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Breaking Down the Loons' First Loss of the Season vs. Nashville
41 Plays1 day ago
In which Gorts, Ari, and Diakena discuss whether this loss is a result of a poor Loons performance, or an outstanding Nashville performance. We discuss our inexperienced backline, Triantis' banger and potential impending move, Bongi's lack of impact so far, and much, much more!
You can follow the show on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/looncalling.bsky.social
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Transcript
Introduction & Hosts' Chat
00:00:00
Speaker
Hello everybody and welcome to Loon Calling, a podcast dedicated to Minnesota United Football Club. And I am here, as always, with my friends in Minnesota United fandom. I'll throw it first to Diakena. How are you doing this fine evening?
00:00:20
Speaker
I am doing pretty good. Awesome. And Gortz? How are you doing this evening? Just chowed down a cheesecake, so i am just fabulous. Thriving. Absolutely thriving right now. i wish I had some cheesecake.
00:00:40
Speaker
Yeah, absolutely the best life. i What sweets do I have around? Oh, i have some Girl Scout cookies. One of my friends hooked me up with ah with a dealer. Girl Scout cookie dealer. Can you just order them online now?
00:00:55
Speaker
Like, you don't even have to go through. Isn't there that one Girl Scout who has, like... use went through like TikTok or something and it sold like 80,000 boxes. oh my gosh. Yeah, they she yeah were liked this she used the power of TikTok and they got like an insane amount of order. Wow.
00:01:20
Speaker
You can't escape social media marketing not even in the Girl Scout world. Wow, we're all just at the mercy of the algorithm, aren't we? I don't know what it is, but it's like...
00:01:32
Speaker
It's some massive number. 80,000 orders would be like pressing into the millions. Like in terms of the money, right? I don't know how much of that money going. I don't know how big of a profit margin those cookies have, but that's just huge.
00:01:52
Speaker
Oh, soccer. Should we talk about soccer? i guess. Is that a thing we should do? Do we have to this week?
First Episode After Loss & Social Media Interaction
00:02:00
Speaker
Yeah, this is going to be an interesting episode because this is the first episode after a loss. So I'm very interested in in the takes.
00:02:10
Speaker
um My my my partners here in in Minnesota, and Minnesota United Fandom. um have already read the rundown ah so they know kind of my my perspective my observations but uh i'm curious to know if our listeners will agree with our takes or have strong takes of their own feel free to to leave a comment wherever you're listening ah and let us know or respond on Blue Sky. You can follow the show on Blue Sky. If you didn't know, that's the only social media I'm really interested in promoting on at this point. So that is the best way to interact with the show. I am the one that runs the account, um but...
00:02:57
Speaker
you know If you want to interact with anybody that's on the show, just feel feel ah feel free to message on Blue Sky or tag us in a post or whatever, and we'll we'll make it happen.
Lineup Changes & Defensive Struggles
00:03:10
Speaker
How about we go over this match that I did not actually watch because I was visiting a significant other in Omaha, Nebraska. A very, very cool...
00:03:24
Speaker
underrated place um i don't know about underrated but it's it it's a it's a solid city so i did not get the chance to watch this live but i did re-watch it a couple days ago um why don't we dive in let's dive in as always We will go into the lineup. Very similar lineup, save for one significant difference. Boxy not in the lineup, still seemingly dealing with an abductor issue.
00:03:56
Speaker
which you know is a pretty important muscle in your thigh, or so I hear. i don't really know much about human physiology, so we're just going to let the experts handle that.
00:04:07
Speaker
And if they don't think Boxy can play, then he's not going to play. But from left to right, as always, on the back line, we had Markannick, Padelford, who is in for Boxy,
00:04:20
Speaker
Duggan and Diaz on the back line, and then trap Triantis, Bongi in the midfield, and Chancolay, Yeboah, and Pereira as attackers. We showed 4-3-3 to my eye and also according to FopMob.
00:04:37
Speaker
Still... And my cat is playing with something on the ground. So apologize if you can hear that. um Yeah, we showed a 4-3-3, still committing to defending with a back four. um And yeah, of the ball and we created point eight nine expected goals And the shot column was nearly even, but only three of our 14 shots were on target, whereas Nashville's shots, they got twice as many on target. And of course, scored two more goals than us because we lost this match, as everybody knows.
00:05:18
Speaker
Let's dive into the how and the why of why this match went the way it did. So diving in to the match.
00:05:29
Speaker
So through the first 10 minutes of the match, we actually looked fairly evenly matched. um But Nashville did have the bulk of the half chances through the first 10 minutes of the match. um I would say overall, we looked...
00:05:44
Speaker
ready to play. We were keeping up. We looked energetic. I mean, we look the same as we normally did. It seems, or at least to my eye, we kind of have trouble starting off matches in an energetic fashion. um And when we are going forward in the attack, when we get into the final third, there has been a definite lack of quality there overall.
00:06:10
Speaker
And Right now, I'm talking specifically in the beginning of the match, like first through the first half hour, but just this is an overall observation through the first three matches as well. Just poor quality passes, not very good decision making. In the final third and just an overall lack of ideas um and not really that many solid chances created. Obviously, in this game, we only create 0.89 expected goals. That metric isn't absolutely everything, but I think it does reflect.
00:06:47
Speaker
just the lack of actual chances that we had in, especially at the beginning of this match. Um, Dai, Canada, do you have any observations about our play through the first part of the match or any just observations about the attack in general?
00:07:06
Speaker
Yeah. I mean, I might even be a little harsher on our opening. i didn't, feel like it was even very even from the beginning. We didn't really, even if we had a couple runs forward, I wouldn't really give them that much credit for being like serious offensive attempts. Um, I felt like, you know, we kind of fell back on the old habit of occasionally maybe booting it up, but we kind of turtled defensively pretty quickly. And I think, um,
00:07:38
Speaker
you know Nashville has arguably one of the most elite attacking lines. They already were like an elite attack attacking squad with Sam Suraj and Hani Mukhtar last year.
00:07:50
Speaker
And then in the offseason, they go get Christian Espinoza. Yeah. you know combine that with this being our first game where we're going without Boxall in our defensive line. Some guys were going to need to step up, and I just felt like they didn't have like a real sense of cohesion or coordination um pretty much from the beginning. And I think pretty soon you've got you know a somewhat inexperienced defensive line against a very experienced player
00:08:22
Speaker
high level offense and they pretty quickly figured out how to get us on our back foot, even if it took them still almost half an hour, I think to get the first goal. Yeah.
Nashville's Dominance & Minnesota's Defense
00:08:34
Speaker
26 minutes.
00:08:36
Speaker
it It wasn't, I mean, that in includes like getting rid of an offside a goal that they got, creating a lot of opportunities. It was kind of like Cincy where they had a lot of set pieces as well, a few corner kicks.
00:08:51
Speaker
um Just right from the beginning, we looked like we were kind of shell-shocked and kind of just holding on. So that was kind of my impression of maybe like the first season half hour and frankly, most of the first half.
00:09:09
Speaker
Yeah. Gortz, do you think the loons have a problem with starting matches on the front foot? And do you have any observations about our, our, just our, our form at the beginning of this match?
00:09:22
Speaker
I mean, I think definitely it seemed like we just weren't at it the beginning of this match as well. And i um I would say it's kind of a little bit Minnesota-ish.
00:09:37
Speaker
you know Minnesota of thing that we don't really start our matches that well, but the same time, it seems like i give like the first 20 minutes just for teams to feel each other out.
00:09:57
Speaker
Um, but yeah, no, it, it, I feel like Nashville was on the front foot kind of from the beginning. And then, mean, we did have our, you did I mean, we did have chances, but I mean, it just didn't look like good chances.
00:10:14
Speaker
Yeah, I think just overall, Nashville looked like the sharper team. They looked like they came ready to play. um It it seemed like we were kind of outmatched in terms of in terms of talent and in terms of game plan, in terms of really anything. But but even so, like it Nothing about our play screamed that we were playing particularly poorly. um But obviously we were playing poorly enough to concede the first goal in the 26th minute, as I kind of mentioned earlier. i think it's also just quality play with Nashville like like.
00:10:53
Speaker
uh diakena was saying earlier that front attacking three is pretty elite by mls standards um with honey mukhtar and sam surridge and christian espinoza and even though mukhtar doesn't actually get on the score sheet in this game like his fingerprints are just like all over this game um and it's no different from this play Um, it's no different from, you know, in this scoring sequence. Um, and Serge knows how to put the ball in the back of the net. And when you give an attack as talented as Nashville an opportunity, they're probably, probably going to,
00:11:35
Speaker
Um, take advantage of it. Um, I think any defense is going to have trouble with this attacking three. I think that's an important thing to keep in mind. Um, I don't want us to overreact to us conceding these goals and, and not looking like this was our greatest performance in the world.
00:11:55
Speaker
I did see some takes of, you know, criticizing the the play of the back line when in reality watching this match, I didn't have the chance to watch it twice like I normally would. I usually watch it live and then I rewatch it to take more detailed notes after the first initial watch. And the back line was playing up to the standard, I would say. i would chalk up especially this...
00:12:25
Speaker
First goal to just some really, really quality play from Nashville. I think if I can flesh this out a little more, i think a lot of it, like we've we've spoken really highly of the defenders that we did have on the field. Like I think we're all really excited to see how guys like Padelford and Dugan and Diaz are developing. um But also like Dugan and Diaz are 25, Markannick 26, Padelford is 23, and
00:12:56
Speaker
versus Surridge is 27, Mukhtar and Espinoza are 30. And what I think, like, you know, like I don't feel like the sky is falling, even though I do feel like it was a bad performance. But what I think, like, the takeaway, at least defensively, is is we really got a hard reminder that a lot of these guys are still kind of development projects.
00:13:19
Speaker
And part of what makes that development possible is that they've got a guy like Boxall kind of guiding them um and kind of taking a leadership role in that back line.
00:13:31
Speaker
And you take that away and I don't think anyone on that line is quite ready to kind of step into that more ah leadership role and have the experience to kind of keep a line steady against that much more experienced attack. And I think they kind of figured it out pretty quickly, and that's kind of what it allowed them to grow into the game and start scoring, you know, after 10, 15 minutes um and applying that pressure. So I think, like, the deeper lesson is, like,
00:14:01
Speaker
We've got some solid defenders, but a lot of them are still kind of projects that we're trying to turn, you know, over the next couple of years. um But it's not a complete back line yet.
00:14:14
Speaker
Yeah, I also feel like as a club, nobody really stepped up to make... a spectacular defensive play during those sequences.
00:14:27
Speaker
And I think as the match went on, especially after we conceded the third goal, kind of jumping around a little bit, but just to make this point is that trap really came alive after Nashville scored the third goal in the second half and was making some great, uh, runs to, ah break up a transition moment for Nashville going forward.
00:14:53
Speaker
um We need guys to step up and do that way earlier in the match. um You can't wait for the game to crack open to make those plays like. And i like i know it's it's ah I know it's dangerous to ah to be aggressive in tackling and trying to break up attacks, especially early in a match. But ah you do need somebody to take personal responsibility of just like, it doesn't matter what phase of the game you're in. It doesn't matter if it's in the 26th minute. It doesn't matter if it's in the second minute. doesn't matter if it's in the eighty sixth minute.
00:15:32
Speaker
you have to take personal responsibility and make a defensive play um of course have any thoughts about this uh opening goal and our just defensive structure in general during this match I mean, I think we were very much missing the veteran presence of Boxall.
00:15:55
Speaker
I mean, that can't be understated about this. But, yeah, I mean, the guys gave it, you know, as much as, you know, and like you said, you know, that front three that Nashville you know,
00:16:14
Speaker
you know Lights out, you know, Mukhtar, you know, can be arguably one of the best 10, you know, 10s.
00:16:26
Speaker
Espinoza, I think last three seasons has had like i like one of the most top assisters. And then, you know, Sturridge, you know, that guy can find the back of the net from anywhere. um Yeah, no, defensively, it was, like I said, I think we, you know, we got we got complacent at times and, you know, couldn't clear and just didn't look didn't look up for it.
00:17:02
Speaker
Yeah, those ah those poor clearances really showed their ugly head in the 33rd minute. um Just seven minutes later, we concede again. And it really is a result of just like ineffective ah ineffective clearances and ah total unwillingness to dribble out of pressure. This is part partially due to Nashville just has a nasty man-to-man press, and they were really, really taking it to the defense and just immediately when they when they had the ball, they were choking us out, basically. Yeah, we just had a lot of trouble trying to break through Nashville's press.
00:17:46
Speaker
I also think some of that responsibility is with the midfield. Yeah. A lot of that, I don't think Triantis... And we're going to talk about Triantis. Triantis put his fingerprints on the game.
00:18:00
Speaker
He left an impression on the game. But in terms of... And Trapp is also responsible for this. Sometimes you need your eights, your defensive midfielders, to just take the ball and dribble it upfield to break up the pressure. And I did not see a lot of that.
00:18:21
Speaker
through the first portion of this match. And I guess Calendar could have done better with this save. Mukhtar just has a fantastic touch to bring down this ball and immediately sends a pretty challenging shot across goal that bounces immediately before ah Calendar can put his hands on it. So he gives up a pretty pretty juicy rebound, obviously. And then that rebound goes in the back of the net.
00:18:52
Speaker
But i don't know if it's necessarily bad goalkeeping. I would chalk it up to very poor team defending and an unwillingness to break out of the press. um Daikena, what did you notice about the second goal?
00:19:08
Speaker
Yeah, I agree. I rewatched the highlights before we recorded this and I thought that was a moment where calendar could have maybe done better either. Even if you can't catch it, maybe hit it to the side instead of right in front of the goal. Yeah.
00:19:25
Speaker
You know, I mean, he had he had a tall order that night as well, so I don't want to be too hard on him. But yeah, there were definitely some moments where i think he'll look back and admit that he maybe could have done a bit better. um The third goal was all also felt like maybe a moment where he could have reacted a bit differently. Gortz, do you have any other thoughts on this on the second goal that we concede? Anything that you noticed?
00:19:54
Speaker
Nope. Back to you. Appreciate it. But we do have this.
Triantis' Goal & European Potential
00:20:01
Speaker
We did concede two goals within seven minutes, but then Triantis finally decides that he is going to leave his mark on this game and scores an absolute howler.
00:20:14
Speaker
In the goal from what, 35 yards out? Something ridiculous like this. This guy is allergic to scoring from inside the box. It has to be outside of the box. Otherwise, he's not even interested in putting the ball in the back of the net. Gortz, i'm going to throw it to you now. What was your reaction to this goal when you when you were watching it?
00:20:34
Speaker
I mean, it seems like we got... That's usually something we'd see from Dawson. Is Dawson was bangers only. And we just went up and replaced him with Triantis. I mean, ah let's not forget his debut where he lobbed the San Diego keeper.
00:20:57
Speaker
As of right now, for TNT goal of the match day... He is at 34% and ga Gozo is at 33. that'll be tight for goal the match day.
00:21:18
Speaker
Obviously we're biased toward Tarantis, but it really is an impressive strike. The amount of power that he gets on it. can't know what was your reaction to this goal.
00:21:31
Speaker
I mean, it kind of comes out of nowhere, like rewatching the clip. It's actually, I think, Joaquin who's kind of competing with an Nashville defender for it.
00:21:43
Speaker
And Triantis just kind of runs through the the play and just takes it off. um Yeah. it It's a weird goal because it it doesn't really, it it says a lot about Triantis in his own skill and personality, but it runs so hard against the run of play and really didn't involve anything else um of what we were trying to do as a team. So it's just this kind of,
00:22:11
Speaker
insane moment in, you know, as we've already said, kind of a half that was not very good. um you just kind of said out of the blue, like, fuck it. if I'm just going to do this. Like nothing we were doing was really working or connecting. So he just...
00:22:29
Speaker
um yeah it's it's a hard goal to analyze or say anything about because it's just awesome but doesn't really speak to if you watch that clip out of context you would think we had a really good game and we just did not so no you're right it was absolutely out of nowhere um and I just find it funny that he... i mean, obviously, he takes other shots. Like, he's attempted other shots this season that just haven't gone in the back of the net. It also just feels nice to have that as a weapon. A guy that can just make a split-second decision to take a shot on goal at distance. And then, at this point in the match, we're within one goal.
00:23:16
Speaker
It's like... It's breathing new life into the team and giving the team more momentum that they can use for the rest of this half. And it honestly does inject more motivation.
00:23:28
Speaker
um But before we progress further into this half, a lot of the the punditry, a lot of the ah the reporters, a lot of the writers around the league do not think Triantis is going to be with the team for a while or for a very long time.
00:23:47
Speaker
Um, Joe Lowry has gone and rocketed on the total soccer show. and then Doyle has also mentioned it on soccer wise that, uh, they don't think Trantis is, is going to be here. It's probably, if not the summer, then the winter transfer window, just because he is making such an impression and in like, honestly, very little time, like he scores in his debut.
00:24:11
Speaker
And then now this season, both of his goals, are long distance like ridiculous you know displays of power and accuracy so gorts how long do you think trantis is going to be here do we think we can convince him with a good like if he keeps performing like this can we convince him with a dp contract like is there any way we can keep him around or do you think he has his eyes set to go back to europe
00:24:49
Speaker
Part of me is like, you know, let's, you know, keep them for a little longer. but then the other part of me basically says sometimes you'll have young guys that kind of don't really...
00:25:04
Speaker
aren't really that like they come over here and be like, okay, uh, I've kind of lost a little, you know, confidence, get, you know, get it back up playing regularly and then show the quality they have with the hopes of basically going back over to Europe.
00:25:25
Speaker
Um, But let's not forget that Triantis couldn't break in at Sunderland in the championship and went out on and was on loan to the Scottish Premiership.
00:25:41
Speaker
which i mean i mean Which means you know no no offense to you know you know the prem you know Scottish Premiership or you know England Championship.
00:25:53
Speaker
Particularly sensitive relationship between the Scottish Premiership and the MLS fans. Yes, yes. I think there's definitely there's there's definitely some Between there And I mean and but I mean you could also say that With a championship Because you know our own Eric Ramsey Went over to Managing the championship And lasted nine matches um But yeah no It's
00:26:26
Speaker
You know tie him down or You know Let him go back over to Europe that's yeah that That's my spiel.
00:26:40
Speaker
Dad, Ken, what do you think about Traundis? Do you think we can keep him around, or do you think his eyes are set on Europe? Um...
00:26:52
Speaker
I don't know where his eyes are set. He seems to be excited to be here and having fun, but also like Europe just has a level of prestige. And also I think just a financial weight, um,
00:27:08
Speaker
you know, that they can throw around that a team like Minnesota isn't really going to be able to easily say no to. um Like, I think, you know, if someone comes along and offers, I don't know, 5 million for them, like, of course, Minnesota is not going to turn that down.
00:27:28
Speaker
But also for a lot of clubs, especially in England, or if you're just a bigger or even a medium-sized club in one of the big five leagues, like you can afford $5 million on a development prospect who you're either hoping you turn into a long-term player hoping you can flip, you know, as an asset. I mean, he's still only 22 years old Like he...
00:27:51
Speaker
He's a U22. signed him as a U22 initiative. I don't know where his ceiling is. like I agree with Gortz. It is possible that he goes back to Europe and just can't quite hit that level.
00:28:04
Speaker
But we don't really know. um you know, and we're seeing like, we've seen enough evidence, not just with a the bangers from half, halfway down the field, but he is like an intelligent defender. He's able to throw his physicality around, but he's also very physically fit.
00:28:23
Speaker
He makes intelligent decisions. He's been working well with will trap and helping us kind of link up, you know, various parts of our, you know, lineup, helping us control the midfield. Like I think,
00:28:36
Speaker
if someone is willing to coach him and develop him, he could hit a pretty high ceiling. And I think any serious European club could see that and see the potential they would have to develop him.
00:28:50
Speaker
um You know, if he kind of fits what they're trying to build, um you know, even like, you know lower level championship clubs that are desperately trying to avoid relegation and just need someone to step into the middle of the field and help them kind of get some control um might go for them. And I think there's just At a certain point, it's just about money. Like there's just more money there and MLS clubs can't easily say no.
00:29:21
Speaker
um So I'd love to see him offer to DP contract and I'd love to see him come out and say, i want to spend a few years here continuing to develop, but I know that that's not necessarily what he wants and it's definitely not what some club managers might want.
00:29:40
Speaker
No, I mean, we acquired him for 1.7 million count or euros. um If we get an offer for even four or five million for him, I think the club is going to take that offer, probably.
00:29:56
Speaker
um But at the same time, he is still young. He is... Still, you know, we signed him as a U22 initiative. um He could stick around for another season or two just to make sure that he's developing properly. I'm sure there are parts of his game that aren't...
00:30:18
Speaker
you know noticeable in MLS at the level that MLS is that he would probably have to work on if he wanted to go up in level but he can easily get a lateral move to you know a mid to lower table championship club for a fee like four or five million ah euros I can definitely see that happening.
00:30:40
Speaker
So, yeah, we're just going to have see. at At the end of the day, we're we're nobody knows. We're speculating. but but it seems But also, you have to remember a lot of higher-level clubs will gladly buy them but then loan them out.
00:30:55
Speaker
You know, like that's also a big part. It's not just teams that want him for right now. It's teams who, you know, are hoping to just do an asset flip or just want control of his trajectory. Yeah.
00:31:09
Speaker
Regardless of what happens, he's here with us now. And I hope he continues to score bangers and continues to make an impact on the field because this goal very much does, i think, inject much needed energy into this team.
00:31:27
Speaker
um We definitely play better after this goal, but nothing really comes of it. We don't equalize before the half, which would have been nice.
00:31:40
Speaker
Um, but overall we looked outmatched, uh, in terms of quality.
Second Half Challenges & Minnesota's Struggles
00:31:47
Speaker
um but again, i would argue, i don't think we were playing poorly per se, but obviously you don't want to concede two goals.
00:31:57
Speaker
Um, and you have to clear balls out of your zone and be willing to dribble out of the press. And I think they did not learn this lesson.
00:32:11
Speaker
Quickly enough, um because the second half starts and we concede a goal two minutes into the half. Another great sequence of quality from Nashville. Just great, like pretty much like tiki-taka type passing.
00:32:26
Speaker
um And another goal goes in the back of the net. um Gortz, what were you thinking when we conceded that goal just two minutes into the half?
00:32:39
Speaker
Oh, fuck. Not this again. Yeah. Yeah. It kind of feels like that way. You just, you have, you just have a, you know, you get a goal right before halftime. You go and you're like, okay, let's bring that same energy out for the second half. And then early second half, you get a goal and you're just like, well, it was fun while it lasted. Yeah.
00:33:05
Speaker
Yeah. What about you, Dad, Kenna? What did you think when we conceded that goal? um I mean, credit to Nashville. It was a really good goal the way they set it up. um There were some really good passing in the box, um you know, just getting through some tight angles. But, yeah, I mean, it sucked. It was kind of weird because that goal – also seemed to kind of lead into like, it was kind of against the run of the rest of the second half where we were kind of on the front foot.
00:33:37
Speaker
Um, so it was kind of like an inverse version of our goal. Um, but they seem to get it and feel pretty safe kind of defending. I don't know if it's that they deliberately went into a more defensive posture or if we just kind of finally found our spark, um,
00:33:56
Speaker
But I mean, from then on, we were, i think, more in control of the field. um So it was, yeah again, it's kind of a weird goal when trying to like put it in the larger narrative of the game.
00:34:10
Speaker
Yeah, it it happens right at the beginning of the half when... Everybody is trying to settle into the half. I would agree it kind of feels against the run of play, especially in the minutes after the Loons do kind of take over the game. i think, you know, it's usually a little bit of both, I think, in these situations. When you're up by two goals, I don't think you're incentivized to go forward very much or to put numbers forward. i did not notice...
00:34:42
Speaker
ah did not notice a difference in Nashville wanting to, uh, to press forward a bit more, but I did notice a definite difference in the energy of the loons players, especially in the midfield, ah especially with will trap.
00:34:59
Speaker
And then I think you bow had turned it on a bit more too. He showed a bit more skill throughout the second half. Um, and then, uh, I liked Diaz. He took a pretty good shot from outside the box, um i can't remember i did not write down what minute it was but diaz don't forget last season he showed that he can be a clutch goal scorer um and i would love to see him find the back of the net um especially when we're chasing games like this so the team definitely came alive it was ultimately like
00:35:33
Speaker
you know I think we looked dangerous, but again, it really none of our chances were particularly great chances. um There were a couple times where Chancolai and Yoboa were threatening a quality chance, and then Yoboa was just a quality first touch away from putting in the back of the net but isn't that...
00:35:56
Speaker
Isn't that how it always seems to go in these situations? Just one piece of quality away. I think that's kind of the thesis of the match is that the Loons showed that as of right now, the attack does not have the quality that Nashville has.
00:36:12
Speaker
Granted, not many other MLS teams have the quality attack that Nashville has, but if you want to compete in the league, you have to show a little bit more quality.
00:36:25
Speaker
But the team, you know, shows fight. They show that they don't want to concede another goal, but also Nashville just had no reason to push it. You're up by two goals, so you're not going to press high up the field, and you're not going to take any any chances in transition moments. That could potentially be a transition moment for Minnesota, especially considering our reputation last year of being more of a of ah of a of a sit-and-counter kind of team i think the the dna of the team still you know can be dangerous on the counter but we did not see much of a counter we tried to use the ball to break nashville down but to no avail we uh make it to the end of the match without tying it up
00:37:14
Speaker
um overall thoughts from this match do you think we played poorly do you think it was more that nashville is just that good can't all throw out to you this time what what is your like overall all takeaway like what what is your perspective on the loons performance versus nashville's performance um I mean, Nashville are still undefeated.
00:37:38
Speaker
um They're two wins and a draw. um So they're they're doing well this year so far, and they're playing Miami tomorrow in CONCACAF.
00:37:50
Speaker
So we'll see how far they can take this. But, um yeah, they're good this year. i think we... I'm seeing like reasons to be excited, like our ability to have higher levels of possession and try and control much of the field. We seem to just struggle in that final third throughout that second half with kind of creating that one golden opportunity that someone like Yeboah could finish. And it does kind of, you know, really drive home. Like, I hope we see James Rodriguez soon. I hope Dominic Fitz gets,
00:38:27
Speaker
fit. I'm not sure like if he's hurt or what's going on with him, but he, I think will also add some kind of creativity um to our midfield game and help, you know, give some reinforcements to like Pereira and Sean Kalai.
00:38:44
Speaker
um You know, we're close. There's a lot of reasons to be excited, even defensively, like I said, like we've got a lot of guys who I'm excited about, but I don't think they were ready for this to take this on without having Boxall with them.
00:39:00
Speaker
um You know, Triantis can kind of pull things out of a hat every now and then. um But i there's also like a deeper way in which like,
00:39:12
Speaker
For him, the next step would be how to really take control of a game, not like score a goal randomly against the run of play, but really kind of try and tilt things in our favor.
00:39:24
Speaker
Um, you know and we We had this problem with Cincinnati, too, where sometimes we get a little panicked and a little rattled. And instead of building possession and kind of doing these methodical buildups that I think Knowles is trying to push us towards, um we kind of go back to just booting the ball up and seeing if Yeboah can chase it.
00:39:44
Speaker
We did that against Nashville a bit. We did that against Cincy a bit. um I think people in in moments like that, people like Trap or Box will need to kind of figure out how to step up and kind of maintain a little discipline and impose some like order on what we're trying to do and remind people of what we're trying to do.
00:40:04
Speaker
So those are things I'm hoping we can kind of do going forward. It almost makes me feel because Pereira is one of our stronger dribblers as well. I would say Triantis is also a strong dribbler.
00:40:18
Speaker
Boxall and Dugan also show the ability and the desire to want to dribble up the field. I almost think that Pereira playing in that playing that far up the field...
00:40:37
Speaker
playing as that sort of second striker in defense and a kind of defending in a four, four, two, it almost makes him not as useful for relieving pressure when we are kind of sitting and defending and trying to absorb pressure.
00:40:56
Speaker
um And I think I agree with what you were saying of like, somebody has got to take responsibility and,
00:41:08
Speaker
try to dribble out of that pressure because we did. I mean, the second goal was a direct result of us refusing to to to do something about it instead just booting it upfield. And then Nashville was like, oh, OK, it's almost like in volleyball when your attack is so strong that the only thing that the defensive team can do is just get the ball up in the air and it goes immediately back to the attacking side and they just keep going.
00:41:37
Speaker
The loons need to find out like, okay, um if they're going to give you the ball, you need to learn how to take a quality touch and to dribble it up the field.
00:41:48
Speaker
Easier said than done, obviously. um What do you think, Gortz? Do you think this match is more of a result of a bad loons performance or a quality Nashville performance?
Performance Reflection & Away Game Challenges
00:42:03
Speaker
I feel like it's a little bit of both. it just shows the quality that that Nashville have and I mean and let's not forget the ah I thought it was reported somewhere. The reason why San Jose let Espinosa go is because they forgot to trigger his option. It was literally just forgetting to file some paperwork. That's all. They had to like confirm that they wanted to pick up his option.
00:42:37
Speaker
They didn't. I'm sure somebody somewhere in their office got fired. That's that's, All that's just...
00:42:52
Speaker
I mean, you... I love this league so much. I mean, only only in this league could you have it where, you know, you have that.
00:43:03
Speaker
But, i mean, I think, you know, a little bit of both. But I mean, it's also kind of a... i um You know, experience, you know, experience because like... um
00:43:18
Speaker
uh the the silent loons podcast that came out today with uh valentine and um duggan basically saying when you know he uh valentine was kind of young coming up he basically didn't you know you know they'd look at you know do the video and they'd oh, you know, analyze the goal and be like, you know, here's what you could have done better. Having such a young, you know, back, one I mean, yeah you know, Duggan kind of is, you know coming coming into his prime. Diaz kind of starting to come into his prime. Padelford is...
00:44:03
Speaker
you know, still, you know, in his development, Mark Hanick's in his prime, just, you know, learning from that and, you know, picking your head up and being, okay, you know, uh, move on. And no, I mean, you it's sad to see a performance like that, at the same time, you know, you got to learn from it and move on.
00:44:35
Speaker
Hopefully this is a learning experience for the team. A learning moment, a teachable moment, as we call them. um Yeah. it's It's tough to play a team like Nashville away. Yeah.
00:44:56
Speaker
Do we think that playing away was a factor in this in this performance at all? Like, do you do you put any stock in that it is much harder to play away, especially against an opponent we don't play very often? The last time we played them was 2023, believe. because of just the nature of how the league is set up right now. So Gortz, I'll throw it back to you this time.
00:45:19
Speaker
do you Do you think it's that much of a factor to play away in a different environment against a team that we don't play every year? Is there an unfamiliarity factor involved?
00:45:31
Speaker
I mean, i I don't want to point fingers at that. But, you know, also I think, you know, Nashville has as a really good atmosphere. yeah,
00:45:47
Speaker
mean, like I said, i said ah I feel like I am pointing at the same time. I don't want to point fingers just because, oh you know, last time we played Nashville was, i think, like, League's 2023 ah was it like we went down to 10 men and they absolutely pelted us and did not look good. Yeah.
00:46:16
Speaker
I mean, it it is what it is. I feel like you kind of have to adapt for, you know, every single, you know, game. Like, you know, take, you know, NYCFC, for example. I mean, even though they're moving they're going to be moving into their new stadium, you know, they're playing at, they're basically playing on a, you know, the outfield of a,
00:46:43
Speaker
of a, you know, baseball field, you have, um, ah Colorado, you have the, the altitude with Colorado, I think ah RSL also have a, uh, altitude,
00:46:58
Speaker
um i mean, uh, Seattle, I mean, I was at the,
00:47:07
Speaker
Vikings-Seahawks game. and i had I have never heard a crowd like that loud for a game than Lumenfield is that. But yeah, no, I wouldn't.
00:47:21
Speaker
it's just It's just one of those games. diakeon What do you think? is it a does Does playing away against an unfamiliar team factor into a performance like this? Or was it more that the Lunes just didn't show up?
00:47:35
Speaker
I think it's more the latter. Like, home field advantage is a thing, but that I don't think really explains. I think if we had showed up against a different team, like, yeah, we could have won. We had things going for us in this match. We just couldn't we couldn't organize our defense solidly enough, and we couldn't, you know, finish some of the possession that we were creating. So I think i think it's more the latter.
00:48:04
Speaker
I think with the, with these lineups, we probably lose at Allianz too. Like, I don't think we were there enough that night. And I think Nashville were so.
00:48:17
Speaker
Yeah. What do you think we can add more and to the attack in this roster that we
Roster Speculation & Player Evaluation
00:48:23
Speaker
haven't seen yet? Obviously we haven't seen James Rodriguez. That's the big thing.
00:48:27
Speaker
um Reporting is from James himself that he is planning to play. Yeah. against Vancouver on Sunday, which is great to hear.
00:48:38
Speaker
We desperately need a little injection of creativity, of quality into the roster, but we also haven't seen fits at all. And Gonzalez just had his first practice with the team.
00:48:50
Speaker
So... it I think we just need a different dimension into the attack. This isn't really much of a question. It's more of just like,
00:49:04
Speaker
I think we do desperately need just that extra bit of quality, that extra bit of creativity and some more looks and especially subs that can make an impact when they come into the game. Grussell, you got to love him.
00:49:17
Speaker
um He's pressing. Like he, whenever he comes on, you know, I would not have expected that aspect of his game. Cause he's, I think known more as like kind of an Espinosa style creative attacker.
00:49:32
Speaker
with a really technical foot. um But whenever he comes on, he just immediately starts pressing hard against their defensive line. he plays ah He plays hard, and he also is not afraid to yell at a ref.
00:49:46
Speaker
um I've noticed that in his tenure with us, is that he's not afraid to yell at a linesman, he's not afraid to yell at a ref, and not afraid to ah make a make a scene of somebody's time-wasting, especially at the end of the game when we were really pushing, obviously. Time-wasting is a tactic used in... ah in soccer. So yeah, Gressel got to love him. he hasn't made much of an impact with his,
00:50:15
Speaker
uh substitutions yet but also i don't think he's gotten much of an opportunity yet like i don't know if he's gonna stay a sub forever if there's a version of this lineup where he is in the starting 11 like we truly just like don't know and like i said before we haven't seen anything of fits yet we haven't seen anything of gonzalez yet um i want to talk about bongi gortz i'm going to throw this to you what do you think of bongi's play so far um Yeah, but through the first three matches, what do how do you think he's been playing?
00:50:52
Speaker
I'm disappointed. i've been I feel like Boggy hasn't really been his best since Ramsey moved him into wingback.
00:51:04
Speaker
Because when he first came, he was you know he was on fire. There's that you know League Cup where he was you know scored as many goals as Messi did.
00:51:15
Speaker
he just He just hasn't looked the same attacking-wise as he did when he first came in. And, I mean, on honestly, like, you know, get, you know, see what Gonzalez, you know, Gonzalez or Gressel, you know, give them an opera maybe give them an opportunity to to start and see what they can offer. And maybe, you know, Bongi comes in as kind of, you know, ah a super sub in a sense because, you know, I mean, his
00:51:56
Speaker
um As far as the way he is on the pitch, he's you know sprinting from the first you know the first whistle all the way to the last whistle. you know he'll ah He'll always do that. He'll give his, give his. But I feel like his decision-making sometimes is really, really frustrating.
00:52:21
Speaker
Because it seems like, you know, you just just play you know just played the pass there and, you know, he doesn't he doesn't play it then. and Yeah, no, i'd as much as as russia as it pained me, i i'd I'd like to maybe see someone else, see if they can, you know, claim that that starting spot from Bongi possibly.
00:52:46
Speaker
kinda what what What do you think, what's your impression of Bongi's play so far? Um...
00:52:53
Speaker
i He's been quiet, but I don't know how much I hold that against him. i think in some ways we're just leaning into our left side with Chonkalai.
00:53:06
Speaker
I think Joaquin kind of drifts over there a lot as well. um And in some ways you would see opportunities for Bongi in his ability to kind of use his pace to crash the back post, but we just haven't really found that yet.
00:53:23
Speaker
um He did it a few times last year, but um I don't know. It's hard to say, like, I don't know if it's that I feel he has dropped a level so much as maybe he just doesn't fit what we're doing at the moment.
00:53:39
Speaker
um I don't know what exactly would fix that. Like, I don't know if putting Gressel in there would fix it. Cause I don't know if Gressel, you know, yeah, he's been pressing, but only for like 20 minutes. Yeah.
00:53:54
Speaker
a game i don't know how long he could actually last, you know, in terms of like a full 90 or if he got the start, um you know, and even if you put him out there, like if we're still leaning, you know, and passing up more on our left side, like you've just got the same problem as with Bongi. He's kind of left out there on the wing wondering when the ball is going to get to him.
00:54:19
Speaker
um And Gressel can't get back as much as Bongi can. I don't think he has that kind of athleticism. He's a bit older. um So Bongi can at least contribute defensively as well.
00:54:32
Speaker
um you know i don't I don't know. I think to get that anyone on that right wing more involved, you need someone who's actually looking to pass a ball out there and get that side involved.
00:54:45
Speaker
um Maybe that's something Cam has to look at and kind of point to. But that's what I'm seeing from him so far.
00:54:55
Speaker
I think those are some great points. I think overall my impression of Bongi as of right now is that i i think when he came into the league...
00:55:08
Speaker
I believe in 2023 was his first season with us. Am I correct? Is that right? 22. 22? Yeah, 22. yeah twenty two When he came into the league, I think his pace was on par with where the league was at the time. I think even in... the four years between 22 and 26. I think the league has gotten faster and the league has gotten stronger.
00:55:34
Speaker
i don't think Bungie's gotten worse. I think the league has overall gotten better to the point where I don't think Bungie is an effective winger, but i think his defensive capabilities and his athleticism are i don't want to say underrated i think maybe this is like there isn't a clear like role for him as the lineup goes right now i think he's probably better suited as a midfielder that can come into the attack a bit later like you said crash the back post be a more delayed run into the box but he also the
00:56:14
Speaker
great instinct and how he times runs so i think you made a great point earlier of like of of service like you do need somebody to send balls in his direction and there have been a few times across preseason and the season so far where he is still showing that he has great timing and great sense for when he should be pushing further up the field like i think the roster also needs to give him more opportunities to do that but I don't think he can do that as a winger per se because he just doesn't have the pace to beat guys one-on-one. And I don't think he has the dribbling skills to beat guys one-on-one. I mean, here's ah here's a thought.
00:56:57
Speaker
Yeah. Switch him and Pereira, like keep Bongi a little farther up front. That also solves the problem you brought up earlier where Pereira just isn't as involved defensively or in terms of our buildup.
00:57:12
Speaker
Um, you know, yeah i don't leave, leave you boa and either Chonkali or Bongi can kind of be the top two when we're defending, you know, but bring Pereira back. He's, you know, Pereira can do the more creative midfield playmaking stuff. And that gives Bongi a little more freedom to make those runs.
00:57:32
Speaker
Um, you know, that's just one way you could maybe try and solve that dynamic. Absolutely. um Even then, I don't think he, he doesn't, yeah, he doesn't fit cleanly any anywhere, but I think he's just, he has so much quality in everything else that I think he's like a starting caliber player for a reason. I think that's why they want him on the pitch, but I think Gortz, your suggestion earlier, just like if he doesn't have a clear role roll
00:58:05
Speaker
in the starting 11 as of now of how we're going attack. Who knows if that's going be the case if Gonzalez is in the lineup or if Hamas is in the lineup. Like, if you have a 10 that is actually distributing the ball around the field. And I think if Hamas is playing, he's playing where Pereira is playing right now. Like he's going to be the one that is with Yeboah up top, kind of like the first line of defense and like starting the press, um which means Pereira is going to not, is going to be a playing further into the midfield and can help with that with carrying the ball up the field. So
00:58:48
Speaker
I think it might also just be a personnel issue in terms of like, we got to remember that we don't have all of our components right now. We don't have a complete roster. And I mean, we already, obviously in this game, we didn't have box. And we already mentioned the possibility of triantis leaving. i think Pereira is on a lot of people's radars. Yeah. um Like it's very possible that we have guys leaving.
00:59:16
Speaker
um you know, just for reasons beyond our control. And, you know, you still want Bongi around. yeah we We clearly want him because once his U22 contract was up, we did like turn around and offer him a very serious contract. He's on over a million, I think right now. And he just got called into the South Africa Well, he's on the preliminary. so Preliminary.
00:59:43
Speaker
that but That means he's going to the to the international window. yeah Right? i think they I think they'll do a preliminary and then from the preliminary they'll...
00:59:57
Speaker
call up i don't think he's he's obviously not going to make the world cup roster but he has not been called up to any camps in the past yeah no he has not and i think that's so like i'm gonna choose i'm gonna choose to interpret that as that he is being rated he is appropriately rated he's a great player i think we the team needs to find his ultimate role so he can make an impact and I think it's clear him playing that sort of winger role or that sort of wherever he's playing in the midfield when we're defending is not his optimal, but also he's not receiving the service that I think we would like. We are not distributing the ball around the field how we would like because we don't have a 10 on the field that is doing that. That is James Rodriguez.
01:00:53
Speaker
So that's that's the conclusion. Hamas, please, we would love for you to play and to actually make an impact in the roster.
Upcoming Match Preview & Engaging with Fans
01:01:02
Speaker
um that that That's it for the Nashville match. We did it. We covered it. We went over it. It was it was rocky. It was tired, but we got through it.
01:01:13
Speaker
I'm running off of less than four hours of sleep. So, yeah. we're We're just rolling with it. Quick, very quick Vancouver preview. We are playing away at Vancouver in that wonderful BC place with that wonderful turf that is just so great to look at. Hamas Rodriguez is reportedly making his debut in this match.
01:01:34
Speaker
Very curious to me that... or i guess interesting to me that he's making his debut on the turf and an indoor match um not sure if that was planned i don't think it was planned but uh yeah are we are we excited for hamis's reported debut gourds are you excited to finally see uh impact signing hopefully uh make an impact i think i think I think we all are. and you know They moved this one, I think, from... is going be like a 9.30 kickoff on Saturday to Saturday night to... now I think we play a kickoff Sunday at 3.30.
01:02:15
Speaker
three thirty ah or yeah sea day at three thirty so okay I like that. So, you know, you you kind of got to hope because I think they moved like four games before the World Cup, I think. So they can take, you know, the Colombians can can watch James. So.
01:02:38
Speaker
absolutely I think it's also just because Vancouver has to play in CONCACAF on Thursday. oh yeah. Yeah, that's probably it as well. It might work to our advantage because they're up against Seattle, and then they have to play Seattle again on Wednesday.
01:02:52
Speaker
So maybe they... God, this is going to be such a good match to watch. um I mean, that's a good match in its own right. But yeah, like Vancouver are on a hot streak. They have yet to... The last loss they took, I think, was to Miami.
01:03:06
Speaker
um Since then, they've been on a winning and drawing streak, even while managing CONCACAF matches. um So therere they're good again. Like, Jesper Sorensen has done something amazing there, and...
01:03:24
Speaker
They're a fantastic team. Yeah, yeah. they're They're playing great ball. They distribute the ball across the field, I think, better than any team right now. It's very engaging to watch them play because if it's not Mueller making a fantastic pass, it's Sebastian Berhalter making a fantastic pass. But honestly, anybody anybody on the roster is constantly looking for the opportunity to progress the ball forward and then...
01:03:51
Speaker
pass it back and then pass it forward again and through and behind and whipping it in across goal. Sebastian Berhalter is a fantastic midfielder. Maybe Triantis can watch a bit, ah you know, playing against Sebastian Berhalter might teach him a thing or two about how he can impact the game. um who knows um i mean we have to show up from kickoff if we want a chance in this game and we have to make the most of our opportunities on the counter attack because vancouver is probably going to see 55 maybe even 60 of the ball because they just want the ball and they're very good at keeping it and they're very good at distributing it um
01:04:37
Speaker
It seems unlikely that box he plays in this game too, but he does get an extra day to recover. Maybe we'll see him as a sub. Maybe we won't see him at all.
01:04:48
Speaker
um Diakena, what do you think the Loons need to do to get a result here? And what is a good result in your opinion? Is it a draw? Is it win? Is it a not embarrassing loss? What do you think?
01:05:02
Speaker
Honestly, it might be the last one will be aided by the fact that Vancouver's got kind of a congested schedule at the moment that does help. um But they're just really good. They've got a similar kind of elite level attack.
01:05:18
Speaker
um You know, Thomas Muller has spent, you know, a couple decades playing at Bayern Munich in Germany. um He is, if we have any, like, signs of weakness, he is the kind of guy who has the level of experience in game sense to kind of suss that out um and then figure out how to put all the guys around him, you know, Brian White and Sebastian Berhalter and kind of pull them along.
01:05:47
Speaker
and make a meal of it so we we have to be more organized defensively than we were against nashville i think would be the first thing gortz what do you think what do the loons need to do to get a good result at bc place just not an embarrassing loss show up play from the final whistle or play from the first whistle all the way to the final whistle give it your all
01:06:17
Speaker
I mean, I've ever like that's something that, you know, we say every, you know, every, you could say for every single match, but, you know, especially, you know, this match and it'll be interesting to see how it goes.
01:06:34
Speaker
I'm going to make a prediction. We've seen Chonkalei wanting to get in behind on the counter attack through a long ball. I'm predicting Chonkaleye gets a goal on the counterattack in this game.
01:06:48
Speaker
I want to see him just put one in and hopefully that opens the floodgates for his confidence. You can tell he wants it so bad. Like the amount of effort and pace that guy is giving into every performance has been very, very encouraging. I also think Yeboah looked good.
01:07:07
Speaker
In Nashville, he didn't get in the kind of like frustrated mode. I think he got in a lot last year. i think he was staying positive and showed flashes of quality. But we need our we need our attackers to really be.
01:07:25
Speaker
uh quality in the counter attack i think that's going to be our our key in this game as well as obviously defensive organization i don't know maybe we'll see a back five in defense um who knows or maybe we're committed to the back four this year um who knows what's going to happen but it surely will be a fun match to watch and And yeah, that brings us to the end of our podcast. We're going to skip one more thing today because my brother is currently waiting for me at the airport to pick him up.
01:07:58
Speaker
So I'm going to do that. Thank you so much to Dikenna and to Gortz for being my partners in Minnesota United fandom in this podcast. Please, if you enjoyed listening, leave a rating.
01:08:11
Speaker
Please tell. your fellow Minnesota United fans about us. We love going in depth on this podcast and talking shop about the team. So if you have someone in your life that really loves the loons, I think they would probably really love this podcast.
01:08:29
Speaker
Go ahead and follow us on blue sky. If you want to keep up with the podcast, I am constantly posting, stuff from around the fandom there from the loons, uh, official, ah blue sky accounts and uh i like reposting uh reposting takes from other loons fans and from ah pundits and from uh the writers around the league um as it pertains to the league writ large as well as uh loons themselves so yeah
01:09:05
Speaker
Follow us on Blue Sky if you want to hear more from us. Other than that, that'll do it Thank you so much for listening to the fourth episode of Loon Calling, and we hope to catch you next time.
01:09:18
Speaker
Bye-bye.