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The Nouhou Experience - Ep. 36
59 Plays1 year ago
Ari and Noah discuss the Seattle Sounders 1-1 draw with the Vancouver Whitecaps and preview their upcoming match against Phoenix Rising in the US Open Cup. Ari shares his unique perspective of the Sounders game, as he was attending a wedding and couldn't watch the match. The boys highlights Jordan Morris' early goal and Obed Vargas' impact on the game. They also discuss the Nouhou red card and the missed handball call. This weeks winners and losers around the MLS including the Portland Timbers, New England Revolution, LA Galaxy, and Toronto FC. Noah also mentions the intriguing and mysterious career of Emmanuel Reynoso at Minnesota United.
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Transcript
Missing the Sounders Game: Ari's Wedding Adventure
00:00:09
Speaker
What's going on, everybody? Welcome into episode 36 of Lobbing Scorchers. This is Ari Lillianwall. I got producer Noah here with me. Noah, what's up, man? It's good to be back.
00:00:21
Speaker
I'm doing great, Ari. How's your hangover? I've seen better days. I've seen better days. Once again, apologies for the late release on this episode. But as Noah just alluded to, I have been out of town from Friday to Monday at my friend's wedding in Bend, Oregon. So I am definitely recovering from that.
00:00:42
Speaker
But I feel better today. I'm ready to lay this pod down. And I think it's going to be a fun show because due to my wedding obligations, I didn't watch any of the Sounders game this weekend. Not one single second of it. So I'm not going to let that deter me from recording a podcast about it. I'm going to lay down the takes anyway, even though I didn't watch it.
00:01:02
Speaker
And I think it's going to be a unique show in that way because there's not many scenarios where I ever would miss a Sounders game. I was trying to think of all the games that I've missed over the years and I can count them on one hand. I remember there was one year when I was actually on the Seahawks beat at the same time the Hawks were playing when the Sounders were in Houston and I was at the Hawks game.
00:01:25
Speaker
Um, so I remember missing that one. Uh, I think it was one where Obafemi Martin scored an equalizer. Um, but other than that, I was, I was racking my brain and I was trying to think of all the games that I miss. And you know, I just, I really don't miss him unless I absolutely have to. I have been in this situation at least one other time before where I was traveling on a trip with some buddies and I missed the, I missed a home game, but I was able to watch that one and I was actually still working it remotely.
00:01:55
Speaker
from the Airbnb. But what happened this time? No, I'll just lay down the scene for you and then I want to take you through my perception of this game because it was actually pretty funny. I wasn't exactly sure how the timing was going to work out at the wedding if I was going to be a situation where I could watch it on TV or if I was going to have to miss it entirely.
00:02:15
Speaker
Uh, but then when I got there, it became clear with the schedule, there was a cocktail hour event where we all had to go right during the game. So I was like, okay, I'm missing this. I'm not going to watch it at all. Um, I'll check what's going on on my phone periodically, but you know, I'm just going to disengage and then still rip a podcast about it when I get back based on what I find.
00:02:36
Speaker
So I'm gonna give you the recap of this game from my perspective from the cocktail hour And then you can maybe fill in some gaps where I don't know what happened I got the basic idea though, but it was just it was just funny how the game went in comparison to what I was doing at the time because I'll tell you what like I didn't pull up the score at all until probably the 15th to 20th minute and
00:03:01
Speaker
And by that point, the Seattle Sounders had scored an MLS goal. Jordan Morris, I think it was in like the eighth minute. And I was like, Oh, hell yeah. That's not necessarily what I was expecting. Um, an early goal in a rivalry game, they're ahead. They have a, they have a chance at not only taking a result, but taking all three points in this game. Maybe they can score another MLS goal.
00:03:22
Speaker
potentially potentially that's within the realm of possibility they already scored one in the first 10 minutes so can they get another that'll be an interesting thing to track on my phone from this wedding so the rest of the game I was pointed up every 10 to 15 minutes still one zero still one zero
00:03:39
Speaker
And it got late enough in the game where I was like, all right, I mean, it seems like the defense must be playing pretty well. Maybe they can just see out this one zero. I didn't know any, I didn't know that De La Vega played. I didn't, all I knew was that Jordan scored a goal in the eighth minute and then that they didn't score again. And it was just a very deeply comedic moment. When I checked around the 88th minute and they were still up one zero and I was like, okay, this could be a three pointer right here.
00:04:03
Speaker
And then the next thing I see, I pull up the score past the 90th minute and I just see, new who with the little red card symbol. I'm like, oh no. And then I see our goal, penalty kick goal, 90 plus four. And I was like, wow.
00:04:20
Speaker
that is probably the perfect way for that game to end a new red card to a penalty kick equalizer in a game where they were in position to get three points. They could have won that game for sure. I went back and I watched the highlight of the Jordan goal
00:04:39
Speaker
and i watch the highlight of the new red card that's the only two plays that i've seen from this game noah um so i'll just give you my takes on each of those plays and then uh you can maybe fill me in on more of what happened and
Obed Vargas: A Rising Star?
00:04:52
Speaker
i can just react to it live off the cuff and uh
00:04:54
Speaker
We can lay these takes down. Let's talk about the Jordan goal first, do the goal breakdown. My biggest takeaway from that goal, Noah, was Obed Vargas. Again, he made that whole thing happen. From that Vargas perhaps. He did a lot of great things again on that play. The initial ball that he sent in, that led directly to a chance. And then I believe he got to a rebound after that first chance was saved.
00:05:22
Speaker
and almost scored it himself he put a shot on target that could have been a goal really but then that rebound fell right to Jordan and Jordan converted it but really Obed made that play happen and to me my takeaway from that is just that the Obed at right mid experiment is still cooking he's making plays he's impacting games
00:05:42
Speaker
In a way that we haven't really seen from him yet in his career until these last few weeks where he's made the switch higher up the field which I just think that continues to play big dividends and If there's a positive takeaway from this game, I think there's a couple actually positive takeaways from this game but that's a primary one is that he just continues to look really good up there and He he made a play in this game that directly led to a goal And I think you got to let him keep cooking up there for as long as you can ride this wave
00:06:12
Speaker
you
00:06:12
Speaker
Yeah, I think that's the perfect like takeaway from that goal. The play was crazy. I was in the stadium and I was, I also, I had two young children with me. So I was being like uncle Noah and it was so, you know, I'm wrangling kids and I got a side view of the goal. So I initially didn't even really see it kind of like you. I like heard everyone freaking out and I was like, Oh shit. So I pull up, you know, I'm watched the replay and all that, but what a, what a play by Obed. He just continues to amaze me and
00:06:42
Speaker
like people have been saying online a lot that the reason that he's so successful is because his freedom to go forward it's like he's not I don't know he's not somehow feeling like he needs to pass the ball back or he's feeling nervous but like
00:07:01
Speaker
I feel like it's more than that. I think he's just a creative player who is explosive and maybe it's kind of the same thing with Georgie where there's not a lot of film on him so he can do as he pleases. Well, there's a fair amount now. I mean, he's been playing on the first team since the Champions League days. That's true. That's true. But maybe not at the right position. But not at this position, exactly. Yeah.
00:07:22
Speaker
No, yeah, I still think the sample size is too small to dub it a full-on breakout for Obed. I learned that lesson with Leo Chu. You got to see it for an extended period of time. But certainly, if he keeps performing at this level, he keeps making plays, he keeps impacting games, he keeps getting on the stat sheet, contributing to goals.
00:07:41
Speaker
And really just playing with that flare and fire that he's playing with right now could be a breakout season. And that's a potentially very significant development. I mean, we've talked about Obed a lot on this show the last few weeks. But really, has there been a homegrown player since Jordan that truly broke out and became a pronounced impact player in that way?
00:08:07
Speaker
I mean, you've got a lot of Academy kids that have come up and cracked the first team in recent years. I don't think Josh Atencio, as good as he's been at times, has... I don't know if you could say he's fully broken out to that extent, the same way that Jordan did. Danny Leva came out hot, but then eventually cooled off. I would say he did not really develop into that type of impact player that we're talking about. I mean, I think what Obed's demonstrating right now is he has the ceiling to really be a hit, which...
Sounders' Challenges and Strategies
00:08:36
Speaker
You know, I think the Academy project has done well to get these guys up to the first team. But really, ideally, what you're striving for is to become an Academy like the Philly Union, where you have these guys that aren't just breaking in and holding their own, but they're becoming impact players. You know, you see that with Jack McGlynn, Brendan Aronson, you know, I can rattle off five or six more names of guys that they've brought up with the Sullivan brothers.
00:09:01
Speaker
then Kavon Sullivan is that you know their Academy I think is that's the one I kind of look at and I'm like okay, that's the type of developmental track that you're that you're striving for and so one of those hits that would be a big thing
00:09:17
Speaker
Yeah. And to be fair to the Sounders, like they do absolutely and for a long time have produced incredible talent. You know, De'Andre Jettlin, who is, you know, in this league, even one of the best at his position to play it period as a wing back, at least. And, you know, I think that
00:09:45
Speaker
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00:10:11
Speaker
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00:10:41
Speaker
DeAndre and Jordan are both very fair and valid pluses on their track record in that way. But I'm talking more about the Leyva, Atencio, Obed era. None of them have fully broken out yet, and it looks like Obed might be doing so. And watching that goal, it's just another data point for that.
00:10:59
Speaker
And that's exciting because also the other thing about him is he's just fun to watch. I think this team hasn't, there's been a lot of stretches of time where maybe even during the times where they're pulling results, it's not always exciting. It's not always entertaining. It's like pulling teeth a lot of the time to get to the one zero, you know, we've watched a lot of zero zeros over the past year and a half.
00:11:21
Speaker
So it's it's fun to have a young player like this who is ascending who's dynamic who's making plays who's getting goal contributions It's it's it's fun to watch and And he's like 13. Yeah, he's like 13 years old, you know, and if he you know if he fully if he fully does break out there's gonna there was a lot of talk about him potentially getting sold on when he was first coming up and and
00:11:45
Speaker
You know, I don't want to take away from the contributions that he made, uh, during that champions league run and up to this point, but I mean, this is a new level, is it not? Yeah, no, a hundred percent. I think funny enough, he got a lot of media coverage for his substitution on in the champions league final, which he was 16 years. Yeah. So yeah, he was 16 years old and being subbed on to a champions league in final playing well. And then your team wins the competition. That's yeah, absolutely. That's a mark of a wonder kid, but.
00:12:15
Speaker
I think what he's elevated to now is not only, you know, you can be a wonder kid. You can, you can show bright spots here and there. He's a full blown first team
Sounders vs. Phoenix Rising: Open Cup Preview
00:12:25
Speaker
starter that is displacing a player on our team that has been playing on our team longer than he's been able to like change his own diapers. Do you know what I mean? Like,
00:12:36
Speaker
he's displacing either Jordan Morris on the right wing or anyone else who might be playing against Christian against Christian yeah sorry Christian and that's they were just resigned Christian yeah well and there's there's a benefit to the fact that Christian is you can kind of plug and play him anywhere and he's going to do it a high level but I do think the offense has looked a lot more dynamic and exciting really since Obed took over at that position and I'm excited to watch more of it
00:13:03
Speaker
Unfortunately, the goal contribution for I don't know if he actually got an assist or anything on that goal, but he made the play. I think he got a hockey. Unfortunately, that goal did not stand up to get the Seattle Sounders all three points in the game, as I mentioned.
00:13:18
Speaker
Um, there was a, uh, a red card and a PK on new who at the end, which, uh, it's just, you know, I've been trying to steer this show away from the new who debate in the rust snack debate a little bit, just cause I feel like we've talked about it ad nauseam, but you don't want to play like that happens. It's obviously only going to add fuel to the fire.
00:13:38
Speaker
I mean, what I will say is, and you can hear something that you can correct me on. Sure. It seems like to me that the whole defense probably played pretty well in this game for the most part. I know I didn't look at the XG, but I didn't really see anything to the effect that the white caps were cooking with gas the entire game and racking up chances. And Stefan fry had the game of his life and Seattle was lucky to not give up a goal. Maybe that was the case.
00:14:03
Speaker
But it seems like they reasonably played well enough to get a clean sheet I imagine knew who was probably a part of that and did his job pretty well in the game I finally did watch the play where he got the penalty and the red card Today and oh man, I mean it's it's the right call. It's so unlucky though, man It's so like I see what he's trying to do. You do have to try and contest that shot You can't let him rip it uncontested But he goes in pretty
00:14:34
Speaker
recklessly, the dumbest tackle I think I've seen in a long time. Well, you know, it was so funny about it too is, um, when he got up after the ball deflected off him, he was like, he was pumped. He thought everyone was like, yo. And then you watch the replay and you're like, all right, his arm is out a little bit. And, uh, I guess that is a red card and Ryan called converts the penalty.
00:14:57
Speaker
Um, so it's just, it's unfortunate for new who, because I mean, did he not put in a good shift in the game? You know, as the certified and resident new who dislike her, I won't say I'm a hater, but, uh, he, he honestly had probably the best game of his season today in that match. And I think that that is the perfect just definition of the new who experience. It's like, he will put in the best 90 minutes he's put in in the last three seasons and then commit the absolute dumbest penalty red card to lose you the game.
00:15:26
Speaker
Well, they didn't, they didn't lose them the game, but it did cost the cost of two points. You know, this team can't be punting points like that right now. They need to be moving up the table and it's such a missed opportunity because if you see that out at one zero, you suddenly have a kind of galvanizing, another galvanizing rivalry win. You got the win in Portland, which was a huge win. You got boat raced really badly by re also Lake, but that was semi to be expected.
00:15:51
Speaker
Uh, but then if you could have won this game and just seen out that one zero, but you know, here's, here's the other thing I wanted to say about that though, which is that it, uh, it was a bad play by new who, uh, I understand the heat that he's taking, but I would point out if you score multiple goals in the game, that doesn't cost you the win.
00:16:09
Speaker
So there in these situations, especially watching this team play offense every week as I have for the last two years, like you should be able to score multiple games at multiple goals at home and then not have that play cost you the game. And that's that's really more what it's about to me. If you're up, if you get the second goal and you're up to zero right there, that can happen. And it's still unfortunate because new who gets the red card and he gets suspended, but you still win the game.
00:16:37
Speaker
So I think if we're divvying up the blame pie, I blame the offense just as much for when you get an early goal, your next assignment is to get the second goal, add on to that, make it a lead where if you have a bad defensive lapse and a concession, it doesn't cost you the game like that.
00:16:57
Speaker
And I think just as much as I blame the defender on that play, I think you also got to talk about the attack and the fact that they couldn't add the second goal. Now, I will talk about another positive takeaway that I had from the brief highlights that I did watch of this game.
00:17:13
Speaker
Which is that Pedro de la Vega played and it seemed like I haven't seen the full highlights of his appearance there I haven't seen like in every touch video yet, but I did see the play where he he hit it off the off the woodwork I did he hit the post twice twice twice an impossible angle basically both times
00:17:30
Speaker
But it's still like it's encouraging to see him out there at all, first of all, and then also making plays and putting the ball close to the goal. You know, we haven't seen enough of that in recent times. So that's nice to see. And I think that's something that's valid to look at that and take encouragement from that just because we've talked about it so much of this season and this team's ceiling in general.
00:17:54
Speaker
For the foreseeable future here is tied to him being a they need this signing to really really he's got a bang He has to and so to see him out on the field come out of the match healthy ostensibly and Also make a couple plays and look dangerous and kind of show what he can do we all know the pedigree that he has and the type of potential that he has and
00:18:17
Speaker
Um, this is a guy that there's a lot of weight of expectations on him. So to see a, uh, to see a performance where he can hopefully build on that and become that type of player. Uh, I thought that was probably, that was a good thing to see, even if he didn't quite get rewarded for with a goal in this game. Um, what did you see from Pedro de la Vega? No.
00:18:36
Speaker
I mean, it was so nice to see him out there. It was kind of a head turning moment because for me watching this match, the first 15 minutes, we looked really, really good. We were pressing. We were really nice in transition. The attack looked functional, which I was like, when's this going to break down? But, you know, we had this slog of a 45, 50, 60 minutes. And then it gets to Pedro de la Vega subs on and you have more attacking
00:19:04
Speaker
firepower than you had even in that first 15 minutes. In my opinion, like I think the first goal and the goal that Jordan got was good, but I don't think that it was a necessarily high likelihood chance to go in. So it was pretty cool that he got back on and he looked to clearly make a difference in the way that he's playing. He just, he floats the entire offense up by like a lot.
00:19:29
Speaker
Yeah, that's exciting. That's exciting to hear. Hopefully he can just stay on the field for these next few games. It's really, it's more just about like this, this season would be so much more fun and interesting to watch if he was a part of it. And there was at least a storyline of whether he, he can hit or not.
00:19:45
Speaker
Yeah, and the hamstring injury has robbed us of that storyline. So he's actually back sooner than I expected I thought he would be at bat out a little bit longer but good to see him get some minutes and it's good that he had a positive performance and yeah, hopefully you can stay on the field and we can see more of them in the next few weeks because
00:20:03
Speaker
First of all, it's going to be interesting to see how they line it up with him healthy. Now we've been, we've been talking about that exactly how they should handle it. And you know, I think squad rotation and fixture congestion will obviously dictate a lot of that, but it's still an interesting exercise. What would the first choice front four be? We've kicked around a few different ideas, debated it. I don't think there's necessarily a right or wrong answer to that question, but it's fun to talk about. And it will be interesting to see how Schmidt in a game where he's throwing out his fully first choice 11,
00:20:32
Speaker
something's got to give and you know I don't really think this team has been hyper dynamic in attack enough this season where anyone can rightfully say their spot is necessarily safe you know like we debated
00:20:47
Speaker
whether Jordan or Raoul should be the first choice nine. I think I'm kind of on the Raoul side of that. Maybe you're more on the Jordan side. I'm on either side. Yeah, you're on the neither side. That's kind of what I'm saying is like neither one of those guys has really been consistently productive enough to make that an easy debate. You can make the argument either way. I'm so pro just not playing a nine. Just don't play a striker.
00:21:12
Speaker
So De La Vega at the false nine in this scenario? Yeah. Okay. I mean, I'm into that. Just bench them both. It's a, it's a question between like what you would want to happen and what will actually correct. Um, but I honestly have no clue how she met is going to do that. So that's going to be interesting. Um, but I mean, just definitely an unfortunate result in this game. Um,
00:21:39
Speaker
They needed that win and that's it was just it I'm not gonna deny the comedy of it, but it is definitely unfortunate
MLS Drama and Controversies
00:21:46
Speaker
for the Seattle Sounders Yeah, I'd say the biggest conversation piece like after the match and one that our our fellow Friend Jackson felts was banging his chest on on the broadcast was there was a potential missed handball call inside of the box on a Jordan Morris header Okay, I did see some tweets about that. What happened on that?
00:22:08
Speaker
So basically, I can't remember what minute it was, but Jordan Morris heads the ball. It's a really great chance. It's on goal. Really great defensive stop is what it looks like in the run of play, right? Bring it back on the slow mo. Basically the same amount of his arm hits the ball as new whose arm hits the ball.
00:22:27
Speaker
So people were decrying that, oh my God, Pro lost us the game again. Like, all we want is, you know, you know, the equal treatment under, you know, the pro regime and consistency. But I really like you kind of pointed to it earlier.
00:22:45
Speaker
if you can score multiple goals in every single chance, in your two chances or whatever, are not the only possible way to score. I think, you know, we've never been a proponent really on this show of hanging our hat on one borderline 50-50 call in that way. And I've tried to be consistent about that, but that's just actually an opportunity, Noah. I forgot to tell you this. Lobbing scorchers unfortunately got some negative feedback recently from the fine people at Reddit.
00:23:12
Speaker
It was pretty funny. But one of the things that they said about us was they got annoyed because we were complaining about the refs too much. And I was like, okay, I know what section you're talking about. I did complain about the Jackson Reagan call compared to another call that went against Seattle a little bit.
00:23:31
Speaker
But I was a little annoyed about it because I feel like, if anything, we really don't do that. And the way I look at the game is that 50-50 calls like that. I mean, you can complain about them and crack conspiracy and stuff if you want, but if you don't put yourself in a situation where those calls don't derail you, then you don't have to worry about that. And I feel like I've said that a lot of times on this show, and it sounds like
00:23:58
Speaker
the situation you're describing falls into that category where you just you can't bank on borderline calls to save you like at a certain point like you said you got to be able to
00:24:10
Speaker
to rack multiple goals in a game to where it doesn't hinge on that. So yeah, I agree with what you were saying. Yeah, it's funny because are both of those a penalty? Sure. Are they both not a penalty? Sure. But who cares? Score another goal. Make another chance. Have something else happen. You scored one goal in a rivalry game at home. You're putting yourself in a situation inherently with that final output.
00:24:40
Speaker
got a call like that going against you.
00:24:44
Speaker
can derail the result. It's your own fault. It's your own fault. The Sounders had more set pieces. They had more shots total than the Whitecaps and they still couldn't get it done. They still couldn't get it done. You can't let that hinge on a singular call. And frankly, one of the things I think that we goof on coaches about a lot, especially in like the post game pressors, our funniest ones are when they're like banging the table about referees or banging the table about roster restrictions. It's like,
00:25:13
Speaker
OK, well, everyone else gets it done. Other people get it done. Why can't you get Peter? Peter Vermees and Phil Neville have been my favorite pressers this year in that way. They love to like, yeah, we were talking about it a few weeks ago when Peter V brought the iPad out. Yeah, that's always entertaining to me. I love that stuff.
00:25:31
Speaker
Yeah. Well, the Seattle Sounders do have another game coming up. So let's talk about that. It's tomorrow night at a Starfire Sports Complex. I'm stoked for this one. Seattle will be taking on the Phoenix Rising in the next round of US Open Cup action. And I don't really know much about Phoenix Rising. I follow the USL to the extent that I'm a Die Hard New Mexico United fan, as I'm from Santa Fe, New Mexico, as many of you probably know.
00:26:02
Speaker
Phoenix Rising is New Mexico United's biggest rival. That's our hottest derby. I definitely am rooting for Seattle to bam in this game even more than I normally would, but I can't say I know all about that much about their team and their roster. Other than that, in the last few years, they had been one of the best teams in the USO. Every single year, they had built a dominant powerhouse side.
00:26:25
Speaker
in the couple years after, remember when we were talking about it off there, but Didier Drogba, he was a player coach and owner. Something like that. And that was actually pretty fun because he was like 42 at the time, but still kind of had it.
00:26:41
Speaker
Yeah, you just got a ball in. Honestly, I don't know if there's a YouTube montage, but I specifically remember Didier Drogba, Phoenix Rising, free kicks. He can hit those from so far out, and he was still doing it at age 42. But in the years after that, they really became one of the more dominant sides in USL. I remember they had this guy, Solomon Asante, a few years ago who was just putting up
00:27:06
Speaker
Like 2019 Carlos Vela type numbers for them and the New Mexico United games were always a little They were intense and they were crazy and they were there is always more to it though because Phoenix Rising was so good and New Mexico United was just on the up So but anyway, I root for them against them in every single game that they play and so
00:27:29
Speaker
Seattle's gonna have their hands full with another U.S.L. team. I think, you know, before they played Louisville City, I was talking about how these games in the Open Cup, where you're playing U.S.L. teams, they're usually not as pushover as you might think, given the disparity in money and the rosters. And, you know, a lot of that is to do with the fact that a lot of MLS teams in the Open Cup
00:27:53
Speaker
Rotate their lineups quite a bit in the early rounds. So you're basically you're functionally have a second team That's playing against a USL team so the quality differential isn't as stark as it would be is if you're playing your first choice lineup, but The one thing I wanted to bring up is that I saw a quote from Schmetzer today that he said this lineup will be I don't know if he didn't say fully first choice, but I
00:28:15
Speaker
I think what I took from it was that he was indicating that it would be more so first choice lineup than the Louisville game, which the Louisville game, you know, you had like De Rosario's kid out there. You had, you had some deep cuts. This should theoretically be less like that. You know, you're not going to see probably Ruby Diaz or De La Vega out there, but you might actually see some, some first choice guys. And in that scenario, assuming that the lineup actually is that strong, you should be able to take Phoenix rising at home.
00:28:45
Speaker
But, I mean, you just never know, especially the thing about the Open Cup games at Starfire is the dimensions of the field are so narrow, it plays kind of crazy, like crazy stuff can happen. There's a reason that it's always pretty electric in those games. So, I don't really know what to expect just because I don't know Phoenix Rising that well, but I guess my prediction would be that if Seattle's lineup is relatively strong, it's a game that they should win.
00:29:14
Speaker
even though I'm sure Phoenix Rising has got some guys, they're definitely in that category of, there's some U.S.L. teams that field kind of younger sides, although less so since the advent of MLS Next Pro, but Phoenix Rising's definitely in the category of U.S.L. team where they signed some real guys, like, I don't know, it just kind of annoys me when people think that these U.S.L. teams should be just non-competitive in this situation because
00:29:43
Speaker
A lot of these guys are pro players who've been playing the game for a long time and are pretty damn talented, so Seattle should win, but I don't know if I'm expecting a blowout necessarily. I guess I'll formulate more of an opinion on that once I see the lineup, but that's kind of my early thoughts on that.
00:29:59
Speaker
Yeah. I mean, Phoenix rising are not like some world beaters. They're pretty deep down on the table this year. That's the one thing I was going to bring up is they're not quite that same level as they used to be this year. Yeah. They're, they're about mid table and you know, they have scored 13 goals. Like it's, it's not funny enough. I genuinely think Louisville city is like 10 times the team that they are. I would say probably their best players. Louisville city is much better.
00:30:23
Speaker
Yeah, like they're good. That's a good team. Yeah, you know I'd probably say that like Phoenix Rising's best player is Muhammad Traore who was an LFC center back and like Academy product I believe or he was he was around the LFC team for a minute.
00:30:40
Speaker
But yeah, I mean, I think funny enough, I love when the young guys get to play. I hope that we're still going to see a lot of those young guys gritty, like that are gritty and like really want to play because that's what made that Louisville City game fun to watch. And like, I think attacking wise, they felt way more free to experiment. If Brian's going to make this his, OK, now we have to win this tournament.
00:31:04
Speaker
I don't know, I'm a little skeptical to think like, are we gonna fall back into the same boring play that we see in regular season MLS play? What starters are we gonna play? I don't think so. The only reason is because of the field at Starfire and how quick the game plays. It's kinda hard to play boring soccer on that field. It doesn't typically happen no matter who's out there, but I do agree with your point about
00:31:31
Speaker
I would be happy to see more young players like Georgie and like Snyder Brunel was out there, Stu Hawkins was out there. That stuff is fun. I know some people look at that and they think that it's an indication that the club isn't taking the tournament seriously. I don't really see it like that. I honestly do see it as a logical opportunity and platform. You need to see what you have in a Stu Hawkins or a Snyder Brunel, even a Georgie.
00:31:59
Speaker
these homegrown guys or these young players that you're taking flyers on or whatever like You need to be able to see them in these high intensity high pressure crazy atmosphere elimination game type moments if you have the opportunity Because you don't know like one of those guys could break out. They could become the next Obed or what have you so You know, it's always a balance I think you got to the deeper you get into the tournament the more that you you typically see coaches play stronger lineups and I think the lineup will be
00:32:29
Speaker
quite a bit stronger in this game than it was in the Louisville game but at the same time I would be down to see Georgie get more minutes I would be down to see some of these some of these young guys get a chance you know I think the ideal scenario maybe is you go up a couple goals and then you have maybe more leeway to make earlier subs get the young guys experience that way but
00:32:52
Speaker
do you really believe that's gonna happen now I see I don't I think it's probably gonna be a pretty competitive game no matter who's out there it's just it's just how the open cup tends to go so it's fun though I do love this tournament just because of the it always seems like there's crazy games and fun storylines and the Louisville game was definitely I mean
00:33:11
Speaker
That was probably the best game of the season just from an entertainment perspective. A hundred percent, yeah. No, that's what I even said on the podcast. I was like, this is going to be the most entertaining game of the season, whether we win or lose. Like you get to see a bunch of guys who you have no idea what they look like. And it's always just a shit show at Starfire, which personally, if we're going to already be like average, if not bad, let me, let me get that. Let me get the chaos.
00:33:35
Speaker
And I think one thing I hope to see tomorrow is Paul Rothrock. Oh, absolutely. How do you feel about that? I'm still down. I know I said on the last episode that I was talking about how the agenda took a little bit of a hit. But I mean, you know, I think he might, maybe he's just an open cup God. He has like four open cup goals in the last year and a half. So that could be part of it. He does have the one career MLS goal.
00:34:02
Speaker
But yeah, this is a great game for a Paul Rothrock and a Georgie again. But I am, I don't know, the more we talk about it, the more I don't really know exactly what to expect from the lineup. Schmidt's saying that he plans on it being more first choice or whatever he did say is interesting to me. Because I can speculate on what that means, but we're not really going to know until we see the actual lineup. But maybe you do get Christian out there, maybe you do get Jordan out there.
00:34:31
Speaker
If he says, Hey, if he says it's first choice, those are the types of guys that we're talking about. I just don't want either of those two guys on the field. Like genuinely, like no disrespect to their own. I just really think that the way that this tournament plays and like you were saying the way this field plays, like putting on Jordan Morris and Christian rolled on in this game is like, why?
00:34:54
Speaker
What's like that? That just doesn't make sense to me. Not to mention like the injury. You're trying to win the game. Sure. But like you, I think genuinely you can win this game without players like that. Like first team players that I want to see Obed. I want to see Obed out there. First team players that I want to see. I don't know. You know who I don't want to see Pedro de la Vega. Do not put that man's knees, legs, ankles on that star fire pitch. No, I don't think there's any chance in hell that he plays in this game, but it will be interesting to see
00:35:23
Speaker
who actually does end up lining up there when they kick this one off. Before we get to winners and losers from around MLS, I did want to take care of some housekeeping that I usually take care of at the top of the show, but I completely forgot, so sorry about that. But as always, I just wanted to say thank you to all of the Lobbing Scorchers paid subs. You guys are the best. I'm going to read down the whole list as soon as I pull it up here.
00:35:51
Speaker
We got Rhombus, we got Nate, we got Tyler, Owen, David, Christopher Malley, Bill Breitenbach, Mike, Aaron B., Derek Richards, Soundernaves, Dan Paveto, Mike Standish, Ryan Shane, Eric Stanley, my nephews, CJ and Miles Maranakis, Andy Hill, Ian Mitchell, and Greg Hoker.
00:36:08
Speaker
Thank you guys so much. We appreciate you and sorry for the Sorry for the late show this week, but uh, you know life came up. So listen Yeah, you sometimes you get a shit house show and that's just what it is We you know, not everyone can be a banger But this one I don't know I feel like for the for the partial hangover. I feel like we're doing pretty good
00:36:29
Speaker
Yeah, no, I agree. And then also, as I've been doing every week, wanted to plug the vlogging scorchers YouTube. We're actually seeing some decent growth on there. Noah, I looked at it today. We're up to 66 subs on there. The shorts and reels that you've been making have been doing pretty well. Our view counts up, but we're on the road to 100 subscribers. That's the first goal on our YouTube as we grow our presence there.
00:36:51
Speaker
And if you'd like to support the show, not obligatory, but any support that you're willing to give does mean a lot to us. Just go to podcast.lovingscortres.com, click the little support button and you can pledge however much you want, every little bit makes a difference. So thank you to everyone who has already done so and to anyone who plans on doing so in the future. We love you guys.
00:37:12
Speaker
And just in general, you know, our listenership continues to grow. It's been great, averaging like 400 some odd downloads per episode the last like month or so. So much appreciated to everyone for tuning in. Let's jump around the league a little bit, Noah, and then we can get out of here. Does that sound good?
00:37:26
Speaker
sounds amazing all right winners and losers from around MLS let's do the losers first that's because that's always the more fun section oh yeah first one I got here Portland Timbers Portland shot in Freud is one of the one of the main things that we have right now but like
00:37:43
Speaker
They're just down so bad, Noah. They're so bad. So they lost to Minnesota United on the road two to one, which isn't a horrific result in itself. But if you put it in the context of the rest of their season, how the rest of their season has gone since they got off to an actually pretty good start.
00:38:01
Speaker
It's just, it's bad down there. It's really bad. They won the week before that against the San Jose earthquakes, but they really should not have won that game. They were losing to the earthquakes 2-0 at home, getting bammed on by Diego Maradona's nephew. And they got bailed out by red card that actually pro came out and rescinded that. Yeah, they rescinded it. Yeah, yeah.
00:38:19
Speaker
That was so annoying because honestly I think the earthquakes probably win that game if that call doesn't get made first of all and also That guy actually did make such a good play Yeah on that the quakes defender and he was so he was pumped like knew who was after the penalty the gold penalty But it's just it's a travesty of justice that that blocked in Stan because it was one of the best clearances I've ever seen and Portland gets bailed out and they end up winning that game for two but man
00:38:49
Speaker
Um, it just seems like, uh, things are not trending positively at all. And, uh, as big of a win as that turned out to be for them, this kind of takes the shine off that. And, uh, I mean, I'll say it Phil Neville seats pretty hot. Like it already is. See, I'm so in disagreement. I think that we should get, you should extend to Phil Neville.
00:39:12
Speaker
He just needs more time to cook, Ari. He needs more time to build up this roster. And, you know, honestly, I think the Timbers did that a little bit by getting bailed out with that red card. Pro might be, you know, people say, oh, Pro hates the Sounders. They might actually love the Sounders by bailing out Phil Neville for another week. So we get to continue to watch this incredible collapse.
00:39:34
Speaker
And on top of this, not even are they losing on the field. They're also being sued by their former sponsor, which came out today for defamation and all of that kind of stuff. So their continued downfall. It tastes so good. It's chaos and anarchy down there for sure. And speaking of chaos and anarchy, I don't know if you've been following this at all, but the New England Revolution.
00:39:55
Speaker
There's been a lot of stuff flying around regarding the New England Revolution and our friend Caleb Porter. So they lost to the Philly Union 3-0. And have you seen all these reports of just discord among the locker room and the coaching staff? Oh, okay. I mean, I don't want to speak to the specifics too much because it's one of those things where you see the report, you see the tweet, you're not really sure how much of it is true or accurate. Mark Anthony K quote tweeted it and said, I didn't do that. I didn't say that type of stuff.
00:40:20
Speaker
But the general vibe that I get is that there is quite a bit of conflict and discord between Caleb Porter and at least a couple players, potentially Carlos Hiel, who's their best player, and also Nick Lima. It was caught on video during one of the games. They were getting into it during the game, and then there was another report that they were drawing in the tunnel to the locker room.
00:40:44
Speaker
And then there's another part of the report that supposedly Caleb Porter was supposed to meet with Jonathan Kraft. He's like Bob Kraft's son who handles the revs stuff. And Caleb Porter was supposed to meet with him, which I can't imagine it was set to be a positive meeting given how their season has gone.
00:41:06
Speaker
But but then Caleb Porter either no showed the meeting or The meeting just didn't take place so there's kind of speculation now that he's actually on the hot seat and I mean that wouldn't be surprising to me because I think the revs are probably the biggest disparity in the league right now between how people thought of them at the beginning of the season and how it's actually
00:41:29
Speaker
panned out. I mean, they're one of the worst teams in the league right now, contrary to some reporting at the Athletic. They're down there with the Quakes and the Timbies, but the difference is they had these high expectations. I mean, myself, when I was looking at the Eastern preseason, I remember
00:41:53
Speaker
I remember thinking that the Rebs were set up pretty good. I mean, Carlos Hiel is one of the most talented players in the league. But, you know, in hindsight, maybe I was overestimating their roster because it doesn't seem like they have much going on around him at all. I think he's getting frustrated.
00:42:11
Speaker
just it's been interesting to see how fast both Phil Neville and Caleb Porter have managed to rocket up the hot seat. Right. It's like, guys, it's your first season in May and you're already just on the most blazing two hot seats in the league coming out and battled at every presser sparring with it. Like you got to give this, try and make it a calendar year before you get to this point. Like what are we talking about?
00:42:35
Speaker
Yeah. That's like, I think it's the revs are just, when have they ever been consistent? Like it's, they're just always a shit show, but I mean, they won the shield a couple of years ago. Like they're during the Bruce era. They were actually, uh, credible, credible, careful with what you bring up about Bruce. There are, I mean,
00:42:53
Speaker
I'm talking results on the field. Like they, they won a shield under him and they were a playoff team. Carlos heel was a great signing for them. Like I think their reputation as a good team in the last at least one to two years leading up to this, it seemed well-earned to me in terms of the results. And it just, it torpedoed so fast.
00:43:13
Speaker
You talk a lot about how coaching isn't a huge part of the success of a lot of rosters. Is this maybe one of the cases where that's not the case, where Caleb Porter is actively just a bad coach? That's an interesting point. Well, Caleb Porter has always been kind of a funny coach to evaluate because the guy has won two MLS Cups. He won one with Portland.
00:43:37
Speaker
and he won one, the COVID one with Columbus, but that counts. That was the cup that year. There wasn't one played that year. I don't remember that. All right. So depending on how you look at it, he has between one and two MLS cups, but if you look at his career trajectory, it's always like he won the MLS cup and then torpedoed and lost his job like the very next year somehow.
00:44:01
Speaker
So he kind of does have a skill for torpedoing things at a breakneck pace, but usually he has a measure of success before that, at least based on his prior track record. In this situation, he came into what was thought of as one of the better situations for a new coach in the league.
00:44:17
Speaker
and they're now one of the worst teams in the league so it's an interesting point maybe it is the Caleb Porter effect or maybe maybe their roster just didn't turn out to be where they thought it was but yeah I don't know but they're definitely in the losers bracket this week I had sport in Kansas City club of professional wrestling enthusiasts with another tough L against Austin FC
00:44:37
Speaker
you know sporting Kansas City hasn't been playing very well this year but someone whose seat is decidedly not hot is Peter Vermees like he's a He's got the most job security in the league no matter what but it is interesting
00:44:54
Speaker
just how much they continue to struggle for a team that was supposed to be competitive. Inter Miami, I'm putting here because even though they won their game, they beat DC United, but they only scored one goal. I don't really know what happened in the game. What's going on with that? What are we doing? You should score four to six goals a game. So I don't know what they're doing with that.
00:45:13
Speaker
And no messy contribution. Was there a messy contribution in that game? I didn't think so. I don't think so. Yeah, come on. They're slacking for that. And then I also put the LA Galaxy in here, 0-0 draw against Charlotte FC. And I put the Galaxy in there not necessarily because of that individual result, but I just, I feel like the shine has worn off a little bit there. They were like, they were my favorite team to watch at the beginning of the season. They were running up and down the field every week. Joey Paints was torching the league.
00:45:40
Speaker
really fun to watch even though they kept conceding a bunch of goals and I just feel like the last few weeks um they haven't lived up to kind of the hype that I bestowed upon them and I'm annoyed with them for that yeah I mean I still think Joey Paints and and crew are elite uh we all have our ups and downs you know I'm not going to judge a man and punch down at him while he's down because god knows he's going to get back up and fly right down that wing and cross in a beautiful ball
00:46:08
Speaker
And it's going to be all back. Yeah, that's fair. I think it probably is more of just a brief lull in form more than indicative of the quality of their team. Certainly it's not indicative of the quality of Joey Paints, who's still my favorite player in the league. But they're definitely they're not flying at the same heights right now as they were earlier in the season. I actually have a few others that I'm going to rapid fire just based on the results that I that I looked at.
00:46:32
Speaker
Toronto FC bammed on CF Montreal is 5-0 or 5-1, a five spot for John Herdman's group. Toronto FC has been kind of up and down this season, but it seems like they're kind of the inverse of the Revs in that they were thought of as a laughing stock wooden spoon contender, and they've been competitive, and they've taken some really good results, and that's a big one because it's rivalry week, and they got a big one over CF Montreal. And Montreal are good, allegedly.
00:47:00
Speaker
I mean, they're mid, but it's still like a rivalry game to win a rivalry game that emphatically. Um, that's an impressive result. Um, speaking of which we all saw Lake got another five spot of their own, uh, in a crazy game against the Colorado rapids, which, um, are they the best team in the league? Like they're, they're a top three to four team in the league right now. I would still put Columbus and enter Miami above them, but they're definitely the best team in the West right now. I don't really see anyone else who can lay claim to that at all.
00:47:30
Speaker
And they also, I think that game was 3-3 at one point and then they scored two goals late. It was kind of a dramatic finish. Andres Gomez got the game winner. He also bammed on Seattle. So Rioso at Lake continued to validate my take from last year that didn't pan out last year, but is now panning out this year. So shout out to them, I guess.
00:47:50
Speaker
Austin FC continue to play pretty well. They beat sport in Kansas City, the club of professional wrestling enthusiasts, three to two. And NYC FC, they're another big winner right now. They're one of the hottest teams in the league, 2-1 over the New York Red Bulls, which that's obviously a big rivalry game.
00:48:08
Speaker
Talis Magno is better than Essie. Did he do anything in this game? Yeah, I think he bammed with an assist on that first goal I'm almost positive and because I was watching that game a little bit and I just I just want to remind everyone that Messy couldn't get it done against Talis Magno Magno scored and NYC FC beat inner Miami in an exhibition game I just want everyone to remind you I just want to remind everyone Talis Magno better than messy that is that is kind of a deep-cut name because Talis Magno he
00:48:38
Speaker
He came into the league with all this hype all this pedigree He was supposed to be this big signing for them, and he looked awesome when he first got in the league Was racking up goal contributions at like age 19 20 and I mean I remember watching that and being like oh my god this guy is He could be really really sick, but the last like year or two he's
00:48:57
Speaker
falling off to the point where earlier this season, he wasn't even playing. So if he's back in the mix and cooking for them, NYCFC, they're an interesting team to me because they used to be a team that would kind of poach the old stars at the end of their career. Remember when they had, like, Pirlo and Lampard. And they... Was Chirard there, too? Who? Chirard?
00:49:17
Speaker
No, Gerard was a galaxy. And then David Villa, when he was the star player for them, he was actually amazing in MLS. He scored a bunch of goals and some of the sickest goals, for sure, that I've seen in the league. But that was kind of their model, was to go get players like that, glitz and glamour.
00:49:40
Speaker
But now, they're one of the most committed to youth teams in the league, for better or for worse sometimes. And earlier this year, it seemed like they were kind of paying the price for that. But I think that's a fun way to run a team, to make an analogy to another sport.
00:49:58
Speaker
sort of reminds me of like how the Packers have done it you know like they uh they were just like we're gonna give our young quarterback and all these no-name young receivers and we're just gonna throw them out there and see how they do and it worked like that works sometimes NYCFC um they've kind of taken that approach and uh it didn't seem like it was working very well to start the season but i think they've won five of six now they're pretty fun to watch and some of these young guys are actually cooking
00:50:23
Speaker
So I think it kind of just goes to show that sometimes when we talk about just giving young guys opportunities and letting them thrive and seeing which ones can hang, there's a lot of value in that. And with how NYCFC is playing lately, we're kind of seeing that.
00:50:39
Speaker
I think they got the bug when they sold off Jack Harrison. Was it the city or the leads? Yeah. Whoever they sold them to. I feel like, was it, was it man city or something? It doesn't matter. They sold them to, they sold them to Europe. And I feel like once they got that, they were like, you know what we should do that it has to be city because they're city football group.
00:51:01
Speaker
Okay. Yeah. They, so they did, they did transfer him to city, but he never played for them. And he's been, I was right. He's been on leads for years. Oh, but I think he might honestly be, Oh yeah. He's on loan for Everton right now, but Jack Harrison, he actually had a pretty respectable career in the Premier league with leads. So that's a good shout. I forgot about him, but yeah. NYCFC they're cooking, they're cooking right now. One of the hottest teams in the league.
00:51:25
Speaker
All right, that's all I had for I had one additional okay one additional loser I think this is an inaugural Noah loser dish it but I did this just came out So, you know, you got to take it with a grain of salt allegedly toss them on allegedly Ari allegedly Yeah, allegedly, there's a new video of a manual Reynoso showing a bag full of money next to a dude with a gun The last time he was visiting Argentina Potentially when he just kind of up and disappeared for vibes so
00:51:55
Speaker
Is he the loser or are Minnesota United the loser in this situation? This is interesting to hear because I also saw a report today that Emmanuel Reynoso has signed with a Liga Amex club and he's out at Minnesota United. I believe it was Club Tijuana, not totally sure on that.
00:52:14
Speaker
He's got one of the most fascinating MLS careers I have ever seen. I've never seen a guy go missing three or four times in his MLS career. No one knows what he's doing when he goes down there. The bizarreness of it is fueled by the fact that he's legitimately one of the best players in the league. He dishes the sweetest dimes out of just about anybody.
00:52:38
Speaker
So that whole situation is incredibly bizarre and my takeaway from that is I just someday I want the full story on that to either come out or be told to a screenwriter.
00:52:53
Speaker
Yeah, we get like an a long-form HBO show That's just chronicling what he was doing when he went missing in our I bet it would be an insane show. Oh, yeah I just I want to know so bad like what he's getting into down there because it's probably I Mean based on some of the stuff that's come out over the last couple years. It's probably fascinating if nothing else I
00:53:16
Speaker
Yeah, if I'm any sort of agent of his, I'm selling his life rights immediately. I'm going to HBO and I'm shopping his life rights, because that's like, yeah, he's the most interesting man in the world, potentially. And as for the effect that that has on Minnesota United, apparently not as much as you would think. The story of their team the last few years was they were kind of like Nashville SC with Haney Mukhtar. It was Reynoso or Bust when he played. They were one of the better teams in the West when he didn't play. They were pretty much non-competitive.
00:53:46
Speaker
But I've been pretty high on their new head coach, Eric Ramsey, who came over from, he was an assistant at Manchester United, and he's like my age, so we've accomplished roughly the same level of stuff in our lives. He couldn't write an article for MLSSoccer.com, let's be honest. He couldn't or record a podcast. No. But no, in all seriousness, I was on his intro presser when he got hired, just doing a little write-up off of it, so I was like, okay, this will be interesting, just see what this guy's all about, intro.
00:54:13
Speaker
intro to the league. And I was, came away from that press conference pretty impressed with how he handled the media and how he talked about the game. And I actually remember thinking after that, like, I think they might've, they might've cooked with this hire and he can probably get this team playing some good ball, even Reynosa or not. Cause at that point,
00:54:31
Speaker
I think Reynoso was in the picture, but it's always kind of uncertain what's going on with him. And he's got Robin Lobb playing some of the best ball of his career. And they have a couple of other really fun young players, a couple forwards that are banging in goals every week. And Minnesota United have been one of the better teams in the West in spite of the whole Reynoso thing. So I expect them to be just fine, actually.
00:54:55
Speaker
Well, there it is. Winner, Minnesota United, loser, whoever signs Emmanuel Reynoso, apparently. All right, let's call it right there, Noah. Does that sound good unless you got anything else? No, let's get out of here. All right, that'll be a wrap for episode of 36. As always, thank you so much to everyone for tuning in. We really appreciate the growth that we've seen over the last month or two. Apologies again for the late upload this week, but I'm glad we put this one out. I thought it was a...
00:55:23
Speaker
a fun little unique thing to react to a game that I didn't watch. I actually enjoyed, I enjoyed formulating my perceptions based on, you know, what I thought probably happened without actually seeing it. It was an interesting little exercise. So hopefully it was still fun to listen to. As always, like, comment, subscribe, give us some more five star reviews and share us with Reddit.
00:55:45
Speaker
Yeah. Uh, maybe, uh, get into a heated Reddit debate in our defense. No, I'm just kidding. Don't do that. Hey, Reddit loves me. So I'm gonna, I'm gonna just leave it at that. Okay. Well, uh, we'll, uh, no, are you down to record one after this, uh, open cup game? Oh, absolutely. All right. Well then we'll be back at you with episode 37, probably on Thursday. Yeah. Um, until then we out.