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Seattle Sounders DPs vs. the Rest of MLS!
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With the Seattle Sounders on a bye week, we take this episode to dive into a thought exercise where we compare Seattle's Designated Players to others around MLS. Later on, we'll preview the Rave Green's pending return to league play on Saturday at Houston Dynamo FC, then dive into some USMNT punditry after the Yanks got slammed 5-2 by Belgium ahead of Tuesday's match against Portugal, which will conclude the March international window.
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Lobbing Scorchers is a production of Just Once Media.
Lobbing Scorchers is a Seattle Sounders and MLS focused show brought to you by Sounder at Heart. Hosted by Major League Soccer's Ari Liljenwall and Producer Noah Riffe. Join us as we lob our scorching takes on the American soccer landscape, Seattle Sounders, Major League Soccer, USMNT and more.
Contact: lobbingscorchers@justoncemedia.com
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Transcript
Introduction and Streaming Details
00:00:00
Speaker
This episode of Lobbing Scorchers was previously recorded and streamed live on YouTube.com slash at Lobbing Scorchers. If you want to listen or catch these episodes live, see the video, and see all the rest of our content, go to YouTube.com slash at Lobbing Scorchers or LobbingScorchers.com slash YouTube.
00:00:22
Speaker
Well sir, we got a scorcher today. Gonna be a real scorcher today. Why the scorcher today? Well it's gonna be scorcher.
Seattle Sounders and Upcoming Matches
00:00:44
Speaker
Good morning, everybody, and welcome to another episode of Lobbing Scorchers Kickoff. I'm Ari. That's Nico. The Seattle Sounders are coming off a bye week, but we're still laying one down on this fine Monday morning, and we got a lot to get to. We're going do a little thought exercise here this morning. We're going be comparing Seattle Sounders designated players to other designated players.
00:01:04
Speaker
around MLS as the Sounders are back at it in league play on Saturday at Houston Dynamo FC another edition of the Seattle Sounders Roadshow so we'll talk some Houston Dynamo and then we're also going to be talking some CCC and Tigris a big quarterfinal series ah coming up there as well not sure if you guys heard about that one but that's a pretty big deal so we'll ah we'll talk about that later on in the show Nico thanks for tapping in as always man what's up how's it going What's going on, Ari? ah To be honest, it was a bit of a rough sports watch weekend between my bracket finally giving up to Columbia getting a couple of tough losses in friendlies. um I didn't have a great Sounders off weekend, but you know we're here ready to go with a
00:01:59
Speaker
some interesting topics to talk about. We got some interesting games in the upcoming future for the Sounders and, uh, even some USMNT stuff that, that, that was the Christian. We're getting something in the intro. I knew I was forgetting something in the intro. We're going to talk some USMNT as well. Uh,
00:02:18
Speaker
Friendly against Belgium didn't go very well. Christian rolled on nope on the field, but it was a five to two loss for the USMNT. So we will talk
Weekend Sports Recap and Sounders Outlook
00:02:25
Speaker
about that as well. Good. ah Good shout there. ah Your bracket made it this far. Mine was chalked right away. I've been at acceptance with that for like multiple weeks at this point.
00:02:35
Speaker
Yeah, I still had a shot because my final four was intact, ah and I just needed Duke to stay on, and I would have won at least one of my brackets, which is surprising enough, but I think everybody had such a terrible start to it that as the time went along and my final four stayed picking Illinois was a good thing for me. But, yeah, Duke losing there at the end on a on a fumble play,
00:03:04
Speaker
that one hurt a little bit that's a tough one to go out on because it's like yeah i mean i haven't really been watching but i saw the highlight he that all that dude had to do was uh not hold the ball yeah just hold the ball and then it's yeah i mean i know that you're getting pressed or whatever but come on man you can never you can never trust duke i don't know that much about college basketball but you know that's it I guess that's one that you're supposed to be able to trust, but I don't know. What do I know?
Sponsors and Milestone Highlights
00:03:29
Speaker
Not a college basketball guy, but ah all right, Nico. Yeah. Let's, ah let's get into it here this morning. Before we do that, shout out to our sponsors, football wine.
00:03:39
Speaker
Podium menswear and Higgs and ferments. This will be the last Lobbing Scorchers kickoff before I finally unveil the sponsorship news that I've been teasing for the last month. So keep an eye out for that on the next Lobbing Scorchers kickoff next week. Exciting stuff going on there. And as always, toss us a sub on the channel if you haven't done so already. We're about to hit 3.2K on there. So that's an exciting little milestone as we hit the road to four k Here we go. Here we go.
00:04:05
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. Good stuff. Toss us a follow on Instagram, TikTok, and follow the Facebook page, you know, where we've been on the Facebook game and we're almost at 1K on there. So help us on the one road to 1K on Facebook. But all right, Nico, you ready to do a little ah designated player thought exercise comparison?
MLS Designated Players Analysis
00:04:27
Speaker
Because...
00:04:29
Speaker
That's what I was doing last week. I was telling you guys that i was I was crunching some numbers. I was looking at the stats. was looking at price tags and all that. And, you know, I found some, there there was some conclusions that I came to that I would have expected to. But there was some stuff where when i actually sat there and I interrogated it and I thought about it,
00:04:49
Speaker
i The conclusion was not necessarily what I would have expected. So I wanted to share what I found with ah with you, Nico, and get your take on it and share it with the audience as well. But I'll explain I'll explain the premise of what I was doing beforehand. And then we can and then we can get into it. Does that sound that sound good?
00:05:06
Speaker
Sounds good. All right. But so basically what I was doing is, you know, there's there's a lot of consternation about the Seattle Sounders designated player situation.
Sounders' Designated Players and Injuries
00:05:17
Speaker
And, you know, deservedly so in a lot of regards. I think we all know the situation with Pedro de la Vega and Jordan Morris's.
00:05:25
Speaker
injuries, but I think even outside the injuries, Nico, I think there's a general sentiment that the Sounders designated players as compared to the rest of the league are underwhelming, you know, unambitious. They don't, they don't splash the big fees, which is also true. And just in general, I think there is, there's a premise that if they were more ambitious and splashier with their DPs, they could maybe push the team to a an even greater ceiling than they already have. And they're kind of hamstringing themselves by handling the DP situation that the way that they are. And obviously you throw the De La Vega and the Jordan Morris injury situations on top of that. And that sort of adds to that discourse. But what I, would what I was just trying to do was interrogate that a little bit. And some dangerous waters there, Ari. Yeah.
00:06:14
Speaker
what that some dangerous waters that you're experimenting. Well, okay. Yes. I was, I was, I realized that it's dangerous waters, but that's one of the things I wanted to emphasize is that I really did my best to go into it without like an agenda of proving something that I already thought, you know, I fully realized, uh, just kind of making the mentalist in my head. Like there's going to be some names on here as much as I, uh,
00:06:39
Speaker
don't agree with brigade logic and we defend Albert Rusnak and think that he's a fine to good DP. Uh, there was going to be some names on the list where you look at it and you're like, man, I really wish that maybe Seattle had made a play for that guy. Or I wish that guy was on the team instead of this guy. So I knew that there would be some of that, but I was kind of trying to find out like how pervasive is that really when you actually do a side-by-side comparison and you, uh, and you look at the numbers and, uh,
00:07:07
Speaker
I don't know. i thought I just thought it was interesting, and I wanted to get your take on it and see if you kind of see these guys in a similar light ah that I do. But ah without further ado, let's ah let's get into it. You guys want to see what I ah what i
Player Comparisons: Stats and Value
00:07:20
Speaker
found? Let's get into it. What I'm first going to do is I'm just going to show you all the lists that I have so you understand what I'm working with, and then and then we'll get into it from there. But this is a very, very complex formula right here. you got the Google Doc. I don't know if you guys can – can you see that, Nico?
00:07:37
Speaker
Yeah, I can see it. Okay. So that' this is I put the list of Seattle's attackers, and I have a couple guys on here that are not DPs, but I figured i would i they were relevant for the comparison anyway because it's like I was thinking of it, would you rather have this guy on the roster than the other guy? And I think guys like Jesus Ferreira and then you know Danny Musavski and Paul Rothrock. They all kind of they're in that category of guys that you could theoretically swap them out for someone else and ah and, you know, have it have it be functional. So it's Albert Rusnak, Jesus Ferreira, Jordan Morris, Pedro De La Vega, Danny Musavsky, Paul Rothrock. That's the list of guys that I was comparing. And then you can see here
00:08:17
Speaker
This is the preliminary list of guys that I was comparing against. So you got guys like Evander, Haney Mukhtar, Ryan Gaul, Christian Espinosa, David DaCosta, et cetera. what I'm going to is I'm going to like read you the the guy, their stats, games played and price tag, because I think that's important as well. And then we're going to we're going to talk it over and see if we wish like the Sounders had had these guys or if they should have made a play for these guys or if, you know, if they're unambitious for
Evander vs. Rusnak: Fit and Consistency
00:08:45
Speaker
not having those guys. does that That roughly makes
00:08:48
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, I like it. Like I said, that's ah some dangerous water, man, but I'm in. I'm with it. I'm with it. Living dangerously like Austin Powers, baby. Let's do it. Well, so, okay. let's ah Let's get it started with a hot button one here because this was the first one that I looked at and it was an immediate example of how the way I thought of it after kind of looking into it a little bit more was different than how I thought of it when I went into it. So the first guy that we're going to ah look at here, Nico, we have got
00:09:22
Speaker
Evander from FC Cincinnati. We've got 48 goals, 41 assists in 111 games. He was originally on the Portland Timbs, but he got traded after a crash out in 2024, I believe, for $12 million dollars plus add-ons to FC Cincinnati.
00:09:44
Speaker
And he's been very productive multiple time MVP candidate, huge stat sheet production. Like I said, 48 goals, 41 assists. So if you look at his stat sheet production compared to Albert Rusnak, for example, Albert Rusnak has 37 goals, 27 assists in games for Seattle. So with Evander, like I went into it knowing like this guy has scored a lot more goals. He's got a lot more assists than Albert Rusnak. And he also is one of the main names that gets taught. Like how often have we heard people say like, when will Seattle get a guy like Evander? You know, like maybe even if you think Albert Rusnak is fine, Evander is way better. Why can't they get a guy like Evander? So I was, I was looking at it from that lens and I expected to go into it being like Evander is one of the guys that man, like,
00:10:35
Speaker
you know, even if I like Rusnak, would I rather have Evander? Let's be honest with myself. Let's be honest with myself. ah Do I wish Seattle had him instead of one of these other guys? But ah then Nico, I thought about it more. And this is, I'm going I'm going to start us off with this one because I thought about it more.
00:10:53
Speaker
And I came to the conclusion that no, I would not rather have Evander than Albert Rusnak or anyone else. And you know why? Because he's a crash out. He was just crashing out on Instagram the other day after they bombed out CONCACAF Champions Cup on ah against whoever who who beat FC Cincinnati.
00:11:12
Speaker
I'm blank. They lost to Toluca. No, no, no, no, no. They does they lost to Tigris. Yes, yes. They were the ones who were playing Tigris, and they had them 3-0, and then they lost 5-1 in the second leg. And then Evander, he was crashing out on Instagram after the game. The whole reason he got traded from the Portland Timbys was because he was crashing out on the Timbys. So, like, there's just kind of, I think, is he mentally
Team Dynamics Over Talent
00:11:38
Speaker
always in the game?
00:11:39
Speaker
I'm not really sure. Also... I feel like he's pretty inconsistent. He floats in and out of games. He's not always impacting the game as you would think he would for someone of his talent level. He's streaky, ah not all that reliable. And he also cost $12 million. dollars So, Nico, that was that this was the first one that I looked at, and I was like...
00:12:01
Speaker
You know, this is kind of interesting because i think it would have been thought of as conventional wisdom that Evander is like so much better than Seattle's situation with their top DPs. And I was like, i really actually i really actually don't think I would rather have this guy on the team for $12 million, dollars even with the stat sheet production. I don't think I'd rather have him on the team for $12 million dollars than anyone that ah Seattle has. So that's my first question to you, Nico. my Am I crazy for ah actually looking at Evander and being like, i i don't think I don't think I want him. I don't think I do.
00:12:34
Speaker
i don't think I do. He's a crash out. He's unreliable. He's streaky. i don't I don't think I want him. What do what do you think of that? It's difficult. And let me start by...
00:12:46
Speaker
agreeing with you. And I'm agreeing with you mainly because of our understanding
00:12:56
Speaker
of Brandt's Master System, the rest of ah the team. Is Evander a more talented player, a more
00:13:08
Speaker
X-factor type that that can take over a game on his own? Does he have a a larger tool shed of tools to give you offensive output? I'd probably say yes, ah that Evander is that sort of player. But the the the importance and the reliable productivity from Albert Rusnak is one that is perhaps considered boring and not ah you know not exciting, not flashy, but when you put them in the correct system, it provides a better overall
00:13:57
Speaker
collective success. And so I think that's where things are going here. I understand that Evander, as you mentioned, has better stats and you know has all these other attributes. And if you look at it on paper, it might be a no-brainer that you do need a guy like that to get your team to a better place. But if you look at where he's been, that the the the types of teams that he's been in, and if we're going by results, look, Cincinnati hasn't really done anything with
00:14:33
Speaker
a guy like Evander there with with what you would consider better talent in terms of, you know, a guy like Denke or, you know, a backline with, you know, all these millions being just burned into flames, you know, with Robinson and Miazga and all of this, all this guy. So if we go by what people want to see, which is at times play soccer like they would,
00:14:57
Speaker
soccer manager or FIFA or whatever, it just doesn't quite equate. So I believe that Albert Rusnak, I would stick with Albert Rusnak because he is a player that is going to allow my system to work better. That is going to not play for FC Evander. He's going to play for Sounders FC. And that goes a long miles. ah If there's anything that I've learned from Chris Henderson, Garth Lagerwey, you know, even Kurt Smith,
00:15:27
Speaker
Intangibles matter. And those crash outs that you were talking about that people might brush off as, ah really, is that what we're going for? They do matter ah because you don't want a player that's going to compromise the unity of your locker room. You don't want a guy that's going to overcommit in certain parts of a game where because he is trying to play for himself and play hero ball, if you will, he is going to ruin your shape defensively. He's not going to track down. He's not going to make that that the the that extra pass, right? Because I'd rather take a
00:16:09
Speaker
30-yard shot, 20-yard shot, because that I feel like I have that in my tool shed. So I would agree that for the Sounders system and looking at that collective combination of players in that attacking end, that I would rather stick with a guy like Albert Rusnak. And intangibles to me – just as important as they are to the Sounders. I feel like that is something that a lot of fans don't see, a lot of even pundits that aren't, you know, close to certain teams.
00:16:45
Speaker
They can't see it because they they don't understand the way the system works. So, yes, I think that although it's difficult because I understand that it's hard to pass up on that sort of talent,
00:16:57
Speaker
I would think that I would stick with a guy like Albert Rusnak over a guy like Evander. I don't think that the Sounders would be any more successful with Evander on the field. And I really do mean that. Yeah. Isn't that interesting though? I came to the same conclusion and that's not the conclusion that I expected to come to. I was, I was trying to lead it off with the first guy being someone that I figured that I would pretty easily like take on Seattle. But ah I don't, I don't, I don't want the crash outs. I don't want the drama.
00:17:24
Speaker
No, thank you. you know Say what you want about Albert Rusnak, but you're never going to see him on ah on his Instagram stories just typing away, talking about everything that's wrong with the organization and how he is the greatest of all time and everyone around him is terrible and that's why the team's not winning. and like You don't want the drama, and that's kind of stuff that you've got to think about with these guys. And it's also, when you talk about DPs that come to MLS that are as talented as Evander, Sometimes you're like, how did this guy end up coming to the league? Sometimes there's a reason for that. And I think we're seeing that with Evander. Like he already forced his way off the Timbs. It's not going well at Cincy right now. So, ah yeah, I mean, that's ah that was that was the first guy. But, Nico, let's ah let's keep it pushing. We don't need to, like, break down every single one of these guys. but like No, no, but but but call call it what you will. but
00:18:14
Speaker
And I mean this so everybody can really try to just picture it, imagine it. Albert Rusnak was a guy that was the man in RSL. He came into a Sounders team that already had a locker room leader and a superstar in Nicolás Odero, who was starting to be at the end of his cycle in Seattle. And Albert Rusnak still came in, was another guy in the locker room.
00:18:43
Speaker
he was asked to play a position he had not played at the eight. He, he, he i was able to do it with the best of of his abilities. He was able to produce, he cemented a unit that was so good that ended up winning a CONCACAF champions league. And, and I don't know if you could put a vendor in the same situation and ask him to do all these other things and he would have that, that sort of success. So I just want to reiterate that I understand where you're going with the exercise and, and yeah, I, I,
00:19:13
Speaker
I appreciate Albert Rusnak and the way he can just plug into a system in the way he has in his time with the Sounders. And now even with ah another role and and being more of a protagonist and definitely having ah a bigger influence in the team in so many ways, he's adapted and he's never really...
00:19:35
Speaker
put his ego above the team. And and I don't think enough people are going to credit that because they can't see it on a statute or they can't see it on just a highlight reel, if you will.
00:19:48
Speaker
ghost trick Ghost Trick the Cat. Thank you so much for the 499. We appreciate it. He says, League is designed for parity. Teams that spend big money tend to get pulled down by holes in other places in the roster. Bottom line equals effort matters more. Yeah, I mean, it is. that Excellent point. It's just stuff that you have to think about that maybe, you know, on first glance, you don't always you're not always like...
00:20:09
Speaker
going there and you, and you see the highlight reels of Evander scoring these crazy goals and stuff. But I mean, it is stuff that matters as your, as your team building and your roster building. But so Nico, let's, ah let's, let's do another guy next that I think is
Haney Mukhtar's Impact and Hypotheticals
00:20:23
Speaker
a little bit of a different conclusion, you know, and that would be Haney Mukhtar, Nashville SC, 96 goals, assists in games. so Albert has and and games for Seattle. uh haney mouktar has played in 40 it looks like oh man 30 like 50 ish more games for nashville sc than rusnak has for seattle is 96 goals 56 assists and this is the other crazy thing about haney mouktar nico did you know that his transfer fee to get to nashville sc was do you know what it was do you remember off the top of your head how much not how much would you guess uh
00:21:09
Speaker
About $3 million, maybe? Exactly. Wow. You got it. Yeah. $3 million. dollars They paid $3 million dollars for Haney Mukhtar. And I was looking at it and i was like, this guy is one of the greatest players in MLS history. Like if you just look at his production compared to like the the kind of Nico Ladero standard setting effect that he's had on their organization and where they're at now, where they're going into this year, kind of flying high, looking like one of the better teams. in the league. ah That's been an absolutely lights out signing for them. Could not have paid out, paid off anymore. And it looks like he's doing it again this year. 96 and 56 and 217 games is pretty ridiculous clip of production. That's one Nico where I was looking at it and I was like, man, like,
00:21:53
Speaker
just a hypothetical universe where Haney Mukhtar was on this team the entire time been in MLS instead of Nashville SC. ah That would have been a pretty cool universe. I would probably, I would take him over a lot of pretty much anyone else, like not just Seattle related, but like throughout the league, that's when I think any team would take them. But so then, then the next question for me becomes like, can you look at it and be like, man, Seattle really should have made a play for, for that guy. Like,
00:22:22
Speaker
they could have had him or could they have had him and that could have changed the whole future, changed the ceiling. And, you know, that's, that's where I'm like, yeah I'm not actually, I'm not actually, you can't really say what impact that that would have had, but that is one where i look at it and I'm like, that's, that's a guy I would have taken on this team every single day of the week, every single day of the year, 24 hours a day.
00:22:45
Speaker
do you, do you agree with that when you look at Haney Mooktar and then, Going off of that, do you think, like, you know, should we be critical of Seattle for not not making a bigger play for Haney Mukhtar? Or I guess a lot of people feel like if it's not Haney Mukhtar, get someone who's more like that. Because for me, it's like also like, you know, it is easy to say that, but we should be mindful of the fact that you know, finding a guy like Haney Mukhtar is kind of like winning the lotto.
00:23:13
Speaker
You know, it's not, it's not like you just go out on the market and there's a bunch of Haney Mukhtars to pick from and you just pick which one you want the best. Like it's not as easy to do as we might think, but what do you think of the Haney Mukhtar comparison?
00:23:26
Speaker
This is where the exercise gets difficult and, you know, dangerous because it, Oh wait, James is pointing out that that this is an even better one because didn't Seattle have discovery rights on Haney Mukhtar too?
00:23:41
Speaker
I don't remember that, to be quite frank. I think Nashville had to like get the... I could be misremembering that. But there is something where... I feel like I would remember that, and I don't. So I would be intrigued if that's the case. Explain what you mean by that. But I think you're i think you're right. But I don't remember exactly how. But anyway, Nico, continue.
00:24:00
Speaker
This week is difficult because it it you start to get into the the timeline of things in multiple universes or or whatever. Because...
00:24:12
Speaker
I would argue that Nicolás Adaro was that sort of player, right? Kind of like a Honey Mokhtar guy that came in and just put the team on his back, changed it all and and all of these things. um I think he's a guy that I would perhaps in today's day and age, if you were to ask me, Nico, if you could put Honey Mokhtar of...
00:24:32
Speaker
five years ago in the DeLorean with Dr. Brown and bring him all the way down to today, would you trade that player for Albert Rusnak? Then I'll probably tell you, yeah, right? Because ah he has been this phenomenal ah player that has intangibles, that's creative, that can score, that can pass, that hasn't been in the best situation in a Nashville team that going back all the way to Gary Smith was pretty, um,
00:24:59
Speaker
pragmatic and and didn't necessarily give him a lot of tools. And he still has performed time and time again. And you see how much better or how much easier his life is today with a guy like Christian Espinosa and a guy like some surge. So in that sense, in that aspect and going back to the start of our conversation,
00:25:19
Speaker
um exercise where there is no no timeline and there is no no money lines. I think that that would be a guy that, yeah, I would i would take over a guy like um Albert. But going back to the reality is that just like has happened with Denny Buonga and other players, none of those guys were Flying off the charts when it came to Either their Their overall stats or their Um Metrics Metrics or the projection The trajectories right none of these guys You thought that they were gonna come in And just light it up or at least I didn't And they were able to
00:26:01
Speaker
that That's a great find by LAFC, a guy like Denny Buonga. That's a great find by Nashville to get a guy like like Hani Mukhtar. So it's hard to criticize the Sounders for not going after a guy like that when they have had guys like that, like Nicolas D'Adero. They've had this discovery rights and a guy like Al Marone. So all of these things kind of come into play. So I don't know if I would criticize the Sounders for not getting a guy like that. I feel like that's the sort of guy that the Sounders are looking for.
00:26:29
Speaker
Now, the $3 million dollars transfer is a thing of the past. The reason why I hid that $3 million mark is because i told I asked myself, self, go half of whatever that player will be worth today. And so, you know, $3 million dollars in the transfer fee, that's, I think, of a thing of the past, to be quite frank. But if you find a player like that, then, man, that's a score.
00:26:49
Speaker
$3 million dollars for Haney Mukhtar and people in chat are pointing out like, so I think Seattle did have his discovery rights and, uh, Nashville had to pay
Discovery Rights and Team Strategy
00:26:59
Speaker
Seattle a hundred K for the sign Haney Mukhtar. So this one in particular is one where it's like, Oh man, like some of them, it's like, okay, yeah, maybe he would have been better, but realistically, did you ever have a chance? Were you ever in on that? This one, they, like they had the, they had the discovery rights. Another team had to pay them a hundred grand to, uh, To sign him and they do that for three million dollars He becomes one of the greatest players in MLS history I'm not gonna lie that was when I looked at and I was like That feels like one that got away a little bit That feels like one So if that's ah true which i'm I'm not doubting it because I really My memory is not the best To be quite frank um but that Doesn't come to mind but now We'd have to go back and Do some long division and get into a really Big rabbit hole Because
00:27:47
Speaker
He went into Nashville in 2020. So I guess we'd have to look at where the Sounders were at at 2020. Who were the DPs who I'm pretty sure that they were all full because 2020 is when JP and Gaymark came in because that was COVID year.
00:28:06
Speaker
um Ladero was still the centerpiece at that point, was he not? Who? Yeah. Nico Ladero. Yes, of course. So, yeah, that is another that is another thing I was kind of realizing as I was going through it was like, yeah, there there are some guys that maybe would have been upgrades or maybe a little better than Rusnak, but it's like, you know, are you really going to move off Nico Ladero in 2018 or whatever it was to get so-and-so? Like, that was another thing that I did struggle with, but like Mukhtar was a tough one. i won't i won't deny it, but ah Yeah, like 2020, the Sounders, didn't they?
00:28:44
Speaker
Oh, no, that was 2019. They had just won a second title with Nico in 2019, right? um Yeah, yeah. yeah And so, yeah, and then in 2021, they go to the final against Columbus and they lose it, if I'm not mistaken. So, I mean, it's it's really hard to...
00:29:03
Speaker
It's hard to criticize the Sounders when they were so successful with those players that they brought in, Raul Rodriguez and obviously Nicolás Adaro and everybody else that they that they were able bring in. And that's where this exercise gets real difficult because would have Hannemuchter been another great key player? Sure. um But you'd have to move on from one of those guys that essentially got you that CONCACAF Champions League title and they went to another final and they were just so successful.
00:29:33
Speaker
ah So yeah, it's just it's just a hard one And how would have Nico and Honey Mukhtar Play together I mean, you know it's It's difficult. It's difficult. we got So we got people talking about Miguel Almiron in chat because I think that was another situation that was similar to the Muqtar situation where Seattle was in on that originally. But that was a choice. They decided to go Nico and not Almiron. I mean, it was one or the other. Was it that binary? Like it was like we're targeting multiple guys. We got Almiron over here. We got Ladero over here. Yep. And I think Sebastian Blanco was the other one. It it was it was those three. Right.
00:30:09
Speaker
Yeah, yeah. So that's okay. That's like an interesting one to go back on because they they nailed it by going with Ladero in that situation. Absolutely. And Almiron was interesting because when you look at his tenure in Atlanta, obviously the first one,
00:30:26
Speaker
was a smashing success. They won MLS Cup. They lit up the league to start out their MLS existence. They were super fun to watch. Joseph Martinez was putting up Cristiano Ronaldo numbers. And then they sold them Newcastle for what I believe was then an MLS league record.
00:30:42
Speaker
fee and he went on to be a very good player for Newcastle for a pretty long time. ah So that's one, but that, so that's one where, you know, when you're looking back on it and especially now, like remembering how it was kind of a choice between Ladero and Almiron,
00:30:57
Speaker
I don't feel like any regret over that at all because Ladero was one of the best DPs in MLS history. But what I did think was interesting, Nico, was looking at Atlanta United's DP situation right now ah as a whole.
Spending vs. Success in MLS
00:31:12
Speaker
Because, you know, there was ah that there was a pundit who shall not be named who said in the preseason that Seattle Sounders' DP situation is the literal number one worst.
00:31:24
Speaker
of anyone in the entire league. And, you know, I heard him say that and i was like, okay, I mean, I get that, uh, Albert Rusnak's not that exciting and that Jordan Morris and Pedro de la Vega are always hurt, but worst in the entire league, number one, worst out of anybody.
00:31:39
Speaker
Have you heard of Atlanta United? Like, come on, come on, give me a, I don't know who said that, but that that's, uh, yeah, that's beyond that's beyond hyperbolic. That's just straight up wrong. Yeah, I mean, you know, so I realize that most people don't think that, but I think a lot of people kind of, they do look at it as one of the less ideal DP situations, mostly because of the injuries, you know, the health factor with Jordan and Pedro de la Vega. So it's not as much like, I think an argument on their ability or production as it is their health and availability. But like, let's like look at, let's look at Atlanta because this I thought was telling and kind of illustrative of another conclusion that I came to. if you look at their ah DP situation right now, you have the return of Miguel Amirone.
00:32:27
Speaker
He has 28 goals, 28 assists in 108 games through both of his stints with Atlanta United. And he returned, ah I believe, was it last before last year that he returned or has he been there? Is this his third year back? I don't know. Either way, they paid Newcastle $10 million dollars to bring him back. So that's way more. It's the second year.
00:32:46
Speaker
Yeah, second year back. They paid Newcastle $10 million dollars to bring him back. Their other two DPs, are Alexi Marinchuk, 14 goals, 7 assists, 55 games for $13 million. And Emmanuel Latte Loth, 9 goals, 4 assists, 37 games for $22 million. dollars So you have three transfer fees that are all $10 million dollars or above. One of them is $22 million. dollars So that was the league record at the at the time, league record transfer for Latte Loth. And then $13 more million dollars for Alexi Marinchuk, who has 14 goals, seven assists in 55 games.
00:33:24
Speaker
Those three transfer fees are the the top three on the list that I was looking at. One, two, and three, they are ranked all on the same team. And those are also literally the one, two, and three worst situations, least productive, worst fit. The team is performing the worst. They have no chance at winning anything.
00:33:45
Speaker
And I thought that was interesting because, ah you know, like we talk about how spending doesn't necessarily correlate to success, but that is like a you couldn't have a more picture perfect illustration of that, right? Like they they have the top three most spendy fees for the three worst fees.
00:34:04
Speaker
Outcomes so I don't know like and then the way what I thought was also interesting looking at kind of on that topic was that if you look at the best if you look at the best outcomes.
00:34:16
Speaker
from these players on this list, it's all, the all of the transfer fees for the best ones are like $3 million, $4 million, $5 million. dollars Like here, i'll do I'll just go through some of them. You got Haney Mukhtar, $3 million. dollars Christian Espinoza, $8 million. dollars Denny Buonga, $5 million. dollars Daniel Gosdog, who isn't that good right now, but was insanely good for Philly for a while. $4.5 million dollars trade. I guess that was the Columbus figure, but it was something like that, I think, when he went to Philly. Andrews Dreyer, who's another one that I looked at, $5 million. dollars so And then ah Pedro de la Vega was 7.5. So all the good ones are actually in that kind of like 5 to 8 for that sweet spot. And then you look at the ones that were over 10, I guess. So Evander was a $12 million dollars cash for player trade. So that was higher than Almiron's. But I don't think that's been a very good outcome for them in terms of...
00:35:11
Speaker
like trophy hall. I know they've been like competing for shields, but they're in, they look like they're in a pretty bad situation right now with crash Audi Vander. And then the Atlanta guys, it's almost like a joke, man. Like it's like they spent all this money for, for actually nothing.
00:35:25
Speaker
So I don't know. what do you Just look at Austin. Austin has been bad. Austin paid $10 million dollars for Brandon Vasquez. who has been injured and has done absolutely nothing for that team. Not to mention the player that they ended up having to get rid of because he just couldn't quite cut it. Uzzini hasn't been great. I mean, now they got Fernando Torres. That has worked okay, but they have been absolutely awful. I look at Charlotte and Saha, Biel, and all those guys.
00:35:50
Speaker
What have they done for the team? I mean, so I cannot stand Saha. So he's a headache to me. i I would never. I would take any of our DTs, including that i Jordan Morris, including...
00:36:02
Speaker
Patella-less Pedro de la Vega I take over Saha Because that that is a guy that is a I don't want anything to do with that type of player So I can name a bunch of these teams That have worse situations Going from last season, right Because if we're going to talk about Pedro la Vega being injured And we're talking about last season I mean, there's a whole bunch of teams That then have spent more And have had worse situations the Sounders So, I mean, that that that is just ridiculous the atlanta The Atlanta situation is just, you know, I think we all knew the situation that they were in. But to see, to look at the list that I made and then see 22 for Latte Loth, 10 for Almiron, and 13 for Marinchuk, that's tough. That's tough. i would I would not swap any one of those guys onto Seattle for any amount of money. Like, you you couldn't pay me $100 million dollars to put any of those guys on ah on Seattle's
Seattle's Consistency Over High-Profile Acquisitions
00:36:52
Speaker
roster. That's how poorly that, uh...
00:36:54
Speaker
that that worked out so you know it's just that that it is an example of a situation where the uh spending and ambition has not translated to success but uh nico uh on the so on the flip side of that one let's talk about ah let's talk about anders dryer that was one where i looked at and i was like oh oh man that would have been nice that would have been nice yeah i mean if if if you ask me what if i'd rather have Dreyer or Jordan Morris, I mean, of course, you're going to go with, or or even better, La Vega. I mean, you've got to go with pretty much anybody. Yeah. Yeah. yeah Pretty much anyone. Right. Obviously, if you needed to get rid of Albert in terms of this exercise, that then yeah. obviously Let's talk about that, though. Like, is there room for consternation over the fact of like, man, like Bruce Snacks, whatever, but like you should have just moved off him and and gotten in on Anders Dreyer and then you could upgraded. Like, is there
00:37:52
Speaker
Is that a valid sentiment or is another one of those situations where it's like, okay, like, yeah, easy to talk about. But once that, when, when you were in the actual reality of it, that couldn't have actually happened. No, it's exactly the same the same thing. and And once again, we've got to go back to Anders Dreyer prior to coming to MLS, who wasn't necessarily lighting it up either. i mean, he was a good player and you thought he was going to do well here. Absolutely. Credit to San Diego for going out and getting a guy like that. But, you know, it's it's hard to criticize it when, when again, you've got to go back to
00:38:24
Speaker
what what continuity has done for this team and having this sort of team together. And you can argue all you want about injuries and all these other things and whether Jordan Morris deserves or doesn't deserve a DP contract, even though he won it through escalators.
00:38:41
Speaker
You know, those are situations that are hard to foresee. But if you are asking me, you've, I'm concerned about it? No, no, i'm I'm really not concerned. I think that once the Sounders are ready to move on and look for that next DP, once you have a guy like Sean Henderson on the lookout for talent, you're A-OK, and you're going to be able to get a guy that has all these components, and they'll be able to get a guy that's going to come in and perform. It's just that they haven't had that ability to do so. If if the Sounders were in a situation where
00:39:16
Speaker
identifying talent was an issue, then I'd be concerned. But that's not the case here. Yeah, that is one thing I was thinking about was, you know, ah i think I think they're in a fine situation with Albert Rusnak. And Rusnak's stat sheet production, if that's the only thing that we're looking at, has been excellent. But it has not been necessarily...
00:39:39
Speaker
the Haney Mukhtar, Anders Dreyer, Denny Buonga end of the spectrum. And so when, when the day comes where they are looking for a new DP to replace Albert Rusnak, I think they should try and go, ah go for a guy that had obviously has that ability to stuff the statute like a Haney Mukhtar or, uh, Anders Dreyer. Like that would be awesome to have on this team. And I understand why people want that on this team at the same time. Another thing I was thinking about with that Nico is like, uh,
00:40:08
Speaker
Yes, Albert Rusnak's stat sheet production is kind of like a step behind guys like that. How much of that is like talent and ability and how much of that is system that's designed to maximize a particular guy. When you look at how Nashville SC has run their offense or how San Diego FC runs their offense, it's literally like everything is built around the one guy. They're getting the most touches. They're the entire centerpiece. The entire operation runs through them to the point where if, if those guys go out, it's kind of like a Jenga tower, you know, like, They're in a really bad, if if ah San Diego FC ever has to play without Andrew Dreyer, there's a huge drop-off. They're in a pretty bad situation. I would say it's probably the same thing with Nashville SC. Seattle is a team that spreads the love a little bit more. Like the production is more kind of coming from different places and it's not necessarily reliant on just all one guy. And that's worked to their benefit in situations where Albert Rusnak was injured in League's Cup last year, but they had Jesus Ferreira to be able to slide into that to that role. and the level didn't really drop at all.
00:41:16
Speaker
and Not every team has that ability and has is that like as multifaceted as that. Couldn't you say it's a little better to be multifaceted and not have everything funneling through a single guy? you know Because ah it is awesome to have a guy that's able to do that and put up the numbers that those guys are able to put up. But it does you you should always think about and be wary of a situation where, okay, well, what happens if you have to play without that guy?
00:41:41
Speaker
can you still maintain your level? Can you still make it happen? I think there's real question with some of these teams that are all just really, really based on and relying on one guy. They they're playing with fire in situations where that guy gets injured or has to, to rotate out in a way that I don't really think Seattle Does like we've seen what Seattle has been able to do with two of their DPs barely playing at all over the last like year
Adaptability and System Resilience
00:42:04
Speaker
or two. And they managed to win a Leagues Cup over Messi and the Barca boys last year, starting Jesus Ferreira at the 10 and Osase de Rosario up top. You know, so I don't know. What do you what do you think? Is there anything to that?
00:42:16
Speaker
I mean, look, it's difficult and and we're going through. a lot of different aspects of the game. So it's hard for me to provide you with one decisive answer because I i do believe that what the Sounders are doing works for the Sounders and having that collective play is something that this team has worked on for years and being able to plug in guys and they have an edge on other teams when it comes to their academy and their pipeline and all of these other things. But obviously the ceiling is extremely high and how quickly you can get to certain places when whenever you do have the ability to get certain guys like LAFC has or Ender Miami has. So it's difficult. i don't And San Diego is as a team that Mike Iveras has created a system that is phenomenal. And I do think that although they would struggle without Anders Dreyer, I feel like they would still be a decent team because that's how good Mike Iveras has been. um So so he just every team is very different.
00:43:15
Speaker
What I would say is this, because I kind of get the premises of the exercise. Not everything's perfect with the Sounders. They have put together a team that...
00:43:28
Speaker
collectively can match and and um fight and and be in equal battle with you most teams in MLS, but the overall ceiling, you know, could that be pushed a little bit more? Sure. So just to expedite the exercise, I mean, give me a guy like some search and this Sounders team is,
00:43:51
Speaker
that much better because he does immediately fit. He is that good of a player. Give me Danny Buonga. I mean, let's just go crazy. Right. And put him on, on that left side. I mean, does that really work with the system? Maybe not, but I mean, maybe you could, I would, I would work at it. i would try it. I'd be happy. you would Exactly. So, so, you know, there, there are, you know, some of these ah players that you can go out there and, and kind of slide in immediately and they're going to be high productive players and performers, but there, there is a balance of,
00:44:21
Speaker
and we mentioned this with Jeremiah on Friday, i think that two things can be true. you could be You could praise the Sounders for creating a system that has allowed them to really get players that go from their academy and their Tacoma Defiance to feed that first team and their floor is extremely high because they have that sustainable talent coming in.
00:44:50
Speaker
And you can also be upset that maybe the team hasn't spent a whole bunch of money to get you, you know, a Chupomotin or whatever, whoever your favorite goal scorer is. So it it is a thing where both things can
Future Roster Strategies and Key Roles
00:45:07
Speaker
be true. I do believe that the Sounders have an edge on a lot of teams because of the way they run their their team.
00:45:14
Speaker
But I do think that by adding... this surplus of, of, of capital of money, they would be pretty good. Yeah. Overall, i was, what I was surprised, uh, at what I found is that, there actually, there wasn't actually that many guys in the league right now that I would surefire swap into Seattle's roster guaranteed over, uh,
00:45:38
Speaker
over the guys that they have right now. If we're talking like purely based on talent and ability and theoretical production and not health and availability, I mean, it was really, it was Haney Mukhtar, Denny Buonga, Anders Dreyer, and arguably Christian Espinosa. Those were the names that I looked at and i was like, man, like it would have been... so sick to have those guys maybe instead of another guy or just to have those guys in general they could have done great on this team so that you know that's four names right there but uh just as we wrap up the uh the exercise here ah there there was like let's look at some of the guys that have uh have not done so well i mean you got i got ryan gald on here who he
00:46:22
Speaker
has produced at a higher rate than Rusnak, like by per 90 stuff, but he is always injured. Like Rusnak, you can say what you want about him. The guy is available and he at least plays every week. Ryan Gould does not. You got a guy like ah Georgie Mihailovic, who I think is honestly... ah a decent comp for Rusnak, but I'm probably taking Rusnak over Dorji Mihailovic. If anything, I think that's, that's close to a wash. Uh, but then there's also guys like, I was looking at David DaCosta for the Timbs. That was a guy when the Timbs went and got him. ah lot Some people were like, Oh man, I'm like, what if Seattle had gotten David DaCosta? David DaCosta is sitting at five goals, eight assists in 41 games. I've been a truther on him.
00:47:04
Speaker
I think he's good. I think he's better than his stat sheet production indicates. But like seeing that where his stat sheet production is at through 40 games, he's also coming off an injury. I don't really wish Seattle had him at all. Daniel Gosdog was incredible for the Philly Union, but hasn't really done anything further. for the crew. Miguel Amirone, we already talked about that.
00:47:22
Speaker
Robin Lodd's a guy who was Minnesota United centerpiece for years. I would not take him over Albert Rusnak like I wouldn't. Jonathan Bamba is a guy that's yeah ah that the Chicago Fire got a lot of praise for signing. He's been kind of getting into bust territory, man. He's not consistent. He doesn't have that good in numbers. Eight goals, seven assists, 44 games.
00:47:41
Speaker
Emile Forsberg would not take him on Seattle over Albert Rusnak. Oh, the here's the other one that I missed. Diego Rossi. That was one where The timing actually could have lined up. I think Diego.
00:47:54
Speaker
Yeah. Like that was one where I saw it and I was like, man, if they could have made that happen, that would have been sick. Cause he's younger than Rusnak. And I just think that he's such like a, he's one of those guys where you put them in MLS, you're going to get, ah you're going to get the stats at least. And I think you could say that about Rusnak too, but Rossi's younger, little more dynamic. So that was one where that was, that was so like, I guess five, five names throughout the league where you could argue for him just for fun, Nico.
00:48:23
Speaker
Lionel Messi, 82 goals, 44 assists in 94 games. All it took was an $150 million dollars contract and have him own now as a co-owner of Apple TV and an elaborate arrangement with the oligarch class to get him paid hundreds of millions of dollars. Yeah. But 82 goals, 44 assists in 94 games. First of all, i was just like, okay, I mean, you know, we can look at these statistical comparisons with the rest of these guys. And even with Bawanga and Hany Mukhtar and the guys that put up really crooked numbers every year, there's at least sort of like a ballpark relative comparison that you can work with. 82 goals, 44 assists in 94 games. It was, it's kind of, it is, you know, we all know it's messy. He can do that stuff, but it was still pretty remarkable to see it spelled out. But, you know, with that one, you're like, all right, like, should we be crashing out that the Seattle Sounders weren't the messy team? I mean, I was that it that, that was probably never in the car, sadly. But like, just the, just the raw stat sheet production that you get from, ah from being the messy team is kind of crazy, dude. Like,
00:49:31
Speaker
82 and 44 in 94 games. How is that physically possible? I don't understand that. Like that is. Yeah, no, I mean, it's messy. And that's, again, why there isn't a universal plug in answer on how to be.
00:49:50
Speaker
the best team in in any league. And, you know, maybe money mainly does, you know, if you look at the the top leagues, right. If you look at the Real Madrid and the Barcelona, but when it comes to MLS specifically, where it's even more difficult because of the salary cap and this a system that's kind of made for, for parity, it's difficult. So I couldn't just sit here and tell you that bringing all this top level names are always going to,
00:50:19
Speaker
Land U Titles Because New York City FC has done it multiple times But they were the first ones to bring You know Pirlo And um avla what What was it?
00:50:33
Speaker
Why? Why? Well, you know, they brought all these players that that that just didn't really pan out. And, you know, you can go on and on and on about, you know, Chicago Fire. They've been a team that have Brown, Schweinsteiger and Shaqiri and all of these players and Asim Panda. Yeah, yeah.
00:50:50
Speaker
yeah Yeah, and then you got teams like Seattle and other teams that that put it all together. but But for the exercise, I had a couple that I would take on my team, no problem. Joe Valich is Guilherme is another one. Yeah, we're about to talk about him, but I agree.
00:51:06
Speaker
Yeah, Guillermo is another one. um To be honest, I take Jao Klaus. I really, really like Jao Klaus, despite him being a little bit older. Obviously, if you were to tell me that Hermann Bertramma was going to come, he hasn't performed, but he's this amazing talent. $10 million, zero goals.
00:51:23
Speaker
Zero goals? Well, that's the thing, too. I mean, I'm talking no price tag, you know, infinite. And Christian Espinosa is another one that was a very possible player that I would absolutely take any time.
00:51:35
Speaker
Yeah, that's, I mean, you know, I think we're all we're all Christian Espinosa heads on this show, but that's that's one where i I consider them, like, relatively similar tier to Rusnak and De La Vega. But then, you know, like the health and reliability thing,
00:51:51
Speaker
Espinosa is just like nails. He never misses games. And he, I mean, I just love him. I i would have been so fired up if Seattle had been able to pull that off over the off season, even with the kind of log jam that they have at that position. But yeah, I mean, no, there are definitely names in there that, uh,
00:52:08
Speaker
that would have been cool to have, but on it, it wasn't as many as I expected. other words There was, there was a few in the Evander category where I expected to go into it being like, I for sure would want that guy for any amount of money than over anyone that Seattle has. And then you actually interrogate it and you're like, actually, no, like I, I wouldn't like, and you have, you do have to think about things like, uh,
00:52:28
Speaker
are they Are they about the drama? Is it a reality show over there? Are they crash outs? How consistent are they? How available are they? Obviously, we all know Seattle's issues with availability. But ah anyway, yeah, that's ah that's pretty much all I had for ah for that exercise. But ah Nico, any any final thoughts there? Overall, it was, for me, it didn't...
00:52:49
Speaker
I didn't end up thinking about it necessarily how I thought I would. So that's why I was kind of, I thought it was interesting and wanted to share it. But ah yeah, my final thought would be bringing everybody back to reality and
00:53:02
Speaker
kind of preparing everyone for what's next. And like, if there is a way for the Sounders to bring back Albert on a non-DP salary. i think that's something that they would do.
00:53:18
Speaker
But the replacement on the DP category for Albert Resnick is Jesus Ferreira.
Strategic Planning for Transitions
00:53:23
Speaker
So don't expect this team to go out there and get another player, another playmaker, because they have one on the roster. and I'm glad you're getting out in front of that, because we should be getting out in front of that. That's what is going to happen, guys. It's going to happen. It's as simple as that. Now I'm i'm hoping that Brian starts playing Jesus more than 60 minutes a game, but you know, that the guy has performed and he's going to continue to perform and he's going to hit his escalators and he's going to be a DP. And he, and to me, i'm I'm happy to have a guy like Jesus. If he continues to play at this, at this level and improving as I expect him to improve in the real
00:54:00
Speaker
players you're going to be needing to replace Pedro de la Vega and Jordan Morris. and And those are conversations that I think could be very easily had at at one point in time. and And you're going to replace those guys. you're going to need ah another striker, or maybe you, as I've been beaten on a drum, get a u twenty two that that can potentially at one point become that nine. And maybe you could use those DP spots to put them elsewhere. But,
00:54:26
Speaker
Those are the conversations, bringing back here bringing everybody back to reality. i do think that whenever, in the closest contract that is set to expire, i believe, is Albert's. And that one, I don't think people are going to get necessarily what they want because whether you like it or not, Jesus is going to be that guy.
00:54:47
Speaker
People are not going to be happy that the day on the day that Jesus Ferreira becomes a DP for this team. But I will say if there's one, if there's one thing I do appreciate about how the Sounders go about things, it's like ah it's, it's having a plan like transition plans And sometimes that involves having a guy who's already in house being ready to take over a role so you don't have to do the whole thing of finding and integrating a new guy we so we saw saw them do it with the goalkeeper position where they knew Stephen Fry was getting up into his 30s and he wasn't going to be around forever. So they went out and got Andrew Thomas like two, three years ago to be the guy to take over when, when Stephen Fry finally does move on, which has taken, I think probably longer than even they expected. We've seen Stephen Fry play this year and he's still doing it at a high level, but I, honest I appreciate the fact that they, ah that they had, they had something there, something ready to go for when Stephen Fry retires. You don't have to like do this big search. You don't have to take the risk of, know,
00:55:50
Speaker
going out and spending money on a guy that doesn't end up hitting or he gets there and it turns out he's a Instagram crash out. You know, you don't have to deal with that. Now a goalkeeper, you just have Andrew Thomas there. I think that's what, I think that's what good, what, uh, what good smart teams do is they have these plans in place.
00:56:06
Speaker
That's what they're, that is what they've done and what they're doing with the Albert Rusnak, Jesus Ferreira thing. When Albert Rusnak moves off a DP spot, uh, They're going to move Jesus Ferreira into that. And that's not the most exciting thing in the world. People aren't going to be happy about it. I do think there's a way to look at that, though, where it like continuity, having a plan. You don't have to integrate a new guy. It's a guy that you already know what you have. The team already knows how to play with him. That that's the type of stuff that allows you to be able to not have these periods of time where you have these big drop offs while you're moving, ah moving guys on and then moving and then bringing new guys in. That's what creates those situations where you're like, all right, well, we might have to just take our lumps for a bit while we figure this out.
00:56:55
Speaker
when you already have the guy in house and you have that planned up, then you don't have to do that. So like, I don't know. I, I realized that a lot of people don't agree with that, but I actually, i think the, the Ferreira plan is an example of something that's probably going to allow them to maintain their level and not have to deal with these, ah these drop ops that we're, that we're talking about. Like, do you, do you see that different or is that? Yeah, no, I agree. And look,
00:57:22
Speaker
a conclusion, let me hit you with a dad gang message here. The grass is not always greener on the other side. And I know that there is a lot of room for the Sounders to improve. but And I'm not here to tell you how to feel. If you want to be upset about the fact that this team isn't getting in all these big players and be upset about it. If you are very proud of the way the team works and and and operates, then then be happy about it. And you can feel that way. As long as you're, you know, educating yourself and and and getting the right information. That's why, you know, I got a lot of respect for James. James, you know, he's always mad about something and he's got this, you know, campaign against Albert, but
00:58:04
Speaker
I mean, he educates himself. He's in there. He you know listens to us. He's doing his own research. And and and that's that's totally fine. It's his prerogative to do so. But I always say put things in perspective. And as a Sounders fan base, I think you guys have been spoiled for the last 15 years or ever since the beginning of this team. Because you could be Orlando and bring it in Kaka and Nani and they go absolutely nowhere. You could be Chicago, we just mentioned. Shaqiri and Schweinsteiger get absolutely nowhere. You could be the Portland Timbers that spend all this money every one single... You really want to be Atlanta United? You could be Atlanta. They've been missing on guys since I killed Barco. Is that what you want, I said, I killed Barco? I mean, you know, there is just always that perspective of...
00:58:47
Speaker
Maybe things are not as bad as you see them, although I repeat, it is your prerogative to feel any sort of way you will. But if you really look at things on a broader scale, I think you would be happy with what you have. Not to say that it can get better. It could always get better. But that's just my take on it. That that message of the day there.
00:59:08
Speaker
All right, Nico, we got about 10, 15 minutes, minutes ish left here. So let's talk about some Houston Dynamo, maybe a little Tigris, maybe a little USMNT. We can rapid fire it.
US Men's National Team Performance Analysis
00:59:18
Speaker
ah If you are watching on YouTube, please like the video, sub to the channel, like, comment, subscribe, rate five stars, follow us on Instagram, TikTok, all that good stuff. ah Nico, let's, uh, let's actually, let's hit USMNT first. Cause I did want to get to that today. ah because there, there's a lot of red hot discourse flying around with that. Christian rolled on, did get into the game against Belgium, played the second half. The second half did not go very well for, uh, for the team, but it was good to see Christian get out there. I still think he's probably going to make the World Cup squad, but a lot of negativity flying around after they got waxed by Belgium five to two It was actually a competitive game in the first half. It was it was one to one at half. U.S. scored first. Weston McKinney scored first. It was 1-0. Belgium equalized, and then the second half got away from the old Yanks, and it ended up five to two
01:00:14
Speaker
ah So let's talk about that real quick. Because, you know, anytime that the USMNT gets beat that badly, ah the discourse is blazing hot. But so I guess the only thing I wanted to say, Nico, is that ah like, you know, you got people out there who are going to blame that result fully on ah Sebastian Berhalter and Christian Roldan. And, you know, that's fine.
01:00:40
Speaker
Do what you got to do to make yourself feel better. Whatever helps you sleep at night. But ah the reality is my my take on the USMNT. Are ready? is my take on the USMNT. Okay. This is the issue with the USMNT.
01:00:54
Speaker
They're not that good. Okay. Not a very good team. Not that good. Not that good. It's fine to be not that good, but they're not that good. They haven't been that good for pretty much their entire existence.
01:01:08
Speaker
ah But, you know, Greg Breerhalter used to talk about being the team that changes the way that the world views American soccer. And this player pool was supposed to be the player pool that, ah that did that. And I think watching the Belgium game, I was kind of just like, you know what? They're, they're not, they're not that they're not going to change the way anyone thinks about American soccer. They're not even, they're not better than, than the previous generation that came before them for all the talk about the clubs that they play for and how much pedigree that they have compared to the old guard. They have not gotten better results. In fact, I think they've gotten better.
01:01:42
Speaker
pretty much the same, if not worse results. And there's enough of a sample now to, to say that. So ah not that good a team. I don't know why people expected it to be that good of a team compared to like, based on what we've seen over the last few years. And the MLS guys are going to get blamed for that. But when I look at the team, I think the, you know, the scrutiny really should be on guys like Christian Pulisic and, know,
01:02:09
Speaker
Weston McKinney and like Gio Reyna, that whole, that whole little, that whole little crew. Okay. Like those are the guys who are going to make or break the fortunes of the team. All right. It's not going to be the defensive midfielder that played six minutes at the last world cup. You can trash on that guy. If it makes you feel better, like I said, but that's not going to be what changes anything. And when I, when I watch a guy like Christian Pulisic play, man, at this point, zero dogging him.
01:02:38
Speaker
Zero dog in him at all. Negative X dog. Doesn't have the, doesn't have the mentality that you need to succeed at the international level or really be the guy to lead this team into the next generation and become like the greatest U S team ever.
01:02:52
Speaker
I don't think he's that. ah I don't think he's that guy. He's got no dog in him and it permeates the whole team. Team doesn't have any dog in it. The, the USMNT used to at least have dog in it. These guys don't have dog in it in them. So, uh,
01:03:07
Speaker
All that's to say the World Cup, like they're probably going to do pretty much what the U.S. always does at the World Cup, which is make it out of the group stage, then immediately get eliminated by a team that's a lot better than them, like Belgium. And Belgium is way there. That was a way better team. I watched a lot of that game and I was like, wow, there's one team that's way better than the other.
01:03:25
Speaker
The team that's losing this game is just not very good. So that's my USMNT take. Nico, what's your USMNT take? Let's start with just saying what everybody needs to hear. This is a friendly, created, and designed to do this.
01:03:44
Speaker
Allow you to troubleshoot whatever's not working. So the USMNT was not going to win the World Cup if they beat Belgium 5-0. And they certainly are not going to get bounced out of the group stage because they lost five to two So that's number one.
01:04:03
Speaker
Number two, I do find it hilarious that you're going to blame the MLS guys that essentially are your depth part of the roster and not go after the stars of the team. so way To be fair fair, there was a lot more Pulisic scrutiny than there usually is. I think finally the bots and the USMNT fans, they realized, they're like, wait a minute.
01:04:29
Speaker
Wait a minute. He played terrible. My entire reality is crashing down around me. Anyway, continue. And he's been bad. He has not been the Pulisic of old. And the fact that he didn't even have the captain banned in this one was interesting. Was that a message from Pochettino? Does he not deserve it? I mean, he really hasn't been good at the club level, but usually when it comes to the USMNT,
01:04:52
Speaker
A lot like how Mr. Rodriguez for Columbia He turns into a whole other player But he didn't in this particular game And that is concerning So other than Winston McKinney And Anthony Robinson None of the big boys came out to play Including Balogun You could say that he didn't get the service Or he didn't get enough you know, play or whatever it could be. There was a lot of talk about Cardoso. Cardoso was fine, but he wasn't lighting anything up. There were, when Cardoso, it seemed like everybody thought that the fact that Cardoso went out of the game was the turning point of this game. And that's ridiculous. He was fine. He didn't do anything great or he wasn't influential. I actually think that Christian Roldan got on the ball more and and had a little bit more to do with the game than Cardoso did. And that's going to probably get me killed in the ah discourse with the bots or whatever, but I don't care. I just, I feel like whenever your team gets outperforming the way that this US national team did, the blame has to go to the top players. It has to go to the superstars. It has to go to the Pulisic. It has to go to the Timothy Way. and Now, Timothy Way i was put in a situation that's pretty difficult. I'm not going to lie to you. I mean, this this might not be the Belgium of like
01:06:09
Speaker
maybe one or two world comes ago, but this is a quality team. And Doku had his way. He was going to get his way and and he got his way with, with the team. And, and when your boiler, regardless of his age, whenever he's on the ball, he is cerebral. He's looking for the gaps. He is pushing, he's putting guys through. i mean, this is a quality Belgian team. So if you're,
01:06:32
Speaker
top players were not going to come and perform, then that's who should get the blame. It shouldn't be the Sebastian Berhalter, though he did have a pretty horrible game, I will say. Berhalter did not do himself any favors in in this particular game. He was bad. I'm not going you. But The concerns are, Team Ream, if he's going to be your guy, you better be able to cover him with playing a three-man back line that has been successful in the past. And I know that Pochettino talked about, like every coach does, it was a four, but when we built, it's a three-man. But, you know, it's very hard for me to believe that either Robinson or Weah were going to be that that third guy. Maybe Tessman, right, when he comes in and he covers, he could be the third guy in that back line. But he is is it doesn't quite fit. So if you're going to have Tim Ream, who, to me, should not be in this in this roster,
01:07:23
Speaker
he's getting exposed because of his speed and his age and all these things, regardless of how good he's on the ball, then you better be able to cover him. But those are the real concerns is the star power. It's not playing at a star power level. Your defense has some huge concerns and your system can't get broken into if you don't solidify it. So I think all of these things are correctable with the exception of,
01:07:47
Speaker
What are you going to do with Pulisic? I mean, do you have plan B? Is it Gio Reyna? Is he the guy that's going to come in and be your guy? Because Gio also hasn't been playing great or hasn't playing with his k club team. So who is your guy that's going to come in and be that next Captain America if your golden boy is not playing to the top of his game?
01:08:11
Speaker
I'll say this about Pochettino. I actually think that when he when they first hired him, I was skeptical and it didn't seem like it was going that well, but I came around on him as a coach. I think that he's a good coach. Like, I really do.
01:08:24
Speaker
I think the way that he ah analyzes the player pool, you can tell he does it from a place of objectivity. He doesn't have any agendas. He's not a bot. Like, he's going to give the opportunities to where he thinks they should genuinely go based on merit.
01:08:39
Speaker
And I can appreciate that about him. And I think there have been periods of time where he's had the team playing well, even if it didn't happen in the Belgium game. And it's probably not going to result in that many different outcomes at the World Cup than it usually would. I do think he's a good coach, but he is back he's back on my ah he's back on my bad list, Nico, because he had that comment a few weeks ago when... ah Tim Weah was talking about the ticket prices at the World Cup and how he felt like it was unfair and that real fans were getting priced out and that he thinks FIFA should really look at changing that. It was a good quote. I appreciated that from Tim Weah. And then Pochettino comes out and he says, our players should not be speaking on the ticket prices at the World Cup. That doesn't involve us. That has nothing to do with the footy. And I would i think i would really...
01:09:26
Speaker
implore Tim Weah to not be saying stuff like that to the media. Shut up, Poach. Shut up, dude. like That's someone who has either never in their life had to worry about money or hasn't had to worry about money in so long that they've lost all concept of what it's like to be like a regular member of society. all right. So no one wants to hear your millionaire ass talk about how ticket prices don't matter and don't affect your team. All right. Just save that one.
Player Advocacy and World Cup Ticket Prices
01:09:55
Speaker
Next time I'd been defending you. You'd been doing a good job coaching. And then you come out and say some dumb shit like that. I don't know. I didn't like that. Nico that, uh, that pissed me off. I feel like the coach in that situation, if anything should be saying like, yeah, ticket prices suck. We should get fans at these games that aren't just really, but he crowded this world cup, unless they do some about the ticket prices is going to be the worst crowd of all time. You're telling, you're just going to stuff a bunch of rich people and oligarchs in those stadiums. And you think you're going have any atmosphere at all. That's a real issue. I know that the FIFA oligarchs don't care about that, but they should, because it's going to be horrendous, man. Like that's to, those are going dead stadiums. So, uh, it actually Pochettino might be better served to be actually be, uh, standing with the people on that instead of the oligarchs. But anyway, that's a, uh, that's a side tangent. Um, Beyond that logic that makes all kinds of sense. And I think what most, if not all players and coaches should be trying to get across is, is that that is unfair. Just stick up for your guys. I mean, as a coach, you're going to, you got to pick your battles. And if you're going to throw your guys ah under the bus over something like that, and you ah on what, on the behalf of FIFA, I mean, it it was just ah to me, a unnecessary problem. And, and,
01:11:14
Speaker
I don't know if he did it as an impulse or he had it prepared. I mean, I'm not sure how he came about that statement, but I just thought it was it was ridiculous. But um I do believe he's a good coach. I think that he has some really heavy-duty fixing and understanding his group, his depth, because if if Robinson's going to be coming off and Arfson is going to have – that hard of a time as he did in this one, then you got to figure out what's going on. And if, ah you know, a guy like Patrick Adjeman is going to give you certain things and maybe he's going to be a guy that you, you, you get to start or a guy like Gio Reyna that I don't think he's as good off the bench as he's starting off. In my opinion, I think maybe you got to figure out just you're starting 11. You've got to figure out your system. You've got to figure out if you're going to play with three in the back or not. And, and you got to stick to it. a Bottom line is,
01:12:12
Speaker
you are going to have to grind some games out in the World Cup. And and that's got to be a ah reality check for Pochettino and this this team. Yes, you're the host. Yes, you have some quality players. But you're not going to be able to go head-to-head with a team like Belgium all the time. And you've got to be able to grind it out. Now, the good thing about this is that Belgium...
01:12:34
Speaker
is a lot better than any other teams you're going to face in the group stage. And so is Portugal. I just watched Portugal against Mexico and they played kind of in third gear, fourth gear, the whole time they didn't really push it in until the very end. And they put Mexico under a lot of pressure. So,
01:12:52
Speaker
I'm looking forward to seeing how this team responds against Portugal in this game and what kind of character they show in that particular one. And, ah you know, is it Matt Fries at goal? I mean, Matt Turner was fine. He had some really good saves, but also that first goal, i feel like he should be able to get to it. So, you know, there's just a couple of things that that need to be fixed there. But overall, I do think that the biggest issue for this team is can my best players – do enough for me to beat or match up with the best players on the other side.
01:13:28
Speaker
You want ah Tim Weha to shut up, Pochettino? How about you shut up, Poch? Have you ever thought of that? Thought of that? that's That's my idea for you, buddy. All right, Nico, ah before we get out of here, let's just do some quick rapid-fire thoughts on the Houston Dynamo.
Seattle Sounders vs. Houston Dynamo Preview
01:13:43
Speaker
Seattle Sounders back in MLS action on Saturday. Roadshow,
01:13:47
Speaker
Taking, uh, taking their talents to Houston, Texas, always difficult road trip. Uh, Nico, let's just, uh, let's size up the dynamo for the people, anyone who hasn't watched as much Houston dynamo as you and I have this year. I'll give you my take on the Houston dynamo, which is that, uh,
01:14:04
Speaker
you know They've been exciting to watch this year. Not always in a good way, but they have been exciting to watch. We talked about it earlier. I think they're onto something with Guillerme. I feel good about that because ah there was kind of mixed punditry on that. You had some pundits when they signed them like...
01:14:21
Speaker
this is going to be a really good signing. And some that were like, oh, I don't know about this guy. He could be a bust. So I was like, you know, I'm going research it myself and see what i what I think of this guy's pedigree and his background. And I was just looking at it, looking at his career and the coverage of him before that. And I was like,
01:14:38
Speaker
I think I'm kind of in on this guy. Like, I think he looked he looks like the type of guy that could come to MLS and really rip it up. I think that he's going to be good. And then they also went and got Bogus, who we know can be good in MLS. So I was actually, I was high on the Dynamo going into the year because of that. I like their DP situation. Ben Olsen, for whatever his flaws have been throughout his career, he's been a coach that has kind of been able to establish a floor
Houston's Offensive Style and Challenges
01:15:06
Speaker
at times. And then also, since he's been at the Dynamo, he's shown more of an aptitude for playing like fun and attractive.
01:15:13
Speaker
attacking high octane, attacking soccer. Remember a couple of years ago, they had all these team goals that were like some of the best team goals that anyone in the league was scoring. Like you couldn't low block against them that year. Like they would just slice and dice you right up with all these intricate passing sequences. And I remember thinking like, damn Benno, I didn't know.
01:15:31
Speaker
I didn't know you were like that, but I guess Benno is like that now. But anyway, he showed that aptitude and now you give him a couple of pretty high level DPs in Bogus and Guillerme. And you think they might be cooking with gas a little bit. And the gear may thing has paid off so far. He looks really good. He looks like I thought he might. So I think they, they have a good one there and that's going to give a really big test for Seattle's defense. I mean, this guy's going to be running at them and it's not going to be a very easy game to keep a clean sheet in, especially on the road. But what I will say is that their results have not mirrored,
01:16:07
Speaker
how good the gear may thing is, has been working out. Uh, and you know, I, I've watched a couple of their games and I was thinking like, why is this not what the gear may scoring? They look really good on offense. Like, why is this not, why are their results not going well? And it's just because it's kind of the classic hum Houston dynamo afflictions, like defensively, they're, they're leaky. They lose control of games. Uh, they're a little bit reckless in attack. So they, uh,
01:16:35
Speaker
They'll charge forward super hard and then give the ball away and you'll have space on the counter and they're going playing this game at home. So they're going to be going as hard as they possibly can. So all that's to say, ah it's not going to be easy to keep a clean sheet in this game. i wouldn't be surprised if Jeremy gets one or two, but Seattle should have a chance at taking a result. They should be able to score in this game. It should not be one of those road games where you're grinding. a zero zero when it's super ugly and terrible to watch the whole time as has been known to happen in Houston right so uh it's it's a good offense you're going up against a couple of really good players it's going be hard to shut them out but they're vulnerable defensively and you can get out them a little bit that's my uh dynamo take what do you think of uh of Houston in this matchup for Seattle I mean you said it all uh they are and it's
01:17:25
Speaker
I don't know if ironic or interesting to see a Ben Olsen team risk it all on ah offense and and be more of an offensive team than a defensive team. So they do have the firepower to do so, including some pieces of the bench like Linger that maybe have not quite performed, but they have the ability to do so. I think Ponce is a very savvy st striker that has, to you know, i think he has the ability to go high pretty well. I think he ah beats balls on on his headers extremely well. I think he comes in and out. There's going to be a guy that you're going to have to reference quite often. Guillermo has been phenomenal, and I've been ah in the Guillermo train. I mean, if you were watching Santos prior to him coming here, you knew that that was going to be a guy that's going to come in here and perform. His vision is what maybe has surprised me even more. I thought he had goal. I thought that his speed and and athleticism was going to
01:18:17
Speaker
make him ah a top player in the league. But but his vision, man, there's been a couple of balls. There's one to Ineli in the Dallas game that is just on the dot with the pace, leading the player. think Ineli's a really good player that prior to that injury, you were like, man, this guy's going to light it up in MLS. Now he's back. He's playing well.
01:18:38
Speaker
What the team lacks is what you said.
Seattle's Tactical Opportunities Against Houston
01:18:40
Speaker
It's not just their ability to defend and their ability to make their blocks a lot tighter, but they don't have anybody in midfield that can really set the tempo regardless of and having Hector Herrera. This is not the Hector Herrera of old. And although I like McGlynn, I really do.
01:19:02
Speaker
He's just not that guy that in my opinion is going to be able to hold possession. He's going to be able to dictate the game the way that they want to. So I feel like the Sounders have an ability to overwhelm the midfield and, uh,
01:19:14
Speaker
They're going to want to expose how open that Houston team is. And I think they are going to come right off the bat and go after Seattle. They're going to want to put Seattle on their heels and it's going to be out by the Sounders being able to pass through that pressure and expose the spaces that they do open and up on often. So transition moments are going to be key for the Sounders at Houston. So,
01:19:42
Speaker
You kind of said most of it. um I think Bond's a really good goalkeeper, but he gets put into some really tough predicaments. I think that fullback play is decent, not great. So I do believe that the Sounders match up well, but in Houston, it's always difficult.
01:19:57
Speaker
It's always hard for the Sounders. so We'll see how the team kind of comes about. um Vichenko got a red card in this Dallas game. So who comes in? i do like Carlo Antonio ah ever since he was in Orlando. He's a good center back. But who's going to be his partner for this one? He's still a bit determined.
01:20:16
Speaker
Bogut is a good player. I just feel like he is – there's not a lot of consistency in my opinion. So, you know, what what version of Bogus you get can affect and up the ceiling level for this Houston team. But they're a good team. It's going to be fun.
01:20:34
Speaker
Uh, one last super chat to close it out from not Magno. Thank you for the dollar 99. He says Reagan over Reem. I mean, no disagreements there. I said it on blue sky. If, uh, if that had been Jackson Reagan in there, maybe this wouldn't have happened against Belgium. Think about it, poach next time before you're, uh, admonishing Tim way up for his correct takes on ticket prices. Maybe think about your center back situation, uh, as well. But, uh, All right we're going call it right there, folks.
01:20:59
Speaker
If I'm taking an MLS center back, I want one that is a is thought about as one of the best defenders in MLS. Now, I get that Tim Green has an experience and a level of veteran, you know, savviness to his game. But if it's not producing, then you got to figure out what else you could put in there.
01:21:20
Speaker
Yeah, kind of crunch time for that. But all right, we're going to call it right
Conclusion and Listener Appreciation
01:21:23
Speaker
there, folks. Thank you all so much, as always, for tuning in to this episode of Lobbing Scorchers Kickoff. We're going to be back at it this week. I'll let you guys know I'm down in in Eugene, so that might affect that. I got Passover, guys, so it might affect the pod schedule. But I got the whole studio set up down here, so we'll be we'll be grinding, as always. Keep an eye out on Blue Sky for specifics on if anything changes from usual. But Thank you guys for all the support. We appreciate you all. And we'll catch you this week for more Seattle Sounders, Major League Soccer, USMNT, CONCACAF Champions coverage. We're going to do it all. So we'll catch you next time. Love you all.
01:22:01
Speaker
Peace.