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What We Learned This Week: with special guest Brad Evans
2 Playsin 24 minutes
Niko Moreno hosts this week (Jeremiah is out of office) and he called in Sounders original Brad Evans as a guest. They discuss how the team has been facing struggles with inconsistent lineups, reliance on young players and that these are the issues rather than a coaching failure (in their opinions). They also touch on what can be done about it and what the team should attempt at trying to right the ship. The two also touch on the upcoming Leagues Cup match away at what is arguably the best team in concacaf right now - Toluca.
Follow Niko Moreno on BlueSky and YouTube.
Sponsor
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Transcript
Introduction and Hosts
00:00:01
Speaker
Hi, I'm Will Bruin, and I was just recognized as a Seattle Sounders legend. Now I get to do voice reads for the Sounder at Heart podcast network. Here we go.
00:00:11
Speaker
Come
Seattle Sounders' Legacy
00:00:12
Speaker
on. Hey, O'Shaughness. Let's The Seattle Sounders have done it. MLS Cup winners. The Sounders rule the region.
00:00:43
Speaker
Ooch of a gooch! All creatures, great and small! Rothrock gonna collect it, he does about, runs into the advertising order. Low to our left, ball goes in! Oh, what cross! And what goal! Where's my copy? got bunch of them in the car. How many do you cost them? 50 bucks.
00:01:08
Speaker
I'll deadline you.
Sponsor Introduction
00:01:18
Speaker
This episode of Nos Arietes is sponsored by Full Pull Wines, a Seattle-based wine retailer and proud sponsor of Nos Arietes since 2011. Full Pull was founded in 2009, is based in Seattle, and is owned and operated by longtime Sounder supporters.
00:01:32
Speaker
They offer the best boutique wines of the world to members of their mailing list, with special focus on their home, Pacific Northwest.
Special Guest Host and Introduction to Brad Evans
00:01:43
Speaker
Hi, welcome to another episode of What We Learned This Week on the Sounder Hot Parts Cast Network. My name is Nico Moreno and I am, for the very first time, hosting my very first What We Learned This Week is Jeremiah is out on vacation spending all the money that he makes for this phenomenal show. And so he left me in charge.
00:02:02
Speaker
but So be easy on me. I'm not ah the host guy. I tend to be the the one right next to jail. I'm i'm the Robin to his bad man, if you will. But Because it is my first show. I said to myself, self, if you had to choose someone to get your first run at your own show after what really is a dark time in the Seattle soccer community with their sound or fan base,
00:02:28
Speaker
I said, you know what, Brad Evans, he's a guy that when he was a player, I could ask him absolutely anything. He never shied away from difficult times. He always made me feel better. So, Brad, first of all, obviously, Brad Evans here with us. ah the The myth, the legend. Thank you for being on.
00:02:47
Speaker
Yeah, thanks for having me. um One question, though, if the Sounders were doing really well, who would you ask to be on if I'm the guy who, if they're doing really poorly, I'm your first thought to bring myself on?
00:03:01
Speaker
That's the big question. Oh, I like that. you if If the Sounders are doing really, really well. Don't say Steve Zakawani. No, no, no, no, no. Zach Quanny, maybe if I'm trying to get a little bit more, you know, intel on, ah I don't know, the difference between the EPL and MLS or something of that nature. Maybe Roman. I feel like he'd be a vibe. I don't know how much we'd get through, but, you know, he might be a guy, maybe Aussie.
00:03:28
Speaker
and Get him on here. But, you know, when it comes to The Bradstacks and when it comes to really getting into the weeds of things, i remember that we love having you on because whenever there was a scrum after difficult games, you always had some important to say you.
00:03:45
Speaker
And I like that you're your straight shooter, man. And so.
Sounders' Current Struggles
00:03:49
Speaker
With the six loss of the Sounders just happening this weekend and to what almost feels like a free fall for this club, I just want to start off by just getting your take as someone who's been there, has been on that field. You have been at Providence Park. You know what the rivalry is about. But just in a broader sense, like, did you ever imagine that this club would be here? what what what How have you been able to just digest where the team is right now?
00:04:18
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, obviously it's it's dark times, um you know, but this club has faced dark times before and whether that's ah a big loss to Portland or a big loss to the LA Galaxy where we have to refund fans their their ticket for that game. There was a five-game losing streak back in 2015.
00:04:37
Speaker
um You know, so not every season is going to be perfect. And we have to remind ourselves, and Steve and I would talk about a lot on our podcast, is – we're pretty spoiled as Sounders fans to have such a successful club. i mean, if you run down the game notes, there there is no more successful clubs since 2009. And even, even as of, as of late, really, I mean, if you talk about ah a CONCACAF champions league title at the time, a good, you know, showing in the club world cup and, you know, repeat playoff appearances,
00:05:07
Speaker
it's not all going to be roses all the time. And, but still we we expect more out, out of the team for sure. But if we really take a ah step back and look at maybe the lineup that was just started in Portland, if you would have told Schmetz early in the season that not one, one time this year, would he have a game in MLS play where he was able to field the same lineup back to back?
00:05:33
Speaker
And that hasn't been the case this year so far. And he would have been scratching his head thinking, what are we, you know, 15, 16, 17 games into the season saying, I can't even field a lineup back to back to form some sort of consistency with this team.
00:05:47
Speaker
um I think he would have thought you were joking that there's, there's no possible way. So we really have to step back and look at ah how this team has been able to perform early in the season before this road streak. I mean, if we were sitting pretty right fourth place um and then you get the result against San Jose and then, you know, you head into the world cup break, you pick up those two losses against the l LA clubs.
00:06:12
Speaker
And that was a, that was a tough one. We thought everyone was going to get healthy. We thought the team was going to come back rare and ready to go. And it just hasn't happened that way. And a poor performance against Portland kind of, you know, had the sounders, I think with their tail between their legs, trying to figure out what's going on.
00:06:29
Speaker
And then you pick up even more injuries, right? Jordan Morris again gets injured. Paul gets injured five minutes into the game in Portland. You're having to field, you know, players that on any given day, i don't think would see minutes for this team if the team's healthy. um So,
00:06:45
Speaker
I think for Schmetz, it's not a question of coaching. I don't personally think it would be a question of coaching if everyone was healthy and we we lost six games in a row. Well, then there's a problem with how do I get my top players to perform consistently together?
00:07:00
Speaker
That just hasn't been the case. He's really had, I mean, they've had to draw up six, seven players from Tacoma defiance just to fill in gaps on this squad. And when you play against, let's just take the Portland Timbers, for example, they've been consistent with their lineup since the world's cup break, and they've been able to pick up results. And if you play against starters in this league against kids who are playing their second or third game in a Sounders uniform in Portland,
00:07:25
Speaker
I thought the first half was great from, from Seattle. I thought, I thought they were really, really good. I was at the game calling on radio, the movement, the the passes from Brunel and Kingston through the midfield, connecting their passes, you know, some biting tackles, throwing their body on the line. I thought the first half was, was great overall. But second half, if you don't have your first teamers out consistently, those are the guys, why they get paid so much money is because they can take over a game and they do,
00:07:52
Speaker
the right thing 90 95% of the time. Yes, they take chances and they might lose the ball. But when you don't have a consistent group of starters playing together in this league nowadays, it's going to be really hard to pick up results, no no matter how way you shake it.
00:08:07
Speaker
So I read on on Reddit, the forums, you know, people are disappointed wondering what's going on. I'm i'm getting rid of my season tickets. But if you really take a view at this thing,
00:08:19
Speaker
we don't have all of our starters on the field.
Fan Reactions and Expectations
00:08:21
Speaker
And it is really, really hard to win in this league without a consistent lineup, without your top paid players being on the pitch all at the same time together.
00:08:32
Speaker
Look, man, a lot to unpack there. am totally with you. And let me start with, I think the most resounding thing that you said, and it's like, it's not a coaching thing. I absolutely agree. I said this on X to start off the game. I thought that the plan was working. I thought that it was a good setup. You know, people had questions about Paul Arriola playing on that right back position. I thought that it was interesting because you, uh,
00:08:57
Speaker
Paul Areola is an experienced guy. He's someone that can maybe bring up a little bit of leadership. You talked about these young players. I thought it was a good goal right there. Him and Ferreira have a relationship. They have some sort of chemistry. You're trying to build something out of it. i thought that Peter Kingston playing CM was a necessity, but also thought it was a great idea. as a great choice that we had been calling actually with Jeremiah because he's a guy that is a gamer. He has this like older mentality. He could really be disruptive when he wants to, but he's also really good on the ball. good decision-making. So I thought that, look, not only do you get the first goal, but overall you're pushing Portland. I mean, if the Sounders were a little bit more clinical, you go to the half to one. If Albert Rusnak puts away that, you know, chance he had, maybe you go up to zero at one point. If you, ah Paul Rothrock puts one of those opportunities away. So that there were things that were going right. So to your point, Brad,
00:09:51
Speaker
I don't think there is a team in MLS, call it Miami, call it, you know, whatever you want, LAFC that could withstand six, players being out of their main lineup, seven. i mean, you there isn't. and like Call it five. you' just That is something that I totally understand. Now, fans don't really have to be rational, and that's just the the the world, right? Fans got to be passionate. And I always say to look, it is your prerogative to be passionate and want to you know expect a championship every year. Now, that's not realistic. But that's the way it goes. But where I do draw the line myself as a Colombian who has, you know, been born into soccer and we have ah but so much passion in in in Colombia for our teams. Look, you could be ah mad at the team. you could be disappointed. Las Barras Bravas in Colombia, they will not...
00:10:41
Speaker
let you forget a bad game, but they're going to support that team no matter what. I mean, they're going to show up. Like, I understand that people want to show their displeasure by maybe not renewing your season tickets, but that part, I don't understand. I personally, I don't get it. I think that you got to continue to support. You know, ah but bring the you know, if you want to express your ideas, you know, bring a sign, whatever. But be there, be there for the guys, be there for a guy like Brian, who do you see physically angry last night. You know, he's like, I'm pissed off. Yes, I'm pissed off. And it's kind of hard to ask him for more. And look, this is coming from me. who at times have criticized Brian. Me and him have gotten into plenty of, you know, little spells of of just arguments. That's just the way it is. But right now, I think it's very unfair to blame him for any of this. And do I see the light at the end of the tunnel? That's where I ah don't. And I do want to break down a couple of things more of this again before we get into that, because there's a couple of other things I don't want to get into. But in terms of the big time players, Brad,
00:11:47
Speaker
I think that's where maybe won more right out of an Albert Rusnak, even a Jesus for what that had a pretty decent game. um Do you think that there's some sort of fair criticism when it comes to your, I don't want to call it designated players, just your yourre bigger ah players leadership
Leadership and Player Responsibilities
00:12:07
Speaker
players? Yeah, of course.
00:12:08
Speaker
Of course. i mean, those are the players that should be taking most of the responsibility. Their job on the field is to take away the pressure from the youngsters, the guys that are making 75 grand a year and are expected to perform and win games in major league soccer versus 1.5 million, 2.5 million. Well, there's a reason why you get paid that amount of money.
00:12:28
Speaker
And that's to put the ball in the back of the net. And that's to create high quality chances during the game. That's the reality. They all know it. Uh, for some reason it, it's not clicking at this point.
00:12:39
Speaker
Um, I being around this team for so long, the the responsibility was always on, um you know, ah Casey Keller but at the time, you know, was one of the highest paid players on the team. Make make all the big saves, make the big saves and just give us a chance to be in the game. Get the ball to Freddie Montero, Freddie Lumberg and see if we can get other guys involved and make the players around you look like they're a half a million dollar player. not a $75,000 player. That's the job of the best players on the field is to make everyone else look better than they actually are.
00:13:12
Speaker
The responsibility can't be on Snyder, Brunel and Kingston to make the game. Their job is to get the ball to Rusnak, get the ball to Jesus. Those two were are are supposed to be as indicated by their salaries by far, by far, hands down the best players on the field.
00:13:31
Speaker
That's why you get paid the big bucks. You don't get paid the big bucks to be a role player. You get paid the big bucks to create something out of nothing. And Albert did that, right? The first goal was fantastic. That overlapping run that I haven't seen from from him in a long time, he was in the game. I mean, he he was fantastic in the first half, I thought, and that overlapping run created everything for the sounders, the ability to cross the ball, lift it, put it in a right spot. And for Kalani to, to put the ball in the back of the net, we can't rely on Kalani to score goals and to save this team.
00:14:01
Speaker
It's gotta come. If I look at the team from Jesus and, and Albert to get Osase the ball, in good positions to give himself an opportunity. Osase is not a creator by any means. He's a big body.
00:14:13
Speaker
The ball needs to be put where it needs to be put to be like make him be successful. So I think more responsibility needs to put, be put on their shoulders. I think they feel it for sure.
00:14:25
Speaker
in moments I thought, I thought both were good, but I, I mean, as a, as a fan and as a selfish, uh, you know, I guess announcer now I personally want more, when Jordan's on the field, I want more when, I mean, that's the reason you get, you get paid the big bucks, right? Whether or not you're a Tam player or you're a, you're a DP. I mean, that's, that's your responsibility.
00:14:47
Speaker
And, uh, And it's obviously, like I said, to to make those around you look like a very, very high quality player back in the day in Columbus, we had Shiletto and he was by far the best player on the field. And all of us were just, you know, runners. What, what could we do to get him the ball?
00:15:04
Speaker
And then he has 19 assists at the end of the year to Alejandro Moreno, Robbie Rogers, Eddie Gavin, you know, myself as, as a number 10 underneath him. And that's just how, how the game worked. And right now I, when I look at this Sounders team,
00:15:21
Speaker
let's Let's take it Sounders versus Portland in that game. When you look at Portland, they've got Velde, who's ah you know six foot three, big, strong, but really, really good with both feet.
00:15:33
Speaker
You know what he's going to do almost every single time he touches the ball, but he's still able to do it, right? And then on the opposite side, let's say a sub that comes in is Anthony completely different than Velde on the opposite side. He's going to be tricky. He's super fast, get down the wing, make it unpredictable.
00:15:52
Speaker
Right. And then you have, um you know, let's say a Dacosta who's extremely technical on the ball and can show up in different pockets. When I look at the Sounders team to me, when I watched them play it,
00:16:04
Speaker
Paul Rothrock profile, Jesus profile, Albert profile. They're all like for like, in my mind, you could put any one of them along that line and they're going to give you the same exact results no matter where they play. There's no surprise for teams because they know what they're going up against. And I think we need a little bit more of that. I think we need a little bit more, whether it's pace on one side, technical ability on the other, or it's one V one on one side and it's a big and strong and powerful on the other side.
00:16:32
Speaker
um I think we might be missing that just a little bit. It seems to be the same profile is, is playing along that, that front line. So, um you know, but I do think that if this team gets healthy, they find their way. And we know that this Sounders team is a, is a second half team. I don't,
00:16:48
Speaker
This Leagues Cup comes at probably the the worst time, in my opinion, to to have to play down at 8,700 feet elevation on Wednesday night. That's going to be a really tough one. ah But maybe it comes at a good time to kind of mix things up and give themselves some confidence heading into the post-Leagues Cup play.
00:17:10
Speaker
Yeah, so I totally agree with you. And just to kind of close down the game, i do think that there were some positives. The intensity was there. thought there was a kind a lot of – it was amazing, right? That's something that we've been asking from this team. I thought Dow was there. They won their grandos. Ariel was not necessarily, but they created some chances inside the box. I liked some of the opportunities that were created by Jesus Ferreira. Just that finishing hasn't been there. And that's kind of where I want to kind of put it to you, Brad. Yeah.
00:17:36
Speaker
Obviously, there's been huge deficit of production when it comes to the ninth position. yeah And that striking position is always going to be judged on goals. And like I've been one that has at times been like, well, you know, so-and-so is better on link up and, you know, they're doing other things that are unlocking the wingers or this, that, and the other. But right now, man, it just, there seems to be no one that is going to take over that job.
00:17:59
Speaker
And it goes to people's criticism of, you know, should this team be, spending more or or doing more to get better at that position.
00:18:10
Speaker
You know, Jordan Morris has been so good for so long, but man, even myself, it's hard to watch him out there. And and this kid every day works so hard and to see him go down to different injuries, it's just difficult to to see. And I asked myself, you know, how much longer does he have or or what's the the next options for the Sounders? So, you know, where do you fall when it comes to denying the striker discourse?
00:18:35
Speaker
Yeah. You have to put the ball in the back of the net. That's the bottom line. um When I, when I watched the team, there seems to be a disconnect with the nine and anyone playing
Striker Position Challenges
00:18:48
Speaker
underneath them.
00:18:48
Speaker
um You know, Kelsey's that big body, but he also, i thought Portland had really good moments of tight combinations inside the Sounders box, especially in the second half, little one, two linkups.
00:19:01
Speaker
<unk>re We're missing that for sure. um I mean, there hasn't been a game this year where we could say, oh, this number nine should have scored four four times.
00:19:12
Speaker
um This striker had, you know, nine shots, but the ball just wasn't fine in the back of the net. I think it's a lack of chances created as well. And that is an area that that the Sounders are lacking in right now is is a true experience number nine that can be a game changer.
00:19:30
Speaker
i mean, this, this sounder's team has proven defensively that they can keep the ball out of the back of the net. I mean, even taking two still top five and goals conceded in the league. And that's with a back line that hasn't been the same throughout the whole season. So I don't think defensively is the issue at all. It's, it's putting the ball in the back of the net. And if you go up to nothing, three, nothing, the game should be sealed at that point. Right.
00:19:54
Speaker
But the sounders haven't been able to to do that yet. The season is to, um, you know, get off on a run where they score early two or three, maybe even four goals. It just hasn't come this year. Chances created high quality chances.
00:20:07
Speaker
um You know, making a keeper make five five, six, seven good saves in a game. The opposing keeper just hasn't worked out. And whether that's ah a personnel issue, I think that is absolutely up for debate at this point.
00:20:20
Speaker
It's tough. and None of our strikers have gotten a consistent run of games. Is it really hard? I mean, we had, you know, Clint Dempsey in the past, Oba, but you always had them on the field because you know, at any moment they could get hot.
00:20:31
Speaker
They could put the ball in the back of the net after going in a slump for four games. And then it's, you know, six on the trot. I don't see that happening with anyone in the lineup right now. I mean, Mussovsky got hot because he started, you know, five games into the season last year and was consistently starting as a number nine. It took him a couple of games to get the first one in the back of the net. And then all of a sudden the floodgates open.
00:20:53
Speaker
Well, we haven't had a consistent lineup this year to allow that to even happen. um So do we blame it on the player? I'm sure those players are saying, well, it's going to take three or four games for me to get confident to get the ball in the back of the net because we know as a striker, that's what happens.
00:21:09
Speaker
And then on the flip side, the front office is saying, we need results. You got to make a change or Schmitz is saying, oh, this guy at the end of training, maybe his finishing was just a little bit better. I'm going make a switch. I don't know what the right answer is.
00:21:22
Speaker
All I know is realistically, it's it's it's hard to win in this league when you don't have a team full of starters for the majority of it to to get results. And I totally get that. and And just to go with the second hard question on that regard, when I look at this team and and in the injuries, which we'll talk about here in a second, and you know some of the subs that you're having to bring in, and yes, maybe there is that disconnect of not having the same 11, but it seems like the quality level...
00:21:55
Speaker
has dropped because, look, the Sounders made some really good moves to to get some guys some play time, but they didn't necessarily replace him, right? Georgie Minungu, Josh Atencio, Danny Leyva. I mean, there was a lot of guys that that were what I would call contributors to this team last year, and they haven't necessarily replaced him. They've brought up some guys from Tacoma Defiance, and that's been that's been great. But the the question from from everyone is,
00:22:24
Speaker
This team has made a philosophical, they have a philosophical edge on anyone in in this league because they have such a great pipeline of their academy system, their Tacoma defiance, and they do it better than anyone when it comes to that. But it does feel like if you were just to add a little bit more of spending,
00:22:42
Speaker
You know, you could be great. I mean, that the Suns have been good. I've been really, really good. But maybe being able to spend a little bit more on their roster would give them the edge. Do you think that is that simple or or and I don't want to oversimplify it because like I'm not in the the the the the more money that you put in, the but greater you in this league.
00:23:02
Speaker
i I completely contradict that. Look at Atlanta. You know, you've seen it before with Cincinnati in the past. I mean, they're just that's not it. But maybe just a little bit more of investing in this roster could have you go a lot closer to that floor not dropping as low as maybe it has now with all these injuries.
Team Depth and Financial Considerations
00:23:21
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, I think that's a fair, fair thought, a fair question. I mean, every, every fan, every, everyone's always going to say, let's go out and spend money. I honestly, i don't even know how these rosters work anymore with gam, Tam DP, the ins and outs of trading within the league, where you can spend your money, when you can spend your money. It it just seems like there's so many constraints. it is not as easy as saying,
00:23:46
Speaker
oh, we're going to get rid of this guy and we're going to go sign this guy. um If that was the case, this team would have made moves, I think, at least interleague ah to to figure out you know how we can kind of boost the roster or give us a a quick booster.
00:24:01
Speaker
I just know loans, getting a player on loan has really never worked out for the Sounders. um you know Georgie was a contributor, but did he really create super high quality chances? Was he flashy in moments? Yes.
00:24:16
Speaker
I mean, when you look at even in Colorado right now, when I look at, you know, the box score, i still don't see a player that's made the jump per se that people may have expected him to here in in Seattle or even in Colorado.
00:24:30
Speaker
Josh has been a mainstay, but for him at the time with Obed, who knew what was going to happen with him at that time, Christian, Obviously is the mainstay back there. Brunel's kind of on the rise a little bit in that profile for the Sounders. Was he going to be the next Obed Vargas that we can sell in the, in the future for more, or is he going to be the next Christian rolled on to be the mainstay as a, instead of tensio, a tensio wanted more minutes. So to do that, you got to go elsewhere to get more minutes. And Colorado loved his profile.
00:25:02
Speaker
Um, it's, I just think it's difficult to to even make moves in this league. Um, you know, with salary cap restraints where we are, we don't just think about the now, but guys that have contracts for the next two or three years, right?
00:25:17
Speaker
if And I don't know what the market's like for a cold striker in this league. I mean, is there a market to to move someone from our team that's lost six in a row that, you know, maybe has picked up four or five injuries in the past two years? Is there really someone that's going to take a chance on them and think that they're a project?
00:25:36
Speaker
uh, trying to get more out of them in the next few years. So we don't just think about ourselves. We think about what other team teams need as well. And do we have that? Uh, I don't know. Um, we can't just go off and trade four players for one, cause then our bench is even slimmer. What if that one gets injured and no one can step in? So, um,
00:25:55
Speaker
i it is an interesting time to be a Sounders fan and kind of scratch your head and say, well, what are the moves that this team is waiting for? What are, what are we waiting for right now? I think that's the bigger question. I don't have the answer to that. I have no idea, but we ask ourselves that on broadcast, you know, off air all the time is what, what, what are we waiting for? Is there a specific two players that we're waiting for their contract to run out that we've got agreements with? Is there,
00:26:22
Speaker
you know, someone that we're just waiting on, that's going to really carry this team to the next level. But yeah, I get the investment in the team and the shout to say, well, we want more.
00:26:35
Speaker
But what ah what is more? What is more at the end of the day, do we get rid of three DPS and bring in three new ones? It's not really possible. I don't think this team has never been one to buy out somebody's contract ever.
00:26:48
Speaker
And just, you know, make those switches. i don't I don't think that this organization has ever made those business decisions, even from day one. So it's nothing new to see um kind of what's what's happening right now.
00:27:03
Speaker
Sounder at Heart has been around in one form or another since 2009. In 2026, though, we make a pretty significant evolution when we go analog. Yes, that's right. In the year of our Lord, 2026, we are publishing a real life magazine. We're calling this thing 4, as in Sounder at Heart 4.0. But we're stylizing it as IV because we absolutely love Roman numerals. And if you want to refer to it as IV, that's cool too. The first issue has a comic book style cover that was hand drawn by local artist Kevin Newbern. Features by Tim Foss, Susie Rance, and Charlie Boehm. A statistical deep dive by Kat Bush. A Q&A with Brian Schmetzer. A column by G. Willow Wilson. And photographs by Noah Reif, Max Aquino, Mike Russell, and Jane Gershowitz.
00:27:45
Speaker
I could not possibly be more proud of the work everyone put into making this, and I think you're going to absolutely love it. If you'd like to get your hands on one of these limited edition copies, we're currently selling them for $15 on our website. Get yours now.
00:27:58
Speaker
No, exactly. And that that's the reality. and I think you're spot on when it comes to how difficult it is to kind of move things around and you know, there, there are options that look at ah that. It was hilarious to hear a 12 and talk about, well, you know, just send a Joe village to the Sounders. I mean, of course, I mean, if if, if I'm in a perfect world, yeah, you just bring in a player. It is that simple, but it's just, it doesn't quite work like that. do You know, there are a lot of restraints in the league that you have to kind of get through. Now,
00:28:29
Speaker
there are big decisions coming up, but Russ neck has an option next year. There is the possibility of maybe buying down, buying out, or just trying to figure out something different, extending Jordan or, or doing something with his contract to get them off the DP tag. There's a lot of ways to to get around it, but,
00:28:48
Speaker
Right now, that's not the case. And the Sounders are working hard to get a couple of players, at least with the limitations that they have. and They're looking at a striker. They're looking at midfielder. So they're looking at some opportunities to go and get on guys. But Brad, without anybody coming in, I remember...
00:29:07
Speaker
talking to Nico, talking to Raul. And there were times where things didn't go well. And there were the famous like player only meetings. There was, I don't know, asados. Is that something that maybe can help this team while players try to, you know, regain their health? Is that something that maybe this group could do to just get off this funk?
00:29:28
Speaker
Yeah, I thought, you know, I'm not there every single day. Yes, I have communication with a lot of these players. I'm umm there on Tuesdays. And you know, we'll all sit down and talk with just in brief about how how it's going. I know this past Monday, they had a a big team meeting, kind of like a open air, let's let's just talk about everything. And you know, I thought the attitude was great throughout training the sweet Tuesday. Everyone was in good spirits, good vibes. And like you said, before the game, everyone was up for it. And and that first half was, was evident. They put a lot into that first half more than they have.
00:30:00
Speaker
And as there was what, four or five guys cramping towards the 90th minute in that one. Um, they put a lot into that game and it is, it's still a group that is together. There's there's not a lot of finger pointing at all going on in that locker room.
00:30:16
Speaker
I think they understand the situation that they're in. And this isn't like they're at practice, just going through the motions and you better believe a guy like Jordan, a guy like Albert or Jesus or, um,
00:30:32
Speaker
you know, even Paul Rothrock to a certain extent, right? Let's run through him. Jordan, like you said, is on a DP tag. It's not like he's going home saying, oh, I'm, I'm, I'm set. I'm really good. I'm, I'm doing everything I can.
00:30:45
Speaker
This dude is, is pissed. He's pissed about the situation. he's pissed about not putting the ball in the back of the net. He understands the pressure coming from the front office. The questions start to be asked, am I going to be here next year?
00:30:59
Speaker
Albert, same thing, has an option. Am I going to be here next year? ah You know, Jesus, he was the man in Dallas and then comes to a team where he's not the man. how How do you fit into a team like that? How do you revive yourself and and become that just you don't have to be the man on the team, you just have to be the man in your position?
00:31:17
Speaker
How do you mentally wrap your head around doing that? And is it external? Is it getting away from the field? Is it family? Is it like you said, a group gathering? I don't know, Paul Rothrock, you know, that's, that's one of the other hard situations. He's already, he's team's leading goal scorer with five, five or six.
00:31:35
Speaker
um But he also signed a huge contract, right? A massive page, pay jump. And he's probably thinking, shit, now the expectation is I got to put 14 of these in the back of the net and I've got to have seven to 10 assists on a year. i mean, that's, that's,
00:31:51
Speaker
indicative of his pay, right? Especially when you're not winning games is I have to be the man here to put the ball in the back of the net. And when that's not happening, you start to ask questions of yourself. And I think that's where doubt creeps in a little bit.
00:32:04
Speaker
And that's when you just have to get back to basics and do all the little things right. Jesus, like you said, I thought was, you know, good in moments, but still in when he's asked to defend and he wins the ball four or five times in the second half, the, the pass isn't an outlet pass that's connected. It's given away and a player like that, you expect any type situation on the field, someone like that to, to be able to either turn out a pressure, switch the point of attack and get, get out of tight spaces.
00:32:33
Speaker
yeah we all know that he can do it. Technically, he can do it physically, he can do it. It's all in in in the mind now. Because in those tight spaces, I wouldn't put the ball in anyone else's hands other than him.
00:32:46
Speaker
So to me, it's it's just a it's a mental thing. New who in the first half, where's Portland's goal come from? It's new who sprinting up the line and then trying to backheel a ball just over halfway.
00:32:58
Speaker
Physically, we know that knew who can do it. Technically, we know that he can do it, but you make a mental lapse error like that instead of just kicking the ball out for a throw in for the opposing team or smashing it back to their goalkeeper and resetting defensively.
00:33:11
Speaker
It's all mental. And so I think the sounders, when you start to win, when you start to lose games, any team that doubt starts to creep into your mind a little bit. Now, what can you do to get out of that doubt? Whether yeah it's it's a group get together, a group party away from the field,
00:33:25
Speaker
Maybe it's time spent away. Maybe it's getting away from the group and, you know, coming back together. I don't know if there's a right answer for that. i think every team ebbs and flows. I don't know what the inside of that locker room is, what they want and what they need. So, yeah,
00:33:41
Speaker
it's impossible for for me to tell when I was captain, and I could feel the vibe shift, then in certain moments, it was okay, yeah, I think now's a good time to have people over to to have a barbecue.
00:33:54
Speaker
Or now's a good time to ask Adrian to go for a dinner. And I know that these guys have done that. I don't know, like the dates or times or anything, but um they're trying everything they can to to to keep this group together. And as evident by If this group wasn't together, you would see more infighting in the group. You would see more after games, people pointing fingers and, you know, ah in each other's faces. And the group doesn't have that right now. I think they feel like they're doing everything that they can. It's just when they watch the tape, there will be certain moments where mentally,
00:34:36
Speaker
someone's checked out for a millisecond and in this league playing against a group of starters in Portland, if you give them an inch, they're going to take a mile. And unfortunately, you know, they got punished on, on two, two chances really. I mean, Andrew Thomas wasn't really forced into anything ah major in that game. So it was a, you know, a tough result for them. One that obviously Schmetz was upset about visibly upset post-game presser upset.
Ongoing Injury Impacts
00:35:04
Speaker
And maybe that translates to the players and we see a different group, but at this time, you know, Areola goes down. It's going to be another mixed up lineup going into Wednesday.
00:35:16
Speaker
And I think that's the big, another big question, ah Brad. and And as we kind of close down on, on the the episode, I'm with you because I think b Brian's tried to do a couple of things that captain band went from knew who now we saw Albert with it. I think that the group is together. They're trying to figure it out. They just have not been able to, I call it just not, not good enough. It just hasn't have been clinical enough at times. I guess you mentioned a past going the wrong way in this situation.
00:35:49
Speaker
league now it's it's about small margins and if you are not there in that game and you're not as clinical as you need to be and you're not as sharp as you got to be and you lose a defender in the last moment of a game you're never going to win that I think the second goal Paul Rothbard could have done more to close down that gap right before that shot gets taken and and that was a big moment that that window of a couple of seconds was the difference between going home with a draw and going home with no points. So I do think that there is a level of of truth to this team being very cemented still. But the one thing that they have not been able to avoid, Brad, is is the the injuries. I mean, three injuries yesterday, ah Peter and ah Kim and Areola is just time and time again. I don't know if Providence Swedish Performance Center is...
00:36:41
Speaker
on top of like a ancient burial or I don't know what's going on. Like what, I have no idea what it is that's happening, but this team cannot shake the injury bug.
00:36:52
Speaker
Yeah. um I don't know. i don't know. I think that is, it's a great question. I asked myself that, you know, a lot too. Look, I always had, you know, some, some nagging injuries and every sports team goes through it and some more than others, but,
00:37:07
Speaker
Uh, I don't know what the answer is. I mean, we know that they've got a top class facility. Uh, I think everyone's aware of that. They've got every single mo modality that you could possibly think of to, you know, try and make yourself as bulletproof as possible.
00:37:23
Speaker
Um, and for whatever reason, when you get hit by the bug, it it kind of just snowballs and keeps going. there' There's no, if someone had the right answer, then, You know, it'd be a magic pill. We'd already have heard about it on a podcast or on. And there's a lot of people that claim that they know. But when you talk, you know, to sports professionals on on a podcast or whatever, it's everyone's a professional.
00:37:46
Speaker
um I don't have a good answer for you. I would love to say, Oh, you just do more of this and you'll stay healthy or you'll do more of that and stay healthy.
00:37:58
Speaker
Um, I don't know enough about, you know, that, that side of things. The only thing I knew how to do was, was try and rehab to get back as quick as possible. Um, I'm not a sports scientist. I don't know, but they wear GPS, they wear heart rate, they track everything. I mean, they've got great nutrition breakfast and lunch down there from, you know, their chef who's fantastic. It's not a nutrition thing. It's, I don't i don't know.
00:38:23
Speaker
I don't know. i Honestly. I thought Brian was spot on about, you know, and I like the fact that he was like, look, we're going to look into it. There's clearly something that, you know, are we overcooking the players? Is there a training pattern that's not working? And, you know, I just kind of mentioned it because that has been a huge factor in what this team is now. And it's something that we can't decipher. It's something that they're trying to get. uh,
00:38:48
Speaker
every fan base always feels like they are the most injured team in MLS. When, if you look at the stats, maybe not, not so much. Now this time around, it it is pretty clear that you're starting to get into the bare bottom of your roster just to try to fill teams up. And,
00:39:06
Speaker
At some point, in my opinion, you're going to have to figure out if you've got to change the the staff or that when you train at specific days, you know, match day minus one, whatever it is that I do think that there is something to be changed there. And and and we'll see what what what that is. But the game ahead Brad is against, as you mentioned, is not just in altitude, but is against one of the best teams, probably the best teams in Connecticut, to be quite quite frank. They're a team that's coming off of a three one win against Nekaxa. They have a little bit of everything. They've speed out wide with Vega and Angulo. They have a goal scorer. They have a very good defense, a very experienced as well, with a guy like Gallardo coming up. He's so good on those overlaps on the left side.
00:39:54
Speaker
i don't I don't know if anyone's expecting the Sounders to win, but as a player, and I always say, you got to play the games. You you have to play them. I'm always going to give team like the Sounders a puncher's chance.
00:40:09
Speaker
How do you do it? How how do you go down there and and and get yourself a result that could maybe catapult you and change the momentum? I mean, if you if you go draw into Luka, even just a draw, yeah that's going to be a huge boost of confidence from a team that's just trying to get something going their way.
00:40:28
Speaker
Yeah, I think and Toluca will know that they they know that the Sounders just need to draw. they They are bruised and battered right now. They'll know that if they get on top of the Sounders in the first five to six minutes, the game's over. And it could be, you know, what happened to us in in Santos, you know, a decade ago losing. We try to push for the game, play offensive, and then all of a sudden it's bang, bang, bang.
00:40:49
Speaker
And we lose, I think five, nothing down there, something five to one, maybe it could become one of those nights. But if Toluca is smart, they played on Sunday. Will they make changes in this game?
00:41:01
Speaker
Will they know that altitude is their friend? Can they bring on ah maybe a fresh, seven to eight players and still get a result. I think that tactically, maybe they're thinking the same thing because they'll have another, you know, they're, they're in a tournament and they're going to have to travel after this game too. So that they need results and they need to put themselves in the best position to advance out of the group.
00:41:21
Speaker
um And for the sounders, I think you're right. I think you go for a tie. You better believe all these guys are probably calling Danny Leyva to say, Hey, what do we need to do to, to, to get a result against this team? Right. He played 80, 86 minutes in that game. And so,
00:41:36
Speaker
um, a good opportunity for, the sounders to have some inside Intel. They'll be watching all the tape they can, but the sounders have to just play tight, tight defensively. i don't know if they'll go with five in the back and just try to withstand. I don't think you can do that in in a place like that against a team like to Luca. If you just allow them to have the ball, it's going to be a long night for the sounders. And I know that the the guys don't want that either. I think you stick with the same four, two, three, one, maybe four, four, two. to start the game and see if you can pin them back a little bit.
00:42:08
Speaker
I mean, they do play a four, two, three, one playing a four, four, two against that is, is tough. um But if you can put them under some pressure for, you know, 20, 25 minutes, and then kind of maybe take your lumps and and sit back and get into halftime nil nil, you give yourself a decent chance.
00:42:24
Speaker
I just know from past experience playing in Mexico, if you try to to to to really offensively push, it catches up to you real quick. i mean, we had a decent start at Azteca against Clube America, and then all of a sudden the altitude kicks in and, you know, they bring guys off the bench that are starters on any MLS team.
00:42:44
Speaker
And, uh, it was, it was, you know, it ah was a decent result, but, um, it was a tough one for us to grind out a, uh, I think we lost two to one in that game maybe. So it's a difficult place to play. One of the highest elevation, ah stadiums in the world.
00:42:59
Speaker
Um, so it's going to be a tough night for the sounders, especially when you look at the end of that game, four or five sounders cramping, um, you hope they have enough in the tank to, to, to push in this one.
00:43:10
Speaker
Yeah, i mean, we still haven't heard Ward-Aso what happened to Peter. It looked like maybe he was cramping up as well. We haven't necessarily heard back. We'll probably know more about it in about the next hour when training is done. But quite honestly, I agree with you. I don't think that you can go down to Toluca and just absorb pressure. You got to be able to keep him at bay. I like the 4-4-2 setup. Just to simplify things a little bit. Maybe you don't create as many overloads. Maybe you don't push your, whether it's Kalani, Kozariensi, or Nuhu as high. Maybe you just kind of try to simplify the game a little bit more. ah you definitely That's one thing I watch with Kalani. we We all know he's a fantastic athlete, but seems like the Sounders are relying on Kalani to be this offensive presence higher up the field.
00:44:00
Speaker
And if I have one thing to say to Kalani, it's just your job. Number one is to defend and just sit back and keep possession, just maintain, because when it comes to playing in Mexico or in Portland, the minutes between 70 and 90 are just elevated so much higher that if you run yourself to death in the first 45, 55 minutes of the game, it's going to catch up to you really, really quick.
00:44:25
Speaker
And I see that I see he gets tired and minutes 70. And he's not able. It's he's so mentally stubborn, that it's almost like his brain takes over and says, I have to go, i have to go, I have to go.
00:44:39
Speaker
on the field. Yes, the coach picks the team. Schmetz isn't going to sub you off because you decided not, not to make a run and just play smart. And after the game, you can have a conversation and say, look, 60th minute, I was exhausted high up the field. And then it was a turnover and then I'm sprinting back. And then I got forward again. And then Portland came down and I got to defend Velde now, and I can't get tight because I'm too tired. And then Velde cuts in recovers the ball plays that pass to the coast of the coast of pines by and then bang balls in the back of the net.
00:45:10
Speaker
You have to be thinking, what if I didn't make the four runs before that? Could I have gotten touch tight with Velde when I deflected the ball and then he was able to turn and face me? Could I made him play back to goal in those moments?
00:45:23
Speaker
That's where the smarts have to come in and you gain that through experience. And unfortunately from taking goals and then watching it on tape, but those little moments from him have to be defend first. How can I be a hundred percent defender?
00:45:36
Speaker
And then if I get the opportunity to get forward, I just connect my pass. I don't have to score the goals. The goals have to come from the Jesus, the Roosnacks, you know, Morris, when he's on the field, those Paul Rothrock,
00:45:50
Speaker
that's where they get yelled at in film, not yell that, but talk to, because the ball isn't being put in the back of the net and the chances aren't created. Schmitz is never going to go to you and say, why didn't you create more goal scoring opportunities from a right back position?
00:46:02
Speaker
So I don't know if that conversation is being had, but that's what I see when I watch, you know, a player like Kalani, you know, play in these games. And when it comes to playing into Luca, They're going to sniff that out. If he's high up the field ball gets switched to the other side and he's still high. The first thought that they're going to say is how do I get into the vacated space now that, that are the, their right back has just left high up the field.
00:46:24
Speaker
It's too smart at the next level, especially playing away from home into Luca. So just defend, defend, defend. not Not to mention the fact that you'll be winded by 18th minute. you know you have I don't care how good of an athlete you are. When you play in elevation, it just completely changes your outlook and how you play the game.
Recruiting Challenges from Europe
00:46:43
Speaker
So you got to let the ball do the work. You got to be able to defend with the session.
00:46:47
Speaker
The ultimate neutralizer. And it'll make you feel like you've never played the game before. Yeah, Brad. Well, thank you so much, Brad. I'm going to give you one thing because I was just getting a text and it looks like I got a hit. And I'm just going to share that name with you because at this point, I don't know if we're going to get any of these guys out there, but um it looks like the Sounders are targeting a um a striker, Philippe Kenny. He is a Senegalese 27-year-old that is currently playing in the Swedish ah Super League. Mm-hmm.
00:47:23
Speaker
FC search search. So, hey, you know what? He, ah according to the transfer market, is is about 2.5 million, which that's just a number, to be quite honest. But hey, you know, Saunders are out there looking for maybe some some speed, a guy that seems to be a point player that gets in the box quite often. So there you go. There is another potential rumor that gets added to to this show. I will say this, that there is an urgency from this front office. They see what's going on. They are not turning a blind eye to the fact that there's all these injuries and that there is all of these issues. League Cup games coming up and obviously MLS play the Sounders for better or for worse. and And you might not believe it, but I certainly think that it's more than just a phrase. They do want to get trophies. They just won one last year and and they want to do that again. So there is that urgency. That's why I'm starting to see some names out there. Don't know if it'll be a possibility, but it's interesting.
00:48:24
Speaker
It's difficult, though. We kind of have to put our recruiting cap on. Why would a player from this? Let's just take this player, for example, Swedish first division come to MLS when he's already in the the European mix with European scouts all the time, watching a player like that. What would be any any player in Europe? What would be the reason to come to major league soccer to the Sounders at, you know, 26, 27 years old in your prime? Number one, it's, it's probably money, right?
00:48:58
Speaker
And then number two, I don't know. I mean, it it just begs the question. It's really difficult to be a Sounders recruiter trying to get players to come to major league soccer.
00:49:11
Speaker
And I know that they're, they do their damnedest and hardest to try and convince a player from Eastern Europe heat, Eastern European country to come to major league soccer away from their families, away from everything, instead of that player going to maybe from, you know, Eastern Europe to Sweden or, and then making the jump there from the air to visit to Holland.
00:49:34
Speaker
Everyone there already knows the track to make it to the Bundesliga, Premier League, La Liga, whatever league you want to talk about. It hasn't become yet that a player comes from those countries that says, oh, I want to take my chances in major league soccer, thinking that it will get them to a bigger club in Europe. And I think that's the Sounders, you know, M.O. is, well, we have to start to build that pipeline here in Seattle to sell those players that we can convince players from Europe that, yes, this is a viable pipeline to make the next step forward to get
00:50:05
Speaker
really competitive games to challenge yourself, to travel across a giant country. if you go to Sweden, you're just in a bus. I think there's a couple flight, a couple games that you have to take a flight for, but everything is close to home. Most of the European countries. So but it's really difficult to try and convince players to come here and in major league soccer, um, to make the jump. So like you said, the,
00:50:26
Speaker
but consistently there's three or four players on their radar, uh, from X country, but to really convince them, they have to want to come here. Uh, number one, and really believe in what the sounders are trying to do and and the project that's here.
00:50:42
Speaker
Yeah, and again, the the salary cap constraints. So, you know, can you get him like on ah ah on a loan with an option to to purchase in the future like they've done in the past? Can you break it down? Because there is supposed to be changes to the rules and regulations starting off next next year. So we'll see. yeah But I'm totally with you. i Look, although MLS has become a bigger issue trapoline Yeah.
00:51:08
Speaker
Into European teams, because there are so many clubs within MLS that have direct contact or direct ownership with other teams in Europe. You know, i got to tell you, Couture Hernandez was a guy that came here with the idea that he was going to go into a bigger bigger team. He did that recently. So there is the possibility. John Duran, who ruined his career, unfortunately, but he was in Chicago Fire. He ended up going to the Premier League. And so, you know, it does happen, but I'm totally with you in, in the fact that, you know, the Sounders do have ah a difficult time and they have a hard time ahead trying to get get some
Conclusion with Insights from Brad Evans
00:51:46
Speaker
players in. Hopefully they can do that. But Brad, look, thanks again for just jumping on with us.
00:51:51
Speaker
helping us take a look, a broader look at what's going on with the Sounders right now. You are, again, a voice look right here behind me. My son took my TV to college. So I was like, I got a big void. i ended up just putting, I got you right back there, man. You're a legend. We know that we can always get a good insight from you. So I appreciate it, man. Thank you for hopping on.
00:52:13
Speaker
Yeah, thanks for having me.
00:52:44
Speaker
Let's go at Sounders.