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Episode 402: Mailbag for Week 18
69 Plays2 years ago
This is a pretty short one but we do touch on Albert Rusnák's potential move to the No. 10, Obed Vargas' performance at the U20s and how happy we were to see LAFC lose in the CCL final.
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Transcript
Introduction and Sponsorship
00:00:00
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. They offer the best boutique wines of the world to members of their mailing list, with special focus on their home, the Pacific Northwest.
Show Kickoff and Sounders' Achievements
00:00:21
Speaker
Hey, this is Christian Roldan. And Jordan Morris from the Seattle Sounders Football Club. And you're listening to... There's no study at this. Here we go. Come on! Hey, Ocean! Let's go! What a save by Fry! The Seattle Sounders have done it! MLS co-pointers! Here comes Ray D'Ace from the middle to crowd it! The vehicle! And now they truly can't stop the celebrations.
00:01:04
Speaker
Seattle Sounders, the greatest MLS team in history. This is a tiny f***ing doll.
00:01:34
Speaker
Is
Week 18 Q&A Intro and Substack Mention
00:01:38
Speaker
Welcome back to another episode of NOS Adietta, sponsored by Fullpool Wines, Watson's Counter, and our Substack subscribers. This is the question and answer episode for week 18 of the MLS season. I am Jeremiah Shannon. Joining me today is Aaron Campo and her engineer, Lickit. So we got a few questions. It's not going to be a super long show today, but you want to
00:01:42
Speaker
that why you young people call twerking?
00:02:01
Speaker
You want to start it off? This is, we're going to start off, try to make this a thing. We're starting off with our questions that come from our subsec subscribers. By the way, if you want to support the podcast, uh, just go to our sub stack, notice how to get to us at subsec.com. Uh, you can become a free subscriber or you can pay. And, and then you get to one of the perks is you get to ask questions on, on here. So. Yeah.
00:02:28
Speaker
All right. So the only exception to that is if you have a funny question, we'll put it at the end because that's all right. Our first one is from Bill Jones.
Impact of Missing Starters
00:02:38
Speaker
These results suck, but is it fair to expect better with half the starters out? I mean, that's an interesting question. I think we should be able to
00:02:53
Speaker
with half the starters out sure like maybe maybe these results are like part of it and and to the center's credit they are grinding out points like as bad as this has been and i don't want to make it sound like 11 points in 10 games is good but it's it's not a disaster like they have been able to tread water and so i don't know if you
00:03:13
Speaker
were telling me that they were going to miss half their starters during all those 10 games, then I'd say, yeah, that would be, that would be an acceptable result. But the thing is that they aren't missing half their starters. Most of their games have had eight or nine of their ideal 11 starters. So it's, I think we can maybe over.
00:03:31
Speaker
overestimate how bad the sounders injuries
Injuries and Team Expectations
00:03:35
Speaker
are. The problem is that they've been to sort of key players, Christian Roldan being at the top of that list, but he looks like he's back, so hopefully he sticks around. And if he sticks around, I think the sounders are in good shape. I would tend to agree. I do think you're right that
00:03:55
Speaker
The extent to which the slide has been disastrous is maybe overhyped, including by myself. It's been super unpleasant, but I do think that the Sounders have been missing a ton of players and they had a lot of multiple game weeks and all that.
00:04:16
Speaker
They're really still in pretty good shape, but I do think it's fair to expect a little better than what they were. Yeah, I mean, I'd say it's been aesthetically worse than it is from a pure results based perspective. Yeah, but it's good way to put it. But it I mean, it has been aesthetically pretty dire. I think it's been rough. Yeah. Yeah, I have to watch. Yeah. Yeah, go ahead.
00:04:40
Speaker
No, no, this is me. This is another sub-stack person. Dominic Macia, I hope I didn't butcher your name. I feel like the kids are getting it done just as well as the starters. At what point should the kids just be the starters?
Young Players' Performance
00:04:58
Speaker
Yeah, it's a good question. I mean, I think when you look across the roster and you look at where the kids have been filling in Cody Baker at right and left back,
00:05:09
Speaker
I don't think either Alex or Nuhu are in a ton of danger of losing their starting spot. I think maybe Cody Baker is your preferred backup left option now to Kellen Rowe maybe. I think he is.
00:05:27
Speaker
If he's not necessarily, I don't know if I'm ready to say that he's definitely giving you the best chance to win over Kellen Rowe, but I think his growth is, his upside is so much higher at this point. Right. Yeah, for sure. And then you look at, I think Josh Atencio has been good. I think Obed Fargus has been good, but I don't think they're going to displace João Paulo or
00:05:52
Speaker
Albert Rosenak or Nico Lodero, although maybe they should displace Nico Lodero occasionally. And I think Dylan Tevez has been pretty good as well, but I don't think he's going to replace rolled on long term. So I I think that the kids have earned minutes and I've been really happy with how they've played. But I just I don't see them displacing anyone just yet.
00:06:19
Speaker
Yeah. And I think along those same lines, what I think that they've done is they've shown that the sounders should be more comfortable rotating their lineups when they are otherwise healthy. And that there should be like, it doesn't mean that Cody Baker should be the starter over Alex rolled on, but I think it means that there's less of a good argument for starting Alex rolled on three times in a
Lineup Rotation Strategy
00:06:48
Speaker
week.
00:06:48
Speaker
Or, you know, like they're like, so I think in those kinds of situations, I want to see, I just, I think my hope is that during the second half of the season, there's more rotation and, uh, and it's not just in three game weeks, but it's like the, and that there's more of a sense that there's like an open competition, uh, week to week. And then that doesn't mean every spot, but there's.
00:07:11
Speaker
You know, it would be a huge bummer if, for instance, we don't see Cody Baker playing significant minutes for a month just because Alex and Nuhu are healthy, although it doesn't look like my suspicion is Alex is going to get called up for the for the Gold Cup. So maybe it's a moot point. But anyway.
Albert Rusnak's Role Discussion
00:07:31
Speaker
All right, next one is, these are on to the Twitter questions now from at TIE fighter 17. Would you be hoping to having Russnak start at the 10 and start Josh along to Apollo? I feel like Nikko could have more of an impact with the load reduction. Maybe it's just because he's older. Nikko seems more dependent on his left foot this year. Russnak would look less predictable IML.
00:07:50
Speaker
Yeah, I think at this point we haven't seen Rusnak enough to know for sure whether or not this is the solution that Rusnak at the 10. I know we think back to his days at RSL and we think, well, of course he's going to be just as good. I don't know if that's, you know, like I won't.
00:08:10
Speaker
Presumed to know that's actually the case i would like to see this tested though and i and again like we talked earlier in the week about how you know it doesn't mean that russ neck is the automatic starter as the ten but i would i do think it's worth looking at. Yeah i definitely agree i think that.
00:08:36
Speaker
I think we talked about this a lot on the main show this week, but you have to find a way to be able to give Nico time off. And I think this is a good way. Russnak is a solid option at the 10. We've had a lot of discussions about whether or not that's his best position as opposed to being
00:08:55
Speaker
uh, out on the right or his more common position in the double pivot. Uh, and I, I don't think it is. I like him playing in that double pivot, but I do think that he's can do a job at the 10 and Nico can't do it three times in a week for sure. So, um, and, and I think too, you're, you're kind of at the point with this attack where.
00:09:15
Speaker
You need to be open to trying new things and you need to be open to sticking with them if they work. And, and, you know, I think Nico has a place on this team as a starter most of the time, but if they play Rosnak as a 10 and, and the team looks really good for an extended period of time, I don't think you can go back on that because they have not looked good for an extended period of time with Nico at the 10. So I think you have to be open
Flat Performance Critique
00:09:41
Speaker
to it at this point. Mm-hmm.
00:09:44
Speaker
Seattle Allah says, if we're going to get three points at home, can we at least drop points or if we're not going to get three points at home, can we at least drop points energetically? We haven't started a game with much energy in a really long time.
00:09:59
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, it's I think the most consistent complaint that I've heard, the most consistent complaint that I've had personally has been just how flat the team looks coming out of the gate. And I think that a lot of that is probably due to fatigue. But that's I mean, that's not all of it because they've they've looked flat, even in games that they ended up playing pretty well in.
00:10:19
Speaker
they have come out looking flat at times this year. And it's pretty frustrating. I don't really understand it. And I think especially when you've been on a run like the Sounders have been on, when you're talking about how critical it is to play well at home and to make women a fortress again and all that stuff, which they did a pretty good job of early in the season.
00:10:40
Speaker
you need to come out with that kind of energy. You need to come out on the front foot and they just haven't do it. And it seems to some degree, and I think this can maybe be explained by how many kids are playing, but they do seem just really timid and afraid of getting beat early on in games. They seem to be wanting to control games early on. And then once a goal happens, they tend to change
00:11:05
Speaker
Like the right pace. And I think that's an approach you can take when you are playing really well. Right. Like you can when you feel pretty confident that you're going to be able to impose your will on a game or you're going to be either able to get back into a game if you go down or be the team that gets the first breakthrough. I think you can take that more conservative approach coming out of the gate. And the Sounders kind of did that at times this year when they were playing really well or they sort of
00:11:32
Speaker
see how the first, you know, we'll see how the first half hour, 45 minutes goes and then make adjustments from there and take control of the game. But they're just not doing that. And they've got to change that up and they've got to come out a little more, I think, a little more attack minded and a little more reckless at times, I think.
00:11:49
Speaker
I would at this point, I would rather see them give up a bad counter attack goal because they have a lot of bodies push forward and they're knocking on the door than set through another game like Saturday. Yeah, I the Red Bulls game I believe was the first time they had scored a first half goal since the LA Galaxy game.
00:12:12
Speaker
Uh, which was a span, I think of 10 games they went without scoring in the first half. And that doesn't mean they hadn't been the better team in the first half, uh, during all that time, but they, I do think there is something to this idea that these slow starts and, uh, and yeah, they like, they're just putting a lot of pressure on themselves. The other thing that is stuck out to me is that they haven't won a day.
00:12:40
Speaker
all the games that they've won recently have been 1-0 and you got to go all the way back to the LA again to the LA Galaxy game where they won a game where they gave up a goal and and I think that that's sort of lead that it all kind of feeds into this idea that they are
00:12:57
Speaker
maybe not playing scared, but they're sort of playing a little bit under this assumption that they don't have a lot of room for error. And that's leading to some conservative play that is making for an interesting play. This is from Garrett Amini. He says, is Obed
Obed Vargas at U20 World Cup
00:13:16
Speaker
back? How did he do at the U20 World Cup?
00:13:19
Speaker
I didn't watch a minute of the U20 World Cup, but the report sounded pretty positive. He played, he started a few games, right? He started three or five games, yeah, including the final game against Uruguay. And he went 55 minutes in that. I think he played right around 250 minutes in the game. He played in all five games. He played 55 minutes against Uruguay.
00:13:45
Speaker
And my understanding is the US was mostly pretty like they didn't create a ton of chances, but they sort of controlled the game. And as soon as he came, literally as soon as he came off, they gave up a goal, the second goal. So.
00:14:01
Speaker
He, the best I can tell, he did pretty well. And actually we're going to be talking to Adam Bells of the Scuffed podcast, specifically about Obed's performance in the U20 World Cup later in the week. So that's something else that you can sort of look forward to if you want.
00:14:18
Speaker
Very cool. Uh, next one is from at Nick Payton on a scale of one to 10. How happy were you with LAFC losing delay on bonus question? When will we win the champions cup?
Reactions to LAFC's Loss
00:14:29
Speaker
I mean, one to 10, I don't know. Like winning the centers, winning the cup was a 10, right? So you got to sort of work back from there. Uh,
00:14:43
Speaker
I don't know, like a seven or an eight? I was pretty stoked. I mean, I didn't watch the game, so I think that speaks to my level of vestedness in the result, but when I saw that they lost, I definitely was happy.
00:15:02
Speaker
Yeah, this was definitely one where if they had one, I would have been like a little bummed out. But if the scale, if the question was a scale of one to ten, right. If the question was on the scale of one to ten, how history that LFC one, I would have been like a free or something. Right. Yeah. Like, but them losing was was fantastic, especially the way they did it and especially how whiny they were afterwards and how many excuses have been made for them. And
00:15:28
Speaker
Uh, it's, it's, it's very enjoyable. That's just a real nasty team that I do not care for. So a lot of fun to watch them, uh, watch them suffer. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Um, all right. Well, this one is, we're going to close out with a question from Daniel Paveto with more sideline for now and far away and far and away the best chance at
00:15:52
Speaker
the sounder's best chance at scoring, how do the sounders make up for that production? And when Morris comes back, do the sounders run with two Morris Roll Dawn as the top three?
00:16:03
Speaker
I mean, I think Raoul has got to start producing. And I say that in a way that makes it sound like he has been on this long dry spell when in reality he's only been back for a game and a half. And nobody was producing anything against the Timbers. So it's not really fair to blame that on him. But I mean, he's
Strategies Without Morris
00:16:21
Speaker
got to be the guy, right? He's the highest paid player on the team, I believe, still. And he's a key. He's sort of the focal point of the team in a lot of ways.
00:16:31
Speaker
He's got to start scoring goals. There's no question about it. I think that Christian getting back is going to help in terms of chance creation. I think this next game I think is really critical because a lot of the background or sort of below the surface of what we've been talking about with why the team is struggling has had a lot to do with fatigue and three game weeks and all that stuff. They don't have that same excuse this week.
00:16:58
Speaker
I think they need to come out hot and I just really need to see Raul. He doesn't have to be back to his best, but he needs to look gold dangerous. He needs to look gold dangerous again. And I think if he does, that's going to fix a lot of the problems. When Morris is back, assuming Raul gets back to producing and then looking dangerous again, I think he's got to be the guy that gets the start. And so I think
00:17:25
Speaker
It's really going to depend on who's playing worse of Chu and Roldan.
00:17:33
Speaker
I feel like Christian is almost a must start guy unless he's hurt. And I just think he brings so much to the team and his flexibility at that right wing role is just too critical. So if Chu, unless Chu is on a hot streak, maybe Jordan stays on the bench for a little while and you work him back more slowly, I don't know. But it feels crazy to put Leo Chu on the bench because he's been so good this year. I mean, he's been one of the only players I think that has played really well consistently all season.
00:18:02
Speaker
He hasn't really had any bad games, but. I feel like you probably got to start Jordan over him.
Future Lineup Deliberations
00:18:09
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, I, I, I'm with you there. I think Jordan probably starts over two and rule role probably starts as like, you got to see what you got in, in, in Ruby Diaz, uh, at the nine. I don't know how long it's going to be until the sounders have to actually.
00:18:28
Speaker
answer this question uh because it looks like my suspicion is best case morris is available off the bench only against charlotte and then he's probably gonna miss six games and then you got league's cup so like hopefully the sounders get to play with two rue ideas and rolled on uh until the league's cup and then at league's cup maybe we get to see that decision be made but
00:18:56
Speaker
Yeah i don't i don't i don't know what the answer is right now and i would hope that the centers don't know what the answer is either because i want it should be a competition right it should be something that they have to figure out so. Yeah that's it but that's all that's all our questions.
Closing and Farewell
00:19:17
Speaker
So it's a, it's a short one this week, but, uh, thank you. Once again, if you want to get, make sure your, your questions get answered and especially if they want to make sure they get answered early on, uh, consider becoming a paid subscriber to our sub stack. Uh, we also are going to have some news, uh, surrounding that, uh, coming up pretty soon. So, uh, be tuning in and, and looking for that information. But, uh, yeah, other than that, uh, thank you to our sponsors Watson's counter and full pool wines.
00:19:47
Speaker
I am Jeremiah O'Shan, signing off for Aaron Campo and Lick It. This is Noz Adiates, and we will catch you next time.
00:20:28
Speaker
We love you. Let's win another one!