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James Rodriguez Helps the Loons Salvage a Point vs. Austin FC!
46 Plays2 days ago
Gorts, Dia, and Ari are back to breakdown the latest match vs Austin FC in which James took over the game! We share very quick thoughts on the Columbus match before breaking down Sunday's match. Then, a brief discussion on Kelvin Yeboah and his performance as a Loon so far.
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Transcript
Introduction and Midwest Weather
00:00:17
Speaker
Hello everybody and welcome to Loon Calling, a podcast dedicated to Minnesota United Football Club. And am here with my friends in Minnesota United fandom.
00:00:30
Speaker
We are here as always with Daya. How are you doing this fine evening? Pretty good. It's 75 and sunny today in Madison, Wisconsin. So I am...
00:00:44
Speaker
Here for it. Absolutely peak spring weather today. It was just peak spring. um Was very much enjoying being outside myself. Gortz, are you enjoying the peak spring weather right now?
00:00:59
Speaker
As very much as I can. That's the to to say the least there, you know, it's spring final, but you know, it might throw it back self to fall. You never know. Yeah. You never quite know.
00:01:13
Speaker
It's the Midwest. It's the Midwest. We have a new season every single week. So I'm cheering earlier. What was that? What happened? Um, my junior hockey team scored. so um um Um, um, I'm, I'm, I'm, you know, I'm peaking every so often. So,
00:01:32
Speaker
Nice. Good to hear. Good to hear. Well, it is certainly, ah it is good to be back recording this podcast. Hopefully we're back on a regular schedule again. um but yeah, I'm looking forward to talking about this most recent match that we had and definitely didn't completely forget that, uh, the Columbus match happened.
00:01:57
Speaker
Um, But we're just going to keep on rolling because Austin is the one that just happened and has the most interesting things to talk about, even though the comeback in Columbus was pretty good. I mean, we I mean, fuck it. This is our podcast. We can we can share our our quick, quick hits about Columbus
Return to Podcasting and Minnesota United Matches
00:02:15
Speaker
if we want to. Daya, do you have quick thoughts about the Columbus match?
00:02:22
Speaker
Um, I kind of wish Columbus was in the West because it was a very good game. like I didn't feel like either team ran away with it. We you know grounded out an epic comeback, which was fun, but they had their chances and they were playing pretty decently. um And i honest it that's a game I wouldn't mind seeing a rematch of sooner rather than later.
00:02:48
Speaker
um Shout out to Columbus. They've had a few good years and now they're kind of in a really tough spot with their transition um because between their coach and several key players all leaving and then their main striker who they brought in, Wessama Buelli, I believe is out with like a season-ending injury. They're just in a rut, I feel for them. But Columbus
Match Analysis: Columbus and Austin FC
00:03:12
Speaker
will be back at some point, I'm sure. and it was fun.
00:03:17
Speaker
coming and playing a really good game. Yeah. No, super, super exciting stuff. Um, coming back like that, on three set piece goals, um, a very Minnesota United thing to do. Um, and, uh, yeah, it it was, uh,
00:03:36
Speaker
i was traveling when the game was going on and i did not get a chance to properly watch the game.
00:03:48
Speaker
um But i was certainly glad to see our ah our little comeback. Gortz, do you have any thoughts, quick thoughts from the Columbus match that you can remember?
00:03:58
Speaker
I mean, all I really remember was watching the highlights because I was at a ah local independent wrestling show for that game. so Hell yeah. But, you know, a comeback is a comeback, especially, ah you know, set pieces, set piece FC.
00:04:19
Speaker
I mean, what what what what more can you say? Yeah, Yoboa with a brace as well. Getting those goals. We need him to score more of those, for sure. um Because, I mean, we'll touch on it in this Austin match, but...
00:04:38
Speaker
um There are certain players that need to that need to be running on, firing on all so cylinders to to get this attack going, to get the chance creation going. And if Yoboa isn't producing, if Chonkla isn't producing, if Pereira isn't producing, then we have a hard time creating chances, at least meaningful chances. And we kind of saw that in the in the Austin FC match as well. So we might as well just ah move right
00:05:09
Speaker
along to that match. So this ah the lineup for this one was was a typical we had Duncan was out due to a I think he was listed as questionable. So he had a lower body and injury that was keeping him out of the lineup. So that opens up a big hole at right wing back, which is usually a position that Bongi would occupy.
00:05:39
Speaker
But Bongi was also listed as out due to, I think it was ah it was a personal matter or something like that, non-injury related. um So that's kind of tough. So Markannik.
00:05:54
Speaker
flips from left wing back where we've seen him for so long to right wing back, which was kind of the most glaring change. I remember when the lineup came out, that was kind of my first thought was just like, oh, my God, Mark Hennig is playing on the right. That's ah that's interesting. um But yeah, we we had our typical you know best back line of Romero, Duggan, and Diaz. Now that box, he's still working his way back into the starting lineup. um And yeah, instead of Markannic at left wing back, Padelford starts there. um We can talk a little bit more about his performance later. I'm not sure if it was his best game, to be honest. um
00:06:37
Speaker
But you got to do what you got to do when you have two of your depth players uh, pieces, at right wing back out, uh, with injuries or otherwise. Um, and then yeah, Mark Canik, obviously right wing back. And then Triantis and Jen in the midfield, they've been that tried and true pairing as of late. I really like their play together. and of course, Pareda, Chanclai, and Yeboah are our attackers kind of floating wherever they think they're going to find space or create chances. um
00:07:11
Speaker
We had 55% possession in this game, continuing our trend that this team like actually is successfully playing with the ball, which is cool to see that Cameron Knowles at the beginning of the season and it seemed like the club in general was talking about an evolution in terms of this club playing with the ball. And we are seeing that. Obviously, against...
00:07:34
Speaker
you know it's against austin austin isn't the most consistent team in the world um it's good to see us with that um 55 possession figure and we end um the match with uh 2.55 expected goals and there was a very specific reason why we created so many chances and we will we are about to talk about that um Yeah, also more shots on goal than Austin and more touches in their opposing in ah their box, more offensive touches in their penalty area, which is always good to see.
00:08:14
Speaker
All right, let's dive into this match. The first half of this match was one of the slowest, most infuriating halves of soccer I have witnessed. of Gortz, I need your thoughts on how this first half went um and, you know, what your reactions were to how this ah this match played out for the first 45 minutes.
00:08:44
Speaker
I think as far as Minnesota, I think i think we were like so really sloppy at times. Like we couldn't we couldn't get the ball from point A to point b which was very you know very frustrating.
00:09:00
Speaker
um you know i know we want to bring up the refer the referee. it was It was hard to watch at times, but the same time, you know you're like, oh, you know.
00:09:12
Speaker
It looked good, and and that's that's all I can really say. Yeah, it was, ah you we had some drama for sure. um It didn't take very long for Triantis to unfortunately ah be very unlucky and have his have the ball touch his hand um in an unnatural position. So
Penalty Incidents and Referee Critique
00:09:38
Speaker
they called a penalty and Azuni has you know been proving this season that he
00:09:43
Speaker
you know when the ball's on his feet that he knows where the goal is um so he takes that penalty and he uh confidently Puts it in the back of the net and we are down one to zero early in matches. I don't have any data to back this up, but it seems like they're, I don't know if I would call it trend, but um it seems like there have been a lot of situations this year where I don't feel like we deserve to be down one zero and yet we find ourselves down one zero one way or another. Um, you know, it's frustrating to go down, um, that early in the match. Um, but yeah, so we concede that penalty and it's not long after that, that we get a penalty of our own. um
00:10:35
Speaker
Markannic gets fouled in the box. The dude has just given him a ah bear hug in the box, and Markannic is smart to go down. And yeah, Yeboah is the one that takes the penalties on our team, so he steps up, and seemingly it gets saved, but i didn't notice the first go-around, but through the many, many replays we got, because there was a lot of... A lot of stuff happening on this penalty. Stuber is pretty clearly off of his line encroaching on the penalty kicks.
00:11:08
Speaker
Taylor Twelman was saying something about, you know, Stuber getting in the head of Yeboah.
00:11:16
Speaker
I'm not sure if Twelman was implying that he encroached on purpose. I don't really think that's how it happened. I think it, you know...
00:11:28
Speaker
Having to retake a penalty can be an advantage or a disadvantage, depending on if you make it or if you miss it. And this time around, Yeboah hit the crossbar. um Daya, do you have any thoughts about this eventful first part of the half or the half as a whole?
00:11:45
Speaker
Yeah, i I didn't listen to Twelman's commentary. I listened to the local radio broadcast. But i if I had to guess who got into Yeboah's head the most, I would say it was probably Yeboah.
00:11:57
Speaker
um Like I know Stuber is one of the best keepers in the league. But I don't think he was playing mind games. I think he just kind of lost track of his footing and came off his line on accident. I don't think that was mental gymnastics. And we've seen Yeboah kind of figure out how to use that stutter step to kind of trick a keeper to jumping and he can kind of adjust. And here he just wasn't able to do that properly. It was nice to see us hustle and try and get...
00:12:27
Speaker
ah the rebound, even if that then turned into an offside, which then got overruled by the keeper being off his line. um It was just, you know, a series of different calls kind of canceling each other out. But then it turns into another PK that Yeboah This one, he didn't do the stutter as much. He just kind of tried to go for it in a more traditional way.
00:12:49
Speaker
And the result was, i think he just overpowered it um more than he needed to. He needed maybe a little less power, a little more accuracy just to get, you know, a couple inches lower.
00:13:02
Speaker
But in any case, that goes off the... ah crossbar. um You hate to see it. um And knowing him and his personality, he's really going to take that on his shoulder. um So hopefully like the coaches can kind of get an arm around his shoulder real quick quick and you know, get him ready for the next game. um He's doing well overall, all I think, this season. I just hope that this doesn't, like, you know, again, he sometimes, I think, can be his own worst enemy the way he kind of gets his own in his own head.
00:13:36
Speaker
he really wants to be the guy. He really wants to work hard and, you know, lead the team along, um and he can do that at times, but he can also sometimes, I think, overthink things. So hopefully...
00:13:49
Speaker
ah He doesn't dwell too much on it and just moves forward. Yeah, i honestly, he has been, you know, he's performed very well for us in in penalties. He's obviously the best penalty taker, and that's why he takes them. um I like that stutter step that he uses, and it's a move that I think is extremely effective. um This time around, you know, when you have to retake a penalty and you are disrupting your routine, um
00:14:20
Speaker
you know i think the chances probably go down of you being successful the second time around. and It's also how it happened. It was just such a chaotic moment um yeah you know where so many things happened at once. And bear in mind, it's not like they're on the field hearing the VAR replay commentary breaking down everything. They're just kind of standing around waiting to hear, okay is it a goal kick or a penalty kick?
00:14:49
Speaker
you know And I think that probably is kind of hard to you know keep in mind. you know and then the ref just kind of suddenly declares or B. um i imagine it's kind of hard to get yourself in the right mental space if you don't really have any sense of what to prepare for. so Yeah, absolutely. um i think it's just hard to stay focused for that long, too.
00:15:14
Speaker
um So I just chalk it up to sometimes you miss penalties and you missed a penalty, which was unfortunate because I think if we tied it up there, the game probably would have gone very differently. But I think that missed penalty...
00:15:30
Speaker
um kind of added to the frustration um and we were kind of touching on the referee earlier but um after this uh penalty a flurry of penalties um the yellow cars just come out um The Diaz um challenge that leads to a yellow card is like a pretty weak yellow, to be honest. Like, yeah, I guess he kind of goes through his leg, but he also gets the ball and he doesn't come in with really that much force whatsoever. I think the Austin player, I don't remember who it was, makes a meal of it and the referee kind of falls for it. And that kind of sets a precedent, but also I think largely the loons kind of overreacted to, to those decisions like referees are sometimes going to call soft yellows. Um, And maybe it was also Austin was successfully getting in their head because I really think they kind of were because the team was probably the most outwardly frustrated i have seen him ah seen them like Triantis gets a yellow for spiking a ball into the into the pitch, which is you know, an outburst you don't see all too often.
00:16:45
Speaker
Um, think Triantis is, is not shy about emoting on the field, but he doesn't strike me as a person that is like overly emotional or reactionary. So there's just something about like Triantis conceding the handball early and then missing the penalty and playing at home. Finally, a nice weather that maybe led to just an, like just a change in energy and in the stadium and just like growing frustration. Um,
00:17:14
Speaker
I don't know, Gortz, what did you think of what do you think of the flurry of yellows? like What do you think of the referee? What do you think of just the vibe of the team overall as the the second half progressed?
00:17:27
Speaker
I mean, ah the
00:17:33
Speaker
reffing in this league sometimes is just like, i'll I'll talk with my friend in England and we'll discuss, you know, who has the worst refs, England or MLS. And, you know, of course, you know, I say MLS, he says England.
00:17:52
Speaker
oh, Rafinha's, you know, you hate to see it, you know, be this way, but at the same time, it's like,
00:18:06
Speaker
This is kind of the standard that, you know, this, this, we have to, you know, accept that this is kind of the standard. that we, uh, that the league has. And, but as far as the second half, you know, i think, you you know, came out, you know, really, i think came out well, um, you know, something maybe, you know, I think, uh, Pereira said, i think in like the post matches that, you know, basically, you know, um,
00:18:40
Speaker
you know bread and butter got went back to the basics of you know have how to play and kind of came out in the second half and you know flip play uh played the basics uh dia what did you what did you think of the the the yellow card flurry and the overall vibe of of the team uh throughout the the first half there um I feel like we definitely lost our cool, or at least some of our players did. like i suspect Triantis spiking the ball because you know he did get a handball call go against him that led to ah Austin's first goal, which I suspect just put him in a funk.
00:19:24
Speaker
And I think that just kind of spread throughout the team. um You could make an argument that the ref did kind of lose control of the game a bit, but I also think he was kind of in a tough position with two teams that were being kind of feisty.
00:19:40
Speaker
And one team in particular, us, was admittedly not handling ourselves super well or super professionally. So I think he was kind of, you know, you can argue he could do better, but also I kind of sympathize with him, to be honest, that he's trying to keep things from escalating to like an actual injury risking level of aggression.
00:20:07
Speaker
Um, it makes it kind of hard to read the game because there was so much starting and stopping. It really played more like an American gridiron football game for a while of just, you know, a quick five to 10 second dreadful pace to watch. Right. And it's hard kind of sometimes when that happens to really get us, there's no momentum and without momentum, there's not really a sense of narrative cohesion that you can pull out and interpret. So, um,
00:20:39
Speaker
More than anything, I think it just makes it hard to interpret for people like us. But yeah, I don't fully blame the ref, if I'm being honest, and I'm down to like hold some of our guys to account, you know,
00:20:55
Speaker
The message at halftime and the message after the game, you know, Cam needs to kind of get the guys to look at like what, how they kind of let themselves lose control a bit and say you cannot, as professional athletes, let your emotions dictate these sorts of situations. You need to recognize when you're getting pulled away by your emotions and you need to kind of figure out how to clamp that down. So yeah, weird game, frustrating at times, um but partly frustrating because I think some of our guys need to be better.
00:21:31
Speaker
i think yeah if I had to put a percentage of blame on how the half played out, I would think the majority of the blame is on how our team responded to the adversity. Cause like you're only down a goal.
00:21:45
Speaker
the the Like You know, and also this team, as we discussed earlier in the Columbus match, like this team can come from behind because they are proving that they are better at playing with the ball than a lot of the opposition they've been playing. And they can really grow into a game, which is really, really encouraging to see. but like I
Game-Changing Performance by Rodriguez
00:22:07
Speaker
get it. It's as it's a soft yellow you know to Diaz, and then i think things get chippy like things get surprisingly chippy between like our... I believe we played the ah the home the the the season opener against Austin earlier this year, and I don't know. Maybe the games between Austin and the Minnesota are just...
00:22:32
Speaker
Chippy, like, you know, um i think Western Conference matchups in general had more juice, obviously. But like, I don't know, the matches with Austin seem to have a little bit even extra juice there. And then, of course, you have Christian Ramirez back in town, which is always fun to see him, ah you know, um facing off against his former squad. So I think there was just a lot of extra juice in that first half. And I was pretty, ah I was pretty,
00:23:00
Speaker
I liked hearing Cam's response in the press conference of just being like, guys, we need to rein it in like this. ah You know, um you got to focus. Like he didn't even entertain the possibility of commenting on the referee. And he was just like, it doesn't really matter. Like,
00:23:18
Speaker
There are good decisions. There are bad decisions. But what you can control is how you respond to it. And I think largely the team didn't respond to it very well, um which explains the majority of the yellows.
00:23:30
Speaker
I will throw in on this note, um our lineup average age was 25. Our oldest guy was 28. And that's great in some ways, but like Drake Callender is 28. He's our oldest guy. Pereira and Shankalai are 27.
00:23:50
Speaker
Below that, we got Markannik and Yeboah at 26. Everyone else is 25 and below. And this is definitely a match. 28 being the leadership on the field is definitely... Well, and that's our keeper. But this is definitely...
00:24:04
Speaker
a time where we are missing guys like Boxall, where, you know, even like someone like Will Trapp, you know, I i get why Trapp is more of a, you know, late game sub. um But he also does provide a certain emotional stability and leadership. And apparently um best friends with James Rodriguez, they were hamming it up yes ah on the sideline. But yeah, this is it.
00:24:28
Speaker
you know Since we're kind of like trying to understand what's going wrong here, i do think this is a moment where a relatively young squad kind of one hundred percent of loses hold of their emotions in a way where older, more experienced players who've been through this sort of thing a few times know how to get a handle on it. you know And someone can kind of step between a player and a ref and kind of push someone away, say, calm down, um you know.
00:24:58
Speaker
Yeah, absolutely. um Luckily, we escaped the half being down just by one goal. um And yeah, it really seems like the squad needs to reg regroup. um And we come out in the second half and it seems like Cam got the squad to really calm down and focus. um It actually is playing like a real football match after that. Like, you know. I don't remember a ton about the about the play. I remember it was kind of back and forth. But all in all, it just looked calmer. They were like actually playing soccer, um which is you know really really, really good, really great. But all in all, nothing really eventful happens until James Rodriguez subs on. Very exciting stuff. Will Trapp also comes on. I mentioned before that he was kind of hamming it up. with ah with Hamas on the side on the sideline, which was cool to see. And honestly, just like the immediate vibe shift when Hamas gets on the field is' just apparent. It's not it's literally six minutes after he gets on the field that he finds so much space at the far post going into the Wonderwall and
00:26:13
Speaker
bro's got a, bro's got a service. And also Markannic is just like, I think we're realizing that Markannic is just kind of a fucking baller when it comes to knowing exactly where he needs to be and how to time it. Like his timing and his ability to be where he needs to be makes it kind of easy for players like Hummus to be like, oh shit, he's going to at the back post. Let me just get a dime. Let's just throw him a dime. And Podeta can do this too.
00:26:42
Speaker
um But really just fucking cool, like a really cool moment to have Hamas be the one with the perfect service to Mark Anik, who's proving to be the best scoring defender in the league, basically like and it's not even close. um it It was just a really cool moment. Gores, what was your reaction to this ah to this first goal by ah the Hamas to Mark Anik connection?
00:27:10
Speaker
I mean, are are we sure, you know, Mark Haneck, you know, is is playing the the right position? Because, you know, I mean, you know, him as kind of being a wingback and then his twin brother being a striker.
00:27:26
Speaker
I remember, i think, asking at, like, the home opener Mark Haneck goes walking in. And I'm like, so do you and your brother have ah have a bet who scores more goals? And I think i think at this point the season, I think Mark Haneck is easily beating his brother.
00:27:44
Speaker
um But, yeah, I know. i created And then James. James is James, you know. He he might not. be you know be able to maybe get around the pitch as much, but when his vision on the field is just
00:28:08
Speaker
World-class. Maybe since he left it's you know kind new club every single year But you know to see someone have that you know vision ability to make you know plays you know like the the you know the first goal i know you know even talking about like you know the even even this the second one um it's just it's just incredible to see yeah absolutely Daya what was your reaction to that that first goal
00:28:45
Speaker
um It was nice to see, i think on Mark Canik, I would also add um in addition to his kind of uncanny ability to just know where he has to be to get service. It's also something about the way he moves in the box where he is just hard for defenders to track. I think in this case, he kind of just jumped higher than the defender, but there's a lot of cases where he's kind of able to sneak through somehow and, and,
00:29:12
Speaker
ah defenders just kind of lose him or don't really seem to notice the run he's making. So it it's his positioning, but it's also the way he moves, I think, just does him a lot of good in terms of making sure he's able to receive that service and make something of it. As for James coming on like it wasn't just that assist. um You can just see when he does come on.
00:29:35
Speaker
like we play very differently. Like you can see guys kind of giving him the ball and um trying to kind of move around him and give him options and opportunities. um and I think they're kind of getting accustomed to his skillset and just the level he can kind of operate on and learning how to make runs that will kind of benefit from ah his service and his abilities. um You know, and it also just creates a sort of more sustained momentum where we're not like getting like a transitional counter attack and then Columbus gets, or Austin gets an attack back. It's not like this back and forth, like we're building this more like longer sustained pressure and kind of putting back lines really on their back heel. Yeah.
00:30:27
Speaker
um I think he kind of gives us that ability um to build that kind of more long-term sustained kind of momentum against ah opponents.
00:30:39
Speaker
Absolutely. And his his service is absolutely world-class. But also he had literally all the time and space in the world to deliver that ball to the back post. So think a better example of his world-class vision and touch is the second goal.
00:30:54
Speaker
That is a that is that is a pass that I don't think many players are going to make, especially not with the like per tight especially not with the precise touch that he put on that ball. But also, I'm just going to shout out Pereira as well, keeping that ball in to keep that play alive and the give and go, like having faith that Hamas is going to get the ball to him. And i don't know, like it's kind of also proving to me that
00:31:27
Speaker
this is not a knock on Pereira as a player, but I think Pereira is better when he has somebody that is equal to or greater than his skill that he can kind of communicate with on the pitch and be like, I have an idea.
00:31:44
Speaker
If I give the ball to you, i can have faith that our ideas might align and you know what I'm going for. and it seems like a lot of our buildup there's kind of a misalignment in the kind of attacking ideas sometimes like I see that most often with you Boa and players trying to connect with him, but I see it with Chonklai too. it it just seems like there's kind of a disconnect of of where the ball is going to go in space and where the player needs to run.
00:32:18
Speaker
i think with Hamas, Pareda was just like, I know exactly where you're going to play this ball if I get it to you. And Hamas is the
Rodriguez's Future and Team Dynamics
00:32:26
Speaker
kind of player that is going to get the ball where he wants it to go just by the nature of how good his touches. Um,
00:32:36
Speaker
That was just a beautiful goal to watch. And I watched the replay so many times of how excited all the players were to celebrate with Hamas. And Hamas looks pretty stoked, too. He's just like, damn, man, your boy still got it. Your boy still got the touch. um it was It was a very heartwarming moment for me personally. Gortz, what did you think of the second goal?
00:33:01
Speaker
Oh, from Pereira, you know, keeping it in to, you know, that quick giving goal, go with James kind of you know, like I said earlier, i mean, you can't, you you can't, you can't ask for a sweeter goal than that.
00:33:17
Speaker
And in my, you know, kind that giving, yeah, all a thing of beauty. Yeah, absolutely. dial what did you think of the of the the second goal and the and the vibes surrounding it?
00:33:31
Speaker
I liked it better than the first, just seeing that connection between the two. I'd be curious to see like if James does decide to stay post world cup, um you know, could he kind of fit his way into the attackers we've already got? Cause it seems like Pereira and Chancolay have a pretty comfortable relationship with each other. um I think Yeboah is kind of still trying to figure out how he fits. he He's good at, you know, finishing service right in the box, but I'm i'm still not quite sure what they're doing together. um But then, yeah, you throw Hamez in there and there's still kind of questions about how he fits just because he alters our game model so much. um Like he does slow it down, but he makes it a bit more intricate in terms of the...
00:34:24
Speaker
passes and connections. so But this was an example of, um i think, Pereira at least kind of rising to the kind of gameplay that James likes in terms of those passes that break down lines.
00:34:38
Speaker
um And I'd be curious to see how far they could take that if he decided to stay. like I'd be curious to see how far that connection could really develop.
00:34:52
Speaker
Yeah. Absolutely. i think if I had to describe the way, the how differently the team plays when Hamas gets on the field, I think the overall pace of play drops in terms of speed of the players on the pitch, but the passing gets crisper and faster. And I think Hamas demands a sort of like...
00:35:17
Speaker
I'm not going to run in behind for a ball and I'm not going counter attack the same way, but i am going to pass the ball quicker and I'm going to always be looking for a progressive pass. So I need everybody else to tighten it up and speed it up so I can find something faster and I can find use space. Whereas I feel like the team in general, when Hamas is not on the field, it's more of like a lackadaisical way of playing. Like the passes aren't as crisp, but we still have players that can distribute the ball pretty well.
00:35:55
Speaker
Obviously, Padeda is the best at it. But you also have Chancolai that can also get wide with pace and his counterattacking ability is genuinely great. I think it's it's just like, it's way more focused on combination play and passing and being crisp and being, you know, in a spot you need to be. So I'd add Kyle Duncan, I think who's been kind of making his way in. Yeah. um As well as our midfield trio, the Triantis gen pairing. Like I do think we've got like more capacity to connect in that way than maybe we sometimes realize. I think it's more that sometimes we kind of, default towards those long balls yeah of just yeeting it over a back line and hoping Yeboah can win the sprint, which he seems excited to try and do every time. But um I think what Hamez does is kind of really grounds us in a different way of playing that we are capable of um with or without him, if I'm being honest. I think he just kind of forces it. He's like, this is how we're going to play. um
00:37:02
Speaker
You know, it doesn't look like, you know, Barcelona level Tiki Taka type, but it it does look really well organized um when he's on there. Absolutely. I think it also like Hamas is also kind of there to show the roster what they're capable of as well. um So he gets the best out of the guys around him. Yeah. Can kind of elevate his surroundings in a way, which is what really great players can do.
00:37:33
Speaker
I mean, i think my really optimistic reading of this of this signing is that I don't think there's in any world that it's not a success because A, we're not paying that much money for him, which was a part of the reason why we did it in the first place.
00:37:50
Speaker
And I think there's so much positives that come from even the little time that he spent on the field. And the vibes were just absolutely immaculate. We have the privilege of potentially seeing him in the match tomorrow against ah Colorado.
00:38:05
Speaker
It'd be interesting if he started that match, actually. um But we don't really know what's going to happen. But my super optimistic... um view of this is that it's also an opportunity to kind of prove to ownership as well that if you get the caliber of player that Hamas is hopefully somebody a bit younger and more in their prime years like maybe 31 32 as opposed to But you can potentially splash on a playmaking signing in the vein of Hamas. Obviously, Hamas is one of one. But I'm talking about a player that has the playmaking distributing ah distributing the ball ability that can give...
00:38:48
Speaker
Markannik and Yeboah and Chonkalai and Podeda, excellent service. um You know, could we potentially see a bigger splash of a signing in the summer window? Khaled El-Ahmad and his media availability a couple of weeks because weeks ago and in previous interviews said that he is more likely to make a splash signing in a summer transfer window. Daya, you were mentioning it in the Discord server today. You reminded me of that point. So,
00:39:18
Speaker
i think it's also kind of a blueprint. It's kind of a trial for the caliber of player that Hamas is. Does it work? Does it elevate? Or does it disrupt you know how the club wants to play? And I think the answer is, if you have a person as talented as Hamas on the pitch, I think it only makes the product better and more attractive to watch. And I think the players are proving that they can step up and be a competent team. So if you
Player Reflections and Potential Signings
00:39:48
Speaker
sign and splurge on that player, it's not gonna like that player isn't gonna have all of the weight on their shoulders to carry everything. You already have good players on the pitch that can win without your star.
00:40:03
Speaker
When you add a star into that, you then start talking about the team entering a different e echelon into the bigger clubs in MLS, into your Miami's, into your ah LAFC's, into your Vancouver's.
00:40:15
Speaker
um We're not there currently, obviously. i don't think we are, but I'm just saying. this could be the beginning of that trajectory if the club makes a smart signing. Um, and also if Cam Knowles continues, um, the frankly pretty excellent coaching trajectory, um, right now. Um,
00:40:36
Speaker
Let's see. There isn't much more to talk about in this match. Christian mi christian Ramirez is going to Christian Ramirez. Dude is a fucking baller. um He knows how to score goals, and he takes advantage of a lapse in concentration shortly after the goal. um Would have been really nice to hold on and secure those three points, um, just for the vibes really. Um, but Austin was, ah is one of those teams, man. Like, you know, this is MLS. The parody is like, you know, I think Austin are a fairly disorganized team and don't have a lot of cohesion in, I think how they want to play games, but I think they have a lot of talent on their roster and they have enough cohesion to where they make it a problem.
00:41:22
Speaker
Um, I don't know. I, Does anyone have any any closing thoughts on the on this match? Gortz, I'll throw it to you if you have any closing thoughts or anything else you want to bring up from the match.
00:41:36
Speaker
Not really. Naya, you have any thoughts? Um, I did hear, so I'm pretty sure if I'm remembering correctly, so I believe it was Gressel who was on the radio broadcast, which I was listening to who mentioned that. I think, I think it was Gressel, but someone mentioned that Ramirez actually did want to come back to Minnesota. I'm bummed that we didn't pick that up because even if he is probably a touch past his prime, given his age,
00:42:06
Speaker
I think he has enough versatility um that we could use him either as a backup striker or maybe kind of a false nine or a 10. Like he could fit into a few different positions. And I think we really could have just benefited from that extra depth, um especially maybe up top because we've got Yeboah and then a few development prospects who are clearly in need of just more time and growth.
00:42:36
Speaker
um We're just kind of shallow up there. We're kind of grinding out goals. yaboau is grinding out results, but I think... like to get into that upper echelon. feel you to talk about Yeboah.
00:42:49
Speaker
You need to talk about Yeboah. I'm down. I just want to say I wish we had gotten Ramirez. I miss Rosales, but it sounds like he wanted a change of scenery. That's his right. I don't miss Rosales. I don't. I don't. I don't either. Okay. i mean Why do you miss Rosales?
00:43:08
Speaker
I mean, i do think Chancolai is an upgrade on that kind of left wing position, but like he does have a very good left foot. He's got speed and endurance. He was able to, you know, huff it up and down the line.
00:43:21
Speaker
um You know, I enjoyed watching him. like it's It's unfortunate that he wanted to leave, but again, that's a player's prerogative. i understand there was an incident with him like against Vancouver that one time, maybe that just...
00:43:37
Speaker
put a sour taste in his mouth and he felt like he needed to change the head, but the head, but in the playoffs last year, i was the final straw yep it was a lot. You know, it's wish wish him the best. I wish him the best, yeah but I don't miss him.
00:43:55
Speaker
I would miss him more, I think, if we didn't hadn't gotten Chanclai. do agree, Chanclai an upgrade, but like, yeah. What a steal Chanclai was, to be honest.
00:44:05
Speaker
Like, to get him for 300-day. Bruce Arena knows how to pick him. I'll say, like, Bruce knows how to pick good players from this league. So, you can't really- Bruce knows ball. Yeah, well, you can't look at where San Jose is or what they're doing this year and think it's just a fluke. But in any case, yeah.
00:44:25
Speaker
Um, best of luck to Austin for the rest of their season, I guess. Yeah, I think I want to keep an eye on it because, like, I'm a huge fan of Christian Ramirez. Obviously, like, i'm I'm a pretty new fan. I was not around when he was with the club, but ah from everything I've heard and everything that I've seen, because I watched him play with LA Galaxy and i watch now i'm I'm watching him play with Austin, he seems like a fucking class act and really, really good striker. Like, just extremely... And he is an out-and-out, like...
00:44:58
Speaker
he plays the striker position to a t And I think your point earlier of like, I really do think he would fit into the roster because if he comes into the game, he's going to do that, the, all of the striker stuff. And then your boa can find space wherever he wants to.
00:45:15
Speaker
Um, and wherever he feels comfortable, because to me, boa feels like he's way more comfortable progressing the ball in wider spaces to where he can really like really use angles. Um,
00:45:27
Speaker
to to dribble. He's not really a guy that is going to take on a back line just dribbling up the middle of the field. And I think he frequently drifts out out wide when we're trying to to find space if we're not looking to give him service in the box. um um i just as long as i'm pray As long as we're praising Austin, I'll just say it was nice to see Vasquez getting a few minutes at the end. I know he's coming back from injury. i I know we don't love other teams, but i hope I had high hopes for Vasquez, and I hope he manages to make a dent in that team. This is MLS. We truly don't have any rivalries yet. yeah There are no teams that I hate. Well, we're Minnesota. at l la I don't like LAFC. In any case, Vasquez seemed to really want to contribute to the team, so hopefully he gets to keep you know performing at a high level for them.
00:46:23
Speaker
yeah we We like to see players do well. Absolutely. I agree. um buts Let's talk about Yoboa in general, because I feel like there is like, this is also just a thing about Reddit and just the internet.
00:46:37
Speaker
And also the fact that when players have a DP label, there's a certain expectation, like a dubious sort of nebulous expectation of, of how they should be performing.
00:46:49
Speaker
um Yoboa, is a great striker that is doing all the things that a striker should do. um He's also scoring goals.
00:47:00
Speaker
um And yet it seems like an end. There are two sides to this for me personally. I see personally the things that you'll be able to better.
00:47:14
Speaker
Like there are obviously things that you'll be able to be doing better. Like I think his decision-making in terms of like where he decides to run and his combination play with other players in build-up is not the best it could be. like He's not Pereira in terms of like dribbling and combining with other players and finding passes.
00:47:38
Speaker
It's also not his job positionally to do that. So that would explain why he's not very good at it. um He's like... I see why people criticize him. But if you also just look at his numbers and his production and his underlying numbers, the value he adds to the roster is the reason why he starts every game.
00:48:02
Speaker
And it's the reason why he's always playing 90 minutes. And there's a reason why he is a DP on the team and is the starting striker. It's because he's a pretty damn good striker in this league. And he does a lot of great things. Um, Gortz, why does it seem like he's, ah Yobo is always getting criticism, even though by all accounts, he's like doing a really good job, like doing all the stuff. He's checking the boxes he needs to check so far.
00:48:34
Speaker
i think I think the one thing you'll notice is I think a lot of his goals this season have come within the six-yard box, which is, you know, every you you know every single you know striker should you know you know be able to you know score from inside. But you know it definitely seems like so you know he he'll want to get the ball, and then he'll like drift wide and kind of you know kind of cut in a little bit. and Yeah, i like you said, kind of his his decision making sometimes is just, you're just thinking like, you know, you know that thats the that's how you're gonna, that that's that's your decision.
00:49:18
Speaker
it's you know, it's mind boggling me about the, you know, the same time, you know, a striker's there to, you know, to to ah score goals and that's, you know, that's what he does.
00:49:35
Speaker
Dayu, do you have any thoughts on Yeboah and why, you know, thoughts on the Yeboah narrative? I'm not entirely sure what the narrative is because I do. I see the Reddit posts that you're talking about that are just like...
00:49:50
Speaker
Yeboah is overrated or whatever, but there's never really much of an argument to it because, i don't know, he's got so far this season ah seven goals in 12 league matches. like That's you know more than a goal every other game.
00:50:08
Speaker
Um, but also like not to reduce everything to money, but like he's on 1.5 million a year, which for a DP striker is very low. so I would say just like the dollar per goal, like we're being very efficient there.
00:50:29
Speaker
but You know, he's someone who we kind of found getting loaned around to various benches and basically said, hey, you want to have a chance to be the guy for a few years um and part of a project or, you know, you just have to come to America to do it.
00:50:45
Speaker
And he said, yeah, and hasn't really looked back. Like, um you know, he he puts in the work, too. Like, he really hustles as hard as anybody. Yeah.
00:50:58
Speaker
I would also add that the club has, since he's come in, has just gone through a lot of transitions in terms of roster and tactics. um You know, he came into, you know, Ramsey's first year where he was playing alongside Timu Pukki.
00:51:16
Speaker
um Remember that guy? like it's just so I forgot they were at the club at the same time. Yeah, it's just so far. That's such a different setup. And then he comes into 2025 where...
00:51:28
Speaker
he is competing with Tani Oluweshe, and sometimes Ramsey is having them do a two-striker setup, and he's also doing this weird kind of grind-out defensive results and set-piece FC Ramsey sicko mode ball, whatever you want to call it. Like,
00:51:46
Speaker
And any you know, some days he is the lead striker. Sometimes he's the sub striker. Sometimes there's two strikers. Like it's just kind of a weird season. And then we get rid of Tani Yeboah has to step in, but he gets injured. So he can't really build momentum for that.
00:52:02
Speaker
portion of the season. then And then he comes into 2026, where again, we're kind of trying to build something entirely new. We're bringing in guys like Chonk, Lyon, Duncan, who Yeboah seems down to like work with. i I think they're figuring each other out and building some decent chemistry, but it just speaks to this fact that he's kind of being asked to do a different thing every six to 12 months. Um,
00:52:27
Speaker
um We're kind of constantly revamping this project, which is fun to watch. But you know he he's not complaining or putting in half-assed efforts when he's frustrated by how we're trying to line up. He just kind of steps in and tries to do his best with the place he's being put in. um you know and Now he's also sometimes doing a two-striker setup with Mamadou Diang,
00:52:54
Speaker
ah who I think we all agree is like we're excited to have him here, but he also is very raw and Yeboah is trying to find his space next to that.
00:53:05
Speaker
um That's got to be kind of difficult and maybe a bit frustrating. None of this is to you know say Yeboah is perfect. like His hold-up play is not quite as refined as, say, Tani's was. He's not quite as much of an assist person as Tani ever was. Tani could actually put in a good assist every now and then. But it's also to recognize that he's in kind of this weird transitional project, and he has, i think, performed really admirably.
00:53:34
Speaker
within that um and for a fairly low price again like it's not like he's not some you know Matt it's not like Atlanta United or Cincinnati LAFC yeah we're not like putting in massive amounts of money For him, we we offered him a place on a project and he took it. And I think it's working as well as we could hope. Dude is a DP because he has to be because that's what his salary is worth. Like, you're just like, oh, shit, we have to pay you 1.5. So we have to make you a DP. But it's a very low DP. Like, it's a very low DP value. Yeah. My point is that like I think the label of DP is so imperfect in many ways. It is at its core just a roster designation, but it also has the connotations of you need to be superstar, and Yubo's not a superstar.
00:54:32
Speaker
People hear
Preview of Colorado Rapids Match
00:54:33
Speaker
DP and they think like Messi, Sun Hyung-min, or Thomas Muller, because those are the ones that make the headlines. They're not thinking of these like...
00:54:43
Speaker
very solid parts of a cohesive roster. They're thinking global superstars. um So I think that's part of where the confusion comes from. If you didn't have that roster designation and you were just looking at like salary, you know, and transfer ah cost, it would, I think, destroy a lot of this debate.
00:55:06
Speaker
Yeah, it won't even be a narrative anymore because he would just be the guy on the ah the starting striker on the roster who is making the most out of the attacking players. Right. Because he's the striker. You pay the striker usually a lot of fucking money.
00:55:21
Speaker
Yeah. To score you goals. And his work rate, his work ethic, it seems like his vibes are really good. and Don't undervalue the fact that he has also committed to the project and seems like pretty like really committed to the project. And he's not very old.
00:55:39
Speaker
He's still quite young. We signed him for a pretty he signed up for like a lot of years. We've got him through, I think, like 28 years. um Yeah. Maybe option years beyond that. I can't remember. I think an option for 29. Yeah. Like he, you know, and he said like he came here because he talked to Khaled and Khaled explained what we were trying to build in this new era. And he said, I want to be a part of that. He went out like Eric Ramsey said in an interview when Kelvin first came over, he said, I talked to Kelvin over dinner and he said he wants to take on that extra responsibility. He wants to be relied on, you know, and, and like I said, he committed to the project and it has been a very,
00:56:26
Speaker
a tumultuous transitional project and he has done his best at every stage of it to do what he can to let coaches kind of build around him as much as you can build around someone with his skill set. So, you know, can we get him on the pod? I have questions for him. I would love to, you know, just hear his thoughts.
00:56:50
Speaker
He doesn't do a lot of interviews, so it actually might be worth reaching out and just like asking like, dude, do you want to like talk about your experience? I was being sarcastic, but if you want to shit, you've been through. like i was being sarcastic, but if you get him on, I will be so fucking game to I've got so many questions for him, honestly. I do too. like dude kind of deserves to, to kind of tell a little bit more about his experience. Cause I think also like there's a lot of baggage from last season in terms of like his injury. And, you know, i remember very clearly when he got injured in the U S open cup match and the vibe, how the vibes just really fucking tanked after that. Just like the whole squad vibes were just like,
00:57:37
Speaker
Yeah, it really, really ruined the rest of the season, you know, among other things like, you know, the the game model and things like that. But yeah, I mean, I should not be afraid to at least try to reach out about these things, but but we'll see. But Yeboah, if you're listening, you're not. um We'd love to have you on the pot. i'm Very interested and to ask you a number of questions. um ah First kiss.
00:58:03
Speaker
First celebrity cut. First celebrity crush. Yeah, the good Christian boy, Calvin Yeboah, is going to talk about his first kiss.
00:58:14
Speaker
Song of Solomon, baby.
00:58:18
Speaker
Anyway, um let's do a quick preview of this Rapids match. um Yeah, this Rapids team is an interesting one. They love playing with the ball, and they have a head coach that the more quotes I read from him, the more I'm convinced. non-Englishman from yeah a big that came from Can you call them a big team?
00:58:40
Speaker
oh Soon to be not big club in in England. um where Yeah, I came from Spurs. Oh, really? came from spurs Yeah, Matt Wells.
00:58:51
Speaker
Was he a head coach or just an assistant coach? He was an assistant. It was a Ramsey situation. He was a high-level assistant. um And he was picked to head up the new era of the Colorado Rapids. And they play with the ball a lot. And they are pretty fun to watch, to be honest, because they commit very highly to to the repress. Yeah.
00:59:13
Speaker
But um haven't found as much success recently and they're in their recent matches. um ah The more quotes I read from Matt Wells, the more I feel like he's kind of a...
00:59:29
Speaker
he's kind of a sicko. i don't know if in the positive sense, but he's very, he talks very absolute about like, he has a dogma for sure. Like he's dogmatic as fuck.
00:59:41
Speaker
Um, which I think, I guess you have to be, to be a head coach and also coming from the premier league, like environment. I think that is the kind of personality that rises to the top. I think to commit to any sort of tactical vision. Yeah. You have to like, just have a brain.
00:59:59
Speaker
And like mine will always second guess everything I want to do. But like, I think to even get hired as the coach, you have to have the brain that lets you go into a job interview and say, i can make this work. It will work.
01:00:14
Speaker
I know exactly what I'm going to do. i know exactly what we need to do to win. This is why I will never be a head coach. That and that alone is why. Yeah.
01:00:26
Speaker
No other reason at all. um It should be an interesting match. It's minted. Like we just played a match on Sunday we're going to see a pretty rotated roster. I think we actually might see a hummus start.
01:00:38
Speaker
Um, that would be cool as a little like a send off. I think you'll see trap in the lineup. You might see boxy in the lineup too. Um, I think we'll see a relatively turned over lineup for this match just to give some of these guys some rest. Um, but, uh, yeah, any, uh, any quick predictions about this match courts? What, uh, what are you expecting from it? Or are you just hoping we can grind out a good result?
01:01:05
Speaker
Just grand out a good result. I hate predicting things. No predictions whatsoever. What about the Hummus? You think Hummus starts or do you think he comes off the bench?
01:01:17
Speaker
I'd like to see him, you know, give him, you know, one last, you know, i'll give him, you know, a start, but at the same time. But then again, we do have a game at the weekend on the East coast in Boston against the new England revolution. so No, I mean, i wouldn't I wouldn't be surprised if they gave Hama as a start.
01:01:40
Speaker
What about you, Daya? Do you have any quick predictions for the match? Any expectations? Yeah, I'd like to see James do like 60, 65 minutes before heading off. um You know, I don't know how what he feels or what he wants because I know he is dead set on the World Cup, but I think 60 minutes would still be reasonable given we've kind of he has had plenty of rest, I think.
01:02:07
Speaker
um I think it would be good for him just to kind of start working on his match match fitness. um I don't know. I feel... Confident that we should be able to get three points, but again, it's MLS. you know It can be surprising.
01:02:25
Speaker
i'm I'm kind of expecting a grind grindfest cagey like a la Ramsey era kind of grinding out, being focusing on... I think especially after the first half performance on Sunday, i think Cam's message to the team is going to let's please just be disciplined and be cool and just see how the match progresses. Because I think the team... has been doing a great job this season of growing into games and and really assessing opponents before choosing where and how they want to attack.
01:03:00
Speaker
um You know, ah if Hamas starts, just his style of play, I think is fairly low risk for injury. Like, he is on purpose not challenging for balls, and he's not going to press, and he's not going to you know...
01:03:15
Speaker
yeah work that hard defensively, but, you know, obviously he just has so much talent, um, he's focusing on playmaking and he's focused on passing the ball and he's focusing on that on all of those parts of the game. So i think all in all, it's going to be pretty cagey. um I feel like, especially if we have a rotated lineup, um you know we aren't going to throw our best 11 out there. I don't think the attack is going to be the most dynamic thing in the world, but I think this team is proving that they can at least...
01:03:51
Speaker
put attackers in good
Support for Independent Soccer Media
01:03:52
Speaker
places so i hope to see a ah good result i think it might be a one zero situation if we win the match um i don't think it's high scoring at all so that's my that's as definitive of a prediction as we're gonna get okay um that's pretty much all we have for the soccer side of things i will do a one more thing um I was just in Atlanta this past weekend, um, visiting my partner. waffle house is incredible and we need more of them. Um, we just need more late night spots in general where you can go and grab a bite. Like we don't really have that here in Minnesota. We're all lame and go to bed at nine, you know, PM even on a weekend. Uh, and so waffle house is great, great vibes. Um,
01:04:39
Speaker
Atlanta is a great town you've never visited. Like there's a a fucking great aquarium there. It's called Georgia Aquarium. um There is a giant tank that is filled with two whale sharks. So if you want to see whale sharks in person, go to Georgia Aquarium. It's well worth the money. um Great food, great vibe in the town. um Be ready for horrible amounts of traffic, though, if you do visit. Daya, do you have a one more thing?
01:05:09
Speaker
I don't this week. No, you moved. I did move. Yeah. Yeah. The new new setting. Yeah, but we're still working on the video component of the podcast, but someday you'll see the new setup. It looks great. Bookshelf came together really nicely.
01:05:28
Speaker
Yes. 600 books is a lot to carry. Jesus Christ. That's a lot of weight. That's why you hire movers. let the young carry my 600 books please yeah $500 oh they just get out the dollies although they did thank me I put the books in small instead of large boxes oh yeah um and one of them as he was like pulling them away he was like thank you for putting them in small boxes Gortz you have one more thing I mean I've been watching this whole pod with
01:06:04
Speaker
my fargo junior hockey team so is it usa ushl is that yeah that's it's the top division like the top junior hockey league before uh who is it who's the um was it like bobby brinks played the gaudreau i think one of them played you uh in the national team development program plays there. um You might know Mason West, the Dynah quarterback.
01:06:38
Speaker
ah Chicago Blackhawks draft pick plays for the Forest. So I've been been having it on my phone. Coincidentally, it's the Fargo Forest, my hometown team against the Sioux Falls Stampede against the ah the team that was for the town where I was born. So I'm kind of torn between, and like my mom said, I'm uh taught uh that team in a sense taught me uh potty trained me because when i was three years old i knew every single player and like it must have been like oh one when it was like i'm like one of the names was like thomas vanek so i have i've assigned thomas vanek when he was in the juniors but yeah i know that is my
01:07:30
Speaker
And we're currently 2-1 up nearly the end of the second period. So when you say we, you're talking about Fargo. Yeah, Fargo. Is that your ultimate allegiance is Fargo? I was on because my mom and my grandma are at the game. And my grandma called me and she's like, so who are cheering for? I'm like, my gut was telling me Sioux Falls Stampede. But my heart is telling me...
01:07:53
Speaker
ah My heart is telling me the four. Oh, no. Sioux Falls just equalized. Okay. 2-2. 2-2. 2-2. That's good stuff. That's good stuff, y'all. All righty. We will be back next week to break down, i guess, two matches next week. We have the Colorado Rapids match, and then we have the match against the Rebs on the weekend. So a lot of soccer to talk about next week. Thank you so much for listening to the episode. If you liked the episode, please leave a rating. it really, really, really... Really, really helps. um
01:08:27
Speaker
Yeah. Thank you for listening to the show. um We are trying very hard to make this a good place for people to come and discuss and go a little bit deeper on the team that we love so much. You can follow the show on Blue Sky as well. That is where you can get updates on the show. um That's kind of where most of the independent soccer media a landscape for MLS is at. So if you want to connect more with people that care about Minnesota United, mostly just American soccer in general, Blue Sky is where you want to be. If you don't have a Blue Sky account, make one. Great website.
01:09:07
Speaker
um you know it's like any social media proceed with caution but the majority of the people that you meet that talk about mls or american soccer or sports are usually pretty decent people so also i'll shout out the the soccer wise discord um kickback media just in general um if you also want another place to connect with people that care about the sports and care about the community aspect and care about all that stuff Worth kicking them five bucks to get into the discord. um Really, really great community there. They talk about and NWSL.
01:09:42
Speaker
That's how I keep up with and NWSL. And like the dominant narrative narratives is just like through soccer wise and kickback and and stuff like that. So a big shout out to them. Big reason why I'm so engaged is because they exist. So, you know, if you want to get the information at the source, go ahead and support them, please. And just if you have money to spare right now,
01:10:04
Speaker
We're in a really, really important time in journalism, especially sports journalism, where if you have a favorite journalist or a favorite reporter that covers a team and they unfortunately have to go independent, it please put your money where your heart is and please.
01:10:22
Speaker
Give them a coffee every month, give them five bucks a month, support their sub stack or their independent blog or wherever they're doing stuff like you got to support journalism and you got to support writing. You got to support artists. That is how we ah breed community and that's how we stick together. And, you know, we have to have each other's backs through this sort of thing. So please, if you have extra money to spare, support soccer-wise, support independent journalism, you know, um please do that. Already, I will get off my soapbox now. Thank you so much for listening. We will catch you next week.
01:11:01
Speaker
Bye-bye.