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Minor Setback, Major Comeback - Ep. 45
27 Plays4 months ago
It’s the biggest Dub Pod of the season as Ari and Noah recap the Seattle Sounders’ massive 3-2 comeback victory over FC Dallas at Lumen Field in Matchday 22. Other topics include yet another riveting performance from Paul Rothrock, Raúl Ruidíaz scoring from inside the penalty area(!), Jordan Morris putting the city of Seattle on his back and Obed Vargas hitting a pass of the season front-runner.
That precedes a return to the world of USMNT punditry, with takes on both the US and Canada’s Copa América openers. To wrap it up, there’s also our weekly journey around the wild world of MLS, with takes on the rest of the Matchday 22 slate.
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Transcript
Seattle's Epic Comeback
00:00:14
Speaker
What's going on, everybody? Welcome into episode 45 of Lobbing Scorchers. This is Ari Lillian Wall. I got producer Noah here with me. And Noah, we got a dub pod today. How are you feeling? We got a dub pod. However.
00:00:19
Speaker
back out jordan morris jordan morris
00:00:30
Speaker
However, it was not a game that I expected to be a dumb. I don't think anybody expected it to be a dumb after FC Dallas went up 2-0, but the Seattle Sounders came back 3-2 victors at Lumen Field last night. Like I mentioned, they erased a 2-0 deficit to score three goals between the 78th and the 94th minute. It was a barrage of late goals that first equalized and then gave Seattle victory.
00:00:59
Speaker
Probably the biggest dub of the season, I would say, given the circumstances and where they're at on the table and the comeback nature of it. So yeah, we're going to dive headlong into the dub pod, have some fun with that.
Podcast Future and USMNT Talk
00:01:11
Speaker
And we're also going to do some US men's national team punditry today. And we're getting back into that game with the start of the Copa America and the US MNT beat Bolivia today. 2-0.
00:01:24
Speaker
Christian Pulisic and Fuller and Balligan on the goals. So we'll dive into that. And we'll also hit your questions about the Seattle Sounders and some around the league stuff. Noah, does that sound good? That sounds amazing. I'm so ready. Before we get into all that, I wanted to let you know, Lobbing Scorchers is now part of the Sounder at Heart Podcast Network.
Supporting the Show
00:01:44
Speaker
If you want to get the best independent Seattle soccer coverage, consider supporting us by going to sounderatheart.com slash LS. That's sounderatheart.com slash LS.
00:01:52
Speaker
All you have to do is scroll down to subscribe and support to get 30 days completely free. Every sign up through our link helps support and grow this show. So go hit up sounderatheart.com slash LS and get some extra free content like the written version of the agenda check segment that we do on this podcast every week.
00:02:11
Speaker
Yeah, I'm doing written content now. My debut piece just dropped this last week, and I thought it came out pretty well. It was nice. It was nice. It's fun to get back into a style of writing where I can editorialize like that a little bit, put my own voice in it. So I definitely had fun writing it, and hopefully all the Sounder at Heart readers enjoy reading it, and I'm going to keep churning those out.
Subscriber Appreciations
00:02:34
Speaker
So go ahead and sub to Sounder at Heart right now.
00:02:39
Speaker
If you have not done so yet, subscribe to the Lobbing Scorchers YouTube. I think we hit 150. We summited 150. We summited 150. The next goal is 200. So if you have not done so yet, please help us grow our presence on YouTube. And then finally, I wanted to thank all of our paid subs. Rob Lincoln was our new sub. And I'm going to go through the entire list again. Do it all. Get them all.
00:03:03
Speaker
We got Tom Lachlan, Gail broth, Samuel Fout, Nate bowling, Joey Pascanelli, Brenna Murphy, Pete Earls, rhombus, Nate Bontye, Tyler Nakatsu, Owen Mason, David Rodriguez, Christopher, mainly Bill Breitenbach, Mike Lentini, Aaron B, Derek Richards, sounder naves, Dan Paveto, Mike Standish, Ryan, Shane, Eric Stanley, my nephews, CJ miles, Maranakis, Andy Hill, Ian Mitchell, Greg Hoker.
00:03:26
Speaker
I know that list is getting pretty long, which is a good thing. But I really, it's important to me that all the people who have supported us to this point know how much we love and appreciate them for that. And anyone else who hasn't yet, go subscribe to Sounder at Heart. Go subscribe.
00:03:44
Speaker
We'll read your name off too. We will. Let's dive into this dub dub pod. Does that sound good? No, let's do it.
Seattle's Strategic Insights
00:03:51
Speaker
So Seattle played FC Dallas last night who have been one of the worst teams in MLS this year. They fired their coach a few weeks ago and they hadn't won a road game going into this game all season.
00:04:04
Speaker
So it was definitely I mean we talked about it on the preview show. This is a game that Seattle had to win Let's do our lineup reaction and talk about how Seattle came out set up because it was a it was a pretty interesting one This was listed as a four two three one But and you can tell me if you agree Noah but to me that looked more like a three five two with new as a third center back and
00:04:28
Speaker
And then you had Christian and Leo Chu out wide as kind of these hybrid full backs slash wide midfielders. And then you had Rusnak pulling the strings. And, you know, Moose was listed on the graphic as the right wing. I thought that was basically a dual striker set up with Jordan Morris and Moose. So that's how I interpreted the lineup. How did you interpret it?
00:04:49
Speaker
yeah i agree it it felt very i don't know how to say it like fluid it was it was movable when it needed to be four in the back it was four in the back when it needed to be three in the back it was three in the back when i need to be five in the back it was five in the back and that's what you want out of literally any formation period uh... yeah i liked it i i don't know it was cool it was an it was an interesting little wrinkle it was an interesting little wrinkle but my one i had a bone to pick with it yeah noah and it's a pretty major bone
Player Rotation and Rest
00:05:19
Speaker
I'm serious. Why was Paul Rothrock not starting? Well, he, he, he just played 180 minutes back to back. Okay. That's fair. That's about it. I'm still gonna, uh, I'm still gonna make a stink over that because I feel like he, uh, he earned it, but no, he, I mean, he'd been playing every minute of every game. So, uh, it's funny that we've, uh, reached a point in this season where Paul Rothrock is now getting rested. He's rotating out.
00:05:44
Speaker
Yeah, that's not necessarily something I would have expected before the start of the season. But that's where we are. And Paul Rothrock, as we all know, has very much earned that status. And he got in the game anyway. And he did get in the game. And we're going to talk about the impact he had on the game because I thought it was quite substantial once again.
Defensive Errors and Consequences
00:06:03
Speaker
Seattle went down 2-0 in this game and got pretty lucky to not lose this game.
00:06:09
Speaker
They gave up two goals in the second half after a 0-0 first half. So let's talk about those goals real quick and maybe divvy up the blame. The first one, if I'm remembering correctly, was a giveaway by Jackson Reagan to Logan Farrington.
00:06:26
Speaker
who I mean he got the ball on the right side there deep in Seattle territory and he sends in a nice cross and the goal scorer was unmarked right there but you know I kind of blame that one more on the turnover than that guy being open because when you turn it over in that area of the field
00:06:47
Speaker
I mean, that's not good. You're very likely, or not very likely, but you're pretty likely to give up a high percentage chance. And that's exactly what happened. And FC Dallas was up 1-0. And then they got the second one just a few minutes later. They had some nice interplay at the top of the area. And Pete Armusa, their Croatian striker, he beat Nuhu and had a clean look right on Stephen Fry. It's another one that I do think Stephen Fry would probably tell you that he should have saved.
00:07:17
Speaker
Again, though it was a situation where you have their DP striker with a pretty clean look on goal Coming on gets the shot off and coming off a hattie. Yeah. Yeah, so I mean you're kind of you're asking to get bammed on correct when you give their DP striker a shot like that coming off a hattie so I got to tell you know at that point I
00:07:42
Speaker
I was ready to come on this show and start arguing for some pretty extreme beliefs. That would have been the worst L of the season. It ended up being the biggest dub of the season, but it would have been the worst L of the season.
00:08:02
Speaker
considering like I said where they're at on the table how badly they need to stack these three point results and also just the state of FC Dallas FC Dallas fired their coach a few weeks ago one of the worst teams in the league all year and they also never take results in Seattle they've been beating the
00:08:19
Speaker
in the playoffs by Seattle, in Seattle, a few times. They hadn't won a game on the road all season. You couldn't lose to this team. And Seattle was right on the precipice of doing that down 2-0 in the second half here. But then it got pretty fun, Noah. It did. They came back.
00:08:36
Speaker
So, let's break down this comeback right here.
Rui Diaz's Game-Changing Goal
00:08:39
Speaker
It started out in the 77th minute from Raul Rui Diaz, who scored a great header from inside the box. Noah Raul Rui Diaz has scored a goal, an MLS goal from inside the penalty box off a really nice dime once again from Albert Rusnak. We're going to talk about him quite a lot on this show later.
00:09:00
Speaker
Um, but just a, it's a really good connection on that play. Russ next sends in a pinpoint ball. Uh, Ruby Diaz goes up to get the header. You know, I, I don't know how many headed goals he has an MLS, you know, he's like five foot six. So he's not typically going to get that many, but he got up for that.
00:09:17
Speaker
And he placed it perfectly. You know, a lot of a lot of people, including some people on this show, I'm not going to mention any names, but I had some takes about Raul Ruy Diaz. And it was funny. He scored that goal. And he he did the like pulling the name on the back of the jersey thing. I don't know if that was directed towards Schmetz or in us or just at everyone in general. But it was kind of like Raul saying
00:09:42
Speaker
Don't forget who I am. I've scored the most goals in the history of this club. I've scored
00:09:50
Speaker
Goals and MLS cups here and one MLS cups here. I've won CONCACAF Champions League. I'm still a bad dude. So whether you believe in that or not, that's kind of how I interpreted that silly. He did rob Jordan of a hat trick, though. He got he got up in front of Jordan. So, you know, a little upset at him for that. Just kidding. That was that. Listen, I don't think I've ever seen him get that much vert. That was pure spite put into that vertical right there. Like he got up. He got that ball in the back of the net and
00:10:20
Speaker
I felt it. You know, I have to give this little anecdote because it's hilarious. Yeah. Went to the game with my lovely girlfriend, Liv, and one of our friends. And I turned to him at halftime and I said, I bet you 10 bucks that they're going to sub Raoul in around half and he's not going to score. And he's like, I'll take that back.
00:10:43
Speaker
Great goal from Ruby Diaz and Seattle had life at that point and I actually I don't know about you But I felt I felt pretty confident that they were gonna level it just based on How the game had been going up until that goal and really like it was definitely a game where it wouldn't have made a difference if they've lost it but it was definitely a game where I
00:11:01
Speaker
One team was out playing the other and the other was scoring against the run of play So once they pulled the first goal back You know, I figured if they maintain this game state, they're gonna keep generating They're at least gonna have some good chances at tying this thing up. I definitely didn't think they would win I thought like a 2-2 was what they were gunning for at that point. Yeah, but then
Equalizer from Morris
00:11:23
Speaker
They they tied it Jordan Morris off a corner kick from Albert Rusnak and they scored off a corner Ari they scored Seattle Sounders have scored off a corner kick for the first time all season I believe they still lead the league in corner kicks taken and they hadn't scored one yet before this one which was
00:11:45
Speaker
Not that good a bit. I'm glad that that streak is over. It was pretty frustrating watching them win corner after corner after corner and not get particularly close to converting any of them. So I think that was a big goal, both in terms of the game, but also just the psychological weight of having scored on a corner kick now. And they also got a set-piece goal against Houston on the Jackson-Reagan goal.
00:12:10
Speaker
Jordan Morris had another headed goal off a set piece from Russ next so the set pieces are kind of cooking lately certainly much more so than they have earlier this season, but that's just That's a great header from Jordan I was reading Matt Doyle's like match day 22 breakdown right before this and he mentioned something to the effect of He's never he doesn't think he's ever seen Jordan score a goal quite like that He scored headers before but I mean
00:12:37
Speaker
the technique on that placement that was very clinical great delivery just a perfectly executed set piece to tie the game and you know after you scored that
Morris's Winning Moment
00:12:52
Speaker
I thought there was an off chance that they might win the game, just because Seattle was all over them at that point. But it felt like too much to ask for how things have gone this season. I can't say that I truly believed in my heart of hearts that Seattle was going to win that game, even after Jordan equalized and even after how well they had been playing during that stretch of the game.
00:13:15
Speaker
But they won the game, Noah. That's why it's a dub pod. Jordan Morris wins it with a breakaway finish in the 94th minute off one of the dimes of the season from Obed Vargas. Unbelievable pass by the homegrown. I threaded that right through there for Jordan to run onto. Let's not forget, this was probably four or five minutes after he looked like he exploded his hamstring.
00:13:38
Speaker
Yeah, that's true. It looked like he was having trouble moving around after that. Gets back up and gets just a great assist for assists now this year for Obed Vargas. And we'll talk about him in the agenda check. But I mean, once again, just making a tangible impact of the game. I mean, that
00:13:58
Speaker
That play by Obed and the finish by Jordan, that's the difference between a win and a draw right there. So the Obed agenda stays through the roof and Seattle takes the 3-2 victory. So they're now on 25 points and still in 10th place in the West. But I mean, if you look at the West table, it's basically a log jam from five to 10. Anyone who is down in the
00:14:24
Speaker
Seven eight nine ten range a couple of wins will put them up in the four five six range So Seattle's right there as far as the playoff race is concerned They are not technically above the line right now, but still all to play for for the rest of the season Noah before we get to the agenda check. Did you have any other thoughts or takeaways from this game? I
00:14:46
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, I think that Paul Rothrock coming in made an instant impact and not in the necessarily what, like not in the way of him physically touching the ball, but I think pulling chew off and also bringing on RBW with him created such a dynamic change that FC Dallas had to shift their positioning. They had to shift.
00:15:10
Speaker
their formation to account for that and that's really truly what opened the game up and allowed the Sounders to be competitive and win this match.
00:15:19
Speaker
Yeah, I think that's a good shout, and that's actually a good segue to the agenda check, because we're going to do some Paul Rothrock takes here, as per usual, as has become custom on lobbying scorchers.
Rusnak's Performance Debates
00:15:30
Speaker
I have a few written down here. Noah, let's see. I think I have six written down, so we'll try not to go too long on this. But there's a lot of agendas this week. First one I got, the Albert Rusnak is terrible agenda.
00:15:47
Speaker
diminished it's gone four assists in the last three games and nine for the season like i think the funny thing is that he's actually having a pretty good year yeah if you just if you know the underlying numbers might not be great someone posted them the other day and uh... it they definitely you know he didn't look like any mukhtar anything but when i think of the type of just pure output that you need from a number ten uh... well first of all i i look at assists much more than goals and uh...
00:16:15
Speaker
Rusnak has he has seven primary assists this season only two of them are secondary He's really been cooking in these last three games four of those assists have come in the last three games So he's definitely he's hot right now but
00:16:30
Speaker
With the output that I think of ideally from a starting number 10 in MLS Like 15 plus if you can get there Albert rest next Career high is 14 that he set with real salt Lake he is on pace to at least match that and potentially surpass that and it's funny because
00:16:48
Speaker
If he ends up with, say, 15 to 18 assists, I think all of a sudden you're talking about a legitimate debate as to whether he actually is worth the DP spot or if he should still be a Tam player like we were talking about, which is funny because I think the conventional wisdom has become that he's not performing at a DP caliber level.
00:17:12
Speaker
I do think there is an argument to be made for that, but it's at least a debate now. I mean, he's playing really well. He's getting on the stat sheet. He's impacting games. So I am still sympathetic to the notion that he might not be the best use of a DP spot, but it's something worth talking about at least, which I don't think that was necessarily the case in the last few weeks to most people's minds.
00:17:40
Speaker
yeah i'm super sympathetic to the to the dp argument mostly because his literal physical contract is only a couple thousand dollars above the threshold to make him a dp so when you look at the numbers in the terms of like value for your dp spot it really doesn't make any sense that he's a dp but that doesn't mean he's a bad player and i think we've both said like he's gonna have to play to show that he's worth a dp but even more than that he's just gonna show that he's worth playing the 10 in general because
00:18:09
Speaker
That's an important spot, and he's filling a large role. He's filling a role that we could probably go out and find someone to fill for a real DP spot. Yeah, the question is, can and should you build an MLS attack around this guy? And there's been very valid questions brought up about that by us, us included, about that this season.
00:18:31
Speaker
Um, but I mean, if you're just looking at his form in the last few weeks, um, I can kind of, he does look like a DP number 10 to me. I'm not saying necessarily in the league right now, I think, yeah. Seventh or eighth behind Jared Stroud, Denny Bawango, Jared Stroud.
00:18:47
Speaker
who both have seven assists. So they're tied for, I guess, I don't know, however you want to be. And I guess back to the original point of like, there is a very prominent and outspoken vocal minority anti Rusnak. Rusnak is actively bad contingent.
00:19:06
Speaker
I just don't know like the notion that he's this like terrible player I mean I just don't I just don't agree like like I said There's a lot of interesting questions to talk about regarding his his status on the roster As a DP or if it should be Tim, but he's definitely playing well these last few weeks Obed Vargas
00:19:28
Speaker
Agenda strengthened yeah easily notably strengthened god that pass was so good his whole game was so good man his whole game the last Like two months has been so yeah last matches Houston match was really bad but
00:19:44
Speaker
It was not his best. It was not his best. But he was back cooking this game. And that is a big time assist.
Vargas's Impactful Assist
00:19:53
Speaker
And we've talked about it a lot. But the thing that you want to see from these Academy products as they break into the first team is making those impact plays, changing results of games. Obed is doing all that stuff. They don't win that Philly game unless he
00:20:11
Speaker
Is playing out of his mind. Yeah, and he scored a great goal in that game. Like I said up to four assists and That's I mean, I don't know how many 18 year olds can hit that pass that he hit to Jordan That was that was past the week in my opinion
00:20:28
Speaker
that was insane that's like some fifa shit like that was just like that's why when you hit y on yeah literally like it was like a magnet dude like i sat there i watched it in real time and i i literally had the best possible perspective i was sitting kind of mid mid line in the stadium
00:20:45
Speaker
I see him win the ball in his chest. I was like, Oh, he sees this pass. He sees this pass chess it down one time. I'm like, Oh, my God. We are in the presence of a of a baller. Yeah. And it's on the other side of it. It's been
00:21:02
Speaker
good to see Jordan making those runs and getting the service on those runs. You know, we saw in the St. Louis game, Rusnak hit him on one of those. It just feels like he's been making those kind of Jordan Morris type runs. And that was a vintage Jordan Morris goal. The header was one that was not a vintage Jordan Morris goal. That's one that you don't typically see him hit. The game winner was
00:21:26
Speaker
If you made a Jordan Morris goal in a lab of the type of run that he likes to make, and what he can do when he gets out and running, I mean, that would be it right there. And Jordan Morris is, I mean, he's blazing hot right now. What's that, five and six? And up to seven for this season. But he's honestly, he's carrying the team right now in a lot of ways. I mean, we've talked a lot about this season, how goal starved this team is.
00:21:54
Speaker
and how, you know, Jordan Morrison, Raul Rui Diaz were tasked with fixing that. And Jordan is carrying a huge load right now. And, you know, you have to give Rui Diaz credit for his goal in this game, too. Paul Rothrock Agenda.
00:22:13
Speaker
Yes. Strengthened. And like you said, Noah, he didn't get on the score sheet, but the energy that he brought should have been on the score sheet. Yeah, he got pretty close. He was robbed. That was a handball, Ari. I think it might have been. I didn't really see a great replay of it.
00:22:29
Speaker
But nonetheless, it was still a really good sequence of attacking play executed by Rui Diaz and Paul Rothrock. If the guy doesn't block it, I don't know if it went off his hand or not, but that would have at least been on target.
00:22:45
Speaker
That's one of the great things about Paul Rothrock that I just love about the guy is when he shoots the ball. Oftentimes it goes on target and sometimes it actually it goes in the goal. So it was good to see him make a play. But like this was not even this was not about like the statue. OK.
00:23:04
Speaker
As soon I don't think it's a coincidence first of all that this comeback basically all happened with Paul Rothrock on the field But he also I mean did you see him pumping the crowd up again? Yeah, and like and that was when they were down to zero and he was still bringing that energy so
00:23:24
Speaker
Just because you didn't score in this game, the agenda did not take a hit. And, you know, if anything, I think it's as strong as ever. It did not skyrocket as much as it did last week, but it strengthened without a doubt. Oh, easily. I think, you know, one of the big things that he also brings is his talent to kind of like adjust to who he's playing with and his movement off the ball to allow people like Raul and Jordan to be in that space, but also like
00:23:53
Speaker
be selfish when he needs to be you know i think of that goal that he got in houston where he just he's like sorry jordan love you king but i'm just gonna blow right past you and score this goal i thought he did great to like open up space and pull defenders off rabble and jordan both and really just like give them a headache he's a true winger he he like he's a true winger and for all of the the great things that leo chu does bring you know
00:24:19
Speaker
Paul, I'm going to just say it has shown that he can make a bigger impact on the game. Yeah, for sure. You know, uh, let's dare to dream for a second about a world where Pedro de la Vega is healthy and playing.
00:24:34
Speaker
Just as a thought exercise, I'm not saying that it's especially likely to happen, but assuming that you do have Pedro de la Vega to put in the lineup, I think obviously you're starting de la Vega over Paul Rothrock, but with Paul Rothrock as your first attacking Super Sub with that lineup,
00:24:55
Speaker
I kind of love that, because the impact he made as a sub in this game was huge. And he played really well starting the previous game, but his skill set and the energy that he brings could be tailored pretty well to that super sub role. And I think you saw the potential of him in that role in this game. And in a world where Seattle did have a full strength lineup, I love Paul Rothrock as a potential super sub.
00:25:24
Speaker
Well, the great part about him too is you could you could technically plug him in as a wingback too, right? So if you play with that five in the back style again He can he's gonna get back for you. He's gonna get back. He's gonna do the defensive effort. I Don't know. I don't know man. And I mean, I think you're right that The reason he didn't start this game was minutes management. Yeah, because he had been playing so much lately but When you know when all things being equal I think this guy
00:25:54
Speaker
I'm serious. I think this guy has to start right now. I think he's got to. And then when you get De La Vega back, then you can talk about how to line it up or whether he should be a sub or not. But I think right now, you ride this hot hand, without a doubt. Let's move on to the Moose agenda. Diminished, I think. He got the start in this game, like I said, as what I thought was sort of a second striker with Jordan.
00:26:21
Speaker
I don't think he missed any sitters, but for the Moose agenda to be strengthened, he's got to score or at least get close to scoring. Honestly, his agenda might have gotten strengthened a little bit if he had missed a sitter just because you want him having those opportunities.
00:26:43
Speaker
But he didn't get on the score sheet in this game. And for a backup striker agenda, that's what you have to be doing to strengthen your agenda.
00:26:52
Speaker
It's, it's so tough, right? Like he is, he is really gunning for the a bear XG merchant of the year. It's tough. It's like death taxes and a backup nine that I just don't even understand how he's that bad. Like respectfully, I mean like he is, he, something happens when you become the backup nine for the sounders that I just, I don't know. It should be tested in a lab because he's not a bad player.
00:27:21
Speaker
It's been an admittedly small sample size but he's been productive in MLS and it just it is a lot like a bear which is definitely unfortunate.
00:27:35
Speaker
Leo Chiu, let's do the Leo Chiu agenda. I was a Leo Chiu apologist last
Leo Chu's Controversial Moments
00:27:42
Speaker
week. I tried to give him credit for the great assist that he had. And just in general, I feel like he takes a little too much heat sometimes. He's had really good individual moments and really good individual games.
00:27:57
Speaker
There's games that they've won in large part because of Leo Chu. So I think it's fair to point that out as it pertains to my take. He had that four assist game last year. He had the White Caps game where he scored the brace and they won that game because of him. So there have been good Leo Chu moments. I did not think this game was one of them.
00:28:19
Speaker
It's still kind of the same thing of when he's taking on a defender 1v1, his decision making and execution is just not there consistently at all. And in this game, I don't think he eliminated or beat any defenders. And then, I mean, the thing that killed me was the substitution thing where they were bringing on Paul Rothrock.
00:28:41
Speaker
uh for leochu leochu seems like he's not happy about getting subbed out so he takes his sweet time getting off the field right and just uh you know he looked pissed but then the new rule is that if you take too long
00:28:57
Speaker
removing yourself from the field, then the player who's something on for you has to wait two minutes to come onto the field. So Seattle ended up playing down a man for two minutes, which led to a chance, right? Well, that led to a chance. And basically right when Paul Rothrock was able to step on the field and had to sprint over to his position, they scored.
00:29:17
Speaker
Yeah, okay. Yeah, exactly. Exactly. So, the Leochu agenda, unfortunately, is diminished. I have to say that even after the credit that I gave him last week, but he didn't have a good game in this one, and then the sub thing was a debacle, and that just shouldn't happen. Yeah, I'm just...
00:29:38
Speaker
I don't know if it's that this team just isn't ripe for Leo Chu's skill set or that he's just not the prospect that people thought he was going to be. He's just not been good this season.
00:29:52
Speaker
I don't think
00:30:13
Speaker
I don't know, maybe it's the attitude, maybe it's not. I feel like I'm an ESPN commentator now, it's his attitude. But seriously, you have a guy like Paul Rothrock who's going out there who literally has nothing to lose. He has to work his ass off to get in those games. Leo Chu is in a position where, yeah, he's been injured, but it's assumed that if you want this team to do well, you play your high-value players. And that's Leo Chu.
00:30:39
Speaker
Why is someone who is paid less and is working harder than you starting over you? Like it's, I don't know. And then with all the transfer rumors, it's just, ah, I don't know. My, my head is in a spin about this one, but it's definitely diminished. It's not, it's not looking good right now, Ari.
00:30:55
Speaker
Let's move on to the Your JP is cooked agenda. I thought it was another tough week for that agenda. I thought I might be cooked I thought JP was great in this game and I thought he was especially good early in the match. He almost scored two goals He kind of had like a miniature version of the Beast quake
00:31:14
Speaker
where he he shredded through a few defenders and almost finished it to the far post hit it just wide and then he almost scored a really sick goal from way outside the penalty box that went off the post. So it was he almost scored twice which was nice but I don't know to me the last two weeks he looks he looks notably back to the type of player that he was pre ACL and I said it on the show last week
00:31:44
Speaker
but if he gets back to that type of form that would be huge for this team because we all know what the what the peak version of JP looks like and it's one of the best two-way players in the league so if you add one of the best two-way players in the league to the mix and God willing at some point get De La Vega healthy it could mean positive things but
JP's Comeback Form
00:32:07
Speaker
you know, he has to sustain it over a larger sample size. And De La Vega needs to get on the field. But those things are possible. And I think based on what we've seen from JP, the last couple weeks, his arrows pointing up agenda strengthened.
00:32:22
Speaker
Yeah, man, I am. I am happy to admit defeat with this one. He has. Honestly, it's ever since he I watched one of the the like post match, I guess it was training, one of the training interviews with him. And he took he took full acceptance and said, like, this has been my worst season I've ever played in my life. And literally, I am not kidding. From that moment on, from him acknowledging that it is turned around and he has been one of the best player on the field. I think that
00:32:52
Speaker
If you take away the goals and you're just going on pure performance for this game, I think he wins man in the match. Like for, for impact on the game, dude, he had 90% passing on a hundred passes. That's insane. That's, that is the, the important connecting play that you need. He gave up a little bit of a howler on, on the, it was a bad pass from Reagan. He could have done a little bit more to clean it up that led to that goal. But other than that, man, like.
00:33:19
Speaker
He's just, he's been back, he's been back. Agenda is boiling. Yeah, JP is cooking. Let's dive into questions if that sounds good, Noah. I would love to do that. Thank you as always to everyone who submits for these. Got a lot of replies to the crowdsourcing tweet this week. It was popping in there. And I appreciate everyone who gets the discourse flowing. I know that we can't get to every single question every week, but do not let that dissuade you ever from blowing up my mentions.
00:33:48
Speaker
It's much appreciated. Let's dive into it, Noah. Let's do it. Thank you all for your questions. As always, Lobdom and Ari's mentions, you can follow him on Twitter. Link is in the description of this show. We're starting off with Tio from the 360 credit where it's due. The Fire Schmetzer agenda is in shambles. The team just showed that they haven't given up on him and each other. Impressive amount of grit. I don't think the 2024 Sounders were capable of. Did this game do anything to quell the Schmetzer hot seat, Ari?
00:34:27
Speaker
Thank you for listening to the Sound Rit Heart Podcast Network, which now includes No Sonietes, Lobbing Scorchers, and The Cooler Guild.
00:34:35
Speaker
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00:35:00
Speaker
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00:35:23
Speaker
I don't know if it's this game in particular. I mean, they almost lost this game. But I just think if you look at where they are on the whole, I know it feels like they've been really, really bad because we're used to the Sounders being one of the best teams in the league. But I think realistically,
00:35:44
Speaker
they've been more mid than bad. And I don't know if being mid is enough to instigate a coaching change for a coach who is a club legend and has more importantly won as much as he has. I've said this a lot, but you earn equity through the amount of winning that Schmetz has done and for the amount of trophies that he's put in the trophy case. Now, that doesn't mean things can't run their course eventually.
00:36:14
Speaker
But I think things would have to be a lot worse than they even have been for that to happen. That's what I've been saying and that's still how I see it.
00:36:24
Speaker
Yeah, and I also want to know, too, on the grit side, how have you seen the Sounders change in the last few weeks in terms of body language? That's something that Schmetzer brought up specifically.
Sounders' Gritty Spirit
00:36:35
Speaker
But that ability to overcome a two nil deficit that I really don't think this team felt like it could do at the beginning of the season. It feels like the Sounders of old, you know, this is this is the type of stuff that, you know, Schmetz always hammers at home like Sounders don't quit. And it sounds like a cliche, but
00:36:51
Speaker
What he means is that it's been a long time dating back to the NASL, USL days. It's been sort of a hallmark and a defining factor of the club that when you go down, you fight your way back and it doesn't even matter what the deficit is. And there's been a lot of examples of that over the year. Remember the DC United one where they were down 3-0 and they won 4-3. That wasn't even crazier comeback than this one.
00:37:19
Speaker
But yeah, that grit that you're talking about, the determination to fight back and to pull off that comeback, it did feel like the sounders of old and it did not feel like something that they would have been able to do even a few weeks ago. So I definitely think, I mean, yeah, they're gonna have to build on it moving forward, but I definitely think it was a positive sign for them to pull one like this off.
00:37:45
Speaker
You know, I saw a Frank McDonald tweet, one of my favorite follows on Twitter that he said there is not been in the 50 years that the Sounders have existed a two match run where they overcame a two nil deficit to get a result. So that's a big deal. And this team does feel like it is.
00:38:03
Speaker
it's maybe it's not rejuvenated fully but it feels like a gear is turning things are working and that they surely don't think that the season is over we will hit this next one from Sebastian who I also saw I saw this question a ton actually
Rui Diaz and Morris's Altercation
00:38:22
Speaker
Observation. Prior to our first goal, I saw Jordan and Raoul going at it. Not in a normal way. Looked ugly from my vantage point. Did you see that? Thoughts? Raoul also left early down the tunnel and generally looked pissed. Yeah, so I saw a lot of people talking about this. I haven't seen the clip.
00:38:38
Speaker
myself, but it sounded like Jordan and Raoul exchanged some words. I think it was due to maybe Jordan not pressuring a goalkeeper, like running at him to make him kick it sooner. It was something like that. I don't know if that's exactly what it was. I don't know if that's exactly what it was, but I think, you know,
00:39:04
Speaker
It's kind of hard to know what to read into in situations like that because disagreements on the field and within the locker room and between teammates, they happen all the time. It's not particularly uncommon in pro sports. So without knowing that much about it, I'm not going to say there was any like drama or discord there, but it is a little bit interesting.
00:39:31
Speaker
I mean it's two leaders on the team. It's like it feels weird to see them arguing, but also like if you've played sports, if you played soccer like there's plenty of players that I played with where I hated playing with them on the field, but I loved them as people like sometimes you just get into it on the field and that's just how it is. You're at a high level. You're you know you got your adrenaline going you're just it's that's sometimes how it goes and sometimes you're just frustrated and
00:39:56
Speaker
I don't think that Raoul is not the type of person to hold a grudge like that. He is a very supportive teammate from what it looks like. I don't think there's any reason to read into it unless he actively comes out and says something or doesn't want to play. That's what I see. I don't know if you see anything different. No, I agree.
00:40:15
Speaker
This one comes from TropicSound352Me, until the end of
Tactical Formation Shift
00:40:20
Speaker
time. Ari, how well do you think the 352 played and what are the arguments against keeping the same formation for the rest of the season? I thought it played well, didn't you? I thought that even the 00 in the first half, I thought the
00:40:36
Speaker
I thought the chance generation and just the flow of the offense and the attacking sequences and stuff were about as good as they've been for most of this season. So they might be on to something with it. But I do think that the trustee 4-2-3-1 will be back. I think this was kind of, they lined up this way a little bit out of necessity. But I did think it went pretty well.
00:41:07
Speaker
Yeah, I think it went well. I don't expect Schmetzer to keep it all season, but I also think it's nice to know that you have another tactical formation in your holster because the reality is, and whether people like to believe it or not, you do have to adjust based on your opponent and how they play. And so now that they know this works against a team like Dallas and they know what they can get out of it, that's great. That's great for the pocket. Keep it in there. It'll be fun to see it again, hopefully.
00:41:34
Speaker
this one comes from dse smurf jordan is going to get a lot of praise for the two goal game but that pass from obed to win it was sublime next level ari what a bounce back game from obed is this the jp boost
00:41:46
Speaker
I hadn't really thought of it in those terms, but I think that's a good point. I think the double pivot. Really, I'm down with the double pivot of JP Obed or JP Atencio. I do think Obed this season, he's shown more of a propensity for making impact plays than Atencio has. Atencio's had an okay year. He's been solid to an occasionally above average MLS starter, I would say. Is that fair?
00:42:15
Speaker
Obed is breaking out and looking very dynamic, getting on the stat sheet. Like you said, that assist was incredible. So I am a fan of the Obed JP Double Pivot.
00:42:28
Speaker
I love it. I love Obed with JP. I think that it gives him the stability he needs to be creative. We've said it before. I'll say it again. He can be a superstar next to a player like that. And whether we keep Obed or not, man, think of all the clips he's getting. His value is just going up and up and up and up and value for like the club as well. I mean, now he's literally making game winning passes. I got to say Scornbangers game winning assists.
00:42:56
Speaker
We, you know, we said, you know, have they arrived? You got to make chances like that. I feel like we can officially say that Obed has arrived. Do you think that's fair or are you not ready yet? I think so. I think so. I've seen I've seen about what I need to see. I guess you could say that he needs to do it over a bit of a longer sample, but it's been a pretty decent sample now.
00:43:18
Speaker
Yeah, no, we'll see. We'll keep an eye on it. It's heating up then. I feel like we're not ready to fully commit. This one comes from Nathan Hall. The subs were perfect today. Raoul just being dangerous and seeing what can happen. Rothrock and RBW tilted the field on the left side. Dallas turtling and going five-man backline created some confusion. The whole rest of the game Dallas was stellar.
00:43:39
Speaker
This is for me. How well did Brian and the staff do to tilt the game back when they were too nil down making those subs? Metz has kind of been cooking with the subs the last couple of weeks. I thought he did so again in this game. Once again, I thought he did it early enough to allow the subs to actually make an impact. If you're going to run Rudy Diaz as a super sub, I think bringing him on around 60. So he has that 30 minutes to leave his imprint on the game is the way to do it.
00:44:07
Speaker
We talked about the impact that Rothrock made, and RBW is a good shout as well. But it completely changed the game, and I thought the subs were a huge part of why that comeback happened. That didn't really happen until the subs.
00:44:23
Speaker
Yeah, I'm impressed. Again, I feel like a theme this season has been taking accountability and growing off of that. I've seen a really big shift in the attention to substitutions from Brian and the staff. Maybe they just took a long hard look at it after that RBW red card, because I know the media was really on him. They were heating him up about that. Fans were as well. And he came out and said, you know, maybe I need to think more about that. Maybe I don't. The classic Brian Schmetzer, you know, I don't know. I'll look at it.
00:44:52
Speaker
I have to say like there's not a lot of coaches in this league who would go from that like address them. I'm making this up in my head cannon, but address that move forward and have like a three game span to three game span of like having game tilting substitutions.
00:45:10
Speaker
So, that's, you know, who knows. This one comes from Quinn. Do you think Chu should play any more minutes? Seems like he's more concerned about dribbling into low percentage chances and throwing tantrums. And then Tom Glantz also asks, Chu's attempted embellishment and delay getting off the pitch needs to be addressed. Hope we can get a good return for him in the summer. And man, we still need a big pickup this summer. Is the clock ticking on Leo Chiwari?
00:45:36
Speaker
Yeah I mean it might be regardless of what happened in this last game just because you know like we talked about last week it seems like there's genuine interest coming from Brazil on making a deal for him and it seems like that's what he wants so I think
00:45:54
Speaker
You know, without knowing anything about the specifics ins and outs of it, it sounds decently likely to me that they are going to sell Lao Chiu to a Brazilian club, which I think might be for the best.
00:46:10
Speaker
Yeah, 100 percent. I think he wants to go back. I don't think that he's. I just don't think that I feel like this system just isn't right for him and his skill set, and he needs a place where he can develop better and all period. Thank you all for your questions. We love you. Keep them bombing and always mentions. I do want to throw out their midweek episode. Ari, who do we have on?
00:46:34
Speaker
We got a big time guest folks coming on. We got my friend Tom Bogert from The Athletic. Tommy Scoops himself has agreed to come on. I'm excited for that one. He's the best in the game as far as these transfer rumors and the Scoops go. And I wanted to ask him a little bit about Seattle as well from a national perspective. But I think we're mostly going to be talking transfers and broader MLS stuff. And it's going to be fun.
00:47:03
Speaker
You all know who Tommy skips this. Yeah. Um, if you have questions for him, you can lob them in the sounder at heart discord. If you don't know how to join that, you can check out sounder at heart.com slash LS. You sign up. If you're on the level where you get access to the discord, you can go in the forums, find the post, lob your scorcher. We also, you know, we get a little, we get a little money when you, when you sign up. So.
00:47:27
Speaker
Let's dive into some Copa America takes and then some around the league and then we can get out of here. Does that sound good? No, let's do it. Okay. Um, for the Copa, I was going to just do takes on the USMNT and Canada. I watched and covered both of those games for MLS soccer.com and I've been, I've been watching a lot of the Copa and the euros.
00:47:47
Speaker
But we'll do the U.S. to lead it off here. So the U.S. played just before we started recording this show, and we beat Bolivia 2-0, goals from Christian Pulisic in Fuller and Balagan. So we're playing Bolivia, which is not a particularly strong team. But when you're playing an inferior opponent, it's your job to take a comprehensive victory.
00:48:11
Speaker
Mission accomplished in that sense. And really, I don't know how much of the game you saw, Noah, but it really should have been more like five or six to zero. We controlled the game the whole time. We were racking up chances at a very fast clip, and I think got a little unlucky. There was one goal, another goal that Balagan scored that got called offside, where it was one of those ones where it's like two millimeters offside. So could have scored more goals in general.
00:48:41
Speaker
pretty dominant so doesn't really mean all that much but credit to the Yanks for for taking a dub but also taking the type of like sometimes this team plays down to their opposition and they get in these
00:48:58
Speaker
Games that are super intense and competitive when they really like shouldn't be based on what you would think the talent levels are So I was glad to see them just take it to another team and win fairly convincingly Pula six goal was really really sick That was one of his nicer goals for the US. Yeah
00:49:15
Speaker
And it was good. I didn't I don't think Balghan honestly had all that good a game, but He did have a nice finish on his goal And it was just good to see him score one because really this big this is a big tournament for Balghan I've been someone who's been gassing him up quite a lot and you know talking all kinds of mess about how this is the number nine that's going to Deliver us to World Cup glory and they made you see God. Yeah. Yeah, exactly if you remember lobbing scorchers episode like five and
00:49:45
Speaker
I found religion because of Balagan and Nations League last year, so He's got to show out in this tournament And he's got to show that he is that type of number nine Which I think he still could be but it's a tournament like this where he has a chance to really show that Mechanic I watched Canada Argentina as well. Did you did you watch that one?
00:50:06
Speaker
I didn't. I just watched some highlights of that one. Oh, okay. Well, um, so Canada actually hung with it pretty well. They only lost two zero and they, uh, they were down one zero in the 88th minute and, uh, they just couldn't score. And then, uh, messy had a really nice assist on the, uh, on the last goal they scored right before second half stoppage time.
00:50:33
Speaker
So but I was decently encouraged, I guess, by the start of the Jesse Marsh era, or I would be encouraged if I was Canadian, which I'm not. But there was there was some takes that were flying around about this that were a little too hot. Like I saw someone saying,
00:50:52
Speaker
I've never seen a Burr-Haulter-coached U.S. team play as well against, as Canada did against Argentina. They lost 2-0 and really it was, they could have been a lot worse. So I think maybe slow your role on that one.
00:51:07
Speaker
But the one thing I know about that game is that Crapo played out of his mind. Yeah, no good shout Really? It would have been a lot worse than 2-0 if not for some insane goalkeeping from Maxime Crapo of the Portland Timbers, so That was good for Canada, but overall honestly
00:51:26
Speaker
I don't know. They weren't all that close to taking a result in this game, which Argentine is the best team in the world. They won the last World Cup, so I wouldn't necessarily expect him to be. So I'll be watching our Canadian friends to see, because I'm very curious about this Jesse Marsh thing. He was a guy a lot of people wanted for the US job. I think he's a pretty good coach. So I'm excited to see what he does with that.
00:51:50
Speaker
Listen, the podcast to head coach pipeline is it's heating up, folks. If you're if you're a TV pundit, you can move straight to the national team head coach. It's happening already. We're well on our way with the Jesse Marsh hire. I do want to know back one thing on the USA Bolivia game that Bolivian goalkeeper is nasty, dude. Yeah.
00:52:10
Speaker
Didn't I didn't know who he was but I was looking I was looking him up He's played in Bolivia his entire life 31 years old But I feel like I feel like he should get a look from someone who needs like a good goalkeeper He was and he was the only reason that we didn't hang four or five goals on him
00:52:25
Speaker
Yeah. Um, let's jump around the league real quick.
Transfer News and Rumors
00:52:29
Speaker
We'll do winners and losers before, but before we jump into that, there was a couple of Atlanta United related headlines that I don't think we got to on the last show. Uh, Georgia's Jocka mock is transferred to Cruz Azul officially. They got a bag for him. I think it was around $10 million. So that's a good bit of business. Atlanta doesn't seem like they're doing a heck of a lot this year. They just fired their coach.
00:52:49
Speaker
So, and Jackamakis has been hurt a lot. He's been, he's a very good number nine, but he's been injured a lot for them and they got, that's, that was a really nice bit of business. And then there was also a rumor that apparently Eagle football group made a $20 million bid for Tiago Lomona. Did you have the specifics on that or what was going on next?
00:53:08
Speaker
it's a bid it's coming from the athletic that's where i saw it at least so you never know but eagle football group owns leone and another primary league club as well as bota fogo which is famously jp's club correct
00:53:25
Speaker
And yeah, so I think this is the first real offer that Atlanta United have fielded from Tiago Amada We'll see what happens But if they are blowing it up like it seems like Garth is doing That might be kind of a banger. That might be a great thing is I'm pretty sure that's Quite a bit less than what they paid for him
00:53:45
Speaker
I thought it was like 17 or something, but I don't know. Let's look this up real quick because I don't know if they would want to take a loss on that, but the thing is 20 million might be like fair for what Almaty is worth at this point.
00:54:02
Speaker
Yeah. No, I mean, it might be, you know, it's it's hard to tell with a player like that. And he's has he broken out? I don't know. And that does seem a little bit under. I would say it's fair to say that he broke out. OK, you're right. It's 16 million dollars. But still, that's not crazy unless that's enough, though, where they should take it.
00:54:22
Speaker
Yeah, and if they get a sell-on fee, they get a percentage, that's even, that's even better. I think mainly it'll just be interesting to see what Atlanta United is doing in the post-Gonzo Panetta era. Like, are they really going to fully blow it up? Or are they going to, they're not like completely out of the playoff race this year. All you have to do is get hot and they could get in. So.
00:54:42
Speaker
Do they think Dax McCarty can do it? I mean, apparently. Let's do winners and losers real quick and then we'll call it a day for episode 45. Winners section. Seattle Sounders, I'm putting
Sounders Celebrated as Winners
00:54:54
Speaker
them in. I'm putting them in this week. We did it.
00:54:57
Speaker
best comeback of the week and a badly needed victory. And really just the nature of that of that comeback. I know it's F.C. Dallas and they shouldn't have been in a situation where they needed to come back like that. But it was it was an exciting game and watching them score three goals in like 15 minutes. That's something that really hasn't happened much this year. So I'm going to give him some shine for the week for forgetting an exciting and important dub.
00:55:27
Speaker
Ex-dog off the charts ex-dog would really was in this name Charlotte FC beat the Phil Union which we're gonna talk about them again in the loser section But they have a fun young striker who I've been enjoying watching Patrick. I'm on he's He's like a super draft pick
00:55:44
Speaker
And he was playing over one of their DP strikers that wasn't producing and they just let him cook. And he's having a pretty good year for them. He's got like five or six goals or something. He's been making the most of his opportunity.
00:56:03
Speaker
And Charlotte are not that bad. They are in like third or fourth in the East or something. So Dean Smith, their new head coach, seems like he's doing a pretty good job. And I think you have to give him credit for trusting a young super draft pick to be a starting striker. And he's getting rewarded for that.
00:56:21
Speaker
And then I got the New England Revolution. They beat FC Cincinnati on the road and they've won four straight games. So after what was once a historically bad start for the revs, they are definitely on the up. They're playing a lot more like the team that I think most of the pundits and the prognosticators thought they would be going into the year. So things are actually going pretty well for Caleb Porter right now.
00:56:50
Speaker
Loser section I got DC United They took a 4-1 home loss to the Houston dynamo off and Ben teke took like a really dumb right in this game Yeah, he was just screaming at the ref in a way after he got a yellow card, which I
DC United's Continued Struggles
00:57:09
Speaker
It's like, it's not preventable. You know, if you foul somebody like in the, in the heat of it, sometimes like that's, uh, it's like a 50 50 situation, but like he got a yellow card and there was nothing else going on and he just kept yelling straight red for foul and abusive language. That's crazy. Yeah.
00:57:27
Speaker
So and DC United just in general, not doing too hot. It was it was a good dub for Houston and they had their DP Sebastian Ferreira square hat trick who has been kind of a bust for them. So that was good for them. But DC is kind of down bad for that.
00:57:45
Speaker
Sporting Kansas City, the club of professional wrestling enthusiasts, I'm sad to report, took a 4-0 L at the Columbus Crew. I mean, Sporting KC is one of the worst teams in the league this year, without a doubt, both in terms of record and the eye test, and that, you know, it frames Seattle's loss there in an even
00:58:08
Speaker
worst light but even in that game like I felt like I they're just like so easy to play through yeah like probably more than any team of the league when I watch them when they're playing defense it just seems like the other team is having just an easy ass time getting up and down the field and
00:58:26
Speaker
generating chances and they changed formations recently so for this game they were just all out of whack to like they they changed from what they had been playing in the back and they were just even easier to go through like butter it's like I know I know that he will never ever be fired unless he like
00:58:44
Speaker
Actually, I don't even think he won't it won't you he couldn't even commit a crime and they he could commit a crime and they wouldn't fire him like seriously I don't understand What we're doing here, but you know Good for good for sporting Kansas City job job retention program
00:58:59
Speaker
Yeah, um fill union another home loss 2-0 to charlotte um, I I just don't know what is going on with this team like I understand that they maybe weren't equipped to reach the heights of when they were uh one of the best teams in the league a couple years ago and put up a
00:59:22
Speaker
Plus 40 some odd goal differential and nearly be la sc in MLS cup, but they're windless in like eight or something They're below the playoff line know what they're one six and three at home. That's all that is worse than the sounders
00:59:37
Speaker
That's hard. It's way worse. And then the sounders the sounders at least have like they're three one and five So that's too many draws but they've at least one more than they've lost one six and three home record. That is Legitimately hard to do an MLS like you basically that's the record that you would have at home if you were actively trying to lose like throwing games or your San Jose earthquakes or your the San Jose earthquakes exactly and it's just not what
01:00:02
Speaker
you would expect from the Philly Union at all. I mean, I remember as recently as when Seattle played there talking about how they never lose at Subaru Park and they have this crazy goal differential when they're playing at home there. And yeah, I don't know. Jim C seems like he has like Peter Vermees tier job security. And I also think that he has shown to be a really good coach. And he also just seems like an awesome guy. Like I really like Jim C. They've given him nothing.
01:00:31
Speaker
Well, and that's the thing. I think we talked about this when they were in the losers section last week, but the money ball thing, like, oh, did you see Kai Wagner's interview where he was basically outwardly saying, like, this run of results shows that ownership needs to invest more in the team.
01:00:53
Speaker
and that's always it's always kind of funny when you hear a player say something like that because on one hand I think everybody's first reaction is to be like hell yeah like stick it to ownership thanks for speaking for the fans but also like what he is saying is that like my teammates
01:01:14
Speaker
aren't good enough and I need better teammates for the team to succeed. That's not what he is outwardly saying, but that's what's implied when you say ownership is not investing enough money in the team. Cal Raleigh did this last year. He got like chewed out by the Mariners because they were like, Cal, you're basically saying that like your boys who your teammates with.
01:01:37
Speaker
aren't good enough that so like be careful when you say stuff like that so it's a little bit of a similar situation and uh that was a blazing hot interview though I recommend anyone who hasn't listened to the Kai Wagner clip Kai Wagner clip go check that one out yeah there was all the team chants during the game too like no one is happy with this filled there was still the team at the Philly Union yeah yeah yeah there was oh I linked I don't know I linked the tweet in our document you'll have to watch about the show I didn't even know that wow that's so good that's a good tidbit
01:02:07
Speaker
Yeah, like this is crazy. This is hitting. This is hitting athletics level. Sell the team. Yeah. I do have one more loser to add on here. If you'll indulge me, go for it. The San Jose Earthquakes 62 lost to LAFC at BMO Stadium. Ari, is this team ever going to win? Are they just a joke? I'm also Kai Kamara.
01:02:32
Speaker
now past the land of donovan or whatever the san jose earthquakes beat the seattle sounders but it's i mean it's the numbers with the quakes right now are uh... i mean it's it's it's pretty crazy how poorly it's going uh... minus twenty two gds zero zero point five eight points per game oh my god hard to do three fourteen into record fourteen else oof fifty one goals conceited and like you said a minus twenty two gd and yet
01:03:02
Speaker
They actually still have a better home record than the Philly Union did. That's crazy. But they're 1-8-1 on the road, 2-6-1 at home. Yeah, I mean, I think the Quakes are pretty comfortably the worst team in the league right now because New England has course corrected a little bit. It's really, it's between San Jose and Sporting Kansas City, the club of professional wrestling enthusiasts.
01:03:26
Speaker
That's all I had for episode 45 so I think we can call it right there. Thank you so much to everyone that has tuned in and has supported us especially since our new partnership with the fine people over at Sounder at Heart who now present this podcast.
01:03:44
Speaker
We really appreciate everyone who tunes in every single week. I mean, we've seen since the Sounder at Heart partnership went live, we've seen a pretty pronounced uptick in our listenerships. So we appreciate all the new listeners who are tuning in. You can always hit us up on Twitter if you have questions or stuff that you want to talk about on the show. Our handles will be in the description. Right. Right.
01:04:09
Speaker
Ray five stars. Yeah. YouTube sub to the YouTube sub to the Instagram too. Oh yeah. Follow the Instagram. Take talk to there's talk. Yeah. Tell your friends. Tell everybody that, you know, to tune in. I'm young man. I'm young. I'm young man. Patrick Patrick Patrick Patrick. And until next time we out. Peace.