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Mailbag for August 2024
153 Plays2 months ago
A lot has happened over the last week and it wasn't all fun. To get to everything, we decided to do our monthly mailbag episode and sort of clear the notebook, so to speak. We talk about the loss to LAFC, the inactive summer transfer window as well as look ahead to what the Sounders need to do to remain an elite MLS team.
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Nos Audietis is the flagship podcast for Sounder at Heart, which became a reader-supported website on Aug. 21. You can support us by becoming a paid subscriber, learn more: https://www.sounderatheart.com/about/
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"Diversions", "Observed without knowing" audio provided by Sounder at Heart subscriber Lars; find more of their music: https://despatchesfromseattle.com/
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Transcript
Sponsorship & Introduction
00:00:02
Speaker
This episode of Nos Arietes is sponsored by Fullpool Wines, a Seattle-based wine retailer and proud sponsor of Nos Arietes since 2011. Fullpool was founded in 2009, is based in Seattle, and is owned and operated by longtime Sounder supporters. They offer the best boutique wines of the world to members of their mailing list, with special focus on their home, Pacific Northwest. Hi, I'm Will Bruin, and I was just recognized as a Seattle Sounder's legend.
00:00:30
Speaker
Now I get to do voice reads for the Sounder at Heart Podcast Network.
00:01:12
Speaker
This is a tight This is a tight
00:01:30
Speaker
We're seeing some of the hardwood commentary that we didn't take seriously.
August Mailbag & Sounders' Transfer Inactivity
00:01:41
Speaker
Welcome back to another episode of NOS Adiatus, sponsored by Hopewinds. I am Poonashan, and I'm joined by my co-host, Aaron Campo, and our engineer, Likit. This is the mailbag episode for August of 2024. So I guess we should just get right into this thing, Aaron. Yeah.
00:02:03
Speaker
All right, our first one is from Ken W. It's very likely we won't bring in any outside talent during the summer transfer window. This question was asked before the close of the summer transfer window. Ken is obviously very prescient. We did not bring any talent in during the window. This would make us the first MLS club and close to 10 years to go three consecutive summer windows without a signing.
00:02:23
Speaker
Is this likely to be our new normal or just a one-off or rare occurrence? Has our focus on ROI now crippled our ability to enjoy sustained results and how, if at all, do the sounders either break that cycle or find a better balance? There's a lot there. I would hope that this is a weird quirk of the sort of roster build that they are sort of this roster cycle they're sort of stuck in where they
Sounders' Roster Strategy & Future Speculations
00:02:53
Speaker
they perpetually have been stalking their roster in a way that doesn't give them a lot of flexibility for the summer. And I think that was basically what happened this year where even though they had some room, they felt reason and I don't think it's crazy to feel like they were
00:03:11
Speaker
satisfied with the depth of the roster and where they felt like they needed help was at the top end of the roster. And if they couldn't really find help at the top end of the roster, that they weren't going to make a move, I would, I would think they aren't going to make a habit of doing that because in part because I think they are seeing quite the frustration that it causes. And it does sort of
00:03:34
Speaker
like, tie your hands that you can't keep up and somehow every other team in the league basically manages to thread this needle in the standards haven't been so I don't know I hope it's not the new normal. I as far as the need for ROI crippling their ability to have sustained results.
00:03:57
Speaker
I hope not. This is a team whose success is not just limited to the MLS era. They've always been a successful organization.
00:04:10
Speaker
And I hope, I really hope that this is not the harbinger of things to come. I do think we're going to learn a lot about this team and in the in the winter. Like, I think we're going to learn a lot about what their ambitions are, where they see themselves, because there is a lot of salary coming off the books this winter. And if they sort of do tinkering,
00:04:39
Speaker
where that'll maybe tell us something. But if they go bold, which they have the opportunity to do, that'll tell us something different. So I don't know. Yeah, I think that I was in, I don't want to say freak out mode, but I was pretty down on this team's roster strategy a couple of weeks ago. And I think I feel a little better now in that I think that this is a,
00:05:09
Speaker
I don't really know if anything fundamentally has changed that much, which I think is a problem in and of itself, right? But I don't necessarily think that ownership has gotten less willing to spend necessarily than they used to be. But I think that the circumstances, like you said, just kind of put them into this corner where
00:05:30
Speaker
Um, they were going to have to spend money or trade assets or maybe sell players for, you know, less than they would have liked to sell them to make the kind of flexibility. And they just weren't willing to do that. Uh, I think with the kind of cap space opening up with the kind of positions that they need to fill, um, I feel, you know, based on, on Craig Weibull's press conference last, was it last week, whatever that was, uh, time is meaningless at this point in my life, but.
00:05:59
Speaker
I feel pretty good that they are going to invest some serious money into the roster and they're going to fill some of those holes. But I think there's a good chance, unfortunately, that even if they hit those signings out of the park, three, four years down the line, we might end up in a similar situation to this again, and less ownership in the front office are willing to be a little more flexible with roster and a little more aggressive with wanting to force turnover.
Investment Critiques & Community Engagement
00:06:28
Speaker
Yeah, and I think one thing that is worth reminding ourselves of is how much of the perception of the roster is shaped by the fact that they did go out and spend a fair amount of money on Pedro de la Vega. And I don't want to overstate how much money they spent, because the reality is that it is not on the same scale as a Nico Lidero or a Raul Rui Diaz investment. But it was a significant investment. And the fact that they've gotten almost nothing out of that investment,
00:06:56
Speaker
does sort of create a perception that they haven't done anything when they did go out and make the move everyone seemed to think they should make. And I loved this move at the time. I was excited about it. I think most people were excited about it. On paper, it looked like and the reality is that De La Vega has had a hell of a time getting on the field. And you know, if you know, at this time next year, if he's putting up the kind of numbers that we expected him to put up,
00:07:25
Speaker
I think that will color this whole last, you know, their, their transfer strategy a lot differently, especially if they go out and sign a, you know, a big DP this window, which
00:07:39
Speaker
that's, you know, my hope and my expectation is that that's what they're going to do. So I don't know, we'll see. But yeah, it's, it's not, you know, like, there's not a lot of positive signs. I think it's just a matter of how negative you want to be based on this. So
00:07:56
Speaker
All right, this was from the list and I guess a good time to remind everyone these questions come from our discord You can get on our discord if you are subscribing to sound at heart at the subscriber level level or above that's a $75 a year level and we're also right now in the midst of a
00:08:16
Speaker
of a subscriber drive, I guess you could call. We're in the year anniversary right now. We're like literally hitting the year anniversary of Senator Hart's independence. And if you want to help make this thing go, I would encourage you to become a subscriber. And if you are already at the supporter level,
00:08:38
Speaker
Join the Discord, it's a lot of fun, even if you're just lurking. But anyway, the question from the list says, which Tacoma or academy players might make the jump next year? Are any of them a number
Youth Prospects & Stadium Speculations
00:08:51
Speaker
six? I think you're definitely better suited to answer this question than I am. But I don't think any of them are six. We'll say that. Unfortunately.
00:09:03
Speaker
That's a deceptively difficult position to produce, I think, at that level. Because a lot of the skills that are really important for that position come with experience. And you can develop those skills and have those skills in the ability to effectively play that position at a young age. But if you do, you're probably not going to be in MLS for too long, and certainly not in MLS Next Pro. So I think that's probably that. The forward positions is probably going to be one that has to come from outside the organization.
00:09:32
Speaker
Yeah.
00:09:35
Speaker
Yeah, you're right. There's not really a six that I'm aware of that they're sort of deep into development on. I do think they'll sign some players from Tacoma this year. The two who I would most or there's three probably I think will probably get signed either this year or next. Georgi Minungu is probably the closest to an MLS contract. He is a 21 year old Ivory Coast
00:10:04
Speaker
winger. He is a very dribbly boy. He averages almost four successful dribbles per 90 minutes, which is I think the second best in MLS Next Pro. American Soccer analysis rates him as probably the best dribbler in MLS Next Pro. He does not quite have the finished product yet. When he gets around goal, it's not always pretty. But he does create a lot of excitement.
00:10:32
Speaker
You may remember him from the open cup and a couple MLS games. But I think he's probably going to get signed. And then there's a 17 year old named Snyder Brunel, who does play in the central midfield. He's more of an eight. I suppose he could develop into a six. He's 17 right now. He's at something like he's going to finish the year with about 2500 professional minutes already already under his belt, which is pretty impressive.
00:10:57
Speaker
I suspect you'll get an MLS contract. And then the other one who might get an MLS contract, I think is Kalani Kosa-Rienzi. Another player who you might be familiar with if you have been following the defiance or you were playing close attention to the Open Cup. He did make a few appearances for the Sounders in the Open Cup and even in MLS play. He is a
00:11:19
Speaker
a Bay Area native, but he went to UW. He played as more of a midfielder for UW, but has played mostly as a right back for defiance. He's very athletic. He is pretty strong technically. I think he has a MLS future. I know a lot of the talent evaluators in the Sounders think that as well. So there's definitely some players coming through who I think are useful.
00:11:48
Speaker
All right. The next one is from AD Simone 206. Is there a reasonable path forward for the sounders to be treated like a first class tenant by first thing goal once again, and what might that look like? Good question. I think this is really the crux of the issue when it comes to the sounders exploring the possibility of building their own stadium at Long Acres. It's that it's hard to see that path forward.
00:12:15
Speaker
as it is, the Sounders and Rain between them host a lot more events at Lumen Field than the Seahawks. They occupy the stadium for a much greater part of the year than the Seahawks. Now, obviously, they don't bring in the
00:12:34
Speaker
money that the Seahawks do but it does feel like it's getting worse and not getting better in terms of the relationship between the Sounders and first and goal despite sort of having more and more events there you know just an anecdote I guess recently this or this year
00:12:53
Speaker
the first and goal started charging the Sounders $80 a head for the media meal. And I assure you, the food they are serving does not feel like an $80 meal. And it's that kind of like stuff that I think really does create a problem for the long term relationship because it's becoming very expensive for frankly, for the Sounders to continue playing at Loom and Field and the situation is not getting better.
00:13:21
Speaker
And, you know, I suppose that can always change. It's just a matter of someone at, you know, Vulcan or first and goal, sort of making that decision to make it better. But I don't, you know, I don't know the numbers. I don't know exactly how that works, but it doesn't seem like a good situation. I don't I don't see it getting better.
00:13:44
Speaker
Yeah, I feel like it's not totally analogous,
Game Day Experience & Player Performance
00:13:47
Speaker
right? But there have definitely been situations where I have been unhappy in a job because I hadn't gotten a promotion or hadn't gotten a raise or just wasn't getting the kind of, you know, a notoriety that I felt like I should be or whatever. And you can drop strategic hints about that and about your willingness to go somewhere else. And suddenly those things start happening. And, uh,
00:14:10
Speaker
And I think maybe the Sounders were a little more hopeful that they could do that with the Longacre Stadium. And first and goal, realize, oh, we would be losing a lot of money if these guys left. Right. Maybe we should do something about that. And I don't see any evidence that that has happened now.
00:14:25
Speaker
obviously there's still plenty of time on the Sounders lease and maybe they don't want to make huge changes midstream and some of that stuff might change for the better going into next season but I'm kind of with you I just feel like first and goal doesn't really see any reason to
00:14:41
Speaker
make the experience better for Sounders fans. They're just tenants to them. Just the revenue stream and the Seahawks are, by all intents and purposes, despite the stadium being publicly owned, publicly financed. The Seahawks are the only people that matter, and they're fully running the thing, which sucks really bad. There should be some kind of public lever that can be pulled to say,
00:15:05
Speaker
This is not the Seahawks stadium. It's the state of Washington Stadium, you know, and all the tenants should be treated equally to some degree, but that's not going to happen. So I do wonder I know one of the big complaints and that you and I even talked about on the show was sort of how many stalls are closed during Sounders games as and I haven't been to a Seahawks game. But we did compare them to both.
00:15:32
Speaker
T-Mobile Park and Climate Pledge Arena. And it's not just that so many more stalls at those venues are open, it's what they're serving. And I do wonder, like I don't, I honestly, this is a question I don't know the answer to is, are even even if if the stalls were open, would they compare favorably?
00:15:52
Speaker
I don't think so. I mean, I feel like the food at Lumen has always sucked compared to T-Mobile, especially. Because I think most of the stuff that you can get at Climate Pledge is similar to what you can get at Lumen. But there are some exceptions that are much, much better. And Lumen did used to have some more of those that just aren't open now. But I think stall for stall,
00:16:20
Speaker
I don't think it would be that much better. I don't know if there were more places for me to get a hot dog that had been sitting under the heat lamp for two hours. I don't know that that would make my experience better because really like the ingress and egress and getting through getting through concessions is pretty great. Like it's pretty quick. You know, you can grab your beer, grab your hot dog, whatever. That's not a problem. It's just it sucks. Like the food sucks. The beers, you know, too expensive. Blah, blah, blah, all that stuff.
00:16:50
Speaker
Uh, and I don't, I don't think we're going back to the days of, you know, being able to get really, really good food at Saunders games anytime soon.
00:16:58
Speaker
Yeah. And it's like, it just doesn't lend itself to that as well as baseball or hockey. Do I have to be totally fair? That's fair. Sounders. This is from sounders fan. Good name. Jordan Morris is on pace to say career highs in appearances. His record is 44 and goal scored. His record is 14 this season. Is he aging like fine wine? Is this the best version of Jordan we've ever seen?
00:17:21
Speaker
I think it's definitely the best version of center forward Jordan that we've ever seen. And I think that this is a very common topic of discussion in the Discord. And I think probably in the fan base at large, right, about is the right decision to go get a DP nine or to get a DP winger. And I'm pretty firmly of the belief that Jordan should stay
00:17:46
Speaker
in the nine. And he should be the guy. And that if you need to hold a DP signing to be totally sure until you know, if that's the DP signing, you decide not to make in the in the winter, because you want to see how he holds up, you know, over a full year, right of, of playing that role. Fair enough.
00:18:07
Speaker
but to me I think Jordan's a much better striker right now than he is a winger and I think that's going to continue to be the case right I think Jordan has he's he's bigger he's stronger than he used to be I think he's better reading the game I think he looks more confident in front of goal than he does on the wing I think that he makes better
00:18:24
Speaker
decisions centrally than he does on the wing. And I think physically, I mean, I think Jordan is going to be a physical specimen for a long time. I think he obviously takes really good care of himself. He hasn't lost much of his top line speed. He hasn't lost a ton of acceleration, but he's going to. And I think he can be effective as a center forward for much later into his career than he can as a winger. I mean, we've seen so many times where guys just lose
00:18:48
Speaker
not even that much, just one or two steps, but that's enough to make them significantly less effective. And I just think that that's less of a concern at the nine, at the center forward position. So that's, I think this is the best version of himself, right? He's, I just think he's learned so much about the game. And one of the questions I asked myself is, could he be, because we remember what Jordan was like when the first time around when he was kind of given the keys before Ro Wolves brought in.
00:19:14
Speaker
And he wasn't this good. And I wonder if it was just experience and time or if him moving to the wing and developing some of those skills and maybe gaining some confidence helped. I don't know, but I feel like he's been consistent enough at that spot to think that this is not a fluke, that he is really this good. I mean, they're getting DP production out of him, right? Like he's not...
00:19:35
Speaker
playing like one of the most elite strikers in the league, but he's playing. Anybody would be happy with his production if he were on, you know, I think two and a half, $3 million a year as a DP, right? So I just don't know why you want to move him to a position where he's not quite as effective.
00:19:51
Speaker
where he, you know, maybe isn't going to age as well to bring in somebody from outside of the outside when you could just sign a winger. That's not what the question was. But it's a hobby horse for me. So I think it's a fair issue, though. And I, I guess the question I have, and I don't, and again, I don't know this answer, but I spent a bunch of time researching potential number nine signings. And there are
00:20:17
Speaker
a lot like you can go out there and and without spending too crazy you can find players with pretty good resumes who I think would be very good number nines and I wonder if part of the thinking is the sounders just believe it's easier to go find an upgrade at number nine than to pay what it would cost to upgrade
00:20:42
Speaker
Jordan on the wing, if that's fair. Yeah. And I don't and I don't know that again, I don't know the the if that's really the answer. But I do think that's part of the equation is that, you know, you can throw a stone and find, if you're willing to spend $10 million, if you're willing to make a $10 million investment, there is no shortage of number nines out there who on paper look like they will kill it, right? Whereas
00:21:10
Speaker
You have an example like a Danny Bwonga shirt. If you can go out and find me Danny Bwonga, do that. Do that and put Jordan at the nine. But it seems like Bwonga at like the LAFC struck gold with that. They didn't have to invest that much. Like really, it wasn't that big of an investment to bring him in.
00:21:33
Speaker
But I also wonder if he's sort of like the 99th percentile version of what you get at that investment. You know what I mean? Yeah, totally. I mean, I definitely think that the best decision to make is the holistic best decision that maximizes the amount of talent you have on the team.
00:21:53
Speaker
to that degree or to that point, you're probably right that it's easier to find that guy at a nine than on the wing. Elite wingers are much more hard to come by. That's a fair point and probably one I don't give enough consideration to.
00:22:11
Speaker
I do really think that, I think there's a segment of the fan base that's still just really under-rate Jordan as a strategy. I agree with that for sure. I think the Sounders internally, frankly, even under-rate him. I can't believe how many times I hear people in the organization talking about how they just aren't sure he's a number nine. It's like, I don't know, I'm watching him be a number nine every week, practically. He did it last year too, right? Right. Exactly. We're coming off two straight seasons of him being really productive at that position.
00:22:40
Speaker
Yeah, it's strange, but I'm sure there's something I'm not seeing. I'm sure it's a knee problem.
00:22:58
Speaker
Uh, this one's from debate pro since the youth progress slash player development. Is it linear? What is Danny Leyva ceiling? His set piece delivery passing higher up the field free kicks are top notch. Should the sounders be moving him higher up the pitch? Is it back up to Albert? I, I think they should like that to me is what he presents as his best.
00:23:20
Speaker
his best path forward at this point is, like I don't see him as a starting number 10, but I do think his skillset is better used on that side of the field. And I think he makes sense as a backup to Albert. I think he can make sense in a dual eight sort of setup. I don't think he is a double pivot. Like I don't think that's his future. I don't think he's ever gonna develop into a great double pivot.
00:23:49
Speaker
You know, and at this point, he's he's being paid a fair amount of money. So it does behoove the sounders to figure out that he's a talented player. He like I don't think anyone that watches him would deny that he has talent and the sounders need to figure out the best way to use them.
00:24:07
Speaker
Yeah, for sure. I think this is a point that I think people make pretty regularly, but I know really always been making it for a long time that the sounders develop a lot of players with.
00:24:20
Speaker
this kind of skill set where at a lower level, they're clearly like the main creator on a team, but it takes more to get to that level at the MLS level. So they get moved back a line. And I think it is okay at a certain point with a guy like Danny Leyva to say, he's probably not going to be
00:24:42
Speaker
What you want we want him to be as an eight or certainly not as a six. Right. So let's just say, hey, as long as he's here, he's going to be an attacking player. He's going to be Russ next backup. Maybe he can play on the wing in certain setups. I don't know.
00:24:58
Speaker
um and just stop trying to force the issue because it can't be good for his confidence um you know and it's it's not really gonna help him i think he's just past the point where if you keep throwing him out there at the eight and fits and starts he's gonna all of a sudden develop or figure something out um because i do there are things i really like about his game it's just the things that i don't like about his game get really outweighed both
00:25:22
Speaker
Um, because he's exposed and, and because he's not able to do the things that he is as good at, you know, from the, from that, from those positions. It's similar, I think to how when Rusnak was starting, you know, as an eight or in the past on the wing and people were like, how was this guy DP? How was this guy making this kind of money? And then he gets moved to the 10 and he's always the best player on the team now, you know? So it's, I think it's a similar kind of situation. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
00:25:48
Speaker
I think the challenge with Danny is that he's not as goal dangerous as Rusnik is. For sure. But he might be a better passer.
00:25:59
Speaker
Yeah, yeah. He's at least at the same tier, right? I think that as a guy that can spell Roastnacker that you can bring on when you're chasing a lead to have another creative player on the field, that's for his age and what he's making right now, that's not a bad role for him. I just think it's probably time to stop trying to force the issue of him playing, you know, a linebacker, because it just doesn't seem like it's going to work out.
00:26:26
Speaker
Next one is from Twimberly23. Since Alex rolled on his comeback from his concussion, he's been excellent and seems to have reclaimed the right back starting spot. If he continues to his return to form for the rest of the year, how does that impact our off-season DP shopping? The potential plan of moving Christian back a line doesn't seem as likely any longer. My initial thought is Christian moves to central midfield to either replace JP or partner a new six and you get a DP right winger. Yeah, I don't know. I think the
00:26:58
Speaker
I think it's pretty likely that Christian ends up moving to central midfield. I will say that. I think that that is something the sounders are seriously considering.
00:27:12
Speaker
they feel like he has the engine. He hasn't really been asked to be a six at any point really in his career. Like he's always been paired with a more defensive minded partner. And I think it's entirely possible that he will that that's something that they're going to try next year and sort of like maybe even a job share kind of situation with Joe Paulo if he's back. So
00:27:37
Speaker
I don't know, I think that I think that makes a lot more sense than sticking him at right back. The problem because the problem with sticking him at right back is now you have a $1.5 million right back. And I don't think the sounders roster is built in a way that allows for that sort of that kind of construction, even though that's not really the best way of looking at it. So yeah, I think that's probably what that that's probably what happens.
00:28:06
Speaker
Yeah, I would say that Alex has been much better since he came back from concussion. I don't know that I would say he's been excellent. I still would like to see Christian at right back. I think he projects there really well. Especially if it's like a more right wing back type of... Yes, for sure. For sure. Which we might see. I think that might be a way, like I saw some people on the Discord talking about
00:28:32
Speaker
how what you do when essentially when you when you when de la vega is is really back and it does they could go to back to that three four two one formation and that would sort of make sense with him yeah i uh and i think too like um
00:28:53
Speaker
with Alex on the cap number he's on. And, you know, he's probably most likely not going anywhere. And he certainly hasn't been bad. It's it's not at the end of the world of Christian moves to the center. I think I'm totally fine with that. If that's the path they take as well. And I'm saying that more as a long term solution than a shorter version. Yeah, for sure. Yeah, I, yeah, I mean, it's Christian's flexibility is a blessing and a curse for him. I feel like
00:29:18
Speaker
at times. Yeah, no, he I think that this is the year where he's almost it's funny because this was the year it started out as no, he's gonna be our right winger. We're making this commitment. And then it devolved into actually Christian. The reality is the best thing for us is for you to just play wherever you need and or wherever we need. And that's just gonna be your role. Sorry. Yeah.
00:29:44
Speaker
Yeah, it's one of those things where, but I mean, realistically, is he elite anywhere? Yeah, I don't know. I don't know. I think that flexibility maybe is what keeps him being at the level he is and as valuable as he is. Yeah. One of those things. Well, this one's from Joshua, and this is another one that we've been debating a lot.
Season Expectations & Post-COVID Changes
00:30:06
Speaker
Barring winning MLS Cup, what would you consider a successful season this year?
00:30:12
Speaker
Uh, I think that if it's a binary between this is either a successful season or it's not a successful season, I think winning open cup and getting.
00:30:28
Speaker
winning at least one playoff series, not counting the, the play-in is kind of at least to the Western Conference semi-finals. Yeah, I think so. Um, that's what I would call a success. Realistically, I think it's more of a gradient than that. Like, I think it's more like,
00:30:44
Speaker
The season wasn't a total failure, but I'm not willing to call it a success either, right? Because they sucked for a good portion of time. They, you know, continued to get embarrassed by LAFC for, you know, the ninth and hopefully not 10th consecutive game.
00:31:02
Speaker
So it's, it's hard for me at this point to say anything other than winning MLS cup is going to make me feel like this was a good season or a great season. But I think if they can get into the playoffs, you know, when a playoff series, uh, when open cup, I feel pretty good about that, right? Um, getting into the playoffs and losing in the first round and getting into the playoffs and not making it through the plan, um, losing to LAFC in the open cup final.
00:31:32
Speaker
I don't consider that successful. No, it's not terrible. I think it almost has to start with you got to win the U.S. Open Cup. Boring winning MLS Cup. You've got it. You've got this far. You got a home game in the semifinal. You potentially got a home game in the final. You got to like the Open Cup has to be the most focused like it's crazy to think
00:31:58
Speaker
I, it seemed like Brian was even admitting this that they're going to focus on Minnesota this weekend because that's the next game, which makes sense. It's, you want to get off to the, a good start in league play and then they're going to put everything they got into that open cup semi-final.
00:32:17
Speaker
which then leaves the Portland Timbers road game as sort of like, well, look, we'll do what we can. We can't promise you anything. And I think that's sensible. Like this is the first time in a long time that, you know, if they win the Minnesota game and they win the LA game, for sure, I do, I do not care if they, what happens in that Portland game. And I think that that's a totally sensible approach for this one. They already won a game in Portland.
00:32:46
Speaker
Like they, cause the thing is that they beat Portland in this game and they lose the season finale against Portland. I don't care that they won both games in Portland. They got like the, the, the important game against Portland at this point is the season finale. They got to win that game. They have to win that game. Like that talk about successful season.
00:33:04
Speaker
That's one of the elements of a successful season. They got to win that game against Portland at the end of the season. Yeah, I agree. I think that a season cannot be successful without it being a disaster. You know what I mean? I think 2013 was not successful, but they made the playoffs and they scored a bunch of goals and won a bunch of games. But by no metric was that season successful. 2021, they didn't make playoffs. Sorry, 2022.
00:33:32
Speaker
Anyway, it's a I think it's a much more. It's more fun for me to to not be binary about it and say, well, it's exciting anyway. Next one's from third string star. Can Adrian continue to compete financially without a partner in this league? Allah rain Carlyle group.
00:33:53
Speaker
So this is a fair question and I think it's a, I think yes, he can. The difference between the sounders being able to compete and not compete is still a relatively small amount of money. Like we're talking a few million dollars, which I assume Adrian can afford to spend because if he can't,
00:34:21
Speaker
He really shouldn't be an MLS owner. I'll just say that. I feel pretty confident that he can afford to spend what is required. It's really a matter of will and how much... I can't tell you why the Sounders weren't willing to invest more into the roster this year than they did. I don't have a good answer. I genuinely would like to know that myself.
00:34:48
Speaker
There's enough wealth within the Sounders organization that they should be able to finance a buyout if they need to buy a player out. They should be able to finance a big DP transfer if that's what they need to do. They should be able to finance U-22 signings. I don't see any sign that they don't have
00:35:10
Speaker
the financial abilities to do those things. And it's part of why it's so baffling what's going on right now where it feels like they're cutting corners, and they aren't making the big plays. And I wrote about this that there is sort of this negative cycle that comes where you don't invent like they want it to run like a
00:35:29
Speaker
sustainable business and I think that's admirable because I think if you don't have a sustainable business, then you're always going to be at the whim of some rich guy and that's not a good place to be in either.
00:35:42
Speaker
But yeah, I think it's gonna be very interesting to see what direction this organization goes in the next few years and where their focus is and how they spend money. And I do think a lot of it is probably tied into the future at Long Anchors and it's all interconnected. So we'll see. I don't know. I don't have a great answer for that.
00:36:02
Speaker
I think they have the ability. Right. I don't think it's a can. I don't think it's a can question at all. I will say the only thing I have to add is that no matter what, I would rather never have someone like the Carlisle group involved in ownership. Yeah. Yeah. I just private equity is a whole thing. Private equity. Yeah. Yeah. It's not great. So. All right. This is from
00:36:30
Speaker
friend of the show, Bill Jones Trumpet, he says, why did the Sounders pull away so much from the game day experience? I asked because on its face, it would seem like a financial decision. But they still have Soundwave, which I am an alumnus of and grateful for. And that is not a cheap asset. So why get rid of the Pioneer Square program or pregame, the events at the 90 and the other frills that made game day more of a great event and less of a product.
00:36:56
Speaker
I think that kind of what I've settled on without any actual information and just my assumptions, which is the best way to form an opinion, is that a lot of stuff just stopped during COVID and I don't think it's limited to the sounders. I think it's a society-wide thing where people just stop doing stuff during COVID and they never started doing it again.
00:37:18
Speaker
Uh, and it sucks. It's a bummer. Um, the world is a much worse and less fun place than it was in 2019. Um, in, in some ways, uh, and you know, yeah, it sucks. Uh, I, I miss all the pageantry. I miss all that stuff and I don't, maybe it's a cost cutting decision or a cost saving decision not to bring it back, but I don't think it was an intentional thing. Um, and I think when you've got people on the, the pay, payroll, I guess, like.
00:37:48
Speaker
Soundwave on the payroll, I don't know. But it's maybe they're not willing to say, yeah, we're going to stop doing this thing. Also, I think Drew Carey would be upset if they stopped doing Soundwave, right? So maybe that's part of it. But yeah, I think that's I think you're right. I think that's probably that it is sort of a momentum issue where it was very easy to cut the pregame and then
00:38:12
Speaker
look at, okay, well, what are we really getting out of this thing? You know, maybe 100 people show up. It's not a cheap expense, blah, blah, blah, blah. And they just never brought it back. I think it's, you know,
00:38:26
Speaker
that it definitely limits the event feel of any game day. I did hear that the 90 is being reopened. I don't know in what capacity exactly, but I know the sounders still have that space and they're going to start using it for events again. So it'll be interesting to see how much activation it gets on game day. It seems like that would be a no brainer to make it a game day place. Like I've always thought, why not
00:38:53
Speaker
serve beer there. I would think that that's a license they could get. It would feel like that would be a really easy... I guess maybe they don't want to compete with their partners at the local bars. Maybe it's as simple as that. But it does feel like that's a missed opportunity that would be pretty easy to bring back. And I think they need to start looking for things like that, frankly. Yeah, I can't imagine rent on that place is cheap.
00:39:18
Speaker
No, if they have the right, exactly. That's the thing is that they're already spending the money. Right. And there's it's it is funny, because there's all these examples, you can look around the organization, and they're spending money on things. It's just that they're, they're being, you know, like they did this rave gala, and they rate, you know, they raised a million dollars or whatever for
00:39:37
Speaker
the Rave Foundation, but that could not have been a cheap endeavor. It had to be really expensive to put this on. And you see examples of this all, you know, like they when they did the brand redesign, that was hugely, hugely expensive. Long Anchorage was expensive, whatever, like we can, they're spending money, it's just that they're not necessarily spending it in the way that
00:40:00
Speaker
we would want them to. So that's why I get back to this idea that I don't think it's an issue of what they can spend is what they want to spend it on. So yeah, it feels like the budget priorities have changed and not expanded, necessarily, like, obviously, they're spending way more money than they used to. But but they're not proportionately spending it on the same things.
00:40:24
Speaker
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00:40:50
Speaker
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00:41:14
Speaker
Uh, this next one is from Too Old, Too Tired Boy. I can identify with that. Uh, any rumors about replacing Craig Weibel? Just watched his presser from this afternoon. Wow. He is so uninspiring and so unwilling to take personal responsibility for anything. Couldn't close any signings, needs a lot of data and analysis in order to even acknowledge that attendance is down. What a letdown after Garsh.
00:41:33
Speaker
Well, I will say I saw this, there's a lot of things that I think came out of Craig's press conference that were to me, more influenced by their pre-existing frustrations with sort of the sounders in general, and maybe Craig Weibel in particular.
00:41:50
Speaker
I definitely like I was there. I wouldn't say it was inspiring. But I didn't necessarily get the sense that he wasn't willing to take personal responsibility, specifically about like needing more analysis to acknowledge the attendance is down. That's not really what he said. He said he wasn't willing to chalk up the main cause of the attendance being down to the lack of transfer signings. He definitely acknowledged that attendance was down. That said, I don't get the sense that
00:42:20
Speaker
Weibull's job is on the line. I suppose it's always possible that he could leave for one reason or another. But I mean, I do generally think that the main reason that they haven't been able to make signings is just budgetary reasons. And I think Adrian is probably pretty realistic about
00:42:39
Speaker
why that like who's setting that budget and it's not Craig. Like I don't think Craig is sitting there going like I don't want to make signings. Like he knows his job is to make signings. He would like to sign guys. So I don't know. I have a hard time putting it to at some point it will become inescapable. Like if we're having these conversations in 2026 which I believe is when his when the recall election would be or the confident I don't know if they call it a recall election. I can't remember what they call it.
00:43:09
Speaker
But we'll get to vote on his job in 2026, assuming no one does file a recall. If we're having that conversation then, yeah, he's going to be in trouble. But where we're sitting right now, I have a hard time putting too much blame on him specifically. Yeah, I would tend to agree. I think generally, I was actually quite encouraged by the press conference. I thought that he
00:43:39
Speaker
addressed all the things people have been frustrated that he hadn't addressed, and I think reasonably, rightfully frustrated. He outlined kind of a plan going forward. He committed to spending, like the team was going to spend money. He was very declarative about that, I thought. He was like, we're going to be making some serious investments and major signings. And a lot of people's takeaway was still like, well, he didn't commit to, you know,
00:44:05
Speaker
making a big signing. That's like literally the only thing I feel like he committed to. So I don't know. I think that there was definitely some confirmation bias at play. There's probably some with me as well, which I'll acknowledge, right? Because I'm certainly of the opinion that he hasn't been the problem with this team and that I tend to like him pretty well. So yeah, I'm sure that my bias is a factor as well. But yeah, I was encouraged.
00:44:32
Speaker
This is from Boomstick315, and he wants to know, how do we beat LAFC at Starfire? I wish I knew. I mean, I do think that playing at Starfire is part of it. It's going to be a lot harder for them to do the stuff they're really good at. Yeah, it's not a good bunk. It's not a place that is friendly to bunkering. No, I mean, LAFC is the whole thing with them.
00:44:58
Speaker
is that they are extremely good at making you play their game. There were a lot of criticisms, I think, of the tactics in the League's Cup game. And to me, I thought the Sounders came out trying specifically not to let them do what they were trying to do, and they still managed to do it because they're just really good. And I think it's just going to be much harder for them to do that at Starfire.
00:45:21
Speaker
Um, but they're also just a good team in general, right? So even if they can't do everything tactically the way they want to, I think it's still going to be a tough game, but I just think that the key is not getting scored on early. I mean, it's like, we talked about this when we previewed the game in the last episode. Basically we said any outcome in this game is okay, except for.
00:45:47
Speaker
The exact same thing that happened where they go behind early, they have to throw their whole plan out the window. I mean, it couldn't have gone worse. And I think it's the same thing, right? Like you have to score a goal.
00:46:00
Speaker
you cannot let them score first, and you just can't let them boss you around. And it's funny to say boss you around about a team that plays the way LAFC does. But I mean, that is what they're doing. They're just doing it in a sort of passive aggressive way, I guess. But it's yeah, it's it's remarkable. A few things are really remarkable about LAFC. One,
00:46:23
Speaker
They are 14-1-1 in the regular season when they score first. That's remarkable. If they score first, they are as good, if not better, than anyone else at just suffocating the game. They do this, they have a remarkable ability to take a lead and to hold the lead. Good for them. And the centers have fallen into that trap twice, both times on really avoidable goals.
00:46:50
Speaker
They got it. That's the first thing they you're absolutely right. That's the first thing they have to do. But the other thing that they tend to do. Like if you look at their point of comfort, their average point of confrontation in both these last two games, it's at something like 27 yards that like the sounders, the sounders, meanwhile, are usually right around 40 to 45 yards, which is to say that LFC lets you just sort of
00:47:17
Speaker
get in, like they will sit, they really will sit. And I really don't think that will work in that Starfire. Like for whatever reason, it is just not a venue that lends itself to sort of that bunker mentality. And I think that is one element that should give people hope. The other thing that might give people hope
00:47:43
Speaker
And this is harder to really grasp and it might be really reaching.
00:47:50
Speaker
But they're going to be playing in the league's cup final. They will. So they're going to be coming essentially off a championship match into this open cup match, which I feel like is inevitably going to have an emotional letdown. Either they win that game and they're going to presumably have some celebration and maybe they will actually not take the open cup nearly as seriously at that point, although I don't think that's really in their DNA.
00:48:21
Speaker
or if they lose, it's going to be like I suppose there could be an emotional lift, but that's not usually how that works. I think that that probably plays into the Sounders favor potentially either way, either like they're playing that they're playing in the leaf cup final a few days before on Sunday, frankly, so that they're going to be on one day less rest than the Sounders will be.
Tactical Discussions & Transfer Reflections
00:48:43
Speaker
So I don't know. And what's funny is that game was originally scheduled for Tuesday. That would have been brutal if they had to go
00:48:51
Speaker
Sunday to Tuesday. Yeah. But, uh, yeah, I mean, if we can just, if, if, you know, this works, if playing them on short rest, uh, works for us, we'll, we'll just have to make sure all their girls scheduled like that going forward. Right. They always have to play us on like two days rest on a turf field.
00:49:12
Speaker
Alright, this one's from Walter, Walter, Walter. What would have been good realistic moves for the Sounders during the transfer window? I see a lot of criticisms about making no moves, but I don't know what plausible move would have made a difference for the team with so few games left in the season. Doing nothing seems better than signing a depth piece, so I'm curious what would have moved the needle for you. I think the most obvious thing the Sounders could have done, or there's two obvious things that they could have done,
00:49:39
Speaker
and they didn't seem remotely interested in doing. One of them was buying out Raul and signing a, or moving Raul and signing a DP9. That would have been a knock it out of the ballpark type of popular move. And they could have done that. My understanding is they may have even had a trade partner if they really wanted to do that to get Raul off their books.
00:50:08
Speaker
But for whatever reason, we're not that interested in bringing in a DP number nine this summer. So that's a bummer, but that's one thing they could have done. The other big thing they could have done, and I don't think this would have necessarily helped them in the short term, but I do think would have set them up longer term, is if they decided that they wanted to spend real money on a U22 signing,
00:50:31
Speaker
They could have done that. I think that would have changed the perception of the window if not necessarily their level. I think it's realistic to say, look, you're not going to sign a 21-year-old who's going to drop in and impact the season with nine games left in the season. That's fair. I think it would be fair to point that out.
00:50:54
Speaker
Those are two things they could have done potentially that would have moved the needle, I think among vans and that would have been, you know, one of them could have potentially been a huge on the field move too. If they had gotten like the Dario spicage move done, I think that would have been pretty good. It wouldn't have necessarily moved the needle as much, but I will say that I understand what Walter is saying here, which is barring their inability to do those two big splashy moves,
00:51:21
Speaker
it didn't make a lot, I agree, I don't think it made a lot of sense. Like it would have been useful from a narrative perspective to say, well, we did something, so stop saying we didn't do anything. But from a real world perspective, they don't need, they need someone who's better than Paul Rothrock. And that's right now not shockingly not that easy to do. Yeah, I do think that Rothrock's emergence has changed the calculus a little bit. And I'm,
00:51:48
Speaker
I'm a little more willing to, I think Craig made a good case for not wanting to make a signing for the sake of making a signing and wanting to make sure it was going to be somebody that challenges for minutes. And, and I think also, you know, the fact that this is something I always have to be reminded of the fact that the allocation money that basically the cap space they have, as I understand it is allocation money, not using that cap space, not using that allocation money this year means it's available in the next year. Um, and it's.
00:52:18
Speaker
at least it would be like half a million dollars or something like that, right? So not insignificant, right? So I do think that the approach that they took of let's try to sign guys that are worth more than we'd be paying them or paying for them made sense, just to see if they could get somebody who wanted to move for reasons that weren't purely salary or
00:52:43
Speaker
who was desperate to get playing time, whatever it was, right? So I think that approach made sense. And yeah, so I think the right kind of signing would have been one that was them punching above their weight a little bit, and they weren't able to land one of those. But I do think that there is a case for them making a U-22 signing, maybe trying to find a
00:53:07
Speaker
an attacking player or a striker that could potentially be the backup next year, or it could potentially make Danny Bizovsky movable, right? Yeah. Or, you know, a defensive mid, U-22 defensive midfielder, maybe signings like that, but I...
00:53:23
Speaker
I think that they looked at them, right? Like there was a period of time where I was just convinced they hadn't really tried to do anything other than the Dario speakage move. And I don't think that that's true anymore. Like I think that they were trying to do things and they just didn't find the right fit. And given how they've been playing, I'm more OK with that than I guess I thought it would be. Yeah, I will say that I've I've been able to confirm that they looked at well over a dozen players and
00:53:52
Speaker
you know, some of them were trades, some of them were transfers. I don't know how many of those were serious inquiries where they were, you know, getting to the point of talking to agents or whatnot. But they they I think they did a fair amount of legwork. There's no credit for legwork. This is a results based business. No one denies that. I'm not asking anyone to to do that. But yeah, it was.
00:54:17
Speaker
I'll just say I understood the premise that they were saying that they don't need to add depth and they didn't. So I guess it's frustrating. I want them to sign.
Player Impact & Training Insights
00:54:30
Speaker
I want them to sign players too because I do think that signing players is part of the entertainment aspect of the business.
00:54:37
Speaker
but, you know, only if it's not gonna cost you in other ways. Alright, this is from Eric NW. What do you guys make of Leo Chu's regression this season? He has only played about half the minutes he had at this point last year, and he has relatively little goal involvement. Is he still struggling with the early season injury? Is he just overtaken by Rothrock and RBW in the depth chart?
00:55:01
Speaker
I think it's a little of both of those things. I think that Rothrock coming in and taking advantage of his minutes means Leo Chu's just not going to get as many opportunities. And I think Reid Baker-Whiting doing the same and also being younger and being more of a prospect and being homegrown is going to put him above the pecking order, all other things being equal. I think that the injury is probably part of it. I think that
00:55:25
Speaker
The timing of the injury was rough for him because as he was working back into fitness, Rothrock was looking more and more like a guy who maybe was not just a fluke and getting lucky, but actually somebody doing things repeatedly. And that was certainly part of it. But I think also it's just, he hasn't progressed. And I think when you are a player who
00:55:48
Speaker
has a limited bag of tricks. He's really, really good at things he's good at. And he's still a useful MLS player to some degree. But if you don't add new wrinkles to your game, you're going to get figured out. And he's not good enough at the stuff that he does that he is good at to
00:56:10
Speaker
To get around that, like if teams know how to defend him, he's not going to beat them often enough for all of the shortcomings in this game to be worth it. It's just, it's one of those things. I think if, if Leo Chu was a starter on, you know, another MLS team that.
00:56:25
Speaker
didn't really feel the need to improve on him or whatever, he would be a perfectly serviceable player. But I just think that the, the combination of his lack of progression, the injury, and then other guys stepping up big time. And also some of the things he's bad at being things that Brian Spencer has a tough time tolerating guys not being good at, or at least, you know, being a little more interested in doing, I guess I would say is the, all of those are major factors. Yeah.
00:56:57
Speaker
All right, this one's from Sparky. Can you describe how Sounders practices run? Who leads the drills for field players and goalkeepers off on their own for half practice? Who talks to the field players at practice, including during the run of play? Is Brian in the midst of other coaches or elsewhere just trying to envision the daily regimen? Thanks. You're welcome, Sparky.
00:57:15
Speaker
So Brian mostly is sort of off to the side, usually by himself, maybe talking to another coach, maybe talking to an individual player. But the trainings are mostly run by a combination of Freddy Juarez, and preppy, they do most of the in like,
00:57:37
Speaker
in on the field directions, they're letting players know what they want them to do. Andy rose sort of takes over on set pieces. He's the guy who draws up most of those plays. He has a lot of influence over the set set pieces. And yeah, the goalkeepers are sort of oftentimes off to their off to the side on their own, unless they're doing
00:58:00
Speaker
you know, short sighted games or whatever and they do they do play a fair enough, almost every training includes some gameplay whether that's short sighted or full 11 v 11.
00:58:15
Speaker
There's almost always play with, you know, where they're actually playing a game of some sort, which I feel like the sounders practices are pretty well designed. I'm not a, I don't have a coaching license. I can't really critique that, but it does seem like they do a good job of changing things up of including different aspects of things every week. They definitely focus on different things at different times.
00:58:41
Speaker
But yeah, generally speaking, it's it's mostly Freddie Juarez and Precky to a lesser degree, who are doing most of the active coaching during training. It's and I will say that if you have a chance to go out there, it's I think it's pretty interesting. And there are they do a pretty good job of bringing fans out. I don't know exactly how to do it. But if you reach out to a ticket rep, they'll probably be able to tell you
00:59:10
Speaker
Uh, how to, how to go and they have good vantage. Like the, the fans get a pretty good vantage point. So, uh, yeah, if you can get out there, I would, I would encourage it.
00:59:24
Speaker
All right, this is from Square. This is our last question. What's the Sounders version of the Reigns, Bulsar, Jalen Howell trade? Who are we trading away and who are you getting? And I will, in case you don't know, the Reign this week traded fan favorite and leading scorer, Bennetheen Bulsar to Louisville for Jalen Howell, who is apparently like kind of like an Ozzie Alonzo-esque number six.
00:59:53
Speaker
very impressive numbers. I understand Bolster is clearly a fan favorite, but this on paper, this trade seemed like it was a pretty slick move by the rain. But yeah, I don't know. You have any ideas of what kind of that trade might look like? So I love this question. I've been thinking about it since I saw it yesterday.
01:00:13
Speaker
I think I have a Jalen Howell analog that I think makes sense both from the perspective of the kind of player he is and the kind of player the Sounders would maybe be targeting in a duo like this. And that would be Daniel Edelman from Red Bulls. I don't think he's quite as much of a finished product as Jalen Howell is. I think he's a little bit more of a
01:00:34
Speaker
you know, a rotational guy or maybe just not a key player because because Jalen Hal was like their their captain, right? Yeah, he was. So there's really not like a great analog, but he's younger, defensive midfielder, very tenacious kind of player. But I can't really think of who the Sounders analog would be. And I've been trying to think about it. I don't think it's Jordan Morris. I think Jordan is just maybe be like a Paul Rothrock.
01:01:02
Speaker
Maybe, but I feel I feel like that's maybe not like that does a disservice to to balsa. Yeah, it's a balsa because she has a longer history here and I think it's been at a higher level. Maybe a Christian role, Dawn. That was the other one I was thinking, but I feel like maybe that does a disservice to Christian. I don't know. I thought potentially obviously very different players, but just in terms of.
01:01:32
Speaker
value and importance to the fanbase, like new who potentially. Yeah.
01:01:38
Speaker
That could be I don't know. This is I would say this is more of a the one I'm thinking of is not necessarily a like like for player but a comparably blockbuster type of trade. Yeah, maybe like a Jackson Reagan for a Duncan McGuire kind of situation. Jackson Reagan is a fringy national team player. Local kid.
01:02:06
Speaker
I think he's pretty popular among the fan base. Duncan McGuire. Clearly very productive.
Hypothetical Trades & Anniversary Celebrations
01:02:13
Speaker
He just signed a pretty big extension, but it would should have would have definitely shook things up. Now, here's here's one for you to think about what if you flip it and it's the Sounders trading the younger player for the maybe more proven player. And I think it's all bad is the guy leaving, right? Okay.
01:02:37
Speaker
Who are you getting back? I think that's the interesting one because the sounders just don't really have a great Bethany Belser out. And I don't think. And Obed, but I feel like Christian might be the better analog for the outgoing there. Do you think so? Because this is Jalen Howell, like fairly young. She is. She's 24. She's she's OK. Yeah. Then I guess it would be Reagan in that case.
01:03:04
Speaker
Yeah, I'm not that the ages they're pretty are pretty spot on. Let's say okay, but if they were to get a trade a bit, I think the other thing that's challenging with it putting in Obed is this is a player who I think the sounders realistically think could be could be a $10 million outward transfer. Like Jalen how is not a, you know, she's a she's probably an NWSL lifer in part because the dynamics of women's soccer just different where sure,
01:03:33
Speaker
I was thinking she was younger than 24. So that. I think I'm pretty sure she's 24. Yeah. But she is like a fringe national team player. Yeah. I feel like Christian is a pretty would be an interesting analog. But let's say if you were to trade Christian, what are you looking to get back if you trade Christian? And this would be a painful move, I think, for it would. I mean, Christian is probably the Bethany Bolster analog, I think. He's probably the closest fit. OK, but what are the sounders getting back if they were to trade Christian rolled on?
01:04:03
Speaker
I would like to think that you could get, I mean, realistically, I think you're getting a lot of allocation money. Like maybe a Lewis Morgan, maybe? Maybe, yeah. I think it's going to have to be somebody who is a need, who is an established starter, who is not quite as good as Christian.
01:04:27
Speaker
Right? So like probably a winger, probably a right winger, maybe a guy that you feel like can be like a rotational attacker that it projects as a starter plus allocation.
01:04:43
Speaker
Right. Because I think Christian, I think Christian's trade value in MLS is probably higher than sounder's fans think it is at this point. Like I think a lot of sounder's fans are probably a little down on. I'm telling you this is looking pretty good. Yeah. Yeah. I'm looking at it. He's got he's on he's coming back from injury. He. 12 goals to assist this year.
01:05:12
Speaker
He's 27 years old. So I would not I would not want to trade Christian for a 27 year old. I don't think I mean, I. I don't think that that's a bad move necessarily, like it's not like he's 40, you know, and he scores a lot of goals and he's a.
01:05:32
Speaker
But I don't know. I would rather try to get some less proven quality more upside in a deal like that. Because I think if you're training a player like that, it needs to be potentially transformative. Now, if it's Lewis Morgan and a huge fat stack of allocation money, that certainly changes things. Because there's no easier way to set yourself up for future success than having a ton of allocation money.
01:06:01
Speaker
Yeah, well, that's a good that's a good note, I think, to end this episode, this mailbag episode on. I will say that I wanted to say thank you to all our subscribers. Like I alluded, like I said earlier in the show, this is we're in the midst of our one year anniversary of independence. So far, the renewal drive seems to be going very well.
01:06:24
Speaker
somewhere in the high 90% renewal rate, I think. I'm trying to get better data on that, but I think that's about right. So we're tracking around where I hoped we would be. I'm certainly not freaking out or anything. So this is good. We're gonna have some more content around the anniversary coming up.
01:06:50
Speaker
But I just, again, I wanna say thank you to everyone who's made this possible. It's far exceeded what I thought we were gonna be able to do. Aaron, it's been fun doing this with you. Looking forward to doing this for a lot longer. Thank you to our sponsor, Full Pool Wines. They have been another huge part of being able to make this all work. But with all that said, I'm gonna sign off. I'm Jeremiah Shan.
01:07:19
Speaker
Signing off for Aaron and Lickit, this is No Study Yet. Remember, you'll never be alone.
01:08:22
Speaker
We love you. Let's win another one!