is getting some shine, getting some spotlight.
00:19:50
Speaker
Yeah, I think even more than the Twitter banning that I was able to engage in after this win, even more than the win itself, having to see Bradley Wright Phillips awake at 1 30 in the morning on the East Coast to talk about Paul Rothrock on a national broadcast. Doesn't get better.
00:20:06
Speaker
It doesn't get better than that, folks. That's like, that's everything you could ever ask for. It's almost like Apple TV listens to lobbing scorchers. It's almost like they were trying to give us a platform. But I mean, in all seriousness, it's just, you know, when you're producing at the clip that Albert Rusnak and Paul Rothrock have been producing for as long as they've been doing it now, you're going to get you're going to get some shine from the national pundits. And, you know, it took longer than I would like, but it finally happened. All right.
00:20:33
Speaker
Let's hit this agenda check and then we're going to get into all of your guys' questions. I got four written down here, Noah. The first one, kind of on the same topic that we were just talking about, the Bradley Wright Phillips sounders only beat bad teams agenda. Low key strength thing. This Puma's team was terrible. What were they doing out there?
00:20:52
Speaker
Yeah. In all seriousness, they, this, this team was near the top of the league on Becky's table. I think there were second, uh, before league cup started and, uh, they've got some big time players for sure. So, uh, I mean, I don't really know if it's strengthened or diminished, but, um, I don't, I don't think that this Puma's team is as bad as Seattle made them look. And I think you do have to credit Seattle for that in this situation.
00:21:20
Speaker
Yeah, and I think that the Sounders are such a playoff team. They're the type of team that's built to play a team like Pumas in a playoff. Brian is always that kind of tactical genius when it comes to playoff games specifically, the counter-attacking prowess that they've been able to
00:21:38
Speaker
kind of succeed on this whole year, plays into their hands so well. When you have a team like Pumas attacking, attacking, attacking, attacking, and then you're able to get that quick one chance with Paul Rothrock, opens the game wide up. Pumas has to chase it more. They're playing that counter attacking still. You get that beautiful goal from Albert Rusenak. I don't know. I don't think to go back to the agenda,
00:21:59
Speaker
I think PUMAS are good. I think that this is diminished. I'm just clowning. I mean, they seem to, as an organization, have a passion for coming to Seattle and getting absolutely banned on. That's supposed to be... That's a good... That's their bit. However good they may or may not be, they do. I mean, I'm just going off the last two games that I've seen them come here and they haven't shown very well. That's enough of a sample size for me to formulate a game for them.
00:22:24
Speaker
The Rusenak and Jordan Morris are the best one-two punch in MLS agenda which is one that I was a purveyor of and then you know based on like how the LA FC game and then a coxswain game went Wasn't looking very hot Strengthen for this game. I mean Rusenak like I said was electric Jordan scored like you said arguably one of the best goals of his career if not the best goal of his career in terms of just the the technique and the clinical finishing so
00:22:52
Speaker
I mean, they still got to sustain it and do it consistently against higher competition. Ideally, carry this team into trophy contention and all that for this agenda to be fully fulfilled. But it was a great game for them is the point.
00:23:08
Speaker
Yeah, I mean Jordan two two goals Bruce neck an assist in a goal. I mean come on assists two assists in a goal. That's insane Yeah, that's essentially in a game like this against against this team. I guess a big-time performance in a big-time game This is a new agenda that I probably shouldn't do this, but I'm gonna do it. I see the doc I'm scared here Ari the MLS is better than we got make use agenda, which is
00:23:33
Speaker
Not an agenda that I necessarily believe in yet, but it is strengthened from this game, but also just from this tournament, like, okay, are you really telling me? And if this is what you're telling me, you can tell me. But like, are you really telling me that the fact that they have to travel just means that they're, they like can't win these games and now they only have two teams left? If you're that much better,
00:23:55
Speaker
How can you not win on the road? I don't get it. What are we talking about? If the quality differential is as much as their fans and their media say, it shouldn't matter where you're playing. It should be any time, any place, should it not?
00:24:20
Speaker
Thank you for listening to the Soundwork Heart podcast network, which now includes No Sunnietes, Lobbing Scorchers, and The Cooler Guild. We've been independent since August of 2023, but need your support to make sure it continues. Although this podcast is free, it's only made possible by your continued support. Memberships start as low as $25 a year, which not only helps make podcasts like this one happen, but also gets you access to everything we produce.
00:24:46
Speaker
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00:25:16
Speaker
Yeah, no, I agree. I'm, you know, I think it's funny too, because while the, a lot of people want to purvey that League's Cup is not a good, like, version of, you know, this rivalry between MLS and Ligamekes, sure, whatever, that's fine, but also they want to say in the same breath that Ligamekes is leaps and bounds ahead of MLS, and that's just not true.
00:25:40
Speaker
That's just not true. I agree with you. I think this is strengthened. And I mean, I don't know if the top tier teams are better, but let's say it's Columbus and and America in the final. I mean, that's like the two heavyweights of the league like. Yeah. And also the other thing, I mean, this is a point I made before, but my my sympathy meter on this issue about
00:26:02
Speaker
About them having to play all the games on the road. I get it. That is a factor and it's unfair and I think like going forward You know, it should be more balanced in that way, but like sympathy meter not that high No, MLS clubs. This is exactly what they have to do for Champions League like on those road games when when they're playing at the beginning of their season and the League of Yankees teams are Midseason and there's a huge fitness disadvantage and every time MLS clubs go to Mexico under those circumstances
00:26:32
Speaker
and get bammed on a lot of the times because, in part because of this big advantage that the League of Emechies teams have. Like does anyone say like that, does anyone give the MLS clubs a pass on that? No. So I'm not going to give the League of Emechies teams a pass like when it's the same scenario in reverse. Like you got to, you got to be consistent here. So I don't know if anyone disagrees with that. Like I feel free to drop us a comment. Feel free to dispute what I'm saying, but I'm just saying,
Sounder Heart's Anniversary Success
00:27:00
Speaker
I'm just saying,
00:27:00
Speaker
And this is really just, this is vindication for Columbus getting poisoned. Yeah, exactly. I hadn't thought of it like that, but it's a good point. And then finally, let's just do the Paul Rothrock at the end here. So, I mean, obviously the agenda is skyrocketed, but just the manner in which he skyrocketed in this game, first of all, we went over the goal.
00:27:25
Speaker
Accuracy, the placement on that header after winning that header, that is a big time play. That's not one of these goals where he scored a lot of poacher goals, which is great. That's fine. That's a skill. Those goals definitely count all the same. But this felt different. If Joe De La Vega did that, you would be like, damn, that is a DP. That is a DP goal right there for him to win that header and place it like that and actually score that.
00:27:51
Speaker
And then the he was in his bag as John Bell would say he was in his bag at the end there and just Nutmeg the ever living daylights out of where to that was honestly My favorite nutmeg I've ever seen considering who did it in the circumstances Under which he did it and then what happened afterwards with them getting so mad that they start getting their guys thrown out of the game and starting fights on the field and
00:28:15
Speaker
Because because of Paul Rothrock and I thought Schmetz had a fantastic quote after the game He was talking about what set off that whole dispute and he was saying well Yeah, they're ten million dollar winger got megged by a kid from Capitol Hill I would be mad to basically say that but that's essentially what he was saying
00:28:32
Speaker
And it's like, yeah, exactly. That's why that's such a great moment, because we're talking about a homegrown kid, literally from Capitol Hill, where we're recording this right now, nutmegging this guy that Puma spent $10 million on.
00:28:48
Speaker
That's like the type of content that you get when these MLS clubs play these League of Mechie teams and I couldn't be more here for it. And really just the another game where Paul Rothrock makes both a pronounced impact and a hilarious impact. Like that was phenomenal content.
00:29:06
Speaker
yeah i mean getting getting megged by the by a guy who's on a league minimum contract yeah he's making like 82k yeah yeah like who's who's essentially making less than every tech worker in this city is is hilarious but objectively yeah even more honestly than that meg for me his positioning on that jordan morris goal to be able to open up that little pocket of space for rusinek to just
00:29:31
Speaker
loop that ball in over and right into Jordan and keep himself and Jordan offside by just pushing that line a little bit and a little bit and a little bit. He continues to amaze me with his movement. I mean, it is like his positioning and Brian has hit on this a lot. His soccer IQ is so good. Exactly. It's a great point because Seattle has gotten like he's putting up statue production, but Seattle has gotten a lot of goals this year.
00:29:58
Speaker
Like more than a handful, I would say, or at least I would say a handful. They've gotten a handful of goals this year because of exactly what you're talking about with his movement and how he how his runs free up the opportunity for for Jordan Morris or someone else to score. So it's a great point. And it's another example of the like legitimate value that he's been providing this team all season. All right. That'll do it for the agenda check. Let's get into questions. Now, what do we got?
00:30:24
Speaker
Heck yeah, thank you all for your questions. You guys were stoked to lob some score trees. My mentions were popping. It was great. Yeah. It was a fun one. This first one comes from Round Mound. What would the narrative be if De La Vega was having the season that Paul Rothrock is having? Best signing since Ledero? Exactly. Exactly. I mean, I kind of just hit on that.
00:30:46
Speaker
The way the production that they're getting from him right now and the impact that he's having on games and results I mean, I don't know if it's like fully up to the level that I mean De La Vega came in with the expectation that he was gonna be like a huge game-changing needle mover for this team and Paul Rothrock he is certainly I don't know if he's been on
00:31:08
Speaker
that level all season, but that honestly, the only reason that you can't say he has is just because like he still hasn't gotten that many minutes. Like he started, he just recently became like a first choice starter for this team. Like in a, in a first choice 11 right now with De La Vega being injured. Um, but yeah, no, I mean, it's a great point.
00:31:31
Speaker
Yeah, no, I agree. I think, I mean, I would be stoked with De La Vega having this much production. I'm stoked with Paul Rothrock having this much production. I don't really think it matters what price tag you have on this player, but we are, we are evangelizing Paul Rothrock one.
00:31:46
Speaker
Because I think we can stake the claim that this was our full agenda. The very first episode of this show is was called Paul Rothrock needs some help. Yeah, it was because in the Open Cup he was bamming in goals and we started the agenda back then. We're on episode 58 right now and it's still going and that's because of how he's playing. Like, you know, it's funny to think about.
00:32:06
Speaker
Yeah, I'm going to tattoo his name on my back at this point. This next one comes from Chris. How does Jordan Morris's performance at CF impact the rebuild after Rui Diaz? Do you get another DP to replace RRD or do you spend big on a winger or a midfielder as a designated player instead of continuing to trust Morris at the nine?
00:32:29
Speaker
Yeah, that's a good debate. We're probably going to have that debate a lot, like down the stretch of the season and into the off season. And some of my opinion on that is going to be informed on how he finishes out the season. But I think what I'll say, I mean, you can tell me if you disagree with this, Noah, but if he keeps producing at this clip,
00:32:48
Speaker
I don't really know why you would be incentivized to change it. The way I see it, he has sort of won the job. What you need from your first choice number nine is exactly the protection that he's been giving.
00:33:03
Speaker
And I will say, I've already taken this L, but I'll just take it again. I didn't think this was a good idea, really, at all. In fact, I was advocating for you. Yeah, it's true. I'll let you have this one. I'll let you have this one. I was advocating for Jordan to stay out wide and to keep starting Rui Diaz, because when this team was struggling, I didn't see Jordan moving there as an option that was going to get you meaningfully more production.
00:33:29
Speaker
But that's absolutely been proven wrong. He has been producing at that level And if he continues to do so, I don't know how where you stand on it I feel like I'm pretty good with him keeping that job and being the first choice number nine on this team just with how he's been playing he still has to Sustain it do it for the rest of the season and then I get think we'll see where the chips fall But if you ask me right now, I think I'm good with it
00:33:54
Speaker
He's on track to have the most productive season he's ever had in his entire career. I think Jordan Morris has a great piece on this team. I think that he is a core part of this team. And the next two, three years of his career could legitimately be his prime, could legitimately be his prime. And I think another bonus, like just to benefit with him is you can play him out wide. He's versatile. And that's something that like a peer striker, a peer nine, someone like Raoul, who's like insanely talented, he just doesn't have that flexibility.
00:34:24
Speaker
Gotta say man, I'm here for it, I'm here for it. This next one comes from Bobby. With Rusnak, let me try that one again. This one comes from Bobby. With Rusnak filling the score sheet as effectively as he has been, does the re-sign Rusnak for a slightly lower salary than what he makes now to free up a DP spot take a hit? Not because we shouldn't, but because he wouldn't take max TAM deal. This is a good one. Oh yeah, this is a good one.
00:34:54
Speaker
It does yeah, it does take a hit because he's producing like a DP right now yep like and but I mean that's what you want like if you're evaluating The decision as to whether to bring him back as a DP or bring him back at all I think that gets a heck of a lot easier when he's objectively giving you the production that you need from your DP I mean like 6 and 16 man like in the season is not even like
00:35:17
Speaker
close to over like he's gonna be up over 20 dimes probably or at least close to it like across all comps before the season is over which I don't like I don't think Nico ever had a season where he had 20 and he's one of the best assist guys that's ever played an MLS yeah
00:35:35
Speaker
So I mean that should kind of put into perspective the type of year that he's having. I don't think I don't think it's really getting talked about in that way yet just because there is so much skepticism around it. Right. And there was a long period of this season where he wasn't producing like that. But like
00:35:54
Speaker
i don't think there's any way at this point that like him taking a pay cut or becoming like a tam player would make sense from his perspective not when he's playing like this um so like to answer the second part of your question like yeah no he wouldn't he would not take a max tam deal nor should he
00:36:11
Speaker
Yeah, no, I agree. And we were actually talking about this in the sounder at heart slack channel today with all of this. The fact that you failed to make a signing, which we're going to get into with Nico here later, you have no leverage against him. You could offer him a Max Tam deal and be like, listen, you're you're going to be 33 at the end of this when we resign you. He's only 30.
00:36:33
Speaker
He's only at the end of this. At the end, let's say we offer you a three-year contract. You're going to be 33 at the end of this. As you age, statistically speaking, you don't perform as much, higher injury risk. Let's give you a max TAM deal. You're already here. You have kids here. You have your family here, whatever. But the thing is, if they offer that, he can just call their bluff and get
00:36:56
Speaker
at minimum the same amount in a max tam deal at any other club in the league if not a dp deal coming off of one of the hottest seasons that he has ever had in his career so i think the sounders are really in a
Albert Rusnak's Season Performance
00:37:09
Speaker
shit or get off the pot position where if you want to re-sign him, you're going to have to re-sign him as a DP. Maybe, and I like this option, if they can get it done, a 1 plus 2, so you have next year he'll be a DP, and then the two additional years he'll be on a Max Tam. I feel like you could work that out where he can make a lot more money now, and then as he ages,
00:37:31
Speaker
You know, maybe he understands, but dude, he's he is effectively in one season proved the signing right, I think.
00:37:41
Speaker
Yeah, which is funny to think about because of how this was getting talked about earlier in the year where it was basically a foregone conclusion that he shouldn't be a DP. Now I'm like, I don't really see any reason why you wouldn't bring him back. Yeah, exactly. This next one comes from Nat Lang. How might a run at League's Cup championship affect Open Cup slash League play and what should Smetzer prioritize?
00:38:03
Speaker
Yeah, it's a good question, and I guess, you know, that comes down to personal preference. Man, it's tough because, I mean, you're one game right from the Open Cup final, correct? Yeah. So, like, you're pretty much just already right there. I think, I mean, I think that decision might get made for you to an extent based on what happens in this LAFC game.
00:38:28
Speaker
Yeah, I don't really for how for how well Seattle's played these last two games against the galaxy and against Pumas I mean we just saw what happened last time they played LA FC so you might not even have to worry about that but
00:38:43
Speaker
I mean, I don't know what you should prioritize Whichever one gives you more prize money This this, you know They both give you a spot in in yeah concave Champions Cup. It's like a the decision gets made for you. I think
00:38:59
Speaker
I think you have to play what's in front of you first and foremost and worry about what comes next later. I think that if they go and they play LAFC and they beat LAFC and they have the chance to go on and play, let's say, America, you're going to prioritize that respectfully to Open Cup.
00:39:19
Speaker
Brian Schmetzer and this team in this club wants to play a high-level, the best, Ligameki's team over LAFC in an open cup at Starfire. No disrespect, again. That's just what I would imagine that they would prioritize, is whatever is in front of them. So I think that decision, I agree with you, will be made for them. This last one here comes from our good friend Noah Rife. Have you heard of this guy? I hear he's a great follower on Twitter. I don't know. He seems like he might not know what he's talking about. Yeah. Are we being reactionary?
00:39:48
Speaker
Or is this team actually pretty good? And is it fair to keep questioning the roster while winning this many games? Ari? I mean, yeah, I think pretty good is like the category that I would put them in now. The thing is, I think the reason there's so much consternation about the roster is, I mean, this fanbase expects great. It doesn't expect pretty good.
00:40:11
Speaker
And I do think it's totally fair to point out that 1.48 points per game, which is what they're at in league play, is not really up to the standard that people have come to expect from this team. And really since CCL 2022, their points per game in the league has not been to the standard that people expect from this team. I do think it's like,
00:40:34
Speaker
It's fair to point out too that this season got off to a terrible start, but if you look at The sample of games which is pretty big now over their last, you know 15 or so games they're at like a 1.8 1.9 or so points per game pace.
Seattle's Tournament Form vs League Performance
00:40:50
Speaker
Yeah, which I mean that's that is a shield level play pace They've been playing like that for a while now and I think
00:41:00
Speaker
Things got thrown a little out of whack as far as how we perceive that by the LAFC result and the Nacaxa result. That was a regression in vibes as we titled that pod. But if you're looking at it big picture, those are outliers compared to how they've performed over the rest of this stretch, which has been at a very good level. That's got them right back into the playoff race, and it's gotten them on the precipice of an open cup final.
00:41:29
Speaker
Um, into the quarterfinals of league's cup. So, um, I think, uh, I think to answer the first part of your question, I think it's totally fair to call this team pretty good. They're not, they're definitely, they're definitely not proven as great or elite, but I think they haven't won anything yet, but they have, they have opportunity to win three trophies. Uh, so they could definitely put themselves in.
00:41:53
Speaker
that conversation, but I don't think it's unfair to question the roster and the lack of transfer movement and all that because they have not been to the level that has been expected of them based on their history.
00:42:11
Speaker
Yeah, I agree with you. I think there's it's one thing to have blinders on and look at right now what's happening right in this moment. And then when you take the blinders off and you realize, oh, shit, like a lot of our players are going to be potentially on their last year of their contract with an option. And we we haven't back stacked our roster with new signings and different people who haven't aged out so that they could age in and be at their prime when our best players are aging out. That concerns me more than, well, look, we beat
00:42:42
Speaker
pumas, you know, and again, maybe if we win, maybe if we win one of the two, that feels like a success. Maybe if we win two of the three, maybe if we win three of the three, it feels like an amazing season. What I worry about is the future, which we are about to talk about. Yeah, it's actually a great segue. Let's let's get into this interview with Nico Moreno. All right, it is time to break down this Craig Wives presser. That's right. In case you've
00:43:06
Speaker
Unless you've been living under a rock, you know that Craig Wibes gave a press conference out at Long Acres today to talk about Seattle's movement or Lac Dura during this most recent transfer window. And to do so, we have brought on a special guest. We've got Nico Moreno of Puso Sports and Sounder at Heart.
00:43:25
Speaker
Good friend of mine, we've known each other many years dating back to our early days on the Sounders beat. I think the best Seattle Sounders insider in the game on that beat, for my money, Mikko's always got the scoop on what's going on with this roster, transfer targets, all that stuff. If you don't follow him on Twitter, you absolutely should. But we figured since he was out there, he would be the guy to talk to about this press conference and get some reaction to it.
00:43:52
Speaker
Nico, welcome in. Thanks for coming on, man. It's travesty. We haven't done this sooner, but we're glad to have you on. Hey, man, what's going on?
00:44:02
Speaker
Big hello to you and your fan base, your audience, excited to be on. It is a travesty. I wish that I would have been here sooner. I'm very proud of all the work you guys are doing. You guys kind of taken the soccer community here by storm. So very happy for you guys to success. Happy for your partnership with Thunder on Hard, which I always think that is like a mecca of information for
00:44:25
Speaker
those looking for sounder information in the city outside of the state. I mean, it's just fantastic. So happy for you guys, man.
00:44:34
Speaker
Yeah, well, we appreciate you coming on. Let's just get right into this press conference because I think this was about as anticipated a press conference in recent Sounders memory.
Challenges in Seattle's Transfer Market
00:44:44
Speaker
The fan base has been, let's just say unhappy with the lack of additions, the lack of movement, not just in this transfer window, but I, you know, I I've seen the stat. I think Jeremiah
00:44:55
Speaker
was talking about this. I think they're the first club in MLS history, if I have this correct, to go three summer transfer windows in a row without making an addition. Garth Loggerway was known for his patience. Craig Wibes, he went into this window and kind of applied a similar approach. But the first thing I wanted to ask you, Niko, was based on what you heard Craig Wibes say out at this presser at Long Acres today.
00:45:24
Speaker
What was the justification that he gave for the lack of moves in this transfer window? And then on top of that, were you buying what he was saying? Did it make sense to you as to why this team has relatively stood completely pat? Really dating back to Champions League, but also this season, same for a couple of additions and obviously Pedro de la Vega.
00:45:49
Speaker
Oh, I mean, that's convoluted. That's very hard to just articulate all in one answer. So I'll try to do my best here. Am I buying what he was selling? Yes, I really do think that his hands were semi-tied. I do believe that he was kind of sent out to shop for a car with a $20,000 budget. I mean, you know, it's for anybody who understands these days, there's not a lot.
00:46:19
Speaker
Um, and, um, I believe that his effort was there and that he did sit down and negotiated with several players. Those players who, as he explained during this presser, it wasn't just about their salary, but you have to make their clubs whole. So you got to pay for a transfer fee and all that within itself just adds up and stacks up and.
00:46:41
Speaker
If you can't do it financially, then you can't do it because no team is going to give you no hometown discount, no team in MLS, nobody outside of MLS. They're going to do the opposite. Every time that, and I've said this to just about every show that I've done this week is if you have MLS,
00:46:59
Speaker
in as part of the negotiation they're gonna tax you they're gonna give you that big dollar money amount we're gonna try to we know that you need it we know that you want it you guys have been great when it comes to buying players so we're gonna tax you for it so that just makes it very difficult when you're gonna sit down across the table from somebody
00:47:19
Speaker
that is expecting for you to pay top dollar when that's not what you got. So, I do know that they've been looking at some free agents, some that recently got out of contract. I know that they looked at an Ecuadorian winger that plays in the Ecuadorian league. I know that they looked at a Colombian winger that was playing in Europe. And, you know, they're just trying to figure out to see if it's buyable. That said,
00:47:47
Speaker
if anything beyond what was said and reading in between the lines of what Craig Weibull was trying to diplomatically explain is that I am 90% sure that nothing else is going to get done in terms of bringing in a player from that's not
00:48:08
Speaker
Directly connected with the sounders and by that I mean maybe Georgie gets signed Maybe there's some of those Little intricacies that can be done to add some depth, but is another player coming in free agent. I just don't think so I do believe that
00:48:28
Speaker
Jeremiah basically said the same thing you started off this segment with directly to Craig about three summer windows in a row. You guys have been inactive and he kind of blamed Garth a little bit. He said, yeah, this is my first window. I mean, you got to talk to Garth. So we kind of bring him in. So it's different situations, though. Look, I
00:48:51
Speaker
I'm a huge Garth Lagerweig guy, I think that he is a freaking genius and it's a lot easier to say, hey, I didn't do anything in the summer when in the winter I'm picking up the Roman Tauruses, the Nicolás Deiros, I'm working my ways through to get out of half of my roster, a guy like Raul, he did so many things in the right ways that by the time it was the summer window, maybe he didn't have to be so active and obviously
00:49:20
Speaker
By the time he left, that salary and that roster was already put together and tied in for several years. So that's also another reason. Craig, on the other hand, he did have the responsibility to make some moves. And although, as I said earlier, I do believe, and I do buy what he was selling, there is some criticism to be had. I mean, he made some moves in the winter window that did not work. So if you're not going to be active in the summer window, then you better be dang sure
00:49:49
Speaker
that your players that you're bringing in in the winter are going to work. I asked them that directly. I said, look, the guys that you brought in have been contributors. They haven't played or they've been injured. I mean, there's just a whole lot of things have happened. And he kind of went around and kind of said he understood why I was asking the question, but there wasn't really an answer. To be honest, he did talk about
00:50:17
Speaker
Pedro just being snake bit by injuries. Is that also on him? Is that on the scouting? I mean, that might be a little bit, I don't know, harsh to blame him for it. But all in all, I do think that there's a reason why they were inactive. And I believe that we did enough to clear the audience's questions and narratives.
00:50:41
Speaker
There was questions about, is it the fact that they have a whole new building and a whole new sporting facility? The reason why is it attendance? Is it the fact that they're going to buy the ring or they bought the ring? And he kind of mentioned and said that it was none of those things. It was just about budget that it didn't matter what resources they had, that there was just no room in the cat space to do anything.
00:51:06
Speaker
Yeah, so something else. Yeah, that was great Intel there, by the way. I really appreciate you sharing that stuff with us. Another thing he was talking about that I was wondering your take on just because it caught my ear and I was just not really sure that I see it the same way as he did.
Team and Fan Expectations
00:51:23
Speaker
He seemed to express much more satisfaction with where the team is at than I think certainly than the fan base does. I mean, his point, he brought up, you know, we're one of only two or three teams or whatever that are still in it for League's Cup, that are still in it for Open Cup and that are in a playoff spot.
00:51:42
Speaker
And when I hear that, I'm like, okay, I mean, that's a fair point to point out, but you're playing at 1.48 points per game in league play and you're in seventh place. So it's not like you're contending for the shield or anything. And my kind of take when I heard that was like, all right, I mean, if you wanna stand on that for now, fair point, but you better win at least one and if not two of those trophies that you're talking about. And then if you do that,
00:52:11
Speaker
Then I'll accept that as validation of this approach and of where the roster stands. But if it's just a thing where you compete kind of for all three of them, and then the second you play some upper tier competition, you get bounced out and you don't win anything, then I don't really know how much that justifies. What did you think of that talking point that he gave?
00:52:32
Speaker
I mean that's tough because you're spot-on it really looks like a house of cards or like this optical illusion where that he's kind of showing you what he wants to show you and that's fair just like you said I mean when things haven't quite gone exactly the way you wanted them in terms of what you brought on we just talked about that when the situation and in the circumstances within the club have been as
00:52:58
Speaker
fluctuating and up and down as they have been this season, locker room results, all kinds of stuff that kind of have emerged this 2024, he's got to show you the good, right? And to be fair to him, just like you said, I mean, he kind of has that to follow, right? I mean, he said that he was going to be competitive regardless of, and as much as it's been a hard ride, a roller coaster ride,
00:53:23
Speaker
They're kind of up there enough in the standings. They are in a semifinal for League's Cup and they are as far, I mean, of Open Cup and they're as far as they've gone in League's Cup. So is it more of, I don't want to call it luck, but I think that the season has kind of played itself in a way that he's been able to save face. But I'm with you. Anybody who looks at the numbers, who looks at the play, who
00:53:52
Speaker
ultimately expects more from this team, has every right to be upset and say, hey, you're being way too content with the reality of this team. But that's kind of his job. He's going to show you the good because that's all he kind of has to do. But that's something that I don't agree with. I'm with you. I think that the season has not been as successful as the standings or where you are in the tournament is at.
00:54:22
Speaker
I think it's very easy or it's a lot easier, not very easy, it's a lot easier for you to go far in a short tournament like OpenCUB, like LeaksCUB than
00:54:33
Speaker
a full year of league play where that's where you're really testing your depth. You're testing the real quality of your team and the ups and downs of the season. So having a good month is not having a good year. And that's where shadow is right now. They're having a good month. They're going off of vibes. They're going off of Paul Rothrock vibes. They're going off of great play by, um, Jamer Gomez and dry that they're going up by Jordan Morris who's hot right now.
00:55:00
Speaker
So, you know, he's kind of got to show you what's kind of working. Yeah, great point. I'm going to get one more in here real quick and then know I'll kick it to you if you got anything. So I was wondering, Nico, your take on what the biggest need on this roster is right now. I'll tell you what I think. Then you can hit us with what you think.
00:55:19
Speaker
The way I look at this roster right now, and we were talking about this on our last show, but I actually don't think it's like crazy far off from at least being competitive with these upper tier teams in the league like LAFC and Columbus and then, you know, inner Miami, I kind of put in their own
Need for Dynamic Wide Play
00:55:34
Speaker
category. But, you know, we've seen this team struggle quite a bit on offense this season, especially earlier in the season and dating back.
00:55:42
Speaker
to last season but they've been defensively very solid really i think and i think uh when i look at rusnak and morris i see a one-two punch there that's been very very productive and dynamic recently and combining very well i mean and they're putting up the numbers on the stat sheet
00:55:58
Speaker
This team needs a lot more production and creativity and dynamic play from out wide. And I know that Pedro de la Vega was supposed to provide that. That was like the whole point is that he was going to be the one that boosted this offense in that way. Obviously that hasn't happened because he got injured.
00:56:15
Speaker
But like, we're big fans of Joseph Paintsill and Gabriel Peck on this show. I love what the Galaxy did there, like spot on. And my take is just like, if you just put like a duo that was that dynamic and productive out wide on this team, you all of a sudden could really be... Look at what that did for the Galaxy. They went from being like a kind of middling to actively bad team the last few years to now their attack and their offense is excellent.
00:56:42
Speaker
That's kind of what I want to see. The moves that I want to see roster. I mean, is there any other area of need or would you kind of agree with that outlook? I mean, we're going to use the L.A. Galaxy as an example. Then I'd go beyond the triple piece, right? The pudge, peck and pencil. I would go back and say, Brookman coming back and being healthy again.
00:57:08
Speaker
out wide, I mean all the things that they've kind of put together. And I say that because I feel like Seattle needs to do a couple of things. Number one, I'm with you on the white plate. That's what they were looking at. That's what they're still looking at. They're looking for a guy of a different profile. Look, I'm buying all the stock that you can sell me on Paul Rothrock. I mean, I am.
00:57:28
Speaker
We are too. But there are guys out there that maybe put you at a different level while allowing Paul Rothrock to continue to grow, continue to develop and don't give him this massive load to be that guy that's expected to be.
00:57:46
Speaker
Appet or expected to be a pencil because that's where you DPS go That's where you're bringing in those guys to really change the game, right? And I've said this all year long right now Seattle does not have an x-factor. They don't have that Difference maker that player that you know is gonna put his team on on his shoulders and
00:58:05
Speaker
And that it doesn't matter what team you're playing on. He's a game breaker, baby. He's going to just take you apart piece by piece. So I do believe that there's need for a white player. And if Seattle wants to continue to play Jordan as the nine, then I'm all good and well. Because if not, then let's switch it up. Let's put Jordan on white and go and get yourself
00:58:29
Speaker
18 goal a year top of DP striker. Cause that's another way you can do that. Cause I feel like Jordan can be just as productive out wide as he's being up top. So you go and you move Jordan to the side and get you a striker. But the one that I don't think many people are seeing that to me is key for what Seattle likes to do, wants to do for this soccer module that Brian has created.
00:58:54
Speaker
is a real fix, a real disruptor, a guy that's an Aussie type, a guy that's gonna take the ball away and just play simple, the cubas of the world. You know, that type of six that you're gonna take it away, give it up easy. Flores, Dave Flores for Toronto right now. That's the guy, that guy's, whoo.
00:59:18
Speaker
That is what I'm talking about. That guy is going to just fight every ball, win every duel, and he's going to play simple, and he's going to allow other players to do the other work. He's going to give you that dirty work. He's going to make you even more solid defensively, because as good as Seattle has been on defense, there are times where it's very easy to play through that midfield.
00:59:37
Speaker
and there's a lot of pressure put on your full backs, and that's why you've seen them exposed sometimes. People like to blame Alex Rodin a lot, knew who a lot of times. Yes, that's fair, because knew who sometimes gets a little out of shape, or a lot out of shape, when it comes to that defensiveness. But you've seen so many times Yammer have to go back and use his speed to recover and fix, and all those things can be very easily amended by having another six. JP,
01:00:06
Speaker
Love that guy MVP semi finalists for MVP a couple years ago. I think he's back to being almost 100% But there's an H question. There is a what next question So because of that I feel like you got to go get your replacement Before is too late have that guy ready to go When JP is not there
01:00:29
Speaker
Yeah, I agree with that 100%. I was going to ask you about that defensive mid position because we've seen Atencio and Obed work together and that's just really not panned out the way that I think the Sounders had wanted it to be. So I'm in total agreement. I think finding a six is...
01:00:45
Speaker
a big key to, especially as the teams played so well on the counter attack, having that piece to turn over balls, win those duels, it could be even a better investment than a young pacey wing player, someone who could, you know...
01:01:01
Speaker
get injured or something like that. That bruiser would be awesome. Last question here for you.
Transfer Window Concerns
01:01:07
Speaker
This was the thing that struck me the most as someone who's been incredibly impatient for assigning, whether that is valid or not. Craig had said that the summer is a better market for transfers, which I think is a fair thing to say. And he said, I wouldn't be surprised if we held resources this next winter for the next summer, so summer 2025.
01:01:31
Speaker
How are we feeling about that? Does that concern you at all or does that make sense? That concerns me a whole lot because if you are betting on the summer window and you're hoping that the wheels of this bus don't fall, I think you're setting up yourself for failure. You need to revamp this team as early as January because there is an adaptation curve. There is a learning curve individually, not as a group, but individually. There's a learning curve.
01:02:00
Speaker
curve for every player you gotta figure out if it's gonna work and are the pieces around this player gonna be able to allow him to be successful there's so many things that you need to see in my opinion early on because if you don't hit gold in the summer which
01:02:18
Speaker
I can't remember the last time that the Sounders hit gold in the summer. That's a problem, right? So if that hasn't been what's been working, why do it on a club World Cup year? Why do it when there's so much expectations?
01:02:34
Speaker
I don't know about you guys, but there is the need, there's almost a necessity for this team to show a lot better than they did last club World Cup. They need to at least win one game. Win one game, that's all you gotta do. You got one job, win one game, that's all. Nobody's expecting you to be Real Madrid or whoever else is in that club World Cup, but win you a game and don't get play out of them.
01:02:59
Speaker
then field do not do it and if you're gonna do that you're gonna need to get some guys in the winter so I think he's saying that I think that there are guys already on his radar I understand that is very easy to wait for a guy's contract to
01:03:15
Speaker
uh expire in the summer because that's what all the uh contract expire but man you you owe this fan base at least one transfer fee i mean me and jeremiah and jada evans and all we were talking about something similar and it was a look the best players
01:03:33
Speaker
You're going to have to play a transfer fee. The best players are not waiting for their contact to expire. The best players are not free agents. So if you want to go get yourself a baller, you've got to pay baller dollar. So I really do think that there's a responsibility on hand hour.
01:03:48
Speaker
And a lot of it might have to go in there and be like, hey, man, I need this cash because this fan base needs and deserves and has earned by being there. The 20,000 or so that continue to go consistently, they deserve a big signing in the winter. So if you've got to go out there and pay a transfer fee to get this guy off for contract, then you do that, especially next year, especially in a club world come here.
01:04:17
Speaker
Absolutely. All right. I think we're going to let you go on that one, Nico, but thank you so much for coming on with us. We really appreciate the time and we're definitely going to have to do it again soon. I know the transfer tracking game for you hasn't been as hot with all this patient waiting, but anytime the sounders do have a target, Nico's the guy to follow. Follow him on Twitter at
01:04:40
Speaker
L. Rolo n. W. E. L. R. O. L. O. N. W. We'll put it in the description. We'll put it in the description. Thanks again, man. Like I said, we're going to do this again soon for sure. Do you have anything you want to plug? Do you have anything you want to plug? Yeah. Thursdays with Nico on Spocker down here. That's 7.30 to 8 o'clock every Thursday on the Twitch. I put it on my
01:05:07
Speaker
also in on my media, my X account. So check that out. Love that segment. We do the whole Western Conference. We talk about juice boxes. If you like to play juice boxes on games that are coming up on MLS, we do a lot of cool stuff there. So check that out. Of course, postal sports as well. I try to do a little bit of English stuff, a lot of Spanish as well there. But whenever I do have English content, go ahead and follow that up.
01:05:33
Speaker
We will make sure to put all those links in the description. So if you want to find Nico down in the description, all of that, we got you guys. Thanks again, man. We'll catch you next time. Thank you, Nico.
01:05:42
Speaker
You are my friend. Have a good one. Thank you so much to Nico Moreno from Sounder at Heart and Pool Soul Sports for joining us. I thought that was a great segment, Noah. Nico always comes through with the intel and the behind the scenes. And it's always, you know, we bounce our takes off each other all the time, but it's always nice to get a different voice in there and hear what they have to say and their perceptions of this team and this roster.
01:06:05
Speaker
Alright, let's hit this LA FC preview and then we're gonna hit other leagues cup results and then do this USMNT Coaching higher at the ends that sound good. Heck yeah, let's do it. Alright LA FC preview awesome We have to preview these guys again. I am pretty Tilted with how this turned out. Honestly, Seattle has already played LA FC twice this year They got smashed on 3-0 at lumen field the last time they played they lost 1-0 at LA FC the first time that they played
01:06:34
Speaker
And then they also play them in the open cup. So it's, it's too much LAFC. I'll just say it right off the bat. I'm tired of these guys. Don't want to see them anymore. And I'm pretty annoyed that it's two more times now, including once in an elimination game, also after having been eliminated by them in the playoffs last year. So I'm tired of it, but it is what it is. LAFC, I mean, in their last league's cup game, they played the earthquakes who God, you know,
LAFC's Challenge to Seattle
01:07:03
Speaker
They came out to a good start man. I was I was really I'm a longtime fan of the San Jose earthquakes I've rooted for them my whole life, and I really thought the boys could get it done, but in all seriousness I mean the quakes are useless it was too much to ask they they did they did they almost They bam that guy Lopez turn on Lopez Diego Maradona's nephew. He's pretty good like yeah, we get him
01:07:27
Speaker
like he would be great to just straight swap to play a Jew for him to swap Lopez. It looks like an actual player for them. Unfortunately for them, he's about the only actual player that they have. It was always too much to ask for the quakes to come through in this game for one to LFC. I mean, we've talked about it. We talked about it like two weeks ago when Seattle played LFC. But Denny Spewanga is an evil demon spawned from the gates of hell. He has to be stopped for just the safety of society at large.
01:07:57
Speaker
He's a safety hazard, and someone has to stop him, but I don't know if anyone can or if the Seattle Sounders can. He runs 35 miles per hour up and down the field. He's a cheetah. He kicks the ball at 127 miles per hour velocity with pinpoint accuracy.
01:08:17
Speaker
When he kicks it your goalkeeper he like he can get in the way of it, but it's just gonna like tears and goes into the net Yeah, even if you have a chance at making the save so I just I hate this guy. I I'm really I just I wish I didn't have to watch him play soccer ever again And I have to do it twice in elimination games in the next couple weeks. I'm salty about it I never feel good going into a game against him and
01:08:45
Speaker
Here's the thing I was saying. I was saying this on my KJR hit with Jackson Feltz the other day, but like, it's pretty hard. LAFC has to play Seattle three times in this stretch too. And they won the first one. It's pretty hard to beat the same team three times in a row, no matter how much of a quality differential there might be. So my honest prediction here is that they're gonna split these games. Like LAFC is going to eliminate Seattle from one of these tournaments and Seattle is going to eliminate LAFC from one of these tournaments.
01:09:14
Speaker
I don't know which is going to be which. I think that's kind of up to chance, but just purely based on the fact that you pretty much never bam on a team like that emphatically three times in a row. I think that would be my prediction for how it's going to pan out. That being said, when you have an evil, demonic force of nature, like Denny Spawanga,
01:09:38
Speaker
They could, they could bam on Seattle twice in a row and eliminate them from both these tournaments, which would be highly unfortunate. But this LFC team is just really hard to stop right now. And they have Olivier J. They have, they have the leading goal score in the history of the French national team who debuted against the quakes.
01:09:55
Speaker
Steve C said that he's probably gonna play a little bit in this game even though he's 37 it's on turf So that's just another unfortunate wrinkle for this situation And I wish this game was not happening against this opponent, but here we are
01:10:10
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, when Jeru's knees explode at Starfire Stadium, and he comes off the ground, his knees come up, they explode and turn into ash, and then a Phoenix rises out, and that Phoenix goes inside of Denny Bewonga, and then he winds up and kicks the ball to eliminate the Sounders out of open cup.
01:10:32
Speaker
Starfire Stadium in front of 10,000 people or however many it is that's like 5k 5k 5,000 people it's gonna be evil in this this next match. I'm not looking forward to either. I honestly I Don't want to make a prediction because it really could go either way. It really could go either way I do think the Sounders have a better chance at winning that open cup game, especially if our fire very
01:10:55
Speaker
either Starfire variable and if LA FC does end up eliminating the sounders I think they have a pretty good chance of going on to the final and if that final is gonna take place like what if they just punt the open cup does it yeah they could do that I don't know it's not out of the question like do you really do you really think Steve C is gonna have the courage to deploy both
01:11:15
Speaker
Denny Spewonga and J.Roo at Starfire on like three days rest, but then I mean like even so like Kaikomara Kebam like it's just yeah, they're roster so loaded that team's so deep they play Some of the most ruthless ball in the league It's just I you know I know that there's like a built-in amount of time that your times you're gonna have to play LASC every year It's in the same conference, but you know four times like this. It's just unfortunate
01:11:41
Speaker
I had this question before we move on from this little section. Do you feel better or worse going into this LFC match than the last one when we played? Because we felt pretty bad going into the last LFC. I feel much better because Seattle has been in great form these last two games. And I felt bad going into the Galaxy game, and they absolutely torched the Galaxy. I think I was talking a bunch of smack about how I rate the Galaxy over LFC.
01:12:10
Speaker
We took some flak for that. I don't actually believe that. I'd have to go ahead and retract that take. I think this, well, this LAFC team is just, they have like an elite defense right now, which the Galaxy decidedly do not have. I really think the attacks are honestly pretty much on par. Like, I don't know. I mean, with LAFC getting J.Roo now, we'll have to see what impact that has on their level.
01:12:36
Speaker
To answer your question, I do feel better because of the form that Seattle is in. And again, I think it's going to be more competitive. I don't think LAFC is going to come in here again and absolutely boat race Seattle again. It could happen, but I would be pretty surprised.
01:12:50
Speaker
Someone clip that and if that happens just post that clip online. That's fine. That's fine like you know my predictions as we learned in the galaxy game mean very little but That's kind of how I see it. All right Let's hit these other leagues cover results cuz there are some fun ones The crew bammed on enter Miami enter Miami done. See you buddy go home. See ya
01:13:10
Speaker
Get him out of here. Messy. No messy. And this is actually a great game
Columbus Crew's Comeback
01:13:15
Speaker
though. Inner Miami went up 2-0. They looked like they were in control. And really, I know they got eliminated, but to go into Columbus, play as well as they did in the first half, take a 2-0 lead, this guy Matias Rojas that they saw, that's another guy where it's like, God, if the Seattle Sounders could have just signed that guy, holy.
01:13:34
Speaker
It's like that guy is in addition to the Barca boys. Yeah, like he has nothing to do Barcelona He's just a bonus and he's looking like one of the better acquisitions of the season and he I mean he was BAM in inner Miami looks like they were in the driver's seat and then the crew did the Did the crew thing in the second half Wilford Nancy? he he got he laid those halftime adjustments down because
01:13:59
Speaker
His boys came out in the second half scored three goals won the game 3-2 to eliminate inner Miami and really kind of Further stake their claim as one of if not the best teams in the league I mean I still if Messi's playing in that game. I still think inner Miami I would take them in an individual game with messy playing. Yeah, I still would I mean I have I have disagreed with that but I think at this point with the TS Rojas being just a baller I think I kind of agree
01:14:27
Speaker
Yeah. So, uh, but, so yeah, the inner Miami's out though. That's the reigning league's cup champion. So, uh, good job to the crew, honestly, for doing that. Um, and YCFC bammed on Tigris, Tigris, another, uh, upper tier league. I make his team gone. Go home. That's insane. I'm out of here. See you buddy. See ya.
NYCFC's Successful Roster Strategy
01:14:44
Speaker
Um, Tigris, I think went up one zero NYCFC came back NYCFC continue to be, uh, one of the like more fun young teams in the league. I think I really, I give their front office brass and their whole organization a lot of credit to.
01:14:59
Speaker
the commitment they made to these young guys. And then what's funny though is they brought back Maxi Morales. He's 37 and he scored a goal in this game and he's like still got it. Like Maxi Morales is just an awesome player. He's like five foot two. Just like a really
01:15:17
Speaker
Like like underrated Lee legendary MLS player for sure and NYC FC Just low-key every year. They're just One of the better teams and they've really but like I admire and appreciate the way they've done it with this year's team Yeah, their roster build is
01:15:34
Speaker
It's it's almost like before it's time You know because now we've switched over to you're gonna have two or three DPS and then you to a bunch of u22 slots They were like, you know what? Fuck it, dude. You 22 slots only and not only did they do that But they were like even if we put you all out on the field early on and we struggle we take some lumps We're going to commit to that. Yeah, and eventually we know it's gonna pay off because we believe in our scouting we believe in what we've done here and lo and behold like
01:16:02
Speaker
That's what happens sometimes when you give the young guys a chance like it pays off like that if you have conviction in what you're doing it's obvious that they they have conviction in like How they built that roster enough to give guys a chance even when they had to take some lumps now
St. Louis City's Potential
01:16:17
Speaker
It's paying off. Yeah, I'll never forgive them for transferring talus magno, but that's okay
01:16:23
Speaker
Mean he was bunk this year though, dude He beat messy at his own game in that front random as friendly in like October of last year. He's the go Alright, that's a pretty sick player St. Louis City man. They almost actually did it to Club America. They almost did it. They went ahead and
01:16:43
Speaker
Think they went at one zero and they definitely went ahead to one But so I tuned into that game when st. Louis was up to one on them because I was like is Club America like the biggest club in Mexico about to lose to st. Louis City And so I had I had to turn that on and I was like, please please let this happen But pretty much the entire time I was watching that game Club America was just absolutely dominating They were down to one, but it looked like the god. It looked like real Madrid. Yeah, he was going crazy. I
01:17:09
Speaker
Well, yeah, Berkey was going crazy and they were just they were flubbing chances But like they were create they their xg for this game must have been like six plus or something with like how with how they were playing and Sure enough. I mean eventually got away from st. Louis in Club America It goes on to win four to Club America games in this tournament
01:17:28
Speaker
I mean, they're not playing on the road.
Club America's U.S. Fan Base
01:17:30
Speaker
Like their fan base in this country is insane. Like I noticed that when they came to Seattle, like it was like easily the biggest visiting presence I've ever seen. It's like that everywhere they go. They're, they're like the Hollywood team of Mexico, I guess. Cause they're, they're fan base. I mean, I know they're like really popular in Mexico obviously, but like their fan base here is like far and away above any other league. I make his team that I've seen.
01:17:55
Speaker
And that game looked like they were playing at home. It literally looked like they were playing at home. Every time they scored a goal, the whole stadium was just going crazy. And honestly, my takeaway from watching that game is like, and just watching them play and the level that they're playing at right now, like there, I know there's two, only two league, I make these teams left. You put that team against even LAFC or Columbus or inner Miami, if they were still in it, like I would give them a very good chance. If not tab them as the favorite, like they are balling right now.
01:18:25
Speaker
Yeah, I i've seen a lot of the pundits say that america is the favorite and to to add on to the fan thing Legitimately any soccer match that you go to in the u.s You will always see at least one america jersey like they are They're like the la galaxy back when they first signed becom and you'd go to like I don't know fucking like I was in spain at the time and there was like four people just walking around with la galaxy jerseys and i'm like
01:18:50
Speaker
Have you been to LA before bro? Like you watch MLS and they're like, oh no, I just, David Beckham's sick. I don't know. I like shout out to America. It's definitely, I recommend tuning into like their games for this tournament just because like more than any other team, uh, I guess, you know, inner Miami is a spectacle in their own right when Messi's playing, but he hasn't been, but like their, their games are a real spectacle.
Philly Union's Resurgence
01:19:12
Speaker
Philly bammed on FC Cincy, which was pretty funny. Well, so okay. That's the that's a good question for this like I think they kind of are like they've been very resurgent in this tournament and really even a couple games I think before that in league play they were looking a lot better and Like to go into Cincy TQL which since he's a supporter shield front-runner one of the best teams in the league and I mean Philly hung four goals on them and
01:19:36
Speaker
Think there is an element of like since II are just so beaten to shreds by injuries right now So it's not really like since II at their apex, but I'm good for them to lose I'm gonna miss this like for the Philly unions run of like 10 straight games where they were not just losing but losing in like the craziest Yeah, like if you lose like
01:19:55
Speaker
Couple of games that crazily two or three times in a year. You're like damn. How does this keep happening? They did it like eight times in a row. It was hilarious I had no idea what to make of it, but I think like they have come out of that this Baribo, I think his name was I might I might have butchered that there is rightly striker. He's in really good form He scored a couple goals in this game. So Jim C and the Philly Union are back That's also another example of why you don't like fire your coach after one bad run of form like I
01:20:22
Speaker
I know a lot of people were calling for Jim C to be fired. A lot of Philly fans were calling for that. And I get it. That must have been the most infuriating run of form to watch probably of a lot of Philly fans time like following the team in the last like five years. But they seem back and since he's gone, get him out of here.
01:20:40
Speaker
Yeah. Philly, I think they literally didn't even just lose like 24 games straight. They lost all those games and were having the plague happen on their field. Like their entire field would wash away on a flood. And then there was like raccoons taking over the field.
01:20:56
Speaker
and then it was like locusts were swarming and like planes were flying over and it was just like that was it was weird there was like it really felt like there was something like cosmic going on and if you watch a juicy press conference during that run which i watched a lot of them like you could tell he thought like the same way like they'd be asking him questions and he would be like
01:21:16
Speaker
I mean, I don't really know what to say about it at this point. It's the fourth game in a row where something completely insane that I've never seen before in my career has happened and we've lost. So I'm just going to tell the boys to keep chopping wood, I guess. And I don't know if I would have said anything different if I was in his position. It was wild. Me neither. Colorado Rapids did
Colorado Rapids' International Success
01:21:40
Speaker
it again. They took down their third league at Meccy's team in a row. This time it was Toluca.
01:21:45
Speaker
Uh, this was a pretty electric game. It was like three, two in the like heart pounding till the very last second. Zach Stefan was doing his thing again. Uh, apparently the Colorado rapids are just too much for league at Mickey's. They can't like, you know, their, their league is like just so much better than MLS, but you throw the Colorado rapids at them and they're just, they don't know how to handle it. Like we, the
01:22:10
Speaker
We can we can beat any of your teams just to get just not the Colorado Rapids. Yeah, it's kind of a weird phenomenon
01:22:16
Speaker
Yeah, it's kind of funny. All right, head on for the rapid segment. No need to add on. It's the rapids. Let's hit this Pochettino
Pochettino and USMNT's Future
01:22:24
Speaker
news. This is big news. And then we'll get out of here to some USMNT punditry here. US men's national team has a coach reportedly. I don't know if I've seen it official yet, but I think it's pretty much official as far as if it becomes unofficial. I think it was a Febreze over Bono tweet. We'll retract. But if Fabs tweeted about it, it's over.
01:22:43
Speaker
so I mean let's talk about this because this is this is a big name like this is a splashy hire I think you know doesn't it kind of feel like it was almost done by Matt Crocker to placate the bots like he's like alright alright this type of thing is what you guys wanted here you go let's they were upset though let's well okay
01:23:03
Speaker
I saw a mixed reaction. We'll talk about the reaction. Maybe I'm in deep with the bots. A lot of them were excited, but no, some of them were pissed, which is, I mean, that just proves that some people will never be happy in life. But I mean, this guy on the...
01:23:19
Speaker
on the global stage is considered I think one of the biggest names one of the like most kind of respected coaches out there I think primarily fostered through his time as the head coach of Tottenham which he was from 2014 to 2019
01:23:35
Speaker
That's sort of when I remember hearing about him really becoming one of these big name coaches. But he's also coached PSG, he's also coached Chelsea, and he's earned his reputation. So I guess my reaction to the hire is like,
01:23:53
Speaker
I'm on record as not really thinking that the coach matters all that much. So we'll see. But I'm with it. I'm down to see how he would do. And I think in terms of just generating excitement and kind of intrigue around the team, I'm curious to see how it goes for sure. And as a fan of the team, I'm rooting for his success, but I'm also
01:24:19
Speaker
I'm kind of curious to watch it as sort of a case study to see how much of a difference he's actually going to make towards the results. I think that people might find that the results might not look all that different than they were under Berhalter just because I think this player pool is underperforming. I think these guys are not really living up to this golden generation tag. And I think until that changes,
01:24:43
Speaker
You could put pep in there, you could put anyone in there, and the results are probably gonna be roughly the same. Maybe a coach like Pochettino is so much better than Burrhalter, which I think, I mean, he is, that it's going to give you some more positive results than you would have had otherwise. But I think a lot of the onus here falls on the players to deliver on this potential that we've talked about.
USMNT's Player Pool Skepticism
01:25:06
Speaker
I've got annoyed watching with how drastically they underperformed, which we did a lot of content about that.
01:25:12
Speaker
so we'll see but like in principle like i'm with it i'm i'm curious to see how he does yeah i think in one breath we both are in agreement that nine times out of ten a coach is not the problem i think 100 that this player pool for whatever reason some people want to say they're spoiled or that they don't work hard some people want to say like maybe they're just not that
01:25:36
Speaker
Maybe they're just not I think that's where I am. I just think that's not how I feel about it. It could be that's possible Yeah, and but I think one of the arguments that a lot of people were making Was and I think a valid argument that Greg was not adversarial to his players. He placated everything in the locker room and that is why they brought him back it was because the locker room was
01:26:01
Speaker
Like, we love you. We're behind you. You know, you say, yeah, you don't say no to us kind of thing. And I think we cooked on that a little bit, saying that there was a petulant child vibe with that team that it kind of seemed like he needed a little bit. Yeah, I didn't put that much stock on that at the time, but looking back on it, I think there might have been something to that in terms of just like maybe an era of complacency or an era of like we have arrived and we are the best. Yeah. The Tyler Adams thing. Yeah, the Tyler Adams thing. Like I'm one of the best in the world.
01:26:30
Speaker
No, no, you're not you're not you're not So like yeah, maybe maybe a little kick in the ass that Pochettino can hopefully give would serve this team Well, but like I guess where I'm at is just I'm I'm skeptical of this player pool until they prove different. I hope that he is able to
01:26:53
Speaker
take the blinders off of the we're only gonna pull up euro players i hope that he takes the blinders off and is like all right like a jordan morris who is in form and can you know contribute yes that's right us mnt fans i just said jordan morris could compete and actually help you win games for the us men's national team
Chelsea Influence in US Soccer
01:27:16
Speaker
I hope that the player pool changes, which I know he doesn't have a ton of swing with. I don't know exactly how it's structured, whatever. But I think it could be good. I think it could be bad. I will wait and see. Like we've said, a coach can be extremely helpful and change the narrative, but nine times out of 10, it's the players. It's on them. One last thing that I had to say about it personally, this is officially the Chelsea national team, because the women's national team coach is former Chelsea.
01:27:45
Speaker
men's national team coach, former Chelsea. And I think that's perfect because for the men's national team, we spend a lot on talented youth and win zero trophies, which is the Chelsea model. Good point. Yeah, exactly. All right. I think that's actually a perfect place to wrap it up. Thank you all so much for tuning in here to episode 58.
01:28:05
Speaker
What a dub pod that was. We made it through it. A lot of content. Thank you to all our paid subs. Thank you to everyone who listens. Thank you to everyone who subbed to the YouTube. Please help us out on the drive to 400 YouTube subs. Like, rate, comment, subscribe. Five star review. Tell everyone you know to listen to the show. Thanks again. Until next time, we out. Peace.