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The Sounders appear to have a goalkeeper controversy
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The Seattle Sounders appear to have a bit of a goalkeeper controversy. It’s not that Stefan Frei has played poorly as much as it is he’s failed to firmly take hold of the spot. Sounders head coach Brian Schmetzer effectively confirmed the tenuous nature of the battle between Frei and backup Andrew Thomas on Friday.
Jeremiah, Niko and Tim discuss that as well as the brewing position battle in the attack as Pedro de la Vega, Albert Rusnák and Jordan Morris all return to the fold.
Follow Niko Moreno on BlueSky and YouTube.
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Transcript
Introduction and Sponsorships
00:00:01
Speaker
Hi, I'm Will Bruin, and I was just recognized as a Seattle Sounders legend. Now I get to do voice reads for the Sounder at Heart Podcast Network. Here we go. Come on. Hey, O'Shaan.
00:00:14
Speaker
Let's Seattle Sounders have done it. MLS Cup Here comes Ruiz Diaz through the middle to crown it for Seattle. The Sounders rule the region.
00:00:29
Speaker
of
00:00:59
Speaker
you know what was the thought process in terms of who you decided to use and who you didn't? Ever since Sander Hart wrote a commentary that we didn't take the overcome seriously.
00:01:18
Speaker
This episode of Nos Arietes is sponsored by Full Pull Wines, a Seattle-based wine retailer and proud sponsor of Nos Arietes since 2011. Full Pull was founded in 2009, is based in Seattle, and is owned and operated by longtime Sounder supporters.
00:01:32
Speaker
They offer the best boutique wines of the world to members of their mailing list, with special focus on their home, Pacific Northwest.
00:01:41
Speaker
Welcome back to another episode of Nos Adietes on the Sounder at Heart Podcast Network.
Meet the Hosts
00:01:47
Speaker
I am Jeremiah Oshan. It is Friday. We are here at Long Acres in Renton. ah Joining me today, of course, Nico Moreno.
00:01:56
Speaker
And once again, Tim Foss. Nico and Tim, give it a little behind the screen. You guys were supposed to record last week. It didn't happen. ah Technical difficulties. we We gave it a real good shot. We had a really nice conversation and I pushed two out of four wrong buttons and just didn't didn't record anything but the sound of not having microphones plugged in. Yeah, there you go.
00:02:22
Speaker
That's sometimes how it goes. ah Yeah, i mean, we we cooked, first of all, ah for a pretty good chunk of time. And actually, I'm glad that I literally just found out that it didn't go out. So if you are an ex and I referenced that, um what we learned this week,
00:02:40
Speaker
It wasn't out there. But you know some people were asking, I could not add you at all on X either. got to figure out your ad. Because he it is difficult. I tried it Foss and Tim. Oh, it's because I'm not on anything but Blue Sky. I nuked all of my social media other than that. yeah So you can't find me because I'm not there. Got it. I just put Tim Foss and I.
00:03:00
Speaker
but Glad that now I know that it's all good. ah I'm just glad that we're back on. yeah Exactly. Because J.O. was also, you know, taking his vacation. I know. count know. Counting on his dollars.
00:03:12
Speaker
Exactly. I was just like ah swimming around like Scrooge mcduck McDuck. But all right. So we're we're back
Sounders' Recent Performance Issues
00:03:19
Speaker
here. ah it's It's been an, you know, long The highs of where we were two weeks ago, three weeks ago now, have come down a little bit. The Sounders have dropped two results. They tied Galaxy, obviously.
00:03:36
Speaker
That's the painful one. Then they they came to they went to Miami. They lost that game. Not an entirely surprising result, but really... ah because of the the drop points to the Galaxy. I think that one looms a lot larger.
00:03:51
Speaker
But we go into this week. they have all I wouldn't say a must win, but if they want to finish fourth, this is almost literally a must win. ah But it's also it they just kind of need a result here to get the vibes back. I mean, it it seems funny to say the highs that we were at three weeks ago were so high And i it's not like they're all gone, but it is funny how how some a couple bad results do change the mood a lot.
00:04:20
Speaker
I think not just the results, but particularly with that Miami game, the, it was easy to in advance have said like, yeah, that's probably going to be, yeah that's going to be an L you just, you take that and you move on. But I think the way that result happened, especially contrasted with how the Sounders played against Miami in Seattle, the,
00:04:46
Speaker
Disjointedness. 180 degree difference. Yeah, just so completely different from how they've played really up until that Galaxy game.
00:04:57
Speaker
I mean, for a few months, they they they did not have a performance. The Galaxy game, I think you could still see the vestiges of what we've been seeing for months, both the good and the bad. like It wasn't like they'd been playing perfectly for the last few months, but they...
00:05:12
Speaker
and But they showed signs of how good they could be, and they didn't finish all their chances, but they created a ton of chances. And against Miami, it was just a totally it was a totally different game. I do think that there is a common denominator as we asked Brian today.
00:05:28
Speaker
you know i sat long and hard and and watched both games a couple of times and you know i had a theory that perhaps the the long break right after winning the LA's Cup could have had something to do with it. But then I looked at the LA Galaxy game and that wasn't necessarily the case.
00:05:46
Speaker
But the common denominator is just mental lapses and individual mistakes that although extremely correctable, are frustrating and they are detrimental for trying to get a result.
00:06:01
Speaker
And in the Miami game specifically, it was all about just communication. It was about not tracking back. It was about just way too many turnovers. I mean, Christian Rodin was on correct, holistically poor in that game. I mean, he was just not effective. He had so many bad turnovers.
00:06:22
Speaker
We can sit here and discuss that. It's probably because of an exhaustion component. But he wasn't the only one. Yamar also didn't look particularly good. Rothrock didn't look good. Paul Rothrock didn't look good. Kalani maybe his worst game of the season.
00:06:35
Speaker
Kalani is the guy that I wanted to focus on because i love both goals that that that to me are the the biggest head scratchers are attributed to him. maybe Maybe one is unfair because Kim Ki-hee is out.
00:06:49
Speaker
Of the field. On the third goal you're talking about. Because they're wrapping up his hand. But Kalani was so flat-footed on that defensive stance for that goal. And if he sees Frey coming, he's probably able to just body him. I know he doesn't have the height, but he definitely has the strength to back him up. But he just gets caught ball-watching, and that's a goal. So I hope that...
00:07:14
Speaker
This is a learning lesson, and he's had a couple of those, including the Galaxy game, because I also attribute that set piece a lot to Kalani and n as Christian in that one. But...
00:07:26
Speaker
This is what we thought. so I say that with a context of my thought process saying that there's no reason to panic.
Striker Debate: Do the Sounders Need New Blood?
00:07:36
Speaker
Yeah. that That's something that I saw a lot of in the comments. Right. We go from like we're going to just rule. Yes. To like, man, we're awful. We need a striker. We. Right. So there is a yeah we need to strike our stuff is a is a little is a little extra, I feel like. But I've heard that for sure recently. It's just there's a middle ground there. So just to conclude and pass the ball here, I just think that this game, as you guys mentioned, was always going to be difficult. And I think that the reality where the panic stems of is of.
00:08:09
Speaker
equalizing with ah allowing l LA to equalize with you, knowing that you should have won that game by a couple of goals, probably. Yeah. um And that's where it all comes off. But with these new younger players, as good as they are and as important as they have been, they're going to have those moments. And I think that those are the learning lessons to move forward.
Tactical Insights and Upcoming Challenges
00:08:30
Speaker
One other element that I think you could see play out in in different ways in both games, but in the goals that they gave up where there is a
00:08:45
Speaker
And Schmetzer has talked about it. You know, he talked about it after the galaxy game of the, he was happy that players had this mentality of like going for that third goal, yeah but there is a failure to read the moment of if you kind of step on the ball a little bit and play for some possession, the galaxy have to come out and chase, and that's going to open up more space for you to get that third goal.
00:09:12
Speaker
But the, eagerness to go after that third goal, which some of that maybe comes from you are starting with guys who earlier in the season would have been depth players who are trying to prove that they deserve to stay on the field going forward. And you've brought in guys like.
00:09:33
Speaker
Morris and Rusnak who want to reestablish themselves. And so they're pushing to try to get a goal. And that opens you up similarly against Miami.
00:09:44
Speaker
Schmetzer was talking today about one of those goals being a product of Kalani seeing that there's space. And so he pushes to take the space because Miami gives you the space. But that over eagerness to get into attack which maybe to some extent is fed by the last several months of being able to just run over teams. And once you get your footing and you get traction and you start going, teams just aren't stopping you.
00:10:12
Speaker
But that has to come with an understanding of the circumstances and playing against Miami down a goal already is a very different setting than playing against Miami with a one goal lead at home.
00:10:25
Speaker
Yeah, absolutely. ah no and I would think that those are things that, you know, Jordan Morris after the game made a comment about how maybe we needed something like this to sort of reset our focus.
00:10:37
Speaker
and And maybe there's something to that, especially because the last five games of the season are all against teams currently in playoff position. This is a tough situation. ah walk into the, like the Sounders are going make the playoffs. I don't think that's really a question, but they can really finish anywhere realistically from fourth all the way down into seventh. Maybe, I mean, I don't think they're going to drop below seventh, but they, like all those are very realistic scenarios.
00:11:00
Speaker
And so they're going to need to be sharp. They're going to need to get results from these games. And that's going to start this week against Austin, which is a team that's been playing a lot better recently and a lot better than the last time the Sounders played him which wasn't that long ago, but it was sort of at the...
00:11:15
Speaker
It was right at the start of this post-Club World Cup stretch. They were the first team the Sounders played coming out of the Club World Cup. Sounders won that game 2-0. But really since then, Austin been has been much better.
00:11:27
Speaker
They're coming off a very emotional win against Minnesota in the U.S. Open Cup semifinals. So they're going hosting U.S. Open Cup with a chance to win their first ever trophy.
00:11:37
Speaker
So this is a ah big you know emotional week for them. It'll be interesting to see how they how they come out of that. Are they flying because of this emotional high? Are they drained because they played 120 minutes on Wednesday, which is one less day of rest than the Sounders will have had? ah is This is going to be a a very interesting test to see where the Sounders are mentally as well as physically.
Player Impact: Absences and Expectations
00:12:00
Speaker
And I think. It's all going to play out depending on the personnel on the field, in my opinion, because if there's anything that I've learned this week is that Pedro de la Vega is heavily missed.
00:12:16
Speaker
Yes. There is a huge need to have Pedro de la Vega for this system to be as effective and as elite as it has looked at times, right? There is what he does on the ball, off the ball, his ability to just,
00:12:32
Speaker
make defenders stay honest because they know that he could hit you mid-range. He could ah just dribble right past you. There's so many things that he does. And as much as I think that Georgie had moments in in the Miami game, you could see that there's an obvious...
00:12:50
Speaker
um downgrade when it comes to that final product in front of goal, right? And that's not an indictment towards Giorgi. He's still learning. He continues to get better. He continues to show us what he has.
00:13:02
Speaker
But Pedro is very important for a team that doesn't necessarily have a guy that at the nine is going to just take over a game. It is the wing play that's going to allow your team to get forward and get a lot of goals.
00:13:18
Speaker
In this particular game against Miami, I thought the transition was non-existent. It was almost frustrating at times the way that sometimes Ovid was yelling at players to just space out. They were just, they were so compact. They were just so put together. There was no...
00:13:34
Speaker
ah extra runs being made. So I think that against Austin, the personnel will change. I think having Alex Roldan is going to help out a lot of those transition moments because he's a guy that gets forward very easily, that he's also one of the guys that sees the the the the the field so much better.
00:13:52
Speaker
That goal in against the LA Galaxy, the first one, is a phenomenal ball from Alex Roldan, right? And then it's Dan Mstowski with his Savviness checks his hip, drops it to Ferreira.
00:14:04
Speaker
All those things will get better against Austin. But if there's something that I want to see is how quickly can Albert slide in and continue to play? Because he...
00:14:17
Speaker
He did OK in the time he was in. i and yeah He obviously puts that great. He slips Jordan through for the one goal the Sounders got. And he also helped set up the other really good chance where he put Georgie in and Georgie crossed it to Osaze, who put it off the post.
00:14:33
Speaker
Yeah, so I feel like that's what ultimately is going to make or break this this game for the Sounders on Sunday.
00:14:44
Speaker
I'm not worried about the lineup for Austin. I'm really not. I think that even at their best, I would put a great performance by the Sounders to go out there and win that game. But it is about how certain pieces kind of get put together because we still don't know if Pedro will start or not. I mean, you know,
00:15:02
Speaker
Brian talked about it. He said it's it's a pain tolerance thing. It's a tricky, tricky situation, tricky injury. So that just doesn't sit well with me. I'm hoping that he is available. He said he's making the trip, but that could mean all kinds of things. He made the trip to Miami too.
00:15:20
Speaker
Yeah. So in in Brian-ish terms, it it just I feel very uneasy about Pedro right now. I think the obvious difference for this game versus the last two with Pedro is that we going into the Galaxy game the two days prior, he wasn't all in with the team doing drills and scrimmages.
00:15:45
Speaker
Today, he was all in from start to finish. like And it was very sharp. yeah It should be said. was a reminder. yeah this He was cooking. you know we we i don't know how. we've We've kind of stopped talking about this because was a thing for so long because people were not seeing the production on the field.
00:16:04
Speaker
But you would see days like today – from Pedro out at training pretty regularly back before he was really, ah he, had he started scoring and and playing well for the, in the actual games, but he was on fire today.
00:16:17
Speaker
Almost every time the ball got on his foot, it was either in the back of the net, either through him or an assist. It was, it was quite remarkable. And it was a good reminder of this guy is really good.
00:16:27
Speaker
And it's, It's funny to say that he is a unsung hero because he is a designated player. He was named player of the tournament at League's Cup. But yet, because he hasn't been playing 90 minutes, I do think there's a way of sort of underestimating what he can bring in the in the time that he is on the field.
00:16:46
Speaker
And I think you're right. He was very sorely missed against Miami especially. And I mean, he was probably missed against the Galaxy as well. But he is he is a special player. And even if he doesn't start this week, just the fact that he is at least in full training seems to be a good sign.
00:17:04
Speaker
I mean, and another awesome hero that I feel like people have forgotten about, it and I think he we could definitely title him that, to me, is Jordan Morris. And he is a guy that he got a lot of heat on the socials on this game. Look, I get that he wasn't like...
00:17:22
Speaker
Speeding or like sprinting to every ball. And he comes in late into a game that's ultimately done and over with. Right. And regardless of the Sounders getting the one goal, it just didn't look like the other one was coming.
00:17:36
Speaker
um He puts in the assist. He's a guy that obviously look between how bad the field was. And when he came onto the game, I was a little bit nervous for him that he was going to aggravate something. Right. He's had various you know injuries this year.
00:17:53
Speaker
ah So you've got to take into consideration that he was probably easing into that game. And he just got those minutes to get competitive minutes. But I don't think that is a real example of what he's providing.
00:18:07
Speaker
I heard, you know, he looks so stiff. He looks so tired. I don't think it's that. I think that he was being cautious going into the game. But he's a guy that, to me, is going to really make this offense that much better.
00:18:20
Speaker
I'm not saying that the Mussofsky magic is gone. He certainly is a great poacher. i feel like although Osasie had a bad game, i mean, it was more of a lack of service and maybe a couple of moments where he just didn't get the ball right at the punches he had.
00:18:36
Speaker
i don't know if ah Paul might have been off sites anyways. ah Oh, you're. Oh, I mean, no, no, Paul. um jordan Georgie. Georgie might have been off sites. ah But having Jordan to me just makes me feel so much better about Someone getting to certain balls, someone beating the defense to the back.
00:18:55
Speaker
You know, there's so many things that Jordan does that I feel like he could be these teams on some hero for the last five yeah games of the season. It's silly almost to keep talking about.
00:19:08
Speaker
how productive Jordan has been when he's been able to be on the field, but he has played something like 448 MLS minutes this season and has four goals and one assist, which is effectively i goal contribution every 90 minutes, slightly better than that. But,
00:19:29
Speaker
Yeah, he wasn't sprinting the entire half hour he was on the field against Miami, but he was making good runs. He looked strong. He looked fast. He looked explosive.
00:19:41
Speaker
It is such, i think, similarly to De La Vega, even if he's coming off of the bench, such a...
00:19:53
Speaker
rarity to be able to bring someone on who is not just a really good player, but a genuine upgrade over whoever is starting ahead of them until they're able to start themselves. Like that is such a step up in quality that opponents have to deal with that.
00:20:12
Speaker
I don't think Jordan, his skillset does not lend to taking over a game necessarily in the way that I think Pedro is capable of, but A player who
Community and Sponsorship Highlights
00:20:24
Speaker
forces other teams to defend and play so differently from what anyone else offers just completely opens games up.
00:20:36
Speaker
Yeah. And I'm just going to say we're going to a quick break and we'll come back and we'll talk a little bit more about the... The competition for minutes that we are, i think this good transition to the competition for minutes.
00:20:49
Speaker
ah That's Jordan, that's Danny, that's all, i mean, really all over the field. And think it's going be a fascinating ah thing to see how Brian ends up ah balancing that.
00:21:00
Speaker
Thank you for listening to the Sounder at Heart Podcast Network, which now includes Nos Adietes, Loving Scorchers, and The Cooler Guild. Although this podcast is free, it's only made possible through our paid subscribers.
00:21:11
Speaker
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00:21:46
Speaker
Discord is where we make things happen. Like, for real. You know the promotion the Sounders ran that offered fans the opportunity to trade in their messy jersey for a Paul Rothrock one? That originated in our community. You'll not only be the first to know about stuff, but you also have a semi-direct line to the movers and shakers at the Sounders organization. If you want to be one of the totally normal people who occupy the Sounder at Heart Discord, just become a supporter of Sounder at Heart. Anyway, thanks for listening, and go Ders.
00:22:15
Speaker
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00:23:03
Speaker
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Lineup Analysis and Player Rotation
00:23:16
Speaker
All right, we're back and let's get into the lineup decisions that are facing Brian this week. I think maybe this I shouldn't say the lineup decisions this week, but the lineup decisions that are going to be going on.
00:23:31
Speaker
I think this week might be a little straightforward because Pedro hasn't played for three weeks, so we might not start right away. Jordan Morris clearly still working his way in, but Albert Rusnak looks like he is going to be starting again.
00:23:43
Speaker
looked to me like they are sort of going back to that hybrid 4-2-3-1, 3-4-2-1, depending on, you know, in possession, out of possession kind of thing. ah But it's one of the big decisions that they're eventually going to have to figure out is how they keep Danny Masofsky going.
00:24:01
Speaker
Still, you know, this is one of the the hottest strikers in the league still. ah They've got Osase de Rosario, who is coming off a great leagues cup. Clearly he's down the the the totem pole when it comes to actual playing time, but they probably going to want to find stuff for him. But then it gets really interesting once you get outside of that, because you've got Jesus Ferreira, Paul Rothrock, Pedro de la Vega, Albert Rusnak, all playing like starters who can't all start.
00:24:30
Speaker
Yeah, and I mean, for me, as much as i love and I have been a huge Paul Rothbard guy, he's probably the guy that is more built to come in off the bench yeah and just immediately impact the game, create havoc.
00:24:48
Speaker
ah He has so many ways to influence the game that are far beyond just what he'll do on the ball. He is a guy that, although... I have learned to respect and appreciate his savviness and his actual technical abilities.
00:25:05
Speaker
I still think that he's heavy motor. It's his biggest attribute. So he has an ability that maybe Pedro doesn't have to just come into a game and just get it going. He turns the switch on and he's he's on, baby.
00:25:19
Speaker
Pedro needs time to get into a game, to settle in, to read the game, to find his feet. the Obviously, his upset is great, but he needs to start. um so So that part is where I feel like Bryan is going to lean to. And he might seem like an easy decision, but maybe not so much so. Because we're just talking about injuries. We're talking about the way that this team has played with a certain amount of of players.
00:25:47
Speaker
So yeah, I feel like that that's one that we're all going to be watching for. Yeah, I think to both of your point, Paul Rothrock is probably, if everyone is fit and available,
00:26:02
Speaker
Paul is probably the guy who misses out on a starting spot in that scenario. We have seen when. Pedro is healthy and good to go He is a starter for Schmetzer, like if he figured out if you play him in his best position and give him the room to run, he is going to.
00:26:28
Speaker
run all over opponents and he'll do it on both sides of the field. Like his contributions against Miami were huge. He was an absolute nightmare, both with the when the Sounders were in possession and when they were without the ball, like he just plays so hard.
00:26:48
Speaker
The question is, how available is he going to be? i think the benefit is one, the ability to chop and change the team depending on the opponent, what the other team is giving you in a game.
00:27:04
Speaker
And I think we probably do see more of a. platoon approach throughout that front four of guys starting and they go 60 and the other guy comes on and plays 30. And then if you know, it's a two game week, they swap and the other guy starts the next game. But I what I hope we see is that as guys get fit and spots, not just in the 11, but in that game day roster are up for grabs that that competition does continue to spur players on to better and better performances that.
00:27:45
Speaker
As Jordan said, maybe they needed a game like the Miami one to sort of wake them up, that that just adds to that competition and the drive and that they are able to get get rolling as the ah end of the season approaches.
00:28:01
Speaker
And I don't think we're going to see this as a starting position, but I wouldn't be at all surprised if we do see all four of all five of them with Jordan all on the field together. It seems to me it's much more likely to be sort of a late game situation ah to get them all on the field. You'd basically have to play be playing like a ah three, two, four, one, which on it on top of things.
00:28:24
Speaker
you It means pulling off an Alex Roldan or a, you know, you're essentially playing without a right back or a left back and you're playing just with three center backs. i I don't know that you're going to really see that to start, ah but I wouldn't be at all surprised to see if we see late game situations where it's, you know, Jackson, Yamar and Alex or something along the back line.
00:28:47
Speaker
Again, i don't think that's a, that's a not probably starting formation. But if you're chasing meet a goal in a playoff game or something, I, yeah, certainly overwhelming force. Yeah. The other thing that's going to be interesting this week is this is the last week that oh that Obed and Reed Baker Whiting are going to be here.
International Duties and Team Impact
00:29:07
Speaker
They're going to miss two huge games. At least they're going miss the Portland game and they're going to miss the Vancouver Whitecaps game.
00:29:13
Speaker
Both are which kind of must win games, ah if we're being honest. And that's yeah and then the they could potentially miss ah the rest of the season. actually after Austin, depending on how far they advance in the U-20 World Cup. That's another thing we learned this week is that both Reid and Obed are going to the U-20 World Cup. It sounds like there were some internal discussions about whether or not they were going to accept those invitations.
00:29:37
Speaker
They both obviously accepted it. Hard to second guess their decisions from a personal standpoint. Hard to second guess the Sounders ultimately agreeing agreeing that they can But...
00:29:50
Speaker
but Especially for Obed, this is, you know, this is a ah he's going to start. It's a huge deal. It's a huge deal. And how the Sounders handle his absence, because they have not had to play very many games without Obed or Christian, for that matter, on the field.
00:30:06
Speaker
Yeah, and that's one of the reasons, because I kind of figured that, you know, it was probably the worst kept secret was that, oh, it was going to go to play with the U-20s. And that's why i kind of had that that Vancouver game as a loss on my book.
00:30:21
Speaker
Kubas and Beryl Halter are a hell of a pairing at midfield. That team, the way they move now with Mueller and this, I don't know, almost...
00:30:33
Speaker
ah excitement that he's got this team playing with is just is different i think that that's one of those games are you gonna really miss a guy like obit i'm hoping that i like what i see out of snyder burnell i really do i feel like he clearly doesn't have maybe that explosiveness on the ball and uh maybe he's clearly a young player that's still trying to find his way but he finds himself in the right positions i you know he had that one bad turnover against miami but other than that thought he was a positive
00:31:04
Speaker
I thought he gave him – he injected some energy into the game. he did. He did. And even when he – he might not be the fastest guy out there. He's so smart on the ball that he can cut angles with the best of them. He got a couple of intercepting balls that were – I thought were we're were're great. You know, his anticipation is very good.
00:31:20
Speaker
So we'll see how that works out. But the Obed Vargas is clearly the one – player that you're really going to miss it in those two games. Not anything against Reed, but obviously he's been more of a rotating piece rather than a feature because that's what Obed is. in And both pivots.
00:31:37
Speaker
For this offense to work, the pivots need to work. Yeah, it's tough to to look past the impact that Obed has. It's so commonplace at this point that he just...
00:31:53
Speaker
is one of the best midfielders in the league and is written in ink as the starter next to Christian Roldan, who has a fair case as the best central mid in MLS this season.
00:32:08
Speaker
I really like Snyder. I think he reads the game really well. He reads space incredibly well. If you watch Tacoma Defiance in his absence, you can see the gap that is left in their midfield by him moving to the first team.
00:32:26
Speaker
But those are, you know, Timbers game is always a tough environment. That's not an easy thing to step into as a teenager with, you know, only a handful of appearances with the first team.
00:32:43
Speaker
Vancouver, to your point, that's one of the best teams in the West. And they were that before adding Thomas Muller. that's going to be a tough game to navigate your way through.
00:32:57
Speaker
do wonder if we see Joao rather than Snyder in those games. I wouldn't be shocked by that. But yeah, going to be much tougher games without Obed Vargas available.
00:33:12
Speaker
Yeah, for me is how fit is JP? That's the one thing. You know, is he fit for 60? for sixty He's definitely not ready for 90, in my opinion. I just can't imagine. Looking from the outside, right? I mean, when was the last time he played?
00:33:25
Speaker
Oh, I mean, you'd have to go back to like February something like that. I mean... It was February, but it's been a while. Yeah, it's been like for him to play. Oh, like just right now. You know, 90. No, I just mean. Oh, yeah. Play right before his injury. But you're right. It might be 90 minutes since he probably played 90 minutes.
00:33:45
Speaker
Yeah, feel like 90, I feel like the last time I might have seen that would have been Antigua or something like that. His last appearance was the previous Austin game.
00:33:57
Speaker
Oh, wow. June 28th. That was the last appearance of any kind. Yeah. Yeah. So I feel like that's a guy that you do want back. He played four minutes. He played four minutes. eight Great. Yeah. so So that's my concern because he's clearly back on. He was playing as a neutral today. i see him ah without any real issues. You know, i always look at his his vertical movement his horizontal movement. he Those hips ah can always tell where he's at. He looks good there, but it's different to just play a short-sighted game than it is obviously –
00:34:32
Speaker
on a competitive game. So yeah he hasn't started since May 14th. May. Oh, see, I was all coast close. It was that I was close. Yeah, that was not. They were not that far off. ah But yeah, so 90 minutes is probably not in the cards for him, which is fine. They they shouldn't need 90 minutes from JP.
00:34:52
Speaker
I would think that Snyder is capable of playing some the, it'll be interesting how Danny late. I mean, Danny Leva looks so comfortable playing as a 10. Yes. But, He can't be any better than third on the depth chart at the 10 now with with both Jesus Ferreira and Albert Rusnak.
00:35:10
Speaker
So is he going to get some minutes maybe in that double pivot? he had you know He hasn't done it. it's It's kind of a bummer because players like Danny Leyva haven't done anything to warrant a lack of play. I think Danny Leyva was one like basically a player.
00:35:24
Speaker
Wasn't he like player of the game the last time that he started? yeah I mean, I thought that he was for the Santos game. Yeah, and that was the last time he started, right? Yeah, i think that was his his last start. out maybe i mean Maybe there was one other one.
00:35:38
Speaker
But he he's been, you know, so that's going to be going to be fascinating. ah And i we I should also say before we get out of here.
Goalkeeper Controversy: Fry vs. Thomas
00:35:46
Speaker
we We asked Brian about the goalkeeper situation. That's the big one.
00:35:51
Speaker
And that is probably the biggest one. You know, I basically threw it to him as, well, if you played Steph on short rest, this must mean he's your number one. And he said, he's my number one for now.
00:36:03
Speaker
And, you know, tried to. And I and I think there was some real. You know, he was not he did. He could have if he wanted to said he's our number one. He's going to be our number one going forward.
00:36:14
Speaker
And I don't want to talk about it anymore. That was not the answer he gave. He explicitly said there is competition, which is more definitive to that angle of the conversation than he has been previously.
00:36:30
Speaker
I mean, exactly. For for me, I see it another way. I think that he's already made up his mind. And I think that he's adding that competition thing just so Steph is going to stay sharp and he's going to keep that there as in that the competition is still there. But but I on Tuesday, I said, look, if Andrew starts, there's competition and he's trying to figure out what's what.
00:36:55
Speaker
But if Steph starts, he's going to go with Steph. I thought, Steph, obviously we've talked about this. The second goal may be a little bit of lack of mobility there, perhaps.
00:37:06
Speaker
But the other two, ah header that close at at just blank range. I don't care who you are. It's it's hard to get your hands up. it I know it looks bad, probably more so because your mind is embedded on the age and on the fact that he should not be in there. And so you go to that, but that's a hard shot no matter what.
00:37:27
Speaker
ah The couple of big saves that he had, those are savvy, experienced saves, right? He had one on Agende. ah know ah He gets in on the 18, crosses it, hits it well, has one on a fray,
00:37:41
Speaker
ah Header has the other one that's a big one is the Bigfoot save that he got on Messi. So there was a lot of good things, but I understand why that's there. However, I feel like Brian is going to go with Steph until Steph gives him a reason to pull him off.
00:38:01
Speaker
That's just my opinion. ah I don't know. I sensed more doubt in his answer because after the game, when we asked him about it, he was pretty defensive. Not defensive. He was...
00:38:14
Speaker
ah Yeah, mean, he was he was more willing to defend Frye's performance. And then today, he i wouldn't say he walked back the def defense of Frye's performance, but he just made it very clear that, like, I don't think he needs to motivate Steph Frye. Steph Frye is going to be motivated.
00:38:30
Speaker
i think he's just, oh i do think he's purposely leaving open, hit leaving his options open. That's, I guess, what I see. I think Andrew Thomas has made his case. He has shown that if he starts in goal, you are going to get good performances.
00:38:47
Speaker
That is a player capable of being the number one goalkeeper for the Seattle Sounders. I think... The point that Schmetzer maybe is leaving it where the competition is essentially you have a guy who's ready to step in. Right. Prove that that guy doesn't need to step in.
00:39:08
Speaker
and it is maybe not totally dissimilar from the way he approached it with Braul Ruiz Diaz or Nico Lodero, where. You are capable of performing as a guy who deserves to start.
00:39:23
Speaker
You have earned the respect and the opportunity to maintain your starting spot through everything you've contributed up to this point, but you need to earn it. And he's not going to make the decision based on one game or two game yeah games, but he is going to give him enough road to prove definitively one way or the other, whether he should continue to start or he is going to step aside.
00:39:49
Speaker
I don't think it's an easy decision by any means, but i yeah, I, I heard more. genuine sentiment in the competition remark.
00:40:03
Speaker
um But we'll see how it plays out. But that's what I'm saying. Steph's his guy. Steph his guy. And who Steph proves that he cannot perform at that level. and And what I meant to ask him that we just couldn't because unfairly, he was very on nine minutes today. He should have given us 30 minutes because we waited for him beyond that. But we're going to let it go.
00:40:26
Speaker
But what I wanted to ask him is... it's it's It's unlike Nico or Raul because the goalkeeping position, you're kind of depending on the rest of the team, right? yeah Because soccer is circumstantial is not linear.
00:40:40
Speaker
I say that all the time because that's the way it is. How unfair is it that Andrew you played Inter-Miami when... The team was lights out when they were chasing Messi the whole game where they were playing at a different level.
00:40:55
Speaker
And then Steph gets to play when people are looking tired, ah is looking like nobody has got the intensity. yeah Christian Roldan's having the worst game of his life. Jamar, it's trying to jump on the ball on a free kick and passes it to ah an open attacker.
00:41:10
Speaker
I mean, you know, there's so many things that... If you look at it, it has to be beyond conceding goals. So that's what I wanted to ask him. What is it that you're looking for in terms to make that decision?
00:41:24
Speaker
And I think the the concerns or frustration or questions around Fry's mobility, his ability to react and respond in moments, is not a new issue. No, not. That's been...
00:41:40
Speaker
the case and he does have in moments in games plays where like maybe occasionally he makes a save that you don't a hundred percent know that Andrew Thomas makes that save, but you also don't a hundred percent know that Stefan Fry is going to make that save. That's true. That's true. And you end up with numerous opportunities where yeah, Fry makes good saves in that Miami game, but there are also several other opportunities that Miami had that they didn't finish that if they
00:42:14
Speaker
It's Andrew Thomas. Andrew Thomas is probably physically capable of closing an angle or beating a player to a ball. He's quicker to react because he knows that he physically is able to accomplish the thing and there's not any perceived hesitation.
00:42:32
Speaker
I you know, there's also just the the concerns of how much does the collision that led to his head injury linger?
00:42:45
Speaker
i think especially for goalkeeper, like for any player following an injury, there is always that hesitancy that you have to overcome of like, oh, if I go into this challenge, am I going to get another knee injury, whatever?
00:43:02
Speaker
Goalkeepers especially are You know, they are the madmen in the team. They do things that no other player would ever conceivably attempt.
00:43:16
Speaker
That added layer of, you know, the last time i did this, I got meat in the head and then was out for however long.
00:43:28
Speaker
I don't know how much that is contributing, but i I do think there is a mounting body of evidence that Andrew Thomas might just give you a better chance of winning games. And maybe you got to see that on the field, because my rebuttal would be, the is that the more athletic goalkeeper in that mess he saved that Steph made at the end, Messi's expecting the goalkeeper to come at him,
00:43:53
Speaker
quicker right and if he does that he's gonna chip it over or he's gonna make it easier i think what steph does well is that he stands his ground and he makes himself a big part of it is probably because he knows he's not gonna beat messy to the ball or he's not gonna close the angle quick enough and so it kind of works to this point but i mean i get what you're saying because we've seen the best out of thomas when he comes to shot stopping that that is his thing right But I still don't think it's definitive. Now, I understand that evidence is is there when it comes to the mobility component, because that's something that's a reality. It's not like we're making that up.
00:44:33
Speaker
But in the distribution also, if you look at that, a cup the opportunity in the l L.A. game that Musavsky misses, that comes with a great ball from Steph into Paul.
00:44:45
Speaker
Paul heads that ball through the defensive line, and then Musavsky has all the real estate to go and miss that shot.
00:44:54
Speaker
And there was a couple of times in the Miami game where I also thought that he was on point on his feet because he does have that over on Andrew. I think Steph's still the better distributor, even though what's frustrating is that the second, the equalizing goal against the Galaxy also comes off of him. He kicks it off. Kicks out of bounds.
00:45:12
Speaker
And I think that's sort of where, like, it's that stuff. I think that's the stuff that's that's ultimately going to be on Brian's mind. It's like, look. we We know where Thomas's advantages are. We think we know where Steph's advantages are. But if those advantages start to diminish, I don't know. I think it's this is – it's not going away. I guess is what I – the whole point of bringing it up is that, you know, we're but two more games into this. There's five games left.
00:45:41
Speaker
I don't know how much longer it can hang out there before it – like I guarantee the last thing that Brian wants to do is go into – the last two games of the season, not 100% sure who is starting Golden Rose. Totally agree. And, I mean, to you guys' points, that balance of pros and cons, you know, is starting to lean towards Andrew's way, right? So can he perform? My guess is, my gut feeling is that Steph will start again against Austin, and then that'll be the –
00:46:13
Speaker
deciding and my i mean it might be i mean if steph plays great against austin or if the sounders win that game 2-0 whatever probably going to be the starter of the rest of the year if they don't win that game yes i think we are very much back in the you know or i shouldn't say if we don't if they don't win if if if there's a more than a crack of doubt that the performance that's where it's going to get real serious i think because portland vancouver rsl rsl
00:46:43
Speaker
New York City. Those are all tough games. They are all effectively playoff games. It's where the rubber's going to throw it. One way or another, I would like for there definitively to not be a goalkeeper controversy. I would like that, too, because I do feel like we repeatedly are like, there's not really a goalkeeper controversy. And then there continues to be a goalkeeper controversy, whether we like it or not. Right. Yeah.
00:47:08
Speaker
Well, that's probably a good place to end it. ah Thank you guys. Nico Moreno. You can, of course, find him on Pulse Sports. You can find him on El Rolo NW on the various socials.
00:47:20
Speaker
And, of course, you can find him on Lobbing Scorchers as well as our little podcast here. And then Tim Foss is doing more and more in-person reporting out here at Long Acres. I want to say thank you, Tim. You've been doing a great job holding it down, and we're going to continue to get more of this.
00:47:36
Speaker
Yeah. Sounds good. Yeah. Just don't try to find me on social media. Exactly. We didn't even talk about Craig today, but there wasn't much to say. Yeah, well, i mean, ah if we had to just kind of put it in a nutshell, he was he he gave pretty easy statements that you probably find in a press release. I mean, he seemed to be he seemed to have somewhere to be and and wasn't about to ah delay himself. i think He was here, and that's about as much as...
00:48:07
Speaker
I think the biggest thing that he said today for everyone was the fact that he feels like there's two strong offers um on the table on the table for Paul Rothrock and Obed Vargas. Meaning to stay here Meaning to stay because obviously both of those guys are looking for extensions. We asked Obed. He seems to be very confident that things will go up great.
00:48:27
Speaker
ah But in terms of ah what we heard from from Craig, you there was nothing really there. Even, you know, you asked about potential, you know, about him going into somewhere else. Well, because there's always been interest Reed going elsewhere.
00:48:44
Speaker
And we sort of just asked sort of almost a softball about what and maybe he misunderstood the question. Maybe I didn't phrase it right. But he's just completely shot it down like that was someone else. i don't know what you're talking about.
00:48:55
Speaker
Yeah, no. but But Craig, aside from that, there was really nothing going on there. ah We'll see where this team leads off. I asked him about potential turnover for next year, and he didn't. No, there was no. I don't know if he really answered it at the very end of it. So if you see that presser and you kind of see that maybe we didn't add more questions, it's because we kind of got where it was going. It was probably not the presser we were going to get a lot. So, yeah, that's kind of it in a nutshell. Yeah. Well, with all that said, I am Jeremiah Shan signing off for Nos Adietes, which is part of the Sounder Heart Podcast Network.
00:49:31
Speaker
We will catch you next time.
00:50:00
Speaker
Let's go at Sounders. um