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Under The Lights: Charlotte FC Preview w/ TopBin90
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After a riveting CCC-opening victory over Antigua, the Seattle Sounders have their sights set on this Saturday’s cross-conference clash with Charlotte FC to kick off their 2025 league campaign. To preview the match on this episode of Under the Lights, Ari will be joined by Brian Maurer, who covers Charlotte FC for TopBin90.
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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 and New Show Announcement
00:00:00
Speaker
This episode of Lobbing Scorchers was previously recorded and streamed live on youtube.com slash at Lobbing Scorchers. If you want to listen or catch these episodes live, see the video, and see all the rest of our content, go to youtube.com slash at Lobbing Scorchers or lobbingscorchers.com slash youtube.
00:00:22
Speaker
Well, sir, we got a scorcher today. Gonna be real scorcher today. What, the scorcher today? Well, it's gonna be
00:00:43
Speaker
Evening, everybody. Welcome to another episode of Under the Lights, our new Thursday live show. Sending it live a little bit early this evening. Appreciate everyone who's jumping in ahead of the normal 7.30 start time.
00:01:00
Speaker
we're We are going to be previewing this match against Charlotte FC for the most part. ah But I hope you all have been cloud nining on last night's dub.
00:01:12
Speaker
was a good dub. The dub pod is out. If you have yet to listen to the dub pod, go listen to the dub pod. um But like I said, we're going to be bringing ah Brian from Top Bin 90, the top Charlotte FC podcast and YouTube show. I'm going to bring in Brian from Top Bin 90 right now.
00:01:34
Speaker
Chat, everyone. Give a Seattle welcome.
00:01:39
Speaker
To Brian. Hey, Brian. How's it going? What's happening, man? How
Interview with Brian from Top Bin 90
00:01:43
Speaker
are you doing? Thank you for having me on. I'm good. Thank you for taking the time and ah jumping on here with us on the East Coast.
00:01:50
Speaker
You were saying that that works better for you, but still, I mean, that's it's 1030 out there. you appreciate you giving us the time here. Yep. Yeah. um I've got two little ones. So, mean, I got to do bedtime at at my normal time, 730, 830 when normal shows are going on.
00:02:07
Speaker
So at 1030 works way better for me. All right. We like that here on the West Coast. um Excited to talk about this game for you. We were we were DMing on Twitter, and I was saying just how nice it is to have games back, have the season going. and We got a taste of it with the CCC, but now it's time for the league season.
00:02:27
Speaker
First opponent, Charlotte FC. So ah excited to get into this matchup. Talk about the team with you it's It's a team that I've actually followed recently. a fair amount this off season. So I'm, uh, interested to hear the perspective from, uh, on the ground. Uh, but before we do that, I did want to ask if you could, uh, just tell us about top bin 90. I, uh, looked you guys up on, uh, YouTube, saw you on soccer wise quickly came to the conclusion that, uh,
00:02:56
Speaker
You were the yeah top outlet covering Charlotte FC right now, but then ah looked you guys up a little more and it looks like you have like a whole company. You got a few guys on staff. It's a, it's a sophisticated operation. What is the backstory behind how that came together? Like, how do you guys know each other? And yeah, how did, how did this, how did it happen?
00:03:19
Speaker
Yeah, so Jorge was doing this as a one-man show ah back in 2022, and even before he was covering like the academy kids because they had the academy set up before the expansion season in 2022 and went viral when Miguel Angel Ramirez, their initial coach, said we're screwed before the team even took the field.
00:03:39
Speaker
And so top 90, Jorge was the one who was able to translate that Spanish quote into English, and MLS took it from there. And then after that, I mean, you know, his content kept growing and growing and he was looking to build a website and that's kind of where I came in. Website, blogging, writing back in 2022. And we just kind of stuck it, you know, through through then, you know, I mean, I was using it out at games. I would film him. it was just, you know, me and him from the first season. Then we got more photographers who wanted to be on the field and.
00:04:11
Speaker
and start getting some content and, um, and you know, more graphics guys were interested in the, in the scene and, and writers and stuff like that. So just continuing to just bring in people who, who are also motivated to kind of just create independent soccer content.
00:04:25
Speaker
So, um, It's been really, really fun. Charlotte FC, their comms department and marketing team have been really keen on you know supporting independent media ah from day one.
00:04:38
Speaker
And so that also really helped us you know get boots on the ground and then also just build up ah you know to where we are at today. So it's been it's been a blast. Yeah, that is so sick. Everyone in chat who's watching right now, go toss a top in 90 a sub.
00:04:54
Speaker
They're doing really good work covering the team. I feel like, honestly, just watching your guys' videos a little bit, I learned a lot about
Charlotte FC's Atmosphere and Potential
00:05:02
Speaker
the team. i wanted to ask you, before we get into the fine points of Charlotte FC this year and this game, um what's been just the vibe in Charlotte since this team launch I know that ah the first match, ah the first home match in Charlotte that I believe broke the single match attendance record. It was like 74,000 people.
00:05:25
Speaker
looked that was one of the liveest scenes I've ever seen at an MLS game. And I got to say, even it's it's not like there's still 74K there every single game. But the Charlotte FC home games, every time I see them on broadcast, it looks like a lot of that atmosphere has really maintained and that ah there's a buzz in the city around the team that's kind of been there since they launched.
00:05:47
Speaker
How would you describe how the city's embraced the team and how how it's it's sustained itself since it launched? I think just, I mean, the big part is how involved the supporters groups have been since day one and before. So we have some really massive supporters groups like Mint City Collective has, I think probably 1,500, 2,000, some you know more members than that even. And they have eight or nine groups that really make sure they have like monthly meetings where it's like the Royal Council and they come together and you know all the supporters groups leaders really you know spend time to make make sure everything kind of works. The TIFO group,
00:06:24
Speaker
uh group that's another thing they have a tivo pretty much every game they like almost never miss a game of the tivo and so they've got a whole committee doing that and so it's just i think just the organization from day one the the preparation to kind of go through the highs and the lows even when results weren't there maybe when the team was struggling at times uh the community stayed together and organized and you know and obviously there's going to be ah bumps on the road there in terms of just people having disagreements and stuff. But I think overall they created a structure really like well before there were even games.
00:06:57
Speaker
And then it just kind of has maintained for years and years now. I think that's really helped from the supporters standpoint. And then and again, I think just like, because there's a ton of media outlets or independent media, you know, people making content. And I think, again, that investment from from the club and just in terms of giving us the time of day, you know, has helped because it keep people engaged because we're in the, you know, the bar scene on the away games, interviewing people, talking to people all the time, giving loan people the light of, you know, that their chance to have their say about the club. And I think
00:07:29
Speaker
when that happens it's just it keeps people more and more engaged realizing they have an outlet they have an opportunity to to be involved voice their opinion uh whether it's high or low you know low at times and you know all of those things and i think that's just really helped keep the vibes the vibes going through throughout i mean yeah we still have 28 to 30 000 people at most games i would say that's probably around the average obviously then that gets weighted because the home opener will still have 60 plus thousand they really like really kill the marketing on the opener and they you know get a big crowd there but then it stays and maintains i think this year actually we could see a big boost the zaha signing seems to really uh have created a a stir from both ah national perspective and a regional perspective so i could see those numbers actually going up a little bit for the first time i think i feel like there's been a slight trend down like just like real real slight over the last couple years but i think this zaha move has changed changed that
00:08:23
Speaker
That's a great segue into the first topic I wanted to hit with you about ah the team itself. Well, the first thing I wanted to ah do is I figured I would just give you the the outsider perspective on Charlotte FC based on what I've watched and seen and read. And ah I watched the whole league quite a bit. So I've i watched the team quite a lot over the last couple of years, but obviously not as much as I do Seattle, but I'm going to lay down the outsider perspective on Charlotte FC and then just have you tell me ah if it's accurate or if you would add or amend anything to ah to my impression.
00:09:03
Speaker
ah Charlotte FC. My impression of Charlotte FC over this offseason is it's a club that out of all the clubs that have been getting talked about as clubs that could potentially take...
00:09:19
Speaker
a leap from kind of pretty good middling in the middle into true contender. Charlotte FC is a name that I've honestly seen coming up over and over again. And I think there's a couple reasons for that from where I sit. Number one,
00:09:34
Speaker
um The foundation seems pretty solid. This is a team. It's honestly a little similar. i see parallels to Seattle in the team that seems to have a really good spine, a really good defense, obviously the best goalkeeper in the league, ah but maybe not as much firepower in attack last year to where to the point where last year i didn't really consider Charlotte FC as ah true contender just because I didn't think there was enough on offense. And I think that bared itself out over the year.
00:10:04
Speaker
But now with this Zaha signing, like you mentioned, and a couple of the other moves that have been made over the offseason, ah the national pundits certainly think that Charlotte FC is in line for ah leap this year.
00:10:19
Speaker
Would you say that that is the feeling in the fan base and in the organization that this this is a year of going from middling to contending?
00:10:32
Speaker
Yeah, for sure. i definitely think ah the club for sure believes that the sporting director Zoran has said ah yeah that he's talked about out that they're looking for trophies this year and over the next couple of years.
00:10:45
Speaker
And I mean, I'd say the fan base as well is really keen. And I think the fan base and the players thought last year that they could even go further. then than they did.
00:10:56
Speaker
i feel like they even feel a little short. ah The players have mentioned that Westwood said after the game that they felt a little slighted by the calls and stuff like that. I mean, they also could have scored and played a little bit better during during the course of that playoff series against Orlando to go further. But I'd say with the offseason moves, Zaha especially,
00:11:14
Speaker
um I mean, and i mean there's they're they're they're feeling really high right now. Fan base for sure is just really high on this team. um I would say a lot of people are projecting them second or third in the fan base. I'm still a little bit hesitant to to put them that high. I just think ah some of the other teams, Cincinnati's offseason now looks like i feel like they're like a real supporter shield contender from the Eastern Conference.
00:11:39
Speaker
um We'll see how good Atlanta actually is, you know, going from paper to grass. I think there's ah people that are anticipating big, you know, big things from them, but we haven't seen them actually do that. You know, getting it, you know, on, you know, going from paper to grass. I feel like they always have a good, a good roster on paper.
00:11:58
Speaker
uh and then you know we'll see where columbus is inter miami obviously are going to be good so that's the thing the eastern the top of the eastern conference is also just stacked like there's the the top three or four teams are all really well coached uh even orlando i think oscar pareja sometimes doesn't get the uh the shine he probably deserves um in terms of just like what he's done for orlando and how consistent he's made them so That's me really my my thing is Charlotte, I think, had made the right moves in the offseason. This is the best offseason winner window I've seen them have. It seemed organized.
00:12:31
Speaker
It seemed ah like they had a ah true plan. They had their like list of A-list signings, B-list signings, and they went for it and they got them, which I really hadn't seen them do in the past.
00:12:43
Speaker
And so I'd say... They've done at least most of what they can do. Now it's just a matter of getting the results on the field and staying with those other top teams in in the pack in the Eastern Conference.
00:12:55
Speaker
You know, and if they can do that, then, you know, third or fourth is probably possible. I'd still probably put them right at right around fourth or fifth, which is where they were at kind of last year.
Charlotte FC's Key Players and Upcoming Match
00:13:05
Speaker
Talk to me about Zaha. This was a big signing. Uh, this guy was, uh, kind of, he's a club legend at crystal palace, very accomplished at the, ah club level, Ivory coast international, uh,
00:13:19
Speaker
I feel like this signing got a lot of attention right when it happened, but ah outside of Charlotte maybe his started to fly a little bit under the radar compared to some of the other stuff that was going on across MLS this offseason, especially with all the drama with Lucho and Cucho and all that.
00:13:40
Speaker
What have you seen from Zaha this preseason? And what's your what's your confidence level that he can be sort of that key piece that elevates a middling attack to a good to great attack?
00:13:55
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, when when I first saw the signing, i mean, I definitely understood when people were mentioning the red flag about like him not playing over the last year and a half you a ton at Galatasaray and on his loan spell at Lyon.
00:14:07
Speaker
um But before that, I think the big thing is just how successful he was at Crystal Palace and really being the talisman there in the Premier League. I think that... that matters a lot when coming to the MLS. I think when you see some of these bigger DP signings, they don't really know what it's like to be like the man.
00:14:26
Speaker
And I think because like as designated player in MLS, you have to be that guy. When you see like a Shaqiri coming over here or like a Insigne or Bernadeschi where they they just didn't have to actually be the guy all the time when they were in Europe, they were at big clubs, really talented. But like in MLS, when you're the DP,
00:14:44
Speaker
You've got to show up every day. And there's just no off days. And I think ah Zaha is used to that. He's used to having to be the guy every single game, every single week, because without it, Crystal Palace would have probably been relegated.
00:14:59
Speaker
And so he was able to help get them promoted in his early days and keep them in the Premier League for like a decade. And still, you know, still up since he's left. But I mean, just the fact that he's been in that position, he's been on a counterattacking team, which Charlotte will be again this year, most likely well structured, bit of counterattacking and having to hit people on the break with speed. That's what Zaha does.
00:15:23
Speaker
So. I'd say he fits the mold really well. Now it's just a matter of ah how engaged he is. you know So far, everybody, from what I've heard, is that he's he's totally all in right now. He's feeling the love from the city. He's feeling love from the fans. He's feeling um welcomed by the players and the staff. And so, so far, everything seems really positive. Now it's just a matter of seeing it on the field. and that's what he said in his most recent presser. He's like, man, I don't really like to talk about my game.
00:15:49
Speaker
I like to show it on the field. And I kind of actually like that kind of take from a player just saying, like hey, i'll I'll just show you. And so I think that's what we're looking forward to seeing, especially both this weekend and then at home in ah against Atlanta.
00:16:03
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, signings like this, you know, they can go one of two ways. You mentioned Shaqiri. There's other examples over the years of the motivation and the buy-in not necessarily being there. Yassine comes to mind.
00:16:15
Speaker
yeah so I think it's going to be interesting to see what end of the spectrum Zaha falls under. um And i'm I'm excited to watch him play. I'm hoping he at least, you think he's going to get some run in this game? Are they going to start him and play him? Or is there any easing into it that might go on?
00:16:32
Speaker
No, I think they're going to start him, and ideally he's – going to go close to the full 90. Everybody, Dean had his press conference today and he said everybody's fit and ready to go. Only two injuries to two backup backup players, Brandon Cabridge and Jelaine Forbes.
00:16:48
Speaker
So everybody else, all the main starters, the starting 11s all fit and ready to go. And I'd imagine Dean's just going go hard out of the gate. We need to get some points out of these first four games. They're pretty tough. We got a pretty tough start to our schedule. We got Seattle on the road this weekend, obviously, then Atlanta at home.
00:17:03
Speaker
And then Miami on the road and then Cincy at home. And I mean, it's just you got to get some points early. I feel like to really build up some momentum. And so I'd imagine Dean's going to go full starting 11, get all the DPs out there and just get your full full attack for these these first four weeks of the season.
00:17:19
Speaker
What have you made of ah Dean Smith? He he seems like oh he was able to get the culture changed pretty quickly.
00:17:29
Speaker
um How do you think he managed to pull off the kind of turnaround that he pulled last year? And now seems like he's got the club on what everyone seems to agree is ah upward trajectory.
00:17:43
Speaker
Yeah, I think part of it is just his experience being in really high-pressure situations. ah Having to play like Man City while fighting for relegation, I think helps coming to the MLS and just being like, you know what?
00:17:57
Speaker
i can I've dealt with way higher stakes in terms of just... situations, fan base, animosity, things like that. And so I think Kim coming to Charlotte, he just had a lot of the experience. He knew what ah you know, building a good culture was, how to get a team from the championship to the premier league, you know, with Aston Villa helped him in that, in that situation. And just, you know, knowing how to create good vibes, how to interact with the fan base early. Well, he just, he interacts with the, with the media and the staff and is, has a real like,
00:18:28
Speaker
just personable, ah human he hits people with the human level. And I think that's really, that's really important. One of his first press conferences, he mentioned just talking about also just acknowledging like the cleaning staff,
00:18:45
Speaker
ah You know, you know and just everybody who makes the team happen, just really trying to make sure everybody's involved. It's not just him as the coach. It's not just the players on the field. It's, you know, everybody that has to make a club function. And so I think that kind of togetherness really was embodied from day one.
00:19:03
Speaker
and I think that's helped that's helped the team grow I think he did have to convince the players a little bit he mentioned that like he came in and said like hey we're gonna be competing for trophies and I think he even mentioned the players didn't know if they were fully bought in they've had multiple coaches in the past you know it just hasn't really been cohesive and worked but he said the buy-in has been a lot more real here in year two because they saw what they became capable of and I think He had the vision for them.
00:19:30
Speaker
They were able to put it you know together on the field a little bit. And now they can, yeah as the team, as the players can see that, you know, see that vision kind of coming to life now. And I think that's really where i Dean has shown to be a a great leader in terms of just he has the vision and and has been able to express that to the players. And they've kind of now run with it and in ah in a big way.
00:19:53
Speaker
Kenny, thank you for the $5 super chat. I think he might be, uh, uh, he just casually predicted Seattle to have their second worst finish ever. Only time below fourth. We won CONCACAF champions.
00:20:04
Speaker
Not sure if he's referring to a prediction that you made, but you might've, uh, not sure. We referring to Kenny, but, appreciate the super chat. Um, looking at just this game, this matchup for Charlotte FC, uh,
00:20:22
Speaker
i I'll say ah whenever I ah see Seattle have to take cross-country road trip like this, especially on a – well, I guess Seattle has a short turnaround. This is Charlotte's first game. But cross-country road trip like this, I always consider a draw a pretty good result if you can pull it off when you have a trip this long.
00:20:42
Speaker
um What would you consider ah good result for Charlotte in this game? What are you hoping to see? And would you be happy with a draw or are you looking for the road? dub Like, how do you, how do you size it up?
00:20:54
Speaker
I mean, I think ah you take a point on the road anytime you get it. I think this is a decent opportunity for, Charlotte to maybe look for a little bit more ah just because, i mean, y'all having to play Guatemala in Guatemala on Wednesday. i mean, it's a short turnaround. You were saying ah kind of on the pre-show before you brought me on ah that, I mean, you're you're kind of anticipating a little bit of rotation from you guys. And so I think, I mean, that is only an advantage for Charlotte. If you do rotate, you know, maybe some, some second string guys in there.
00:21:25
Speaker
ah i mean, I'm pretty sure Charlotte FC is going to go full board with their, their best 11. And so, and so ah that, i mean, that's an an advantage. I mean, I think also just the fact that Dean watched y'all's game on Wednesday and just had an extra game of, to you know, tape to kind of see what y'all are preparing for this year. You know, I think that, that helps, that helps Charlotte a little bit, just having that extra game in there. Obviously y'all played a little bit different than y'all might play against Charlotte in terms of that, that back three. I keep waiting for y'all to kind of go back to that four, two, three, one, but it really looked like y'all had more of that
00:22:00
Speaker
that back three with Nuhu staying back and that more of that elbow left center back role with Areola going high. um But I feel like that preparation can can help, you know.
00:22:13
Speaker
But I still, i still you know, a draw a point on the road, especially against a team as good as good as you guys in Seattle, is always going to be a solid result.
00:22:26
Speaker
Zooming out, ah we were talking about the expectations for Charlotte FC this season and how nationally the ah kind of sentiment is that they're going to take a step forward. What would you consider a successful season this year? Is it cracking into that top four in the East? Are you looking at like a point total?
00:22:45
Speaker
What a... When it's all said and done at the end of the year, what would you need to see to be like, this was a good year and the step forward taken was meaningful going forward?
00:22:58
Speaker
Yeah, i mean, the goals of the team have been laid out pretty clearly. It's top four and or trophies. So I'd say... One of those options, I mean, at US Open Cup, I'd say Charlotte's a top five favorite in terms of where they were in the standings in 2024 and where, you know, the teams that are in that competition this year.
00:23:15
Speaker
So Charlotte should have ah a decent chance and a decent run at the US Open Cup. um Leagues Cup, you know, we'll kind of see they got to play a pretty tough slate of games from Liga MX there.
00:23:26
Speaker
And then, I mean, top four is their goal. So, I mean, I'd say that's that's where as a fan base, everybody's aiming them to be. I still think they might be kind of on the fence there between fourth and fifth. Just those top teams are really tough to to get over that next barrier. But.
00:23:41
Speaker
in the 50 to 55 point range, I think it's still a pretty successful season. And if they're around fourth or fifth and really competing for like a semi-final to a final in one of their tournaments, I think that's a solid season.
00:23:53
Speaker
Yeah. Uh, it's going to be, ah it's going be interesting to see how, uh, Yeah.
Player Highlights: Kalina and Ajimang
00:24:06
Speaker
i don't know how much time you have feel free to flag if you need to ah head out but ah if you're if you're gamed ah hang out for a little bit i'm just ah i'm just hanging out tonight so we can talk ah talk more charlotte toppp and talk more mls um for me looking at this from a Seattle perspective, uh, one of the names that jumps off the page is obviously Christian Kalina, uh, goalkeeper of the year last year. Anytime that guy saved a lot of points for Charlotte FC last year that they would not have gotten without him.
00:24:41
Speaker
Um, and it seems like he kind of came out of nowhere, ah Where did how where did this guy come from to be sort of unknown nondescript into i mean, I think he's the best goalkeeper in the league right now. I know a lot of people in our chat would still say Steph Fry, ah but like as it stands at this exact moment, I don't know how many if any guys you could put get above Kalina.
00:25:05
Speaker
Yeah, well, he definitely didn't start as the best goalkeeper when he came in. So he was signed from Croatia. ah but as He's ah one of the few remaining initial, like, original signings left.
00:25:16
Speaker
It's Kalina and Brant Bronico, and Ben Bender. ah There's a few left, but... Kalina is one of the few remaining OGs from that very first roster build.
00:25:28
Speaker
And I don't think he was the best goalkeeper or anywhere really, honestly, kind of close at first. I mean, the defense was far worse then. So he was facing a lot more attacking volume than he is now.
00:25:39
Speaker
um But he's also mentioned that he's been really focusing on his sweeping as a keeper, his timing. So preparing for those like sort of over-the-top long balls and being able to help clear them before they even become a problem.
00:25:53
Speaker
And then his shot stopping has always been pretty solid. It was more just like his anticipation, his timing and and when to kind of come out and clear and things like that were a little bit off in the past. Whereas now it feels like he's really kind of locked in some confidence and, and his communication with the back line has gotten stronger over time as well. So there's kind of other intangibles that kind of really helped complete his game.
00:26:18
Speaker
um And I think it goes to show just like, Development never really has to stop because he's in his 30s. He's 32. And so he's only learned and got better. I will say that's one of my hesitancies from putting them in the top so you know top two, three or four finish is he had like, if you look at the advanced analytics on American soccer analysis, he had like one of the best.
00:26:42
Speaker
ah goals prevented performances of the like last season in like the last 11 seasons in MLS. And so statistically, that's just, you can't repeat that, right? That's just really hard to replicate ah when you're statistically that successful.
00:26:57
Speaker
And so I do expect ah more goals to go in or him to be able to prevent less. Essentially. I think that's more the, the actually the the right right approach to say that he's he's not going to be able to prevent as many.
00:27:11
Speaker
So for this team to be as solid defensively, the back lines are going to need to just prevent more attacking volume from even getting to him. And so I think that's going to be, and that's my one concern because the focus has always been for this team to be more attack minded.
00:27:27
Speaker
And just when you get more attack minded, you're going to, you know, going to open yourself up to, to more attacks against you. That's just how, that's how it works. I think actually, I remember you guys talking about that. Uh, I was going to see y'all doing the same thing in terms of like, i think y'all are doing a little bit more like counter pressing, high pressing, moving, moving your line a little bit higher. And that opens you up at the back. I mean, that's just how that kind of the the game plays out. So, um,
00:27:51
Speaker
So that's my one concern there is like how the how the back line will function for Charlotte now as they focus more on getting more goals. How do you prevent the goals from just, you know, you you're turning games from one nil one one to two one three three. Right. is I mean, you got to try to still figure out a way to have more consistent results. So I think that's going to be the one other big focus here is just how to actually make Kalina not have to look quite as good, because if you have a really good goalkeeper, that means something's off.
00:28:21
Speaker
on your back line. A really good goalkeeper doesn't have to do a whole lot, right? I mean, that's when the defense is really, really solid. and It's funny that it's very, very similar. It's the exact same conversation being had in Seattle regarding ah sort of how to balance a more aggressive approach to try and be more productive and dynamic on offense than they were last year. But I've been, I have been warning people, you know, that's probably going to come at the expense of more concessions than there were last year. Last year, Seattle gave up 35 goals, which was the best mark in the league.
00:28:55
Speaker
ah If they really are playing as much more aggressive as they look to be in preseason at times, ah They probably are going to be susceptible at the back more. And that's kind of arguably what happened on the goal that they gave up in CCC last night.
00:29:11
Speaker
ah Brian, we got a question and chat for you. One of our audience members wants to know, I know nothing about Charlotte. What's the city like? That's a ah very broad question, but I'll...
00:29:23
Speaker
all the Zoom that in a little bit. like Are you are local to the area, like born and raised like from there? And how did you get into soccer? No, actually, so I'm from Chicago originally.
00:29:36
Speaker
I did go to like a U.S. Open Cup match back in like 98 when in Chicago, back when the fire were solid as Bob Bradley was coaching at the time. And so they won the U.S. Open Cup. That was like my first introduction to MLS.
00:29:50
Speaker
ah Then really didn't have a huge I didn't stick with MLS for as a fan for for a while. um and then moved to Asheville. I got my bachelor's degree there, moved to Greensboro. I actually just moved to Charlotte um this last year. And I had been, while i was working with Jorge and Top 10 90, I was commuting from Greensboro to Charlotte.
00:30:12
Speaker
Y'all probably don't know how far that commute is. It's about an hour and a half, two hours. So I was doing that for like every single home game ah for the last couple of years. But now we've moved down to Charlotte for about, it's been about a year now.
00:30:24
Speaker
And I've It's a really growing city. There's like 100 people moving here a day or something like that. So it's it's booming. It's like kind of a small... It's like a... i would I compare it to kind of like what Houston might've felt like maybe 10, 15 years ago when it was just like Houston kind of came out of, I feel like kind of came out of nowhere to me where it was just like, all of a sudden was just this really booming town.
00:30:47
Speaker
Uh, and I feel like Charlotte could have kind of a similar path. There's a ton of space out here still. Uh, I live like 40 minutes out of town and kind of in the middle of a country, but you can drive like 10, 15 minutes and be kind of in the middle of the Charlotte area.
00:31:02
Speaker
And, uh, A lot of good food, lot of good restaurants, um kind of find a lot of lot of everything. Really good barbecue out here too. I feel like they talk about barbecue in Texas all the time, but North Carolina is also pretty well known for its barbecue.
00:31:16
Speaker
um Yeah, good. I mean, good music scene. i would say probably not quite as good as what y'all have out in in Seattle. yeah Washington State's got a pretty good music scene from everything I've i've heard.
00:31:28
Speaker
ah My brother lives out there, so I'm somewhat familiar with Seattle. Where at? Up in Bellingham. Oh, that's where I went to college. Oh, nice. Yeah, that's a beautiful spot up there.
00:31:41
Speaker
Yeah, no, it really is. i Yeah, I lived there my entire undergrad career, and I really enjoyed going to school there. It is worse it is even worse weather than Seattle because it's right on the water.
00:31:55
Speaker
that's ah Yeah, that's all interesting intel. I'm going to have get out there one day. I've been to like half the stadiums in the league at this point, but I definitely, ah like I said, every time I see a Charlotte game on a broadcast, it looks fun.
00:32:08
Speaker
Yeah. what What is going on? Is is the plan to play at the Panthers Stadium forever? or is there like a I feel like I haven't heard a lot of soccer-specific stadium discourse out of Charlotte, weirdly, now that I think about it.
00:32:23
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, i'd say in the local fan base, that question comes up, obviously turf to grass and all the rest of it. But I really does i don't think there's any serious plans in the in the near future. They just got approval for like a huge a huge sum of money to renovate the Bank of America Stadium as as it is. ah It's like $650 million dollars or something like that. It's like a huge sum of money.
00:32:47
Speaker
ah to do some renovations. So I'd imagine that's going to be their main focus is as an organization, Tepper Sports. So owning both ah Carolina Panthers, Charlotte FC, and then they also do a ton of concerts there. So it's really Bank of America, as you know when it comes to the organization and company perspective, Bank of America is kind of everything to what they what they do as an operation. So I can't foresee them really investing in in something separate to that. The fans have called for it. Obviously they get, I mean, we, as a, as a fan base, we get a lot of heat from a lot of the, the, the, the teams that have soccer specific stadiums. Yeah. Yeah. I'm sure that happens all the time to you guys as well.
00:33:31
Speaker
But y'all's environment is really, i mean, honestly, I was impressed. So actually it probably throws y'all's fan base off a little bit, but I have a sounder's scarf right here because I was at y'all's game, champion of champions, when y'all raised the banner in 2022. So i was actually at that game. Obviously, the result wasn't that great. The 3-0 loss to Portland. but just The vibe started off so great and then deteriorated so fast.
00:33:55
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. it was honestly, it was it was amazing. But I think still just getting to see ah how intense that rivalry is. You could really like Even still, i mean, here, y'all's fan base and then also still here, kind of Portland's fan base, the away section, kind of really chanting at each other and and and all that getting real real loud. And I feel like that you could just really sense the kind of and animosity and the the value of also just putting the banner out in front of them like that. I think just like.
00:34:23
Speaker
A lot of underlying factors that were really they just showed how deep seated that rivalry is. And I hope to you you know feel something similar and observe something similar eventually one day with Charlotte and Atlanta. They've kind of tried to build it up. And actually, I think that Alman Rohn situation helps that a little bit because it was.
00:34:41
Speaker
ah Charlotte FC had his discovery rights somehow. And so then they had to pay a large sum of money. And it also seemed like Charlotte was going to be his destination for quite a while there. And then I guess maybe they were just kind of he was kind of just stringing them along because Atlanta ended up paying pretty much the same fee that I think Charlotte was reported paying and willing to pay for him. So ah But it seems just it like that situation kind of helps them playing in the home opener. There's a lot of talk back and forth about Ajiman being able to score more goals than their new $20 million dollars signing. And so things like that are really starting to come up and come alive. So hopefully one day we get there.
00:35:20
Speaker
But y'all obviously have years and years and years of experience on us in terms of that kind of environment and rivalry and stuff. But Yeah, I think that's, but ah you know circling back to the soccer-specific stadium, yeah, i don't I don't see it happening anytime soon. And as the only reason to really bring one would be like, okay, is the environment lacking that much? And it's it's
Stadium Debate: NFL vs Soccer-Specific
00:35:42
Speaker
not.
00:35:42
Speaker
And so if the if the stadium environment and supporters are down to come to games and and bring it as a fan base, like – You're not really giving, queuing the ownership group to be like, nah, we got to get a different stadium to help with the vibes, you know, or help with the team. It doesn't really, doesn't, you know, there's no need for it.
00:36:01
Speaker
I mean, and it's the same with y'all there. I mean, y'all brought 40,000 to that game I was at. huge T4 is like, we're the, you know, the best team ah on earth or the best team in the world, you know, what, what it said. And, you know, I mean, you have vibes like that, whether it's a soccer specific stadium or a football state, like why, why, why focus in on that aspect of it, you know, just keep building with what you've got.
00:36:23
Speaker
building a whole new stadium at that point, unless, unless you do something super groundbreaking, like if you're like, okay, we're going to be the first team to build like 40,000, 45,000, you know, build the first really, I mean, I don't, if you're just another team that's building another 20, 25,000, it doesn't really make sense.
00:36:40
Speaker
Now, if that were the case, then I think, you know, but that's way, way, way down the road. But, That would be the only reason i reasoning behind it. If you're just like, we're going to become, like the this is going to be the cathedral of American soccer in terms of just we're going to amp up the size of it because we can fill it with our supporters and we can actually make that happen. But every soccer-specific stadium I've seen is only maybe 25 max for the most part. And so it really doesn't even make sense if you're trying to sell more tickets to to make that change. So there's really no reason.
00:37:15
Speaker
That's kind of where land too in that – I mean, speaking about Seattle's situation, ah just feel like the location of Lumen Field is second to none. like It's great. It's such a perfect location, and the whole vibe around that area on game days, it's very just – I don't know. I mean, I've been going to the games for like over a decade now. So maybe it's like sentimentality, like attachment to it. But ah it's just hard for me to picture the game day as like not being in that location. But...
00:37:49
Speaker
There's definitely a lot of differing viewpoints on that around here. lot of people, I mean, a lot of MLS fans automatically think it's Bush League if you're playing in an NFL stadium. I kind of see it how you do. Like, as long as the vibes are good and there's not football lines, I don't see why it matters that much. um Got another question in chat for you, Brian.
00:38:08
Speaker
Who are the fan favorite players in Charlotte that the average MLS fan wouldn't know? I'm actually going to give one real quick, and then ah you can ah you can give yours. You would know better than me.
00:38:19
Speaker
ah But Ashley Westwood is a dog. He's the Charlotte FC captain. he is ah He's just a ah nasty two-way midfielder.
00:38:30
Speaker
yeah He'll get in your face. He'll score some bangers. And not every MLS fan might know about him. But that would be my pick. No, I think i think you're you're spot on there.
00:38:41
Speaker
I mean, he's the only player so far still to this day, I think, that that has a chant from the supporters section so far. So I'd say that makes him just right off the bat the most fan favorite. He's also been now the captain. This will be his third year wearing the captain's arm band.
00:38:55
Speaker
Most distance covered in MLS last season. ah So like you said, like a willing runner, but also with really high technical ability, vision, capable of putting in a really good, he only scores bangers. And I'd say that obviously makes you a fan favorite. If everybody recognizes you for the, maybe only scoring four goals, but of all four goals are like goal of the year candidates, then that also helps you make, become a fan favorite.
00:39:19
Speaker
ah His passing ability is also off the charts. He was like tied for the lead, tied for the team lead and assist, which i mean, that's also because they couldn't create many chances, but ah I mean, just all around ah the leader of this team has helped turn the culture around. Also a great, ah a great figure for the Academy. He's always willing to help out ah with the younger guys and show up for them ah shows up in the community ah really has just vibed with Charlotte. It seems like he's really planning on just having
00:39:50
Speaker
Charlotte be his home for his family in the long term and he's advertising it that way ah to other players like like Azaha and you know so I think in the long term he's also maybe even after his his playing career will still be kind of like a recruiting asset in that way.
00:40:06
Speaker
um i would say also. Brant Bronico in certain as certain spots of the fan base, I think i think he's also been ah player that ah fans have always said, like, we need more attacking threat. We got to replace Brant Bronico. And then just him as a player, he always finds a way on the field. He just does. His...
00:40:25
Speaker
work rate is absolutely off the charts. Dean started talking about him and his work rate from like pretty much day one. ah So he just, and he's done that with three different coaches. Everybody, i think fans have always said like he's not creative enough.
00:40:41
Speaker
We need more creativity. And he still showed up and got minutes for three different head coaches now. And so I think at this point for me, he's pretty undeniable in terms of being an OG signing, constantly finding a way onto the field and finding a way to be important and an important part of this team.
00:40:57
Speaker
And I think fans, he's kind of just fought his way to have to be recognized. I think it's kind of like Dax McCarty-esque. in that in that kind of way, where just like, you just, eventually, you just, he's undeniably respected.
00:41:10
Speaker
um Melanda, as well as another one, center back, he gets a lot of love. Oh, actually, probably, you know, from a decent amount of ah national coverage. ah Andrew Privet would be his center back partner, I think, that should get more shine.
00:41:23
Speaker
ah Third round super draft pick, midfielder, converted to a center back. And from 2023, like midseason, Leagues Cup just hasn't really given up that spot, even when they signed Tim Ream. And Dean tried to bench Privet, put in Tim Ream at center back, and they started losing games.
00:41:43
Speaker
And it just was like it kind of messed up the vibe of the team and had to put Privet back in there and move Tim Ream to the left back. And so I'd say – Yeah, yeah, yeah. So Tim Ream's the left back right now. And so i would say you have to kind of put Privet up there as well, that a third round draft pick could be important enough to where you kind of have to shift a U.S. men's national team player around to make sure Privet kind of keeps his spot.
00:42:07
Speaker
And so I'd definitely say he's he's my candidate for player of the year, actually. ah So keep an eye on him longer term. I think a lot of fans from Charlotte were hoping that he would get the call up as much as Ajiman did in the January camp.
00:42:22
Speaker
And I think some Charlotte fans definitely feel like he got snubbed from that one. so But, I mean, Ajiman kind of proved it. So he just definitely deserved the call up there. That's a good segue. I got to ask you about Ajimang.
00:42:36
Speaker
We're coming up on, our we're at 53 minutes right now. How about, about I keep here for until ah like top of the hour? Does that work? Sure, man. Yeah. well My, my schedule is open, man. All right. Yeah. I mean, we'll see like if you're, if you want to keep cooking later, we can do that, but I don't want to like keep you too long out there on the East coast.
00:42:54
Speaker
ah But before we talk some Ajimang here, uh we got a chatter that wants to know what's the scarf with the ol rain logo in the background there so this one uh uh yeah actually uh i was in louisville just working uh for a job i had at the time i don't work there anymore but i was working for a solar company and they uh i had worked out in louisville for like a week and they had a tournament there at the time it was a woman's it's called the woman's cup it was just like between racing louisville oil range women team women's team ac milan's women's team and
00:43:25
Speaker
a few others. And so we went to a, me and this guy, he was also a content creator for Charlotte FC, but then he, the club hired him. He's like their data analysts now. And so, but, this so, but like back then he was just kinda, he was, ah he was doing, it was called mint city analytics.
00:43:42
Speaker
And so he, I just happened to know that he, he lived out Louisville. And so we met up for a game and went to that, got that scarf.
00:43:50
Speaker
That's an awesome scarf. Good backstory. yeah Um, All right. Yeah. Ajimong, I should have asked you to ask this earlier. This is ah one of the key characters on the on the whole team. And I think this is such an interesting story.
00:44:05
Speaker
He went to, I just had to look it up because I forgot, ah played for the Eastern Connecticut Warriors in the University of Rhode Island. This was not a very heralded college player or youth player at all.
00:44:18
Speaker
ah He goes in the super draft 12th overall, but I don't know. i don't remember him being super hyped at the time. ah He obviously, he breaks, he was insane for crown legacy.
00:44:32
Speaker
He breaks out for the first team last year. And it's one of those situations where ah when he starts breaking out, people kind of don't believe that it's real or sustainable.
00:44:43
Speaker
ah But he he just kept doing it. He kept doing it week week out. And i think going into this offseason, a lot of people kind of expected that the club would not really go forward with him as ah centerpiece.
00:44:58
Speaker
I kind of felt like that they weren't going to. And i was with everyone who said that would be cowardly. That would be cowardly. Just let him cook. Let him do his thing. And he will reward you for that. And so far, that is bearing itself out. He's getting...
00:45:13
Speaker
Gotten called up to the USMNT, scored two goals in ah in one game, right? What the sort of been the ah your take on the meteoric rise he's experienced? And where did you land on the whole debate as to whether they should bring in a number nine to play over him or just cut him loose? Like it seems like they're actually doing, which is exciting.
00:45:35
Speaker
ah Yeah, I mean, I've been screaming for him to be cut loose and ah just and and given a shot since 2023, honestly.
00:45:45
Speaker
I went and saw him play at Crown Legacy. his One of his first games, it was against ah Columbus Crew 2's team, who had just won the trophy the year before, their they Columbus Crew 2.
00:45:57
Speaker
And they had all those players got called up at that time. It was yeah like Jason Russell Rowe and all the other, like Arston. So their whole team had been depleted. It was just a bunch of academy kids. And Ajiman was just, i mean, it was just, it was it was a man amongst boys out there. And it was just...
00:46:12
Speaker
And that was kind of how it was the whole year at Legacy for him. and i just It got to the point where I was just asking, why is he there? like he's He's beyond this level. He's not learning anything.
00:46:24
Speaker
give him minutes at MLS. mean, give him minutes at MLS. You're just wasting time. You're just wasting his time. You're wasting it it's just wasting everybody's time. And so I was starting to write articles about that towards the end of 2023 when Enzo Capetti also wasn't working out at the time. man, that's a good name drop.
00:46:40
Speaker
Yeah, right. And so, and Carol Swiderski kept just kind of not quite being the guy. Good technically, had really good moments. He never seemed bought in. Would you agree with that?
00:46:51
Speaker
I mean, well, that season for sure not. I mean, he said that summer in 2023 that he wanted he wanted out, and so that's why he was loaned out in 2024. That was another reason for me even saying just like, hey, Swiderski is not bought into what's going on right now.
00:47:05
Speaker
Capetti is not getting the job done. You have a young guy just – what do you have to lose at this point? Figure out whether or not he's good enough. And then they, they didn't, he only had one start that whole season in 2023 for the first team. And that was against Columbus in Columbus, which was like a horrible environment to have your first start, but especially at that time. Cause that was Nance's first year, ah you know, went on to win the MLS cup. And so I think he definitely deserved a chance sooner. 2024, he did.
00:47:37
Speaker
you know He got probably half the starts or so in MLS and didn't always you know succeed. And I think um fans were kind of ready for another another striker, and just more attacking creativity.
00:47:51
Speaker
um But from what I saw, I mean, and the reason I always felt like he was going to be successful is that He's a floor raiser when the team's attacking floor was super low.
00:48:03
Speaker
And he still found a way to get double-digit goals, mostly because he had to do it himself. like the amount of If you actually look on FBREF 2024 season and you look at players who created their own chances, so like the one just shot-creating actions and goal-creating actions from your own just like 1v1 ability, he's like – top 15 in the league is like, he's right up. He's one of the top strikers in terms of that specific stat. And it's just his ability to win 50, 50 balls. so Like that's not a skill that I feel like it's just going to be like, Oh, there's an off day of that.
00:48:35
Speaker
Like that's just, he's a able to be that type of player at all times. And so I think, that's a skill that will just continue to you know get better obviously there some of the other intangibles like just his game iq decision making that you know takes reps and that was one of the other reasons i really wanted him to keep getting minutes was like give him a chance to get his processing speed faster he was at rhode island rhoda like the difference between rhode island in 2022 mls the next year i mean the processing speed difference there is just massive and so
00:49:10
Speaker
I just wanted him to get the minutes faster so we could just get to this moment sooner. I feel like this moment could have happened more towards 2024. And just to give him the vibe that he needs to feel, right? I mean, he's a guy who has been cast aside probably his whole career, like his whole life in terms of like, he was a division three athlete for most of his college career.
00:49:31
Speaker
ah So definitely not one who's going to be like, you know, if he says at that time, I'm going to be on the U.S. men's national team. there's nobody who would believe him. Right. And so for him to now have this moment, I think it's important for him to just have like that U.S. men's national team call up being given the chance to shine. And I think a player like him, whereas some other players, you know, maybe have you know, have a psychological, a psychological issue with having that kind of pressure put on them. I think for him, it actually is a huge plus because it's like that,
00:50:05
Speaker
reassurance that like no man you're like you're good enough you can do this and whereas like in the past probably didn't really get that chance and so i think i really think he's gonna have a huge huge year and i've been i mean i've been a hype on him since yeah since 2023 i even tried to add uh andrew weeby like because he's always been pushing how far along he's been on that on that uh the Ajman high, but Hey man, I was like saying he needed to be starting in. You're the originator of the hype. his Yeah. I'd say many people in the fan base would even blame me for Swiderski's eventual sale because of how hard I was ramping that up and, and everything like that. I've, they're probably also blaming me for the issue with it because he hasn't been able to get a contract extension.
00:50:49
Speaker
Yeah. So that's the other issue is like, he's still on like 70 K, which is, he was on 70 Well, yeah. well yeah Cause it's still his draft contract. Cause they haven't been able to sign him to a new deal.
00:51:01
Speaker
And I'd imagine there's people that might be the best value in the league right now. Oh, by far. I mean, it's like, yeah, for sure. i mean, he's had, I mean, if you combine and he only had maybe still right around 2000 total minutes and has two goals from 2023 and MLS 10 goals, three assists this last year. So you're looking at in 2000, some minutes, first 2000 minutes, again, coming from college as a smaller school as well to have that many goal contributions, 15 plus in 2000 minutes, I think is,
00:51:32
Speaker
ah substantial to say the least. And then, yeah, being on only 70K from a draft contract is, yeah, it's it's been, i think the issue there is McGuire got signed to like an 800K deal.
00:51:44
Speaker
And so that's now the standard, right? And so his agent is going to push. I wouldn't take a penny less. Why would you? And so I think that's where the hangup is. The club is probably like, man, we got to really 10X this kid.
00:51:57
Speaker
You do? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. yeah yeah But i guess this year is the test case study that they want to see to see if he's actually worth that. So it's a big year for him. um Just thinking about this matchup, it's actually so good because, i mean, for anyone in our chat who has hasn't watched Charlotte FC or ah Patrick Ajimung, this guy is like six foot four, but he's... ah he's He's built like a defensive end, but he is fast as hell. Like like a a man that size should not be able to move like that. And then also his finishing is very good. Like, yes, it's ah
00:52:36
Speaker
it look He looks like a upper level MLS striker to me. um What's the ah transfer buzz surrounding him? Like, is there a feeling that if he balls out this year, puts up 15, 20 goals,
00:52:47
Speaker
that they're going to try and get a bag for him? Or are is this contract stuff you're talking about, ah like them thinking of him as a long-term piece? What's going on with that? I mean, the stances, I mean, it's always hard to tell, right? Because the stance from the club is going to be...
00:53:03
Speaker
no, he's not leaving. We want him here. But that also can be the stance you take if you're trying to sell him for a big profit, because you just want to make him seem like he's a core part of the team, then means you have to really pay more to get him to leave, right? That whole thing about like,
00:53:18
Speaker
you know, getting the godfather offer. I don't know if he's actually going to get one. I mean, when it comes to European clubs, especially, there's just still a bias against and MLS players and especially draft picks because of the age profiling piece of that, right? He's 25.
00:53:34
Speaker
twenty five So he's Jovolic's age. And Jovalich had 27 goal contributions and helped win an MLS cup scored in the final.
00:53:46
Speaker
And I think what SKC paid what four mil for him. So I don't know if you're going to get a huge, huge deal. I mean, Duncan was for four. And at that point, if you have a guy, so say he puts up 15, 20 goal contributions, you probably still don't have to sign them to a DP deal.
00:54:03
Speaker
It might, is that profit from that transfer worth not just having a guy who can succeed at that kind of level for you over the next several years. We found this out actually the hard way in our inaugural season when we signed Riley McGree, uh,
00:54:20
Speaker
Shout out to that legend. He never played a minute for Charlotte FC. He actually was transferred in and then sold for 4 million before he ever actually got to play. So he never was a part of the team. And they had never really found a cam since signing that player. Right. And and so I think over time that profit seems less valuable if you spend,
00:54:39
Speaker
you know, recruiting, bring this young guy in potential attacking midfielder, then you sell him for four mil, but then it takes you four years to get an attacking midfielder in that, you know, that profit no longer seems that valuable.
00:54:52
Speaker
And so I think that could be a similar situation that they're up against with Ajiman. It's like, okay, we can maybe make four five mil off of him, but like, If you have a viable option as a striker, who's, you know, you I don't know, I guess maybe where his stance is. He said that he'd be interested in going to Europe because that's what, you know, the dream is for lots of young guys.
00:55:11
Speaker
But at the same time, if you get the price right and you have a yeah ah guy who seems... I mean, in what I would deem is like his least experienced by far year and he's only going to go up from here at still third. So his floor is double digit goal contributions with no service, right? No, again, no service. So if you just give him a give him the ball a few times in the box every game, I mean, his ceiling should go way higher.
00:55:35
Speaker
um So i I mean, it makes it have a no brainer for me to try to try to see if you can lock him down long term just because the net profit he's going to bring in from a transfer isn't going to be, isn't just going to be there. And you can have other, other pieces around. I feel like you actually, when you see a lot of these bigger clubs in MLS, the striker position isn't necessarily always, always the key spot in terms of where you spend the big money. It's the guy who gets the touches on the ball the most, who creates the, creates the path, you know, the creates the shots, creates the chances.
00:56:08
Speaker
Uh, even like, I mean, you can say obviously Cucho and Columbus, but really I feel like he started to shine once you moved a little deeper into more of like a free flowing 10 slash nine role, not just a straight out striker at the nine. So I feel like there's a lot of teams out there these days when you're building a roster in MLS where you, I mean, you can invest in a striker as, as, as your DP, but your main guy seems to be,
00:56:31
Speaker
the cam or a winger or somebody who's creating the chances and getting a lot of touches on the ball. So in that perspective, I think it's another reason to really try to lock him in and just have a supplemental piece that can get you a lot of goals and, and, and, you know, kind of open up DP spots around other spots on the field.
00:56:50
Speaker
I don't know. I'm smelling kind of a, uh, Lucho Acosta, Evander situation, you know, where they might not see eye to eye on the value and he might have to come to the Seattle Sounders. Um, have you ah ah how would you describe, uh, Zaha's skillset? I admittedly have not watched him play much in his career. Like what, uh,
00:57:11
Speaker
what is he What does he do that like fits into this attack? And do you feel like he and Ajiman are complementary in that way? like how does he How does he fit into all this?
00:57:22
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, I think i think actually they they fit in tandem really well. my My bigger concern is how Abada fits. I could see him having, I mean, a lot of people are really hype on Abada on the right wing.
00:57:34
Speaker
And I actually feel like he might have a might have a slip this year. But Zaha and Ajiman are both super direct. um za Both really, really good in 1v1 situations. Zaha at one point was one of the best, if not the best, in the Premier League at 1v1.
00:57:52
Speaker
Drew, I think, the most red cards in a season. And his his metrics, his stats in 1v1 situations were as high as Eden Hazard. And at the time, Eden Hazard was...
00:58:04
Speaker
one of the best in in the world. So Zaha's 1v1 ability specifically, super high. And I think that's why you're seeing like Sasha Kleshton and Bradley Wright Phillips, which is kind of funny.
00:58:15
Speaker
ah Wright Phillips had the whole thing. You know, he had that video that went kind of viral in Charlotte community about saying like there wasn't enough hype around Zaha. But then he also, I think, predicted Charlotte to be eighth.
00:58:28
Speaker
So it's like, but Well, you didn't you did't quite hype the team up, but how is Zaha going to be hyped up if the team's not hyped up? But ah yeah, 1v1s, direct, explosive, ah ah fast, all those kind of things, I'd say is going to be what he brings. And that's why i think Charlotte is still going to – i mean Dean has talked about adding more possession, more ball progression. That's also why they brought in Eric Williamson, who we haven't talked about. We probably should have talked about a little bit more since. Yeah. is this that good god talk Talk about him. i I'm very familiar with him ah on his years with the Portland Timbers, and he's ah he's a good player. I think that was a sneaky good pickup, honestly. He's going to play a big role for Charlotte.
00:59:10
Speaker
Yeah, 100K is all we had to pay for him game-wise. I mean, it could turn into 300, I think, if he actually can get the minutes on the field. Obviously, it have been an issue for him. And he also has a little bit of trash talking to him. He said he's never lost in Seattle, I think it was what the stat. he He dropped himself in his first presser. So I think i think yeah maybe a little bit of superstition there, but I'm pretty sure Dean has him.
00:59:33
Speaker
has him in as a starter this weekend. Uh, but yeah, I think he better, he would be insane not to yeah Eric Williamson is right. Pretty much the entire time that he was on the Timbers was the era that Portland, uh, frankly owned the rivalry. There was this crazy trend for like two, three years where, i mean, but the Timbies, they play every one of those Cascadia games.
00:59:56
Speaker
Like it's the most important game of their life. In fact, I'm pretty sure their whole, uh, Their whole organizational mantra is that they're going to just go as hard as they possibly can and play like Real Madrid in the Seattle games.
01:00:08
Speaker
And then the rest of the games, they could take it or leave it. Apparently that's what it seems like to me. But yeah, no, um ah Eric Williamson is one. i think that, um, Didn't get talked about a lot, but he, when he was healthy and on the field, he was a very plus player for the Timbers for many years. um I'm just really looking forward to this matchup for Seattle's back line. Seattle had the best defense in the league ah last year.
01:00:34
Speaker
Yaimar and Reagan, I think, are two of the best CBs in the league. And then I think this Nuhu-Zaha matchup, yeah that's going to be fun. Nuhu's kind of a ah polarizing presence sometimes among the Sounders fan base. His antics, lot of people don't ah don't always like it.
01:00:56
Speaker
But... ah When there is a ah a big time dynamic opposing attacker like this. And in this case, ah i mean, I'm looking forward to seeing Nuhu against both Zaha and Ajiman.
01:01:09
Speaker
I just think that's ah that's it's power on power, strength on strength. I mean, what do you think of that matchup? Well, I feel like – well, I hate to burst the bubble, but it's going be Zaha on the left going forward. So it's going to be him against Roldan, I think most likely, right? Because it'll be Alex Roldan on the right.
01:01:28
Speaker
Nuhu get his run against him, I'm sure. yeah He's going to switch. Okay. So – We'll find him. We'll see. um ah But, yeah, I think i think that whole – I mean, between Zaha, Nuhu, Ajiman, I'm anticipating – I mean, I think that's going to be an intense situation.
01:01:46
Speaker
ah This is, I mean, Zaha's got to prove it. This is where, in these kind of moments, in these kind of matchups against a tough defense on the road, that's what Charlotte has been missing, is a talisman who just, like, you give him the ball and he makes that bit of magic happen that changes changes the game for them in their favor. So I think...
01:02:07
Speaker
that is ah i mean i wrote an article about that called um just the one v bet one of v one battles to watch and that's one of my my main ones was uh was zaha going up on on that right side on seattle's right side and uh just how that whole that whole situation plays out uh because does that you know does that does he require a double team and then does a situation come up where like you got reagan one v one versus aziman which i actually I like that kind of setup. I know Reagan is a top ah top defender in this league as well, but i'm really I'm anticipating a matchup like that where Reagan and Ajiman are 1v1, just two super draft picks who are starting to ball out in this league. I think that's a real MLS-style matchup to have. 6'4 versus 6'6.
01:02:51
Speaker
It's going to be... ah Like I said, like strength on strength. So that's going to fun. We got a question from ah Tom in chat here. He says, always a bit surprised when we play sincere Columbus and you hear f Seattle chants. I mean, you hear that against most teams. I feel like rarely play these coast teams.
01:03:08
Speaker
What's the view of the Sounders from Charlotte? Is there a view of the Sounders from Charlotte? I haven't heard any animosity from the Charlotte fan base in terms of ah terms of the Sounders. The only teams that I feel like Charlotte have had an animosity that I've really seen is Nashville for sure, New York Red Bulls a little bit, maybe some maybe some DC United, but DC United have haven't been great over the last several years. And so I'd say Nashville has been the been the big one for sure. so I think Sounders, I'm kind of –
01:03:42
Speaker
I mean, again, we've found a lot of similarities between between the Sounders and Charlotte. The only thing missing is a whole bunch of trophies. so So yeah that would be, i mean, I think for for me as ah as ah as a fan of Charlotte, I've actually kind of viewed Seattle is ah as ah is a goal to aim for ah more than anything. like i mean, Seattle.
01:04:02
Speaker
I would say for most MLS clubs, that should be. I mean, y'all have kind of set the standard of what ah greatness looks like in MLS over long you know long periods of time. Maybe Toronto FC, you know, in sort like ah early l LA Galaxy days could say like, hey, during this period of time, we were better. But to have the kind of extended, you know, longevity,
01:04:23
Speaker
of success that you guys have had over, i mean, just since the beginning of y'all's time in MLS is really what most clubs in MLS, including Charlotte should be pushing for being in the playoffs every year, always being a contender for every tournament you are in.
01:04:39
Speaker
um Even if it's CONCACAF champions cup, you know, all of those kinds of things, I think that's really should be the goal. So um as a, to Charlotte fans out there, I would say ah there's,
01:04:53
Speaker
Animosity wouldn't be the right approach. It should be studying you guys and figuring out how to get to that next that next level. Because y'all also as a front office have always done a ridiculously good job of working within the MLS rules. And I think there's some times when Charlotte's front office haven't been able to kind of always work that well with within the rules.
01:05:17
Speaker
um just in terms of getting getting the right deal done. And I think Seattle, you guys have always, I mean, just looking at the Ferreira and Areola move, I mean, that's a ridiculous bit of business. I mean, we saw the Williamson move for Charlotte this year. So like we're starting to see a little bit of that trend, but not enough intraligues moves for Charlotte. So I would really hope that As a club, as a fan base, we kind of look at what are some of the positives that you guys do from roster building and everything and and really take that to the next level. And then on game day, just you know take it to you guys a little bit.
01:05:50
Speaker
One thing that Seattle did well in the early MLS days that ah doesn't get talked about as much is they really prioritized the Open Cup in those early days. Won four of them.
01:06:01
Speaker
And I really feel like looking back on it, it seems like that was actually... I think that's one of the most brilliant things that they did. Because... coming into MLS as an expansion club and contending for MLS cup and champions league immediately, probably not realistic. That's hard to do open cup. It's a little more attainable in a Seattle. Really? They were able to build so much excitement in those open cup runs and like start the trophy case off by packing it, even without it being an MLS cup
01:06:34
Speaker
And i think that foundation is a blueprint that I've frankly been surprised that ah other expansion clubs haven't tried to emulate that teams like Atlanta United and LAC that were super well funded. They can come in and compete for MLS cup right away. But what I'm getting at is ah just looking at the open cup this year,
01:06:53
Speaker
I feel like Charlotte ah should sell out for that a little bit, not sell out. I think they're in a situation where they actually should strive to be playoff contenders and make a run and all that.
01:07:08
Speaker
But I just, I just feel like uniquely this year, it's kind of lined up for with the teams that are out of it for Charlotte to like make a run at that. what do you think of that take? no a hundred percent. I think that's a, that's a great take. And I think,
01:07:21
Speaker
Even, I mean, maybe that's part of Dean Smith's thinking. He talked about in the press conference today at managing Ashley Westwood's minutes. And so, which is, I mean, Ashley just always played no matter what the game was. And so he mentioned, I mean, obviously part of it is he's like 35 now, but at the same time, he's still super key for this team. So him mentioning doing something like managing minutes, I'm hoping that that means he's really specifically managing for a tournament like Open Cup.
01:07:48
Speaker
where Charlotte should be based on how that it's formatted now, only 16 MLS teams. And like I said earlier, there's only three or four teams that finished ahead of Charlotte in the Supporters Shield standings in the tournament. That puts you as a top five contender right out of the gate with, you know, just on paper. So,
01:08:05
Speaker
Charlotte should definitely be pushing for for that trophy just because, I mean, you're if you're one of the favorites in a competition, that should then, especially if you're maybe not one of the top favorites in all your other competitions, then I think that just segues you to just being like, this is where we need to
Charlotte FC's Strategic Focus for the Season
01:08:20
Speaker
be really emphasizing getting that first that first trophy, that first real deep run and getting the fan base going. Like you said, I mean, I think because from there, you just continue to build momentum wins do that.
01:08:32
Speaker
I'd say Orlando is another good example of that. Once Oscar Pereja kind of came in, won a U.S. Open Cup with Fakou and the guys down there, it i feel like the perspective or of Orlando started to change a little bit, at least in in my eyes. So there is something to that in terms of this getting Getting a trophy, whether it's the the biggest one like MLS Cup or whether it's a U.S. Open Cup, it's still ah still a win.
01:08:58
Speaker
It still qualifies you for Concacaf Champions Cup and all of the the circus and beauty that it is, that tournament. And so I think it's just having those moments are really, really valuable to a fan base and a club.
01:09:11
Speaker
And then obviously it helps recruit as well, you know. Yeah, absolutely. um All right. I only had one more thing ah written down here. So I'm going to I'm going to hit. going to get deep in the weeds with you real quick and then we'll get you out of here. We got Brian from Top Bin 90.
01:09:27
Speaker
All right. I wanted to you mentioned something when you were given the backstory about the ah Miguel Ramirez quote, which is the genesis apparently of Top Bin And ah I was definitely chuckling when you brought that up because I'm kind of a connoisseur of... ah We have a segment on our show called flaming Blazing Hot Coach Press Conference of the Week.
01:09:49
Speaker
Anytime there's like a good press conference or a good quote, I'm all over it. And ah Miguel Ramirez, that was his name, right? Yeah, Miguel Angel. Miguel Angel. That was...
01:10:00
Speaker
Honestly, in my top two to three all time favorite MLS coach quotes, that honestly was one of the things that inspired my affinity for the blazing hot press conference with was this exact quote.
01:10:13
Speaker
I'll recap
Former Coach's Bold Declaration and Fan Reactions
01:10:14
Speaker
it real quick for the chat for anyone who might not know what we're talking about. ah Before Charlotte FC's expansion season a few years ago, there ah head coach Miguel Angel was doing an interview in Spanish. It was like a week or two before the start of the season, if I'm mistaken. They were about to go to their first preseason game. So the fan base was about to see like the team televised for like the first time in Charleston.
01:10:39
Speaker
Yeah. So he, he's doing an interview ahead of this very important Seminole event for an expansion club. And they ask him, you know, how are you feeling about the game, the roster, the club or something or whatever.
01:10:52
Speaker
And he goes, ah it's something to the effect of, to be honest, don't know. Like this, we are fucked. Isn't that what he said? We're screwed. Yeah, we're screwed. He literally said we are screwed.
01:11:04
Speaker
Yeah. And that that, I'm pretty sure, did he elaborate at all on that? That's the only part of the quote that I remember, but it would i that is just... I've never seen a coach say that before or since he literally before the club had even played ah game. Yeah.
01:11:20
Speaker
Said we are screwed. I'm curious as someone who was following and invested in the club at the time, what was your reaction when you heard that quote? And then is that quote as legendary in the Charlotte FC fan base as I believe that it should be? Yeah.
01:11:38
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, i then I definitely, I mean, I think it's it's been a few years now and everybody's kind of moved on to Dean these days now with with just how ah much he's brought to the club. But for, I mean, that was definitely a mantra that will still come up whenever they have ah ah ah have a bad game or there's there's bad situations. People might still even say, we're screwed. I'll see it in chats from time to time. I mean, it's a mantra that that won't go away, I think, in terms of just like the OG fans.
01:12:05
Speaker
uh, from that time. it was a wild, wild moment. It was kind of off the cuff. Like, and he, he's a, he was a very off the cuff. That wasn't the only, there was like eight games into the season.
01:12:15
Speaker
He was talking about the game. Like it was a post-match press conference. And he was like, man, I'm not Harry Potter. I can't do magic. Like, so yeah, I remember that one too. I remember he has some, he has some killer quotes. I will say that he has a, he has an ability with the media. That's pretty, uh,
01:12:33
Speaker
Bar none. So I would definitely say like just that. I mean, the fan base, I mean, definitely has, has, has kind of taken that one in. I think there was a time when people were even were thinking about putting it like on flags and stuff like that, just because it's such a ridiculous thing to have happened at the time, a little bit more backstory to it. They had,
01:12:53
Speaker
a signing coming in, ah Darwin Machis, who was literally in town, had his medical, was ready to go. so it was going to be the he was gonna be the first DP signing. And then Spain like recalled him as the nation, because he was like I think he had like a federal charge.
01:13:11
Speaker
And so he had to go for like a bar fight. And so that was kind of what preceded him then coming out and say, because that that all kind of happened within within the same couple of days. And so I think there was that.
01:13:24
Speaker
I think some in the fan base even liked the fact that he was so blunt because I think there were, I mean, at that point, Carol Swiderski had maybe gotten signed. And so there wasn't a whole lot of just the big signings hadn't happened. And I think,
01:13:38
Speaker
He was right, but you still you don't say that. Yes, exactly. right so i i know or even I don't even know if he was necessarily right. I think an expansion season is just difficult to put together. You're signing so many players and and getting the right DPs. right i mean I think San Diego...
01:13:53
Speaker
I mean, has a big market and they seem to have really locked down a solid, a solid roster to start, especially with the top end of like Lissano, but it's just, most of the time it's just difficult to get those talisman type players to come to, I mean, you have to get a big name player to buy into something that didn't exist.
01:14:11
Speaker
And so, you know, I think that's always difficult. And so, um, I don't know if even, you know, just the the expectations were, that you know, should have been as high as they were. I think just being in the vicinity of Atlanta, you know, and seeing what had happened there. I think some Charlotte fans were Atlanta fans before they, you know, had a Charlotte team to to root for. And so I think there could have easily been, you know, that could have also played a role as just.
01:14:37
Speaker
Some people were even a fan of him in that way, just because of how blunt he was in that moment and just being like, hey, like, yeah, stick it to the front office for not not getting the deals done that they wanted. um Obviously, you again, you can't say that to an ownership group, a front office, especially in that situation. So off the cuff.
01:14:54
Speaker
ah So I definitely I think was the the beginning of the end right there.
Pedro de la Vega's Potential and Performance
01:15:00
Speaker
Brian, before we get you out of here, any final thoughts on this Charlotte Sounders matchup this weekend or any ah any questions about Seattle or the Sounders that we can help you out with?
01:15:11
Speaker
Yeah, so I also do an MLS fantasy show called Dropping Points with my buddy Blake Eshelman. And so we're interested in Pedro de la Vega.
01:15:24
Speaker
Obviously, year one, injuries, lot of issues there in terms of just not being able to get the minutes he probably needed to kind of get ah just grounded in this league. I saw, I watched the CCC matchup on Wednesday and I was really impressed with his performance. Just his run rate. It seemed like he was really just, he's willing to work and and run and get in behind and, and just take chances. And he also showed a lot a decent amount of flair from what I saw in terms of just like a back, some, some nifty back heels and stuff like that.
01:15:57
Speaker
I remember you mentioning that some people were saying like the deflected goal doesn't count and all that. Uh, honestly, so Carol Swiderski last year before he left had a really big gold drought and,
01:16:13
Speaker
his first goal when coming back from loan last year was Bronico was taking a shot and fell during taking the shot and it hit Carol Swideriski and went in versus Inter-Miami.
01:16:25
Speaker
And then he scored like in like six straight games after that. So sometimes I think it is literally just the mentality thing of just like, oh yes, the game isn't against me for goal scorers. And so I guess that's just sort of like,
01:16:39
Speaker
I saw i was watching him play. It seemed like he's built up some momentum. Is that what you guys are seeing in general? And how big of a role is he going to play this year? don't imagine he's got to be key. I mean, he looked like he was everywhere in in in that Wednesday game.
01:16:52
Speaker
Yeah, you have opened the furbial can of worms. yeah He ah easily been the most hot button player on the team for the, for the last year, uh, because he was signed for $7 million dollars yeah to this club, uh, as a young DP.
01:17:13
Speaker
So, or as a DP. So, uh, Needless to say, when last season went how it went, which was he barely played and didn't look all that good or and wasn't productive when he did play, he did he just never got run enough to ah to develop chemistry with anybody. And also the injuries, it was clear, got in his head.
01:17:34
Speaker
But ah the yeah the storyline right now with De La Vega is he is coming off. A preseason where he looked like the greatest soccer player alive.
01:17:45
Speaker
Some people argue that I'm exaggerating when i when I say that. Maybe a little bit. I don't know if I've ever seen a man that possessed. It was against Louisville City SC or whatever, you know. But he looked amazing. He honestly did have a...
01:17:59
Speaker
notably good preseason. And so I think the reason that his performance last night ah became so polarizing was because ah the first half looked, it kind of, it was giving people, I think, flashbacks. It looked, he, his touches were heavy. it looked a little disjointed. The chemistry didn't seem, ah it looked kind of too much like last year for a lot of people's liking.
01:18:24
Speaker
mean, Honestly, ah for my own liking, I understand why people felt like that. And then in the second half, he scores that goal. And I agree with you. He looked a lot better, a lot more dynamic, a lot more comfortable, just like a lot more...
01:18:40
Speaker
in the flow of the game and not forcing things. And, uh, he got rewarded for the goal. And I think, uh, the, uh, the big thing with it this year is that whether or not he can break out is going to be very determinative for the,
01:18:57
Speaker
ceiling of this team. But I will say, from my perspective, I've loved what I've seen from him in preseason. And ah I liked what I saw in the second half of ah the CCC game.
01:19:08
Speaker
And the goal, you know, people are trying to take his credit away from it because it ah it took a deflection. But ah i I mean, I don't. I put... zero credence in that a goal is a goal. And really, especially for him, he just needed to see one go in. ah But ah I do think,
01:19:29
Speaker
there is cautious optimism that it could be his breakout year. And it really like, it needs to be, it needs to be, there's a lot of pressure on that. So for me to see him, might've started rough, but to see him come through, get a goal and be a part of a big team win like that, it was great to see. And it's, I'm excited about him.
01:19:50
Speaker
Some people are still, not buying it, I guess. But ah based on what I've seen in preseason and what I saw last night, I'm excited about him.
Sounders' Transfer Strategy
01:20:01
Speaker
Nice.
01:20:01
Speaker
If he doesn't pan out, is this like the last time the Sounders, the first and last time they ever like make a huge splash transfer-wise? Because it always seems like that's the thing that the Sounders never really do is make those big splash signings.
01:20:15
Speaker
Well, I mean, I consider that ah that a little overblown in the sense that, like, yeah, have have they done Arthur Blank spending? no but Ladero was a big-time transfer.
01:20:28
Speaker
Marquez was a big-time transfer. They dropped bags on those players, and they did drop, a i mean, $7 million dollars on De La Vega. you're just not You're not going to see them do a Latte Loth $22 million. dollars like and MLS record setting signing. ah And that's what a lot of fans want them to be doing and are frustrated that they haven't been doing. They call Hanauer broke for me, as long as they're winning games, putting trophies in the trophy cabinet yeah and scoring goals. I'm happy. I'd like the amount of money they spend on the rosters. in but That's my thing. You guys don't have to,
01:21:04
Speaker
spend the latte lot transfer fees, but you got to, you got to keep winning. You got to keep playing for trophies. You got to keep winning trophies. I think last year i was pretty happy with how they brought it back in the second half of the season and the playoff run I thought was good. And the win at LAFC was excellent.
01:21:20
Speaker
ah But yeah, I think there is kind of a sentiment that they need to get back to actually stacking trophies this year. i think last night was a good start. And I do think ah with the ah FC Dallas boys getting in the fold and De La Vega looking better, I'm hopeful.
01:21:39
Speaker
I'm hopeful. Is it a 4-2-3-1 or is it it a back three miss this weekend? It seems like they're going to mix in. Oh, this weekend. ah That's a good question.
01:21:50
Speaker
i would I would venture to guess it's the 4-2-3-1, but they have been drilling this three five two three at the back thing in in preseason that they they might bust it out.
01:22:00
Speaker
I don't know. i don't know what their plan is exactly for when they deploy that, but they have been working on it, and it looked freaking awesome at at times during yeah preseason. like they were I think they were playing super aggressively because it's preseason and they could, but it was fun to watch. They scored 19 goals in like four games.
01:22:18
Speaker
Nice, nice. Um, but anyway, uh, yeah, I'm going to let you go on that, Brian. We're at an hour and a half. Uh, thank you so much for, uh, the time out there on the East coast.
01:22:30
Speaker
I feel like I learned a lot about Charlotte FC. Hopefully the chat learned a lot about, uh, Charlotte FC. Everyone in the chat right now, go sub to top in
Promotion and Community Engagement
01:22:40
Speaker
90. They're doing, they're doing the best work in the league covering Charlotte FC,
01:22:44
Speaker
ah the their youtube channel and their podcast is is popping so support them in the independent contact uh content uh brian is there anything that any work or channel or website or anything that you want to plug before you head out here yeah i think i'll just plug it one more time i just kind of shamelessly did that earlier but uh dropping points uh it's a show i do with uh blake eshelman uh, uh, MLS gone wild.
01:23:11
Speaker
Uh, it's a MLS fantasy show, where we just talk all things, uh, the MLS fantasy game. We do, you know, we say, you're looking to, looking to get involved in that game, join our league, dropping points, fantasy league, uh, and check out that podcast. We do that every week. We talk about the previous week's matchups, um, just from the the fantasy game perspective.
01:23:31
Speaker
And what are your plans for, uh, top in 90 this year? What do you guys got lined up for the season? Oh, I mean, a ton of stuff. I mean, we're going to be we're doing a little bit more traveling this year. We're going to be traveling to to, I think, I mean, hoping to get to Nashville, All-Star Game and, you know, and a few other spots. so we got big plans there on just actually hitting the road a bit more. Obviously, weekly articles on our website, topin90.com.
01:23:57
Speaker
uh i mean we we've got a bunch of columns that come out there every week uh and then i mean our podcast bi-weekly right now looking to do that weekly soon uh and then just video content on game days all this i mean really but all all over the place we're covering all over ah just the charlotte area because they do like charlotte fc does a lot of other like community events and stuff like that so we get a lot of video coverage on on those like where they're building uh fields and stuff like that ah for for kids in different communities just to have spots to play.
01:24:26
Speaker
And so we cover a lot of that kind of content as well, just to show how much the the club um and and their their sponsors and and us are all just kind of just really trying to be engaged in Hell yeah, that's great to hear. Well, I'll be ah i'll be following it all season and and going forward.
01:24:43
Speaker
a We'll have to collab again soon. I know there's a couple other guys on your staff and you're all ah you're all grinding this content. So yeah, looking forward to the game this weekend.
01:24:53
Speaker
Thank you so much for taking the time to hang out with us, educate us on some Charlotte FC and talk about the matchup. And we'll link up again soon. Perfect. Thanks, man. Appreciate having me on.
01:25:04
Speaker
Appreciate you, Brian. Have a one.