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Nos Audietis Mailbag: Has the Apple deal hurt the Sounders’ local relevancy?
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Jeremiah and Aaron are back together again just in time to discuss Saturday’s win over Nashville SC and answer April’s mailbag questions. Among the topics they discuss are the impact of the Apple deal on regional relevancy, Jesus Ferreira’s play and who they think will be the team’s best attacking group.
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Transcript
Will Bruin Joins Sounder at Heart
00:00:01
Speaker
Hi, I'm Will Bruin, and I was just recognized as a Seattle Sounders legend. Now I get to do voice reads for the Sounder at Heart podcast network. Here we go. Come on.
00:00:11
Speaker
what Hey, O'Shaughnessy. Let's go. What save by Frye.
Sounders' MLS Cup Triumph
00:00:18
Speaker
The Seattle Sounders have done it. MLS Cup winning.
00:00:23
Speaker
Here comes Ruiz Dias through the middle to crowd it for Seattle. And now they truly can start the celebrations. It's the Sounders MLS Cup.
00:00:35
Speaker
Nico Lodero leaves absolutely no doubt. The Sounders rule the region. Seattle, Sounders, it's got built.
00:00:52
Speaker
This feels fucking awesome. This is a tiny dog. Nice work on your little yacht yat thing. And Portland can't say shit. know, what was the thought process in terms of who you decided to use and who you didn't?
00:01:06
Speaker
Ever since Southert Hart wrote a commentary that we didn't take over coming seriously. Go, not Seattle!
Full Pull Wines Sponsorship
00:01:18
Speaker
This episode of Nos Arietes is sponsored by Full Pull Wines, a Seattle-based wine retailer and proud sponsor of Nos Arietes since 2011. Full Pull was founded in 2009, is based in Seattle, and is owned and operated by longtime Sounder supporters.
00:01:32
Speaker
They offer the best boutique wines of the world to members of their mailing list, with special focus on their home, c Pacific Northwest.
00:01:43
Speaker
Welcome to another episode of Nos Adientes, part of the Center at Heart Podcast Network, sponsored by Full Pool Wines, our subscribers, and our newest sponsor, BodySpec. We're recording on Tuesday, April 26th.
Episode Overview: Nashville Game & Mailbag
00:01:55
Speaker
April 22nd, 2025. I am your host, Jeremiah Shan. Joining me today is my co-host, Aaron Campbell, and our engineer, Lickett. ah I'm going to welcome myself back from a week off in in Mexico that I was with family.
00:02:10
Speaker
And then also just sharing that this is going to be a little bit a combo episode. We're going to talk about the Nashville game. We're also going to be doing mail or answering mailbag questions from April. ah All that said, Aaron,
00:02:22
Speaker
What were your big takeaways from the national win? Uh, it was, uh, it was a
Sounders vs. Nashville Game Analysis
00:02:28
Speaker
lot of fun. It was the most fun I'd had to at a game in a while, which was real nice. I didn't have a great, right?
00:02:33
Speaker
I did. Yeah. And didn't have a great record last year. um The other game I've been to this year was a Charlotte game, so that was not not as fun. And yeah, I thought the Sounders were really impressive. I thought that they were pretty clearly the better team for the entire game.
00:02:48
Speaker
ah They were still pushing late for goals, despite having an extremely comfortable lead, ah which I really appreciated. I thought they did a good job in the second half of finding the the right balance between ah you know, not necessarily shutting down and just hanging on to what they had, but also not doing anything dumb. They were pretty, pretty well in control the whole time, but it was still fun to watch.
00:03:10
Speaker
And I think, you know, it was a crummy day out. Early season, obviously coming off a win against Dallas, but haven't, you know, haven't had a home win in a bit. I think it was exactly the kind of performance they needed. The crowd was into it, very energized.
00:03:24
Speaker
um And yeah, I think, you know, you can't ask for much more in April, right? um from From this team or just sports entertainment in general. Sports entertainment, God, I shouldn't be saying that.
00:03:36
Speaker
But yeah, I, thought I thought, thought Ryan Kent looked, looked fantastic and in his little cameo there. Looking forward to seeing, you know, what he can do with, with some more minutes. And i just think it's, you know, it's really the first time in a while that we've seen the Sounders clicking on all cylinders and attack. And I think,
00:03:54
Speaker
People are tired of hearing about injuries, and I think that's totally reasonable. But I think it's very, very clear that this is a really good team that got hit by a bunch of injuries that hit one position group pretty hard.
00:04:07
Speaker
um And they don't have to be at a full strength to be extremely good. they just I mean, i um we're not the first people to point this out. This has been well documented. But it's worth repeating that...
Sounders' Depth and Bench Strength
00:04:19
Speaker
This is a team. This game started with Danny Masovsky at forward with Jesus Ferreira and Pedro de la Vega at the number 10 with Kim Keehi at center back.
00:04:32
Speaker
It was not their first choice group at all. And then you look at who they bring off. ah They're able to bring ah yeah And by the time they bring Jordan Morris, um Albert Rusnak,
00:04:45
Speaker
who else? Alex Roldan, Jao Paolo, and Ryan Kent off the bench. They're already up 3-0. And that is a ah real... kind of embarrassment of riches to be able to do that. It was similar to the LAFC game, except in this one, Nashville basically started their first choice group. So while the Sounders sort of thumped the backup Sounders, thumped the backup LAFC in that game, this was the Sounders, you know, a somewhat, a pretty rotated group, essentially, really taking it to a first choice Nashville team. And Nashville, people may have not realized this, but Nashville came into this game
00:05:22
Speaker
looking pretty good. You know, they were in solidly in playoff position. They're four, three and one. And more than that, they were also by all the underlying numbers, one of the top teams in the Eastern conference.
00:05:34
Speaker
So this was a really comprehensive, I thought encouraging when the fact that it comes after the Dallas win, which was also a shout out, although not as convincing, although still convincing in its own ways, but,
00:05:47
Speaker
I just think there's every reason to be optimistic at this point.
Sounders' Standing in MLS
00:05:51
Speaker
you know i know you guys kind of touched on that last week, but this to me was just a very clear step forward in terms of what this team is capable of.
00:06:00
Speaker
Absolutely. i mean, it's I think that when you look at the teams in the league that you consider the best teams, they're not winning every game against the Nashville's of the world three no at home, but they've got a decent sprinkling of those throughout the season.
00:06:14
Speaker
ah And they're they're getting results like the Sounders got against Dallas. You know, it's it's not common that teams below even halfway decent teams away on the road.
00:06:26
Speaker
So a 1-0 in Dallas is fine. you know And when you can turn that around and put together 5-2 against LAFC, a 3-0 against Nashville, ah you know that's that's when you start to, I think, start to have to look at a team as being in the top tier of teams.
00:06:42
Speaker
Obviously, where the Sounders are on the table, they had a ah down run through March and and into the beginning of of April. So they've still got a ways to go to prove themselves.
00:06:54
Speaker
um But they've got a good chance to do that, you know, in the next five games. And i think if they are as good as they've looked, if they can get through those five games with performances that reflect that and they get the results that reflect those performances, I think that they're going to look pretty comfortable ah in the standings as long as they don't regress.
00:07:15
Speaker
Yeah, i mean, I think this week is going to be a
Impact of Key Players on Scoring
00:07:17
Speaker
good test. They're going at Colorado. Colorado has been sort of an up-and-down team, but it's a team that if this if the Sounders are as good as they looked against...
00:07:26
Speaker
Nashville, they should be very competitive this week against Colorado. And like I said, it's, it's a good test for them. We'll see. But right now where we sit, I, I don't see a team with a whole bunch of weaknesses, you know, and I i dug this stat up and I thought it's pretty telling that when one of Jordan Morris or Danny Masofsky are playing and, and as it were,
00:07:52
Speaker
it's convenient that neither one of them have, they haven't played together at all. ah But they've played one, at least one of them has been on the field for, don't know, 538 minutes, according to my notes during those 538 minutes, the sounders have outscored their opponents 12 to six and they have an XG advantage of basically like 1.9 one point or 2.8 per 90 minutes. Yeah.
00:08:18
Speaker
per ninety minutes And then on the when they are not playing, that they've been outscored five to zero in about 270 minutes or so, 272 minutes.
00:08:33
Speaker
And they've been outscored five zero in those 272 minutes. And then their XG is like point six five to point eight or something like that. So it's like they they're about the same defensively, but their scoring both by the XG and by the actual goals goes down a lot when they don't have a real number nine on the field. That's really the takeaway.
00:08:54
Speaker
And you can argue that this team is maybe overly i necessitating a real number nine to be effective. And I suppose that's ah a reasonably fair criticism.
00:09:07
Speaker
But they've got two who they both look really good when they're on the field. and And Danny Masofsky looked great in this game, I thought. you know The goal that he got was ah well taken, even if it was offside originally, but it was very clearly quite onside.
00:09:22
Speaker
And he was just like he did the job. And then Jordan came on and he made a bunch of really good runs. He deserved a goal. I thought Joe Willis made a couple of really good saves on him. i just I just think if you have one, if this team is, it's not that it's not an incomplete team. It's that they only go so deep at every position, right? And when you take your two number nines off the field, it's going to be tough.
00:09:48
Speaker
Yeah, and I think that's true for for every team in the world. i mean, I think there there are some teams that don't have true number nines, but they have a false nine or they have another position group where if it gets hit that hard, it's going to cause problems.
00:10:02
Speaker
I do think that it's it's good to know what we know about the Sounders forward group to know that Jesus Ferrer is probably not going to give you what you need at that number nine spot.
00:10:13
Speaker
So, you know, maybe that's a position you want to try to strengthen in the summer window, it whether it be, you know, some freely available talent or or what have you. um But it's also good to know it's like, well, Danny Masovsky can do a job but and the team can look can look good with him at the nine.
00:10:33
Speaker
We have proof of concept of that, right? Two two straight games, I think, where the team has just looked much better with him there. um And ah the the reality is that any team that suffers injuries to their top two guys at such an important position is going to struggle.
00:10:51
Speaker
And that's just kind of the nature of the beast in this
Injuries and Squad Depth
00:10:54
Speaker
league. You know, you can't go three or four guys deep at at any one position. And so you just got to hope they can stay healthy, right? That's, that's the big thing.
00:11:04
Speaker
And there's really not a whole lot you can do about that other than hope. um So, and, you know, and I think they've had like, At forward, at least pretty decent luck with that the last few years. I think Jordan's injury this year was an outlier compared to how he's been since coming back from his last ACL.
00:11:22
Speaker
Right. So I think there's a reason to be optimistic on that front. Yeah, I think there's absolutely reason. i and I think it's, you know, I thought Pedro de la Vega looked very good in this game. I think that was another reminder of how his presence on the field does change. And his absence being co coinciding with Jordan and Mussovsky to a degree, i think was also problematic.
00:11:45
Speaker
And i think we were reminded of what he brings again in this game where he just has this dribbling ability. He has ability to to break defenses down in a different type of way. His goal was just an absolute rocket. i loved like I don't know how many times I've seen a ball kicked harder into the net than Pedro de la Vega's goal, which came off a really nice cross from Obed Vargas.
00:12:09
Speaker
Just a lot to like in this game. And again, ah you know i think Ferreira is maybe not the player we thought we were getting, but he's still an effective player. It's just that his position might be more as a number 10 and less as a number nine.
00:12:27
Speaker
And that's not ideal. You know, I think we it would be nice if if he was and a third, you know, he was a third viable option at forward. But maybe he doesn't have to be. and And now the Sounders kind of know that's not really a good fit for him.
00:12:41
Speaker
Yeah, I do think even though, you know, we we spent the last couple of minutes talking about how he's, he's probably not a great fit there. I am curious what it looks like with Ryan Kent and Pedro de la Vega giving. I totally agree.
00:12:55
Speaker
At that position. Like i would not hate seeing him and Jordan do some switching and and seeing him more central. The, the, the no look pass from Ryan Kent. And I think it was in stoppage time, right? the Where it was just beyond. nice reach But it's, it's a, it's a great run by Jesus. Great job of Kent to spot it.
00:13:14
Speaker
Those are the kind of runs he was making when he was playing as a forward that weren't getting found. And so i think it's easy. I'm glad you pointed this out. I think it's easy to forget that not only was Jesus playing as the nine, he was missing those more creative missing wingers players around him.
00:13:28
Speaker
Yeah, for sure. yeah. But but i think I do think you're right that it does look like he is not 2022 Jesus Ferreira, and he's probably not going to be 2022 Jesus Ferreira.
00:13:40
Speaker
But i've I've been pretty consistent in saying from the beginning of the year, outside of the games where he started it forward, I thought he's been really good. I think he's put in really good performances. I thought this was another really good performance.
00:13:51
Speaker
It's just different than what we were hoping for, like you said. Yeah, I mean, he's he's clearly got good vision. he clearly understands sort of positional play. He's a willing, you know, he's he's pretty good on the counter press.
00:14:05
Speaker
He is, you know, there's a lot of things he does well. Right now, it doesn't look like he plays. He certainly is not a classic number nine at this point. Whether or not he ever was, i don't know.
00:14:16
Speaker
But like he can play as a nine. I just think it's going to be as a more of a false nine. And when you have a false nine, you need real wingers to sort of stretch the field.
00:14:27
Speaker
and And it wasn't just that you know they didn't have – like you said, like we've said on the show, – it Pedro de la Vega's absence, I think really hurt that experiment a lot.
00:14:41
Speaker
And, and even if it's, Georgie and Pedro or Georgie and Ryan Kent or Ryan Kent and Pedro, any combination of those three players as the two wingers, I think works a lot better than Rothrock and Georgie or whatever the, the other options they've been able to try out.
00:15:02
Speaker
And that doesn't mean that Rothrock's not a good player. It's just that he's not that he's not the guy who's going to stretch the field in the same way. And yeah, absolutely. Yeah. And I, By the way, Rothrock had a really nice goal in this one, too.
00:15:16
Speaker
He did. Yeah, he he played. He played well. i think that's... when you contrast Rothrock to the guys that the Sounders have brought in to not necessarily replace him, but just guys that are in the same positional group that I think are, are step forward, a cut above, uh, however, you know, whatever you, whatever, however you want to characterize it.
00:15:37
Speaker
Uh, you can see that there's a gap there and you can see that I think, okay, on a really good team, Paul Rothrock is probably not a first choice, but he's still a damn good player. Right. And like I think it's yeah, he's shown that he's a useful player. Maybe he's not a ah starter in every game.
00:15:54
Speaker
But even if he if they're going to use wingbacks, I think he is ah really good option to be playing as a wingback, especially in the way that the team is right now. You know, he doesn't do a ton of defending, admittedly.
00:16:08
Speaker
but he's willing to get back and and be in the positions. He's willing to to run up and down the line, and he provides enough going forward that you can sort of live with the tradeoff. Now, is he a first-choice winger?
00:16:22
Speaker
not don't i don't think on a championship team. Probably not. But he doesn't have to be on this team. like he He can be your fourth or fifth wing option right now, and that's what I think is so encouraging about what we saw this week.
00:16:37
Speaker
ah you know The fact that Georgie didn't make the bench, I think, illustrates how deep this team is right now. yeah he That doesn't mean that he's never going to that he's done or anything like that. I just think that it it was a good illustration of you know what their options are right now, and and they've got a lot of them.
00:16:57
Speaker
I guess he's going to play for Defiance on Wednesday. which probably means he's going to play for the defiance against the Timbers next week in the open cup, which is something that we'll have plenty time talking about later on in the next, uh, in the next week or so.
Midfield Contributions: Roldan & Vargas
00:17:14
Speaker
But yeah, I mean, I don't i don't have a whole lot else. Oh, I guess there was one other thing I wanted to to talk about in this game. And that was the play of the defensive midfield, Christian Roldan and Obed Vargas, who have been sort of more up and down this year than I think we we expected from them.
00:17:30
Speaker
But man, both those guys were so good in this game, just in both and on both sides of the ball. They were. And I think I've kind of settled... on and we'll get more into this in the Q&A section, but I've kind of settled on the the belief that these guys are really, really good, but they can't be put in a position where the offense is not clicking because they're going to be under so much more pressure.
00:17:56
Speaker
If teams aren't afraid of the attack, then the midfield is going to get pressed more heavily. um they're They're just going to have a lot more to do. They're going to be forcing the issue more frequently if they aren't you know if if the good runs aren't being made.
00:18:11
Speaker
And I think that that has a lot to do with that. I think that soccer is such a holistic sport where if any one phase of the game isn't working, it can really screw with the other phases of the game. And i think this was a great example of that, where if Christian and Obed can do their jobs and focus on doing their jobs and not have to worry about the other guys not doing their jobs and how much stress that's putting them under, I think everything just works a lot better.
00:18:35
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. ah that's a good That's probably a good place to call this a segment. We're going to come back. We're going to do our Q&A for April. We've got a lot of good questions. we got We'll get more into this game as well.
00:18:47
Speaker
So if you felt like we didn't do enough on this game, just stay tuned and we'll get you covered. But we're going to take a break. We'll come back. You're listening to Nos Audietes.
00:19:07
Speaker
Welcome back to Nos Adientes. So we've got a bunch of questions from our listeners, and I will just remind everyone that if you want to submit questions, we take all our questions from the Discord community to get into the Discord. You just got to be a ah supporter tier or above. That's the $75 a year level.
00:19:26
Speaker
And we would love to have you. We think it's a ah great community in there. And you get to ask questions and and get all kinds of ah cool insidery information. But Aaron, go ahead and fire
MLS Apple Deal: Pros and Cons
00:19:39
Speaker
away.
00:19:40
Speaker
All righty. This first one's from Quadzilla. Given recent concerns about viewership, will the Apple deal prove beneficial to the long-term health of the MLS? Is the deal possibly more detrimental to teams that already had already had a strong regional media presence who now no longer get the same regional exposure?
00:19:56
Speaker
I do think this is going to be a really interesting issue over the next year, if not more. It's funny. I actually just in the mail got a book about and MLS and how great and MLS is doing right now. And one of the tent poles of this article is the Apple deal and what an amazing deal it is.
00:20:17
Speaker
And it's just very funny to me that it came out at a time when we're getting a lot more sort of peeking behind the curtain of what's going on with the Apple deal. And it might not be quite all it's cracked up to be. Clearly, MLS got paid on this thing.
00:20:31
Speaker
yeah That was the biggest piece. There is really no way around that. They got something like $250 million dollars a year for 10 years for this Apple deal, which is a lot more than they were getting from the old deal.
00:20:42
Speaker
It's a lot of money. There's no way to sort of like get around that this was a deal about the money and they got paid but yeah i think what we're finding is that there is a trade-off and one of the trade-offs is that there is not nearly the the exposure that these teams were getting and that's especially true in a market like seattle where all the game or virtually all the games were on on over the air channels. So everyone in the Seattle market used to have access to let's call it 60% of the Sounders games.
00:21:18
Speaker
And now those fans have access two none over it the air basically. And, and they do have, you know, there's obviously still some cable games on, but I don't know if the Sounders have been on maybe one or a couple games a year where it's on cable.
00:21:34
Speaker
And so it's just sort of an out of sight, out of mind thing. And I, One of the things that we've already heard it sort of the the beginnings of this, but I think it's Charlotte already announced that they're going to be rebroadcasting their games on some local channel 48 hours after the game.
00:21:53
Speaker
And along with that, I think there was there was an announcement from the league that said that basically they now are allowing every team to go out into their market and and rebroadcast these games 48 hours after the fact.
00:22:06
Speaker
Everything I'm hearing is the Sounders are going to be probably doing that. You can guess where the, what channel that would be most likely the channel they used to be on. And i wouldn't be at all surprised if the Sounders actually get a bigger audience on this rebroadcast 48 hours after the game, then they're getting for on the, so on their streams.
00:22:29
Speaker
Uh, It's they're just, and I think this is a good move. I think this is a good hybrid. I think MLS absolutely needs to learn, lean into more of this type of stuff. Like ah they've got a figure out a way for and MLS games to probably air live locally on local, you know local channels. If not, if, if for no other reason than any game that if it's, if it's free on Apple TV, it's,
00:22:56
Speaker
each team should be allowed to rebroadcast that game, make like make deals locally to rebroadcast them. Uh, and I, I don't, I still like the product that Apple has put together that MLS has put together on Apple.
00:23:12
Speaker
I do think that there are real trade-offs that are just becoming more and more obvious, uh, the further into this we get. Yeah. I think that it's, I was, um hesitantly,
00:23:26
Speaker
bullish, I guess, if that's a thing you can be on the deal. yeah I thought it i thought it i thought it's showed some real initiative and I thought that it was MLS has not always been willing to take risks and I think i thought that this was a ah risk worth taking because I do ultimately think this is where sports media is going.
00:23:44
Speaker
I still think that. um But, I mean, we've seen a lot of entertainment products, sports products make a move to streaming to chase these numbers and have similar issues, a a sports entertainment company that I will not acknowledge by name is having tons of issues after moving to Netflix.
00:24:06
Speaker
um And that was I mean, that was supposed to be this nailed on deal and it was going to make their viewership so much better. And it's it's tanked it and it's hurt their their live, you know, their their attendance.
00:24:18
Speaker
I think that the, that probably has something to do with the sounders attendance struggles to some extent. I think it's a lot harder to maybe um get casual investors. I'm not quite as ready to admit that because that a lot of people have have claimed that there might be something there. I'm not quite written there yet, but go on. Yeah. I, I don't, I don't, I'm not willing to say that it's the cause or, or that it's a factor at all, but I'm,
00:24:40
Speaker
I wouldn't be shocked you know if they did some kind of study and determined that that it was a contributing factor. I don't think it's the main factor by any stretch. but um And I think it's just... I like the product as well um with some caveats. The fact that you have to turn off scores every time it updates really pisses me off as somebody who doesn't watch every game live.
00:25:00
Speaker
um But I just I like being able just go to a streaming service, watch, watch the game. That's it. I know it's going to be there. Yeah, um it's not going to get moved around the way, you know, but like we saw with champion CONCACAF Champions Cup earlier earlier earlier this year where they were like, oh, we're going to put it on a channel. You don't have five minutes before the game.
00:25:19
Speaker
um It's so nice to have to deal with stuff like that. What I'm really curious about is how Apple feels about it three years from now when Lionel Messi is not playing in MLS anymore. Yes.
00:25:32
Speaker
I think that that's going to be really interesting to see. um But yeah, I think to actually address the question. I do think the deal is more detrimental to teams like the Sounders that yeah got decent enough TV ratings and had a regional presence.
00:25:48
Speaker
um My biggest complaint, I think, is the windows where every team is playing at the exact same time. I think that that sucks really bad. One of the nice things gotten a little better this year, I think, but yeah. It has, yeah. But one of the nice things about having MLS Live was just being like, and I'm just going to be lazy today and watch soccer all day long, and there's always going to be a game on.
00:26:10
Speaker
Um, and you know, just having a closed ecosystem is, is tough, but, but I think you nailed it, that there is a balance that you have to strike between we're in the business of making as much money as we possibly can.
00:26:23
Speaker
And this is the MLS equivalent of life changing money. Right. Um, and I think you'd kind of be crazy not to take it. But you do have to find that balance of like, are we shutting ourselves out of?
00:26:37
Speaker
Yeah. MLS is still a growth league. And I think they over, they maybe over indexed on, on like the sickos essentially. Like there are yeah like I was, i would, I would buy this product. you Like I get it for free as a seat, both a season ticket holder and a media member.
00:27:00
Speaker
I would happily pay. I actually think this is a pretty good value. That's a great deal. Yeah. For 80 bucks a year to be able to watch every game. That's a great deal to me. But i will admit that there are a lot of fans who think that is not the, and people that would consider themselves fans.
00:27:16
Speaker
Yeah. who just aren't going to buy another add on service. Now I think it would be different if this was just part of Apple TV, sort of the way that the EPL is part of Peacock or the way that, right you know, the Bundesliga is on, I assume it's still on yeah ESPN. I actually don't know, but ah the the way that if it was just sort of part of a larger product, I think it would be an easier sell.
00:27:43
Speaker
The fact that it's an add on to a, it's not I know it's not technically an add-on to an add-on, but that that it's an add-on. That is a standalone service, I think, is part of what makes it a tough... one of the other On the long list of things that make it a tough sell.
00:27:57
Speaker
But it's already on sort of like a fourth tier streaming service. And then you have to sort of pay another fee to get into it is... It's a challenge for some and it's not, you but you know, Apple TV is not ubiquitous.
00:28:11
Speaker
It's not Netflix. It's not, it's not, it's not even really Peacock. It's not Paramount plus. And, you know I understand. These are these are real challenges. i still think that it has a lot of potential, but I think the trade-offs have been laid a little bit more bare than but maybe I was willing to admit at the beginning.
00:28:34
Speaker
i think I think they have a lot of information that will inform the next deal that they negotiate. Yeah, and that might tweak this deal. Yeah, I think that if they could work out a ah situation like you described where the games are free on just on regular Apple TV and it's not an add on that would go, i think, a long, long way to, you know, to to improving the user experience.
00:28:59
Speaker
Well, we spent 10 minutes on that question. We probably shouldn't spend 10 minutes on the next few. So I apologize, but that was, I thought that was a good, that was a subject that is ah something that I've been looking into lately. So I'm kind of passionate about. So anyway, ah this is from Bard Prentice.
Jesus Ferreira: A Missed Warning?
00:29:16
Speaker
Should Dallas's willingness to offload, Jesus Ferreira at what we considered a serious loss have been a bigger warning sign. We all thought Craig was just cooking, but maybe we are getting cooked.
00:29:27
Speaker
He's not looked like a player deserving of a DP elevator clause by any metric so far this year. Now, fair in fairness to Bard, I am pretty sure this question came in after the San Diego game, which was sort of the nadir of yeah the Jesus Ferreira discourse. And I think you in the last two weeks have sort of like offered some level of retribution for him.
00:29:52
Speaker
Yeah. But um don't know. Do you think like, let's just so take it at face value. He has not been the player that we thought he was going to be, even if it's still a decent player.
00:30:03
Speaker
do you think that Dallas's willingness to trade him differently, when they did should have been more of a red flag than it really, than it was. I know, I don't think so because I think this is all stuff. I think we talked about when the trade happened. Um, he was very unhappy there. Everyone knew he was very unhappy there. That's going to, ah that's going to hurt this value for sure. Yeah.
00:30:26
Speaker
Uh, and he's not the player he was in 2022. And i think we were very optimistic that he could get back to being that player But that player would not be a TAM level player, right? That player would be a DP, no questions asked. So, you know, I think that that we acknowledged that um he was...
00:30:47
Speaker
damaged goods isn't the right term, but that there was some risk there and that, you know, he wasn't the player he had been and and when he was at his best. But I mean, I think Dallas had to get rid of him. I think that that much is apparent.
00:31:02
Speaker
And i don't know. I mean, I think that this was a ah much fairer question to ask when it was asked, right, um as you acknowledged. um But I think that people were far too quick to judge Jesus Ferreira.
00:31:22
Speaker
he He definitely got off to a bit of a slow start, but players just take some time to adjust. I think he's looked great every time he's not played at striker this year, which is the thing that has was a little frustrating to me.
00:31:35
Speaker
even before the one in Dallas and before this last week, is that the the sort of consensus opinion that I saw was, well, he's just been bad. And I i don't think that's true at all. I think that he was ineffective as a striker in the couple of games he played there and has been quite good in every other game.
00:31:52
Speaker
So ah probably not good enough. you know, early on to make him a DP, obviously. No, but no. um But I just I don't know. It's been what we're we're what 12 games and into Jesus for his Sounders career.
00:32:11
Speaker
um Maybe 13 if you count over 13, because he played nine league games and four. Yeah. So for CONCACAF games. 13 games.
00:32:21
Speaker
um How long did it take Quentin Dempsey to score a goal for the Sounders? About that many. I mean, it's, yeah, it's, I would say that he's been less goal dangerous than I expect. Like, I think that it's fair to say he's been less goal dangerous than we thought he would be, but he's also been a really creative passer. Yeah.
00:32:43
Speaker
Yeah. And I think the big question right now that a lot of people are asking, and I think it's a fair question, is it feels like it's a, like right now, the way it's set up, it feels like it's sort of a choice between him and Albert.
00:32:57
Speaker
I still think Rusnak is probably the first choice, but if he's the backup to Rusnak, that's not the worst thing in the world. And, and they can't play. I mean, they played together at the end of the Nashville game.
00:33:10
Speaker
Um, I don't know. i don't I don't think this I'm not I'm not freaking out about the Jesus for everything. I will say that I. He's not he's not been as gold dangerous as I thought he'd be, but I think in every other way, i've been a totally fair criticism. Yeah, that's totally fair criticism.
00:33:27
Speaker
I do. I'm less convinced that he and Albert being on the pitch at the same time is is a problem that I think a lot of people are. I think they're going to have to get some time together, but I think you can have two players playing that same style. They just need to figure out how not to step on each other's toes.
00:33:43
Speaker
if they're on the same at the pitch at the same time, one of them is probably going to be playing wide anyway. Um, so yeah. and yeah that's a And if you have a real number nine on the field, I think that helps too. Like that's the other thing is that for the most part up until yesterday, when they've been on the field together, it hasn't always been with a number. Like, like when they were on the field together against San Jose,
00:34:04
Speaker
when Mussofsky was playing as a nine, they looked fine before that they were struggling. Uh, so it's like, I do think it depends on who is the number nine when they're both on the field together, but absolutely. Yeah.
00:34:17
Speaker
Uh, next question is from coffee, IPA beards, two Oh six with Reed Baker whiting. And this is another one that was asked a bit ago. So, um, that's a much more timely than it might seem now with Reed Baker whiting
Rothrock vs. Baker-Whiting: Who Starts?
00:34:29
Speaker
back in the lineup. Should we anticipate him starting over Roth rock once he is cleared to play for six year or more?
00:34:34
Speaker
I mean, he still hasn't played 60 for the first team. Yeah, i don't think he's gotten a start yet for the first team. So I guess it's still, i don't, I don't know that we have a definitive answer, but right now to me, Roth rock is the starter and read is going to have to do something proactive to displace him. Like it's not, he's not going to step like once he's 60 minutes fit, he's not going to just start over Roth rock. I don't think. And, and I think that's, that's fine.
00:35:02
Speaker
Uh, I'm, I'm still pretty bullish on reads potential. He's still just 19. He still has a lot of the physical tools. Uh, But I don't know where he like, I don't see him being a starter on this team right now, ah which is why i think he was probably going to get a little bit more time with defiance and the game against the Timbers is going to be a good opportunity for him.
00:35:27
Speaker
Yeah, absolutely.
00:35:30
Speaker
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00:35:42
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00:36:19
Speaker
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00:36:32
Speaker
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00:36:45
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00:37:01
Speaker
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00:38:14
Speaker
All right. This is from two left feet.
The Role of a Number Nine
00:38:16
Speaker
Given the pervasiveness of the number nine in the forums of late, what is your take on the role of a nine under beat under Brian's mentor? I feel like everyone is probably operating with their own definition with the common denominator and being score goals.
00:38:30
Speaker
I think, I mean, i think that we have seen Brian Schmetzer operate with a number of different kinds of of number nine type players. um Raul Ruiz Diaz was a, yeah, your classic poacher.
00:38:44
Speaker
um Jordan Morris is, I think, your fairly classic modern number nine. um ah Let's see who Nelson Valdez was a classic target man, right?
00:38:56
Speaker
um Will Bruin was a big bruiser type. and And they've all been effective, ah but I think that it it the personnel around them has worked for you know for that ah that type of nine. and I think Brian Schmetzer could coach a team with a nine false nine type player like Jesus Ferreira and be effective if he had the right players around him. I think Schmetz is an extremely flexiblex flexible tactical coach. I think he can...
00:39:25
Speaker
Once he has some time to see what he's got, he can figure out a way to make it work. That's kind of the hallmark of his whole deal, right? um the The Sounders have had a lot of different tactical identities under Brian Spitzer, despite what some people would have you believe.
00:39:38
Speaker
um And so I think if you give him an effective forward, he's going to figure out how to make it work around them, um which I think is a strength of his, I think.
00:39:48
Speaker
Sometimes it takes a little longer than is maybe comfortable, but I don't think, I'm sure he has his preference of a type of guy. I'm sure he does. Every coach does, but I don't think that there's like a blueprint that we can point to and say, that's the guy that Schmetz needs to make it work.
00:40:07
Speaker
Yeah. I mean, I, we've kind of gone over this at this point and you just explained it too, but I think what this really is asking is can Jesus Ferreira be an effective number nine for,
00:40:19
Speaker
for Brian Schmetzer. And I think probably as long as he's got the right players around him and we haven't, the reality is we haven't seen that it's a, it's a frustrating answer. I realized that, but it's, right I do think it's the truth. Like it, it depends. Like if, if the team is set up to have a have Jordan Morris or Danny Mussovsky type playing as the number nine,
00:40:43
Speaker
yeah And so that's going to be easier for them to play that way. That doesn't mean they can't play with other ways. They just need the right players to be like every, every group of players is not going to work together.
00:40:54
Speaker
And yeah. ah And the games where Ferreira has been at the nine, they have not had the ideal group of players around him. Yeah. Yep. ah Next one is from Nate and 80. Uh,
00:41:06
Speaker
ah I think this is the last Jesus Ferreira question. It feels to me like Craig went and got Jesus Ferreira thinking he's a like for like with Jordan, but that Brian thinks otherwise and that he's closer to being a Russnacker PDLV dupe.
00:41:17
Speaker
Or am I crazy? You're not. Well, I don't know if you're crazy, but I don't think I don't think Craig Weibel thought that Jesus Ferreira was a Jordan Morris clone. I don't know why.
00:41:32
Speaker
he would have thought that. I think he thought that Ferreira could probably spell Morris. I think that they probably more had envisioned them playing together. Like, I don't think they got Ferreira to back up Morris. I don't think that's at all what happened. I think there was some brief dalliance with the idea that maybe Ferreira would be the nine and Morris could be a winger.
00:41:55
Speaker
That probably is. I don't, I think we're farther away from that. playing out, but I don't, I don't really think anyone was surprised by the player that Ferreira is again, maybe that he's not more goal dangerous than he has. Like, I don't think he's been as goal dangerous as the centers hoped you would be at this point, but I, so I think fundamentally he's the player that they thought they were signing.
00:42:20
Speaker
And I think the idea that Ferreira, and I know this was something that was sort of like hot on the, on the discussion a couple of weeks ago, but I don't think it's true that, that like Craig Weibel freelanced and signed Ferreira without the approval of Brian Schmetzer. That's not how this works. I can can assure you. Yeah.
00:42:44
Speaker
Yeah. And I think too, that Brian Schmetzer, i think doesn't really care what kind of player you are, as long as he can use you. right And i think he's looked at his team and said the the the best position for him is playing this way. So, um yeah, I think I generally agree with pretty much everything you said. i would i would also add that I think it's a combination of Jesus Ferrer as a player that the Sounders really liked, who was available at a good price, who they thought...
00:43:12
Speaker
definitely filled one major hole on the team and could potentially fill another one. And I think that it makes all of the sense in the world to sign a player like that and say, okay, let's see what we have in this guy before you go out and sign a backup nine or a backup winger or whatever, right. To get a better sense of the player that you have.
00:43:32
Speaker
And now that Danny Masofsky looks more than capable of being that backup nine, Maybe that removes some of the urgency there. um But I do think that it was more of a like, hey, this is a really good player that we know will make us better.
00:43:45
Speaker
Let's see what we can do with him rather than anyone having any real preconceived notions of of what they were getting. Yeah. All right. On to something else from Bill Jones, a TRPT.
Achieving Peak Performance
00:43:59
Speaker
We clearly have a lot of talent on our roster. We have historically, and we have a historically elite defense, very good midfield choices and a lot of good attacking talent. I think this can all be objectively true. Can you imagine what our team looks like at peak performance levels for the talent we have and work backwards to describe how we can and will get there?
00:44:19
Speaker
Well, as long-term listeners of the show know, I love to cop out on questions like that. This and this is thats exactly what to I think it depends on what the goal is, right? I think if Adrian Hanauer goes into Brian Schmetzer's office at the beginning of the season and says, I want you to have the best regular season that we can possibly have. i want to want to support our shield. And I want to do whatever we have to do to get as many points out of this team as we can get out of this team.
00:44:45
Speaker
I think that uh with reasonably good injury luck and all that kind of thing i think they're a shield contender for sure i think they could probably be a shield front runner right if that's the main goal um i think if the goal is we want to win as many trophies as possible and we'll just kind of deal with whatever happens elsewhere um league wise think they can win um I think they can win the scene can win an MLS cup. I think with slightly better luck, they could have won the the champions cup.
00:45:20
Speaker
Obviously cruises all is a better team, right? But I think in a different reality where there's not a team as good as cruises all in the, in the competition, they have a good shot. um I think this is one of the most talented teams they've ever had.
00:45:33
Speaker
So I think that, you know, maybe, maybe at the very top end, they don't have the elite talent, but I think when, you have as much extremely good, like a tier talent as the Sounders have, you can accomplish a lot. And I think that coming into the season, this team is going to be an MLS c cup contender.
00:45:52
Speaker
No doubt. um I think, you know, if you played a season that was just these guys in the 2014 Sounders, I think this team probably comes out on top.
00:46:02
Speaker
Like, I think this is probably the best, best team that the Sounders have had. I just think that the, you know, goals and priorities have shifted a little bit, um, to where having that, you know, stellar regular season just isn't as much of a priority anymore.
00:46:17
Speaker
Yeah. I mean, I, I, I think that's all, that's all fair. I'm, my suspicion is bill is hoping to get a little bit more of a, of a tactical, uh, Oh, yeah, that's fair enough. Get her tactical views on this, which I don't, I still think the jury, I don't know the answer. I think that's part of the problem is that there's a lot of interesting pieces on this team.
00:46:38
Speaker
I don't know that, like today, Brian mentioned, they're still they still would like to get all these pieces on the field together. But like, you know, there's a I suppose you could throw out a three, two, four, one formation and you could put all your most talented players on the field together.
00:46:58
Speaker
i don't know if that's actually a coherent. Like, set up, like, are you really going to play Ryan Kent and. I don't know, ah Pedro De La Vega as true wingers with Albert Rusnak and Pedro De La, or and Jesus Ferreira as dual tens with Jordan Morris up top.
00:47:19
Speaker
Like, could you do it? Probably. Could you do it with Obed Vargas and Christian Roldan sitting beneath them and knew who Jackson Reagan and Yamar that that lineup looks really exciting on paper.
00:47:33
Speaker
I don't know if that really makes sense from a for a 90 minute game. against a competitive opponent. It would be a lot of fun to watch. I would love it, but I'm not, I would have my concerns that it would get exposed on counters and all kinds of other things.
00:47:50
Speaker
So I don't, I don't know what the answer is ah in terms of how, like, I don't know if this is a team that you can get your, your 11 most talented players on the field together, but I don't know if you really need to either. Yeah.
00:48:05
Speaker
I think that's okay. I think that's okay. Yeah, I think like I still don't know who um i think that's what's great about the next, you know, they have 25 games to figure out what their best group is.
00:48:22
Speaker
And I. This is a ah cop-out answer, but I think they're going to probably want to use ah few more of those games. to figure i don't and because'd I'd be lying if I said I knew what it is. I think it would be a really fun... I hope at some point we see that group on the field together, even if it's chasing a goal, just because I think it would be a lot of fun.
00:48:41
Speaker
But um i I am skeptical that it would work from a for 90 minutes. I'll say that. For sure. I think, too, a lot of this is just MLS getting to a point that a lot of other leagues have been at for a while, where if you look at the best teams in the Premier League or the best teams in the Bundesliga whatever, they're not putting out the same lineup for every game.
00:49:05
Speaker
They are... and and not just for rotational reasons, right? Like they'll have really good players that would start in most other teams in the league sitting on the bench for tactical reasons. And I think that the Sounders are kind of there. Like, obviously you've got guys that are going to be written in pen and assuming they're healthy, like, like Jordan Morris.
00:49:22
Speaker
But the fact that you can look at your opponent and say, Jesus is a great player, but we think Ryan Kent is a better matchup for these guys or Jesus looks a little better. We like his slightly more aggressive style than Albert's for this, for these opponents or or whatever. The fact that you can do that as a luxury and you know, and maybe it's not the the question isn't like, how do we get these guys on the field? But the question is how do we keep them happy with not starting every game is, is really the bigger one.
00:49:54
Speaker
Yeah. And kind of on a similar note from Ben, W, a bunch of zeros and then a one. ah In your crystal ball, two months from now, how do you see the stack rank of Georgie, Ferreira, Rothrock, PDLV, and Kent?
Future Impact of Key Players
00:50:10
Speaker
This is a is is and a really interesting question. ah i think my gut tells me that Pejo is probably at the top of that list and Rothrock is...
00:50:24
Speaker
or Georgie or at the bottom,
00:50:29
Speaker
which, and I, I don't know, I guess it'll be interesting. I am very interested to see how this works out, but like right now, if like right now, I would say the ranking is probably Pedro
00:50:47
Speaker
Ferreira, Rothrock, Georgie, Kent. like where we sit today. and I could see Kent moving anywhere.
00:50:59
Speaker
I could see him being at the top of that list. Potentially. i don't, I am really intrigued to see where he ends up. I could also see him still at the bottom. Like the reality is we've seen him play in a real game for about 10 minutes.
00:51:13
Speaker
I've seen him train a handful of times. And I don't know where that's going to end up, but let's just say for the sake of this question, for the sake of ah trying to answer it, I'm going to put De La Vega first, Kent second, Ferreira third, Georgie fourth, Rothrock fifth.
00:51:39
Speaker
And that's... yeah We'll see. I don't know. I i don't know if you... I don't know. i feel I don't know how strong I feel about that. but i My gut says you're probably right.
00:51:52
Speaker
um I think I would put Jesus second can and Rothrock fourth because we know largely what we have in Jesus. We know largely what we have in Rothrock.
00:52:08
Speaker
I think the odds of Georgie taking a big step forward are quite good. um yeah I think the odds of Kent... showing that he is as good as he looked against Nashville are decent enough um that it would not at all shock me if your were order is right. I just think your order is the more sort of like if things go well, this is what it looks like.
00:52:31
Speaker
Mine is more, mine is more, I guess. ah I don't know. I think it's a good, like I guess. if you mean It's a great group of five players. I will say that. I think that's yeah, I'd be happy to start.
00:52:45
Speaker
most of those players together if you have musovsky or morris as the nine yeah absolutely all right our next one is good oh no i think it is your turn sorry okay so this is from mcb the first two standards goals came directly off rolled on bodying Nashville players off balls on counter pressures. Did Christian get extra satisfaction sticking it to BJ and will he be after Greg for similar reasons?
00:53:17
Speaker
So this is, this is digging up old us national team, uh, issues. I would, I would guess that Christian has an extremely positive attitude towards Greg.
00:53:28
Speaker
because Greg kept calling him in would imagine very much and giving him caps when it was basically giving like half the fan base, uh, aneurysm. Yeah. Um, BJ not calling BJ, not playing him in the gold cup was probably pretty annoying.
00:53:42
Speaker
Um, So but I think if he did, he got a lot of satisfaction out of it and you would never, ever know it. Like Christian seems like a dude who is extremely like would not shock me at all if he is driven entirely by petty grievances.
00:53:57
Speaker
But he is not the kind of person that would let that on. I don't know. I'm obviously I've never met. him never talked to him. I only know what I see in the media. But that just kind of seems like. the kind of guy he is, you know?
00:54:08
Speaker
Yeah, I would. And honestly, I would imagine he, if I would, I really doubt he holds any ill will toward any coaches with the national team.
00:54:20
Speaker
while he was, you know, getting those call-ups. Cause I think he, as much as he probably would have liked to have played more than he did, i think he also sort of appreciated getting the calls in the first place.
00:54:31
Speaker
And so, and he was getting consistent calls. I mean, he made a world cup team where BJ Callahan was the assistant coach. Right. So yeah I, I suspect they have a good relationship, but Christian did have a really good game.
00:54:44
Speaker
He did. He was great. He's great. I mean, i would imagine even if you have a great relationship with a former coach, yeah it's motivation to play well, you know? Yeah, totally. Just like you want to play well against your friends.
00:54:56
Speaker
Yeah, for sure. ah Next one's from Nate B. Is Albert Rusnek too conservative of a player to be a lone 10 on an exciting attacking team or will creative attacking pieces around him make him this more possession based play even more valuable?
Albert Rusnak: Too Conservative?
00:55:09
Speaker
I'm inclined to think that he is... going to have bigger... That he's going to excel with more exciting players around him. Like, I'm really excited to see what he looks like when he's got, you know, a Ryan Kent on one side, Pedro De La Vega on the other, and Jordan Morris in front of him.
00:55:28
Speaker
Like, that's a really exciting prospect. I don't think he's an inherently conservative player. ah He is not the most aggressive player. I'll grant you that. But he... It's not like...
00:55:43
Speaker
I don't think, I don't, I don't, this is not a ah Peter Vianis kind of situation. Right. He's, yeah he's, this is the guy who had 30 gold contributions last year.
00:55:53
Speaker
i i don't, I don't like, I think we can sometimes overstate his conservative style. ah He might not be as aggressive of a pastor as Ferreira. And I think that's going to be an interesting contrast to see how they sort of play off one another or how that works out. But,
00:56:13
Speaker
Yeah, I don't think I don't think there's anything about Russ next play that means the Senators can't be an exciting team when he's on the field. Yeah, my my hot take about the Russ neck is too conservative of a passer.
00:56:25
Speaker
um Takes is that ninety nine point nine percent of the time when people want Albert to make a pass and he chooses not to, he is making the right decision. I think people are used to people that play in his position making that pass.
00:56:41
Speaker
Yeah. And i think that there people undersell how frequently it goes goes wrong. I think he is. i think he understands his capabilities extremely well. I think he has a finely tuned sense of risk reward um because he makes plenty of aggressive passes. He's just selective about when he makes them.
00:57:01
Speaker
And like you said, I think his his numbers back up the fact that he can be an extremely effective attacking player. But I do think if you've got his is for a plane on the wing, and playing as sort of a creative player on the wing and more advanced spaces, not in the center of the pitch, ah he's probably going to make more aggressive passes.
00:57:19
Speaker
And I think that's totally fine to do.
00:57:24
Speaker
All right. ah This is from Sounders fan. ah A lot has been said this season about winning the midfield and the great play of Obed and Christian rolled on. Can you talk about the difference between the great performance in Nashville and the bad performance in as an example, Cruz Azul and like two, what do Obed and Christian do better or worse than their opponents?
00:57:45
Speaker
I think Cruz Azul, they were just, I mean, it was just ah bad game state, um bad vibes from the aerial injury and just the talent differential from top to bottom. Cruz Azul is... all is Probably one of the best Mexican teams we've played, I think, ever in Champions Cup.
00:58:11
Speaker
They're an extremely good team and I think kind of a bad matchup. um I think there were there were also some tactical mismatch issues in that game where I think the Sounders midfield was kind of under the under the gun from the start. um And the fact that that the they didn't play well was a big part of it. But I think it really is just as simple as like...
00:58:33
Speaker
Are you making the passes you need to to make? Are you in the positions you need to be in Are you keeping your positional discipline? ah You know, are you giving the game what it needs at any given time?
00:58:45
Speaker
One of the things that can be... frustrating about Obed at times and it's something you absolutely expect out of a younger player and something that's becoming less and less frequent um is that he's not making bad decision or not making good decision when things aren't necessarily going well. He's trying to press a little harder than he should be trying to make passes he shouldn't be making um getting out of position going on walkabout things like that and I think he's a little more prone to do that than Christian.
00:59:12
Speaker
um So yeah I mean I think it's it's a really boring answer to say they're just more effective in games when they play well. That that's really what it comes down to. It's just, uh, and I do think kind of like what I mentioned earlier, if the attack is having a bad day, they're not able to keep possession or they're not able to, you know, um, connect passes and in the attacking third, that's going to put a ton of pressure on the midfield.
00:59:38
Speaker
um, If there's a bad tactical matchup and you've got two versus three, that's going to put some pressure on the defensive midfield. So it's really depends on the game itself in terms of what the specific things are. But Obed and Christian's job is more or less to progress the ball to the attacking third, prevent counterattacks, you know, um make sure they're the opposition's midfield is challenged and having difficulty getting through.
01:00:08
Speaker
And when they do those things, that's a great performance. and When they don't, that's a bad performance. Yeah. And I would say that ah maybe a better example of a bad performance for them or when they were less effective was probably the San Diego game where that's a ah ah matchup where theoretically you would think that they're going get the better of that. Like I would think on a man to man basis, they have a, I would take them over whoever San Diego had and that it didn't work out well.
01:00:35
Speaker
I don't know how much they were to be, we're at fault in that one. I know Christian sort of fell asleep on the first goal.
01:00:43
Speaker
I don't know if either one of the other two goals were really on them. So I don't know. I think that mostly they are, you know, i think neither one of them are classic
Midfield Dynamics: Vargas & Roldan
01:00:52
Speaker
sixes. And so I think sometimes that gets, you know, that gets yeah them in a little bit of trouble. There's not necessarily, neither one of them are sort of like, she, they're they're not there to shield the defense.
01:01:02
Speaker
And, And so they they are both players who like to have the ball at their feet, who are a little bit more finessey type of ah players in that area. So I think that certain matchups get the better of them there.
01:01:15
Speaker
But they can definitely get bullied sometimes. Yeah, but i i be your guys I'll take them over, you know, the I'll take the the pluses and minuses there. And I think that. ah I'm not really worried about them as a central midfield pairing, generally speaking.
01:01:31
Speaker
No, not at all. All right. ah Go ahead. Oh, I think is so you're return you're you're up. Okay. Cool. Cool. From Ken and W. Any real motivation for the team to get that U22 signed in the club world cup window versus a secondary window of availability and price are the same either way.
01:01:53
Speaker
I think the only real motivation would be just timing. Like the, if they have the player identified and that player is available earlier in the window and is not going to, is not already sort of like coming right out of a season.
01:02:16
Speaker
i would hope that they would try to get that player signed before the club world cup window. That said, i don't think that their availability is... like i don't think they're trying to sign a U22 with the Club World Cup top of mind.
01:02:33
Speaker
I think the roster of useful players that they have is probably what it is. And I realize that's not super exciting for a lot of folks, and I get it. like It would be great if the Sounders made some big signing with an eye specifically towards being competitive in the Club World Cup.
01:02:51
Speaker
I don't think realistically that's a U22 player like that. This U22 signing might be a contributor right away. They might be really good. Are they going to make a difference in the club? World cup?
01:03:04
Speaker
Like that seems unlikely to me. Uh, ah Like I think to the degree that they're able to be competitive in the Club World Cup, it's probably this roster. And honestly, Ryan Kent is probably as well positioned to be a useful player in that than anyone that they're going to bring in on the U-22 deal.
01:03:21
Speaker
So I don't think, I guess that's a ah long way of saying they might sign someone during that window, but I don't think that they're going to be a real difference maker in the Club World Cup.
01:03:36
Speaker
Yeah, I think that I know this isn't necessarily the most popular opinion, but I think doing any anything with the goal of competing in the Club World Cup in mind is a bad idea.
01:03:47
Speaker
It is most likely three games, a competition you almost certainly don't have a chance of winning. um i mean, if they get out of the group, that has to be one of the great performances.
01:04:00
Speaker
Yeah, it's one of the greatest accomplishments they've ever had. Yeah, I mean, it's and. It is what it is. I know people want to put in a good showing and and there's i hope that they can. Yeah, I do too. and And there's a hope that they can parlay that into, you know, converting new fans and and all that kind of good stuff.
01:04:19
Speaker
I don't think that one guy is going to be the difference there. And I think that taking the more holistic long term view is is the better way to go. But it's like you said, like if they know the guy and they can get him.
01:04:32
Speaker
Before a club or before a club World Cup. I think it's always better to get the players sooner than later. Yeah. And totally if you know, you want to sign them. Sure. Sure. Absolutely. Yeah. um Yeah. Because the longer he has with the team, the the better the odds are he can make a ah real impact this year. But I don't think and don't think the Club World Cup necessarily is a factor at all or should be. Yeah.
01:04:56
Speaker
All right, this is from Sounder Navia. Sounders tend to have a range of profiles to pick at different positions. I'm not sure if this is the result of trying to get different options or if it's just a byproduct of the GM.
01:05:07
Speaker
bringing in the best players they can at the right price regardless of their natural role. One benefit of this positional flexibility, mavis many of our players could play several roles. However, ah downside we see is consistently is that the role asked of our first option at a position may not be repeatable by option two if that first player is unavailable and may also lead to uncertainty about where players fit best on the pitch.
01:05:29
Speaker
This is a long question. Would you like to see the Sounders build their squad in a more positionally consistent mode, i.e. get two similar profile players for each position to the extent that it's possible?
01:05:39
Speaker
Or do you like a more get the good players and let Spencer sort them out approach? I think that um there are lots of coaches that say, i don't really care who the guys are. They just need to fit the specific profile for my system to work.
01:05:56
Speaker
And this is exactly the kind of player I need. And and I don't i even if they're not as even if player B that you're looking at is not as good as player a If player B is closer to the guy i need for this role, that's the guy I want.
01:06:10
Speaker
And then there is the system of we're just going to get the best players we can get at each position group and figure it out. And I don't think either one is inherently better than the other one in a vacuum. But I think in mls Having the kind of setup the Sounders have is generally going to be preferable because.
01:06:28
Speaker
for i mean, for all the obvious reasons, right, like salary cap league, um smaller player pool, less talented player pool, frankly, than than a lot of other better leagues.
01:06:38
Speaker
um And I think what the Sounders especially just kind of running things the way they do, operating the way they do. having a lot of flexibility and just trying to find the best players you can, that, that can fit within the nominal system is, is the way to go.
01:06:55
Speaker
Yeah. I, I tend to agree that I think MLS is a league where flexibility is key. And I think that you can go down the the line in terms of what's important there. I like, I would imagine maybe this is, this is about then this is another number nine kind of question. And i don't know, maybe it would be better if they had a third classic number nine on the roster. But like i don't I don't know that I believe that Asase De Rosario, to use a player from Defiance, is going to be an upgrade over Jesus Ferreira at the number nine, just because he plays the number nine more like a cheap version of Danny Masofsky.
01:07:36
Speaker
like i don't yeah I don't necessarily think thats that's the case. And I think that's sort of what you get into if you're um in a roster situation like mls you are essentially getting cheaper versions of the same player.
01:07:50
Speaker
And at some point that player just is not going to be as effective. And I don't think there's any way around that. And it would be a real shame if you had, you know, you you could, it was just like a plug and play. kind of, I know Garth used to talk about this, about what kind of wanting to have this plug and play type of thing. And I don't know how realistic that even really is, but.
01:08:11
Speaker
Yeah, I think this is probably the right approach. I think you want to get the best soccer player you can. and having positionally flexible players, I think, is is probably good. Even if it means you don't have a You don't have four comparable fullbacks or... Right, right.
01:08:30
Speaker
Three comparable strikers or three comparable number 10s or whatever it might be. Yeah. Yeah.
01:08:42
Speaker
All right. Last question is from Dorcas. With the demise of Peter Vermees, Brian Schmetzer is now the longest tenured head coach in MLS with 13 years in his position.
Brian Schmetzer's Coaching Longevity
01:08:51
Speaker
Now, I'm not sure about that math, but I know i know what they mean. And he is the longest tenured head coach in MLS, I believe.
01:08:59
Speaker
But Well, because I guess what so when had yeah I think he explains it here. I think if you keep going, I think he explains this. With six years as an assistant and another six years as head coach at the A-League Sounders, how has he kept his message fresh in Seattle?
01:09:13
Speaker
Yeah, so I think the way he gets here, he doesn't really explain it, but I think what he's saying, because this is seven years with 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24. Oh, this like his 10th year. it's eight
01:09:23
Speaker
for oh no this is like is tenth year so it's it's eight eight years Eight full seasons as the... Eight full seasons in the MLS head coach, and then six, so that even that's 14. Yeah, I don't know how the math here worked, Dorcas, but i I think I see what your point is, and it's not about how many years. It's that he's been with this team forever, and how does he keep his message fresh?
01:09:51
Speaker
I don't know that he does. i I don't... I think... ah I don't know. I don' i think he he probably does a good, I think he's a flexible. i I take it back. I do think he is good about
01:10:06
Speaker
adapting his style. I don't know that his messaging actually is fresh. I think he uses a lot of the same principles and i and I, I'm sure there's some eye rolling in the, in the locker room about it and whatnot, but it is pretty remarkable that he's been this effective for this long. I don't think you can draw whole, I don't think you have to worry about the, you know, the A league era.
01:10:29
Speaker
I don't even know how much, there is really to be said about his time with the assistant as the assistant coach, because he's been the Sounders head coach. Now this is, a i think it's this is 10th season as head coach of the Sounders.
01:10:43
Speaker
Not 10th complete season, but this is his 10th year as the head coach of the Sounders. I mean, basically everyone here has only known him as the and' a head coach with a couple exceptions.
01:10:54
Speaker
ah Christian, Jordan, and Steph, I think, are the only three players who who actually played for him as a as an assistant. But being able to be the head coach of one team for 10 years, put everything else aside, it That's tough.
01:11:10
Speaker
ah And it's pretty, it is pretty remarkable. There's not a lot of coaches that are able to do this. I think you can say that he's been a lot more successful than Peter Vermees was in ah longer time.
01:11:22
Speaker
But, you know, I think he did. He's done more in his time than for me. He's did in his time at at Sporting Kansas City. And you can argue maybe he was starting at a at a higher point. So it's not a great comparison. I don't know. I don't know the secret to Brian Schmetter's success. I think to some degree it's that he he's willing to be adaptable.
01:11:41
Speaker
He's not. you know, he's not die hard in one style of play. He's not die hard about one. I think that was maybe one of Peter Vermees' downfalls is that he was really committed to this sort of like four three three semi-pressing style.
01:11:58
Speaker
Whereas the Sounders have played a lot of different formations and a lot of different, you know, ah models of play over the years. So maybe I think it's adaptability is maybe what's been key.
01:12:12
Speaker
Yeah, that really does seem to be ah huge part of it. He's adaptable. he I think he has an ego in his own way ah because you have to be successful.
01:12:23
Speaker
But i think it's I think he also has the necessary humility to sort of counteract that. yeah You know, he he has a lot of he has full support of ah the front office, which has to help.
01:12:39
Speaker
That's a um big thing for sure, yeah. He's he just he has credibility, right? Like he has credibility. He's been here forever. um People seem to come here and really like the organization and love the city and like being sounders.
01:12:56
Speaker
And he's the the guy. You know, it's it's like ah playing for Nick Saban in Alabama or something, you know, like.
01:13:06
Speaker
of course you're going to have respect for that person if you care about the club and you're you're excited to be there. He's he's just the sort of inseparable from from the club at this point, and I think that gives him lot of credibility, even if, as I'm sure, you know, as you said, ah sometimes it gets a little old for guys that have been playing for him for 10 years, but so by spencer Yeah, I think players trust him. I think players, i think he's shown himself to be a player. i Like when players have notes for him, I think he probably listens.
01:13:40
Speaker
You know, he, yeah you know, so it's, I think it's just kind of the stuff that makes leaders, good, effective leaders effective, right? It's it's sort of surrounding yourself with competent people and letting them have voices and not thinking that, you know, the right ways you, you always know the the right answer is key.
01:14:04
Speaker
Um, yeah. You know, having a policy that is coherent and, uh, not being driven by old grievances,
01:14:18
Speaker
Are we still talking about soccer? Oh, geez. I'm sorry. good I may have, I may have got a little off. um Oh, sorry there. i was losing my my head. Uh, but anyway, it's, I mean, it is, it is a fair point though, that, that, that is what leadership is. Some people think leadership is never admitting you're wrong. that You're wrong. And, and just trusting your gut all the time and doing what, you know, what,
01:14:47
Speaker
Whereas real leadership is making the best decisions you can and, and, you know, and learning from them and, and admitting your mistakes and not, and it's like everyone makes mistakes. It's how many it's, do you keep repeating the same ones over and over again? yeah And as if you're not repeating the same mistakes, you're probably making, you're making progress. Right.
01:15:09
Speaker
And i think, you know, Brian is not perfect. I don't think anyone asked him to be perfect. And, I think he he's you know willing to, to, to change and evolve. And, and I, uh, I think that's a, that's a great sign of a ah good leader. So anyway, yeah um, that's what we got. That's all the questions.
01:15:34
Speaker
Thank you again for sending those in. Uh, thanks to it. So thank you to our sponsors, full pool wines, hacks and ferments, body spec. Hopefully you guys are, uh,
01:15:47
Speaker
taking advantage of all those great offers. Uh, and yeah, uh, I guess that's it. Uh, yeah, I think, uh, thank you to lick it. Thank you.
01:16:01
Speaker
So, uh, for producing the show, I guess I'm, I think that's all I got. Uh, I'm Jeremiah Shan signing off for Aaron Campo. This is no sad yet. This, and remember you'll never get alone.
01:16:40
Speaker
I expect an LAFC who is motivated ah to prove themselves at home, to prove to their fans that that they're capable of winning in this league. And it's up to us to really ruin the party.
01:16:53
Speaker
You guys like that? in a what Awkward joke, dad joke right there, huh?