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Kickoff: Do the Seattle Sounders have a goalkeeper controversy?
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It was a tough result for the Seattle Sounders in Matchday 33, with an unfortunate late concession making for a 2-2 draw vs. LA Galaxy at Lumen Field. With Inter Miami and the Crashout Barca Boys up next on a short turnaround, we'll assess what went wrong at the end of Saturday's match and preview Tuesday's showdown in South Florida. We'll also discuss Brian Schmetzer's decision on the ongoing competition for the No. 1 goalkeeper position between Stefan Frei and Andrew Thomas.
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Lobbing Scorchers is a Seattle Sounders and MLS focused show brought to you by Sounder at Heart. Hosted by Major League Soccer's Ari Liljenwall and Producer Noah Riffe. Join us as we lob our scorching takes on the American soccer landscape, Seattle Sounders, Major League Soccer, USMNT and more.
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Transcript
Introduction to the Episode
00:00:00
Speaker
This episode of Lobbing Scorchers was previously recorded and streamed live on YouTube.com slash at Lobbing Scorchers. If you want to listen or catch these episodes live, see the video, and see all the rest of our content, go to YouTube.com slash at Lobbing Scorchers or LobbingScorchers.com slash YouTube.
00:00:22
Speaker
Well sir, we got a scorcher today. Gonna be a real scorcher today. Why the scorcher today? Well it's gonna be scorcher.
Exciting MLS Weekend Preview
00:00:44
Speaker
Good morning, everybody. Welcome into another episode of Lobbing Scorchers Kickoff. I'm Ari. That's Nico. We got a great show for you all planned here this morning. We're going to be talking some Seattle Sounders versus LA Galaxy, a little game review of that.
00:00:59
Speaker
Let's call it an unfortunate ending. Got a rematch with Inter-Miami and the Crash Out Barca Boys on on Tuesday, so that should be interesting. We'll preview that. We're going to do the...
00:01:10
Speaker
The goalkeeper debate, I think that's still raging on. So that's going to be a big part of the show. And then to close it out, we got some, it was a pretty crazy weekend in MLS, Nico. There was a couple of other kind of wild games. So we were going to talk about those at the very end.
00:01:26
Speaker
ah Nico, how are you doing, man? Good to be back at it with the MLS regular season. That's right. We're back. We're resuming play in MLS. It's been ah fun to cover this team in ah a fantastic run of a tournament, but it's always nice to get back to just regular MLS ah coverage, especially when it's in a weekend like the one that just happened. I mean, it was 57 goals in one match. that That's wild, right? It's a...
00:01:54
Speaker
record tying type of scoring. There was a bunch of crazy games. So man, as somebody that got to just chill Saturday and Sunday and do nothing but watch boxing and soccer, it was a good one to to just chill.
00:02:09
Speaker
Yeah, no, I'm excited to get into it with you here this morning. Before we do all that, if everyone could please like the video, get us in that. I'll go. If you are watching and you have not subscribed to the channel, what are you doing?
00:02:23
Speaker
had Toss us a sub, like, comment, subscribe, rate five stars, and follow us on Instagram and TikTok. And also, please check out our new vlog that we just dropped, League's Cup Final documentary.
00:02:39
Speaker
uh it's it's getting to oh my god it's brilliant to like it it was uh honestly shout out to our video guy eric he really he really killed that so if you haven't seen that yet i imagine uh if you're in this chat at this hour you probably have but just in case you haven't go check that out because it came out pretty uh it pretty awesome and it was like uh it's a good way to kind of relive the spectacle of uh of that day ah yeah let's put a little parenthesis just because i mean i haven't done a good job enough of just sharing it just because i've been kind of busy with my birthday festivities this weekend but when i'm telling you that it put me it got me teary-eyed it really did it music going yeah yeah i freaking uh texted no and i was like you guys are you know
00:03:29
Speaker
A-holes, i you guys got me crying. i mean, it it it was really good. Well done. it was It was fun and got my my my daughter and my wife to watch it. You know, was it was pretty cool.
00:03:41
Speaker
They all enjoyed Hell yeah. Appreciate that, man. yeah we were We were stoked on how it came out. Matthew, Malcolm, thank you so much for the $1.99 super sticker to get the super chat game kicked off here this morning.
Seattle Sounders vs. LA Galaxy Analysis
00:03:53
Speaker
Appreciate the support. All right, Nico, should we get into it? We got a lot to talk about, so let's ah let's dial with let's dive right on in. ah Before we do that,
00:04:04
Speaker
Bad sequels with the 499 says happy belated Nico. Yeah. Happy belated Nico. Thank you. Well, it's actually Tuesday, which is kind of cool. Cause you know, tomorrow is for the Miami game.
00:04:16
Speaker
ah But you know, we celebrated on on the weekend just cause it's usually a big back boxing match for my birthday. And this was no different. It was Canelo Crawford. So yeah, we had a good time, man. We had some good food.
00:04:28
Speaker
I was hurting Sunday, but I'm back to just being good. Our birthdays are two days apart. Mine's on Thursday. didn't know that. Yes, yes, absolutely. So is yours the 18th? Yeah.
00:04:39
Speaker
Yeah. All right. i Look at that. And my mom's is the 21st. It's a big birthday week in the Lobbing Scorchers community, I guess. I love it. ah All right. Now let's ah let's talk about this Galaxy game, Nico, because I think there's ah there's a lot to get into here.
00:04:56
Speaker
ah Obviously an unfortunate ending ah Seattle goes up 2-0 in the first half They give up they give one up Protecting a 2-1 lead late And then they give up an 87th minute equalizer Which, ah let's just say not ah Not an ideal goal to concede And also kind of it's sort you know It's like we're really back to the regular season. During League's Cup, they kind of stopped doing that stuff. But that that was something that if you you can go all the way back to the first game of the year against Charlotte FC, and that pretty much exact scenario played out. And there's been a couple a handful of other instances kind of similar to that.
00:05:37
Speaker
this season ah before we talk about it, I did want to play the clip from Brian Schmetzer's presser of him breaking down that last goal, because it was honestly one of the most fire Schmetz breakdowns I have ever heard. He cooked.
00:05:51
Speaker
He absolutely cooked. He, I don't even know if he got asked about it. He, he was, he went into that presser ready to cook on that. And he literally gave a point by point breakdown complete with naming every single person who was at fault with that really, i think, it it explained it in a much better and more detailed way than I ever even could.
00:06:12
Speaker
So I'm actually going to give Schmetz the floor right here, and then we're going to break down the end of that game. But this is honestly, this was ah this was absolute flames from Schmetz, so I just wanted to play this.
00:06:28
Speaker
All right.
00:06:30
Speaker
But the mistake happened way up here. or out by the touchline. And I don't know knew who could have kept the ball in or not or whatever. I don't know. I didn't see that far in advance. But that's a terrible goal.
00:06:42
Speaker
That is an absolute terrible, terrible, terrible goal to give up.
00:06:50
Speaker
So that won't happen again. and then since we're on the goals, we'll just go to the first one. You know, was it a foul? Was it not a foul? Some of the fans were upset about the refereeing. Referees don't lose games.
00:07:04
Speaker
You know, they had a trick play. it it it was obviously it was a trick play. And, you know, right our guys' ability to, you know, understand and have vision in their defending and understand where the dangerous spaces are, where their players are.
00:07:23
Speaker
How about this? Just simple body language cues. When Paul Rothrock sprints to the ball, the guy wasn't ready to shoot. He doesn't need to do that. And he just gets, they pass it right back to Painesville.
00:07:36
Speaker
And then Kalani's tucked inside. Somebody comes out there. Kalani has no idea the guy's on the left. And then Steph's got to cover the near post, but there's nobody down on the goal and it's life or death in the penalty box.
00:07:48
Speaker
Somebody's got to win that header.
00:07:52
Speaker
And they put us under pressure from some of their corner kicks. So we will be prepared. ah for the remainder of the year because I understand the importance of set pieces and throw-ins are actually a set piece, ah you know, and we'll make sure we're better.
00:08:06
Speaker
Okay, I think that was actually the the wrong part of the clip there. That was him talking about the ah the first goal. But really... yeah um yeah The first... No, I think he starts off by talking about with the second goal. And that's where he talks about every single player. i don't know if you want to try to find that clip. ah But if not... i mean i mean go yeah go Go ahead. just Just bring it back while at well I just talk about it. But I love this by Brian. I think that...
00:08:35
Speaker
Brian Spencer, it's all about control the controllables. And if there's anything in soccer that you can control its set pieces. And that goes both ways that goes on ah offense and on defense. And that's why, you know, in the Latin American community, we say that set pieces are half a goal that you should be ah working enough to make it that way. So you can do that. And then defensively,
00:08:59
Speaker
you control everything, right? You control where players go, who's, who's covering who, uh, where are your matchups, all of that. And the fact that let's start off with, with the first set piece, um,
00:09:13
Speaker
It's honestly a little bit of a ball-watching situation where ah you know Kalani and and think it is Rothrock that are on the wall.
00:09:24
Speaker
And Fagundes does a good job at selling it, ah that that he's just going to pass the ball back and they're going to take it in. he even does a little feint as he's going to go inside of the box, and he goes out wide on on the on the left side of their attacking end, and then on the right side of Kalani.
00:09:43
Speaker
And Kalani just stays watching the ball. And Fagundes goes unmarked for a long time. And then you got Christian back there. And you're going see Christian point. He probably said, hey, let's watch Fagundes.
00:09:56
Speaker
But no one does. And that just kind of starts a trickle effect of... that that whole set piece just falling apart. So it's ah one of those things that, as you mentioned, this team has done in the past, right? You don't want the two goals that you gave up, one of of a set piece, one of of a throw in Those are huge no-nos when it comes to soccer. So I like the fire. i like the fact that he breaks it down and he's holding everybody accountable ah because that's unexcusable for a team that's been so good.
00:10:26
Speaker
Right. and And it is kind of a defensive. Well, it's a it's a mental lapse of just not being completely on in those particular moments. All right, I brought the Schmetz presser back a minute, so I'm going to play that again.
00:10:41
Speaker
i think i was I didn't listen to the whole thing, but I'm pretty sure this is going to be – we're going to get the – I just need the ah the part where he names every everyone. Yeah, you literally just missed it. Yeah, yeah, this is right before.
00:10:53
Speaker
The set-piece goal, the set-pieces that they started, obviously the team wasn't prepared, and so that's on me. That goal came from a throw-in. And our setup on that throw and anybody can see it was all wrong.
00:11:05
Speaker
We had a bet on the wrong side ball, Albert on the wrong side of the ball, a center forward on the wrong side of the ball. He's used for air on the wrong side the ball. Christian goes up and challenges. There's a gaping hole on top of the box.
00:11:17
Speaker
The I'm has got to step out. Now he's out of position. Nobody wins the duels in there.
00:11:25
Speaker
And then the sequence of, yeah, the ball bouncing around the box, then you can start to pick that apart. But the mistake happened way up here or out by the touchline. And I don't know who could have kept the ball in or not or whatever. I don't know. I didn't see that far in advance.
00:11:40
Speaker
But that's a terrible goal.
00:11:46
Speaker
He cooked. I think he named, I think he named, uh, more than half the guys on the field. But I, to me, that just underscores that that way, that's not one of those ones where you can blame on one guy.
00:11:59
Speaker
That is just a collective, uh, one, two, three, four, five, six guys like in the wrong place or making the wrong decision. And what, uh, the end result was really, uh, I guess let's talk about where we're at with this Nico, just in terms of, uh,
00:12:15
Speaker
how we feel about the drop points and and the result independent of what happened on the play, because I'll just start with where I'm at, which is, If they go out ah tomorrow and win this Miami game, take all three points, then then this is whatever. i'll I'll let it go from the standpoint of ah what it means for the table. Because if you had told me going into this set of two games right here where you got the Galaxy and Inter-Miami on short rest, and you told me that you beat the Galaxy and tie Inter-Miami and take four points out of those two games, I would be like, all right, that's that's fine.
00:12:51
Speaker
So if they go and they beat Inter-Miami in... Fort Lauderdale tomorrow, and they take that exact same haul. I think it is water under the bridge.
00:13:02
Speaker
You know, the larger issue of the defensive miscues that we've seen this season, notwithstanding. But as as far as what it means on the on the standings and the playoff race and the point total all that,
00:13:13
Speaker
they can They can atone for this. They got and a chance to atone for this on on Tuesday against Inter-Miami, and they can put themselves, I think, back on like the pace point-wise that they needed to be on.
00:13:25
Speaker
ah But I do think ah there is the larger issue of the pattern of these things. There's been too many... drop points from winning positions this year. There's been too many red cards. God knows no one got sent off in this game. So that's a positive. That's a good thing.
00:13:42
Speaker
ah That's a good thing. ah But it's just like realistically, if you want home field advantage and you want to maximize your chances of making a deep run in the playoffs and making a play for MLS cup and getting a little leagues cup MLS cup double this year, you can't,
00:13:59
Speaker
When you're ahead in the 87th minute, you need to see out the game. like So if they if they win this game tomorrow and they're able to cut out the error, like they did in League's Cup, did they make a single error like that in League's Cup?
00:14:12
Speaker
No. It's almost like... really didn't. Yeah, it's almost like you the only goals that they got that's got scored on them in League's Cup were in the Cholos game. That kid hit like an insane shot. Remember that one?
00:14:23
Speaker
And then I don't even remember the other one they gave up. They gave up two goals the entire tournament, and their game management in those situations was flawless. It's almost like they just go into God mode in tournament time.
00:14:34
Speaker
They need the ah the knockout factor to... to not have those situations, I guess. But like you, that's, you can't live like that. You've got to be, these games are really important right now.
00:14:47
Speaker
You are dog fighting with LAFC for that fourth spot. These other teams ahead of you in the West, they're going to be hard to catch. So this could come down home field advantage could come down to, if you can fend off l LAFC for that spot, they win their game.
00:15:00
Speaker
and on the road against it's San Jose. So was essentially a home game for them, but they won their game. I stated it incorrectly on the post game show. I would say at LAFC tied or left Seattle or something.
00:15:12
Speaker
Seattle is one point ahead, but they would be three points ahead if they had just not given up that goal at the end. So it's just like, again, it's one of those things where if you, if you want home field advantage, you can't have situations where,
00:15:25
Speaker
like that because now you're going into this. You got to fly across the damn country to play inter Miami and the crash out Barca boys. They got obviously Suarez suspended and Avila's got suspended too for the red card. He got ah in their loss at Charlotte, which we're going to talk about that.
00:15:44
Speaker
ah So, you know, they're a little shorthanded, but this, this is a type of road trip where a draw is like a good result in most circumstances and winning the game is just going to be you very difficult, uh, purely because of the road trip. If, uh, if nothing else. So, uh, that's where I'm at Nico. How are you? how are you feeling in the aftermath of that eighty seventh minute debacle?
00:16:08
Speaker
I think that this team needed that, to be quite honest. I feel like ah let let's start where ah Brian kind of went off.
00:16:19
Speaker
ah For those of you that heard him, that that might not know what he's talking about in terms of all these players are on the wrong side of the ball, is because it's the 87th minute.
00:16:30
Speaker
There's a throw-in. And if you pause it, you can see Albert, You can see Ferreira. You can see all of those guys that are defending no one. And they're on the attacking end.
00:16:43
Speaker
They were just vibing. They're on the opposite side of where you should be, live or death. let's Let's hold on to this 2-1 lead. We got to be defending. We have to be on the ball.
00:16:55
Speaker
But there was a a sense, and this is just my opinion, there was a sense of – we're not going to lose this game, in
Sounders' Performance and Key Moments
00:17:04
Speaker
my opinion. And he and he goes both ways. He goes both on how loosey, goosey that that defense was at that particular moment, where usually you would see all these guys dropped in and defending somebody, and that puts Obed and on the on the right side of the ball, that makes sure that when the ball gets over and everybody shifts, everybody shifts together, there is no need for um Kalani and...
00:17:31
Speaker
think it's Kalani and Yemar stepped to the same person. I mean, there is all of this breakdown that happens because of how you started the play, how you how you set yourself up.
00:17:42
Speaker
So that part was one thing. The other part where I thought they the team maybe felt as if more chances are going to come was offensively.
00:17:54
Speaker
The Danny Mussovsky miss, like it's fine. It happens. It is a thing of sometimes when you have too much time in front of goal,
00:18:06
Speaker
You kind of are trying to figure out how going to put it away. And that's kind of what makes elite strikers elite strikers is is kind of putting those away all the time. But that that that is at a whole different level. So Mosovsky obviously misses that one. The Rothrock one was a little bit harder in the first half.
00:18:23
Speaker
ah But the one that I thought was... Odd was Alex Roldan has one on top of the box. He's dribbling into the 18.
00:18:34
Speaker
And Rothrock is by himself coming in. If he makes that pass, that's a goal. But he decides to take it on his own. And I'm not trying to, like, come down on Alex. I just think that those type of mental lapses happen because you're thinking, look.
00:18:51
Speaker
that More will come. So let me let me try to get mine. And he shoots the ball. he doesn't go anywhere. And then that kind of comes back to bite the team in the behind when you end up giving an equalizer in the 87th minute.
00:19:02
Speaker
So there was a lot of opportunities that Seattle created that usually they put away. yeah But there was a sense of I think we'll be fine. but We're going to win this game. I thought the pressing also in the second half was less intense.
00:19:17
Speaker
They did a lot less on repress moments. I felt like they almost laid off the gas a bit. And you can't do that against a LA Galaxy team that, yes, they're playing for nothing, but you got guys in this team that are playing for their spot for next year.
00:19:33
Speaker
Fagundes wants to make sure that he continues to be in this team. ah We talked about it right before this game. There were going to be young players like Cerrillo that are just trying to make sure that they have a spot next year because there's so much talent and experienced players in in those positions. So you got to come to play.
00:19:51
Speaker
So for me, this is where I stand. I think that you can grab this game and make it a huge learning lesson because all the throw-ins and set-piece goals are the worst type of goals that you want to give up.
00:20:04
Speaker
They're the easiest to fix because you can literally pause and say, where are you? This is where you should be. What happened here? Next time, this is where you need to be. So it's very correctable.
00:20:15
Speaker
So I'm hoping that knowing the way Brian was banging dad that pencil and and and that desk, he's going to make it a point of this will never, ever happen again. And and that makes the team better for the the close of the MLS season and then going into the playoffs. So on the positive end, I thought that,
00:20:38
Speaker
Regardless of the LA Galaxy did a good job of compressing the field a little bit. they play them well pretty They played pretty well overall, to be fair. Absolutely. They were closing down spaces.
00:20:49
Speaker
I think a draw was a fair result, like given the balance of play, like the two games in LA that Seattle won, Seattle was controlling the run of play pretty much the whole time. They looked like the home team when they were on the road. This game was not really like that. Like l LA had way more of the game. They were a lot better in possession.
00:21:08
Speaker
ah Seattle's press, like you said, wasn't as effective in the in the second half. And in fact, like their counter pressing was pretty good and they were just a lot better in possession.
00:21:19
Speaker
So I do think you have to credit them. You do. you know And these are the type of games that the Seattle Sounders will run into. And that's why i love soccer because it's not linear. You know, you can have a phenomenal game against PSG because you're at a certain mindset.
00:21:36
Speaker
You can dominate Messi and ah Although it was a a game where in the Miami missed some opportunities, ah you were still extremely good at what you were trying to do. The game plan worked perfectly because you were a different mindset. And then you have the LA Galaxy team that's been, you know, in the dumps and and then they they equalize on you late. So those are the things that Seattle has to figure out. And and I think it is a learning opportunity moving forward.
00:22:03
Speaker
ah But with staying on the positive things, I thought the Ferreira's movement was very good. The goal that they put together was very good. Everything about that goal, that that first goal by the Seattle Sounders, it's a pickup um by Alex Roldan.
00:22:17
Speaker
He gets forward, sees the the space to put it in in through a couple of defenders. Yoshida tries to get it and cannot get it because he's The pass by Alex R'dan is perfectly paced, is perfectly placed, and leads Masovsky perfectly. And then Masovsky, a guy who I always...
00:22:38
Speaker
Criticized for not doing the other things. Love the way he just checks his hip. He sees Ferreira. He's patient. He yeah drops the ball, again, with perfect pace, and Ferreira just puts it away.
00:22:50
Speaker
Ferreira is a guy that we talked about that he has not reached his full potential. Love the goal. Love the run. Love love love the the finish. um And then the second goal as well. Look, Stefan Fry does a lot of things that maybe people don't don't realize, the distribution.
00:23:07
Speaker
that Danny Mussovsky miss in front of goal happens off of a a a good ball into the midfield, into the perfect space for Paul Rothrock to go get it. Paul Rothrock flicks it, gets it behind the defense, and then Danny Mussovsky has a whole bunch of open field to run into and and and try to score that goal.
00:23:28
Speaker
I thought Paul Rother was very good the whole game. You you know, he had that that miss, but he had a goal ah taken off. He was absolutely offside. That's maybe ah goes against him a little bit if you're a coach.
00:23:39
Speaker
but But just he's putting himself in all the right positions. So love Paul. Love...
00:23:46
Speaker
Ovid Vargas, he slips in that second goal. that It's a very savvy pass to kind of slip in Paul Rothrock. And Paul Rothrock with his body, he's telling Ovid, I see you, you see me.
00:23:58
Speaker
And it's it's a very good play to end up getting that easy ball for Misoski to just kind of push in. So the offensive movements were very good. I thought that defensively, for the most part, they were holding on well.
00:24:12
Speaker
um Kalani did not have his best game. I'll say that. He was out of position a lot of times. so But I think that this team continues to show why they have been as good as they have.
00:24:25
Speaker
And although there were mistakes in this one, there was a lot of good moments that Seattle can take from and continue to build the rest of the season. Matthew with a 499.
00:24:38
Speaker
Thank you, Matthew. Appreciate all your support here this morning. He says, could have been worse. Zero points would have been much worse. Plus looked like great offensive movements and fluidity. Yeah. Like I think if there is a positive from, from this game, even if it might not feel like it in the aftermath of a concession like that, is that,
00:24:55
Speaker
Yeah, I thought the performance offensively was actually still really good. They only got two goals, ah but the chance generation was good. The XG was cooking. like ah The movement was good, especially in the first half. They looked, I thought, pretty much like the team that we saw in League's Cup that was carving everyone up, dicing everyone up.
00:25:13
Speaker
Like you mentioned, Ferreira getting a goal. I think that was important. that was ah I was on a Galaxy podcast where they asked X-Factor, For Seattle, that was who I said, Jesus Ferrer. I said that I wanted to see him get a goal in this game.
00:25:26
Speaker
Wanted to see him get him rewarded for all the work that hard work that he's been doing, kind of the dirty work for this team. And he's been snake bit. Like I would argue he's pretty unlucky to not have at least three or four more
Minnesota United's Strategy Critique
00:25:37
Speaker
goals.
00:25:37
Speaker
this year. So it was just good to see him be a part of a sequence like that. Unselfish play for Moose. Great finish from Ferreira. Hopefully that, uh, gets him going. I thought that was a great sign.
00:25:48
Speaker
Uh, it was really good, uh, great to see Albert Rusnak and Jordan Morris back on the field just in general. Uh, you know they weren't They didn't play that many minutes, but I thought Jordan looked pretty sharp. He had that one header that was it was right at the goalkeeper, but just seeing him you know in that position, getting a shot on target, that was good. I think that should theoretically give this team a boost as well.
00:26:10
Speaker
So... it's not What about Giorgio Minungu's Bicycle kick? Man, I really thought that was going to go in That was a great resource for that ah Sort of play it it wasn't him trying to show off or nothing It was just the perfect resource For that sort of ball And man, he puts that away man he breaks down the the stadium I mean, it was that good It was very close I thought that once again really got hot It was not that high It was like, no No, it was right there.
00:26:41
Speaker
ah But I think once again, Brian brought in the good, made the right choice on substitutions. It just didn ended up not working out for him. ah but But once again, i thought that the the timing of the substitutions was good. Yeah.
00:26:56
Speaker
It was good to see Nuhu back as well there to just close the game. And what I mean by back, meaning just in that role of like, we've we've got to close it down. Let's put him in. He obviously has a little bit to do with one of the goals. And you heard, you know, Brian talk about it. But at the at the end of the day, i think that this team, as they get healthier, man, it if they can put together the the the right team, the right mentality moving forward.
00:27:24
Speaker
i Look, I look at the West and it's, is is is is up for for takes. Anybody can really do that. I mean, there are good teams. I'm not saying that they're not. And there's there's teams that have done it throughout the whole season, which is, you know, a whole other type of credit to a team like San Diego.
00:27:39
Speaker
But when you saw them kind of, you know, fall apart here this weekend, right? So they are an unbeatable. And Dreyer can have a bad game because he did against Minnesota. and They lost that game at home, 3-0.
00:27:52
Speaker
They lost that game at home. And and in Minnesota, you know, they they did it with, less than 1% XG as they're they're typically, you know, used to doing it because they're just effective on the ball. But Seattle, ah you know, they've they've had issues with that sort of lineup before, but, you know, they've also been able to kind of grow. So I think that the Seattle Sounders are contenders to to win the West, but they're going to have to get away from games like this one where,
00:28:21
Speaker
You miss opportunities. ah You play great in parts of the game. And then you have defensive mistakes just because you're not 90 minutes into a game. So I think all things aside, this Tuesday game will be important against Inter-Miami.
00:28:38
Speaker
there were It felt like they were going to rotate heavily for it. But I think that the draw maybe changes the way you approach that game. And maybe you see a lot more of that stronger closer to your starting 11 lineup.
00:28:54
Speaker
The, the Minnesota United thing is like actively starting to piss me off. Like just the way that the way they play, like we all saw it when they played Seattle in and beat Seattle and really got like good glimpse of those tactics. Like you said, they won this game at San Diego, giving up 70% possession and putting up less than one XG.
00:29:17
Speaker
And it's like, you know, ah you You can't hate on what's working. Like, obviously, they figured out a formula that that works. They've been using that to great effect all season.
00:29:28
Speaker
I just... Every week, I'm like, there's no... Like, they're they're doing a bit at this point. They're doing a bit. They never have the ball. They basically... all of their danger that they generate comes off set pieces.
00:29:40
Speaker
That's it. They don't generate anything from the run of play. Like pretty much all their games look somewhat like, ah like the one that they played against Seattle, except they're usually able to just Nick a couple more goals or at least one more goal.
00:29:54
Speaker
through some other it's either a set piece or just like maybe a counter or something on on rare occasions i just it's like ah they can't keep getting away with this type situation like you look at the uh at the stats at the end of the game and you're like there's no way that they won that game three zero there's no way and they they keep doing it so i guess until until someone figures out how to stop it uh they're gonna keep doing it but i will say just if we're talking about other western conference contenders I have a hard time believing you can win an MLS cup like this.
00:30:27
Speaker
Like when you get to the playoffs and you're playing the other elite teams in the league, I feel like there's going to become a point where they're going to need to be able to like get on the ball, knock it around, actually have some possession and try and generate danger like a normal team.
00:30:45
Speaker
like You know, i if, yeah, I'm, if they can prove me wrong, prove me wrong. I will, ah I will eat my words on that, but I just, I refuse until they do it. I refuse to believe that you can win a trophy plan like that team plays. Like it is, it's ridiculous.
00:31:00
Speaker
And again, i you know I struggle with it because it clearly works. They're taking results with it. They have all year. But God, I just I hate watching them play. Yeah, look, I used to feel like you, but you know, a long time ago. i used to be all about the the beautiful game and and and the way you should play it.
00:31:20
Speaker
but But the reality is is that, you know as Sinclair said after the game, you know the beautiful thing about soccer is that there's more than one ways to win it. And you know they they have an identity. They know how to do it. And Jose Mourinho would disagree with you. i mean, that's how with Inter Milan, he was able to beat Barcelona. It was with ah ah team that played that team.
00:31:43
Speaker
sort of style where, you know, it was against the run of play. he was defensively. It was about, you know, getting Diego Milito a couple of opportunities and he put it away and they beat the gorgeous, beautiful soccer of Barcelona, you know, for for a title. So ah those are the things that I feel like, look, if Ramsey, who has clearly found the perfect equation to get his team the biggest chances to win, then they're dangerous ah you know team. And just like the Tush Push, you might hate it, but if it's unstoppable, it's unstoppable, right? So you've got to figure out a way to stop it.
00:32:19
Speaker
ah And Minnesota has lost games, right? Because they they do put themselves in this corner where... If they don't put away three out of the four chances they got in the entire game, then it's a completely different ballgame.
00:32:32
Speaker
And that effectiveness is is hard to keep up with, right? ah So if Pereira can continue to play well and Jabou continue to play well, that you know that happens. But in the playoffs, if you're having a bad game, then it's going to come back to bite you in the behind. And that's where Seattle needs to be able to have a lot of patience and move the ball around.
00:32:49
Speaker
You heard Brian talk about it in this press conference where he's like, you sometimes we need to just – Bring it by, recycle it, swing it to the other side, change the point of attack, and then find that space to get in. So, ah yes, it's frustrating. I get it. And i know the fans probably hate that sort of soccer.
00:33:05
Speaker
But at the end of the day, I do believe that ah this this Sounders team is going to have to figure out how to beat a team like that because you will see them in the playoffs. Yeah, and I mean, they beat yeah San Diego 3-0
Inter-Miami Match Preview
00:33:18
Speaker
in San Diego. So I guess far be it for me to question how you get to a result like that. Not many teams have been able to win there this year, and they did it like pretty easily. So ah we'll see.
00:33:29
Speaker
We'll see if Eric Ramsey and the gang can actually win a trophy ah doing a bit. It seems like they actually might. So we're going to find out come playoff time. ah Nico, let's talk about Inter-Miami and the Crash Out Barca boys.
00:33:43
Speaker
ah Rematch coming up tomorrow in in Fort Lauderdale. And dude, this team is, I think they might be spiraling right now. I think they might actually be spiraling. yeah all day they got They got smashed on by Seattle in the League's Cup final, famously. We all know that. 3-0. They go out back east, roadmatch in Charlotte her this weekend. and They got outplayed. It went about as poorly as it possibly could have. There was one of the greatest sequences I've ever seen in this in that game. when ah
00:34:16
Speaker
enter miami It was 0-0, and Inter-Miami got awarded a penalty kick, as they are known to to be awarded um and leonel messi steps up to take it and takes a deep breath does his whole uh leonel messi pre-penalty kick routine does his run up tries a panenka and christian colina is like all right i'll take that a panenka that that gets saved is one of the funniest things in soccer leonel messi getting a panenka saved against charlotte fc is uh it's It's a great moment. It's a historic moment. We should all appreciate that ah that clip. If you haven't seen that highlight, go look it up. Kalina took that ball home. There's no way he didn't take that ball home. Oh, yeah. He was he was pumped up.
00:34:57
Speaker
And then Toklamati, who's apparently the best striker in the league, ah he immediately scores on the other end. the The missed penalty just really seemed to crater Inter-Miami.
00:35:08
Speaker
ah They end up getting rolled on. 3-0 again for a second straight game across all competitions. You you do love to see it, Nico. ah But also it's just like, as far as it relates to Seattle, they're going to play this team tomorrow for a Tuesday game randomly.
00:35:26
Speaker
And it's a team that is that there's something going on. There's something going on behind the scenes. There's something going on mentally. Like they are not in a good way right now, but kind of in, in the, in a, in this sort of way where it feels like the whole operation could just go completely off the tracks.
00:35:46
Speaker
That's kind of the vibe. And say they lose this game to Seattle, just, you know, hypothetically, even by multiple goals, like, like what are What is going on with them? like they they actually If they lose this game, they could actually see their season go fully off the rails. So it's a big opportunity for the Sounders in that way. But I guess, what do you just... ah Before we talk about the matchup specifically, like what do you just make of what's up with Inter-Miami? Because for me, like seeing them lose the League's Cup Final that way um it was obviously a really bad L for them, but it's also like...
00:36:24
Speaker
realistically ah road trip that long playing at lumen field on on turf or whatever there's a lot of variables that you could point to that could explain what happened in the league's cup final they did make it to the league's cup final they've been playing at 1.8 or so points per game all year so i was i was not really uh locked in on the notion that that would say much about their chances for the rest of the season.
00:36:52
Speaker
But after seeing that Charlotte game and now Seattle going into this game, ah i don't know, man. I don't know. Like, what do you make of what's going on with them right now? This is what happens when you have a team that doesn't address needs opts for getting, high profile players and feel that, uh,
00:37:16
Speaker
With that and Lionel Messi, it's enough to to win the game. and And when you have an unexperienced head coach as much around, that has a hard time adjusting in the run of games.
00:37:27
Speaker
ah That has been a a clear um flaw of his this season. ah You go against Charlotte, arguably the best home team in MLS.
00:37:39
Speaker
They have, what, nine or 10? They're on a 9-10 game winning streak. um They tied Seattle's. They tied Seattle at nine. It's nine. um They tied Seattle's game-winning streak at nine.
00:37:52
Speaker
They are a team that is going to be physical, that's going to close down on... on During midfield, they're going to play through you. I think Bronico is having a fantastic season for um ah Charlotte.
00:38:06
Speaker
So what's wrong with Miami? It's the fact that, as I mentioned, they didn't address the needs in the defense where they're you're just so open-ended. There is no clear setup that makes this team –
00:38:24
Speaker
compact when they have to defend, whether it's on transition, whether it's an emergency defense. They just have a hard time. I think that Avalas has run off his hinges. I mean, he just...
00:38:37
Speaker
Never let this guy get back in on the field. He you know gets gets red carded. He is guy that is a gambler on the defensive end. So by you not even understanding that the only center back that you have is Falcone, because I can't think of anybody else other than Falcone that should be a starter for this team.
00:38:57
Speaker
then you have issues. And then you go back to the attacking end where you don't really have a finisher and you continue to try to play agenda to be a finisher. And that's not his game. You saw it here. You saw it in this game against Charlotte.
00:39:10
Speaker
Famously, not his game. not Not his game, right? So you just didn't address the things that you needed to address. Even if Suarez was there, Suarez had become more of a guy that becomes a pivot up top, right? He's going to play off and allow the wingers to get in. He's there as his guy.
00:39:26
Speaker
therere like Absolutely. So that was another need that they needed to address. But instead, they went and got a trigger to Paul and they broke the Internet. And, you know, all of these things that were awesome for ticket sales and jersey sales and, you know, all this globalization of the market.
00:39:42
Speaker
But at the end of the day, as I mentioned it here and I mentioned in every show that I had, It was not going to get you a an MLS title. And look, this is soccer, so I'm not going to dismiss that idea, but you didn't set up your you didn't set yourself up to to do it.
00:39:57
Speaker
So they are the the East is so good, and from Philadelphia to Cincinnati, I just don't see them beating any of those teams. So... At the end of the day, I just think that Miami is an incomplete team.
00:40:09
Speaker
They're disbalanced. There is a clear crack in that group that it's almost as um the players run the team.
00:40:22
Speaker
Machirano is just kind of there for for for for show. But it's the players that are running this team. There's literally no discipline. He's hanging out with his boys. Yeah, he's hanging out with the boys. Exactly.
00:40:33
Speaker
So there's just so many things wrong with Inter-Miami that it's all about what can the talent get us? What can individuality get us on the field? And that's just not good enough to play teams that are collectives, just like Charlotte, just like Seattle, and so on and so forth.
00:40:51
Speaker
It's so funny that Aviles got vla scott ah red card in Charlotte and is suspended for this game because if you remember, he was one of the preeminent crash out crybabies. think he was crash out crybaby number three. I thought that that was Allende originally, but that was Aviles. too.
00:41:07
Speaker
avila and he somehow avoided a suspension in league play that would have suspended him for this game. Suarez did get suspended for this game, but Aviles and Busquets somehow did not. So, you know, he was just he was just giving imparting the discipline that he should have gotten the whole time.
00:41:26
Speaker
He shouldn't have been playing in this game anyway. So now he's not going to be. That's just another loss for them. I think you also have the issue of, you know, they don't they don't really... Mastrano doesn't really...
00:41:38
Speaker
load manage messy at all and like you can't yeah like and messy he has some self-imposed policy as i understand it where he's like if i'm playing i play 90 because if i don't play 90 i've found that i get injured easier so pretty you will never see messy sub out of a game pretty much ever like so he he put he'll play uh He'll play the full 90 in this game tomorrow, I have no doubt.
00:42:07
Speaker
But how effective, like, is he going to be able to be his maximum effective playing on short rest coming off a pretty long road trip? Like, maybe. i don't know. But you also, you don't have Aviles.
00:42:19
Speaker
You don't have Suarez, who, like we were talking about, that's their main creator at this point. They're number 10. It's not even Messi. Messi's playing more a little more advanced usually, or he kind of floats around a lot.
00:42:32
Speaker
But Suarez is like their central playmaker. He's been getting their assists all year. And then Messi kind of just does his own thing. Like you said, i they there's no identity, I guess it feels like. they like When you think about what does Inter-Miami do? What do they hang their hat on?
00:42:48
Speaker
It's not like a tactical identity. It's like... we have Lionel Messi and we just kind of give him the ball and watch him do cool stuff. Like to the extent they have a system that appears to be what it is.
00:43:01
Speaker
ah And, you know, it doesn't matter ah how much, how much like individual talent, like you said, you have on a team, like you need to have a coherent system, coherent identity. And ah they've been dealing with the issue of not really having that for a while. And, you know, it speaks to the talent that they do have, that they've still been at 1.8 points per game all year, kind of in spite of these issues.
00:43:22
Speaker
But ah all of this is to say, this was always going to be a hard game for Seattle. It's still going to be a hard game for Seattle. A road trip this long, this is the second longest distance road trip that you can take in all of MLS.
00:43:35
Speaker
So that right there, that makes it a game where taking three points is always going to be a tall order. But if there is any juncture where this version of Inter-Miami with Lionel Messi out there could be vulnerable, them coming off two straight games where they lost three to zero, including in a cup final to this Seattle team, and then got just absolutely slammed on in Charlotte.
00:43:59
Speaker
Messi misses the Panenka. He's probably just all around not that happy with the state of affairs currently, I have to imagine. They're going to have to deal with ah whatever the consequence of that is going to be.
00:44:11
Speaker
ah But for now, like, the way I feel about this game is, like, if they If they don't win it, I wouldn't be super shocked just because of like the the lengthy road trip obstacle, but you should be able to take a result. like This is a wounded animal, this team right now. like They are down bad, and it's an opportunity also to really just send them into a tailspin.
00:44:34
Speaker
That's what i would like to see. Everyone loves a good downfall, especially coming off their League's Cup final crash out. I definitely would not ah wouldn't mind the downfall. So as for this game itself, Nico, how are you feeling about the matchup and Seattle's prospects of taking any result but also maybe even winning this game, which when you we looked at the schedule at the beginning of the year, i was not thinking that this game would be...
00:45:01
Speaker
ah all that likely to win. But now I'm looking at it and I'm like, this team, but they're ah they're they're crashing out. They're spiraling. Yeah, I think that that red to Avalas just kind of gave Seattle yet another advantage on this team.
00:45:18
Speaker
I don't know what that backline is going to look like. It may be Busquets back there next to Falcone. They've done that in the past and maybe they'll try to overpopulate the midfield. And yeah, I just...
00:45:32
Speaker
To beat this game, it is extremely winnable. I get it. Look, it's it's messy. And I'm curious if he'll play, to be quite honest. That's what I was wondering. like i' I'm curious if he'll play.
00:45:43
Speaker
Because, sure, like part of me says, yes, Messi's going to want to redeem himself. And he's probably upset about everything that happened here. But then there's another part of me that says, look, this is messy. And he's thinking, am I going to put myself in a position where, once again, without...
00:45:59
Speaker
Luis Suarez, Busquets probably playing farther back. I'm going to put my face, me being this guy that then loses again to this Sanders team. yeah I don't know. It seems like a lose-lose. But ah yeah, so I'm curious to see. i would I would applaud him playing this game, saying, look, this is my team. I'm the face of this franchise.
00:46:20
Speaker
I'm going to get us through it. I'm going to be the magic. But I would not be surprised if he doesn't play this game. Use his rotation as an excuse Or you know whatever it is I just I don't know if he's going to play Because from his perspective With Aviles now out of there Aviles isn't that good but he is like a starter For them They're even if he feels like, all right, I'm, I'm that guy. Obviously i need to get revenge against this team. I'm going to go pop off in this game.
00:46:50
Speaker
ah He also probably knows better than anyone that ah the struggles that inter Miami have defensively. So it's like, you could, you could go out and get ah couple of goals or get a Hattie and still not take a win in this situation with that defense down, down a starter, not that good. Anyway, Busquets,
00:47:11
Speaker
We saw, remember when they dropped him back in the League's Cup final? How did that how did that one work out? Not that well. He got absolutely bammed on by Paul Rothrock. so like i And that is what they're going to do to cover for VLS.
00:47:24
Speaker
I love that matchup for Seattle offensively with how they've been playing offensively. Like going against a... a center back duo of Sergio Busquets, 43 year old crash out cry baby and Falcone, who I don't think he's fine. He's like a replacement level MLS center back kind of air prone in his own right.
00:47:46
Speaker
And then, ah and then you got, you know, you got Ian Frey who got absolutely barbecued by Pedro de la Vega all day long in the league's cup final. That's another matchup that I love, but on that exact note,
00:47:59
Speaker
Do you know what's going on with De La Vega? Because he was not even in the matchday squad for this game. We know he's had this knee tendinitis issue. Is he going to play in this game, or is there something up with that? Do you know? ah Well, ah again, tendinitis is...
00:48:14
Speaker
I guess chronicle you can call it. It's just something that a lot of players get that they have to play through. And it's a pain management type of injury. It's just something that you deal with. And some weeks are better than others. And some weeks you might be held up. You might hurt a little bit more.
00:48:29
Speaker
It looks like ah he, Brother Lavega this week, he was okay till Friday. On Friday, he was... a partial participant in training. He did a lot of things just on his own.
00:48:40
Speaker
So there was probably a spike on that pain level on, on, on that tendonitis. And that's why he was held off as far as I know, just something that going to have to deal with. So I wouldn't be surprised if he's either on the bench or, or starts on Tuesday, unless they figure out that it's better to just rest them Into the Austin game Which is a bigger game a game that obviously is a conference game um So yeah, that's that's kind of what it is It's nothing that people should be worried about That that is going to not allow him to play It's just something that he's dealing with And it's something that ah a lot of soccer players deal with
00:49:21
Speaker
Well, whoever's out there, hopefully ah hopefully cooler heads prevail in this match. I mean, you know we know we know how it can go against these guys.
00:49:33
Speaker
You got some angry old men between the ages 38 45, and... and forty five and they'll take They'll take swings out there. They'll punch a 20-year-old and maybe spit on people. You never know.
00:49:45
Speaker
So let's just hope that there's no ah brawl, follow-up, or fallout, and it's just a good, hard-fought, competitive game. And we'll see if the the Sounders can get a result.
Goalkeeper Debate: Fry vs. Thomas
00:49:58
Speaker
All right, Nico, let's have this ah gold goalkeeper debate and then... Real quick at the end, we'll talk about a couple of these other and MLS results. But I think the big positional debate going on right now is this ongoing competition between Stephen Fry and Andrew Thomas. i I kept calling him Andy T on the on the last show. I forgot that he he doesn't like Andy. andrew thomas Andrew Thomas and Stephen Fry, ongoing competition between the posts.
00:50:24
Speaker
And I think this kind of this kind of came up. or after the way this Galaxy game ended with how much of a defensive debacle that was, how much of that you put on the goalkeeper? I went back and watched both of those concessions a lot of times, and I don't know. I didn't see anything that I necessarily attribute to the to the goalkeeper on one hand, but I guess just to present the counterargument, you have this League's Cup run,
00:50:51
Speaker
where Andrew Thomas is in there and the defense is pretty much flawless. Everything looked very controlled the whole time. They didn't have these individual errors at all.
00:51:02
Speaker
And then you have this galaxy game where it's Fry in there again, and you have a couple of these situations where the defense is a mess and it's all out of sorts. And it's like, I think some people are thinking, should we just be riding the hot hand in this situation? Like we had a setup where ah where the defense was looking lights out. Why even tinker with that situation? at all even if you don't know what caused what happened against the galaxy should you be messing with uh with the setup that you know is working and then on top of that you have a situation where it's an heir apparent situation this energy thomas is going to be taking over as a starter probably next year like i i would imagine we'll see how they handle it but i think the writing is sort of on the wall with that and nico where do you where do you come down on that should should fry
00:51:47
Speaker
still have the starting job, like no questions asked for the rest of this year, or should Andrew Thomas take it over? Schmetzer's talked about how this is ah one of his tougher coaching decisions that he's had to make, and he's still kind of in the process of ah evaluating it.
00:52:02
Speaker
And to my knowledge, there's been no clear-cut decision made. what do you ah What do you think? What should they do?
00:52:11
Speaker
I continue to state that Steph stays on. I think that when he comes to the bigger games, when he comes to... um directing traffic, when it comes to the leadership component, when it comes to distribution particularly.
00:52:29
Speaker
um i think Stefan Fry is more than ah than just a goalkeeper. And yes the difference between Andrew Thomas and Stefan Fry is obvious, right? It's the athletic ability, it's the ability to take certain shots, ah to stop certain shots. And he's such a great shot stopper.
00:52:48
Speaker
His PK stopping ability, his ability to go out there and get the ball in certain chances, right? and In this particular game, there is a breakdown, but Brian does point to the fact that ah maybe Steph should have been ah defending that near post and and, you know, you kind of have to go get that ball.
00:53:06
Speaker
um So I understand the argument. That said, i think that Stefan Fry has yet to do anything to lose the job consistently. I think that Andrew Thomas is a guy that would even rather just let Steph have the rest of this year and then next year take on on that torch and keep it lit with very likely Stefan Fry as his backup.
00:53:31
Speaker
um And I think that's the perfect situation. But ah to me, I understand that Andrew Thomas just won you a Leagues Cup. And I understand that in this industry is all about what have you done for me lately in industry, I mean sports in general, is what have you done for me lately?
00:53:50
Speaker
But Stefan Fry is a guy that I would feel more comfortable dealing with certain situations, dealing with certain games. Playoffs in MLS are as hard as it gets.
00:54:02
Speaker
And if there's anybody who knows how to play those games, a guy like Stefan Fry. So for me, he's the the choice. You let him ride the wave into the end of the season and then you move on next year.
00:54:14
Speaker
Yeah, I still trust Stephen Fry in a big game or a playoff scenario. over There's just that he gives you a sense of calm, security, like you kind of know what you're going to get.
00:54:26
Speaker
that is I think that's important in big games. He's played so many games with these guys. They all they all know how to ah to play together. and You know, i I tend to agree that that's how they should do it, and I think that's what they they will do.
00:54:45
Speaker
I mean, i don't know. Looking at either of those goals they conceded against the Galaxy, did you think that there was anything on the on the goalkeeping that could have been done differently that maybe be andy andy andrew Andrew Thomas might have done? Because, i don't know. I looked at it, and I didn't see much that way, but people were saying that there was, so No, again, that what I just mentioned about just defending that near post, but you can't say whether Andrew Thomas would have reacted that way because that's kind of the funny thing about goalkeeping, that it's not just about my ability to get from point A to point B and go in and pick that up that ball.
00:55:23
Speaker
It's about reading and understanding and reacting And those things a lot of times are not as easy as it may seem. um So for me, yes, could you say that Andrew Thomas would have gotten to the ball?
00:55:36
Speaker
I can't say that. I can't. Could he have physically maybe gotten there? Maybe. But I just don't know if the way that prey play broke down allows a goalkeeper to make one specific read on it, right?
00:55:51
Speaker
For me, this was not on the goalkeeper. There's things that a goalkeeper could have done a little bit better, but it doesn't prevent the goal necessarily, right? So I don't think either goals are on Stephen Fry. He gets mentioned by Brian Smetzer because there is that sense of could have he gotten there.
00:56:08
Speaker
ah But I wouldn't say that Andrew Chalmers would have stopped that goal or would have made that goal go away. So, yeah. I mean, the equalizer was just like a comedy of errors, like six in a row by seven different guys. Oh, yeah. I think I said that's no. I think I said after the game that it looked like the Bad News Bears. Like, I mean, it's pretty much that sequence was less than ideal.
00:56:33
Speaker
defensively ah But, you know, you got to just toss it in the bin, move on. You got Inter-Miami and the Crash Out Barca boys coming up on Tuesday. Why is this game on Tuesday? Is that just because of their schedule earlier this season? I would to say has something to do with – is it in the U.S. s Open Cup final? I mean, I don't know. I mean, i they they had to push one of the Sounders game out. i just – I don't know. I'm i'm not really sure.
00:57:00
Speaker
I'm pretty sure it was like – here is just messed it's weird but i don't like it yeah i'm not i can't say i'm the biggest fan of a tuesday 4 30 kick but you know far be it for me to question i guess it's kind of like minnesota united you just got to let them let them cook on their on their methods uh but i mean i guess it is kind of you know you get it at the beginning of the uh of the week instead of on the on the weekend or like right midweek so there's a little bit of novelty to it Hey, Ari, how many, I mean, if people are there at and they're listening, I'm kind of curious what the chat has to say.
00:57:39
Speaker
Chat, if moving forward, you got to pick who takes the reins at goalkeeper, who would it be? Steph? Or Andrew your Thomas? i i just want to I just want to know.
00:57:51
Speaker
Yeah, let's do a poll. Drop your answers in chat. So far, a couple people have already done that. And there's people kind of campaigning for Andrew Thomas sure so far. And like, yeah, there no, there's valid arguments.
00:58:05
Speaker
100% ways like you don't want to get in a situation where you're clinging to some like a less effective option just because it's worked for you in the past like you said it's a lot of what have you done for me lately Andrew Thomas has done a lot for me lately you he was the one running the show for this entire league's cup run so right we got in look And look, and he's came up huge, right? in In huge games, right? And he seems to have that... um almost persona when he's on the field. Cause he, he's super nice, like after the game, but it feels like when he's in the game, he's just like, he out there looking like Thor and he's just got this, like, you know, ability to just manage situations. And it's, and it's great. I love it. I really do.
00:58:54
Speaker
The margins between both of them are are very clear of what maybe you get out of Steph and what you get out of Andrew Thomas. And that's what we're having that debate. what The reason why I stick with Steph is just because there are certain situations at the goalkeeping position, and that's why you see a lot of older goalkeepers. When it comes to center backs and goalkeepers, it's kind of like fine wine.
00:59:17
Speaker
some some The older they get, the better they get. And I think that there a lot of it has to do with – circumstantial play and understanding of reacting to certain moments. And in that category, I like to have my older goalkeeper, an experienced goalkeeper, but I totally you understand the nuance of wanting the more athletic, the the guy that's going to get to the ball quicker, ah the guy that has the bigger, I guess, bounce, if you want to call it.
00:59:43
Speaker
In Spanish, it's resorteo, you know, is the guy that just can get to that ball a little bit quicker. um So, yeah, so i get I get the debate. I get it. Yeah, it's good debate. I think the most likely outcome is what a couple people have mentioned, which is that Fry's going to get the reins to see this season out and into the playoffs.
01:00:02
Speaker
And then I think next year it's a situation where we'll see what Fry decides to do. But he's he's said, I think, on record that he plans on playing next year.
01:00:13
Speaker
and I think if that's the case, and going into next year becomes a discussion of like, does the torch need to be officially passed? It's just kind of tough pass the torch in season when there wasn't really like a performance related reason to make a switch.
01:00:32
Speaker
Some people feel about this differently. Like I feel like Fry's been pretty much like normal Fry. Yeah. this year. ah there's but There's a lot of talk on like his mobility, like if he's yeah able to move around and get to these balls like he used to.
01:00:47
Speaker
i think there there might be a couple cases where you could point to that. To me, that has not seemed like a like a recurring pattern. I don't know. Do you, you see that aspect of it differently? Because there are, there are some people out there and I'm not saying it's invalid, but there are some people out there who would contend that his decreased mobility compared to where it used to be have been like uh,
01:01:14
Speaker
ah like a negative for the team this year? Whoa. Yeah, that's too much. I mean, I wouldn't think it was is a negative for the team. I think that there have been situations where look, father time is undefeated and and and it's clearly something that gets to everyone. And he certainly doesn't have that ah the mobility that he did maybe couple of years ago.
01:01:36
Speaker
ah You know, he talked about it himself about, you know physical, physical, aches and pains that he's had to deal with from the beginning of the season moving forward. But I do know and I do understand that the goalkeeping position you can react to strikes differently and you can ah account for that lack of mobility, but you've lost a step. So you've got to readjust a little bit quicker.
01:02:05
Speaker
and Maybe you have to come up at the ball a little bit different. So there are things that him and Tommy Dutra work with all the time. And I mean, I get to see it. We both get to see it first time, right? We get to see these guys work all three. If you were to just simply go off of athleticism, I mean, Jacob Castro would be the number one goalkeeper.
01:02:22
Speaker
Yeah. But that's not the case, right? Because Jim Castro looked like he could probably play for the Seahawks as a wide receiver. But at the same time, when it comes to goalkeeping, it's much more than that.
01:02:34
Speaker
It's understanding on how the ball spins and understanding how to get certain balls. It's about distribution with your feet, distribution with your arms. It's about you know ah directing traffic, understanding how you...
01:02:46
Speaker
You move within the box. I mean, all those things that Thomas is great, but I just happen to think that Stephen Fry for the rest of the season would be
Sounders' Strategy and Player Rotation
01:02:56
Speaker
the better choice. And you allowed Andrew Thomas to follow up. And then next year, you see where that goes.
01:03:04
Speaker
All right, Nico, any other thoughts on Seattle and either this Galaxy game or Inter-Miami game before we before we jump into some league-wide stuff to close it out here? did we Did we miss anything regarding the Seattle Sounders?
01:03:20
Speaker
No, not necessarily. Obviously, the Pedro de la Vega thing we talked about, and that's going to be and an interesting one. Jordan Morris, that does he get increased minutes? He obviously got on and ah didn't get to play much. So do you give him 20? Do you give him 15?
01:03:38
Speaker
Do you rest him and you, I don't know, playing more against Austin. Do you start? em and I mean, I don't know. i just I think those are the things that maybe we'll look into. Clearly, he's not ready to start, but I'm just saying that Jordan Morris is one of those things that you do want to look at.
01:03:52
Speaker
In this particular game, um the midfield, the pivots, Christian Roldan, it's another game where he is all over. you know Can you maybe slice Snyder in there in this one?
01:04:04
Speaker
That's going to be interesting. How heavy the rotation will be would be interesting. But aside from that, no, I think we covered everything. They're going to run the the Christian Obet double pivot. we already We already know that. There's 0% chance that anyone... The rest of the lineup, I don't know, but that I do know.
01:04:22
Speaker
But I am i am ah really excited to see what Jordan can bring to this offense ah He's had ah really unlucky year. He's looked great every time he's played.
01:04:34
Speaker
He just has not been able to stay on the field. So here's the hope in that he can stay healthy down the stretch here and, you know, bring a bring a new element. to this attack. Obviously, Osaze has been doing great. Like, all of the number nines this year have been in in great form.
01:04:53
Speaker
But the way I see it, Jordan's is just kind of like a more polished and a little more dynamic version of Osaze. So, I mean, if Osaze is banging in goals in this system, then what could Jordan do, you know? And then also you throw in there that Rusnak is coming back, who is, he and Jordan famously work very, very well together.
01:05:14
Speaker
So, ah ah like, it's one of those situations where people are saying, like, oh like another hot hand situation. But for me, it's like, if you just If you just add these two designated player quality players into what you have right now, that could even elevate it.
01:05:30
Speaker
ah Jacob Stash coming in with the $5. Thank you for the support. Said, Jordan brings a lot to final quality. Does bringing back so many dilute the magical water we have seen? Yeah, that's what I was just alluding to. no, don't see it.
01:05:44
Speaker
Like that, like the way, the way I see it is that you've been able to really, you've been able to maximize what you've gotten out of Moose and Osase. I mean, what is it now? You have 20 plus goals combined from the number nines this year.
01:05:57
Speaker
You have ah like all cops, you have 16 from Moose at this point. You got five from Osase, all cops and four from Jordan. So that's like 25 goals from the number nine.
01:06:11
Speaker
position why were we ever even talking about noah ohio like what yeah i mean that was before osaze broke out i get that much but uh it'll be i guess it's more interesting to see how they rotate that area of the field for the rest of this year and then what happens next year because you got to imagine that there are other teams who are looking at what moose and osaze are doing and feeling like damn like we could really use those guys and we would pay them more money than whatever Seattle's paying them for them to come do that for us.
01:06:41
Speaker
So I guess, do you have any thoughts on that? Like either how I think it's interesting. Cause look, I've been saying that you're going to have to figure out what you do with um Danny Mussovsky. Cause sure. You activate his ah option.
01:06:57
Speaker
You keep him a whole other year, but as everyone knows, nobody likes to play on their, option And he's going to want extend. He's going to want figure out what's what's next.
01:07:08
Speaker
Those conversations are coming.
01:07:12
Speaker
i just would not bet that Musaski would have another season like this one. So... You're a moose skeptic though. You're a moose skeptic. You're a non-believer. Extremely. you're nontre I'm a non-believer. Love that. That's funny.
01:07:26
Speaker
I am a non-believer when it comes to Mosavsky. So that's absolutely fair. Definitely bias on that end. How many goals does he have to score for you to be a believer? but No, could score 20 this year, and I love it. But just like I said, look, Jeremy Lin had one fantastic season, and then it died. And, you know, I can give you a couple of other players that have, you know, there were one-year wonders that were fantastic, but consistency is the real thing in sports. And you can't really, you know, bet on a player that hasn't had that throughout his whole career, and he has one year,
01:08:01
Speaker
And then you're willing to bet on that, right? I mean, maybe he proves me wrong and he does a second year of just killing the league, but it's just not very high probability that that happens.
01:08:12
Speaker
He's never done it in his, in his career, but to be fair, he's never played this many. this is the first time he's been given like as big a role as this. And ah maybe, maybe this is just who he's always been, you know, but I mean, I hear what you're saying. Like, uh,
01:08:30
Speaker
Betting on a repeat of what could be an outlier. There's always an element of risk that comes with that. But ah for this team this year, it seems like he's really figured out how to get in those spots where, i mean, he's, he's getting in these high XG positions, right?
01:08:50
Speaker
as off as frequently and converting them as efficiently as any of the top number nines in the league this season which is is it is it and an outlier is he a product of the system or the services he's getting I don't know but it is it is working for now but then I think the question becomes like you know Are you going to give him like a huge raise under the notion that he's going to keep doing that?
01:09:15
Speaker
Are other teams going to be like, we'll give him an even bigger raise than that? ah Because I've been saying like a lot of these teams, we're going to talk about a couple of them in a second, like but a lot of these teams, I could name a lot of teams in the league right now that could use a guy like Moose.
01:09:31
Speaker
Atlanta United paid $22 million dollars for Emmanuel Latte Loth. I don't even think he's got half the goals as Moose. Right now I mean you look at San Diego San Diego lost that game ah Against Minnesota because they Don't have a nine at the time hadn't thought of that one that's oh man that team with Moose Yeah they rely a lot on on What Lozano does And what Dreyer does and and they just don't have That guy right because they lost them to now Philadelphia ah But you know when they had that guy that you know was killing the league there for a second, oh my they were a much better team because he gives you that final end product, right? So sure. And that that goes too. Because look, I don't want to take credit away from Danny Wasowski. He's been incredible. I would have never guessed that he- He's been a godsend.
01:10:16
Speaker
I would have never guessed that this is the type season he would have had. And again, going back to just this weekend's game, it it wasn't just the goals in this one. It's that ability to just kind of check your your hip and understand where you need to put the ball.
01:10:29
Speaker
I mean, those are the things that I'm looking beyond even just putting in an easy tapping. It's all the other stuff that I'm looking for. it and you know I even like the fact that he tries stuff, right?
01:10:41
Speaker
he he might try to get through, figures out doesn't get the speed. you know Those are things that you know I'm looking for In a nine ah But the reality is is that his ceiling Is topped out And moving forward I mean you're hoping that you can continue to keep him on Obviously as a guy that you can rely on ah But yeah it's just it's tough Yeah it's just like I mean it's a question of How much you want to invest Into that into
MLS Weekend Highlights and Surprises
01:11:09
Speaker
that situation That's what they're going to have to decide ah Like you said, he he has an option or He's under contract for one more year And then got an option, is that what it is Or is the option for four no the option is for next year So that will obviously be activated
01:11:22
Speaker
And then you figure out what you do with it Right But if I'm him and I'm an his agent I'm like we're not playing on that number Come on now i just yeah Or just we need we They're going to push an extension I mean that that's just the way of the game And and yeah and you can they're goingnna They're in that situation with ah Paul Rothrock as well So that I mean there The offseason is going to be lit We're definitely going to keep doing these shows Because there's going to be a lot of stuff with the roster Alright Nico to close it out Real quick here I did want to hit a couple of these other results that happened in match day 33 like you like we were saying at the top of the show it was a wild weekend in mls 57 goals or whatever it was a record for one for for one weekend uh and there was two that caught my eye uh atlanta columbus and vancouver philly atlanta columbus
01:12:17
Speaker
ah Columbus went up five to zero inside 30 minutes. Atlanta United gave up five goals in 30 minutes at home.
01:12:27
Speaker
At home to a Columbus team that is known as one of the better teams in the league, but really has not been for the last couple months or so, I don't think. i mean there's no There's no way, though, like regardless of who you're playing,
01:12:40
Speaker
that five goals in 30 minutes can be a thing. Like, that I don't even know what we're talking about at this point with that. ah But then Columbus made a bunch of subs and totally let their foot off the gas, gave up four goals in the – they gave up one right before a halftime in Almiron-Pique.
01:12:57
Speaker
Then they gave up three more in the second half and only won the game 5-4. And they were so bad from the point that they went up 5-0. to where that's like it's not a win that feels like a loss i don't think there's such a thing as that but they should not be happy about no no one should come out of that game happy about what transpired if you go up five goals in the first half that game absolutely needs to be dusted there is no way you can be no way you can be in a situation where you're in danger of bottling a five-goal lead in the first half.
01:13:29
Speaker
And colum the Columbus crew, literally they literally almost did that. ah But I guess, you know you know me, I always want to talk about it from Atlanta perspective because I've been tracking their downfall this season pretty closely, and there's so many there's so many been so many Seattle connections that I've been interested to follow with them over the last couple years.
01:13:50
Speaker
ah But five goals in 30 minutes at home? Like, could you have even foreseen that it would get to, to this point down there? Like, that's crazy.
01:14:02
Speaker
Yeah, it was, it was a crazy game. And I think the downfall of Columbus starts with an injury to Diego Rossi, who, by the way, had a hat trick playing 42 minutes. There were four hat tricks for four different players, uh, in MLS record. Also, that's also a record. Mueller, Abuanga, the Charlotte kid, and Rossi.
01:14:27
Speaker
It was really something different, right? So for me, it starts there. i also think that when they they take out Ali, Columbus misses their point man up top.
01:14:38
Speaker
I think that they give up way too much space. And I think Brooke Lennon coming in for Ronnie Hernandez was was huge for Atlanta. Atlanta has this inability to use their width.
01:14:52
Speaker
they They just don't have any players that can give the team width, right? So he's typically he's Amador on the left, who's your fullback. And, you know, you were hoping that Almiron would do some of that, but he's more of a pocket winger. So yeah when Lennon comes in, I think he just changes the game for Atlanta. They get on the front foot.
01:15:10
Speaker
I do want to say that this was more of a... circumstantial kind of vibes of the moment. I don't foresee Atlanta scoring four goals probably for the rest of the season ah because they've just been so bad, you know, ah offensively.
01:15:27
Speaker
But but it it was it was a game where I think – You're right, between the injury to at Rossi and Wilfred just kind of taking some pieces off and maybe laying off of of the gas a little bit allows Atlanta to come back into this game.
01:15:43
Speaker
But but it it was wild to see. yeah ah I was happy to see Columbus holding on to the win because that would have been Wilfred's Nancy's probably worst draw if they draw that game of his career because it was bad. that That game was completely out of control.
01:15:58
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, it was it was fun to watch from a neutral perspective, but I feel like it's it's a crazy situation to score five goals on the road and have to, he probably had to lash into the team after in the post-game locker room after that, which is just not what you would expect when you score five goals in 30 minutes on the road.
01:16:20
Speaker
On the road. i don't know I've ever seen that. And then you had this Vancouver-Philly game, which the Whitecaps won 7-0. That was the other Hatcher Thomas-Brews. Yeah, they Seattle Sounders versus Cruz Azuld, the Philly Union, who, i you know, it's just one of those MLS things because the Philly Union might win the Shield this year. they They're either leading it or right up they're leading it. I can't remember how it panned out after the Yeah, they're leading it.
01:16:48
Speaker
But they're leading it. They're they're still leading it. like MLS got to be yeah they're still leading it so and MLS got to be the only league where the team that is about to win the league potentially can go into a match and lose by seven goals uh their lineup was ah super rotated that is one of the longer road trips in the league in its own right but I mean even so like If Seattle would goes and loses this game in Miami 7-0, I would be a little concerned. i We would be on here talking about a lot of concerns, I would imagine. are you Do you have any concern about Philly, or is this just a fluke one-off? I tend to think it's a fluke one-off, but are you concerned about Philly and also –
01:17:33
Speaker
Do you think the Whitecaps mojo is kind of back with with the Tommy Mueller hat trick and hanging seven on ah on the shield leaders? yeah Yes to both questions. I do think that it was fluke.
01:17:46
Speaker
um I think that when you have a systematic team like the one that Carnell runs, certain players that are off make a huge difference. They were missing their best defender.
01:17:58
Speaker
I think that Ilovsky had a very poor game. I think Indiana Vasilev was overly committed all game long and probably did more wrongs than right throughout it.
01:18:11
Speaker
um So I think that this is one of those games that you You take for what it is, the humiliation. Do you guys like what that feels like? Do you guys want to get beat like this?
01:18:22
Speaker
And you use it to just ignite the fire, keep the fire going because they've been phenomenal all season.
01:18:31
Speaker
But I do think that Vancouver, a lot of credit goes to them. They put Philadelphia in a tremendous amount of pressure with the ball because they have you know so much speed. They push the ball so quick.
01:18:46
Speaker
um And I think Mueller does change the vibes, to your question. I think that the vibes are back because of a guy like Mueller just getting everybody riled up. I was very concerned when...
01:18:57
Speaker
um I forget his name now. The Ecuadorian player that ended up going to... um Pedro Vitae? Pumas, Pedro Vitae left because a lot of that intensity wasn't quite there, right? And i think Berhalter has done a good job with Cubas at...
01:19:17
Speaker
especially in this game, to really get the the ball progressively going. And I feel like that's something that he did well Vite, the way he added himself onto the attack was important.
01:19:29
Speaker
um But I think now with Mueller and and what he's able to do offensively, they've really captured or recaptured some of that flair, some of that intercal play.
01:19:43
Speaker
Once they get going and transition is extremely quick. They create a lot of opportunities, right? So for me, yes, I think Vancouver, who I was doubting, by the way, I was absolutely doubting. In this game, I thought Philly was going to have it, and they didn't. So for for me, I think that, once again, Sorensen has done his job at just getting the team right at the right time, and they're going to be a problem in the playoffs.
01:20:11
Speaker
They're going be a real problem in the playoffs. Yeah, turns out ah Thomas Mueller is quite skilled, quite good. I think it's ah it's so random but kind of fire that he picked Vancouver. It seems like what he did was he was just kind of like looking at MLS clubs, MLS cities, and i was looking into research in Vancouver and was like, this seems like the coolest thing.
01:20:35
Speaker
He just like, shit yeah, he just really was drawn to it for some reason. He was like, this is where I i want to be. they hit him up and they were like, hey, can we can I come play for you? And they were like, i mean, hell yeah. well Like, it but it seemed like it I mean, I'm sure they contacted him first, but it was like, he just had this kind of strange alert of it. I mean, I love Vancouver every time I've gone there, it is an awesome city. So I get it. It's just, I've never heard of a, ah like a player of that status That happening to the city of vancouver before so that's cool for that. He caught me by surprise look I muller is a great name But it's been a while since he's been extremely productive and I honestly didn't know if he was gonna come in with this sort of mentality You know sometimes when you get these european players, they'll come in here lot like lampard and pierlo and they just are just playing a game They're collecting a check. They're doing their own thing, but
01:21:31
Speaker
Man, he's his energy is different. I mean, the way he talks about it, i mean and I know he's probably being facetious, but he talked about this being the greatest moment of his career or something like that. He's a World Cup winner, you know, talking about that sort of situation. It's almost laughable. but But you kind of do believe it just because of the way he plays the game and he rallies the troops and he's getting everybody going and excited and they're all just cementing together. And I feel like this is one of those things where a team like Vancouver that's also more effective because of the collectiveness, right? They they don't have any like outstanding, you know marvelous players until they and ended up getting Mueller, right? at And I mean, no disrespect to ah White or Gold or you know all these guys, but you know when it comes to superstardom, mean, this is as big as it gets in Vancouver, but he's brought in more just in that stardom, it's more of that culture mentality.
01:22:25
Speaker
And that's dangerous, man because that team looked like they could have put another three It could have been 10-0. I mean, that that's how good they were. That's how much the volume of play was there. I think that the way Sorensen uses his fullbacks as well with Ocampo pushing forward and the way Savvy comes in and out of the outside and the inside lanes.
01:22:43
Speaker
I mean, they're a difficult team to defend, man. I mean, this is the best defense in MLS. if ah If I'm... if um It's one of them. It's one of them, right? And and they got they got put seven on?
01:22:54
Speaker
Seven? Yeah. No, it's crazy. ah Ian says Miller name-checked Alphonso Davies for the Vancouver recommendation. i hadn't heard that. That makes sense. They played together at Bayern Munich. Alphonso Davies probably told them. Yeah.
01:23:10
Speaker
that's ah That's funny, like, picturing them having that conversation. But
Conclusion and Audience Engagement
01:23:14
Speaker
that's it. All right, Nico, we're going to call it right there for this episode of Vlogging Scorchers Kickoff. Thank you, everyone, as always, for tuning in.
01:23:21
Speaker
Appreciate all the support. We'll be back at it for postgame live tomorrow after Inter-Miami game. Yeah, go ahead. I just wanted to give a shout out to Sean. I should have asked for your last name, but I met him there at Starfire. His daughter plays for Rush and says he loves the show, loves Lovin Scorchers.
01:23:41
Speaker
So I really appreciate you, Sean. Thank you for for listening and approaching me. I probably look terrible because I was with barely any sleep. had been partying the night before so but but i appreciate you coming over saying hello so thank you sean shout out to sean yeah and anyone who sees uh us out in the world always come say hi uh all right yeah back at it tomorrow evening for uh post game live and then i'll be back at it for under the lights on thursday as always thank you all for the support like comment subscribe rate five stars write reviews follow us on instagram and tick tock and uh we will catch you tomorrow
01:24:20
Speaker
Peace.