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What does the future hold for Brian Schmetzer?
1.6k Plays2 months ago
Niko Moreno joins Jeremiah to discuss the somewhat uncertain future of Seattle Sounders head coach Brian Schmetzer, who is due to be out of contract at the end of the season. Could the Sounders really turn over the reins to someone else? Who might that be? Would Schmetzer have a position elsewhere in the organization? Or is he going to be in charge of the team for the foreseeable future.
Niko and Jeremiah also discuss Jordan Morris’ emergence as a bonafide No. 9 and look ahead to what will almost certainly be the defining stretch of the Sounders’ season.
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Transcript
Introduction & Sponsorships
00:00:02
Speaker
This episode of Nos Arietes is sponsored by Fullpool Wines, a Seattle-based wine retailer and proud sponsor of Nos Arietes since 2011. Fullpool was founded in 2009, is based in Seattle, and is owned and operated by longtime Sounders supporters. They offer the best boutique wines of the world to members of their mailing list, with special focus on their home, Pacific Northwest.
00:00:25
Speaker
Hi, I'm Will Bruin, and I was just recognized as a Seattle Sounders legend. Now I get to do voice reads for the sounder at heart podcast network.
00:00:40
Speaker
about sound dominatmin it
00:01:16
Speaker
This is fucking awesome. This is a Let's go to Southern bro.
00:01:30
Speaker
ever since our board of commentary that we didn't take local seriously.
Setting the Scene: Special Episode at Long Acres
00:01:41
Speaker
Welcome back to another episode of NOS Adiata, sponsored by Full Pool Wines. And of course, our Sounder Art subscribers. I am Jeremiah Shan joining you today in ah in a sort of special episode. I got Nico Moreno here. We are recording at Long Acres Sounders FC Center at Long Acres. That's what I'm going to still call it. Nico, how are you doing? It's easier. Absolutely. Thank you for bringing me on. It is Providence and Swedish Clubhouse and Sporting Something Else. I almost got it. There's something else. So it's way too long. It's way too complicated. But thank you for having me on. I think it's a good spot in the season to do. So there's a lot of things going on. yeah Some that have already been, you know, officialized some that are still in the works. So, man, I love it. Yeah. So, you know, so I want some of the things that we're probably going to do today.
Key Discussion: Jackson Reagan's Contract
00:02:29
Speaker
ah talk about Jackson Reagan's new contract, talk a little bit about Brian Schmetzer's future, and sort of get into the outlook of the Sounders season. They're heading down into the and to a very important stretch run where they play four games against four likely playoff teams, four teams who they're competing with in terms of seeding,
00:02:50
Speaker
We just ran a story on sound at heart about the projections and where each team might finish. So it comes at a good time. We aren't there yet, but let's, uh, let's get into the newsy bit first. Jackson Reagan.
00:03:03
Speaker
Just his contract was announced. He's gonna be with the Sounders guaranteed through 22, or he's under contract at least through 2027 with the club option for 2028. We don't know the amount. ah It sounded like actually listening to Jackson's ah comments, it sounds like maybe he ended up getting a bit more than I had heard the Sounders were wanting to pay. Cause he sort of alluded to the idea that there was a gap in what the Sounders were offering and what he and his his representation felt like he was worth.
00:03:33
Speaker
But we don't know the answer to that. So we don't need to get too much into it. But just broadly speaking, what do you think of the centers? He's a 26 year old center back. He's basically signed for the next three seasons, four seasons. So through his his age, 30 season seems like a solid move for locking him up. It is a solid move. And it's something that the club needed to do. Yeah.
00:03:56
Speaker
the I think what would make this, whether it was a great signing or a good signing, because either way you needed it, because everything you just said, the the frame, the size, the IQ, the technical ability, you know, we asked him how it would be, you know, fantastic passer out of the back. He's the best passing center back, obviously, in the sounders. He has to be up there, MLS.
00:04:20
Speaker
League-wide in my opinion. I think it's fair to say I mean most of the metrics rate him as the best passer Maybe of all outfield players, but certainly of center backs and you know, you don't necessarily see it on a Play-by-play basis. It's not like he's out there pinging dimes, but he's just consistently breaking lines Almost every time he passes forward Absolutely. it And that that ability for him too, because he he has had had some mistakes and he has had some problems for sure and his ability to just get through that, get over that, let's clear that mind and move forward is important. However, what I will say is that I saw your tweet about it being six to 700, but you know, maybe if you're saying that there's a possibility that is more than seven,
00:05:07
Speaker
That's where I started to have a little bit of whether it's just good or very good, because he was making a lot less. Making about 100,000. Exactly, right? So in my mind, I didn't think that you can go over 500, just in the sense of like setting a precedent for what's ahead for the team, how much can I bump myself up from my very first Offer or or the first time that I get a salary upgrade so that part is something that I'm still I would still like to see yeah And that would definitely allow me to give it a grade That said I don't want to take anything away from the defender as a whole he's someone that
00:05:51
Speaker
I feel like has taken that position for my guy like have area that was supposed to beat a guy. Now, the more we see the heavy area move, the more we think that it was perfectly done. And he showed it should it should probably be done. But it was definitely they got out at the right time. That's right. Maybe it could have been even earlier, right? so So because of that, because of the sense of the team and what he's been able to bring in, the partnership with Yamar, I feel like it's it's a very good one. i think They feed of each other very well. So because of that, I think it is ah it is a good move.
00:06:24
Speaker
And i I would imagine from a mount perspective, you can't let him get to Yeymar level. I don't think. No. Because Yeymar is a two-time defender of the year finalist. he I think he is what makes Jackson Regan work. Absolutely. absolutely You can afford to have a Jackson Regan on the field when you have a Yeymar next to him. Because for all the mistakes that Jackson might make, you have a Yeymar who's capable of covering up for them. So I think he is it that... From a pay perspective, I would hope that, and I would imagine the Sounders use this argument as well, which is, look, we have this guy already under contract who is proven, who's proven on levels that Jackson is not yet. So. And someone who took a little bit to get to where he's at. I mean, right let's not forget that he came in for, ah you know, a packet of gum and, you know, some you know chips ahoy. I mean, you it was literally a very good find by the Sounders. I think he was like a two 90 or something really low initially. So when I look at that and I say, Hey, look, Yemar has been the best defender since 2020 for this club statistically in MLS. Yeah. I think you can make the argument that if you take his his performance, this is a Yemar that we're talking about here.
00:07:37
Speaker
If you take his collective performance from 2020 to now, I think you can make a pretty valid argument that he has been the most consistent and maybe the best defender in a year in, year out basis. And I think the only person that even comes close is probably like a Walker Zimmerman. And this is a guy who's on a DP contract. And on a million dollar contract. Absolutely. Yeah. yeah maybe have it less so One point seven. Right.
00:07:57
Speaker
ah Not even guys over the last four years like um Robinson for Atlanta and now Cincinnati he hasn't had that type of last four years, oh you know, these are guys that were You know thinking they were like the top of the chain. So yeah, there's ah you every year you see center backs Especially have one great year where all of a sudden Evans like oh, this is the best center back in the league You never hear about him again Nope. Uh, I mean, like, I don't need to get into who all those players are, but it is. It's a thing that happens a lot. And the Yemar has been so consistent is part of why I think it makes it a very, it makes it very easy to say, look, this is, this is your ceiling for what we're willing to pay right now. And this is what we had. And it's not like Yemar signed a long time ago. It was only a couple of years ago. So it's his contracts relatively new. And I did ask Jackson about it because yeah em theless it's funny because you could tell what everybody's at, you know, and that'll happen in January. He said he didn't care. You know, he didn't mind the salary. thingelary He just came out. He just luckily missed that. He just luckily missed that. But that's those are conversations that are had in my office. And so that's why I asked. He very well just, you know, went to the site on it and just didn't think much about it. But it's something that that will come up.
00:09:07
Speaker
Yeah. And I, and and to sort of get to the roster building aspect of this, I do think getting him under contract was pretty important because it's not a foregone conclusion that you can go out and find a starting caliber player, even at that amount. I mean, you look at on our roster, Nathan is here, he's on $500,000. And I think it's a testament to Jackson Reagan that he's never, his starting spot has really never been in question. And I don't.
00:09:32
Speaker
know that we've seen enough of Nathan to say, Oh, well, he's just been bad. Uh, he, he may have been like, I think he's probably been okay. He just, said but there's been no opening really for him to get through into the degree that he had an opening was at the beginning of the year when he was really competing with Ariaga.
00:09:47
Speaker
And he didn't he wasn't able to break through then, ah mainly because he was hurt. But you you know my point being that that's the kind of player, if you're going on to the open market and you're looking at somewhere in the $500 to $1 million dollar range, it's a lot of players like Nathan. You're just as likely to find a player like Nathan as you are to find a player like Yamar, who still at this point is probably still a pretty good bargain.
Future of Brian Schmetzer and Coaching Staff
00:10:08
Speaker
But ah yeah, I think getting him some point being, signing him was an important piece to building the puzzle as we look into 2025, which we'll talk a little bit more about ah later in the show. The other question that I thought was really good that Jada Evans from the Seattle Times brought up today, she sort of pressed Brian on his contract situation. He is going to be out of contract at the end of the year. We've been talking about this on our show a bit. You asked him about it on Monday. Yes.
00:10:39
Speaker
And at the time he sort of, he almost blew you off completely. Yeah. Uh, today he was a little, he was clearly in a better mood. Maybe they're related. We don't know. Uh, but he, he was willing to go a little bit more out on the lemon. Say he was confident something would get worked out. I think is yeah yeah maybe the exact quote. Uh, how did you read that answer?
00:10:59
Speaker
Well, look, quite honestly, I wasn't sure if it was just because Jada asked it or if it was that he was in a better mood today. like On Monday, he didn't agree he wanted nothing to do with us. He really wanted to get yeah back to the the clubhouse. ah Christian talked for a little bit and he was not happy about that. So maybe they had something to do with it. But usually I think that he would rather stab himself with the pen. He's clicking rather than answering my questions.
00:11:25
Speaker
So, you know, whether it was Jada asking or not, the reality was that he did give us a little more. And it does provide us a little bit of room for speculation in that did something happen because of your mood, because of the way you're answering. He went into depth a little bit. He even answered me about the fact that the team has lost a protagonist role within MLS, within Western Conference over the last two years. He alluded to the fact that this team was ah a shot away, you know, that Jordan Morris opportunity against LAFC to get farther into the playoffs. And he said, we'll have this conversation later down the road when we go to the playoffs and we'll see how far we get.
00:12:06
Speaker
So part of me would like to think that maybe there's still conversations to be had and that he is, ah you know, positive that something will get resolved. But his demeanor was very telling today. So I'm not sure. Yeah, he it it is. It'll be interesting to find out if if something actually did happen. But what I thought was to me where it comes down to is this is if you know who you want to hire instead,
00:12:34
Speaker
I think this is why you make that decision, right? If you say, let's just, for the sake of argument, let's just say the Sounders have decided that they want Gonzo Panetta to be their next head coach specifically. Which would make sense. which Which would make sense in a lot of ways. And he's available right now. And so this is, you don't know when that's going to happen again.
00:12:52
Speaker
So if you want him, this is the time to get him, whether or not you think, and that's not a commentary on Brian at all. That's just a commentary on, we know for the long-term future of this team. This is the coach that we want. So you have to go ahead and do that. Now, if you don't know who that person is, whether it's Gonzo Pineda or somebody else, if you don't know exactly the direction that you want to go,
00:13:13
Speaker
I don't think, regardless of how the, and and this is why I don't necessarily think how this team finishes plays into, yeah like I suppose if they win MLS Cup, it makes it very easy to just be like, no, Brian, you're coming back. sure But i I don't really think that the Sounders are waiting to see how the season goes to decide on Brian's future. I think because I don't think they have any interest in going into the open market and just say,
00:13:39
Speaker
bring us your candidates, we wanna interview 10 guys and then go from there. No, I think if that's this if that's what you're looking at, I think what you do is you just bring Brian back and you always, you this is MLS, you can always make a different decision later. But I think he's actually done a pretty good job this year, all things considered. you know There are the issues with how he's handled Raoul, there are issues with maybe how he's handled JP. You can say there's issues with how he handled Nico Ledero. You can kinda go through,
00:14:08
Speaker
leo chu You can kind of find players that he has that you can quibble with how he has handled the personalities, but I think as a whole cohesive unit, he's done a pretty good job of keeping this team together, especially at the start of the year, where it felt like it was really on the precipice of completely falling apart.
00:14:27
Speaker
so I'll play devil's advocate because I don't want anybody to think that I'm over here sitting with the drum less fire Brian Spencer because that's that's not it what I will say is that it is a good point of conversation because of a couple of things you just ah mentioned a few of the ones that I was going to talk about there's also at the point that The same way we look at players and say, look, hey, you know, Raul or Nico or whoever, ah Joseph Martinez, they're not the player of old. It can happen in the coaching level. And I feel like Bryant Metzer has changed his way of coaching. And I've asked him before, and maybe you or Jed, I have to ask him again. ah But it's the fact that he used to be a player's coach, is what people used to say. Hey, you know what? The best thing about Bryant is a player's coach, and he's going to motivate me. He's going to do this and that and the other.
00:15:15
Speaker
if you are a follower of Fender or Hard, you've seen my article in which we know we talk about some of the issues that there have been in this locker room and some of the lack of morale and things that overall, and it's not just one, two, three, four sources that I use for this. I mean, it was multiple. I'm not going to say how many, but it is something that has come up. So that's one thing. The other part that I feel like I've been holding on to is I like that Brian holds himself accountable for mistakes, like rotational, like substitutions, but you can't say that.
00:15:53
Speaker
so many times without changing it. So there's been times early in the season where he's like, I should have rotated. I should have moved. I should have done this. I didn't. He just said it again against San Jose. So if you're not making those changes, then there is some room for me to say, well, maybe this roster could have done a little bit better. I mean, a couple of those points and Seattle's third or second in the West, right? Those two points were, huge those are huge drop points that they had. this And if we go back to the game in Houston, if we go back to a lot of games where there's been some questionable calls by Brian, then I would say, yes, maybe. there there's There's been room for something to have been done better. So that's why I bring up the conversation. Again, I'm not sitting here saying less, you know, I'm not hashtag Brian out, nothing like that. All I'm saying is that there have been situations. Pedro Ladega is another one.
00:16:43
Speaker
Three or four times I heard Brian Spencer say, well, you know, I feel like Pedro's doing too much. I feel like, oh, Pedro's, he feels so much pressure. I just asked him on Monday, he's like, well, he's one of the players that I talked to. But is that the first time you talk to him? Because if this was a repetitive,
00:16:59
Speaker
ah concept and if this was something that you saw in the player because he does have this huge pressure that he's been hindered by injuries and he needs to prove himself then you need to do more to cultivate that relationship and to get this guy to play at his level and feel less pressure and I don't know if there's enough of that that he's done so there there is room for things to be better and that's the only reason why having a conversation about what's next is the real thing because look last time I heard the sounders are not the manners so getting to the playoffs shouldn't be ah nobody should be throwing up a parade because the sounders made it to the playoffs so what is going to be the real uh parameter how far you get in the playoffs so that's all I want to say is that there have been other coaches in other clubs around MLS that they consistently made it to the playoffs but they couldn't make that breakthrough and that's where you start thinking is there something else out there
00:17:56
Speaker
yeah and i guess going to the the roster management part of this i think brian deserves credit for the way he's used subs he seems like he's been especially over the last half of the season been much more aggressive about when he subs i agree and how many subs he uses but the one thing that he has been sort of stuck on. And I think he would probably even admit that he his preference is to find a starting lineup and sort of stick with it. And we have definitely seen that ah down the stretch where even in heavy weeks, there is a core of eight to nine players who he basically just decides, no, this is who needs to start. And there he'll rotate some. yeah But he has never aggressively rotated the lineup, even though his subbing pattern suggests
00:18:44
Speaker
There are probably 15 or 16 at least players on this roster who have a pretty high degree of faith that he has faith in, sure that they can come in and do a job. And yet he's he's still reluctant to use, to to rotate the lineup more. I mean, just the fact that, you know,
00:19:00
Speaker
I think it's pretty impressive that Jordan has played as much as he has and that he's done it at a high level. I actually am very impressed. I think it's in some ways one of the things that Jordan has ah made the biggest step forward is in just the raw number of minutes that he's able to load on at the same time.
00:19:21
Speaker
If you want Raul to be engaged, don't you got to give him some start? Yeah, absolutely. A hundred percent. And he goes to game rhythm. He goes to confidence. You know, he's publicly set it. And, there you know, that that's something that you need to listen to as a coach to say, hey, you know what? If I might need to rely on Raul to close a game for me or do something, I have to work him into that rotation. And he really hasn't done that.
00:19:49
Speaker
ah you know I've heard similar things from from Leo, and I know Leo has some issues of of his own when it comes to effort, when it comes to a lot of things, but there is that sense of, you know has it not been done to develop Leo or hasn't it? So ah back to your point on the rotational component, I think that there's been more than enough chances this season to bring in certain players, to just get them part of that group and to really get them engaged, like you said, for what's ahead that last four games of the season and playoffs.
Upcoming Matches and Playoff Implications
00:20:23
Speaker
And this is going to be ah this week right now is probably the most important week of the whole season because they have three games in eight days. They're going to play Houston Dynamo at home, which is really I mean, it's about as much of a literal must win as you can have 100 percent.
00:20:40
Speaker
If you have any hope of getting a home field home home field advantage in the first round of playoffs You absolutely have to win this game And then you have road games against the vancouver whitecaps and the call out of rapids which are not necessarily must wins But they are games you need to get points from if you again if you have any hope of getting home field advantage and then of course they have they have a season finale at home against the portland timbers which almost best case scenario, that's going to have some play and see some relevance. yeah Yeah, it's going to definitely be a relevant game. And it would be I mean, it's not outside of the realm of possibility. I would say it's even likely that that game will probably determine ah which one of those teams gets a home, gets some home games. Thank you for listening to the sound podcast network, which now includes no sunny at this lobbing scorchers and the cooler guild.
00:21:32
Speaker
We've been independent since August of 2023, but need your support to make sure it continues. Although this podcast is free, it's only made possible by your continued support. Memberships start as low as $25 a year, which not only helps make podcasts like this one happen, but also gets you access to everything we produce. If you're able to support us at higher levels, starting at $75 a year, you gain access to a host of other perks Most notably, entry into our Members Only Discord, where the smartest, funniest, and most engaged commenters share their thoughts and ideas. To find out more, just visit centeratheart.com and click the subscribe button in the top right corner. Thanks for listening!
00:22:14
Speaker
Yeah, and part of that, like you said, starts with Houston and is not just about the points, but you need to start having this team belief because look, I love what Sounder of Heart did with breaking it all down. I think that you guys said that the Sounders are 9, 2, and 2 in their last 15 games, something like that. night Yeah, that sounds right. Yeah, that sounds right. But when you look at it and And this is not anything the center should care about. But you know, it is a little benevolence from the calendar because of Chicago is New England is Austin is a heavily is a heavily diluted Columbus crew without six players with a field player on goal. Yeah, you you can't escape that.
00:22:57
Speaker
The sound like it is what it is. You can say that their record is a result of their ah of their schedule or you can say you can only play the teams that you're in front of no matter how you slice it. The reality is the Sounders have not beaten any teams that are currently ahead of them in the playoff in the in the in the standings. They have a few wins over playoff teams. They deserve credit. And I should take that back.
00:23:19
Speaker
they haven't beaten any teams in MLS play who are anything close to full strength. So they're right. so They beat the crew who are obviously a very good team. I don't think we need to talk about all the caveats that go into that when they beat the galaxy, but that was in league's cup. And then the rest of their wins over playoff teams are teams like Minnesota and Portland, right? Who are on the lower end of the, they're both actually in, in playing positions. And I mean, I sort of think it's very different right now than what there were, ah you know, when the Sounders beat them. So this is why I think that having a goal result against Houston, which won't be easy, I tell you right now that regardless of no Hector Herrera, this is a tough team to beat down. Ben Olsen is a guy that
00:24:00
Speaker
knows how to motivate his guys. That back line is hard to get through. That midfield with Cole Garaschigia and Arthur, that's two veteran players that are going to come at you. And Obit and Josh, they're younger players. They're going to have to really bring it against this Houston team. So it's no easy way. Ponce is a very good striker that moves around, that does a lot of good things. They tend to push their full backs quite high. So there is going to be a lot of things that Seattle is going to have to figure out in order to get a good result and therefore they'll show you how ready are we to really make a push yeah because again making it to the playoffs is not the standard is how far you get in there and frankly you have to be able to beat a team a Houston is good yeah but they if they want to if we are to believe that this team can do anything in the playoffs beating the Houston Dynamo at home is basically like the
00:24:47
Speaker
Bare minimum. Bare minimum if you can expect. 100%. And especially in a game like this where you know the stakes, ah they're coming and rested. Yep. they The sounders don't have any excuses for this game. Ecto Arreira is probably out. No, yep. The biggest change from the last time the sounders played, Houston though, is Ponce. What can you tell us about him specifically?
00:25:10
Speaker
Pumps is a very smart player in the last 18. He knows how to ah drag and play ah the field. He's not a poacher. He's a moving striker. He tends to move a lot. You will see him link up consistently and then find the back of defenders. ah So the movement there, it was gonna be very different about this Houston team, because remember when the Sounders played,
00:25:37
Speaker
this team. I forget who the the forward was, but he wasn't even a forward. He was a midfielder playing that position. It was because has like ah a Russian. Yeah. And he want his that he wasn't even part of it. Poland says a guy does very differently and does in very good form. um So that just gives the Sounders a real threat in order to stop them. Now, the good thing for the Sounders is that they're forte defensively.
00:26:02
Speaker
is what holds them together. We could say it's the more consistent part, although they do tend to have their woes, just like they've you know had during the season. and But yeah, Ponce is a player that's going to provide you with a lot of different looks and a lot like, um he i'm I'm not saying that he plays like ah um like a half nine or like ah you know like like a fake nine, none of that, but it's just his movement is very difficult to pattern.
00:26:32
Speaker
Yeah, and the centers haven't played a lot of strikers like that. This year. ah They've mostly played. I mean, yeah, I don't know. I'm not trying to think if there's other strike other sort of like playmaking forwards that they've had to face not I guess maybe a.
00:26:47
Speaker
Bogus But even then Kamara mostly I think started true started the games and Bogus has been playing more of a traditional winger role when he's played the Sounders So it'll be an it'll be an interesting matchup. The center should win this game. I think they should be favored This is the but like I said, this is this is a real test This is ah this is you know, we're gonna find out a lot I think about the Sounders this week Yeah, this this week expense extended ah and it's gonna be I don't know, i'm I'm interested to see because in some ways I think it's a really good thing for the centers to have to go through a situation like this to get to the playoffs because I think it will do a very good job of setting expectations of where they should be. The centers are going to make the playoffs. so they Basically, if they win this game, they're in if they win any more games this year, they're going to be in the playoffs. That's not really nope the question. They can they can get into the playoffs without winning a game this year. yeah And I will see what happens. I mean, it seems like Raoul still having some issues with his knees. They said that Leo Chiu was ill. He had some stomach stuff. So we'll see exactly what what what the Seattle Sanders have to work with there. The good thing is that, of course, none of these players are expected starters right now. um But, you know, they might need. And and that's something I want to see.
00:28:01
Speaker
if Let's say Jordan has a hard time against this back line. What's plan B if there's no row? Is it the enemy who's barely played? Is it just ah what is it? what What is that? Is it Georgie Monongo? Is it Monongo? Who's a relatively untested player still? You know, are are you we at the point where we're expecting Paul Rothrock to be a ah game changer like that? I mean, these are the these are the big questions that the sounders still have to ask or have to answer.
00:28:30
Speaker
You know, I did want to talk to you about this because I feel like this has been an ongoing discussion point for the last couple of years is Jordan Morris is in the midst of his best.
00:28:42
Speaker
season of his career. He's on 17 goals across all competitions. He's got 13 in MLS play. And he's starting to score goals that I think for a long time people have wondered is even capable of scoring. Like I thought in a lot in a big way, the game against San Jose was his performance specifically against San Jose was really encouraging because both of those goals were the product of not great play, but him just being alert in the box and being a solid finisher.
00:29:11
Speaker
And these are the types of goals that a number nine needs to score. And if you can if you look at his ah run of form as a number nine, it's really quite remarkable. He's got 16 goals in his last 23 games. If you just go back to the games where he's been playing as a nine, he's basically got like nine goals in, I think, in 14 games, something like that. He is, to me, showing that he might actually be the number nine, the Sounders have long saw I know you've ah you've been sort of a skeptic of him, not necessarily as a player, but as a number nine. Has he started? Are you starting to see changes that are impacting the way you see him or do you? Are you still pretty convinced the centers need to go out and get a number nine and move him out to the win? He's definitely done more to make me feel like there is a future where he can be a nine. And I don't even want to refer back to the goals, although i I agree with you, the San Jose game, there's two things that a striker, a real nine needs to do. Sometimes it's just hitting the ball out of instinct without looking, without absolutely anything. Both of those goals, but I've been amazing. There were some deflections in there, but positioning yourself correctly and just pulling the trigger. Those are things that he needs to do. So he did that.
00:30:27
Speaker
the best game I've seen him play at the nine was the 3-2 win over Minnesota and it wasn't just the goal early it was his movement and the way that he was pivoting which when you play a 4-2-3-1 is so important and it's something that I've always felt like he had a hard time with is playing with the goal to his back and that's been Bring it in the wingers absolutely being doing a little bit more of a hold-up play and he did that that game His movement was very smart ah the way he crashed the box that game was very good So do I think that you could still get that exact same production out wide?
00:31:03
Speaker
Yeah, because I feel like there are times where he finds a lot of space and a lot of opportunities coming in into that second post and and coming in from white play when he does push more back and forth. Because what I've seen the sounders do recently as well is that whether it's Paul and Georgie or Pedro and ah Paul,
00:31:25
Speaker
They've inverted and there's a lot of movement and at times it will push Jordan out wide a little bit and he just finds space. So can he still do that? Sure. Do I feel like moving forward at DP nine is where the team is going? Everything that I I've seen and read and heard is that they are going to go out there and get a nine. But he's giving you something to think about. So credit to Jordan. I am seeing back to your question if I had to answer. Yes, I've seen a lot of improvement, a lot of maturity, a lot of physical that angry bearded Jordan is my favorite. jordan yeah dark jordan dark jordan is my favorite jordan yeah exactly absolutely yeah Yeah, and I think that's what's interesting is I've heard of the same things you have, which is that the sounders have internally identified the number nine as a position that they want to go and get in part, not necessarily as a way of saying they don't believe in Jordan, but just saying that they think he can be just as productive on the wing. But I I would hope that what his play has done is opened the possibility that maybe we shouldn't be so focused on a number nine and we should be more open-minded to if we can go find a Denny Bawanga type or a Joseph Paintsil or some kind of game a Gabrielle pack a Gabrielle pack exactly a player who can supplement Jordan as an that might be the best player and but can do it from the wing. And granted, that might be a harder thing to find. It might be a more expensive a player to sign is a sort of that type of winger. But I would hope that they would go into this offseason with that as as their as their North Star is finding the best possible like just an attacker who can do multiple things. And we don't need to be so locked in to what position we're looking at. I don't know. have you Are you hearing anything different than what I've heard?
00:33:14
Speaker
going into this off season as far as what the budget might be. Cause that seems to be the big question is, will this team actually spend money this off season? Uh, no, uh, me and you, I think have a similar information. Uh, I think that it's still.
00:33:32
Speaker
in the realm of possibilities that in January, there might not even be a big signing right off the bat, which I feel like that's that's crazy. I mean, people I don't I don't think fans can manage that. I mean, you that would there might be a boycott. I mean, I mean, I would hope the team understands that. I mean, I suppose it's possible that they'll put in their best effort and just not be able to sign someone. I guess you could You could sort of wrap your mind around accepting that, but they, I don't, I would hope that they know that getting a big signing done this winter has to be a priority. Yeah. And I mean, ah to their point, I mean, it it it it is kind of interesting. We just walked by. Um, it is interesting. The fact that.
00:34:20
Speaker
I mean, to to to their credit, the guys that possibly would make the biggest impact don't open up until the summer. That's the problem. that That's the situation they put themselves in, right? But I think I've heard you say this before, and I totally agree, is that sometimes You might have to pay a big transfer fee to get the guy you want because once that door opens and it's a free transfer, then that's a lot of teams are going to jump on your guys. So everyone, every, it's no secret that everyone would like to sign a free transfers who otherwise would be.
00:34:53
Speaker
to pay for their chance. Right. And look, I'm probably going to get a lot of hate from people. But and this is where I feel for Craig, because I feel like Craig has. And this goes as well as ah Sean Henderson, who's brilliant. I think that they've identified over the last couple of seasons, players that would make a difference for this team. But the budget hasn't been there. They were kind of sent out to fight a a war with a very little budget. And it's hard. I think I told you this before. It's kind of like, if you're shopping at, oh, I can't say names of of companies, but if you're shopping, that don't worry, it's okay. Okay. If I'm shopping at at Walmart or if I'm shopping at Goodwill, I want to get certain type of product, right? might Make me get lucky. You may be lucky. Maybe you find a collections item at Goodwill that you had no idea and you get it for $15 and you're like, man, this thing is worth hundreds. But the reality is that if you want good product, you go to the better stores, you go to Macy's or you go whatever. But but if you shop in Goodwill.
00:35:54
Speaker
Nordstrom, you go to Nordstrom, you get your stuff. And on Nordstrom Rack, I'm talking about Nordstrom, right? So that's kind of why I feel for Craig. And I think he's a very smart guy. And I think he's got some thick skin because he knows he's under the the gun. I've put him under the gun. You've put him under the gun. He hears it from fans. So i I would like to see at least a transfer window where he's given a wallet and saying, hey, man, here's what you ask for. Go cook.
00:36:19
Speaker
Right. Yeah. And I think that's what we all want to see. And if it doesn't work out, then we can judge him on on those signings. And that's I think that's all we really want is we want to be able to look at moves they've actually made and judge those moves. And what I think is tough is that I think a lot of fans and I don't blame fans for feeling this way, is that they see the lack of moves as an indictment. And on some level, that's fair. But I think what we have to understand is that it's the lack of moves is is a product of a strategy that goes beyond the front office. right
00:36:55
Speaker
that it's that that's That's about budget. that's about how you You give a budget to any front of any GM and they're going to spend it. If you think the GM has money that he's just ordered, right for what reason do you think they would be doing that? There's no good reason to do that. And I think that's all we're saying. is like We would just want to see this team with a real budget. And then if they go out and they they make a bunch of bad signings, okay, fair enough. yeah Then fire the GM.
00:37:20
Speaker
Yeah, and like I get it it and I've been critical and Craig knows that I've been critical of the ever moving of Pedro move regardless of the the injuries because you know, it kind of falls on him regardless of But but the rest of the players, I mean these are players that he got on the cheap, right? I mean Bell Uh, Moose, I mean, these are players that you got one of the cheap. So that's what they're doing is playing on a cheap. Exactly. Danny Musaski at $350,000. That's what a $350,000 looks like. looks like Yep. Like that's 100%. And sure you can go look like, okay, so Kai Kamara is making less and being her productive. There's one, there's one Kai Kamara. No. on but Oh, good. I love. I just love ka kamara that goal yesterday. So good. The way he just kind of just pounces into the 18. He's so smart. there's no I don't think there's anyone. There's been no forward, at least maybe. I don't know. it i would It would be interesting to compare Eddie Johnson's peak performance with Kai Kamara right now, but that Kai Kamara is doing this basically at age 40 is almost. It's insane. It's unbelievable. It's insane. No, I think that the only real ah move I have a ah hard time with, and I've told you this directly, is the Nathan move. I mean, 500 for that player. I mean, it's it's it's tough right now. And I would imagine he's not going to be back. And that's the one that's the one saving grace is that he's only on a one-year guaranteed deal. He's on an option for next year. I would be very surprised if he's, it I guess there's a world where he might be back. There's no world where he's back on his,
00:38:56
Speaker
option number. No, 100%. Unless for some reason his option is less than it is. No, these things work no absolutely not. No, I think he'll be gone. So when it comes to the, the, the build of the roster, uh, I mean, there is some things that create them better, but at the end of the day, he's just been working with a specific budget and that's all he's done. Yeah. I would, I would totally agree with that.
00:39:19
Speaker
Well, this is a, this has been great having you on Nico. We're trying to do this more often. Uh, it was nice. This, the sounders actually let us use some space at, at long acres today. So I should, I guess we should disclose that we're in the sounder's offices here. No one, I appreciate that. It was very eerie that Adrian walked by as we were talking about.
00:39:37
Speaker
Budget. Yeah. I think it's soundproof. I hope it's soundproof. Find out there's a speaker in here. Yeah, maybe there's a mic. I'm looking for cameras. There's nothing in here. But you know what? The best thing about, I think what me and you do is that we would never say anything here or write about anything. Face. Absolutely. That people tell me at all times, Oh, wouldn't you know? And that's what I say. They'll tell them to their face. This is the way it is. I'm not going to sugarcoat it because that's what they are. So you know that. And I think one of the realities, and not to get too into how the sages gets made, but one of the realities that I think both of you, you and I are both very aware of, is that anything we're willing to say in print or on the podcast, we have to be willing to hear feedback from. And I guess you can argue that makes us pull punches sometimes. I don't think we're pulling punches. I just think we are interacting with these people like they're people.
00:40:30
Speaker
because we have to interact we have to continue to interact with them and we're going to be critical when they when we deserve to be when we deserves to be critical. We're going to hype them up when they deserve to be hype. We have our biases. We want this. I think both of us want this team to do well. And that's... I don't hide it. Right. And that's what that's what this is about, right? Yeah.
00:40:47
Speaker
why Why why I love working with you, Nico, is that you tell it how it is. And ah i I always will. man the The show I do in Spanish, there's a guy that's like a purist journalist and he says he doesn't have any like um affiliation bias. I don't like any team. I don't even like Columbia. Like ah when I watch a Columbia game, I just watch a soccer game and you got the passport. i'd like me I don't hate it, man. I get hyped. I tweet about it. That's just who I am.
00:41:16
Speaker
I like the sounders. Absolutely. I've been watching them, following them for 12 years or so. Of course, I'm going to have some bias to it. This is just who I am. so there's no big deal nature yeah It's just the way it is. So well it's is all about I do want fans to know that a lot of times criticism doesn't need to be rude and it doesn't need to be, you know, I don't need to get in Brian's face or Stephen Fry's face.
00:41:38
Speaker
To be critical, this tactfulness, there's a way to do it. And it doesn't take anything away. They understand the questions we're asking. They're answering them. Now, they don't answer the answer that you want. We can do nothing about that. right That's just the way it is in their mouth. So I would love Brian to answer sometimes some of the things I ask him, but that's just the way he's going to be with me. So we'll move on. We'll have I'll ask it again. he You know, he might not answer again, but that's all we can do is ask the right questions and and they never't take it personally. No, they don't. No, they don't. Absolutely not. I play around with Brian, but and he probably I'm not his favorite, but at the same time there's a mutual respect No, he yeah, I think today was a good example of him sort of joking about Being upset with you. Yeah joking with you. Sure. I'm engaging with you or he's not ignoring you. Nope. Nope a hundred percent
00:42:24
Speaker
Anyway, we're maybe getting a little off topic here. Yeah, we do. Nico, where can people find you? I always like to remind people where
Social Media and Listener Engagement
00:42:31
Speaker
people can find you. Absolutely. So ah on Twitter and at El Rolo NW. Yes, that is like the candy. El Rolo NW. And yes, I'm through with the candy. um On Thursdays, 7.30 to 8 or 8.15, I do do AM in the morning here Pacific. I do what you guys should check out. Soccer down here is a show out of Atlanta. We break down sounders, all Western Conference, and we get into the juice boxes for those of you that like to put a little money on MLS in general. We break that down, by the way. the seattle is ah
00:43:07
Speaker
minus 130 and Houston is a plus 340. So if you you think Houston might have a chance, and that kind of tells you that they they're heavy underdogs, the Houston Dynamo coming into Looman. So we have that going on. And of course, anything that I do right in English is going to be at sound her heart. And then in Spanish,
00:43:26
Speaker
Anything at all. And then for the Spanish speakers out there, if there are any here, Mondays and Thursdays, soccer bar in our YouTube channel, both soccer bar and postal sports YouTube channel. Sorry about that. That was long. No, what were you talking about? That was perfect.
00:43:43
Speaker
Well, Nico, thank you so much for doing this. ah I wanted to remind everyone, this is an episode of the Sounder at Heart podcast network. ah It's part of Nos adietes. I wanted to do this episode sort of as a As a reminder that we have this private RSS feed that's available to subscribers, we are going to eventually make this available to all of our listeners as well. But I want to remind everyone that the reason this is possible is because we have gone to a reader listener supported model. ah Our memberships start as low as $25. And at the $75 level, you can get into our Discord, which is honestly a lot of fun. ah Niko sometimes comes in there. ah We give him a hard time.
00:44:26
Speaker
And and it's ah it's just a ah good community building space. And if you already are a supporter, and you probably are if you're you're listening to this, I just want to say thank you. This has been an amazing thing. We're now ah well into our first year, or starting our second year, and we are very much on pace to ah continue growing, which is great that everyone has been supporting us the way that they have been. So I wanted to say thank you. ah Thank you to Nico for joining me today.
00:44:53
Speaker
I am Jeremiah Shan, signing off for No Study Yet This. Remember, you'll never get alone.
00:45:37
Speaker
one