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Rothrockin' on Heaven’s Door - Ep. 44
29 Plays4 months ago
On today’s episode of Lobbing Scorchers, Ari and Noah recap the Seattle Sounders’ 2-2 draw against Houston Dynamo – highlighted by back to back MLS goals from podcast poster boy Paul Rothrock.
This week's Agenda Check takes a look at the current vibes around Reed Baker-Whiting, the Obed Vargas and Josh Atencio double pivot, superstar Paul Rothrock, Stefan Frei, and right back Cristian Roldan.
Rounding out the show we preview the upcoming weekend matchup with FC Dallas, and winners and losers around MLS.
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- This podcast was made possible through the support of Full Pull Wines.
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Transcript
Introduction and Sponsorship
00:00:09
Speaker
What's going on, everybody? Welcome in to episode 44 of Lobbing Scorchers, now brought to you by Sounder at Heart. This is Ari Lillianwall. I got producer Noah here with me and Noah, we got a hell of a show for the people today. How are you feeling? Oh, it's early. It's Thursday morning. There's no place I'd rather be than with you, Ari.
00:00:29
Speaker
Yeah, I feel the same way recording this draw pod that we've got as Noah
Seattle vs. Houston Recap
00:00:35
Speaker
said at 8 a.m. here on Thursday after Seattle's midweek fixture at the Houston Dynamo last night in which they tied 2-2. But you know, I feel like the scoreline 2-2 doesn't necessarily tell the full story of this game. There was a lot.
00:00:51
Speaker
that happened in this game that we're going to break down that was very relevant to to us here at Lobbing Scorchers. The Paul Rothrock agenda has skyrocketed through the absolute roof. We're going to talk about that, of course. We're probably going to spend these shows are usually around an hour. I would say we're probably going to do about 58 minutes on Paul Rothrock today. And we're actually also going to get to a lot more from Match Day 21 in MLS. So we got a jam packed show for you today. It's going to be a good one.
00:01:20
Speaker
But, of course, before we do that, as always, I'd like to thank all our paid subs. You can
Supporting Lobbing Scorchers
00:01:26
Speaker
now find us on the Sounder at Heart platform, which we're very excited about. All you have to do now to support the show is go to sounderatheart.com slash LS. Super easy. You just scroll down to subscribe.
00:01:38
Speaker
and you can lend us some support instead of the previous way, so we appreciate everyone who has supported us. I'm going to go through our paid subs right now, as I always do, because we love and appreciate you guys that much. I'd like to thank Tom, Lachlan Galbraith, Samuel Fout, Nate Bowling,
00:01:58
Speaker
Joey Pascanelli, Brendan Murphy, Pete Earls, Rhombus, Nate Bonnier, Tyler Nakatsu, Owen Mason, David Rodriguez, Christopher Maley, Bill Breitenbach, Mike Lentini, Aaron B, Derek Richards, Sounder Naves, Dan Paveto, Mike Standish, Ryan Shane, Eric Stanley, my nephew CJ, Miles Maranakis, Andy Hill, Ian Mitchell, and Greg Hoeger. I know it's a long list, but
00:02:18
Speaker
I feel compelled to go through it every week, Noah, because we really appreciate all the support. And we appreciate the increased listenership that we've seen since we announced our new partnership with Sounder at Heart. We're getting the Sounder at Heart bump, and we see that. So we appreciate all our new listeners as well. And we're excited to keep this thing going as we navigate through the rest of the MLS season here. Also, if you have not done so yet, and you're listening to this,
00:02:45
Speaker
Subscribe to the lobbing scorchers YouTube sub to the YouTube sub to the YouTube. It's actually it's doing pretty well Last time I looked no we were up to like 135 or so on there which yeah We're kind of cooking but one it's it's not quite to 150 yet, which was the next goal So if you haven't yet helped us on the drive to 150 subs on YouTube we'll get there soon enough and we appreciate the support on there and
00:03:07
Speaker
as well. But yeah, as I said, support the show by subscribing to Sounder at Heart. If you're not already a paid subscriber, Sounder at Heart is offering a one-month free trial at either the backer $25 a year or supporter $75 a year levels. This means you can support the show while getting a full suite of incredible Seattle soccer content.
00:03:25
Speaker
Part of that full suite. We don't have time for it today, but the athletic put out an article about the Saunders. Was it good? Was it bad? Mark and Jeremiah broke it down on sound bites, which is behind the paywall. So if you go and you subscribe at the back or tier and you haven't subscribed before at sounderheart.com slash L S we get a little, we get a little money and you get more content. So kind of a win-win.
00:03:49
Speaker
It is a win-win. Good breakdown there, Noah. Before
Leo Chu Transfer Rumor
00:03:52
Speaker
we get into this Sounders Dynamo game, we had a couple of news items we wanted to hit here. So let's get into these. We had a Leotru transfer rumor. That's a mouthful. That was a mouthful. Apparently, there's a Brazilian club interested in the services of Leotru. Noah, do you have more on that?
00:04:12
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, I mean, other than the fact that it's a rumor, so it doesn't really mean anything, but it looks like Athletico is interested in signing Leo Chu. And that's that's just about all we know. But, you know, I would think that if the Sounders get a genuinely good offer in the past, Fumensei had reportedly offered about four million, but the Sounders were looking for closer to five. I think in the position that they're in, moving him might
00:04:42
Speaker
not be the worst yeah I mean I think if you can get a bag for Leo Chiu that's I mean wouldn't you probably do it for four million I don't know I would have done it for four million I probably would have done it for four I was thinking about what is market value probably is and I'll be honest I'd for is not what I would have said at this point but we'll see if anything comes to that I know that Leo Chiu he himself I believe had expressed a desire to return to
00:05:09
Speaker
playing soccer in Brazil at one point where he's from. So we'll see if anything comes of that. It would be a nice bit of business if they could get it back for Leochu. And help them with their nine debacle.
00:05:23
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, exactly. Get you a little bag to spend a little money. Resource allocation.
Seattle Rain Acquisition
00:05:28
Speaker
The sounders in the Carlyle group have completed the purchase of the Seattle Rain. Do you have more on that? Well, you know, there's a whole article on Sounder Heart you guys can go read more about. But I mean, it seems like a really cool.
00:05:40
Speaker
opportunity for the sounders and the rain to do more collaborations together. They're technically under the same ownership group now and they're going to be sharing some resources, TBD I guess more is to be announced, but that'd be kind of sick. I mean that like gives the sounders and the rain both a pretty big like bump. You know the sounders are one of the leading like technical teams in the league so
00:06:03
Speaker
To be able for the rain to be able to use some of those resources and then for the sounders to actually get eyes on them And an outside opinion from the rain coaching stuff. I think that's kind of sick. That's pretty cool You know, I don't know a lot of I don't know a lot of clubs that do that Yeah, definitely go read the full breakdown on Sandra Hart there And then just a quick Pedro de la Vega update before we get into the game He's still a little ways out as per Brian Schmetzer's last
Pedro de la Vega Injury Update
00:06:27
Speaker
comments
00:06:27
Speaker
On the topic, but he has been back in training correct. Yeah, maybe just not at full capacity So that's at least one encouraging sign that a return to the field might be imminent. He'll have to Make it through full training and then you know get back on the field and make it through games without doing his hamstring again, but it's at least Somewhat encouraging that he seems to be on a positive trajectory to returning to play and really
00:06:54
Speaker
I'm looking forward to that day if it comes just because, you know, we've talked about it a lot, but I feel I feel robbed of getting to watch this team with De La Vega, which that was the most interesting part of this season going into this season is how that signing would work and if it could have.
00:07:09
Speaker
the impact that they hoped and thought it would have. And we just haven't gotten to see it because he's been injured the whole time. I miss his swag, Ari. I miss his swag. The team is missing a lot of dynamic creativity and swag with him on the sidelines. So let's hope he gets back soon.
00:07:26
Speaker
Paul Rothrock's making up for it though. It's
Paul Rothrock's Performance
00:07:28
Speaker
true, and we're actually going to talk about that exact topic, and that's a good segue. Let's get into this Seattle 2-2 draw at the Houston Dynamo, which the first thing I have to say about this is one of my talking points from the last episode actually got undermined. You know, I was talking about how much Seattle struggles historically with these away trips to Houston, which was true at one point.
00:07:49
Speaker
In the Ziggy Schmidt years, that was definitely a recurring storyline. But apparently, as per what I read on Sounder at Heart, actually, it's a great website. They got their facts straight. Seattle's record at Houston under Brian Schmetzer is actually quite good. They won five games there. I think the record is something like five, two, and one. It's not something roughly close to that. So their form at Houston has actually been much improved in recent years under Schmetz.
00:08:18
Speaker
And I think I did mention on the last episode that they got a playoff dub there Or they at least they clinched a series there one of the years they made a run to MLS Cup So this road trip actually has not been as treacherous as it used to be in recent years that being said
00:08:37
Speaker
I think the point relatively still stood. I didn't particularly like Seattle's chances of getting a result in this game, given the fact that it's at a congested portion of their schedule and that they were going to be fielding a rotated lineup, which they did. So let's talk about that. Let's do our lineup reaction. I mean, I'll tell you what, Noah, when I saw this lineup,
00:08:57
Speaker
Best lineup of the season easily like I this is the most excited I've been to watch a game and that was because they rolled it out and it had a winger duo of Paul Rothrock in RBW. Yeah, that's nasty.
00:09:12
Speaker
So I saw that, and I was thinking about it. And remember the show we recorded a while back? And it was in the worst of the dog days where the team wasn't scoring. They were dropping points, taking Ls, taking Ls at home, drawing Austin Fs, C0s. And we were talking about, just throw a lineup out there that's got a new wrinkle, a curveball, something different than what we've been seeing. Just to throw stuff at the wall, see what sticks. We did a whole show.
00:09:38
Speaker
I talked about it over the course of multiple weeks about how we would just like to see something like that. This is sort of what I was talking about. Paul Rothrock and RBW, winger duo. Now, Schmetz only did it because out of necessity and fixture congestion and needing to rotate guys out. But we still got to see something that I wanted to see something like this. If I could have drawn up a wish list of a look, tactical look, that I would want to see.
00:10:05
Speaker
the winger duo of Paul Rothrock and RBW, that would be near the top of the list.
RBW's Potential as a Winger
00:10:10
Speaker
I mean, everyone knows that this is an adamantly pro Paul Rothrock pod, but I thought RBW on the wing is interesting to me because that's, as I understand it, when he was coming up through the academy, he was an attacking midfielder and I was out wide there.
00:10:29
Speaker
is where they typically played him. I think he might have played a little bit of center mid, but I think ultimately the way they saw him was as a wide attacker. But then as he got closer to MLS, they realized that his skill set and a better way to get him on the field probably earlier in MLS was to drop him back to fullback. And he's got a pretty decent two-way skill set, so that made sense as well. And for most of RBW's time in MLS, that's where we've seen him.
00:10:55
Speaker
But I think he's kind of a winger by trade, really. So this was an opportunity to see him in that position. And I think there might be something to that as far as he's definitely a menace from out wide. He's definitely got some decent service that seems to be improving all the time. And in his academy days, he was a very goal dangerous player, and that's probably
00:11:23
Speaker
That's probably the main reason that RBW has gotten the hype and overseas interest that he has, is because of that skill set that has looked quite dynamic at times. Not as much since he's been to MLS, but we really haven't gotten to see him play that much in MLS. So anyway, I was excited to watch this winger duo. It was always going to be a big game for the agendas, like good or bad.
Seattle's Second Half Comeback
00:11:45
Speaker
That was where my mind went when I saw that lineup was, I mean, for Agenda Check,
00:11:50
Speaker
Rothrock and RBW stock is gonna either rise or fall and rise it did in the case of Paul Rothrock but this game got off to a pretty terrible start for Seattle to the point where I was pretty sure this was chalked Noah like I'm not gonna lie. The dynamo well for the first half hour I actually thought Seattle was hanging with it as well as you could hope for or expect given the lineup situation and
00:12:19
Speaker
playing away at Houston and pretty unforgiving elements but right on the half-hour mark it went off the rails a little bit it was it was the kind of sequence that Seattle has had too much this season where they lose control of the game and concede soft goals and I mean
00:12:37
Speaker
As tilting as it was that they conceded the two goals, first in the 30th minute, then in the 40th minute, I think who scored them was more aggravating. Lateef blessing on both of them, which
00:12:53
Speaker
No disrespect to Latif blessing at all. He's been a very good player in this league for a long time. He's not a striker. No, that should be banging a brace on you in a 10 minute span. Dude scored a header. He's five seven. The second goal was.
00:13:08
Speaker
a header where he was just completely unmarked. No one was on him. So it's not like he got some crazy vertical and beasted anybody. But it was actually worse than that because there was just no one around him. Exactly. And it was an entirely free header. And that made it 2-0. And then the first goal was just a terrible giveaway where the Dynamo won the ball. I think Obed turned it over or something. Yeah, I think it was an Obed turnover. And then Atencio.
00:13:35
Speaker
was trying to block the guys he was trying to crash through and it deflected off him and he he uh it was kind of like in fifa when you're able to pull that and it was an easy cross for a tap and finish so i mean you know latif blessing is out there looking like the most uh
00:13:52
Speaker
the most resourceful number nine in MLS, banging in goals 10 minutes apart from each other. It's 2-0 in the first half. He almost gets another one too. He almost had the first half Hattie. Fry got that nice save and that fingertip save and oh my god. Having Latif Blessing look like an MVP caliber player against your defense. Not ideal. Like I said, a very good player in the league.
00:14:20
Speaker
You know, I was on LAFC for a long time. I think you sport in Kansas City, the club of professional wrestling enthusiasts also used to employ Latif Blessing to positive effect, but just not the guy that you can have bag and a brace on you. You know, if Hector Herrera gets you for one or two, I can see that. Latif Blessing? Okay. At the point that it was 2-0,
Paul Rothrock's Breakout Game
00:14:44
Speaker
Noah, I thought this was pretty much over to the point where, you know,
00:14:49
Speaker
When I'm watching these games, I'm also working the rest of the games that are going on around the league. And the way they have the scheduling now is all the games pretty much are going on at the same time, which has really made our job on the MLS editorial desk quite a bit harder. You have to keep track of like 15 games going on all at once. And I'm also trying to focus Seattle too.
00:15:09
Speaker
But like, you know, there's a lot going on on the slate last night and I was like, you know what? This Seattle game is chalked I'm gonna turn to 360 for a little bit and try and get some work done and I'll check back in on it. But like this is over and it was funny, you know, what's funny is in that little period where I was watching 360 instead of streaming the game you actually texted me and it was still to zero at this point and you said
00:15:33
Speaker
I think Paul Rothrock is actually really good, not a bit or something. Yeah, I said, what did I say? I said, I fear Rothrock is actually good, not a bit. Yeah, exactly. And so I was like, I wonder what he did. I thought he might have scored, but then I looked at it and he didn't score. So I just assumed that he must have done something cool, but that didn't ultimately really matter. But literally, maybe five minutes later, could have been less.
00:16:07
Speaker
bangs the goal to make it to one. And it was, it was a really sick goal. He made, uh, he made a great run to free himself up and, uh, and run onto that ball over the top. And then he started the play too. He started the play. That's right. He started the whole sequence and then made a great run, ran onto the ball, uh, got on the breakaway with the goalkeeper, could have laid it off to Jordan Morris. He said, fuck that I'm Paul Roth.
00:16:24
Speaker
He did it again folks. He did it again. It's unbelievable. Paul Rothrock in the 57th minute
00:16:31
Speaker
rock and then he he bammed it off the goalkeeper and then converted the rebound and At that point it's a whole new ballgame to one and I was I felt pretty good at that point of Seattle Coming back and at least tying it which they ultimately did but it felt like they really they wrestled control of the game in the second half just played the first half was
00:16:55
Speaker
one of the worst halves of the season. And the second half was pretty damn good, I thought. And Paul Rothrock got rewarded for another goal, his second straight week with an MLS goal. And I mean, yeah, let's do some Paul Rothrock talk. Let's do it.
00:17:11
Speaker
Did you notice just like, uh, it seemed like he had just a different kind of vibe out there. He was swagging here. He was, he was strutting around the field. He was, uh, he was doing all kinds of flicks and tricks. He was making, he was running straight at guys. He was, uh, he was talking shit to the dynamo. Like,
00:17:32
Speaker
as well as Paul Rothrock has played like an open cup play and as good as he's looked at times and scored in the MLS goals that he's scored like this was a this was a different Paul Rothrock to it was like oh okay like yeah and you know how I took it was that like like not that he feels like he's fully arrived I'm sure he wouldn't tell you that but just that he has this uh
00:17:54
Speaker
He has this confidence now of like, all right, I'm not it's I'm not happy to be here. I belong here and I can excel here.
Impact of Paul Rothrock's Confidence
00:18:02
Speaker
And I feel like I'm one of the best players on this field. I don't care that I'm Paul Rothrock. Like I'm here to score some goals and make your life a living hell if you're the opposition. And I just like.
00:18:15
Speaker
He got my attention even more with just his his disposition, you know as much as the goal. Did you did you notice that? No, I totally did. I've been noticing that too. Like I think and I think honestly part of that has to do with him truly buying into the Brian Schmetzer system. Like after the last match with, you know, another Paul Rothrock goal, Brian said in the post game, he's like,
00:18:42
Speaker
he basically made a whole big deal about how hard Paul trains and how like this is the type of guy who I want on my team and like really gassing him up and it really seems like he's bought into that which like when you buy into that and you're just like fuck this I'm here I'm working hard and I'm getting rewarded for working hard like that that feels so good and like to see him get those goals and to like play with the swag that he was playing with the the play that I even texted you about it was
00:19:10
Speaker
Well, it didn't lead to anything but it was like some really nice interplay where he beats his man out on the wing Plays it into Albert and then makes you know, like another leading run after that. He's just setting himself up. He's great in transition He's playing with so much confidence. It's like I don't know, you know, I think yeah, like you said we we started this kind of is a bit but not really like we really did like how he played but he's ascended even past I think my Wow expectations I
00:19:37
Speaker
The thing is, I would be lying if I said that I, and I think I've even admitted this, like, I would be lying if I said that I thought or truly believed that this this goal scoring run was sustainable or would continue throughout the season. And just the fact that he's been plugged in these last two games and he's scored goals in both of them, including that goal, which was
00:20:01
Speaker
just a great individual effort on the goal and also at a huge spot in the game, where you're down 2-0. You're on the ropes. If you lose this game, especially with how other results went last night, I mean, you're in big trouble. The draw wasn't a great result from the standings perspective, but just in terms of the circumstances of the game and the fact that they had this rotated lineup out there,
00:20:23
Speaker
I mean that was just a that was a huge goal. It was a huge goal And we're gonna get to it in the agenda check, but Paul Rothrock is soaring Seattle tied the game just six minutes later actually via another Unexpected hero Jackson Reagan the go Jackson Reagan gets his first MLS goal It was a perfectly executed set piece Albert Rusnak with the delivery again. I'm that's three That's the reset piece like goal contributions from Albert in the last three games. Yeah, I
00:20:52
Speaker
I said it last week and but like this that this is the Albert Rusnak that I was so excited about when they signed him and the one that I watched on Real Salt Lake for many years you know this was one of the best dead ball players in the league when he was with RSL he racked up so many assists like that off corners and set pieces and it's been frustrating to have him not be as productive in that facet of the game
00:21:19
Speaker
since he's been here but he's he's turned it up the delivery on these free kicks that he's hitting is is just I mean you can't hit these any better Jackson Reagan does a great job to make the run to free himself up and then that finish was kind of it was it was very center back
00:21:36
Speaker
goal. He's just lumbering in there and just basically lunges his body out indiscriminately. But I guess, I mean, he definitely... It was an outside of the foot nasty kind of talk. He knew what he was doing. But it just deflected off of him and it took a wicked deflection to the far post.
00:21:54
Speaker
And I uh I was very happy to see that for Jackson Reagan not just because it tied the game But because something that we have talked about is I've talked about how I want to see him be more dangerous on those set pieces I was thinking of it more of him being an aerial threat You know because I mean when you watch him defend crosses in the box His height in his size is such a huge asset like yeah sometimes he barely even asked to jump to get the ball out of there and I
Jackson Reagan's First MLS Goal
00:22:22
Speaker
I don't get why he hasn't used that asset more on attacking set pieces, a la Chad Marshall. I know we've talked about this before, but it really underscores just how good and how dominant Chad Marshall was because it's not easy to be a CB who can be that goal dangerous and be that much of a beast in the air.
00:22:44
Speaker
Jackson Reagan is six with six and he hasn't been able to replicate like the type of presence that Chad Marshall had in those situations But maybe this was a sign that they're gonna start maximizing him on these set plays more I know this wasn't a header, but it was still a good CB goal He still has to make the run and finish and it was just a great connection with Rusnak And it's a tie game And from there, you know
00:23:08
Speaker
I think it is a little disappointing that Seattle didn't win this game because they actually at the point of the equalizer in the Rothrock goal, they had they had really good control of the game and there was a winner for the taking for them. They couldn't quite find one. And they also frankly got pretty lucky that Houston didn't remember the chance right at the end. Yeah, I don't know how the guy missed that one. He was he didn't he didn't even try and shoot it. I think he thought that the ball was maybe further away from him than it actually was. He didn't even make an attempt.
00:23:36
Speaker
All he had to do is stick his foot out and that's a game winner three, two, and that would have been very deflating. So, um, Seattle got lucky, but I mean, credit to the team, this rotated lineup for coming back credit to, they also seemed really gassed. Like at the end of the sounders were done. I mean, Paul's played 180 minutes. He was back there in the final, like in like the 88th minute, winning 50 fifties in the box. Like then, I mean, this team was pretty, pretty.
00:24:05
Speaker
tired. That's just that's another way to ingratiate yourself with the fan base, though, is, you know, score that goal and then just put in the full 90 and bust your lungs, run all over the field. Like you said, getting into duels, winning 50 50s. I mean, this this was really the we've been talking about him for all season, but this was the Paul Roth Rock breakout game. Absolutely.
00:24:29
Speaker
I guess I wanted to talk about whether we thought this was a good or bad result. And I mean, I think there's two ways you can look at it. I think the result in isolation is pretty good, like a road point at Houston where you go down and have to come back to tie it and you hold on and get the point. That's that's a pretty good result, honestly. But the flip side way to look at that is just I mean.
00:24:54
Speaker
You're at a spot on the table and now approaching a point in the season where good draws and moral victories and all that, they're only going to take you so far. I mean, Seattle still ended up falling back below the playoff line even with this result. So this allows them to keep pretty decent pace to get back in the mix. But with how results went last night, you've got Austin, Houston, and Portland all on 24 points now. Seattle's on 22 in 10th.
00:25:23
Speaker
But it puts a lot of pressure on this FC Dallas game, which we're going to talk about. But they got to win this to really keep pace. And they could have put themselves in a lot better position if they could have found out their goal and won this game.
00:25:38
Speaker
Overall when you take into account the fact like how this game started and that you got bammed on twice Not once but twice by the twice blessing. Yeah in the first half Fighting back to take the point there and really I think just the whole performance in the second half it was really like night and day in terms of The control that Seattle had over the game the chances that they were generating their work on defense so
00:26:04
Speaker
I do think it's a good result, but, um, I mean, they do have to start winning these games here to actually get back up the table and, uh, put themselves in comfortable playoff positioning as opposed to on the fringes of it. Thank you for listening to the sound root heart podcast network, which now includes no sunny at this lobbing scorchers and the cooler guild.
00:26:33
Speaker
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00:26:58
Speaker
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00:27:21
Speaker
I think it was a good result only because they were getting bammed on so hard in the first half. Like I think if that doesn't happen, if we realize that the five in the back or the three in the back with two wing backs.
00:27:33
Speaker
has never worked. Uh, you know, maybe that's something, you know, that you can yell at Brian about, or maybe it's just the, the, the, the double pivot not working in the, in the middle. Let's talk about that. Let's talk about that because so like JP got rotated out for this game and it was an Obed and a tensio double pivot. And we were kind of talking about it before we started recording, but, um,
00:27:58
Speaker
Obed and Atencio have each become key players on this team in their own right. They're players that I feel good about plugging each of them in next to JP in a double pivot. I think Obed, we talked about a lot, has taken a very pronounced leap this year and he's become a much more dangerous and multifaceted and impactful player that they can now play at more than one position. So all that is great. Them in a double pivot together
00:28:26
Speaker
I don't know
00:28:44
Speaker
The thing that JP adds to this team is that steadiness, that confidence. And when you're a young player and you know you can rely on someone like JP to cover for your mistakes, you're able to be a lot more dynamic. And I just think that like,
00:29:01
Speaker
both of those players both of those players are great but like you said like Obed is 18 years old and Josh is 19 so it's like they don't have even half the amount of experience that JP has and they're just not the same neither of them are the same player that JP is they're not that uh they're not that like
00:29:19
Speaker
fighting
Midfield Struggles with Young Players
00:29:20
Speaker
physical enforcer type presence that JP has that Aussie famously had Cody Baker has that actually that's a good shout Cody Baker might not be a bad six on it. Yeah, you could probably honestly do pretty well there, but
00:29:38
Speaker
Yeah, I don't know. It's not to say necessarily that the entire first half was on those two players. It's just more of a vibes thing where I feel like there's been a link between that double pivot specifically and these game states like we saw in the first half of this game where it gets a little out of control in the midfields all over the place. And I think that was a factor in those two goals.
00:30:07
Speaker
Understand why schmetz ran it given the fact that this was a scenario where you probably had to Rotate JP out, but I think it's worth thinking about you know They've played Christian back at that spot in a couple of these games recently They kind of had to play him at right back in this game, which we're gonna talk about but anyway, the first half was just kind of a mess in general like I don't mean to Necessarily peg it all on them or on the on the midfielders But I do think that was a factor
00:30:37
Speaker
And I mean, it definitely was. You can't you can't really deny it. And, you know, both of them are really talented players, but they're also young and they're going to make mistakes. And they're both really honestly should be playing the same position. So it's not the greatest combination when you're playing a three in the back, essentially, because you're playing five with two wingbacks. And every time they got torched, it was because the wingbacks were caught so high up the field. The entire center of the pitch was spread wide open.
00:31:07
Speaker
Obed if Obed makes a mistake Josh is too high up the field. He's not recovering It's just it just it didn't work and that's okay, and they're gonna get better, but it was it did not look good And I forgot to write this down, but there was a halftime substitution in this game. Yeah, was there not yeah yamar came off at the half which He didn't have a great first half so honestly
00:31:33
Speaker
I, uh, I understood the sub, um, Nathan played in this game, uh, and then knew who also subbed on, uh, in this game. So, uh, there was, there was a lot of mixing and matching during the game and, uh, the second half looked a lot better. So I think, you know, we talk about how Schmetz doesn't always make his subs as early as we would like, but he actually did in this game and it had a positive impact on the game.
00:31:57
Speaker
Yeah, I thought he had honestly like great subs. I thought he said he said in his post game presser that someone was coming up at halftime and he didn't really care who it was. He was trying to send a message. He was like, this is terrible. He took off Yemar, put on new who, which I think was a pretty good move. And then in the 60th, uh, swapped attention for a soft ski and Morris for Raul. Raul did fucking nothing like he's been doing for the past.
00:32:23
Speaker
year. So that was unfortunate. But it was nice to see Nathan out there and John Bell played all right. And then JP got like 10 minutes. So yeah. Let's get into this FC Dallas game. Does that sound good? And then we can hit questions and agenda check. FC Dallas have been one of the worst teams in the Western Conference this year. They come to Lumenfield on Saturday.
00:32:50
Speaker
for match day 22, but they are a little bit resurgent right now. They just beat Minnesota United five to three. They hung five goals on him and their DP number nine, Peter Musa, Croatian guy. He had a hat trick in that game and this team seems to be experiencing a new coach bump.
00:33:11
Speaker
right now. They fired their coach Nico Estevez a few weeks ago after an underwhelming start to the season where their owner their owner talked about it later and he was talking about how you know we have this great roster that I feel like we should be getting more out of even with the injuries. I don't know if I necessarily agree with that assessment but that's how they saw it. They fired Nico Estevez. They gave it to an interim guy who I can't remember his name but
00:33:37
Speaker
He's won two straight games and they scored five goals in their last game. And Musa, this Croatian striker, he was very, it was a, they spent a ton of money on him. I believe it broke their transfer record. And he was brought in as they built him as this big time, this guy's going to score a ton of goal. He's going to be the Zlatan of this MLS next new era. They didn't say that, but like he was supposed to be
00:34:05
Speaker
really good for them and then scored a few goals early in the season but hadn't scored in a few weeks coming into this game and they got a breakout performance so all that's to say this is a more dangerous Dallas team I think right now then they would have been earlier in the season
00:34:22
Speaker
They've dealt with a lot of injuries this season. Their whole team, a lot of it was built, has been built the last couple years around Jesus Ferreira and Paul Areola. Both of those guys have missed a lot of time with injury, not just this year, but like dating back to last year as well.
00:34:38
Speaker
Alan Velasco, their star young DP, who was a really highly rated Argentine prospect. He tore his ACL in the playoffs last year and hasn't played it. That was against Seattle, right? Yeah, that was sad. So they haven't had him at all. And that was one of the reasons I wasn't so sure about their decision to fire Estevez, because it's like,
00:35:04
Speaker
You know, you don't want to use injuries as an excuse, but they've been so injured that I feel like it's kind of hard to evaluate. And the whole contention that their roster is so loaded that they should have been able to win all these games with Nico Estevez with all the injuries that they've had. I just don't know about that. But either way, the new Coach Bump is a thing, and they seem to be getting one heading into this Seattle matchup. That being said, I mean, this is all right.
00:35:32
Speaker
even taking into consideration how tough this season has been at times. Seattle should win this game. FC Dallas, first of all, they do not do well at Seattle. I don't know
Preview: Seattle vs. FC Dallas
00:35:43
Speaker
what the all-time record is, but it's something incredibly lopsided.
00:35:49
Speaker
Seattle's gotten the better of them in the playoffs multiple times over the last few years. And FC Dallas are 0-6-3 on the road this year. That's been their downfall. They don't have a single road win. Even Seattle, for all the struggles that they've had, especially at home, they've got three road wins this year.
00:36:09
Speaker
FC Dallas, other than St. Louis, is the only other team in the West that hasn't won a road game this year. And St. Louis has gotten five draws. I mean, they're the worst road team in the West. If you can't beat them on your home field, I mean, that's an issue.
00:36:28
Speaker
Actually working your way back into the playoff race here Are not going to be especially good if you can't handle an opponent like this on your home field they haven't won a road game this entire year and They fired their coach two weeks ago. They're playing better, but This is a game that I think Seattle should win and that they need that they need to win just I mean just look at the table like they need to start winning these games and
00:36:55
Speaker
Yeah, I don't know. I mean, I think I think the match that the Minnesota FC Dallas match doesn't really say a lot about this team, to be honest, like their new coach, Peter Lucene, who is La Liga and French legend, who also ended his career in Dallas.
00:37:11
Speaker
he's good but like I don't think that that really does anything that if you believe in xg or you don't they had a 1.52 xg Minnesota had a 3.16 xg and Minnesota is still missing hella guys yeah Minnesota had 21 shots Dallas had nine they had that's like they they outshot them over double
00:37:34
Speaker
What I'll say about FC Dallas is they're unbeaten in six home games, so they have good home presence. And they also have Martin Paus, who is literally the best goalkeeper in the league. So I think that that really helped them in this match. They found some production from Musa, which is awesome. That means he's heating up. But yeah, you have to get it done because this is not a good team.
00:37:56
Speaker
I always like any opportunity to shout out Martin Poss because you're right, he's been one of if not the best goalkeepers in the league the last year or so. Why does that not get talked about? It's because it's FC Dallas.
00:38:16
Speaker
If you look at all the goalkeeper stats, like he's always, I always look at it. I don't know if this is true this year, but there was a point last year where I was looking at it and I was like, well, it was when I was trying to decide who to vote for for goalkeeper of the year. And I was looking at it and I was like, wow, this guy's literally number one in everything.
00:38:34
Speaker
Yeah, he's number one in in saves per match. So that means that he's bailing his team out. Yeah, he's the most under under absolute siege. Yeah No, he's he's sick. He's probably their best player Yeah, which like I don't feel like doesn't bode well for the Sounders considering they get four chances a game And this is not the goalkeeper you want to be facing right now and he makes an average of four point five
Paul Rothrock's MLS Potential
00:38:57
Speaker
But they do yield a ton of chances, so hopefully they can capitalize on that. Let's hit the agenda check. No, it's going to be a good one this week. I've got five written down here. Let's just get right into it. I mean, let's start with the obvious. Paul Rothrock. I mean, if last week was skyrocketed, this week is into stratospheres and galaxies as of yet undiscovered by mankind.
00:39:23
Speaker
It's unreal. Extra terrestrial. It's a huge boon for lobbing scorchers. I feel once again feel so validated. We've been banging this drum.
00:39:32
Speaker
all season dating back to last season started as a bit and now it's doesn't even have to be a bit anymore it's a real thing we manifested this I really I want to take at least some degree of credit for it and and also like I said man like I really think
00:39:54
Speaker
There's something to just the kind of the kind of presence that he had in this game. Like I was my eyebrows were raised watching it, especially the point at the end where he was like getting in the guy's face and talking shit to him. Like it was just like a side of Paul Rothrock that we hadn't even seen yet. And I think there's a decent chance
00:40:18
Speaker
We are watching a legitimate and long serving MLS player here. You know, I don't know if he's ever actually going to become a bona fide weekend, week out starter with this team or with any MLS team. But I mean, if he keeps playing like this and producing, he's going to have a role somewhere. And if he keeps doing it for Seattle, it should be here. You know, he's from here and he's really
00:40:48
Speaker
He's come through and bailed this team out in a lot of ways. Like for all the, for all the jokes and kind of fluffing up of it that we do, like where would this team be without Paul Rothrock right now? It would not be in the mix for playoffs, but I really don't think so.
00:41:04
Speaker
Yeah. That's like, that's crazy to say that like your, what is it? Your depth chart number five or four player backups coming into the year. Yeah. And like he, you know, one of the last guys selected for the roster this season is making one of the biggest impacts on the team and keeping them alive in the playoffs is crazy. Rothrock also, this comes from Frank McDonald has more sounders goals in the past five DPS against
00:41:29
Speaker
Yes, I retweeted that stat. I mean, that's not necessarily a good stat, but it's a funny stat. Yeah, and that's like, I don't even know. I'm just speechless. Yeah, I feel the same way. It's honestly, it's the storyline of the season for me. It's like why I'm excited to tune in every week. Now that we've won Noah, and he's actually starting and playing a lot of minutes and still banging in goals,
00:41:59
Speaker
It's unreal. And the
Evaluation of RBW's Performance
00:42:01
Speaker
thing is, at this point, like there's not even a debate to be had over whether he should be playing or he's the only guy on the team that's scoring goals consistently. I think it's so funny that like that was literally our whole argument when when we made the play Paul Rothrock episode was like he's the only guy who could score, put him on the field.
00:42:19
Speaker
And then they put him on the field. And he keeps scoring. It's funny how that works. Man, we should be coaches. I'm just saying. I'm just saying. RBW. I think the RBW agenda is honestly, it's pretty much a push for this week. I thought he had some good moments and he didn't make any egregious mistakes, which for a young player like this, that's always
00:42:45
Speaker
I think that's like objective number one is, uh, don't do anything outrageous or stupid or yeah. Don't get, don't get a red card, which he did a couple of weeks ago. So we defended him though. We did. Um, but like, it was good to see that he made it through this game without any such shenanigans. Um, and you, you know, you see the, I think finally getting to watch RBW play a little bit more, I do see what all the scouts are seeing in terms of like,
00:43:14
Speaker
Isn't it fun to watch when he's taking on a defender 1v1 and just mosses him yeah, like he can do that stuff and He doesn't do it like super consistently yet, but if he gets to a point where he does
00:43:29
Speaker
This is a very potentially dangerous attacking player, honestly. I don't know how you could watch him and not at least have some sort of excitement about that aspect of his game. He's entertaining and he's fun to watch. That's what I like about him.
00:43:45
Speaker
yeah i love you know one of my biggest things with wingers like that is something that frustrates me a lot actually is you know player goes down for a foul or starts screaming at the ref because they get fouled dude this guy he's he's he's small he does need to hit the gym you know whatever he's a young kid
00:44:02
Speaker
he'll get bodied off the ball and it's like literally a millisecond later he's back up and hounding the ball that he just like somehow poked through this dude's legs and trying to make a run onto it like he is non-stop I also feel I feel like he's pretty damn swole this year he is but he's bigger I'm not saying that he's that he's a little guy he probably could beat my ass but like you know what I mean I'm saying like he got by he's not like a fully grown dude yeah he's a kid
00:44:27
Speaker
Yeah, he's a kid but like yeah, okay. Well, I mean I was a dumbass when I was 19 I wouldn't say I was an adult but you know, it's like yeah, so Anyway, I think yeah the RBW agenda It's not like drastically strengthened, but he certainly didn't Weaken it. Yeah, I had the Obed attention double pivot written down here We already talked about it. But yeah, I mean That that stock is down for me. I don't know some people might have different
00:44:55
Speaker
diagnosis of what went wrong in that first half. But I just think the midfield in general, like it's, it's, this has been a recurring theme this year where you have these stretches of these games where the midfield is just getting ran on like that. So whatever you attribute that to, it's it's not good.
00:45:14
Speaker
The stuff the stuff fry has cooked agenda. I think Arguably took a hit in this game stuff fry made some good saves. It did. You know, I hate to report it to you folks, but I was back in a big way and We don't win that game. We don't we don't get a result in that game without him making some really nice saves He made a double save and he made a really sick poke save that just I mean, I believe those were gonna be goals this take could backfire on me, but I mean I've
00:45:44
Speaker
I've been of the mind that the stuffed fries cook stuff is, I get it, but it's a little overblown.
Stefan Frei's Performance Critique
00:45:49
Speaker
He's definitely conceded more goals that he shouldn't have this year than he has pretty much any other year. I agree with that. I just don't see goalkeeping as the biggest issue for why this team is dropping points or why they're conceding some of the goals that they're conceding.
00:46:13
Speaker
For the Andy for the people who are proponents of the Andy T agenda. I do I do agree that I do agree that Andy T has been better this year Yeah, I will agree with that. Well, yeah, it's not a it's not a anti I guess I'm not anti fry because I think he still has a lot to give and he's one of the best to ever play in the MLS but I feel like Andy T's got that fire and he's ready to go and
00:46:36
Speaker
Yeah,
Christian Roldan's Adaptability
00:46:37
Speaker
I mean yeah Andy T is the wave of the future for sure The right back Christian rolled on agenda was strengthened in this game in my opinion Alex is out with the concussion that he's that he suffered in the last game and so with this mixed in match rotated lineup you had Christian slotting back at right back and He's looked really good there and it's kind of crazy. Just how you can plug him in
00:47:02
Speaker
Basically anywhere like you could probably put him in a goalkeeper and he would do pretty good like well We know Alex is good at goalkeeper. That's a good point good reference, but uh Yeah, the right back rolled on was originally it was originally Christian's thing before they drafted his brother I wish we'd have lobbing scorchers back in those days because right back rolled on would have been a key character cool just cuz
00:47:25
Speaker
back then there's so much more novelty to it because I didn't like ever even consider it a thing and then they plugged him back there and he did pretty well back then too but it's just it's it's pretty it's so valuable honestly to have a guy that you can do stuff like that with remember Brad Evans back in the day they do similar stuff just plug him in wherever they and
00:47:46
Speaker
Brad Evans like vocally didn't was not always a fan of that like he was like there are times where I just feel like I want like a position but Christian he's doing what's best for the team right now, and I thought I thought he put in a shift right back in this game
00:48:03
Speaker
Yeah, that right side was lethal man. Him and Paul Rothrock and I got the right back. The right back Christian Paul Rothrock right sided combo. That's it was not talking about. I mean, listen, you could put Christian, you could put Christian as the head coach and I think he would do well. Like he's hands down been one of the best utility players in MLS over the last like five years.
00:48:27
Speaker
I don't know who you could really point to that's someone who you can just plug and play and have confidence that he's gonna be able to produce a result basically no matter what on the contract that he's on. Yeah, it's crazy when you really think about it because he was a number 10 at UW, but then when he got to MOS, they moved him back to the defensive midfield.
00:48:53
Speaker
because they thought that's where he projected better as a pro and also I think it's where Seattle more needed him and he became one of the top players in the league at that position to the point where when they were messing around and experimenting him with him at right mid like I think I and a lot of other people were like this is not like a you're moving him out of his best position yeah but then he played so well at right mid that it became like
00:49:20
Speaker
something that people were against to move him back when they started moving him back to the defensive midfield. And I think the reality is that there might not even be just a best position. He just plays both at a very, very high level. And I don't think he's looked as effective at right mid this year. But I think if you look at his full track record playing at that position, I mean, he's shown that he can be very good and very dynamic as an attacking player and a facilitator.
00:49:49
Speaker
I still believe that a lot of what went wrong last year was correlated to the time that he missed with the concussion. I mean, we talked about that a lot last season, but he gets plugged in at a different position again in this game and put in a great shift. So the right back Christian Roldan agenda is strengthened, even though I'm sure Alex will take that back over when he's back from the concussion.
00:50:16
Speaker
For this game, it really worked well. But should he? That's the question. I'm not saying that Alex is bad by any means, but...
00:50:26
Speaker
You like Christian starting there better? I mean, if Christian's going to get bumped off the field for, you know, into the future, because there's not a spot for him on the, on the, you know, on the field with players coming back from injury. It's a, it's an interesting debate. Well, we'll probably debate that one more. Let's hit some questions real quick and then jump around the league. Does that sound good?
00:50:48
Speaker
Absolutely. Thank you all for your questions. Eventually we will also be taking questions from the sounder or her discord. We're going to figure that out. That's just, you know, that's so much tech. And if you guys know Ari, it's a lot of tech. So.
00:51:04
Speaker
From the Twitter sphere and Ari's mentions, we're going to start out here with a question that I also asked himself. Did Raul do anything to justify winning his starting spot back? I mean, not really. I think I think at this point, the first choice 11 in an ideal week is pretty much decided with Jordan at the nine, which, you know, I kind of I have to take an L on that because my take was and I still maintain to an extent that
00:51:33
Speaker
At least one of this team's best plans on offense is to have Raul out there and just fire up Hail Mary's and hope that some of them go in. That is, sadly, appears to be one of the most sustainable plans. And I say that somewhat in jest, but if you look at the goals that they've scored this year, that's how they've gotten a few of them.
00:51:55
Speaker
I think watching how it's played out over the last few weeks, watching how the offense has looked with Raul as the starter, compared to the fact that Jordan Morris is now on a hot streak where he scored four goals in the last few weeks. I think it's a situation where you
00:52:12
Speaker
ride the hot hand and you also you try the look that that's different from what wasn't working previously and you just keep riding that and you let Raoul play as a super sub for the moment and hope he can start to find a way to impact games more in that role but I mean I will say like
00:52:35
Speaker
It's definitely not an ideal situation for your For your DP striker that you paid a seven or eight million dollar transfer fee for to be a super sub That's not necessarily what you want on your roster and that was honestly my argument for him starting as much as anything which is that like
00:52:57
Speaker
when you have your resources allocated as such and you have that player basically not starting and not contributing, that's like almost, it's almost like baked in that that's gonna have just a negative effect on your team and your results because it's just like a void on the roster, right?
00:53:18
Speaker
Um, so, but I mean, at the same time, you can't use that to justify continuing to bang your head against a wall and start a player who hasn't been producing and, um, just hasn't looked very good in recent weeks. So it's a long way of saying that, uh, no, like Jordan's probably the starter for the moment.
00:53:35
Speaker
Yeah, I agree. I think Brian's willingness to put him on the bench and honestly like he Raul doesn't seem upset by the decision like you see him a train I mean, he's just he's just like a guy who plays with a lot of confidence the video of him gassing up Yeah, he was gassing up Paul He was like this dude's like the best guy to ever play soccer in the entire world ever and I think that like for all of the
00:53:59
Speaker
I don't want to say, hey, because I still absolutely love Rory Diaz, especially for what he's contributed to this club. But like for all of the honesty, the tough honesty that I've given this season, what he brings to your locker room is undeniable. Like he is a guy who loves mentoring young players, who loves being around in the locker room, you know, who's going to genuinely like lift up your team in those moments.
00:54:24
Speaker
Obviously we weren't in the locker room at halftime, but you know there's we don't know that he didn't play a role in and turning that switch you know what I mean like he's he is a great guy to have around and It just sucks that he's on a DP salary like if we could resign him for a lot less would we keep him and
00:54:46
Speaker
I don't know, that's a tough one, but I guess we'll cross that bridge when we get to it. Next up here is a lobbing scorcher. This one is a scorcher, Ari. Charlamagne asks, the ball play by the young was only rivaled by the bad off ball play. Rothrock and RBW were completely lost out there without the ball, both offensively and defensively, which I feel like would, I don't know what game this guy was watching, but
00:55:11
Speaker
Yeah, I don't know about that take. I didn't think Rothrock or at RBW looked lost. I mean, maybe there was an individual player too, but as far as like them like that and that as being the overall assessment of their performance, that's not that's not how I saw it. I thought I mean, maybe RBW a little bit, but I thought Rothrock was cooking.
00:55:33
Speaker
Yeah, I've been very high on Rothrock's off the ball movement. You can go back and listen to the other episodes. I've talked about that. That's like one of the key things that differentiates him from the other wingers on the team, like Leo Chu. Like, I don't think Leo choose off ball movement is good at all. I think he has great transition and great on the ball movement, but off the ball, he sees he gets lost a lot of the time. So I respectfully, Charlemagne.
00:55:58
Speaker
not sure what game you were watching but uh yeah we had so many questions about the rothrock agenda i feel like i feel like i'll just i'll phrase it like this is this his peak is this his summit no he's going to keep ascending
00:56:17
Speaker
Really? He's never ending. He's never gonna stop. DP, DP, DP1. At this point, I'm just, who knows what the ceiling is. That's what's exciting about it. Yeah. We get to find out. It is kinda sick.
00:56:31
Speaker
This one comes from Justin Credible.
00:56:47
Speaker
Yeah, it was a rough one for Yemar in the first half. The worst play I think was the header that led to the giveaway that I think spearheaded the second blessing goal. He just headed it right to the guy and let them get out and transition.
00:57:06
Speaker
I don't know if it's the beginning of the end for him in Seattle. I mean, I think they're going to ride him for the rest of this season, at least. But and then I guess just kind of hope that the form turns around a little bit. I mean, players do have like lulls in form and.
00:57:23
Speaker
If I if I look at yamar's year on the whole I would say it's like only been okay Yeah, you know and I kind of think you could say that about both CBs to be honest Jackson Reagan got the gold Jackson Reagan has been honestly he's been cooking the last couple weeks, but he was down like yeah like worse than yamar I think in the
00:57:46
Speaker
Before the last couple weeks, there was just, from both of them, honestly, not just Jackson, Reagan, not just EMR, but there's been too many penalties, red cards, bad fouls, losing marks. There's been too many mistakes from the CB spot this year.
00:58:02
Speaker
Yeah. I just have a hard time bagging on game are so much because he, I still think that he's an MVP, not MVP, but like, um, defensive player. Yeah. Like a defensive player of the year. Yeah.
00:58:19
Speaker
MLS All-Star, I guess, is what I was going for. He's the type of defender where you plug him into any other team and they'd be fucking insanely happy to have him. I think defenders are up and down. I know that people want consistency out of your defenders, and that is kind of the whole point of being a defender, is you get yelled at when you're up and down.
00:58:43
Speaker
I don't know I I don't think that like They are the reason that they're losing games like maybe but it's I do think generally the defense has been okay this year It's been worse than last year. It's been worse than last year and there's also been like a lot more periods of time where Control of the game state is lost and soft goals are conceded even if like the
00:59:11
Speaker
the raw number of goals that they've conceded isn't egregious, just the loss of control of games and also the timing of the concessions has been pretty tough at points this year and it's been worse than last year.
Schmetzer's Tactical Success
00:59:24
Speaker
Yeah, it's still even worse than last year and any downgrade is not good, so I'll give them that, that's true.
00:59:31
Speaker
PurpleAnon asks, review and rate Schmetzer's adjustments after halftime. They played in literally like three formations this game, which was crazy. I think, I mean, I think we hit on that a little bit already, but I was happy to see like the in-game adjustments.
00:59:47
Speaker
come earlier. That's something that we've talked about a lot. And that's been a common criticism of Schmetz that we have talked about ourselves. And so I think with that being the case, we should acknowledge like when he he did something that we liked and agreed with. And in this case, I think I think like tinkering the earlier in the game, if something isn't working, is what you should do. Like it's not reckless. Like
01:00:13
Speaker
I think that's exactly how I would have hoped he would handle that situation with how poorly the first half went. Yeah, I agree. That's...
01:00:21
Speaker
I don't know I thought it I thought that he tactically listen we've both been like I feel like we've been up and down with the Brian Spencer thing but I think we've stayed pretty consistent at like even if you do let him go which like maybe that's the right thing to do I don't know how much that gives you but we still both are like I think he's still a pretty good coach like I still think he's a pretty good tactical coach and I think this game
01:00:44
Speaker
showed that that like he saw i'm gonna give him this over the last like two weeks his willingness to like change things up and accept that he's kind of been not too stubborn maybe yeah like i feel like he's clearly trying to show maybe maybe that's because he's on the hot seat a little bit he's been trying to show like okay no like i i get it i've been too stubborn
01:01:07
Speaker
I don't know. That's reading into it a little bit, but the tactical adjustments clearly led to improve kind of performance. Yeah, performance. I mean, I also think it helped that rather up just absolutely dogged someone to get a goal, which, you know, whatever. But yeah, Jackson Reagan at the nine when that's what sounders vibes asks. Yeah, I mean, he he scored. He scored more goals in this game than
01:01:36
Speaker
I would expect from a sounder striker at this point. Yeah, that's probably a little unfair because George's been playing well But yeah, that's true. It was a good striker's goal by Jackson ring. It was pretty nasty outside of the foot All right, we'll finish up with this Nick D Thank you all for your questions When does Rothrock start appearing on Tim's chip ads on TV to get him a jalapeno Tim's chip ad I'm telling you
01:01:58
Speaker
He's a good looking guy. Yeah, he's a marketable athlete like the Potential face of the club type upside. Yeah, I think I think we should be his agents We probably should probably we got to get him on the show. We got to get him on the show We got to get him on the show. Thank you all for your questions. We love you. We appreciate you Appreciate everyone as always for submitting those. No, we don't always hit every single one But always like to see the discourse flowing happy to have my mentions be the place where that happens
01:02:28
Speaker
Let's hit this around the league stuff winners and losers and get out of here. I wrote down a few just Funny things that I saw from around Emma. That's the first one winners and losers Federico Bernadeshi had a hilarious penalty kick in Toronto FC's game against Nashville which they ended up losing and it was just it was very funny because I believe it was 0-0 at the time and Toronto FC
01:02:56
Speaker
Bernadette she made a great play actually himself to win the penalty kick and then It was this dramatic moment where Bernadette.
Bernadeshi's Missed Penalty
01:03:04
Speaker
She has already missed two pks for them this year insignia against the ball and He's going to the spot like he's gonna take it and then he dramatically turns around Like points at Bernadette she he's like no you take it. Yeah, I believe in you brother Bernadette she walks up
01:03:22
Speaker
takes the ball from him, puts it at the spot, takes a deep breath, starts his run up, and then just Charlie Brown banana peel slips on his run up to the ball, still connects with the ball, but sends it into the 27th row. And that was one of the funniest things I've seen in MLS in a little while.
01:03:41
Speaker
I mean, there's been a lot of good stuff, good content recently, but just the whole sequence with Insinie, he's trying to be a good teammate, which these are guys that have actually reportedly had issues, like they went at each other in practice last year. They've known each other for a long time, former Italian national team teammates, but during the Discord in Toronto last year, there was reports out there that
01:04:10
Speaker
Insinie and Berta Deshi were butting heads. So I think this this was like a symbolic thing where they were Insinie was given in the PK and he just He ate it. It's a great clip. Look up the bed You haven't seen it the best part too. I think he's that's his fourth and fourth in a row. He's missed
01:04:27
Speaker
It was 0 for 3 this year. He probably just shouldn't take him. They've both been playing pretty well for Toronto this year, but Lettin's doing it to take the PKs.
Ian Frey's Triumphant Comeback
01:04:43
Speaker
I agree. There's a cool storyline with the inner Miami home grown Ian Frey in their game against Columbus.
01:04:48
Speaker
this this kid and he's a he's like 19 or 20 and he's a decently highly touted inner Miami Academy product center back and this kid is done his ACL three years three years in a row I would I
01:05:05
Speaker
When I was looking it up last night, I thought it was two in a row. It's three. So like dating back to his academy days, he tore one, I believe when he was in the academy. Then he tore it as a rookie the next year. And then after he came back from that last year, he tore it again. He tore another one again. So Jordan Morris is bad. I mean, and he's only like
01:05:27
Speaker
I think he might be 20 or 21. So he's coming off three ACLs in a row. So finally gets back on the field last night and like five minutes into the game against the crew, he scores a goal. And it was just it was a heartwarming little moment to say you could tell how happy he was when he tore it when he tore it last year.
01:05:48
Speaker
I remember it was right after messy got here and he He like dedicated the game to him and stuff which I thought that was cool by messy like a Random Academy kid that you probably don't know that well like the goats dedicating the game to use but uh Yeah, it was just a
01:06:05
Speaker
It was like Hollywood like timing and just, uh, three ACLs, man. That's tough. So I really hope Ian Fray like stays on the field and becomes the player that enter Miami. Um, hopes he is. And he got, he got off to a good start. I got to know for inner Miami, they have great academy products like prospects.
01:06:22
Speaker
I think Noah Allen and Ian Frey obviously before he got injured was a big one. And there's a couple of others that were missing in there. I'm really high on Kramashi. I think he's actually got as much upside as the pundits and the scouts are saying.
01:06:44
Speaker
Zirdan Shakiri Chicago Fire FC DP Had a hilarious moment at the Euros where he's playing for Switzerland. He's a Swiss national team legend Probably the best player in the history of their national team. I don't know who you would put up with him He's played in three World Cups in a row like four euros in a row and playing for them forever and he's been
01:07:08
Speaker
pretty big bust for Chicago honestly like just any way you look at it he was supposed to be like a transformative signing for them that sparked all this interest in the new era for the club at Soldier Field like that's what this was billed as and you know
01:07:24
Speaker
For that to come good, you have to be putting up some big numbers. You gotta be Haney Mukhtarring out there, and he decidedly has not been doing that. He has 14 goals, 18 assists in about 70-ish games for Chicago, which is like okay, but it's just not what
01:07:43
Speaker
It's not what it was billed as when they signed him and so he goes to Switzerland for the year with Switzerland to the Euros and just scored he scored these sickest gold that He scored he has not scored a goal this good in MLS Wayward back pass in their game against Scotland. He pounces on it. Just absolute rip into the top corner and
01:08:07
Speaker
And so I just thought that was a good bit, like just been such an underwhelming signing for Chicago. They're one of the worst teams in the league. And then as soon as he goes to Switzerland, Switzerland, he does that. Yeah, he just becomes like the greatest player you've ever seen. You know, honestly, it's kind of the perfect situation, though, because you have a player who's just not playing well and MLS is kind of a bust and a team who's probably wouldn't be mad to ship him. And now he's like, oh, yeah. Oh, there you have to imagine they're like dying to ship him.
01:08:36
Speaker
Yeah, they've got to be like so stoked that he's killing into the euros because they're like all right stock stonks Yeah, that's a good point I'd be very surprised honestly if if they don't execute on that soon because the fire I don't know if they need to They need a jolt. Yeah
01:08:54
Speaker
That was all I had for just the random headlines. Let's hit these winners and losers and then get out of here. For winners, I got FC Dallas, Seattle's upcoming opponent, hung five goals on Minnesota United, which I know that they're pretty short-handed and depleted right now. But when you just fired your coach and you're playing a really good team in Minnesota United and you hang five goals on him, that's a good week for you especially. And they got their second straight win under their interim coach.
01:09:21
Speaker
So yeah, honestly not great timing for the Sounders to catch FC Dallas. We talked about it, they still have the worst road record, at least in the West, if not all of MLS. Seattle should be able to hang with it in that game.
01:09:38
Speaker
This was a great result for FC Dallas. They hadn't scored five goals since, like, 2021 or something. That's crazy. They had their best game of the season. Colorado Rapids got a 3-0 at St. Louis City. And I think the significant thing here is Jordy Mihailovich had a hat trick. And the Rapids continue to cook a little bit under Chris Armas. St. Louis City is down pretty bad right now.
01:10:01
Speaker
fraud watch validated um but colorado took care of them with ease and it seems like this mihailovich signing which i thought was like a good move that's a pretty high percentage signing yeah you have a guy who's been provenly a very productive number 10 in the league um that you know seem motivated and uh you know can excel in mls so i thought that was a good signing at the time and uh with games like this that's proving to be the case and uh
01:10:31
Speaker
George Mahilovich is cooking for the rapids. And then I also got the LA Galaxy. You know, I said it last week that I thought that they were back. They played NYCFC at home, cruised to a pretty easy, honestly, 2-0 victory with no Ricky Poosh. That's the important thing. But they got Joey Paints back. They got Gabriel Peck back. They got
01:10:54
Speaker
Jovalich scored a goal in this game, Diego Fagundes scored a nice goal in this game, and I just still think when I watch them play, man, like,
LA Galaxy's Victory Despite Absences
01:11:03
Speaker
they look like such a buzz saw sometimes and i was disappointed that in the last few weeks they hadn't been performing up to that level uh... with joey pence injured and you know ricky pooch has been out with the groin injury now but like uh... the galaxy are uh... their buzz saw on again so i mean everybody watch out i am telling you when they are on their game it is the it is the best attack in the league this side of inter miami uh... let's get to the losers
01:11:32
Speaker
I got the Philly Union again. The way that they are losing these games right now, it's phenomenal content. As someone who does not care about the success or failures of the Philly Union, it's incredible to watch. Their last game they lost against nine man Inter Miami giving up the game winning goal to Leo Alfonso of the shout out University of Virginia. We talked about that last week.
01:11:58
Speaker
I
Philly Union's Losing Streak
01:11:59
Speaker
don't think this loss was worse, but it was almost as bad. They were in a barn burner at FC Cincinnati, back and forth game, crazy game. FC Cincinnati had Luca Oriano score goal of the match day. Did you see that one from midfield? There's been a few of those in MLS this year, including one from Ruby Diaz, but Chicha Arango scored one for RSL and then Oriano
01:12:25
Speaker
his might have been the best one. The placement on that shot like Rui Diaz's was on like an open net which is still not an easy shot to hit but like this one he had to get it over the goalkeeper but like you know under the crossbar. That's insane placement especially from where he was at on the field.
01:12:45
Speaker
It might have been better than Chichos too. That was a really sick goal. But either way, it was 3-2 in second half stoppage time or like close to it. And the Philly Union, they tied it. They actually tied it. They put themselves in position to take what would have been
01:13:01
Speaker
Not a great point considering the form that they've been in over the last couple weeks, but it would have been a good little morale boost for them to come back and get the tie there. I thought it was done and dusted. We were talking about how we were going to handle the content for a 3-3 draw. And then they get absolutely bammed on by Lucio Acosta, who's making a bid to repeat as MVP. But Philly, all you had to do was make it
01:13:29
Speaker
two more minutes and you've got like a galvanizing road point and they couldn't do it. And especially coming after losing to a nine man squad last week. I think this team is down more bad than any team in the league right now. Not necessarily just because of the run of results, but it's just the manner in which they're taking these L's. Uh, is Jim Curtin cooked?
01:13:50
Speaker
I mean, I don't know. You know what's cooked? You know what's cooked? Not Jim Curtin. It's this whole Philly Union idea of we're going to be a bottom five spending team in the league and moneyball our way to the top. They actually made a better run at using that formula to championship success than
01:14:12
Speaker
I thought was possible and you have to give them a lot of credit for the shrewdness and savviness of their signings and their roster moves and their youth development with all the academy kids that they've churned out. But I think they peaked with that MLS Cup loss to LAFC and now they're
Critique of Philly Union's Strategy
01:14:34
Speaker
They're in a situation where it's like, all right, you should probably like spend a little bit of money. Yeah, probably. That's what's going to solve this. Like, yeah, you can't. I don't know how far money balling your way out of this is going to take you. Yeah, penalty merchant. God's dog is not going to win you an MLS Cup, you know? No. And you know, he almost did. But I mean, remember, it's crazy because like I'd say that, but.
01:14:59
Speaker
I mean, they were so dominant. That MLS Cup year, they put up like a plus 46 GD, you know? They were nasty. They were nasty, but times have changed and down horrendously bad. Next loser, Sporting Kansas City, the club of professional wrestling enthusiasts, fall 4-3 to Reall Salt Lake, who are still the best team in the West for my money. But ever since beating Seattle, Sporting Kansas City has looked pretty much like they did previously.
01:15:29
Speaker
three, 11 and five 13th in the West. And the only reason that they're not a wooden spooning is because the San Jose earthquakes have 11 points and 0.61 points per game. So are they trying to win games? Yeah. I mean, the earthquakes I could put in this section every week, but that gets redundant. We, we, we don't need to bully them. It's yeah, it's never a bad week. Honestly, in my opinion, to put sporting KC in this section, 11 losses for Peter Vermees and company. Not good.
01:15:55
Speaker
And they got to go play Columbus in Columbus next. Yes. Good luck. Good segue. Speaking of Columbus, Bammed On 2-1 by Inner Miami, who didn't have Messi, Suarez, or Matias Rojas, their new signing. Hangover Watch? I mean, I think Columbus is there on it right now. We did this with LAFC last year. And LAFC did seem to be hungover for a while. But they kind of proved to not be that hungover, ultimately. They ended up beating the Sounders in the playoffs.
01:16:25
Speaker
but Columbus I'm I don't know the vibes just seem a little deflated honestly since yeah exactly they their GM left for some company that runs an EPL and like a Scottish team they got a new guy who seems to be pretty like they promoted internally and that guy actually seems to be
01:16:48
Speaker
a good hire, but it's like Tim Bez was one of the best in the league. And then they're also Aiden Morris is supposedly leaving. That deal was done. I think Nancy ball is just not cooking as much. They're not like that. They're not on the table where you would think they are. Like I just assumed that they were like cooking for top four spot easily. They're in six right now. 1.69 points per game, which is good, but not elite.
01:17:18
Speaker
I still think they're one of the better teams in the league, but I definitely think the vibes are hurting right now for the crew.
01:17:25
Speaker
Yeah, they're they're in a tough spot, but you never know what's going to happen. They still have some nasty players. I mean, yeah, one of the boss in the league, Rossi, Darlington, Nagby, Morris is a big loss for them. Yeah, they'll have to replace him, but they're going to get bags. So unless you had anything else, Noah, I think we can call it right there for episode 44.
01:17:48
Speaker
Thank you so much, as always, to everyone for tuning in. Thank you to our new listeners. We've seen an uptick in our listenership since our Sounder at Heart partnership went live, so we appreciate everyone who's been tuning in who hasn't listened before. We appreciate the support from all our long-time listeners as well.
01:18:07
Speaker
Sub to the YouTube follow on all platforms write us reviews. What am I missing? I'll share with Kucho Hernandez share with Kucho Subscribe to sounder at heart. Yep, subscribe to the YouTube. I already said that sounder at heart comm slash LS That's thanks again for listening We'll catch you next time until then we out