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Leaking our Major League Soccer Awards Ballot - Ep. 69
916 Plays2 months ago
The Seattle Sounders but we still threw together an arguably-too-long pod, starting with going over this year’s 22U22 rankings. We then tackle the end-of-season awards discourse, with Ari realizing mid-pod that he was going to change multiple of his votes. Those two things took up pretty much the whole thing, but we briefly preview some Decision Day action and shoutout Obed Vargas for his first senior El Tri cap.
Paul Rothrock Story: https://sounderathe.art/kShzLR
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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
00:00:00
Speaker
What's going on, everybody? Welcome to episode 69. Nice. I'm loving Scorchers. This is Ari Lillianwall. I got producer Noah here with me and Noah. No sounders game to talk about this week, but I think we've still got a lot of good content to lay down. How are you feeling?
00:00:18
Speaker
I'm feeling nice, Ari. I'm feeling like episode 69 is about to be the best episode we've ever had. It's a special episode. It really is a special episode here. Like I said, folks, no Seattle Sounders game this week. They were on a bi international break going on. We're going to talk about Ari was also on an international break. I was on an international break. I've been at my best friend's wedding. You were at a wedding before. We've been wedding guys. Now we're back to our regular scheduled programming and no Seattle Sounders game, but a lot to talk about. Like I said, we've got decision day coming up on Saturday. The 2024 MLS regular season is wrapping up. We're going to have playoff seating finalized.
00:00:59
Speaker
We're gonna have there's two spots still up for grabs in the in the east in the west There's a lot of movement that could still take place and that could affect Seattle So we're gonna talk about that This is the first time that we've recorded since MLS soccer comms 22 under 22 rankings came out uh brought to you by body armor brought ah presented by body armor and anyway it's always a very exciting day when uh the ranking those rankings come out for the discourse a lot of takes flying around i got i got a ballot i got a vote for that so uh all
00:01:36
Speaker
I don't have my ballot like Randy, but ah I can tell you guys pretty much where I ranked everybody and just my thoughts on what the final lists are. We're going to go through the list and give you guys our takes on how it panned out and tell you how I voted. We're going to talk some end of season awards. I also get votes for that. You know, MVP, newcomer, young player, defender of the year. We're going to talk front runners and who we would pick for for the end of season awards. So that's going to be good stuff. I think we might have some heaters there.
00:02:06
Speaker
I'm definitely gonna gonna throw some curveball some outside of the box picks there um We got some other news and headlines from around the league. We're gonna preview Seattle's decision day matchup against Portland ah Preview decision day in general. There's just a lot going on. I mean, is that everything? I think I just hit everything I mean, so hopefully no game review, but still gonna be a jam-packed show ah Can't wait to get into it But before we do all that, I did want to let you all know, as always, that Lobbing Scorchers is a part of the Sounder at Heart Podcast Network. If you want to get the best independent Seattle soccer coverage, consider supporting us by going to sounderatheart.com slash LS, sounderatheart.com slash LS. Scroll down to subscribe and support to get 30 days completely free. Every sign up through our link helps support and grow this show. As always, thank you so much to all of our paid subs.
00:02:58
Speaker
We're going to pull up this list. We have one new sub to thank. I believe that brings us to 38 or 39 subs. um We're going to read the names out today. But we were talking about before the show. And we do feel like we're reaching the point, Noah, where our numbers are such that reading the entire list every show might be untenable. The benchmark.
00:03:17
Speaker
but we are setting for that is forty sub do you know what we're at right now we are at officially thirty eight sub thirty eight so we need two more and then we're going to change the protocolto be in the forty under forty club that's exactly ah after that we will still read out and thank our new subs but probably steer clear from ah reading the entire list because There's too many of you now, 40 plus names, man. We spend the whole show, you know, doing the but until we hit that benchmark, we're going to keep doing it we're much goingnna love and appreciate you guys know it. Read the list. Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for subscribing. We love you. Kenneth Wade, Joey Pascan, Ellie, David McCoy, Owen Mason, Daniel Pavato, Samuel Fow, Ian Mitchell, Christopher Smith, Norm Baungier, Thomas Martin, Greg Hoeger, Chris Mayley, Andy Hill, Mike Lentini, Nate Baungier, David Rodriguez, CJ and Miles Maranakis. My nephews. Mark Audinger, Zach Heckman, David Pope, Brian Morton, Claire Berger, Robert Singh, Tyron Akatsu, Steve Hudson, Choska, Patrick Sexton, John Hammaker, Emma Mabach, Justin Walker, Jay Anders, Ryan Shane, Nathan Jones, Benjen Dubachar, Isaac Johnson, Matthew Burns, Ryan Boone,
00:04:19
Speaker
and our new one, Brian Cho. Brian, thank you. Appreciate you. Thank you, all of you, so much. We love you. Thank you to everyone for tuning in and help us on the drive to 40. And also, if you haven't done so yet, please sub to the Lobbing Skorchers YouTube. We lost a little momentum with us being wedding guys, not necessarily having the time to keep the content flowing on there as regularly as we would like. So we're still on the drive to 600, but we're pretty close. We're like 15 away, 585, I believe. Yeah, so help us on the drive to 600 subs on YouTube and we appreciate our new audience on YouTube Alright, so before we talk about this 22 under 22 rankings list Noah did have some content to plug know it you were involved in a Paul Rothrock feature on sounder at heart shout out sound awards They picked the wrong guy to interact with our boy. It was written by our friend Tim Foss of Soundred Heart, great writer, great profile. Noah, you did a photo shoot with the man himself, Paul Rothrock. So you actually got to hang out with Paul Rothrock. I did. How was that? Tell the people how it was hanging out with Paul Rothrock and doing the photo shoot. You know, Paul is, one, a natural. I mean, just a great guy, but a natural in front of the camera. And it was a joy and a pleasure to hang out with our boy Paul, I will say.
00:05:40
Speaker
Shout-out to his family who ah allegedly listened to us. We appreciate all of your all of your listens And yeah, Paul's a great guy. I will say Just as good of a person as he is a soccer player. That's good to hear. Yeah, we love Paul Rothrock Yeah, we're the pod rock pod Rothrock. Yeah, we and we love to hear that the Roth rocks like to tune in that honestly doesn't surprise me because About 60 to 65 percent of the content on this show is Paul Rothrock related and Which, you know, I mean, that's not really like we just go wherever the content takes us.
MLS 22 under 22 Rankings
00:06:12
Speaker
You know, Rothrock, he's been delivering it all season. But a shout out to the Rothrocks and shout out to Paul Rothrock for being a good ah photo shoot subject for Noah and a great ah profile by Tim Foss. Go read it on Sounder at Heart right now. Yeah. We'll link it in the description link in the description.
00:06:29
Speaker
Go hit that link. 22 under 22. We're in full force today, Ari. I'm feeling it. 22 under 22 is always, like I said, a fun day for the discourse. Everyone's got their takes. We're no different. um I feel like most people who who listen to us probably know what the 22 under 22 rankings are and have opinions on them but just in case you know I feel like there's probably a small percentage there's some normal people that aren't psychotic like us that might not know what it is so I mean basically it's very simple it's just ranking ah the 22 best players in Major League Soccer who are under the age of 22 There's an age cutoff, but the whole idea is you're essentially ranking the best young up-and-coming players in MLS, which used to be 24 under 24, but um ah changed a few years ago to 22 under 22. They just keep getting younger, Ari. I think it's um it's become more pertinent in recent years with MLS taking on more of an identity as a seller league, where you know players like Tiago Yamada, who are
00:07:34
Speaker
very highly rated and on the come up, but still very young, can come here and have a platform to thrive, get sold on. ah But then also, it's a good showcase for homegrown talent, the best homegrown players we see in the league on this list every single year. DeAndre Yedlin, one year in 2014, I believe, was number one on this list. Famously. Yeah, you've got guy Allen Velasco, I think, of FC Dallas, won it last year.
00:07:58
Speaker
um So, you know, you got some ah you got some big time names who are always featured here. And then there's always some ah comedic misses, for instance. I was thinking about this. ah You familiar with what ah John Duran is doing for Aston Villa? Did you know that ah the year that he played for the Chicago Fire, he did not make the cut?
00:08:19
Speaker
Wow. For 2222. This guy is now banging in goal like multiple goals every single week for Aston Villa and they're all like insane. Yeah, he's nasty. He's going to be a Colombian national team player. He's tearing up the EPO and he got his start in MLS with the Chicago Fire who sold him on for a big bag of money. the one good thing they ever did. Yeah. But ah that is it's like always funny looking back on stuff like that. Like if you were retroactively making the list from that year, he would be number one by a country mile easily and it wouldn't be close. um But hopefully I think look looking at the list this year, which we're going to get into right now, I think there is going to be less of a possibility for a snub like that happening. um Diego Gomez of inner Miami was voted the number one player on this year's 22 under 22.
00:09:08
Speaker
I think that's the right choice. And if honestly, if I had to pick any player from this group of players who would follow a similar ah trajectory to genre on and get sold on to a huge club like that and become a standout player, ah this is who I would pick. um It's an example of just how loaded this inner Miami team is with both the best old players in the league, as we know, with Messi and the Barca voice, but also the best young players in the league. I mean,
00:09:38
Speaker
Who's better between Diego Gomez and Matias Rojas is he's quite a bit older He's later on in his 20s, but he's younger than the Barca boys, right? And he's a new player to MLS and like in a normal year or on a normal team without Messi and the Barca boys He would be one of the best those two around those dynamic do alone um But Diego Gomez, um if you haven't watched him play it, he's very much, Chris Henderson talked about this in the feature story that Charlie Baum wrote for us about Diego Gomez. He is, in a lot of ways, one of the engines of that team, like outside of the obvious, Messi and Sergio Busquets.
00:10:17
Speaker
ah Diego Gomez he's a very very important player to how they playing what they do and he's like a perfect compliment I think skill set wise to a lot like he's more of a two-way dirty work type of player to my eye um very good passer um he's a little bit goal dangerous as well but like ah the type he's like a glue guy a team player type of player that every player needs And I think given his age and just how well-rounded a skill set he has so far and his future salon potential, easy choice for number one. ah i Diego Luna, the other Diego, came in at number two. I so slightly debated whether to put Luna number one.
00:10:58
Speaker
but i Think when you're taking into account um Future upside I would take Gomez probably over Luna It's pretty close but not that close ultimately as far as the number one goes. I don't think there's any other choice Yeah, I mean, I think that's the fun part with this list is that it is as much Of like a wish you're just you're guessing you're like, this is as much about vibes as it is about actual raw talent You know like diego gomez in my mind like vibes wise has such a higher upside potential But is he playing out of his mind light years ahead of diego luna? I mean, I don't know. I don't think so So it's like it's it they're very I mean they're completely different yeah players So it's like it's tough to compare like that for me. I mean, I guess
00:11:45
Speaker
and a Good thing to talk about with this is what criteria you use to make the list because everyone's kind of got a different take on it Yeah, um I'll tell you how I think of it, which is the things I take into account are you know? Prospect pedigree is one thing that I think should be taken to account like how the pundits and the scouts think of them That's something I don't necessarily base my evaluation my own evaluation of the player on that but consensus is pedigree and how they're rated by the pundits um plays into it and that's what ah we're gonna talk about that with some of these guys because some people weigh that more than others when they're making when they're voting on their list but I take that into account because I sort of you know I try to stay mindful of the fact there's people who know more about this than I do who are actually paid to scout these things and if they say that someone's upside
00:12:35
Speaker
um is ah certain at a certain level, I put stock in that if there seems to be consensus behind it. So that's one thing I take into account. And along with that, like I said, the theoretical upside, like what's their ceiling? I weigh that pretty heavily. you know A guy like Diego Gomez or um like Alan Velasco is perceived to have a very high ceiling.
00:12:58
Speaker
And ah it doesn't mean they're necessarily guaranteed to hit it, but it's just about the potential of what they could become. So I weigh that quite a bit. And then I do think you have to take into account contributions that they've already made in the league. um Some guys you can put in here based on upside, and I did that. ah But as for as for the guys I put up towards the tippy tippy top,
00:13:21
Speaker
um I'd like to put guys that actually have a fair amount of minutes under their belt and ideally some like tangible production that they've already showed that they can do an MLS. So just looking at the list of the first few guys on here Diego Gomez very key player for inner Miami this year Diego Luna. He carried a big load for real Salt Lake and yeah attack this year. He was bad. They were bad. And when he was good, he was when he was breaking out, they were good. And um just production-wise, he had an excellent year. So that's why I think him at number two is the is the right call. Jack McGlynn, see, this is where it gets into Jack McGlynn at three. All right.
00:14:00
Speaker
i'm i'm we've touted the Philly Union Academy quite a bit on this show. We respect believers. We're believers. We respect what they've done for youth development. And I think... I'll even say I'm a Jack McGlynn believer. I'm a Jack McGlynn believer. He absolutely bammed on the Sounders this year. He's got a wand of a left foot. Excellent set pieces. Pretty good two-way player, it seems like. Hard worker. Brings it on defense. A lot to like with Jack McGlynn. He's one of the better of of this crop of ah guys that Philly has churned out.
00:14:26
Speaker
i I think he's a little overrated to be at number three here. There are guys that I would put, that's like the first disagreement I have with the final rankings, yeah is I would put Jack McGlynn high. He's certainly on the list. Three seems very high. um Brian Gutierrez at four, I might even rank above Jack McGlynn. I think what he's done with Chicago has been very impressive in terms of being asked to carry a big load for them as an 18, 19 year old.
00:14:52
Speaker
and Running the offense and putting up the type of production that he is He is not like performed like in elite number 10 But I got to say like I've been impressed with Brian Gutierrez like dating back to last year on a bad fire team Yeah, being asked to carry them as much of the load as he is I don't think he's like a build your whole attack around him type of player, but I think he's showing that he's ah Above average to a potentially very very good and productive and MLS attacker which for a homegrown player. That's a great outcome for them ah Yeah, i mean bri Brian Gutierrez has six and two right this you have last year though. I feel let's let's Let's dive into this, but I feel like I think he did have a better year last year, but even with that like
00:15:39
Speaker
That was, it's a Chicago Fire team. I think they've scored 40 goals total or something. like It's a tough so you know situation for him and Chris Brady, who also is on this list. I mean, Chris Brady, I definitely think is easily the most talented young goalkeeper in MLS. He just is playing for a nightmare defense.
00:15:59
Speaker
um At number five, you have another inner Miami guy. Okay, so it's two more inner Miami guys back to back. Federico Redondo and Benjamin Karmashi, both of whom, I would probably put both of them over Brian Gutierrez and Jack McGlynn, and I would certainly put, I think Redondo should be three.
00:16:17
Speaker
I think yeah i'm I'm in agreement. Redondo, as I understand it, is ah one of the most highly rated Argentine prospects out there in the world. His dad his dad was a very good player in like the 90s and early 2000s.
00:16:35
Speaker
And he's got some prodigy-like prodigylike skills about him. And he's been very, very good for Inter Miami. And I think you're going to see him. I mean, Diego Gomez is going to get sold on for a huge bag. But keep an eye on Redondo for that, because he is too. And Karmashie, I think, is a little more polarizing. But ah i I do see quite a bit of upside there.
00:16:56
Speaker
um You know, he's been playing with Messi and I'm sure learning quite a lot. You know, imagine being 18 or 19 years old and getting to play with with Messi. I got to imagine that's making him a lot better. But also, ah I think she is very talented and i I see why he's ranked this high. um But here's. Yeah, go ahead. I was just going to say I I like ah Redondo I would put redondo at three I think my lineup would if I was gonna go a top three would be Diego Gomez Diego Luna and Redondo and then Brian Gutierrez is a close ah flop with redondo just for upside purposes, but
00:17:34
Speaker
Okay, well here's where it gets interesting for us because we got Obed Vargas at seven. yeah um And I think there is a really good argument to be made that Obed should be higher here. I would put Redondo over Obed. I don't think I would put Karmashi over Obed.
00:17:54
Speaker
No, and I don't think I would put Jack McGlynn or Brian Gutierrez over Obed as good as Brian Gutierrez has been ah I don't think he is ah provenly Consistently like very good to elite player in MLS in the same way that Obed has starting for Seattle week in week out I think you have to with Obed you have to take into account the fact that he was Starting games and playing major minutes in CONCACAF Champions League, which Seattle won. He helped him win Champions League when he was 16 He made his MLS debut as like the third or fourth youngest player to ever play in MLS in the famous Austin FC game. um And if you look at the year that Obed had this year, he had the stat sheet production with his seven assists. He passed the eye test, I think, ah every game, every single game.
00:18:43
Speaker
um And really we've talked we talked about his development We tracked his development game by game and the way he started impacting games impacting winning. I think is greater than the degree that Brian Gutierrez and Jack McGlynn have and and even though like With the acknowledgment that Obed had perhaps more favorable circumstances as far as the team he's playing on, then those two guys, I think his development was like organic, independent of that.
00:19:12
Speaker
and he really ah When I look at it, I'm i'm going to give the nod and the higher ranking to the guy whose team was more successful. And in Miami, it's a little harder to make that argument because yeah their team is so loaded um that a young guy doesn't have to do as much for them to have success as a team. Without Obed on the Sounders, I don't think there's any way they're as successful no this year but based on the role he played and the impact he had on taking positive results. He should be higher. Like I said,
00:19:43
Speaker
easily over McGlynn or Gutierrez for me, probably over Karmashi and, uh, the Diego's and Redondo are the ones that I would put put them at four. I think I'd put them at four, not seven. yeah And I realized that's probably a little Seattle bias in there. No fact that we watch him every single game, game in and game out. That is true. But I watched that. I watched the other guys yeah a fair amount as well as it goes. I trust me. I know that I watched the Brian, you get paid to watch. i'm why I've watched the Brian Gutierrez tape. I know what's up with Brian Gutierrez. I've watched a lot of Jack McGlynn. So it's not like I'm coming into it out of nowhere, like evaluating those guys.
Inter Miami's Youth and Messi's Impact
00:20:21
Speaker
I think it was a little East Coast bias on Jack McGlynn there. like I think the you're not even propagan coast but like yeah philly yeah the Union propaganda was was doing a number there. Obed Vargas.
00:20:33
Speaker
There is I mean we say it literally it seems like every episode I think we've probably stopped talking about it it as much recently just because it's become It's not even like a narrative to track anymore. It's just settled. He's a starter He is one of the best players on the field and is now playing for the Mexican national team like he's 19 years old and this is in every single time he gets on the field he shows upside he gets better i have not seen him get worse so yeah his ceiling i think is insane he clearly wants to i mean he said he wants to play in europe so
00:21:08
Speaker
I think that's another thing to tack on there. It's good that the pundits at least put him in the top 10. I'm not super aggrieved that he's at seven. I think it's just good that he actually got that recognition. Top 10 is a big deal. And I think it's good that I think even if I would rate Obit above him, I'm glad to see Brian Gutierrez that high because I think that Like ah he, a lot of how good he's been has been overshadowed by how bad the Chicago fire are and it really shouldn't be like he deserves ah the sort of prospect pedigree that he's been given based on how he's played these last couple of years. Yeah. And I will say like Benji Kamashi last year.
00:21:46
Speaker
was number two. So he's dropped quite a bit in these rankings. I mean, you served by two guys on his own team. Right. And Brian Gutierrez was number five last year. So he, he, is he moved up moved up one. Okay. Interesting. um All right. Well, as we work our rest the way through this list here, I'll, I'll just give you some, ah some other players who I think I'd like and, or maybe think should have been higher and stuff like that. Yeah. I mean,
00:22:13
Speaker
You got Quinn Sullivan coming in at eight right behind Obed. I think there's, man, is it just, I rate Quinn Sullivan over Jack McGlynn. Yeah, I agree. It's been actually like putting in the work. Quinn Sullivan had a great year this year. He had 15 goal contributions, double digit assists. Like, uh, he, I don't know. I think, uh, maybe if there's any Philly fans who who follow this closer than I do that think I'm bugging on that, feel free to let me know. But like I, me personally, like based on what I've seen, I rate, I think you could swap McGlynn and Sullivan here. And I would not argue with that at all. Yeah, and it seems like that's more of the oped argument too. He's a game in, game out starter who's clearly seen progress and puts up stat sheet production, which is like, maybe that's what we're biased to. I'm biased to that. I don't really understand the hype train thing. You got to at least take it into account. yeah they're Sure, there are players that like do that play roles that don't necessarily show up on the on the goal contribution stat sheet. But if you have a guy like Quinn Sullivan who um plays the role that he does and gives you double digit assists, I definitely i put a lot of stock in that. Jaylen Neal of the LA Galaxy at 9 is a player that I like. A lot of people think he has future US men's national team upside. um
00:23:33
Speaker
I think i'm I'm kind of in on the Jaylen Neal hype in the sense that like he's a dog. Like ah I was watching ah El Trafico a couple of weeks ago and he was going up against Denny Boonga. And the first half Denny Boonga was just eating his lunch, just like dominating this kid. ah And then the second half, like ah like some sort of switch flipped yeah and Jaylen Neal was just going at Denny Boonga and totally like shut him down in the second half. But it was also like,
00:24:01
Speaker
ah like what impressed me the most about it was just like how he was playing like there's uh he was tenacious he was like talking trash to danny boanga he was trying to get into his head which like i don't know how much that's going to work but for a 19 year old to be like trying that stuff and then also just showing no fear i think that's uh That's kind of what I like about Jalen Neal's game is he doesn't really care who you are. He's going to go hard. And I think that we'll see what his ultimate upside is. But he's been really good for the galaxy. And he's been a big reason why their defense has been much better this year is him coming to his own. I think he could honestly be a little higher.
00:24:42
Speaker
This kid Esmeer for the New England Revolution is I'm not going to try his last name, but I can't tell you he's a big scout and pundit guy. They think he's really, really good. And he's been, he's there's been flashes of it this year. But like down at this point of it, Noah, like Chris Brady at 13, man, I almost feel like that's too low. And maybe that's me weighing theoretical upside more than some people. But I mean, Chris Brady is really, really talented. Like, he is some of the saves that he, like, being the goalkeeper for the Chicago Fire is a hard job. You're facing a lot of shots. You're facing like 25 a game from their best attack. It's basically playing with no defense. Yeah. So like, he has to be honest stuff because he knows he's going to be under siege for most junctures of pretty much every game. And he is, for the most part, up for it. He gets bammed on a lot. And I think that's probably why
00:25:38
Speaker
his perceived stock might not be as high as some people think but like if you put Chris Brady on a team with a good defense he would be I have no doubt he would be like rated as one of the best goalkeepers in the league he's honestly I think the best like young homegrown goalkeeper I have seen since I've followed MLS I would rate him that way That's a heater. I like that. He's that good, man. If you watch Chicago Fire Game, definitely pay attention to how much work the goalkeeper has to do and then how well Chris Brady does at it, given the circumstances. All right. Should we just jump down to Kavan Sullivan at this point at 18? Yeah, exactly. You read my mind. That's exactly what I was going to do. Let's do the Cavan Sullivan takes.
00:26:27
Speaker
He should be higher. I'm just gonna say it. He should be higher. I disagree. He should be higher. And this is why- Spout it out, okay? You cook. Okay. No one else on this list already signed to Manchester City when he was 14, okay? Am I wrong? Am I wrong? Name another player on the list who has accomplished that. I mean, I guess. you I mean, that's true. you You can't deny that. I mean, you could argue that Christian McFarland is technically signed because, you know, City Football Group owns New York City FC.
00:26:59
Speaker
I just think it's a very unique case. i would not most Most prospects that are this young that have pretty that have pretty much no first team experience, I would agree. like You can't really put them on a list before they've played or contributed in MLS at all yet. I think this is a unique case where you are talking about um one of the most highly rated prospects for his age group in the world, um if not the highly most highly rated prospect for his age group in the world, which people think I'm exaggerating when I say that. And folks, like and that is literally just what the scouts and pundits say. like I've seen multiple scouts and multiple pundits, however much stock you put in what they say, say that he is not only the best player for his age,
00:27:43
Speaker
in the country but one of if not the best in the world. That is like unique type of pedigree that you frankly don't see very often. It's that type of prodigy, phenom status that only comes around every so often. um I think you can't really overstate how kind of difficult it is for a US soccer prospect coming up to ah to catch the eye, let alone get signed by a club like Manchester City, which is the best team in the world, I think, right now. like is Is there anyone that you would put above them? like I don't think so.
00:28:20
Speaker
Here's my argument. I think I think he's in the correct spot I think 18 is a perfect spot for where he's at. He doesn't play in major league soccer I mean he Plays in next pro like with all due respect for again like one of the most highly touted ah players Young players in the league. He's 15 and he played six minutes Yeah, and andless it's certainly not based on senior team. yeah I mean, I would argue that the fact that he's played nine first team minutes at his age and at his size too, is like, that's like evidence of his pedigree and accomplishments. It's like purely on the, on index pro, like he has four goals in 18 matches.
00:29:08
Speaker
Like that's pretty good for like for a 14 15 year old. Yeah, that's I mean and also when he has played against like his own competition his age He's just been far and away like the most dominant players. So like that that like I'm just saying, man man, man, city pedigree doesn't like come out of nowhere. That's not like yeah that there's, there's substance behind that. That's not just like i'm not disagreeing that he isn't one of the 22 best young players in the league. I think he is, but I think also this idea that because he signed with man city, he's somehow this like
00:29:45
Speaker
Insane product Man City does this all the time They sign young players all the time on these weird contracts and he will get loaned out for 25 years and never see Man City Ever if he sees Man City if he sees the field for Man City I will eat my words. And honestly, I'm rooting for him. I like the Sullivan family. I like all the Sullivan boys. You're just trying to pump the brakes on the hype train and I'm trying to drive the hype train. we're We're just in different points with that because like I, I really do think he could be a good player, but I do think it's incredibly unrealistic. And I love Tom Bogues. One of my favorite pundits out there. Shout out Tom Bogues. He had him above Obed Vargas and his rankings. And there was a lot of people who had him there.
00:30:28
Speaker
They were like, had him in the top 10. It depends. I just disagree. I cannot agree with that. It just depends your criteria. Cause if you're, if you were right doing this list, like purely on upside and potential, he, I think he would have to be But I disagree because I think Obed Vargas has just as much upside and potential to be successful in his long-term career than Kevin Sullivan does because they essentially started their careers around the same time Obed was one of the youngest players when he came in right but he's actually seen consistent minutes has won has has trophies to his name has big competitions to his name and has been in a system and progressed in a way that is
00:31:08
Speaker
way more in my mind healthy to the development of a young player than being sprung up and tossed into a game when you're 15 so you can get the messy clicks which like no disrespect to fill the union for doing that that was smart they're trying to keep him happy keep him there and it was a fun story anyway we were hyped on and we did a whole basically like a whole 30 minute Thing on it, but I just I'm I'm definitely pumping the brakes. I think at 18 is the perfect spot for him I think he landed at the yeah, and I understand the inclination to like slow down the hype train I also I'm not gonna like ah I'm not gonna downplay like
00:31:43
Speaker
the ah the pedigree at play when it comes to ah getting scouted and signed by Man City when ah when you're 14. You know, you could be right. It could be one of those situations, ah you know, like we've seen, like when Yedlin went to Tottenham and he never really played for them, or like, I see what you're saying with that.
00:32:02
Speaker
um I would be pretty surprised if, uh, if Kevin Sullivan didn't follow, like, at least a similar trajectory to, like, a Pulisic or a Weston McKinney or, uh, U.S. men's national team prospects of that ilk that have played for the the likes of, like, you know, Pulisic has been on Chelsea. He's played a long time for Borussia, Dortmund, Inter Milan. So, like, I don't know if Kevin Sullivan's gonna reach...
00:32:29
Speaker
that hype but uh he certainly has the potential to and there's just like even on this list like i don't know how many players there are that have that potential i think diego gomez has the potential to go play for clubs like that and not just go play for clubs like that but like excel is kind of yeah the uh is the criteria that i'm thinking of like yeah gomez could redondo could for sure but like past the past those inner Miami guys like it feels you know it just it's just a very in exact science and you never know what's going to happen so and you we don't know what's going to happen with Kevin Sullivan either but like I i personally I put a lot of stock in how much
00:33:11
Speaker
not that just the fact that he's one of the highest rated prospects in the world right now but like how much higher he seems to be rated than everyone else his age and like i said like that's i'm basing that not off my evaluation just what i've heard and read and then also like you know i've watched the highlights on youtube and stuff and it's pretty easy he's pretty nasty with it so we'll see what happens it's gonna be fun to track but i think there's a good argument that he could have been higher And ah really, it's like I said, it comes down to criteria upside versus like contributions that you've already made. So I don't mind guys that have played more than him and contributed more being ranked higher, but he's got as much upside as as anybody on here. I think I feel confident in saying that.
00:33:54
Speaker
um Okay, I think that was a pretty good pretty good riff. We just had on 22 under 22. I really have Much else looking at this list right now. I mean there's some other really good players on here But like no one that I really feel the need to highlight right now I mean, you got Tomah Saviles, who's just another inner Miami one that could be ranked up with Kramashi and Redondo. So it's just kind of ridiculous how many of these guys David ru da Ruiz is 21. He's insanely good too. So really, uh, I guess that's my other big takeaway from the 2222 this year is that, uh, Miami's roster is insane. They have, they have the best old guys and the best young guys. they just have the best We'd say this every day. It's they're the most stacked team that this league has ever in may ever see. and And I think the thing that people maybe don't realize about that is it's not it's not just the Barca boys coming over and wrecking shop It's their whole roster and it's their young players and their youth development that are doing the job for them right now, too That's how you end up ah one game away from breaking the MLS points
MLS MVP Debate
00:34:55
Speaker
record know it. Yeah, that happens. It's wild That's I think that's the total takeaway from this if I was gonna say anything is like if there's a winner it's inner Miami Yeah, if there's a winner, it's inner Miami
00:35:05
Speaker
That was but yeah, that was good. That was a good Kevin Sullivan debate though yeah I think it's it's not rare that has to be done We find ourselves like on that opposite end of a spectrum. So I like that we should yeah the last time was the Raul debate so well'll you how that's why i went up because you won that yeah exactly we'll see man We'll see I know ah Kevin Sullivan is so young that a lot of people are hesitant to, you don't want to like overhype a kid that young. You don't want to put too much pressure on someone who like hasn't proven anything yet. God knows he could get injured. He could get injured. A lot could happen. But um it's definitely like there's no doubt that he's a very exciting prop ah prospect. And I mean, like at the very least, um
00:35:51
Speaker
I think he projects to be a lot better than Quinn, and Quinn is a really good MLS player right now. um So I'm i'm excited to ah to see where it goes. um All right, let's do our end of season awards. That sounds fun. We're going to talk about MVP.
00:36:09
Speaker
newcomer of the year, young player of the year, defender of the year, goalkeeper of the year, comeback player of the year, coach of the year. That's the full ballot, I believe. So all right. What I did know, as you can see here, I wrote out why I looked at the list of nominees, wrote out who I thought were the front runners. I have my picks among these. too So for every ah every category, I'm going to read out like who I think are the front runners. You can add if I missed anybody.
00:36:37
Speaker
um You can add a name but I think I have roughly like it's both who I think the pundits um are considering and like who I would want to consider. You have to read it out in like the award show announcement voice though like first up for MVP. Yeah, exactly. We have. I don't think I'm going to do that for a good bit. Bland and Donovan. Let's do MVP first. Yeah. And Donovan MLS and MVP. Cause this is the one that's going to get the most to debate. And I actually have a new take on this and I'm excited to debut, debut my take.
00:37:10
Speaker
No tea on the debut no tea But there's some good candidates and it's really like we've we've talked about our MVP takes a little bit and um It's wide-ass open the way I see it like there There's a few different ways this could go and like usually like last year. It was just like oh yeah lockdown yeah, but or so But like this year, I think it's a lot there's a lot more debate to be had. Here's who I have for who I consider the front runners. I think one of these guys is going to get it. um You have Lionel Messi, Cuccio Hernandez, Lucio Acosta. um I put Ricky Poosh. And I think Luis Suarez will probably get some votes based on name value. But also, he's had a great year. So that's who I think are the front runners. Is anyone missing?
00:37:59
Speaker
I don't think so. you went no I don't think so. Okay, so I think there's a there's a few things to think about here, which is that I've been saying it like mess messy is not just the MVP of Major League Soccer in 2024. He's the MVP of the entire sport. Yeah of all time easily so like I just don't really honestly see a credible argument that anyone in the league is more valuable than Messi because there's never there's there has never been, ah but if you're looking at it purely from just statistical output perspective, there's no one who can produce what he does
00:38:43
Speaker
with the volume that he does as efficiently as he does. you know It's essentially like ah you know like this the Steph Curry of soccer or something. yeah that like it's i think thats I think that's Christian-palistic though. it's i what i mean is like the type of It's like the type of unbelievable production that is statistically like it should be impossible. You know how the people who make NBA 2K like can can't account for yeah Steph Curry's like actually the the numbers that he puts up in real life. Like that's the sort of numbers that we're talking about with here. And I think I brought this up this point up the last time, but I'm going to say it again because I think it actually underscores why Messi is the MVP.
00:39:25
Speaker
which is that he has 16 goals or 17 goals, 15 assists in 20 games or something, something like that this year. So 32 some odd goal contributions in 20 games. That's insane. If you, he played like 1100 minutes. If you, just if you put a thousand more minutes on top of that with zero goal contributions, give him zero, the exact same numbers he put up, we all know that he would easily be the MVP.
00:39:54
Speaker
with those exact stats that he put up in eleven hundred minutes yeah like i don't see what the counter argument to that is so if we all take that for granted which i think that we should um how are you gonna like argue that the guy who had 32 goal contributions in 1100 minutes is not the most valuable player. Like I, like people, I get that people aren't going to give it to him and don't want to give it to him because he missed so much time and didn't play the whole season. I think it's a case where you could really argue that that shouldn't, that that doesn't, that doesn't matter if you're like trying to give it to the right person. You know what I mean? I do. Am I am I bugging here? I've never understood the argument of time being such a crucial point because it's like he didn't choose to get hurt. He played like a billion games and then was like, I'm old. the I'm hurt. The reason that he missed a lot of games was because he won the Copa America with Argentina. Yeah. And sprained his ankle. Yeah. So that's why yeah he didn't play a full compliment. like Oh, I'm sorry. Oh, look, I say all of that. I say all of that.
00:40:59
Speaker
with the acknowledgement that I might not vote for him just because um I do think like on some level there is ah there's there's like a minutes threshold or amount of games that like you could argue that you should have to play to like be in consideration. I know that kind of contradicts what I'm saying, but like, I don't know, like who really deserves it and who gets it can be two different questions sometimes. And this, this is where my, this, that wasn't even my like new take. That's the take that I've already been saying, right but who I kind of like,
00:41:38
Speaker
I'm torn. I'm actually torn, folks. But leave in the comments who you think I should vote for. I have a vote. So and I haven't cast my ballot yet. So you can lobby already for your consideration. But here's here's who I want to vote for. OK, I've been saying that ah I'm probably going to vote for Kucho because I think that's like a safe, non-controversial choice. That is ah best player on the other best team in the league and played a full complement of minutes, right? Has the stats. um Has the big game.
00:42:07
Speaker
ah and performances um has the trophy hall so he has everything that you want and it would be a good vote but i'll tell you who that's the tired pick here's the wired pick that's the tired pick wired pick who i want to vote for ricky pooge ricky pooge okay the numbers are not like up to obviously what Messi has put up or even what Cuccio has put up. But ah when you look at the LA Galaxy who have gone from kind of a joke of a squad over the last few years to the best team in the West this year, they're probably going to get the number one seed unless they lose it on the last day. But they've been in the driver's seat for the number one seed for a long time now. One of the best offenses in the league
00:42:54
Speaker
Who makes it all go? Ricky Pooj, who I don't think people realize or give enough credence to how good this guy is. He is a Barcelona product who came to MLS when he was 22, which is he's very unique in that sense. Like a player like that.
00:43:15
Speaker
who is considered a very prominent up and coming prospect in Spain for Barcelona, where Messi and all them played, doesn't come here at that juncture in his career that often. And you know people use that as a knock on him. But if you look how he's played since he's been here,
00:43:33
Speaker
um He's been fantastic. He's really he's like changed the culture of that whole team their whole vibe he's kind of his kind of bravado and swagger, you know, like I could do without the like ah Firing off like hit tweets about the haters after every single game I mean, I like it to an extent sometimes he pops off and I'm like, all right, like you're a poster. I respect that Yeah, maybe like me that's why I guess he's like if you if you were if I had more soccer talent. Yeah, exactly. He does that way. Yeah, he really which is really a nightmare to be honest. Yeah, that kind of goes against his MVP can you see but no I mean he ah he's the engine for that that whole team like we're pro Gabriel peck and we're pro we're very pro Joey paints on this show. I don't think they have the type of impact that they've had for the galaxy if Ricky pooge wasn't pulling the strings in the middle. Yeah, he is for my money with messy not in the discussion the best passer in MLS the best fit facilitators some of the dimes He hits are incredible his through balls are unbelievable his switches are unbelievable ah He hits nasty free kicks. He does it all high work rate a little he's like reminds me of Ledera a little bit in that way maybe not as like constant as Ledera was but pretty much no one was that but like
00:44:54
Speaker
He's basically he's there, Ledero, and he is electric and I'm stumping for him for MVP. Like, I think it's a good vote. I like that. You've convinced me. I see, okay, my MVP candidate was Messi, which I think is just like, from the arguments that we've been saying, and I don't get a vote, so this doesn't mean shit anyway, but I just, I don't care how many minutes you play. I think him playing less minutes in producing the way that he did, it shows that he's MVP even more. And people are like, oh, well look at how inner Miami,
00:45:31
Speaker
did without him, you know, how valuable can he be if they were still racking two points per game while he was gone? They wouldn't have the players on that team without him. That's also a true. 80% of that 22 under 22 that was in Miami did not come to that club until Messi was there. he changed the and like If we're going to talk about changing the culture,
00:45:52
Speaker
That was a team that had to lie stealing. I mean, he changed the he changed the sport in this country forever. Yeah. It's like what's more valuable than that? What's more? fun I'm just whoa. Well, we're getting better. No, I mean, seriously, man, like I think it's important to talk about this because there's this conventional wisdom out there right now that like Messi is just out for MVP and purely because of the minutes that he played being like half of what the rest of the front runners played.
00:46:20
Speaker
and And that's just, okay, well he's out then. No, no, no, I don't think so, man. I think, i like you said, if anything, I think the fact that he has the numbers that he does, which are just as good as Kucho, Lucho, and Ricky Poosh, that shows how much far and away better He is than anyone else, not just an MLS, but who's ever played the game. It was funny. Uh, this is a side tangent, but this wedding I was just at, you know, I was talking to people who, uh, are soccer fans, but like, are like, you know, they're just, they're normals they're normal. So they're like, they have the classic, like anti MLS takes like retiremently, any older player who goes to MLS, it's because they're wash type stuff, you know, stuff that we've been hearing yeah the last right 15 years really about the league but like he he was that he was asking me at one point he was like I mean met you think Messi could still hack it in in Europe like it seems like ah he moved to MLS just cuz like he couldn't hang anymore brother he just won Copa America he would just won Copa America like he's still like ah the best player for Argentina but also
00:47:31
Speaker
Had it I mean Do you think the best player of all time could still hack it in europe? Like what are we talking about? He had a 2020 season for psg right before he came here So like I mean that that's a whole like Separate argument not even worth dignifying. I'm just saying like if we're talking about uh If we're talking about the best most valuable player in the league right now, it's not it's like not even close man No, and in fact going through this right now and talking about it, I'm pretty sure I'm gonna vote for him. Pretty sure I'm gonna vote for him. And i like i so I stand on it. like i don't like Like you said, I don't care about 1,100 minutes. If anything, that strength that strengthens this take. I think that there's this like idea in all of these voting categories that people make up reasons to They want to be they want to be smarter than they come off. They want to they want to seem like they're smarter than everyone else So they're like, well, I'm not voting for messy cuz actually the minutes requirement shut the hell up Well, shut the hell up and cast your bow. Okay, I here's the argument I'm sympathetic to which this might be more the lens that I was thinking of voting for someone else through who would you picks who would you pick messy Kucho lucho Gabriel peck
00:48:43
Speaker
or Ricky Puj to be on your team. Who yeah exactly would you yeah you pick? matt You ask anyone and if they don't say Messi, they're being disingenuous and that is exactly why he should and will win MVP. um The argument that I'm honestly the most sympathetic to with this, which is that like having Messi on your team, not just your MLS team, but any team is essentially cheating.
00:49:00
Speaker
inner Miami their their roster is Essentially, it's not actually cheating like some people have been alleging, but I don't know our but it's your league shill It's functionally cheating to ah to have one messy on your team But then also load up with the bar so boys juarez
Newcomer and Young Player of the Year
00:49:18
Speaker
and every all of the best South American prospects in the world also on the same team so like they should like They're just on this level that should just be discounted from like normal discussions about like the the regular teams in this league and like the awards and stuff. like But that just shows you more why Messi should be MVP because of what he built. I agree with that. But if someone told me I'm not dating because how how often do I dish a take on this show? And I have to be like, well, Inter Miami and Messi are not Yeah every is every every time yeah, so like if someone uses that as their rationale to not vote for him I could see that and that's I think that's sort of how I was thinking of it when I was trying to rationalize voting for Kucho or Ricky pooj But yeah, no like I'm you know I'm glad this is why we talked through these things because i've I've talked myself into not only
00:50:07
Speaker
Casting this vote for messy which I've been torn on cuz of the minutes thing I've been torn on it I feel convicted in this man like see i is what I'm here for I'd be the devil on your shoulder I mean it it really it shouldn't be that should be the safe take it's a safe take like I'd like It's pundit brain. Are you what are we talking about with anyone? yeah is pundit brain You know hey if you're ah we're gonna move on to the the rest of the categories, but if you're like ah anti messy for MVP dish dish dish tell me I'm wrong tell me we're wrong like I i don't see it though like I i think I think I have to vote for him and you know Arielle read those comments I do read them all unfortunately newcomer I think this one's pretty straightforward to me I've got Gabriel Peck but a couple other guys that I think have good shouts
00:50:55
Speaker
um I like this one, honest Wolf from NYC FC, put up like Leo Chew stats this year, but he, uh, he has been like a pretty reliable key player for, uh, for NYC FC and like he impacted team success yeah ah and, uh, as much as you can in Yankee stadium, seems like he's got a lot of upside. So, uh, I think that was kind of like a fun little dark horse that I was looking at the list of nominees. And I was like, that, That kid actually he's actually solid. He's actually solid ah another one who doesn't have enough games or minutes But I think would have a case if he had come earlier is Kelvin you boa. I think yeah, so to United This is just a guy to keep an eye on in general like he's nasty He's just been banging in goals ever since he got there ah man. I want him on Seattle. Don't you want? I love him ah
00:51:45
Speaker
I wanted Ricky Puj on Seattle when he was out of contract. I was like, this is the perfect Nico Ledero replacement. That would have been man. That would have been, that's kind of, you know, when the ant is another tangent, we're really, this when this episode is off the rails. When the anti Rusnak brigade is like, we need to replace him. My kind of, my thought is like, you know, we're pro Rusnak. So I'm not really hankering for that. But if you can get a player, that's like the exact profile of Ricky Puj. Yep, then sure or Ricky poo's or literally Ricky poo's yourself. That was my only like if you can get Ricky poo's awesome Otherwise, I would prefer abber ro but yeah. Well, otherwise you're literally just Go hoping for a wrist snack clone when you yeah have a snack that's I do anyway We're not gonna talk about the brigade. Sorry. Sorry. that Sorry. Sorry off the rails off the rails newcomer the
00:52:31
Speaker
ah Suarez right I mean I think like you have to say the name like he might not have knees anymore but the guy had 17 goals yeah six assists and really like Suarez and MLS has gone about like I thought it would um he's been he's been great for them so he might I love my my take here on this one if you want. Well, let me say the last time. Sorry. Sorry. I forgot. forgot then I almost cut off our board. I just didn't want to. Yeah, exactly. I just didn't want to get through rattling off these names without shouting out Joey Paints, who the Joey Paints hype train has slowed down a little bit. Still one. ah He was my favorite player in MLS when he first got here. I love Joey Paints. I just think like ah
00:53:14
Speaker
He's kind of like gotten well, he got injured for a bit, but then he just got overshadowed by guys on his own team They're just so loaded that Joey paints flies under the radar everywhere but on this show and among the galaxy fan base It's a galaxy podcast and it's really people say it's a galaxy podcast. It's not a galaxy podcast It's a Joey paints exact podcasts and i know gabrieel park But like honestly if I'm predicting who I think is gonna win newcomer and who I think should I don't really think you can go wrong with Gabriel peck he had better numbers than Joey paints this year and really just ah I mean man like honestly that whole band of three when they're firing is crazy to watch but Gabriel peck he brings the end product he brings he brings like the power the speed him and Joey paints both um but he really yeah
00:54:04
Speaker
He took over quite a bit for them. And honestly, if you were to undermine the Ricky Puj MVP case, it would be that like he's flanked by these demons, you know? um But anyway, I did want to shout out Joey Paints. Noah, who's your newcomer? My newcomer of the year might surprise some of you because of my early takes. I called him jello knees. I called him worthless. I called him. He'll never do anything in this. A lot of people said that to be fair. Yeah. Suarez. I think he has a genuine shout at newcomer of the year. He might win because he's not going to win the golden boot race. I thought if he would win the golden boot race, no one would vote for him for newcomer because they'd be like, okay, he got his, you know, he got his. But it's like yeah it's it's hard to not.
00:54:47
Speaker
Reward him for what he did because he did come in Struggled initially a little bit But really didn't took off had an insane season even without Messi was playing out of his damn mind coming from playing Incredibly poorly and ah he was in Brazil, right?
00:55:07
Speaker
He had a good year in Brazil last year. It was a good year, but I think it was preseason where he, that's what it was. His knees looked shot and everybody was like, can this guy make it through a full season? Which is what I like. I think it's a good story. I think it's yeah ah good. Like he put up the stats. He did the thing, but also inner Miami undermining that I would go with Peck.
00:55:30
Speaker
Okay, so you wouldn't go Suarez. No I would pick Suarez, but I'm saying like if we're going the anti if we're pretending the inner Miami doesn't exist Okay, I see susy yeah one i've ah I've said this a few times but uh watching this inner Miami team this season it's really given me my first chance to ah watch Messi Sergio Briskets Jordy Alba and Luis Suarez like game in game out when like when they were running Global soccer on those Barcelona teams for all those years where I mean I think those are Considered some of some of if not the best soccer teams ever assembled. Yeah, I really like I was literally bankrupted their club Yeah, exactly. I was not watching them game in game out during those years I would see the highlights, but I was not watching La Liga. I was not watching every Barcelona game and And you obviously know Messi is the best in the world. He's playing with all these guys that are the best in the world. But like watching this Miami team, you like really I've really gotten to like see, OK, why are they so much better than everyone else like on a much more detailed basis?
00:56:33
Speaker
And Suarez is one like ah all all four of watching those guys those guys. It's been a pleasure to watch. But ah Suarez, um it's just very impressive. Like, I mean, this guy is probably a top 10 striker of all time. I've dished that take and people said it was too hot. I don't think you can name 10 strikers all time. That like where you could not put Suarez's name at least in there with them. So I think like we're talking about a generationally talented and productive striker.
00:57:02
Speaker
And, uh, you know, it's like, uh, you know how messy when he stands over a free kick and you're like, he's going to make it. And then he does like a lot of the time Suarez, it's like the same thing. Like when he's lurking around the box and the service comes in, you're like, Oh, he's, that's probably a goal. That's probably, and then he usually scores it. yeah like As much as any number nine I've watched in MLS, or really any number nine period, it's just, when he has an open look, you're done. You're done. like he He very rarely, he he doesn't he doesn't really miss sitters that often, and he's just, he's lethal from any area of the box, even outside the box, both feet. I mean, I don't i' i don't have to give the scouting port report on Luis Suarez, but my point is, like
00:57:45
Speaker
um He's like been as advertised at 37. He has had over 500 career goals like he is. I don't care what lead you're playing in like he he was he ripped up the Brazilian league last year. So like it's 18 and 26 is crazy. Yeah, he's 37 or yeah, 37 a beast and I think he's a good pick for for newcomer for sure, but i Agree like I I want it and I think I'm gonna vote for Peck here um Young player of the year. All right. The thing with this is that I don't see how you can put Diego Gomez number one on 22 under it's like it's kind of same. It is the same thing I have this name, right? however However, like if we're doing a thing where he got number one for 22 hundred 22, so we give young player to someone else Diego Luna I think I would have no problem with him getting this um
00:58:38
Speaker
he uh i just love his story first of all coming up through uh like he he started the quakes academy which yeah but uh they have one yeah well what's funny is that there's he is one of like there's like six really good prospects that have come up, their homegrown system is not bad. They just, none of them play for the quakes anymore. That's right. They sold Cade Cowell on Diego Luna. And there's like three or four other names of like guys that have come up through their system who just for whatever reason, like never played or don't play for their first team.
00:59:12
Speaker
Really good stuff there. But what I like about the Diego Luna trajectory is the U.S.L. component of it came up with El Paso locomotive, which shout out New Mexico United and Mexico United's biggest rival. So hope elpe El Paso locomotive lose every game. But like Diego Luna, ah he he like really earned his stripes grinding in the U.S.L. and became ah one of the most highly touted prospects in the country there. And savvy signing by Rial Salt Lake Kirchman, first of all, like He was a very hyped prospect when he was getting signed I was like what I think whatever and MLS team does this is gonna cook on this even though it's an unconventional path like not a lot of big-time MLS prospects come up through the US I like that Diego Luna did and he balled out this year like he had seven goals 12 assists very talented facilitator and really ah carried
Defender and Comeback Player of the Year
01:00:07
Speaker
their offense like in large part for very long stretches of this season at age 20, you know, so like I kind of like the idea of giving him of voting him for this award with the knowledge that Gomez is probably the best young player but uh got number one in 22 under 22 and uh like Diego Luna like deserves shine for uh the path he's taken and the season that he's had yeah no I'm I don't even have any arguments with that. I think you laid that out perfectly. We can probably just move on to. Yeah. I mean, other names, Jack McGlynn, Obed, Chris Brady, but I mean, I can give a little. I think it's all about. I think this debate's all about the Diego's for me, at least. Yeah, I can give a little like Obed argument, but I don't even think that anyone will listen because it's just not. It's not going to get it. He's not going to get it. It would never do. They would never do. Never do it for us. And if we're being real, like I think the Diego's, I would rate them slightly ahead of Obed. I just think Gomez Gomez's impact was bigger than than OBEDS. And like I think upside comes into play here, too, where at least I don't know. You might rate OBEDS upside up with Gomez's. But I think the general pundit and scout consensus is that Gomez's ceiling is higher. Whether you agree with that or not, I don't know. I don't think I don't think pundits tend to rate defensive midfielders Highly anyway, I just don't think especially when you're young like players in those kind of positions don't really get Rated and touted as bigger prospects when you're when you're not in those more star roles Defender of the year I've got I've got some heaters here, but uh, I did want to say I noticed a kind of Interesting trend with the defender of the year discourse this year, which is that defender of the year?
01:01:57
Speaker
pretty much always goes to a CB. Like it's basically the best center back award. That's why Aaron long and Walker Zimmerman usually win it. Um, but Walker Zimmerman was injured this year and Aaron long is in the discussion again, but I've seen a lot of Steven Maria, uh, like propaganda out there. So you, okay. Um, so you're against a fullback getting it.
01:02:23
Speaker
I'm not against it. I was kind of unsure how I felt about it. And I was like, you know, that kind of, they, okay, my thing is they got to be a two way player. It can't be like a Brad Smith profile where they're really good going forward and Brack like a lot of assists, yeah but like, aren't very good on its defender of the year, which is why I think the CB criteria is usually what people default to. But Steven Maria, uh, I mean,
01:02:52
Speaker
One of the this Columbus team's superpowers is like how good their full backs are like in attack and it's why you went and saw them go get the one Jones like that's their type of fullback and Maria's his uh his assist numbers and his stats weren't crazy this year but i think like that's a lot of what he brings to the table and as i understand it he is a very good defender and a lot of their like those games where they're beating the shit out of la fc and denny belong is not doing anything this is this guy is a big reason why so like i get the argument from that perspective but this is what this is what this got me thinking about is it's like okay if we're doing that then it's jordialba
01:03:34
Speaker
I'm sorry. I hate to make the yeah that's like exact same argument that I just made with Messi, but Jordy Alba, he's literally the best fullback ever, probably. like I don't know. like Maybe you had some people have. But like in a debate of the best wide defenders that have ever played the game, he is in the two to three names that you would have to be debating, absolutely. And he had 16 gold contributions this year as a left back.
01:04:01
Speaker
12 dimes. He is easily the best attacking fullback I've ever consistently watched play. um Like I think that might be who I vote for. Yeah. Like I if we're bringing if you're going to bring like a Maria into the conversation.
01:04:17
Speaker
then everyone, then it that opens the doors to players who are better than him, which is Jordy Alba. That's what I'm saying, man. That's what I'm saying. I can get, I can get with the agenda. It's Maria stuff. Like yeah it's like, if you're, if we're doing that, we're giving it to Jordy Alba. Yeah. I agree with that. And that is why we should not be talking about this Mariah nonsense. We should be talking about gay Mar and Jackson Reagan. I had it written down, but yeah, cook, cook gay Mar Jackson. I would give it to Jackson Reagan personally. I think gay Mar has a good show too. This is, this is my wired tape. Well here's the thing here's the thing like that yamar and Jackson Reagan are getting no no they will not win They're not they're getting no pundit love for this and actually someone informed us. This is a good ah you remember this take that someone ah someone on Twitter and informed us sorry
01:05:08
Speaker
we did I'm thinking of this live, so I forget who it was, but thank you whoever it was for flagging that this. There was a take ah from our friends that it was like a and American analysis involved. They're there're they're ah underlying numbers, guys, so I knew who won their takes. But they they were spitting some fire. i don't I actually know them, so I don't hate them. No, we don't we don't hate them. We just disagree with their take. yeah um So they were dishing heat about how Yaymar and Jackson Reagan like the underlying numbers show that they actually like suck and are bad So they should be nowhere near the defender of the year debate folks ah Like I don't know what metrics or stats they were using to come to that conclusion vibes but like ex vibes ex vibes, but like ah
01:05:54
Speaker
I think when you're making an evaluation like that you have to take into account like the Performance of the team defense which Seattle again, I don't know if people realize this they conceded I'm pretty sure the fewest goals in the league again this year for like a second straight year. They actually ended up with One of if not the best defenses in the league again like so you have to you have to credit every Defender who played a major role even knew who I'm sorry for some of you you're gonna like knew who defender the year Let's go like people will say knew who is so terrible But like why do you think that he is starting on the best defense in the league every year? Like he I'm you think he has nothing to do with that That's I mean if that's the take then that's the take I don't agree with that But I but the point is like when you have a defense that performs as well as Seattle's did team wide this year
01:06:50
Speaker
Everyone on the back line gets credit in my opinion and the demids get credit in my opinion Yemar and Jackson Reagan were the first choice week in week out CB starting CB pairing for the best defense in the league That's both of them at least have an argument um the devil's The devil's advocate would be um I think Jackson Reagan had a stretch of the season where his form dipped a little bit so defender of the year part of my criteria is like dominant front to back. I don't know if Jackson Reagan really did that. Although I will say at the end of the year, he got in great form and started scoring like a bunch of goals. So that's an argument in the pro column. um But if you were to devil's advocate, the Jackson Reagan candidacy, I think would be based on consistency
01:07:38
Speaker
And I think you could say a similar thing for Yanmar. But his dip wasn't even like that bad. i I was more dramatic about it yes you are than it actually was bad. You were ready to pull his contract over here. I had some takes about it. I i had a panic attack yeah he did live on an air.
01:07:54
Speaker
Cuz he's been so good. But like now like he has I'm just I'm just saying like why he's probably not getting as much shine Yeah But as far as the pundits who are saying that they suck in are terrible if you're gonna dish that take you have to explain how they Anchored the defense that allowed the fewest goals in the league that there's those two things they do not square like terrible center backs and statistically best defense in the league unless you're if you must you've got some like xg differential shit that like shows that the defense this is why we shouldn't listen to statistics or like if if there was showing that they like performed at a level where they should have conceded 65 goals I might
01:08:35
Speaker
Listen to that. But I don't think that's the case. And I think I think like you said, it's a case of like outsmarting yourself a little bit with that. It's the pundification of all of this stuff. It's like you have to you have to I'm like, oh, I'm smarter than you are all actually because Steven Morea is actually like he's like the defender of the year man like he's like a defender and definitely not like a progressive passing player that's like not a wingback but let's pretend that Jordy Alba doesn't exist because if we pretend that Jordy Alba exists
01:09:06
Speaker
Then it this whole Defender of the Year thing blows up and we might as well not even vote for one. it's the inner it's the I think people are just going into it with the inner Miami is excluded mentality. It's just so dumb, man. It was funny for me to see in the last couple of days, like it was like this coordinated campaign. It was. in maria Yeah, I know I saw your analyst out there even couch. Yeah, there was a lot of ah there's a lot of this and a lot of people I think saw the the mainstreamness of this tape. We need to include the voters. Stop the count. But like like if if this Moray a movement is happening, I'm voting for Jordy Alba and dude, I like.
01:09:43
Speaker
I think I'm voting for Jordy Alba. I know it's a hot take to say I'm voting Messi for MVP and Jordy Alba for a Defender of the Year, but like like I think we got to talk about like who's actually the best at this, and those are the two guys, I think. If we're going to open it up for Steven Morea, it's got to be Jordy Alba. It's not even a question. And if we're not going to open it up for Jordy Alba and Steven Morea, then it's got to be... Jackson Reagan. Jackson Reagan. I'll take Yamar, either one.
01:10:09
Speaker
Most dominant defense in the league shout out to Aaron long former son or two legend wouldn't even be mad if you got it either, okay? goalkeeper um I think this one's actually pretty clear-cut um Andrew Thomas Andy T. Yeah, I had that bit that is yeah, glad we got i stole that I'm sorry no no were you we had to We had the comedic timing was just there Andy T is my no I think when you look at, ah you know, i I, when I look at who I want to vote for goalkeeper of the year, I use the FB ref metrics a lot for these because I think those are like, they're not the be all end all, but it's like a good reference point for like,
01:10:48
Speaker
ah if you're looking for like the finer points of how good a year someone had. Christian Kalina for Charlotte FC, people might not realize this, but he's been lights out for them this year. And like Charlotte FC, no one talks about them, but they've low key been like a pretty solid playoff team all year, not because they score a lot of goals, but it's sort of the Nashville SC blueprint where they're just really solid at the back and have elite goalkeeping. And I think this guy's been the best goalkeeper in the league this year,
01:11:17
Speaker
both by the design underlying, number that's St. Louis, but damn both the ah underlying numbers and the eye test, and I think it's actually very clear cut. the only The only other one that I would throw in there who I think deserves a lot of consideration that people might not know about, who's out of crazier, is Matt Freeze from and NYCFC. um But I mean, I got Kalina pretty easily. I think,
01:11:46
Speaker
Steph Fry um missed some time this year, which I know we just said doesn't matter, but also I think he, I think he's been very good this year, especially down the stretch here at the end of the year. Like this, basically this whole stretch where Seattle's been, uh, playing at two points per game again, Stefan fry has been, uh, same, the same Stefan fry as always. So, but like, uh, I just think, uh, to my eye and to my mind, Kalina has been just a little better. Like that's how I see it.
01:12:16
Speaker
I love Stephen Fry. ah Let him play till he's 185 years old. I signed for like a couple more years and I'm like, no, I'm I'm with it. Yeah, I just i like listen, respect to him. It's just this wasn't his season. I think he wasn't bad, but he wasn't like there were moments where I was like, let's leave him in the city. There were ah there were a lot of takes. Like that earlier this year, yeah which like, I mean, it happens. We all have our lapses, especially as you get older, you're not going to play every single game out of your damn mind. But I i do think there has been a slight decline in his play. And I don't think it was his best season ever. Earlier this season, I saw this decline. People were talking about maybe a little more.
01:12:55
Speaker
Yeah, the last little like the last like 10 to 15 games like I think he's been pretty much the same as always Yeah, um but I think it's really my take on this one is it's more a testament to um How a leader a year Colina has had? ah More than like a knock on the year that no I I'm right there with you. That's who I had as well. Okay, sick. Come back Player of the Year. This will be a fun one. I have three names written down that I liked out of the nominee list. So I'll make the case real quick for all of them and then tell you who I am going to vote for.
01:13:30
Speaker
um I saw maxi Morales his name on there and I was like that's actually kind of fire. Yeah, cuz he's 37 He's a legendary number 10 in this league NYC FC brought him back. He tore his ACL in his like mid to late 30s Worked his way back came back this year and kind of cooks and his his presence on that team is just so funny to me because first of all he's 37 and they're probably the like team that has gone and committed the most to their players. He's literally, so you see Maxie out there playing with all these 19 to 21 year olds. ah So I just kind of love the visual of him like mentoring this team of like ah under 22 signings. um But he's also, he dude he is five foot like three.
01:14:17
Speaker
That's so sick. He's tiny. I love that. And like, just the way, I love watching him play just cause he, uh, it's like, uh, to make a cross sport analogy. Um, when I was in high school, I went and saw the Lakers play when, uh, Steve Nash was on the team. Oh. And I was I went to go watch Kobe because he was my favorite player. But uh, I uh, yeah, ah but uh, Steve Nash was on the team and he ended up being the player that me and my sister who I was at the game with were like this guy is Unbelievable. Yeah, because he's like five foot foot eleven on the court with all these guys that are like six foot ten and watching him live in person like
01:14:57
Speaker
ah Dribble and weave in this like it looked like he was in like a forest of trees ah But it was just like it blew my it was one of the most like impressive athletic things I've ever seen in person. I feel like Maxi Morales has like that like ah Kind of it's like the same idea where he's it's just that low center of gravity everyone else on the fields like so much bigger than him But like you can't get the ball off him. He's just like ah He's one of the most underrated tens in league history, in my opinion. But I'm not gonna vote for him because I was looking at, this is funny, because it totally contradicts what I guess he takes. But really, he didn't even play a thousand minutes. And he's the right story for the award. I just feel like, come back, come back.
01:15:42
Speaker
More than MVP, it actually matters that you play. yeah The narrative is important, but it has to be matched by the play style. Yeah. I don't know. Like thinking of it now, man, like he's at like 800 minutes. It's just like barely below the threshold of feeling like I can vote for him and it haven't makes sense. But I just wanted to give him a shout because he is the right, he's, I think he's like the best narrative and he's an MLS legend. Like he really is he's such a dope player. um And then the other one that I liked ah Was Ian Frey from inner Miami who's ah he's not like one of their imported young players He's a their homegrown center back who he's done his ACL at least two maybe even like three times and It's time to hang it up buddy. Well so that's what you would think but this year he came back and I'm gonna look up exactly how much he played but I know that he scored at least two goals from his center back spot and was like getting some minutes for them and this is a kid like like I said multiple ACLs and like I remember when he did it last year at the beginning of the season it was so sad man like he uh
01:16:51
Speaker
he, cause he had, it was one of those things where he literally, it was his first game back after rehabbing an ACL and he did the other ACL in the first game back the other one, like what are the odds of that? But anyway, again, uh, he's only played 600 minutes, the right narrative arc, but just like 13 games, 600 minutes. Don't know which is hard to get into that in a Miami team.
01:17:13
Speaker
Yeah, exactly. So I don't know if ah if i ah if I can vote for him with less minutes than Maxie, but I'll just tell you who I'm actually going to vote for. it I think I'm going to go with Lewis Morgan from the Red Bulls. He he had, I think, multiple injuries last year, or at least like one really bad one. Didn't really play a lot. And has carried their team for long stretches of this year. Ended up with 19 goal contributions, 13 goal six assists.
01:17:39
Speaker
Um, and, uh, I think he is the right balance of, uh, he had, uh, has the narrative arc of coming back from the injury, but then also played a major, uh, weekend game in game out role for for them this year and had the production to back it up. So that's my vote.
01:17:59
Speaker
No, I like that. I like Lewis Morgan. Scotland legend has been playing in the national team. He's really, I don't really see like who else gets it. Yeah. I think, I think that's the right pick. I think the narrative is, the narrative is definitely not as strong as the other two. So if you're going to go like narrative arc, which I think is totally fair with this, this spot. If you're just like, dude, I just want narrative. There's, there's two better options, but I think realistically Lewis Morgan will win. Like again,
01:18:24
Speaker
Talking my way through it just now. I kind of want to vote for maxi But that's the thing is like I feel like someone like maxime around that's what this award is designed for all of the other awards 800 minutes is 800 minutes. yeah Yeah, like This award is for me designed so that you can award a player Like it's like a wow you shouldn't be playing And you are. And I think that the perfect representation of that or just overcoming obstacles, continuing to persevere. I mean, Maxi Morales embodies that and he's a legend to to the league. If I had a vote, I would vote for him minutes be damn. I think I'm going to vote for him. I think I'm going to vote for him. I'm like every, every time I make the case on the podcast here, I become convicted in my outside the box picks that I wasn't going to go with. But now I think a messy for MVP outside the box, but like it kind of is right now. So anyway, uh, yeah, I think
Coach of the Year
01:19:22
Speaker
I was I was fully Lewis Morgan and I think he probably I mean I think he probably gets it I think I'm gonna go vote for Maxi and there we go feel good about it um coach of the year so we already talked about this making a the case for Schmetz on our last episode um I think the three candidates right now are Wilfred Nancy Tata Martino and Chris Armas, I think one of those three is going to get it. ah You can listen to our last show if you want to hear the full breakdown for why we think Schmetz deserves more consideration in this discussion. um This is tough for me, man, because the three guys who are going to get it, I don't really think
01:20:00
Speaker
Any of them should get it, but I also don't really have a good argument for Who should get it instead of them ah Other than Schmetz and dude, okay, honestly honestly Like people are gonna call me a homer for it I don't think you can name a better coaching job than what Schmetz did this year. I really don't. If you disagree, hit those comments. We laid it out so heavy last episode. You guys can go and listen to it. I'm going to lay out again, Wilfred Nancy doesn't employ a backup goalkeeper.
01:20:37
Speaker
he doesn't need it bungled I can't even I got I won't start you go you go you go. I just say I'm just saying I'm just saying you can't give coach of the year to a guy who doesn't have a backup goalkeeper like that lost them the shield on that he literally like he's a great coach he we we acknowledge yep and have repeatedly we call the ring we kissed the ring um i'm dude I said that Wilfred Nancy should be the head coach of the U.S. national team. I put that out there for the bots. okay And then he ah he didn't have a backup goalkeeper, fumbled the shield. The entire city of Columbus now doesn't like lobbing scorchers. nope there is
01:21:19
Speaker
Uh, so there is that element at play here. yeah It's not personal. It's just it's personal for me. It's just the fact that and to be my coach of the year, you have to have played your backup goalkeeper the last time you played the Seattle Sounders. That's been, it's always been my criteria. He didn't even win anything. What does he want this year? Uh, uh, league's cup.
01:21:40
Speaker
Oh, man. Wow. What a what a last year. I mean, they're not the best team. They bungled. They they completely shit the bed. as we We are fine holding a grudge over this. But I stand by that. And that is the case against Wilford Nancy. And I think there's a lot of weight to that. okay Regardless of what you think about Wilford Nancy, if you like him or not, you can't legitimately tell me that he was a better coach than Tada Martino.
01:22:10
Speaker
And that brings me to Tata. Tata has the best MLS team ever assembled. Ever assembled. Correct. People are like, well, Messi was gone for a lot of the year, and they were still so good. like how great of a Dude, i I could coach that inner Miami team without Messi to the shield. i like I really think that I could. Yeah. like there A lot would go into that. But I think that once the dust settled. I'll be due to analytics, OK? Yeah. yeah like Once the players accepted that I had been hired for some reason and we had talked it out, I think I could at least get them in contention to the shield. yeah i'm I'm just saying it's you guys make the play not that sick of a coaching job. It just really was not like their team without Messi was that good because it's the most loaded MLS roster of all time. I don't agree with giving coach of the year to a guy that
01:23:03
Speaker
I don't like think the loadedness of the roster necessarily in itself should take into it be taken into account. But everyone else is doing that for every other award, so why not coach it here? It's literally the best roster of all time. It is. It's the best roster of all time. The whole point of this, though, is like you you have to take into account the roster. You're a coach. If you underperform your good roster, you're never going to be in contention. But apparently, if you overperform with a dogshit roster, you are in contention. Chris Armas, anyway, continue. I'm sorry. so Yeah, that brings us to Chris Armas who I think is probably gonna get it and I think I'm I might well Okay, I'm gonna vote for Schmetz. I think I'm gonna I'm gonna vote for Schmetz. I'm talking through these candidates right now I'm gonna vote for Schmetz Chris Armas Okay, he has a good case in the sense that this award yeah It usually does not go to a coach like Tata. No or Wolf or Nancy frankly It usually goes to a coach like this
01:23:55
Speaker
who takes over a smaller market team or a team that doesn't have any expectations that was bad last year and, uh, turns them to respectability. It's like the, who had the best bad team that we all thought was going to be bad, but then turned out to be respectable award. That's what this award is a lot of the time.
01:24:17
Speaker
And I think Chris Armas is the one who fits that criteria because the rapids were awful last year. They were they were bottom of the West last year and Chris Armas comes in. He took a lot of heat from the pundits and the fan base. They said that this was a terrible hire. He took a lot of criticism for his tenure at Toronto FC and honestly dating back to his time coaching the Red Bulls.
01:24:40
Speaker
And he came in and was like, you know, ah everyone thinks it's a bad hire, but ah we got Georgie Milevich, we got Zach Stefan, who wasn't even that good of a signing, and ah like a few other, like, it was a pretty it was a pretty big roster makeover that ah the front office sp brass and Chris Armas did. And the rapids had a pretty good year. My thing is like,
01:25:01
Speaker
okay they had a pretty good year but like compared to what like they were not like that good they were at like 1.5 something points per game 1.52 which is like solid but plus two gd they gave up 57 goals so like not a good defense at all i think there's a little bit of fraudulent going on which is not even like to take away from the fact that they had a very good impressive turnaround year and their trajectory i think is positive right now i just don't think like if the rapids were like shield contending then like i'd be like yeah yeah easy like or even top three in the west yeah like western conference basement to like one point nine points per game like armos beasted that
01:25:47
Speaker
They just lost four and fought in the last five. They were not that good that he should be such a shoo-in for this. Dude, the answer is Schmetz. Schmetz is the one whose team uh could I listen what was it like they they they didn't know terrible start yeah but uh also um I mean god his case is just it's frustrating because it's so good it's so much better and narratively better it's narratively and substantively it's such a better case than any of these three guys heat the the coaching acumen
01:26:19
Speaker
that it took for him to start running this team with Paul Rothrock starting and Jordan Morris as the nine instead of Raul Rui Diaz. The season after you move on from the greatest player in club history, Nico Ledero, you're building the offense around a new number 10, which did not work early in the season. It was not working until the coaching staff, Schmetz and the coaching staff, made the adjustment to put to to but to make Jordan the full-time nine, okay to start Paul Rothrock.
01:26:51
Speaker
Starting Paul Rothrock. We've talked a lot about Paul Rothrock on this show That content does not get delivered if the staff you should win coaster the year based on that period exactly like you as a coach the conviction that you have to have in your ability to evaluate and Like just the belief that you're showing in the player for him to give Paul Rothrock the platform to do what he's done this year and Name me another coach that's had like a similar hit like that man like I'm getting like worked up because yeah like You know why I was getting worked up last episode, you know Like none of the pundits will talk about this at all Like I doubt he'll even get one vote except the one that I have now convinced myself Yes for him. The thing is I wasn't gonna do it because everyone would just call me a homer but like if I look at these things yeah as objectively as I can. If Wilfred, Tata, or Chris Armas honestly had a better case, I would vote for him. I'm not voting Rusenak for MVP. I'm not voting like I'm, I'm not voting Yaymar Regan for Defender of the Year.
Awards Voting and Decision Day Highlights
01:28:00
Speaker
And we track coaches on this podcast famously. Yeah. Oh yeah. We don't have a blazing hot press conference this week. Sorry about that. It was a bye week, but we'll be back with that after decision day. Um, Spence is a coach of the year. I'm voting for him. So just to run down, uh, my ballot can tell me what you think of this ballot MVP. I'm voting messy. Don't care about his minutes. I feel convicted in that not going to change my mind.
01:28:24
Speaker
I just decided that. Hell yes. Hell yes. Newcomer, Gabriel Peck, young player, Diego Luna, defender of the year, Jordy Alba, not Stephen Maria. Let's go. Goalkeeper, Christian Kalina. Come back. Maxi Morales changed that, made that decision, committing to that. Coach Brian Schmetzer changed my mind there too. Let's go. Committing to that. That's my ballot. I love that, I love that ballad. I think it's kind of heat, I like it. I think it's, you have out-pundited the pundits, Ari. Dude, i you're the you're the top pundit now. I'm like the top pundit after this. That was some insane punditry that I just laid down. you You guys literally just had to sit through, and we are at an hour and 30 minutes now. You just sat through the mind. You just went through the mind. Are we at an hour and 30? God, you've just been cooking All right, we should probably wrap this up then. um But ah before we get out of here, I did want to just shout out some of the some of the best decision day match-ups. There's going to be a lot of of movement going on. But I think the big things to keep an eye on that we've at least been talking about this week are who gets the last two spots in the East, right? It's going to be either DC United, Montreal,
01:29:34
Speaker
philadelphia and Philadelphia and Atlanta are still technically alive so that's gonna be fun to track who gets in there and then seeding in the West Seattle could be three or four so we'll be tracking what happens ah with that ah but but then it's a log jam below that Vancouver Portland will be duking it out for the wildcard spots and I think what's kind of nice about this decision day is Seattle's seating, you know, there's whether you're gonna be three or four but um, I want to be Portland Yeah, like that that's but it's also like regardless of what happens in Seattle's game against Portland It's a lot of like
01:30:11
Speaker
ah You know, you can sit back and kind of watch the bottom feeders fight it out. Yeah, I'm like don't have to like which we thought we were gonna have to be earlier exactly like there's a point this season where We expected I think this team to be in that situation So it's nice to see them up in the top four solidified in the top four and really Playing for three or four is a much better situation to be in than duking it out at eight or nine um the Portland Timbers um We're not gonna do an in-depth preview cuz we're running low on time. You can go listen to no Saudi at this They did a lot more Saudi at this but my nutshell Scouting report on them is a very good offense led by an MVP caliber player forgot to put him on the ballots Evander he has a good shout um he will not win to He's not gonna win it, but he is a very good player, but they love to get bammed on Yeah, their defense not good ah really they
01:31:06
Speaker
Like, if you want goals, they're happy to give them to you. So Seattle's going to have to capitalize on that. And then the last thing that we did want to note is shout out Obed Vargas for making his L-Tree debut and his first appearance for Mexico's senior national team. We're not the biggest L-Tree fans on this show. He's making me an L-Tree fan. He's making me an L-Tree fan, which this is what we're going to close on, which is that ah The Obed's Mexico team destroyed the USMNT 2-0 in an international friendly last night. And I am at the point where the vibes around this team have deteriorated enough, even with Pochettino coming in, that I'm fully on board with where I think you've been with this team for a while, which is ah taking joy in the comedy of their struggles and shortcomings. Correct.
01:31:59
Speaker
um i I still am a fan of the team and root for them but I couldn't help last night um respecting the comedy of what was taking place and really just I'm kind of ah I'm kind of, as much as it low key does pay me to say it, I'm a little on the bandwagon that this player pool is kind of fraudulent. Yeah, it's a little fraudulent. We will dig into this war. Let's do a bonus episode. If you're a subscriber to Sounder at Heart, we'll put it on the private feed. Oh, okay. So sounderatheart.com slash LS, subscribe and support private feed. We'll do a bonus episode. First bonus app in lobbying Scorcher's history. Yeah. This is what happens when we cook too much. We are going to call it right there for episode 69. I did not realize we had went that long. But honestly, I think it's sick that we laid down 90 minutes on a week where there is no sound game and really like it was legitimately beneficial for me to talk through the end of season awards ballot. I have literally changed three of my votes after talking through the cases for all the candidates. And I think I came to the right decisions on these. So appreciate you going through that.
01:33:33
Speaker
But like, comment, subscribe, write us a review. Share with all of the candidates. Share with ah your favorite pundit who voted for the End of Season Awards. We'll see you for episode 70. Until next time, we out. Peace.