Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
Under the Lights: How will the Sounders line it up in Atlanta? (feat. Scarves and Spikes)
0 Plays2 seconds ago
Ahead of Seattle's Matchday 27 clash at Atlanta United, we'll break out the lineup builder and project the XI for Saturday's match at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, then talk with Sydney Hunte of Scarves and Spikes about Atlanta United's 2025 season. We'll also react to some Brian Schmetzer sound and talk injury updates to João Paulo and Paul Rothrock. Subscribe to Scarves and Spikes: https://www.youtube.com/@UCv2teaq_pDZUzTzhPNSId5Q https://scarvesandspikes.com/
SPONSORS
Haxan Ferments - Specializing in unique, small-batch fermented hot sauces and vinegars, Haxan Ferments is handcrafted in Georgetown and made with the best local ingredients from across the Pacific Northwest. Use Code LS for a FREE Hot Sauce w/ purchase!
Sounder at Heart - Our network host and biggest supporter, Sounder at Heart covers the Seattle Sounders, Seattle Reign, and MUCH MORE! Subscribe and Support to the BEST independent Seattle Soccer coverage.
Podium Edmonds - Located at 114 4th Ave N, just off Main Street in the heart of Downtown Edmonds, come shop and explore the best menswear in the Pacific Northwest. Tell them Lobbing Scorchers sent you!
Full Pull Wines - Founded in 2009, they the best boutique wines of the world to members, with special focus on our home, the Pacific Northwest.
My Data Removal - Data brokers are selling your personal information! Fight back with My Data Removal. Hunt down and scrub your sensitive information from the internet. Use code "LS" for $10 off your annual plan.
Seattle Sounders Tickets - Get tickets to an upcoming match straight from the club and help support the show at the same time.
MLS Season Pass - MLS Season Pass is back on Apple TV with access to every single MLS match—including Leagues Cup and the entire Audi MLS Cup Playoffs—with no blackouts! Subscribe today to support the show.
MLS Store - New year, new gear! The 2025 MLS jerseys are here, and MLSStore is the ultimate destination for every fan. Every purchase helps support our show!
Follow Lobbing Scorchers:
Lobbing Scorchers is a production of Just Once Media.
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.
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction and Theme Setting
00:00:00
Speaker
This episode of Lobbing Scorchers was previously recorded and streamed live on YouTube.com slash at Lobbing Scorchers. If you want to listen or catch these episodes live, see the video, and see all the rest of our content, go to YouTube.com slash at Lobbing Scorchers or LobbingScorchers.com slash YouTube.
00:00:22
Speaker
Well sir, we got a scorcher today. Gonna be a real scorcher today. Why the scorcher today? Well it's gonna be scorcher.
00:00:44
Speaker
Good evening,
Guest Introduction and Main Discussion Setup
00:00:45
Speaker
everybody. Welcome in into another episode of Lobbing Scorchers Under the Lights. Got a good show for you all lined up here tonight. ah We're going to have Sydney from Scarves and Spikes, an Atlanta United podcast on in just a little bit to talk some Atlanta United, who the Seattle Sounders are playing on Saturday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
00:01:11
Speaker
ah Got some injury news ah and just other topics to discuss surrounding the Seattle Sounders and Major League Soccer.
00:01:22
Speaker
ah So, yeah, it's going to be a good one. Hope you're all doing well out there and ready for this last match league match that the Seattle Sounders play before League's Cup.
00:01:37
Speaker
So yeah, my plan is at the top of the show here, play some Brian Schmetzer sound while we wait for people to trickle in. And then bust out the lineup builder can go through it and see how we expect Seattle to line it up on Saturday.
00:01:55
Speaker
I think it's relatively straightforward, but with some of the injury news that we got today. Still think it's worth busting around and seeing how we think Seattle's going to line it up. And then aside from that, I was planning on letting you guys steer the ship a little bit. If you've got topics, questions, observations, agendas, grievances, go ahead, drop them in chat, and I'll get to as many of those as I can to close it out.
00:02:31
Speaker
um
00:02:33
Speaker
Lobbingscorchers.com slash LS. The road to 100 standard hard subs for us has slowed down a little bit. So if you want to support the show, that's a great way.
00:02:45
Speaker
If you haven't done so yet, please subscribe to the channel. Lobbingscorchers.com slash sauce. If have the hot sauce, lobbingscorchers.com slash archive. If you're getting your archive kits, use that link.
00:03:02
Speaker
And that's another Great way to to help support the show. we we Noah and I dropped a podcast earlier today where we got his takes on the... We got we had a little we had a good little debate on the Pedro de la Vega breakout and his takes on that in general and more stuff on the Quakes game. So go check that on the audio platforms. Video's not up quite yet. Should be up tomorrow.
00:03:31
Speaker
But... The audio is all out there. So go ahead and check that out as well. Bad sequels bought a Jersey and got some hot sauce with your links. Do I win something now?
00:03:46
Speaker
ah You win being ah great supporter of the show. Thank you for that, man. You're I mean, bad sequels is a longtime supporter. ah We appreciate that a lot.
00:03:57
Speaker
Uh, and hopefully you enjoy the hot sauce. I think it's, we've been getting good, uh, good feedback on the hot sauce as far as what people think of the taste.
00:04:10
Speaker
So hopefully it's a good addition to your, uh, to your rotation and, congrats on the Jersey as well. those i so I still think, even now that they've been out for like a couple weeks, these archive kits, not just Seattle's. like these This is my favorite kit line that and MLS clubs have released in a while.
00:04:33
Speaker
All just so good. But Seattle's are just money.
Injuries and Team Updates
00:04:37
Speaker
uh de la vega roth rocker kent that's what we're going to talk about in just a few minutes uh our atlanta united guest sydney from scarves and spikes he's gonna join around eight o'clock in that vicinity so we got some time to kill before we uh before we talk some atlanta united so if you guys uh if you guys have got stuff that you want to talk about, like Joe there, just go ahead, drop it in and, uh, we'll talk about it. We're pretty much just, uh, we're pretty much just hanging out until, uh, until Sydney jumps on here.
00:05:14
Speaker
And I'm looking forward to, uh, talking in some Atlanta United. I think it's, uh, Common knowledge that I follow Atlanta United quite closely at this point, but it's always good to get the perspective of someone who's actually, you know, on the ground covering the team day in day out.
00:05:34
Speaker
Uh, but yeah, Joe, as, uh, As Jake points out in the chat here, it did come out today that Paul Rothrock broke his hand at training and got surgery this morning, which sounded really bad when I heard it. I was like, oh, I mean, usually just when I hear surgery, I'm like, that's probably at least a multi-week thing. But apparently it's a relatively minor situation.
00:05:59
Speaker
And Schmetz said that he expects him to miss this game at Atlanta. But then past that, it's just pain tolerance, and he can theoretically just play with the cast.
00:06:11
Speaker
So that is good news, all things considered. And ah also JP injury news, we talked about it on the on the podcast, but that is great news to hear.
00:06:24
Speaker
His ACL is actually not torn. I don't know if I've ever seen an ACL get retroactively diagnosed ACL. untorn but it's great it's great he's going to be back this season i'm not exactly sure what the new timeline is i imagine it's still like you know at least a month or so with meniscus damage and the surgery that they did to clean that up but that's just uh it's great for seattle depth chart but it's all it would have been it wouldn't have sat right if that's how jp went out you know given everything he's given to the club and
00:07:03
Speaker
his role in bringing this team, CONCACAF champions league and just ah like what a good sounder he's been, you know? So ah great to hear that. It sounds like he's going to be coming back this season and can shore up that area of the depth chart. I mean, how much have we been talking about how kind of dicey it's getting behind the first choice double pivot and just sort of how they don't have that, ah that skillset that like for like Christian skillset without JP. Yeah.
00:07:34
Speaker
They're still going to have to operate without that in the ah in the short term, but still good news to to at least be getting him back. Reese is saying six six weeks for JP, six weeks for of minimal movement for Jordan, then recovery, then back on the pitch. Yeah, Jordan, I'm thinking of ah the timeline's more of like an eight-week situation, which really sucks, but he should theoretically be back, like,
00:08:03
Speaker
end of September maybe is how I was thinking of it. Um, all right. We got actually Sydney on early. So, uh, that means that we can jump right into
Guest Sydney Hunt's Insights on MLS
00:08:16
Speaker
it. We'll do, uh, we'll do lineup builder. Maybe the Schmetz sound, uh,
00:08:20
Speaker
After we talk some Atlanta United, Sydney, if you can hear me, go ahead and give me the thumbs up and I can ah bring you on the stage. All right. He's got me excited to welcome in tonight's guest.
00:08:32
Speaker
Sydney from Scarves and Spikes and Atlanta United YouTube show and podcast that ah I listen to and and watch. So excited to have you on there. Sydney, real quick before where we do the intros.
00:08:44
Speaker
Is it Hunt or is the E pronounced on the last name? I didn't know. A silent knee. A silent knee. All right. Sydney Hunt. Sydney Hunt from ah Scarves and Spikes. Also one of the Match Night writers that I work with on the MLS Soccer editorial desk.
00:09:00
Speaker
So worked worked with you a lot, but we've never actually gotten to chop it up about... ah about MLS and Atlanta United. And, you know, know with ah Seattle and Atlanta playing this weekend, what better time than the present? ah But, Sidney, thank you so much for for joining us, sharing your Atlanta United knowledge with our audience. How are you doing this evening?
00:09:23
Speaker
Doing well, doing well. Thanks for having me. You mentioned the MLSSoccer.com match night desk there. So I've been behind the yeah had the virtual desk for so many of...
00:09:37
Speaker
busted up recaps with late goals and stoppage time and all of that. So yeah I'm sure you remember most of those days. So yeah, good to be talking to you about Atlanta United and we'll see what happens on Saturday when these two teams meet.
00:09:51
Speaker
Yeah, ah excited to get into that in just a minute here. Before we do that, I do like to give our guests an opportunity to plug the work that they're doing. So if you want to tell our audience about, you know, where you can find Scarves and Spikes, the type of stuff you guys do covering the club and just anything at all about where to find you and the work that you do.
00:10:11
Speaker
No, absolutely. So, um yeah, we are at scarvesandspikes.com. That's like our front porch to everything we do, written, ah podcast, audio, visual, all that good stuff. um So we're live pretty much, and not most nights, but we're live multiple times a week before match days, ah the day after matches and all that.
00:10:31
Speaker
So go to scarvesandspikes on YouTube. Subscribe there. Like, subscribe. ah to get all the Atlanta United coverage that you can ask for. and then I'm at shrice.bsky.social on Blue Sky. And then sit h.soccer on Instagram and threads.
00:10:51
Speaker
And we collectively are Scarves, the letter N, Spikes on X, and Scarves at Spikes.com on Blue Sky. So that's my plug for everything that that we do. It's been a tough season for Atlanta United, but...
00:11:03
Speaker
Yeah, we're still here. now I mean, you guys do great work. You're one of my... i'm i'm like i'm I consider myself like honorary Atlanta United beat because... Well, it started just with all the Seattle connections like Gonzo Pineda, then of course, you know, Ozzy Alonzo, then to ah Chris Henderson and Garth Lagerwey.
00:11:21
Speaker
So I think I was always going to be interested and in how things went for Atlanta United in that era where there were all these Seattle connections. I'm not going to, I'm not going to lie.
00:11:33
Speaker
Like there is a little bit, an element of like ah when a, when a team goes in with ah into a season with really high expectations and spends a ton of money and then ah doesn't live up to
Atlanta United's Struggles and Rebuilding Plans
00:11:46
Speaker
that.
00:11:46
Speaker
There is something that's compelling about that. I think for anyone from the ah from the outside so that is part of why i follow it so closely but no i mean i i listen to your guys's stuff uh i'm a five-striped final subscriber i'm basically i'm basically honorary and that's it how i that's how i think of it but i'm happy man yeah i mean that's a good place to To start, because what I like to do to to get the ball rolling on these interviews with our guests is kind of give my perspective on the club as a neutral outside observer. And then you can tell me if how I perceive it is accurate from the outside to how you see it on the on the day to day covering the team.
00:12:27
Speaker
And, you know, there are varying degrees of difficulty on this. ah Like when I was talking to Jesus Acevedo, our Houston Dynamo guest, so situations like that, I know a little bit less.
00:12:38
Speaker
This one's pretty easy for me because I do. I have followed Atlanta so closely this season, but I'll hit you with it ah anyway. And then we can go from there. ah But basically, the i my perception of Atlanta United this season, like I said, it's a club that spent $30 million dollars in attack this offseason between Emmanuel Latte Loth and Miguel Amirone.
00:13:02
Speaker
what Latte Loth broke the and MLS transfer record. Miguel Almiron was a very celebrated homecoming, obviously such a legendary player for the club, brought so much success to the club early in their MLS days.
00:13:15
Speaker
And that sort of, that combined with the fact that it kind of felt like this was the first year of really being fully removed from the Boca Negra area. And that had me, I was, I was fully bought into the hype.
00:13:29
Speaker
I called Al Miron the best move any MLS club made all off season. Cause it felt so high percentage and it felt like there's no way that that can't pay off. Latte lot. Is he worth 22 million? I don't know, but he still seemed like a really good, really dynamic player who was,
00:13:43
Speaker
pretty likely to thrive in MLS. Maybe I didn't give enough thought to the defensive side of it and that Stan Gregerson can't stay on the field and stuff like that. But I was fully in on Atlanta United, like this being the resurgence year. I was pretty sure that it was going to happen. And I think it's, I think it's fair to say that the season has gone off the rails. Yeah.
00:14:05
Speaker
ah And on like you basement yeah it's gone off the rails. And i came a I guess what I'm more interested to hear your take on is I'll give my diagnosis of what's gone wrong. And then you you can tell me what your diagnosis is. But what I see is a team that, first of all, but I think the Gregerson thing is probably more, has had more of an impact than people realize or talk about.
00:14:31
Speaker
Because he has, he looks like a really good player when he plays, but he hasn't played hardly at all. And that's kind of negatively impacted the backline continuity and the defense just hasn't really been able to get on the, uh,
00:14:47
Speaker
on the same page and then in attack you have a situation where it's it's just underperforming dps marin chuck has not really succeeded in mls the almiron homecoming has not gone to plan and all all of this that i just mentioned is that a ripple effect on latte loth who is clearly talented and is clearly a very good player, but is just kind of struggling to live up to that price tag in large part, I think due to the struggles of the, ah of the rest of the team yeah is all that accurate or would you add or remove anything from that assessment? No, no, you, you hit it right on that the nail right in the head. And, you know, like like you, know, it's going into the season, like, Oh my gosh,
00:15:32
Speaker
new coach Ronnie Dyla, who had won MLS Cup with NYCFC, new attacker Latte Lott, Miguel Amirona's back. um You have so many pieces in place where at Lady United, it many people that would be an MLS Cup team at the very worst make MLS Cup. Now we all know yeah that's not going to happen at this point, but it's just it's just frustrating to see this team not turning up year in and year out, lack of service for a Latte Lot. When he does get service, it's just an inability to finish like a 22 million striker should.
00:16:08
Speaker
Then you're looking at Kevin Denkay in Cincinnati, you're like wishing, gee, he might have looked good in Lenny United color. So just kind of thinking about that too. Alexey Mirrenchuk, you mentioned it, just has vastly underperformed. And um yeah the discussion about him was that he was going to be the next star number 10 for Atlanta United with respect to what Miguel Amarone has done at that number 10 spot in 2017 and 2018 with Joseph Martinez up top.
00:16:37
Speaker
So far, nothing close to what fans certainly expected, what the front office as well expected out of him. know, just... He has flashes of greatness, flashes of what he can do in Atlanta United Uniform, but he just has not been able to put it together consistently, which is the most frustrating part about what he has been able to not offer a really for Atlanta United. Wing play, you know, Sabalovic had a terrific season last year.
00:17:10
Speaker
think he's on zero goals this season. He's dropped off tremendously. They've tried Almiron on the wing and he hasn't had the impact that, has been expected of him over there. Of course, he played when we got Newcastle, but the question is, why is he not playing number 10? Why is he not playing at the position that he was so adept at in 2017 and 2018? So that's been the question that we've been asking ourselves.
00:17:37
Speaker
ah You mentioned the defense. Yes, Stan Gregerson is on a contract with $900,000 this year, thousand dollars this year but like you said, hasn't seen the field. So of the things we're kicking around is, you know, is it worth a lady not just buying him out and just looking for another option at center back? They, of course, have any of Mihai coming in um Should be available for selection on Saturday, but as far as Deion Gregerson is concerned,
00:18:02
Speaker
What do you do with him? Derek Williams, his form has dipped tremendously in 2025. You have Lisa Brom, who's on a very high contract as well.
00:18:14
Speaker
He's been okay, but not performed to the contract that Atlanta United have. but paid him. um he His contract is up at the end of the year. Outside backs, Pedro Amador has dropped off from last year. He came on um fire last season, a big part of what they did at the end of last year.
00:18:33
Speaker
Brooks Lennon, another player whose form has dropped off. We're mentioning perhaps, perhaps French U.S. Miss national team player um a couple of years ago when he had his best season.
00:18:45
Speaker
He's been anything but that in 2025, both defensively and then the attack. um And, you know, I could sit here talk all night about what what's gone wrong with this team. But let's just have the highlights.
00:18:57
Speaker
um Midfield has not been consistent as it needs to be. Bartosz Leach has had tremendous success over the past few weeks, but. Tristan William Bond, not so much. He's very up and down.
00:19:09
Speaker
Jay Fortune has been tremendous. He's injured for the rest of the year. Latarius Kleeck just got waived. So... You're seeing little by little of groundwork being laid for 2026. I mentioned Mihai.
00:19:21
Speaker
um You have potentially center back coming in loans from Ketafe. And then you have perhaps another midfielder coming Azate from Hull City.
00:19:31
Speaker
um And that's pretty much in the works, as Tom Bogart is saying. So pretty much 2025 is in the books. There's no chance of playoffs. Now it's time to look forward to 2026 for your Atlanta United fan, I think.
00:19:46
Speaker
TR says Nico was on Fox saying that Atlanta United is interested in Pedro de la Vega, I'm assuming, which I hadn't heard that rumor. That's kind of spicy. TR's dropping bombs in chat.
00:19:59
Speaker
i and edges i guess I guess Nico, my co-host for Lobbing Scorchers Kickoff, technically was the one who who did that. What's up, Mark? thanks for Thanks for popping in, man.
00:20:11
Speaker
ah Sydney, I got to get your take next on the Ronnie Dyla situation because, well, first of all, to me, it's like reflective of a lot of the of ah similar situations that have happened with Atlanta United, where if you just look at it on paper,
00:20:26
Speaker
and the theoretical odds of it working out, it makes sense at the time in the moment. I think Ronnie Dyla is a hire that falls in that category. And a lot of the players that they've signed, I ah like i always think at the time, I'm like, oh, okay, I see why they did that. or this guy clearly has pedigree. He seems decently likely that he'll be effective MLS player. And then for whatever reason, ah most times it seems it hasn't worked out. And Ronnie Dyla, again,
00:20:55
Speaker
like when ah When he was first hired, you know, and NYCFC MLS Cup winning head coach has like a proven track record in MLS, which is something that a lot of clubs look for when they're evaluating who to hire as a coach.
00:21:09
Speaker
And I'm curious how much of what's gone on with Atlanta this season you attribute to to him because... ah From what I've heard, like internally in the front office brass, they've at least been saying that it's it's not really to do with him. He's brand new. It's not really his team.
00:21:28
Speaker
But I think even with that taken into account, you could you could very credibly argue that he should have this team at higher than 0.87%. points per game, even with the, like, I think what you were talking about with, uh, Almy Rhone on the wing to me, that's, that's very clearly because they feel like they need Marin Chuck centrally.
00:21:48
Speaker
Right. And you can't, and you can't really play them, uh, You can't really play them together in that role without them, like, kind of getting in each other's way and stuff. yep So, like, and you and you also can't, realistically, the best lineup would probably be Almiron at the 10 and Aaron Chuck, like, not even in the 11, right? what ah Yeah. Yeah.
00:22:14
Speaker
done anything differently first of all and then second of all is he on the hot seat because i know they're saying that he's not but like also you're at below one point per game for an extended period of time in this league you're going to be on the hot seat one way or the other so how do you how do you size up that situation Yeah. So based on what Chris Henderson said today in training, it sounds like Dyla is the head coach, at least for the first part of 2026. Yeah,
00:22:41
Speaker
yeah and this season hasn't gone according to anybody's plan. And I don't think Ronnie Dyla's hands are completely clean in that regard. i mean, you mentioned Mirachuk, know.
00:22:53
Speaker
Did D make the tough choices? And like you said, you know, just bench Marichuk because unfortunately the attack hasn't been up to par with him on the pitch. Also, maybe a couple of matches.
00:23:04
Speaker
Again, it goes back to... yeah we've seen what Miguel Albarone can do at the number 10. Why is he still playing out wide? Yes, I know he played there Newcastle, but as a manager, you have to put your players in the position to succeed, right?
00:23:17
Speaker
And earlier in the season when he was asked about it, he he didn't know that Albarone played at the 10 Atlanta United back in their glory years of 2017 and 2018. So,
00:23:28
Speaker
and twenty eighteen so um He got into a little bit of a contentious exchange with Henry Aguita. But, yeah, that things like that are are the biggest thing that has soured him among the Atlanta United families. Now, any coach not named Tata Martino or, heck, even Rob Valentino is going be looked at as you know looked at um with a sideways glance, right? I feel like Rob Valentino bought a lot of goodwill based on what Lane United did in the playoffs.
00:24:04
Speaker
That being said, I don't blame the front office for saying, hey, we want to bring in a proven head coach, someone who's won MLS Cup, someone who has had a track record of winning. So I don't blame them for bringing in Ronnie Dyla over giving um Valentino, the permanent job, sort of similar to what you the Sounders did with Schmetzer when Ziggy Schmetz was let go back in 2016, I believe that was.
00:24:27
Speaker
yeah similar but but yeah um I feel like some fans were thinking, hey, it's going to happen the same way and yeah Rob Valentine is going lead this club to greater heights. Of course, they bring in Dyla.
00:24:39
Speaker
Starts out okay, but then just kind of dive bombs from there. But yeah kind of the that's a long way of saying, again, he is coming back for 2026 based on what Chris Henderson has said.
00:24:52
Speaker
But when I look at so many players out of contract, so many players... um option years for 2026. I'm expecting a fully remade roster going into the 2026 season with Dyla's fingerprints all over it. I mentioned El Zate. He played for Dyla at Standard Leach, and that deal's not final, but it sounds like, again, it's in the works.
00:25:15
Speaker
So that's a player that he's familiar with. I imagine other players that he's familiar with will be in the mix to come in perhaps in the winter transfer window. So I think the directive is if you don't perform with the players that you have not hand selected, but you have had a hand and bringing into this team, let's say the first 10 or 15 matches of 2026, you're still not performing the way you're supposed to perform.
00:25:40
Speaker
think the front office has no, we'll have no issue with letting them go and turn the page and bring in another manager. That makes sense, and i think you're right. like They're going to give him this season and the beginning of next season and then assess it from there. It's ah it's a tough situation because ah you could argue the results merit moving on from him right now, but then that throws you into even greater flux, and you're back to square one with ah having to bring a new coach in and having to reestablish all this like continuity and them knowing the team and roster. and imparting their own identity and tactics.
00:26:16
Speaker
And it just it just set it sets you back. ah But all i'll ah I'll give you my take on the ah Rob Valentino thing, which, I mean, you mentioned that. but So you're saying that there's a contingent of Atlanta United fans out there that are like, it should have been Rob Valentino.
00:26:34
Speaker
i' mean Very vocal. I'm in that contingent. I stand with that. I'm in that contingent, and I'll tell you why. And it's because, in part of what you mentioned, about the the success that I saw firsthand that the Sounders had with ah brian schmetzer Brian Schmetzer in that exact situation, taking over as the inter interim head coach.
00:26:54
Speaker
I mean, he ended up winning MLS Cup that year, which was... pretty insane uh rob valentino took down messy in the playoffs famously so uh he had little he didn't have as much success as schmetz did but uh my my thing is that uh like you can have proven track record you can have name value you can have pedigree But like when you're talking about a guy like Brian Schmetzer, you're talking about a guy who literally not one person on earth cares more specifically about the Seattle Sounders winning yeah than Brian Schmetzer.
00:27:28
Speaker
And that manifests in how he approaches the job Like every decision he makes is like, he puts so much weight on it himself because of how much he has invested in it.
00:27:41
Speaker
And I think that is a big asset. I've seen how that, how big an asset that can be for ah coach. And when I looked at Rob Valentino, I, I saw a guy that would like sweat and bled for Atlanta
Coaching Decisions and Future Prospects
00:27:54
Speaker
United. Like he cared a lot about that club and that doesn't, that doesn't mean everything,
00:28:00
Speaker
but it does i think it ah I think vibes matter in these situations. Players respond to a guy that they know is invested in their success and by proxy the club's success. and I think you you saw like the effect that can have in what Atlanta United did in the playoffs last year.
00:28:19
Speaker
I know like no one expected them to actually make a run even after they beat Inter-Miami, but that was still a ah pretty impressive accomplishment. and I think they could have fully justified being like, let's he's he's earned a shot.
00:28:33
Speaker
Let's give him a shot and then see if they can kind of ah capture that that magic, similar to to how Seattle did. And i I'll say I feel the same way about the situation that Sporting Kansas City is in right now where they just moved on from Peter Vermees and they've got it's like a longtime assistant the exact same way that Schmetz was but he's like sporting Casey through and through and they're not going to give him the job they're going to and he's got them playing a lot better by the way too but they're not going to give him the job they're going to look around for like a more proven bigger name higher pedigree Coach, I just kind of think that in these situations that the right play might actually be giving just giving the interim guy a shot. And if it doesn't work out, it doesn't work out.
00:29:16
Speaker
But ah I think I genuinely think that there might be something to that. I don't I honestly I don't know if there actually is. But ah when I look at how it's worked out with Ronnie Dilo, where he's coming in from the the outside, maybe he doesn't maybe have that like that organic investment that Rob, you know, had, I don't know.
00:29:36
Speaker
Do you think there's anything to what I'm saying at all? Are you pretty on the, on the, it is a great point. It is a great point. And, you know going back to Schmetzer, you know, this, he, he been part of the Seattle soccer community for years before the Sounders MLS days. So I think in that regard, lining him up,
00:29:54
Speaker
against Valentino is a bit of an apples and oranges scenario. But that being said, that being said, I definitely agree with you. And that that buy-in among the later United players certainly looked like it was a lot greater than even when Pineda was coaching the team.
00:30:11
Speaker
Because I feel like with Pineda, great guy, as I'm sure you can attest, having covered him in Seattle for so many years, great guy, players coached through and through. But i think at the end of the day, he's just lost the locker room. and I think,
00:30:24
Speaker
you know To his detriment, he was maybe a little too nice, I guess, to really get this team to the high set it needs to be. So I think his position within Lennie United just became untenable last year. So Valentino, he had been in the building. He had previously been um interim head coach after Gabriel Hange was fired.
00:30:46
Speaker
um was 2021. mean, was after COVID. mean, everything runs together back then. But um yeah, he kind of was the bridge between Heinze and when Atlanta brought in Pineda from Seattle.
00:30:59
Speaker
And he did an okay job. You know, fast forward to 2024, and he did an okay job enough to get into the playoffs. I mean, there a um there a they are a call away from missing the playoffs altogether 2024. mean, McGuire scores.
00:31:19
Speaker
ah Fort Orlando, it's really rule i roll no goal and Atlanta wins again to the playoffs and the rest is history. So maybe there's a universe where that doesn't happen. They missed the playoffs and it's a whole other discussion. But I feel like if you base Valentino success on just what Atlanta United did against Miami.
00:31:40
Speaker
It's okay, but it's that sustainable throughout 34 games of the regular season. To that point, I definitely don't blame Garth Lagerwey for saying, hey, we need...
00:31:52
Speaker
experience in here we need a coach that won emily's cup a coach that has knows the league has been around the league as a head coach for years and dyla was it i mean they approached jim curtain reportedly curtain turned them down so i feel like that kind of course they wanted and dyla was available well actually no he wasn't available he kind of came available to them at the right time i think the timing turned out and now he's in but again you know 2026, maybe 10 games in or so is going to be really the telltale sign of whether he is exactly the right coach.
00:32:30
Speaker
Because again, he'll have many of the players that he wants in there versus players i have been here under previous coaches. So that's what I'm waiting for. Yeah, i don't I don't know if... ah Well, they were never going to go with Rob Valentino. And honestly, at the time, i fully... i will i was it's not i can't say i sit here and say I was beating that drum at the time. ah Like you said, the Miami...
00:32:57
Speaker
the miami Playoff win was an awesome accomplishment, like individually, but it it didn't really change how the season went but overall, barely squeaking into the playoffs.
00:33:11
Speaker
So I so I get all that. But ah this I this is more just like it's kind of just like a theory I'm working on that. that In these situations, just just trying the inter interim guy is the way to go. I swear, Sporting Kansas City, they're going to overthink it. there This guy is going to have the team playing for the badge, and if they just give him a good roster, they'll probably be successful on the field again, and they'll have a guy who's like, like I said, like sweats and bleeds for the club. but But ah they're going to overthink it. They're going to give it to some guy who comes in from the outside, doesn't really know or care about the club. And it's not going to go as well. So, again, I don't know. I could be totally off base. But it is something that both Atlanta United and Sporting Kansas City season seasons this year have me thinking about.
00:33:56
Speaker
Sydney, you've got a question from a viewer question from chat for you here from Bad Sequels. Wants to know, what's the fan base's thoughts on ah Brad Guzan, goalkeeper? Do they love him? Are they tired of him?
00:34:08
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, it depends on who do you ask, right? If you ask, one part of the fan base is like, he should have been gone yesterday. yes another part of the fan base, you look him as a club legend, as he should have.
00:34:20
Speaker
Yes, he should. He's been this club's longest term captain, has been the captain pretty much ever since. um Michael Parker's retired from Atlanta United. He's been around since it's not day one, but halfway through 2017. He's the only constant on the first team that has been there since the 2017 season.
00:34:42
Speaker
so I think overall, though, there's a sense that you know with him being out of contract, with him being 41 years old um or close to it, I think there's a prevailing notion that this is his last season with Atlanta United. Now, he could say, hey, think I they have have one season in me.
00:35:01
Speaker
i think that I want to give it run with another club in MLS. Who knows? But I think there's, again, a prevailing notion that this is it for Brad Kazan.
00:35:13
Speaker
And again, he's a club legend. He's been with this club for years, been with the U.S. Miss National team, had success overseas in the Premier League as well. So his body of work and his experience speaks for himself, right?
00:35:29
Speaker
Again, he's out the contract, and I don't really see a lean that it bringing him back for another year. Now, if you look at... who they have as far as backup goalkeepers, if we want to have that conversation as well.
00:35:43
Speaker
So Josh Cohen is their backup, but he is dealing with injuries. So right now, Gizan's backup is Jaden Hibbert, super draft pick from a couple of years ago out of UConn. Jamaican ah international.
00:35:56
Speaker
So they're at parallels there with Andre Blake, you Jamaican, went to UConn. So good, good track record based on that. um But Jaden Hibbert, by all accounts, yeah looks like the potential number one keeper for Atlanta United.
00:36:13
Speaker
At this point in time, he got his first MLS start against Toronto FC a few weeks ago after Gizan fractured his cheek. He did pretty good. Yeah, he did. He did it pretty good. I don't think the goals that he allowed can be attributed to him, but he commanded his area well. He looked good. He looked like he belonged.
00:36:32
Speaker
So... in the world where maybe Cohen isn't too good signed to the roster, Pippert is your number two keeper. Whether that means he is number one in 2026 remains to be seen. You know, we've seen young keepers succeed in MLS coming out of, not really the academy, coming out of the draft too.
00:36:54
Speaker
um Chris Brady to some extent, Gaga Solonina, Pippert, I'll throw out even Patrick Schulte, terrific young keeper.
00:37:05
Speaker
So there's definitely... a track record of young keepers succeeding and maybe Hibbert is it. Maybe he does pan out to be one of the top young keepers in MLS.
00:37:17
Speaker
If they give him the job in 2026, my theory is they may bring in a veteran, um maybe just for a year to continue to let him percolate and grow and develop in the system while they lean on veteran.
00:37:34
Speaker
experienced but cheaper goalkeeper. um And there's some names that you can bring. I'm sure there'll be plenty of names on the free agent list that you can bring in if you want. ah So that's my theory of which way they'll go for keeper in 2026.
00:37:48
Speaker
ah But you have plenty of keepers in the Atlanta United 2 and the academy. um One with Atlanta United 2 is Jonathan Ransom. He's being looked at as a future MLS goalkeeper.
Roster Changes and Youth Development
00:38:01
Speaker
So that's something maybe to take a look at in the future. But yeah just tying it back to Guzan, think his career is coming to the close. And it'll be be very surprising if he's back 2026 with Atlanta.
00:38:15
Speaker
Sidney mentioned Chris Henderson earlier, which which is obviously a name we know very well out here in Seattle. One of the key architects of ah all the success the club has had really like I credit him with as much as anyone, ah him and Garth for getting this club to a point where they won Cocky Calf Champions League. A lot of that was, ah you know, there's a lot of credit to go around, but ah Those two guys, in my in my eyes, get the lion's share of it for the roster building that they did here.
00:38:47
Speaker
ah But so you were saying that Chris talked at training with today or yesterday? or Yeah, today today today. Were you there? I was not there. I know Henry was there. yeah on the scar did you see Did you see the interview, though, or listen to the audio?
00:39:02
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, I did. Okay, i'm I'm curious, like, what is his demeanor right now? Like, how is he sort of framing? How did he frame how this season has gone? And like, did he give any ah inklings as to his temperature check with how it's going or what he thinks needs to happen ah in the future for this team to get back to where yeah they want it to be?
00:39:26
Speaker
Yeah, he said, look, in two years, we want to compete for trophies. We want to add trophies to our case. And, you know, that's always been the rallying cry for a lady. United, we're a big club. We want to add trophies. But think with a fresh set of eyes and Chris Anderson, who hasn't been here but six months, I think a lot of people kind of forget that.
00:39:44
Speaker
yeah He's not been here long. He wasn't here for much of the winter transfer window of 2024 slash 25. yeah. twenty five so His experience, you know like you said, speaks for itself, and he strikes me as a person who won't tolerate losing. I mean, that's not to say that Garth Lagerwey will, but Henderson certainly won't. I mean, he's been involved with winning organizations, certainly Seattle with Lagerwey.
00:40:09
Speaker
Miami, to some extent, before yeah and right on the cubs of this Galacticos era that Miami's in right now, he's had some part of that.
00:40:21
Speaker
He's been around winning programs his entire career pretty much. And, you know, I don't think that He is happy by any stretch of the imagination.
00:40:34
Speaker
ah But if anything, it seems like he's been a little more aggressive. I mentioned, Mihai is coming in at center back. El Zate, perhaps an option at midfield. Another center back, perhaps coming in, Amlon from La Liga 2, that is being talked about as well. So the message is it's clear. I'm not happy with the defense.
00:40:55
Speaker
And... That seems to be his priority in this window. Now, I think they have, ah maybe I think, three roster spots open, and that's not counting the two players that I just mentioned who are not signed but have been reported in talks with Atlanta United. So if they bring those two in, they'll have one left, and then...
00:41:19
Speaker
Who knows what they do with the other one. Maybe bring in a winger. It's called that's neith a winger for years on the left-hand side. Sabah's not coming in. You have Luke Brennan on the left. I'm behind him ah the depth chart.
00:41:31
Speaker
He's looked good, but you need somebody above him on the depth chart and continue let him develop. So you need a left winger. I think, you know... For what it's worth, yeah Garth Lagerwey has been 100% non grata in the LA United fan base.
00:41:49
Speaker
Oh, really? I didn't know that. yeah No, really. He has. Yes, amongst some fans. Amongst some fans. Others are willing to give him benefit of the doubt. I think some fans have said, you know what?
00:42:00
Speaker
We're not happy with this the direction of this club under ga Garth Lagerwey, which, little silly, three years in, And you know certainly our thoughts to Garth, you know obviously yeah his diagnosis that trumps every single thing, that trumps soccer. And yeah we just hope that he's able to beat this disease.
00:42:20
Speaker
um you know But you know if you look at Chris Henderson, yeah he I feel like is focused. He is willing to do what it takes to get this team better. There are still some holes that they need to fill.
00:42:33
Speaker
So I think, you know, this part of the window, this window is all about chemistry is what he said. a few weeks ago on the radio, these next two windows are all about chemistry. So this is the forerunner of things to come. I think the big, big window will be the winter. We have so many players out of contract on options for next year. You have some big decisions to make. And I think this front office, you know, won't, I would think won't be afraid to make a tough decisions to get this team better.
00:43:01
Speaker
Oh, I'm expecting a full on like yeah roster blow up and kind of just like a ah whole new team next year, which, you know, it ah there's there is it's unfortunate that it's come to that. But I think there is some excitement in that. Is there not?
00:43:19
Speaker
Yeah. And I'll say this just real quick. You i have a kind of a feeling that garth laaway ah garth felt it will be a little bit easier than it's been so to speak i mean i felt that he thought you knower mirachuk would be a top performer mls he hasn't saba libjinia um Tristan Mouyambabe came in, were terrific to start their late United careers, have dipped in form.
00:43:49
Speaker
Pedro Amador had a great last season um after he came in as a free transfer. Has been, you know, has ah had the same impact in 2025. So I think he came in saying, you know what?
00:44:02
Speaker
I brought in these players. We're going top four. We're going to much better team. And it kind of hasn't panned out. So I don't want to use the word naivete for a, person like Garth has been around MLS for years and has forgotten and more about soccer than I'll ever know in my entire lifetime.
00:44:20
Speaker
But I think part of it is, you know, the question is, you know, you know his preference for prime age players. You it's a time to kind of back off of that is kind of my question and the question some have had.
00:44:34
Speaker
And, you know, if it's the star he hitches his wagon to, that's fine. If the team succeeds, that's perfectly fine. But do you need to kind of look outside of that and say, let's take a chance on maybe some younger players. Let's take a chance at players outside of that prime age group that ah we know can add a veteran presence to this team. So that's what I'm looking for over these next couple windows.
00:44:57
Speaker
Yeah, with Garth in particular, I mean, you can correct me if I'm wrong, but as I as i understand it, like his role, ah it like go he's CEO. like It goes so far beyond just building the roster day in, day out, which now they have Chris Henderson doing that.
00:45:14
Speaker
But like as for the idea of him like ever being on the hot seat, like some fans might have been saying, like you were saying, It's just, it's, it's not even like, that's not even really his job anymore. He's like the busy guy, ah even more than he's the the roster builder.
00:45:35
Speaker
Um, Zach has another viewer question for you in the chat. Uh, is Garth building up investing in the Atlanta Academy? Yeah. The state of Atlanta United's youth development. I know a lot of homegrowns are getting in, uh, getting in games this year.
00:45:49
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. And probably more because Atlanta's playoff hopes are gone. and probably more due to injury. But I think Academy is a major focus of Garth.
00:46:02
Speaker
I mean, he brought in Javi Perez, a very good evaluator and developer of talent in the youth system. So he knows a lot, Perez does, about developing you young players, building up young players through um but system.
00:46:18
Speaker
And he's put together... you know, pretty sound methodology of what that would look like from Academy, the youngest parts of Academy all the way up to the first team. And I feel like that's not fully implemented, but it's pretty close to being implemented. So that's Javier Perez's job. I think that's a very key hire that Atlanta United brought in to certainly help build up that academy. And I mentioned Jonathan Ransom. He is academy player.
00:46:44
Speaker
um Getting time with the Lady United too. Interested to see when he affects the first team. um Other players like Jay Fortune, who I just mentioned, who obviously has been here since long before Garth got here, um certainly the academy.
00:47:01
Speaker
um Luke Brennan, who I just mentioned, um, Will Riley, Academy player, went to Stanford, very good college program. And they came back, got in a homegrown deal with Atlanta United player with Atlanta United. it So he's another part of that.
00:47:16
Speaker
Um, Efraim Morales, who got traded to CF Montreal just the other day, another Academy product. So Academy has always been a priority for Atlanta.
00:47:27
Speaker
Sort of the ideal use case is Caleb Wiley, um who's worth yeah with Watford. I think he just resigned with Watford. Yeah.
00:47:39
Speaker
So Wiley is one. You thought you had one in Bello, but maybe he was rushed a little bit. Maybe he got himself in not a great situation with a team that ultimately was, I think, relegated.
00:47:52
Speaker
But Bello certainly was another player that came out of the academy that performed tremendously. So i think academy, yes, is always a main focus. But what I want to see, Ronnie Dial has said, you know, I want to – I want young players, I want players out of the academy, I want these local players to be a part of this Atlanta United team. I think Garth Lagerwey shares that sentiment. I think Chris Henderson shares that sentiment as well.
00:48:17
Speaker
What I want to see is these younger players get more consistent minutes outside of injuries, outside of, hey, just being stuck in next in the final 15 minutes. So who's that next young player to break out for Atlanta United? Certainly Jay Forch is another player but I've mentioned numerous times.
00:48:35
Speaker
He's on an option next year. Do you sign him to extended period of time? I think you do. um Luke Brennan, do you sign him for extended period? I think you do. um And then you just go on down the line. Don't be so quick to sell these players. Don't be so quick to get rid of them, really invest in them, really give them more responsibilities with the first team. I want to see more of Brennan. I want to see more of, um,
00:49:01
Speaker
Chongki, who's also in the system as well, who has first time to start earlier this season. So, yeah, Academy has always been a priority for Atlanta.
00:49:12
Speaker
getting them, getting as many players as they need to into that first team setup has kind of been a challenge. And I think part of that was why some people were frustrated with the trading of Morales because here's a kid that came in, looked good in his first team time, um did an injury, he came in.
00:49:31
Speaker
but now he's traded to Montreal. So there's frustration around why didn't you hold on to him? Why are you more concerned with signing somebody from the outside? So I do think it's priority. I think it will continue be a priority of the academy.
00:49:44
Speaker
ah that The Morales trade was the next thing I was going to ask you about on the on this topic. And then and then we can ah talk about the game a little bit, and then I'll let you go. Thanks for giving us so much of your time at this ah late hour in the state of America.
00:49:59
Speaker
ah Yeah, the what did you think of the what did you think of the Morales trade? Because when I saw that, i was kind of like, what that kid was doing pretty good. like he he got He got owned for a goal in his last game before he got traded.
00:50:14
Speaker
But like other than that, like he was, holding he was i think I thought, more than holding his own. And it just seems like the ah the type of player that, like you said, they should be trying to foster and bring up and give a bigger role to. And like maybe you have a future building block there that that's a homegrown that, you know, doesn't count against the cap and all that.
00:50:35
Speaker
So where did you fall on like the whether they should be whether I don't know if I was in their position, I don't know if I'd be training any homegrowns right now. I would be just running them out there and seeing who could be a part of the future.
00:50:47
Speaker
Yeah, I think you know if you look at the center mix, I think there's always going to be an odd man out with Mihai coming in. You still had Gregerson. You still had Williams. You have Noah Cobb, who and we want to see more of in the first team, but he's kind of been stuck in Atlanta United too. um So i think more else is kind of leapfrogged on the um the um depth chart and done well.
00:51:09
Speaker
um When he left against Charlotte, the team's form just completely dipped in. It was a little bit troubling when 20, 21-year-old comes out with you knowll just but five or six MLS appearances, little bit more than that under his belt. The team kind of falls apart defensively, so little bit troubling. But yeah Morales was a tremendous player, yeah know Bolivian international, you been playing World Cup qualifying matches with Bolivia as well, and Colmar Ball. So definitely has that experience, I think.
00:51:43
Speaker
given that and given the time that he has played with Atlanta over this past few weeks, I think, you know, Montreal, I started looking to rebuild their team and dropping, you know, notification that's five in the morning. Hey, we're looking to turn a new page, a new chapter for us in Montreal. So they, they brought in morale. It's sort of part of that, part of that setup, part of sort of the rebuild of what they want to do in the future. So,
00:52:14
Speaker
Definitely wish him well, wish him nothing but the best. um Kind of puzzling why they made the move now. vic Again, why not sign him to a longer-term deal?
00:52:24
Speaker
But from the standpoint of Mihaly coming in and perhaps another center back coming in, It becomes a little bit understandable. But again, you know, you want to see your younger players kept in, but at the same time, you want a more proven, more veteran player back there. So I guess in that school of thought, i do understand it.
00:52:47
Speaker
And the fact that you have several center backs already in the fold, especially with Mihai coming in, I definitely understand that as well. But part of me wishes he would have been kept around for a little while little bit longer.
00:53:01
Speaker
City looking at this game on Saturday, Seattle is heading to Atlanta. Uh, how how are you kind of looking at these, at these
Season End Strategies and Player Evaluations
00:53:11
Speaker
games right now? Like, are you concerned with results at all? Or is this more of a situation where you're looking more at individual performances and trying to get evaluations on who should be on this team next year, who could maybe be a building block for the, the future? Like, is that more of the lens that you're looking at a game like this through, or are you still in the mode of like, uh,
00:53:35
Speaker
a win could maybe i turn the vibes a little bit, if nothing else, even if it doesn't mean like a ah ah run back into the playoff contention. Like, are the three points still even in consideration here? Or is this just like evaluatory time?
00:53:51
Speaker
Yeah, no, I think it's kind of both. I think, yeah, you're looking for players to not just fold up and quit because, mean, you're pretty much out of the playoffs because you don't want that.
00:54:02
Speaker
You're looking for players to continue to play for the bad, play for the fans, and play for, really, there i guess their job next year, if you want to say that, too. So, yes, I think it a little bit is evaluating performances, but i think a little bit is, hey, you know maybe we don't make the playoffs. Maybe we...
00:54:20
Speaker
don't get ourselves into the postseason. Let's at least end the season on the high note and give fans something to they'll be positive about in a really negative season. um You have Leaks Cup coming up. i mean, you've never won a match in Leaks Cup. Atlanta hasn't. So I have no illusions of them winning the tournament, but maybe Leaks Cup can be maybe a competition where they say, hey, you know, let's win couple of games in the group stage. Let's You know, let's let's get out of there for the first time and then go into the knockout stages and, you know, whatever happens, happens.
00:54:57
Speaker
And maybe get ah maybe a little bit of a run. And, so if you know, if you lose, maybe in in the quarterfinals or whatever it would the first round of the knockout stage, you know, that that's fine. At least you give it a good run. At least you give it a good showing.
00:55:12
Speaker
So, again, not saying they'll win because they're not going to win, but, Maybe that's something you throw all of your eggs at, um at this case, because top three teams got a Champions League spot and, hey, stranger things have happened.
00:55:25
Speaker
But at the same time, I think, yeah, you're evaluating performances. You're seeing who wants to be here. You're seeing, again, if players just fold up the tennis, say, hey, we have nothing to play for. Let's just play out the string. Let's just go through the motions, which is, you know, what we've seen, I feel like, from some players. They just kind of go through the motions. They...
00:55:45
Speaker
know they're getting paid a lot of money and they're kind of going out there, punching in and punching out. You're seeing the younger players still really rising the occasion, play with nothing to lose, play with pride, play with passion. And and I just wish more related United players took that mindset.
00:56:01
Speaker
So to answer your question, kind of both looking toward um players who, Yeah, we need to have some performances, but then again, just taking a look at what next year could have in store for this team.
00:56:17
Speaker
I think it's a good point about League's Cup. like If I was in a situation ah where I was way below the playoff line, like Atlanta or the LA Galaxy, i would I would look at a tournament like... You see teams do this with Open Cup, like Sporting KC, I think, was it last year where they were just terrible in league play and then made it all the way into the final?
00:56:37
Speaker
I think DC United famously won Open Cup in 2013 in the year were where they were one of the worst league teams like in MLS history. So like tournament soccer can kind of be like the form of your team, how good your team is, can sometimes not ah take effect as much as it does like throughout the course of the whole league season when it's just like one set of games.
00:57:01
Speaker
Yeah. As for this game, like, ah you know, from a Seattle side, like, on one hand, I'm kind of licking my chops ah from the perspective of, well, like, just specifically with this matchup, Seattle's attack is on fire right now. They've scored three goals in three straight games, and they're going up against a team that has struggled a lot defensively this year. so on one hand, I'm like, all right, that's this is, like, a good matchup to try and keep that going.
00:57:30
Speaker
On the other hand, like, A road game against a desperate opponent that, I mean, you know, like maybe, maybe there's a couple of vets. I know the fan base thinks a couple of these vets on Atlanta have checked out, but ah guys are playing for jobs. Young players are playing for roles.
00:57:47
Speaker
So regardless of whatever quality disparity or matchup advantages there might be for Seattle, you know, ah it's never It's never easy going on the road on a road trip this long against a desperate opponent. that i mean I fully expect Atlanta to be to be coming after Seattle. And for as much as the results haven't gone their way, there have been times where Atlanta has played well in attack, ah like kind of in flashes and spurts, but it has...
00:58:17
Speaker
It has happened and they're going to be, they're going to be desperate. Is that, is that sort of the dynamic that you're expecting in, in this game or from the average Atlanta United game where like the, the hunger of playing for jobs and livelihoods and playing for roles is kind of what like goes into the psyche of the group for a game like this.
00:58:39
Speaker
You would think so. um But again, like I mentioned, you know, yeah it's clear some players have checked out and that's unfortunate. I think Seattle will kind of, you know, kind of switching gears to, yeah, certainly Atlanta though too, but Seattle, they'll be thinking about last year when Atlanta came into Lumen Field and won 2-0. So I'm sure that will be, i mean, that was a couple years ago. I'm sure they'll be in the minds of, um,
00:59:02
Speaker
of Seattle fans that will in the minds of some Atlanta fans so I think Atlanta would be looking at the guard against that knowing that hey maybe there's a little bit of revenge at play if you're a Seattle Sounders player I think you understand that hey we've been ah really good run of form as far as the attack is concerned we're fourth in the west though yes we're flying across the country I think they got on I think they got it tonight. If I'm not mistaken, i could be wrong. Yeah, they flew out today. They flew out today. Okay.
00:59:34
Speaker
So you're still dealing with jet lag. You're still dealing with, you know, time change and all of that. Um, But I think you know if you're Seattle, you can say, hey, 2023, Atlanta United came and yeah beat us 2-0. I mean, let's do the same thing at Mercedes-Benz Stadium and drive even further stake into the coffin that is the Atlanta United 2025 season.
01:00:00
Speaker
Again, though, I would like to think that Atlanta will – meet the occasion. They haven't met at so many e some many times this season. And yeah, if you're a Lakers fan, that's unfortunate.
01:00:13
Speaker
But hopefully, know, with, in a funny way, maybe with the pressure off, so to speak, maybe knowing that the playoffs are really not a not a possibility at this point.
01:00:28
Speaker
Maybe it takes a little bit of the pressure off. You were able to play a little more free, you were able to play a little more relaxed in that case. um You have Leagues Cup coming up starting on Wednesday against Nakaha at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. So maybe think about that.
01:00:44
Speaker
You know, you can look at, hey, if we win this, we go you into Nakaha, the match against Nakaha on a pretty high, pretty good high. And then maybe... who knows, bringing a couple of wins together against Nakaja, maybe, I think it's Pumase play in Orlando, and then Atalas, who of course is coached by Gonzalo Pineda.
01:01:07
Speaker
So maybe you beat Seattle, maybe you're able to put together a couple of good results together and you know do give a pretty good account of results in the League's Cup where you haven't been able to do that over the past few years.
01:01:22
Speaker
Zach says 92 degrees on Saturday, 80% humidity. ah That doesn't sound pleasant, but isn't the Ben's, isn't the Ben's like enclosed? but Yeah, the roof will be closed, I'm sure, on Saturday. I don't think we have to worry about the humidity or heat.
01:01:37
Speaker
every like Every team that has extreme elements like that, I mean, 80% humidity, that sounds like my hell. Yeah. Any team that has extreme elements like that should have to have like I've been to a couple and MLS Cups in Toronto in December. It's like a joke like you can't play soccer and that they did it twice. But it's like it's especially the I mean, both of them really is the coldest I've ever been, but especially the 2016 one.
01:02:03
Speaker
It was just like, oh, my God, this is a survival test. This isn't even a soccer game. ah Sydney, that is all I had for you this evening. Thanks again so much for hopping on. We went almost like an hour here, so appreciate you going in deep in the weeds on Atlanta United, a topic, again, that I've followed very closely yeah this season. So it was interesting getting your your take on what's actually going on the day-to-day and the future of the club.
01:02:30
Speaker
ah Before you head out, is there anything that you guys are working on or or wanted to plug? Or if you want to let our audience, we got a little more people watching now. If you want to let our audience know where to find your stuff.
01:02:44
Speaker
Yeah, I stand corrected. By the way, I'm Carlos saying it's Nakaxa, so I stand corrected on the pronunciation. apologies to Nakaxa fans out there. But um yeah, like I said, we're at scarvesandspecs.com. That's where you find all our Alain United written coverage, analysis, opinion. Obviously, with the transfer weather open, we'll be all over that. Any rumors, any reports of ah potential players coming in to the team, we'll be talking about that.
01:03:10
Speaker
ah scarves and spikes we're live now wednesday nights we're live so saturdays uh before matches we're live sundays the day after matches monday is our mls fan mls show mls focus show so we have that going on that of course is available on youtube via replay anytime you want or an apple podcast spotify or iheart if you want to listen to the audio um And then again, I'll just plug my socials. I'm at shwrites.bsky.social on Blue Sky. And then again, at cdh.soccer on Instagram and Thread. So that's where to find me. And then again, we're at scarfs, the letter spikes on X. scarfsandspikes.com on Blue Sky. And then scarfsandspikes everywhere else.
01:03:57
Speaker
Everyone in chat, go ah go toss Scarves and Spikes to some. Show them the support. Sidney, thanks again, man. We'll get you back on at some point. If you guys ever need me for anything, just hit me up.
01:04:09
Speaker
Happy to collab more. and Take care. Looking forward to this game on on Saturday. Me too. Thanks, Ari. Thanks for having me. Yeah, of course. See you. That was Sidney Hunt, Scarves and Spikes, great Atlanta United YouTube show and podcast.
01:04:26
Speaker
Appreciate the time from him. Atlanta United week, always a big week for
01:04:33
Speaker
for me personally as someone who, as an honorary follower on the Atlanta United beat. I was thinking, is like is it the club that I watch and follow the most other than Seattle? It's one of them.
01:04:48
Speaker
I follow like all the big dogs a lot, you know, enter Miami, Columbus, watch a lot of Cincy,
01:04:57
Speaker
but like, there's something different about like following a downfall, you know, Zach, thank you so much for the dollar 99 super sticker, getting the super chat train going first one of the night.
01:05:08
Speaker
Appreciate you, man. um All right. ah Other than that, Uh, I can, I'm just gonna, I'll bust out the, I'll bust out the lineup builder right now.
01:05:20
Speaker
if you guys got anything else you want me to hit, go ahead and, uh, drop it in chat. Might call it a little bit, uh, might call it a little bit early tonight. Sometimes I go like two, three hours um these might go more like an hour and a half tonight.
01:05:33
Speaker
Uh, but you know, if we get the discourse flowing and we're vibing, maybe I'll stay on a little later. Uh, But right now, planning on going in an hour and a half.
01:05:44
Speaker
We'll do the lineup builder. Maybe we'll hit this Schmetz sound and see where it takes us.
01:05:55
Speaker
TR says apparently no Ohio is still in play. ah I hadn't heard the the last I heard on that was that they were doing the asking for way more money than they know the other the other club will pay type negotiating.
01:06:11
Speaker
But sometimes that's just a tactic. So I haven't been considering it fully chalked yet. I haven't. But ah I would say in general on the no Ohio thing, I'm trying not to get too...
01:06:27
Speaker
like any Any signing like that, I feel like, is a pretty big dart throw. And if it works out, great. But i like having now gone through the list of names and dove into U22 hit rates and stuff, the most...
01:06:45
Speaker
likely outcome for a player of that profile and price tag is like a Leo Chu adjacent outcome. That's how I see it. ah But, you know, if you play your cards right and you scout it up right, like a lot of clubs, or not a lot, a few clubs in the league have clearly figured out how to do it.
01:07:05
Speaker
The Portland Timbys being one of them. Say what you want about the ah but Portland Timbys. They can scout up these U-22s. That's like the one of the main things they can do.
01:07:18
Speaker
So it can be done. Seattle specifically not had much success that way to this point.
01:07:29
Speaker
But that doesn't mean that ah it's impossible. No Ohio could...
01:07:37
Speaker
If they do get him, he could come here and be a very good player. I'm definitely not discounting the ah possibility. Does Paul work on the right with De La Vega on the left?
01:07:50
Speaker
ah I think so.
01:07:54
Speaker
i feel like he's played. I feel like Rothrock has played on the right. Has he? Maybe I'm wrong about that.
01:08:01
Speaker
feel like he could.
01:08:09
Speaker
Yeah, I agree with that. Like, if it's a dart throw, they need to actually throw them. Yeah. Yeah, exactly. i'm not I'm not saying that they shouldn't do it because it's a low hit hit rate. I'm just saying that as far as, like, what of what my expectations are of it actually hitting, I'm not, like,
01:08:32
Speaker
super, super confident in that.
01:08:38
Speaker
But yeah, you do, like, you absolutely do need to throw the darts.
01:08:43
Speaker
Just interested in the fact that the Sounders are actually considering spending money. I know, I mean, for for a broke entity.
01:08:52
Speaker
But that's the thing, like, I guess what I'm saying is, like,
01:09:00
Speaker
it feels like It feels like to really meaningfully increase your odds of a signing like this hitting, it's like go big or go home. When you start doing the
01:09:10
Speaker
the $2 million to $3 million price tags, it i mean it just makes it a lower percentage game.
01:09:22
Speaker
Just wanted to come here and say after 15 years of following the Sounders from Virginia and then California, I finally got to go a game in Seattle, no less this past weekend. Didn't disappoint. Hell yeah. That's awesome, Chris. Glad you, that's sick that you finally got to experience it in person.
01:09:38
Speaker
It's a whole new ball game, isn't it? And that was a good one to go to. It was like an exciting end to end, lots of goals. So you got a, you got a good one to go to, but happy for you that after that long,
01:09:53
Speaker
You finally got to go. That rocks.
01:09:58
Speaker
Any $15 million dollars players we can get on six-month loans with options to buy? Okay, I mean, let's talk about that. You're referencing Rodrigo DePaul, I'm assuming, which Noah and I talked about this on a on a recent show as well.
01:10:15
Speaker
He's perpetuating their cheating narrative. Which I get. i mean, i like anytime Inter-Miami does some shit like this,
01:10:28
Speaker
people are going to be tilted and people are going to accuse them of ah of cheating. And it is it is annoying. my i my only My only devil's advocate is like...
01:10:43
Speaker
Like, any team with three DPs on the books could technically do that.
01:10:50
Speaker
if Seattle, seattle like let's just take Seattle as an example. They have three DPs right now. Jordan Morris, Albert Rusnak, Pedro De La Vega. say yeah Say Rodrigo DePaul was like, I really want to go to the Seattle Sounders.
01:11:04
Speaker
And then I guess for this hypothetical, say that Rusnak, one of the DPs, Rusnak, for example, was coming off the books in the winter, like Sergio Busquets is for Miami.
01:11:18
Speaker
Seattle could bring him, Rodrigo DePaul, in on loan with a with the purchase option and then move him to DP status when Rusnak was off the books. They could do that.
01:11:30
Speaker
Like, could they not?
01:11:35
Speaker
The thing is, Inter-Miami is just playing a fundamentally different game because of Messi and the Barca boys.
01:11:44
Speaker
That's the only reason Rodrigo DePaul at age 31 would want to go there is to play with his boy. That's it. He's not going to like, so ah like to me, it's like they would be stupid to not leverage that and like stack every world-class player that they can with that as the leverage.
01:12:02
Speaker
Like would I do anything different if I was in their situation and had the ability to do it?
01:12:11
Speaker
Similar with JP, but I would even say, ah Like, you see kind of loopholes. Like, it is a loophole. It is a loophole, but I don't know if it's nefarious or... I have yet to... I'll say this. I have yet to see, like, actual evidence that it's outright against the rules. and It is a loophole, but there's difference between a loophole and, like, what they did. Remember when they had five DPs and blaze in the and the famous bla Blaze Montawee days?
01:12:40
Speaker
And then they still, i like, almost wooden spooned? That was cheating. That was like proven cheating. This is a loophole that theoretically any team in there with their roster build could do.
01:12:52
Speaker
It's just that no other team, like I said, they're they play a different game than everyone else.
01:13:00
Speaker
no like No other team would have the opportunity to bring a player like in in like that.
01:13:07
Speaker
But I'm not going to, like I said, I'm not going sit here and be like, if I was running their team, I would do that different. maybe um Maybe that makes me an apologist.
01:13:18
Speaker
I try to try to be fair about these things. like Unless I see, like, if I see concrete evidence that it's cheating, then I will take that as it comes.
01:13:30
Speaker
But to me, it looks like they just did a loan with a purchase option. It just happens to be on like, a world-class player. that they can only attract because they have Messi in the Barca voice. LAFC is supposedly getting, uh, sewn.
01:13:45
Speaker
So that would be, i mean, I already saw like some Sounders people, or Sounders fans being like, see, like, LAFC is doing it again.
01:13:58
Speaker
Where's our ambition? Which, okay. Like I even said earlier this season that signing a big name like that would be good for morale for Seattle. You just don't, those things are not as guaranteed as it's made out to be.
01:14:12
Speaker
i think Stone in particular
01:14:16
Speaker
seems like he has a lot of gas left in the tank and could be a great player in MLS. This is the same team that just did the Olivier Giroux experience. Like,
01:14:28
Speaker
See what I'm saying? Like, I try and every time I see another club bring in like name chasing like that,
01:14:40
Speaker
it's not always as like slam dunk a situation is as you might think. Like sometimes, like Giroux won the World Cup with France and then went to LAFC and couldn't get a goal.
01:15:02
Speaker
What is it about MLS where the high spenders don't run the league? Is it as simple as players four through 11 are more important than the top end? ah its It's because spending a lot is I think an element of being successful, but it's not the element in the way it is in global footy where you don't have salary cap, salary cap, salary cap league is about having elite top end talent, which oftentimes requires big spending. Most of the time requires big spending beyond that.
01:15:38
Speaker
It's about finessing that cap, finding value.
01:15:44
Speaker
having good youth development, having homegrown players actually meaningfully contribute, finding distressed assets, getting more production from spots on the roster than what you're paying for it.
01:16:00
Speaker
so Those are the teams that win stuff. It's not Toronto FC when they go get Insigne and Bernadeschi for however millions they spend on them.
01:16:13
Speaker
Or as we just talked about Atlanta United with Miguel Amirone and Latte Lott, 30 plus milli. Where to get him, you know, like it. And then by the same token, you have a team like the Philly union. What's their biggest ever transfer fee.
01:16:27
Speaker
And, you know, I know they're like the quintessential money ball finesse the cap.
01:16:35
Speaker
homegrow Homegrown, homegrown reliant.
01:16:39
Speaker
Type team. And yeah, you could say that, uh, their trophy hall, which is none other than the shield they won in the COVID year.
01:16:51
Speaker
People point that out to be like, oh, well, the Philly Union, that's an example. like Moneyballing can only get you so far. To me, it's like they were ah freaking Gareth Bale miracle, which you could say, okay, that was name a name chasing, name chasing paying off for LAFC.
01:17:09
Speaker
But like Philly straight played them straight up and could have won that game. That was a championship caliber squad they had that year. They had a plus 48 goal differential that year, spending like probably 25th most in the league, if that.
01:17:27
Speaker
When Dempsey showed up, it was like a dream. It has been strange to see us not pursue talisman style player, someone you can build a mentality around. That is what it feels like we need. I think that is a,
01:17:40
Speaker
It's an interesting point as far as when you want to talk about ah ah talisman that you can build a mentality around. I cannot think of a better one than Nicholas Ladero.
01:17:54
Speaker
He was the definition of it. I would argue the Sounders signed the best player of that exact ilk in MLS history. And I would cite the trophy case he accrued as evidence of that.
01:18:08
Speaker
However, I think it's fair to say, like, have they really had that since then? That standard setter, that leader, that guy who comes in every day and makes sure that the level is what it needs to be.
01:18:21
Speaker
That's what Nico Ladero did every single day. Do they have that right now? Maybe do not to that.
01:18:30
Speaker
degree out Like, Rusnak, I think, is a very good, very productive DP. Is he, like, the leader, the mentality, the build-around mentality guy like Ladero?
01:18:44
Speaker
No, but, like, that is, that's just so hard to find.
01:18:51
Speaker
a guy who does that stuff to the effect of Nico Ladero. It's so hard. It's so hard to find. And I, and I think for whatever, to whatever extent they, ah they haven't replaced it.
01:19:05
Speaker
I still think it's a team that has like good leadership within the locker room guys that do make sure that the standard is high.
01:19:18
Speaker
And I think Rusnak is a little underrated in that and that way, perhaps.
01:19:25
Speaker
He's very respected within the locker room. He is one of the leaders on the team. He's the centerpiece of the offense.
01:19:37
Speaker
Nico Ladero is just, ah he's kind of one-on-one.
01:19:45
Speaker
I was around that guy a lot. That was like in the, on the days where I was on the beat every day.
01:19:51
Speaker
And it was, it was, you could tell, I've, I've told this story before, but, I was at, uh, a media mixer event the night before the CONCACAF champions cup in, final in Seattle.
01:20:07
Speaker
they're playing Pumas. The first night I ever met Noah, actually at that event, uh, we were all hanging out. Tossing back a few, talking about how we thought the game was going to go the next day.
01:20:20
Speaker
And I was talking to a ah Sounders official. And I was like, you know, how do you think this is going to go tomorrow? You think you guys are going to win? And he was like, oh, yeah.
01:20:30
Speaker
Oh, yeah, we're going to win. And I was like, why? I mean, I hope you're right, but why are you so confident? And he's and he was like, El Capitan. He's not going to let us lose.
01:20:43
Speaker
He's talking about Nico Ladero. like He's not going to let us lose. he It just wouldn't happen. He's not going to. Then we all know what happened the next day.
01:20:55
Speaker
They beat the shit out of Pumas. One concaf champions league.
01:21:03
Speaker
You know? So to to me, what it's going to come down to, like, what's going to define if this team has filled that void is if they can rack silverware in the post-Neko era, which, you know, to be fair, they have not.
01:21:20
Speaker
They haven't done that yet. They've been a good team. They almost made um MLS Cup last year. I think they probably freaking win MLS Cup last year if they get by the Galaxy. I don't think the Red Bulls were coming here.
01:21:33
Speaker
and taken and taken that game. Maybe they would have, but they got by the galaxy last year. They would have had a great chance to win MLS cup last year. They're top four in the West right now this year. It's looking like they're at least going have ah chance to make a run. They're contending.
01:21:53
Speaker
Uh,
01:21:57
Speaker
But like ah as far as them pursuing like a talisman-type player post-Niko, who's supposed to be De La Vega,
01:22:12
Speaker
that was the big swing that they took as far as like skill set on the field to try and...
01:22:20
Speaker
lay a foundational piece for the post Nicoladero era. And that aspect of it has not popped to this point, but we are coming off the, the first game of Pedro de la Vega's MLS career where he really looked like that as far as like standard setting and leadership, I don't know. He's still a young guy.
01:22:44
Speaker
Maybe he needs more time on the team and more success on the team and in the league and stuff to like achieve that, that type of status. But as far as field talent, that is what he's supposed to be. That's what he was billed as.
01:23:00
Speaker
And I think for a lot of reasons that were beyond his control,
01:23:06
Speaker
that hasn't happened yet. But again, like, I was watching that San Jose game and I was like, this this is that if this is the player that we all hope and want, that's what it's going to look like week in, week out.
De La Vega's Impact and Player Performance Debates
01:23:21
Speaker
That's what it needs to look like. Maybe not that dominant, but like 70, 80% level.
01:23:28
Speaker
of that level
01:23:33
Speaker
Girlfriend came to the game with me, did not watch soccer, even mentioned unprompted De La Vega had a hell of a game. He was incredible.
01:23:45
Speaker
but It was awesome.
01:23:47
Speaker
It was just kind of, it was kind of cathartic, wasn't it? Just to see, just to see that he's capable of having a game like that.
01:23:57
Speaker
Noah and I were talking about this on the pod. Go check out the pod that dropped today. We're going back and forth on it a little bit because he was doing the, all right, it's just one game thing, which yes, it is just one game. And it only, that, this, the performance against San Jose only means something if he sustains it. So that caveat is true.
01:24:18
Speaker
And well, and he was also saying, we've seen flashes from him before and he hasn't sustained it. So, we got to wait and see like if that was just a flash in the pan or if it's real, which again, like fair caveat, but I would argue, and I did argue when we were talking about it, what we saw in that game was different than the flashes that we saw before that this was a game where he single handedly took over.
01:24:45
Speaker
He won the team, the game, the whole team did play, play well.
01:24:52
Speaker
But he was, ah ah I would say, the primary reason that the team played that well. He created all three goals.
01:25:01
Speaker
On the first one, it was his pass to Obed that set up the Roos-Nac cross that Moose finished for the equalizer.
01:25:12
Speaker
Sneakily important play. Go back and watch the highlight if you haven't.
01:25:17
Speaker
That first goal was started by De La Vega. The second one,
01:25:24
Speaker
was an awesome assist to Moose in transition. And then the third one was the best goal a Sounders player has scored all season. that's that's what a seven million That's the type of stuff a $7 million dollar DP does. That's the type of stuff an impact player does.
01:25:41
Speaker
Moves the needle.
01:25:43
Speaker
Decides results in your favor by making plays, changing games.
01:25:49
Speaker
That was the first time we've seen him do that.
01:25:54
Speaker
And for me, there's like just like a little weight off my mind just knowing that he can do that.
01:26:03
Speaker
Knowing that it's possible for him to have that type of impact in a game was great to see.
01:26:14
Speaker
Yeah, I thought it looked real too.
01:26:20
Speaker
Wanted to hit this one. We don't need to go after big UR stars, but we should go after the Evanders, Pecs, and Buongas of the world. i would ah I would agree that
01:26:31
Speaker
a player that's, like, explosive like that, like De La Vega, even if he does hit his peak potential, is he, like, the physical presence
01:26:47
Speaker
of a pecker Bwonga from out wide. No, but if he's producing like them, then I don't necessarily, I don't need him to be like a freight train demon like Denny Bwonga.
01:27:04
Speaker
But i am of the ah I am of the opinion that Rusnak is underrated in these discussions. And while I understand that he's not as exciting as a player like Evander or Haney Mukhtar or Lucho Acosta in his day, the production that he offers you and his impact and the effect on the offense week in, week out, it's closer to the level of a guy like that than people give credence to.
01:27:34
Speaker
17 goal contributions this year. It's not as many as Anders Dreyer.
01:27:42
Speaker
but like Still pretty damn good. What does Buonga have this year?
01:27:52
Speaker
Buonga has 13 goals, 7 assists. Rusnak has 10 goals, 7 assists. So that's that's sort of my point. like that There's actually not like that crazy a gap.
01:28:08
Speaker
think this club should be able to have both. Yeah, no, I mean, I see what you're saying. Like, ah
01:28:16
Speaker
like ah you know, you need, you need like superstars to really feel like you're hanging with the elite, the elite clubs.
01:28:32
Speaker
You do.
01:28:35
Speaker
We'll see if De La Vega can become that type of player. Like, theoretically, when you spend as much money as they did on a guy.
01:28:46
Speaker
Maybe, like, you know, will he be like a 15-goal, 15-assist type superstar player?
01:28:54
Speaker
That would be optimum outcome.
01:29:01
Speaker
But I don't know, like, to me, what it ultimately is a question of at the end of the day is, like, are you in contention? Like, are you, is your team able to compete with the best teams in the league and win trophies?
01:29:16
Speaker
I think if this team plays up to its potential and you get a ah leap from La Vega,
01:29:25
Speaker
i think I think you can, I think this team will can be, can win trophies.
01:29:31
Speaker
They can make a run. they I think they can. Will they? Different question.
01:29:39
Speaker
And, like, yeah, David DaCosta, I consider, like, I consider he and Rue Snack, like, the same idea.
01:29:49
Speaker
I think that's actually a great comp. Portland had Evander fumbled.
01:29:56
Speaker
He's now on FC Cincinnati. But then they went out and got DaCosta, who... i um'm I guess I'm sort of at a DaCosta truther.
01:30:08
Speaker
I think he's really good.
01:30:12
Speaker
He's not... He's just not as flashy and explosive as Evander. He's like Rusnak. He's like simpler, more technical, clean.
01:30:22
Speaker
He's not going to rack... the stats that any Vander will, but I, I think like, I think you can win with a player like to Costa as your, as your centerpiece.
01:30:35
Speaker
I do.
01:30:45
Speaker
Our team is always great when we have a star supported by ballers, Papa Vargas, Rusnak, Alonzo Morris, raise the floor and the whole team wise it rises. Yeah. I think that's a good point.
01:30:57
Speaker
i think I think right now, if you're sizing it up, I mean...
01:31:02
Speaker
I think Rusnak is that guy on this team.
01:31:11
Speaker
Giroux, I was going up to find something else from chat I wanted to hit. Giroux got like three or four goals, all comps. That's what I'm saying, man. mayor Okay, just just on that topic, can we like be real and like honestly...
01:31:27
Speaker
recall the discourse when they when they signed jay rue it was a lot of oh look lafc is doing it again what's seattle doing what's seattle doing where's the ambition they go out and get the french leading goal scorer in the history of the french national team and seattle trades for jesus ferreira that was the discourse was it not was it not
01:31:55
Speaker
They got Olivier Giroud, we got Jesus Ferreira. People were saying that. I wasn't saying it, but people were saying that.
01:32:05
Speaker
How did that work out for LAFC?
01:32:09
Speaker
How did the Olivier Giroud experience go?
01:32:13
Speaker
How many goals?
01:32:18
Speaker
How many goals did they get for that transfer fee? Like three or four?
01:32:26
Speaker
So, I mean, that is how these things work sometimes.
01:32:35
Speaker
ah This is what I wanted to hit from earlier from Papa Squat. I still think Kent is going to pop off at some point. I wanted to talk about this.
Ambitious Signings and Player Fit
01:32:44
Speaker
wanted to talk about this because...
01:32:48
Speaker
It was ambitious. It was ambitious, but that's sort of I mean, you can go back to my ambition ratings from the beginning of the season. Like, ambition is great, but it doesn't necessarily equate to success.
01:33:01
Speaker
Spending $22 million dollars on Emmanuel Latte Loth was ambitious. Bringing in Federico Bernadeschi and Lorenzo Insigne for Toronto FC, that was ambitious.
01:33:13
Speaker
You ought to can but combine ambition with, like,
01:33:17
Speaker
getting the right pieces, the right players.
01:33:26
Speaker
Ferreira did only start scoring recently. Yeah. I mean, I didn't even mean that really as a, a comp between Ferreira and, ah and J. Rue Ferreira has got three MLS goals too.
01:33:38
Speaker
But when we talk about like, you know, weight of expectations,
01:33:44
Speaker
Austin FC found that out as well. Exactly. Exactly. I wanted to hit on the Ryan Kent point because I want to i want to ah want to get something out there on that topic.
01:33:55
Speaker
I still have my stock. i know i know the stock is down. The agenda has tamped way down from the first couple games he was on this team where he looked like the greatest player alive, the freaking Ballin' Door candidate against St. Louis City and the Houston Dynamo.
01:34:19
Speaker
I know it hasn't looked as good since then, but I still, I still have my stock and I still believe he can be an impact player for this team. And my reasoning for that is, first of all, I, I believe in what I saw, the type of stuff he was doing in those games. It's not like, I don't think it's like he forgot how to do it.
01:34:44
Speaker
And that type of skill is like,
01:34:49
Speaker
You can't fake that.
01:34:54
Speaker
So I believe in what I saw from that standpoint. But here's here's another thing I will point out. was thinking about this. Here's another thing I'll point out. I know like the narrative right now is that he's been a ah been pretty much a zero since those first couple games.
01:35:10
Speaker
And on the stat sheet, that is true. I could name three or four instances over the last month or so off the top of my head where he made plays that like really should have been assists.
01:35:26
Speaker
I think most of you know what I'm talking about. Like at least three. Where he said he made great runs. he set got There was one in the Vancouver game that Alex rolled on, whiffed on.
01:35:40
Speaker
There was one in the FC Dallas game where Georgie scored but was offside by.2 centimeters. That would have been another assist. There's at least a couple more instances where he did he he did do the stuff that we saw in those first two games.
01:35:56
Speaker
He just didn't get the... the statistical payoff for it because of either, you know, wayward finishing or an offside call.
01:36:07
Speaker
So just say even like two of those got converted. Maybe Alex converts the one in Vancouver. Georgie stays on the side against Dallas. I think we're having a little bit of a different conversation. I think we're probably talking about like, you know, it hasn't been as hot lately, but he's still been awesome so far.
01:36:24
Speaker
is He had three assists in his first 58 minutes. He would be up to five if you if you give him even two of those.
01:36:35
Speaker
So I don't think it's a situation where he was creating all these super high quality, high percentage chances in the first two games and then just has never done that again. I think he has done it again like a handful of times and he just has it just hasn't. you
01:36:54
Speaker
resulted in a goal. So it's like, you know, no one talks about it, but I think with leagues cup coming up stretch run of the season coming up, I think he's gonna, he's gonna get his minutes. I know he hasn't really been playing that much lately.
01:37:10
Speaker
I think he's going to get his minutes. And I think eventually the quality is going to start to shine through again.
01:37:17
Speaker
I think they have to We've talked a lot about like adjusting to how teams are defending him. I think they do have to do that.
01:37:27
Speaker
Because, yeah, he has had ah few nice moments where he could have had some assists, but on the whole, teams have figured out how to suppress him from out wide by sending double teams
01:37:42
Speaker
and just generally not letting him be the one that that beats him when he's on the field.
01:37:51
Speaker
So it's a game of chess. You have to evolve and adapt to that. But I still have my stock.
01:37:59
Speaker
It could be a bad take. Could age poorly. This could get clipped up at the end of the season.
01:38:08
Speaker
I'm fine with that. But again,
01:38:14
Speaker
i believe in what we saw in those first couple games. I don't think i don't think stuff like that comes out of nowhere. don't think stuff like that comes out of nowhere. And I don't think that and MLS clubs getting a couple of games of film is going to fully neutralize him for the rest of his time on this team.
01:38:38
Speaker
Whether he's back next season will be an interesting question. Uh, when Paul Areola comes back on the books, they would have to sell a player to make that happen. And I think realistically, like he'd have to really, he'd have to pop off.
01:38:58
Speaker
If it stays how it is now and he's just kind of like buried on the depth chart a little bit, not all that effective
01:39:09
Speaker
when he does play, then I doubt he's
01:39:16
Speaker
I doubt he's back, but who knows? We'll see. I do. I think like, like people are saying in chat, like is he's very clearly crazy talented.
01:39:26
Speaker
I do. I do think that we can safely say that. I don't think it was just a flash in the pan. Uh, all right. I'm going to build the, uh, bust this lineup builder out. We can talk about how Seattle is going to line it up on Saturday. And then I'm going to call it a night here.
01:39:43
Speaker
Thank you all for, uh, tuning in tonight. If you haven't done so yet, please like the video. Should have said that earlier.
01:39:53
Speaker
Everyone, everyone in chat right now, there's like, what, 50 of you or so watching. Everyone liked the video. Under the lights, I get, you know, it doesn't do as hot as stats as ah as kickoff or our postgame shows.
01:40:11
Speaker
But I think 50 likes is a reasonable
01:40:15
Speaker
A reasonable ask. All right, lineup builder.
01:40:24
Speaker
Let's talk about how the Seattle Sounders are going to line up at Atlanta United. First of all, ah Paul Rothrock out for this game. Broken hand, surgery.
01:40:36
Speaker
So only out for one game, but it is going to be this game. I think either way, they would have written the hot hand here.
01:40:50
Speaker
Thank you, TR. Under the Lights is my favorite too, even though, ah like, the I always say it's like, a it's for the real ones. It's for the sickos who like to do stuff like go in way too in-depth on Atlanta United.
01:41:04
Speaker
Yeah.
01:41:07
Speaker
Yeah, Bree, he broke his hand in practice. um It's not that serious. And he got surgery, but it's not that serious. Supposedly.
Upcoming Match Strategy and Lineup Considerations
01:41:19
Speaker
It is not that serious. Schmetzer said he's... ah Basically, the situation is he got the surgery and he can play with a cast.
01:41:25
Speaker
It's just a pain tolerance issue. So he's going to not be probably having all that much fun. But he will be able to play. This is the, Joe, this is the ah like default thing that FOTMOP had. This is just what they had. is So i'm I'm going through and changing it.
01:41:43
Speaker
Was not fighting someone. He ah he took a tumble and he like fell on it. ah I think we're going to get a moose.
01:41:55
Speaker
a Moose game there, there has been talk about, ah you know, Jesus Ferreira playing more at the nine. And I think that is going to happen in situations where Moose has to rotate, which is going to happen.
01:42:10
Speaker
And I think plan B will be Ferreira moving up top. I think for this game in particular with Moose and De La Vega looking as good as they did against the Quakes, you run that back. That's what I think.
01:42:24
Speaker
Front four of De La Vega, Albert Rusnak, Jesus Ferreira, and Danny Masavsky. I like it. Sign me up. I'm pretty sure they just randomize it. I don't think they're actually, like, projecting, but I don't know.
01:42:39
Speaker
Maybe. ah The Roaldan Vargas double pivot. You already know. You already know. That's...
01:42:51
Speaker
That's going out there.
01:42:55
Speaker
Left back is interesting. Nico and I were projecting the lineup last week and we put RBW starting. And then it did turn out to be J Bell for, for the game that we were projecting for. I can't remember if that was the, I think that was the Rapids game, the Rapids game. We projected RBW and then it turned out to be J Bell.
01:43:19
Speaker
i I'm going to predict J-Bell. I think he is like the default option here. And I think Nuhu will be eligible. and you know, maybe sch we we were debating this on the pod. Does Schmetz go right back to Nuhu?
01:43:35
Speaker
I think you got to make him like earn the starting job back in training and in substitute cameos. That's how I would do it, man. It's just it's been too much.
01:43:46
Speaker
It's been too much. I've been the new who defender. I've said that he gets ah disproportionately sandbagged in a lot of situations.
01:43:58
Speaker
He gets scapegoated. But like what we've seen in the last few weeks with the with the red cards, the crash outs, the crossing the boundary between player and fan, potentially costing them a result in the Club World Cup that would have gotten everyone a bunch of money.
01:44:19
Speaker
It's too much. you got to ah You got to bring him off the bench for a couple games, make him keep working hard in training. And then at that point, if he clears those hurdles and you think the best thing for the team is to start him, then you start him. I don't think you start him.
01:44:39
Speaker
No, I think Reagan's good. He was suspended. The reason he missed that game was because he was suspended. So let's ah let's plug him in there. I think, unless I'm missing something. I'm pretty sure Reagan's good.
01:44:56
Speaker
Yeah, it was yellow card accumulation.
01:45:03
Speaker
Uh, and then as much as I do love me some KKR, I'm going to, I'm going to put Alex. And then of course it's going to be Andy T with step fry still in concussion protocol.
01:45:20
Speaker
So this is, this is how I think they're going to do it. That's not thing. They're going to it yet.
01:45:30
Speaker
This lineup should be able to at least take a result. i mean, really, man, I really think it should be able to, this should be able to win at Atlanta United. and I know that I'm the one here who has watched by far the most Atlanta United this year.
01:45:48
Speaker
It's been a tough watch at times. A lot of times. I'm going with J bell over RBW Daniel for my, uh, for my prediction.
01:45:59
Speaker
I, if it was me, i would probably run out RBW.
01:46:08
Speaker
Cause that's, that's a little more fun. Get a little more attacking threat there. And I think RBW,
01:46:17
Speaker
he looked like, you know, for as much heat as he took for in the club world cup, which I thought was stupid, but ah rb w
01:46:27
Speaker
he Let's give him credit right give him credit. He had a good-ass game against the Quakes.
01:46:34
Speaker
He didn't make any of the defensive mistakes, to my memory. And he is ah he is a very good attacking player. like He has the potential to be ah very good modern fullback
01:46:53
Speaker
if he becomes even league average defensively.
01:46:59
Speaker
Left back has always been a little cursed, except in the Joven Jones days. Take me back. What's Joven Jones doing? Is he on a team? Call him up.
01:47:14
Speaker
But see, I think, I think, ah I think RBW, like Joven Jones is a good theoretical comp for RBW. Like, I think that actually is.
01:47:28
Speaker
Like if in theory hits his upside.
01:47:34
Speaker
I was a Brad Smith guy. i was a Brad Smith guy. and know a lot of people thought that he was a liability on defense.
01:47:47
Speaker
Brad Smith could send an across.
01:47:58
Speaker
Jones is playing in Trinidad for not making this up police FC. Wow.
01:48:07
Speaker
Call him up.
01:48:12
Speaker
Last tour of duty with Joven was brutal. Yeah. The homecoming was not that it was not sick. It was really only the one year he had the one year where he had 11 assists.
01:48:25
Speaker
Trade for Joven Jones was a masterclass. Yeah, no RBW, guys. I'm going J-Bell. I'm not going with what I would do or what Chapp would do. I'm going with what I think Schmetz is going to do.
01:48:36
Speaker
And my read on it is that in a situation where all things are equal and he's on full rest without a short turnaround is that J-Bell is his non-New Who first choice. Maybe because of the game that RBW had against the against the Quakes.
01:48:52
Speaker
They run him out. But also, i think what TR said, when you're on the when you're on the road like this, you go with the defense first option. try and Try and keep the clean sheet as long as possible.
01:49:04
Speaker
RBW is the option when you're going like full-blown attack, chasing goals. I don't think they're going to go into an Eastern Conference road game like that.
01:49:18
Speaker
Snyder Brunel, to my knowledge, is not on the team yet.
01:49:23
Speaker
They said that they were going to announce that and then didn't. so
01:49:29
Speaker
Sounders has been fleecing the fire since 2016. Yeah, they yeah jack the Chicago Fire could have had Jackson Reagan.
01:49:39
Speaker
I think he was always trying to come back here, though.
01:49:47
Speaker
Anyway, yeah.
01:49:50
Speaker
This is good 11. I like the 11. I'm excited to watch it like with a full week of rest. Hopefully the double pivot has their their batteries recharged. and ah
01:50:07
Speaker
Hopefully they can get a win going into the ah the league's League's Cup break.
01:50:15
Speaker
That'd be nice, wouldn't it? Get up to a nice even 40 points, solidify that top four spot.
Closing Remarks and Listener Engagement
01:50:23
Speaker
It's crunch time. All
01:50:28
Speaker
right, guys, I'm going to call it on that. Win an hour 50.
01:50:34
Speaker
Thank you all for tuning in, as always, to another episode of Lobby Scorchers Under the Lights. Thanks to Sidney Hunt, Scarves and Spikes. Toss him a sub.
01:50:47
Speaker
Hopping on.
01:50:52
Speaker
Talking some Atlanta United. Atlanta United, Seattle Sounders on Saturday. we're going to be doing We're going to be doing the the coveted after the game. like postgame show colin show right after the game
01:51:12
Speaker
The home games, we cannot always make that happen. In fact, we pretty rarely can make that happen. But for these road games,
01:51:25
Speaker
it's not that hard.
01:51:29
Speaker
So we'll be jumping on, taking some calls, talking about whatever happens in this Atlanta game. Win, lose, or draw.
01:51:39
Speaker
Eric, thank you for closing us out with the $2. Second super chat of the stream.
01:51:47
Speaker
We take it. They all add up. Appreciate the support, man. Thanks for tuning in, TR. Glad it makes the Thursdays better. Makes my Thursdays better, too. Hanging out with the sickos.
01:52:00
Speaker
Appreciate you guys. I will see you all on Saturday. Be there. Peace.