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What We Learned This Week: It’s pretty dire right now in Sounders land, chat
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Niko Moreno joins Jeremiah to discuss the Sounders run of poor performances that really have started to show the cracks in the foundation of this squad. They talk about how injuries have really piled up and the four-game losing streak intensifies deficiencies in the midfield and ongoing late-game execution issues. The two also chat about the current roster investment strategy or the lack of one and make the point that urgent investment is needed in order to save the current season.
Follow Niko Moreno on BlueSky and YouTube.
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Transcript
Introduction and Sounders Legend
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
Celebrating MLS Cup Victory
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 just about, runs into the advertising order. Low to our left, ball goes in! Oh, what a goal! Where's my copy? got bunch of them How many do you cost them? 50 bucks.
00:01:08
Speaker
I'll deadline you.
Sponsorship and Co-host 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.
00:01:42
Speaker
Welcome back to another episode of Nos Adientes on the Sounder at Heart Podcast Network. It is Friday and I am joined as always by my co-host, Nico Moreno.
00:01:54
Speaker
Nico, how are you doing? What's going on, Jeremiah? Happy to be back on what we learned this week with plenty to talk
Post-World Cup Break Challenges
00:02:02
Speaker
about. We have a couple of disappointing results, but nonetheless, it's one of these weeks where it's going to be a quick turnaround where, you know, you get to actually be, you beat you get get to just turn the page pretty quickly, which you were hoping that you turned the page pretty quickly after Thursday, but then you weren't able to do it. So, you know, third time's the Maybe that the the the opportunity you you get to to to actually do it.
00:02:28
Speaker
Yeah, so as you're alluding to, it's been it's been a rough start. As anyone listening to this probably knows, it's been a rough start to the post-World Cup break for the Sounders. We're going to be kind of going through those results a little bit. We are going to talk about the leadership vacuum that seems to be currently occupying the Sounders.
00:02:47
Speaker
We're going to do a rundown of the transfer window. we are going to sort of get some things off of our chest. We're going to preview the Philadelphia Union game.
00:02:57
Speaker
And yeah, so it's ah it's a pretty full show.
Losing Streak and 2013 Season Parallel
00:03:01
Speaker
But let's start off with this current place that the Sounders find themselves in. They are on a four game losing streak, which of course includes the last two games before the World Cup break.
00:03:13
Speaker
They started the season six, one and one. They were even seven, one and two before the wheels started to really come off on things. but they have now lost four straight for the first time since 2013. That's three years before Brian Schmetzer actually took over the Sounders. As people might remember, they had a five game losing streak very close to the end of ah the 2013 season, which completely unraveled a campaign in which they were also contending for the supporter shield.
00:03:46
Speaker
I don't know if people, how much people really remember the 2013 season, but there was a lot of turmoil in that team. It was things clearly went very sideways and it doesn't feel to me like it's quite a repeat of that, but we are seeing some real signs of this is coming unraveled again.
00:04:08
Speaker
When they were six, one in one, they were, looking, they've done so much of that work on the road. They were just four points out of, or no two points, I believe out of the supporter shield lead at that time.
Turning Point Against Kansas City?
00:04:21
Speaker
And it really looked like the supporter shield was something within their grasp. And, you know, then they had that tie against sporting Kansas city, which in hindsight was maybe the canary in the coal mine. Like this was a game that,
00:04:33
Speaker
Absolutely. The Sounders should have won. They did not win it. And then they came back and they tied San Diego at home. I know for me, I wasn't super worried about that result, but it was, you know, it was concerning because San Diego was in a, in a rough place themselves.
00:04:49
Speaker
And then they, it seemed like they had sort of got right. They beat sounds a three to two. They didn't necessarily outplay San Jose, but San Jose ah is still one of the, or they were at the time looking like a supporter shield contender. So that felt like a big win.
00:05:06
Speaker
I'm now just recapping stuff, but they lost two zero at home to the galaxy. That felt like a real missed opportunity. Then they had the one zero loss at LAFC. That was maybe a little bit more excusable, but then these last two games have just been, i mean, i don't know how you,
00:05:24
Speaker
how you process
Concerns Over Team Performance
00:05:25
Speaker
this. They've been outscored eight to two by the Portland Timbers and Austin FC, who are two of the worst teams in the Western conference, two teams who had fired their, they had been so bad in the first half of the season that they fired their coaches.
00:05:37
Speaker
You know, one of the things that Paul Rothrock said at the end of the Timbers game was that don't just judge us on this result, judge us on how we respond. And Noah of lo lobbying scorchers actually asked Paul about that, about that quote.
00:05:53
Speaker
And I thought Paul gave a fair answer, which was, look, I think the effort was a lot better against Austin and it was absolutely brutal conditions, but the execution was, was still lacking. They fell apart completely at the end there.
00:06:06
Speaker
It looked like they were going to maybe do enough to get a point. And then they gave up two goals after the eighty sixth minute. I don't know. how do you look How do you process
Defensive Struggles and Panic
00:06:15
Speaker
all of this? This is a ah lot to process that I just threw on you, Nico, but it's it it's a little alarm. It's more than a little alarming how much this season has unraveled.
00:06:27
Speaker
It is alarming, and I don't want to shy away from that. There's part of me that likes to rationalize the fact that essentially if we add, you know, Pedro and a couple of the other injuries, I mean, this team has six essentially starters that are not playing right now for, you know, whatever reason, each independent reason.
00:06:54
Speaker
But when you've given up, what, 13 goals in the last five games, yeah when you are now on what almost feels like a free fall and...
00:07:07
Speaker
There's compounded problems like Jackson Reagan's red card that I'm sure we'll talk about. Yeah. Going into a game and a venue in Philadelphia where you haven't been successful at or that team is coming off of a win. It does start to create panic to a certain degree because – As you mentioned, and as we mentioned after the Portland game, there was an universe. There was a possibility that this thing could go completely sideways. And that's the way he feels like right now.
Lack of On-field Leadership
00:07:45
Speaker
Did the Sounders... play better against Austin. I absolutely say, yeah, I thought that there was more fight. There was more intensity, at least four portions of that game, at least to start it off. But once again, and this is a phrase that I use pretty consistently, the same bad habits continue to pop up.
00:08:05
Speaker
The same type of issues continue to be not just relevant, but present in every single game. yeah, my inability to figure out how that's going to all a sudden change is where I become pessimistic about where the team is right now, not to mention the fact that There isn't really anything I'm expecting coming off of the transfer window necessarily that's going to help you out. So it's all about now. It's all about what this team can do. So I like Paul Rothrock and how honest he is. And you can tell by just his body language how affected he is. But what I love about Paul is that even when that happens, he's responding on the field.
00:08:54
Speaker
I said that he was probably your best player against Portland. I think that in this particular Austin game, he also gave you so much fight. He's a guy that's just so animated and yelling and and and getting across and arguing and and pushing. He gets a phenomenal...
00:09:12
Speaker
Mortal Kombat like double knee goal. Yeah. which I've never seen before. It was ah great resort. Right. I've never seen it before. I guess very Javier Hernandez. I guess Chicharito was the only guy that I've seen finish with like his face and his thigh. So it was it was very interesting to see him just put the ball away like that. But once again, when we talk about Paul Rothrock, it is refreshing to know that he's earning these goals by just putting maximum effort. And I just wish that there was a lot more of that from other players.
Team Depth and Player Performance Issues
00:09:45
Speaker
And I asked Brian Smetzer after this Austin game that when it comes to hard decisions and tough questions,
00:09:51
Speaker
What did he feel like it pointed to where those questions should be asked? Was it the depth of the team? Was it the top players, your your your best players, your DPs is not doing enough? You know, what what was it? And he just pointed to all of it. And so that is the reality is that right now there isn't a one fire that you have to just turn off. It's just multiple. And you got to try to figure out you're going to get past that. And,
00:10:20
Speaker
it is going to have to be about the players. It is going have to be about leadership and not about them just hitting rock bottom and saying, we need to go up from here. Yeah. I mean, i guess you can argue that Portland was maybe rock bottom and that this was a slight improvement in terms of, look, I, it was a, it was a tough ask. Like I think on paper, this game maybe looked a little easier. And if this is a team that had,
00:10:46
Speaker
a lot of spirit in it. If this was a team that was flying, it would ah be a game that you would expect them to win. But coming off of a five, one loss to Portland, missing as many players as they did, the conditions really did set up poorly for the Sounders.
00:11:00
Speaker
I mean, they looked like they were struggling, just physically struggling midway through the second half. And at one point, I think I said on, on blue sky that, you know,
00:11:12
Speaker
players are going to literally die. Obviously that was, that was a tongue in cheek statement, but like players looked like they were really, really suffering out there. And so in some ways, I guess I, i am, it was good to see them sort of,
00:11:29
Speaker
fight through to get to the, get as deep into that game as they were. And there were times in the second half where up until the goal, I thought they looked like marginally the better team. They they looked like they might be the team that that grabs the goal.
00:11:43
Speaker
I definitely figured that a point was going to be an acceptable result, all things considered, even though it's not the result they need to turn things around. But, you know, like I thought Albert had a pretty good look at that shot where Stuber made a save over the bar that came right before the goal, I think.
00:12:00
Speaker
And so there were some positive signs, but overall it, it does feel like this is a team that is
Threats to Playoff Hopes
00:12:08
Speaker
spiraling. That doesn't have an obvious way out because there's not, you know i guess you can say, well, Christian rolled on is going to come back eventually.
00:12:15
Speaker
And it is still early enough in the season. Like, look, the season is still not amazingly halfway over. ah They've only played 15 games. So they have 19 games left to play.
00:12:26
Speaker
They are, I think they can, they can put it like, I wrote about this to in my column this week is that the supporter shield is no longer a thing they are talking about. It is no longer a thing that is a realistic goal, obviously.
00:12:39
Speaker
And that the playoff line is looking a lot closer than it should. I think they are only four points ahead of the playoff line right now, but, And just making the playoffs is never considered a successful season for the Sounders.
00:12:53
Speaker
So I guess what I'm saying is like, there is time to, to sort of revive the season to some capacity, but it it doesn't feel like the Calvary is sort of just waiting on the Hill.
00:13:05
Speaker
And the guys that are here are going to really have to figure it out, at least through the Timbers game, if not beyond that. Yeah. And so, I agree with a lot of what you said, and I think that um there were glimpses
00:13:25
Speaker
throughout this game of a Sounders team that can get in rhythm, that can be high in tempo. I thought he was very early in the game and and that's the way I thought the game was going to go. I think it's in the fifth minute, he takes over a moment of the game in transition and he looks like he's explosive on the ball.
00:13:47
Speaker
I wish you would have shot that ball like in the fifth minute. Yeah. on top that ball you're talking about And I need him to be more aggressive in that regard, but I think he ends up passing it and it creates an opportunity, but not a great one, but that sort of thing is what I'm looking for. Right. I thought that there were times where you got into white areas and you were interesting on the ball. I thought that the the equalizer with Stu Hawkins and and the assist he makes, It was a really great, it was a nice sequence and Hawkins makes a wonderful play that I think such shows some, yeah, sos it shows some real signs of why people are excited about him, but sorry, I don't want to interrupt. No, no. So, so, you know, those are the things that I remember thinking, okay, this,
00:14:31
Speaker
There's that team. There is that talent. Right. and And Peter Kingston also, you know, great ball back in. He picks up his head. He finds Snyder Burnell. Snyder Burnell hits it. hits the kind of the corner between the crossbar and and the post. And then obviously there's that that that finish that we talked about in terms of Paul Rothrock.
00:14:52
Speaker
But it was once again more of the negatives that took over specifically at the end of the game. But just to talk about some that are a lot more general.
00:15:04
Speaker
Striker position still a dud, ineffective. There's nothing going on. Danny Mussovsky was... Just not effective. They didn't really get on the ball, so I don't want to put it all on him. How many touches he got on the ball alone will tell you enough. 14 touches throughout the game. None in real dangerous position.
00:15:27
Speaker
Then Osase came on. He was okay. He had one opportunity where he turns around, and he always good at those turnaround shots, but the shot gets blocked, giving you a little bit of effort, but still really nothing there.
00:15:40
Speaker
Midfield. I've said this a thousand times. The Bryant's measure system needs those pivots to work at a different level and to be – very interchangeable and to be very synchronized in order for you to add players into the attack, but don't lose your shape in order to create overloads on one pocket or where there is the right side or the left side. And,
00:16:09
Speaker
Unfortunately, Hassani Dotson has not been playing to that level. I don't think he was horrible. I don't think he was good. I thought he was okay. But okay is not good enough for this system. And same goes for Snyder Burnell. Snyder Burnell is another game where...
00:16:26
Speaker
I'm trying to find the Snyder Burnell that got us really excited. And he's still learning, right? He's still in the developing curve. And that's why i am so careful to not compare him to Obed or anything
Midfield Underperformance
00:16:39
Speaker
like that. I always shy away from that conversation because, you know, you got to prove it on the field. And right now he's in a little bit of ah of a rut. So when that MIFO doesn't work, then there's just – it's very difficult for this team to transition, to advance on the ball, to play to the best of its ability. And when you're a Sounders team, that the whole point of your team, the what really makes you stand out, the attributes that that makes you different is collective play.
00:17:13
Speaker
That bit of not having those pieces work well in the midfield, make you look really bad because when the game is on the line and and your, your big time players are not performing and your strikers are not performing and your defense is having issues and you have a young debutant like Stu on the field, it's only a matter of time before things go sideways. And i think that's what happened there at the end where, look, I had really appreciated that Brian tried to be aggressive on his substitutions and he wanted to go after the game, man but yeah,
00:17:47
Speaker
I don't know. As soon as I saw Nuhu started to cramp up, I immediately thought that you had to try to figure out to just get him off early and and go maybe three in the back and maybe go maybe park the bus a little bit. And and I know that that's unfair to say quarterbacking after the fact because – I want to reiterate and clarify. I like the fact that he tried to go after the game. Now that didn't really work out. Is that because of depth perhaps? Is that because Paula Riola came in and had a terrible turnover, just passing the ball negligently in the middle of the the field, right across the top of the box? Maybe, but,
00:18:27
Speaker
That's just the way the game went. But the one thing, and just to conclude my point, that was once against a problem was just transition moments on defense, bad turnovers that have happened consistently, inability to control possession. There was no point in this game where long spells of possession, well, not not no no point, but for the majority of this game, there were no long possession stands from this team that were productive on the ball. And especially at the end when you want to try to game it, I thought that,
00:18:57
Speaker
um Andrew Thomas a couple of times just on un sloppy giveaways, sloppy giveaways. Like you're the the quarterback from the back. you You should be doing better with those situations. Sit on the ball a little bit. Just be more careful because you're just turning an over possession to a team that has more legs that their substitutions were more influential. I mean, Superman coming off the bench and Christian Ramirez, that dude, I don't care how old he is. He's going to put the ball on the back of the net at any moment. That that young kid Torres that came on was just killing it.
00:19:32
Speaker
I mean, the Irvin Torres kid, I mean, we was just unreal. So when, cause it was the goals didn't come about out of nowhere. You saw Austin start to creep up on you and to pin you back and to create opportunities. And you got lucky on a couple of them where it didn't,
00:19:48
Speaker
turn into goals. So those are the situations and I'm going to be done with this short rant here in a second, but those are the things that continue to be a problem for this team. And hopefully getting some guys back like Yamar, who seems to be on a positive trajectory now that he was at least traveling with the team, you're hoping to correct those. And then hopefully Christian comes back again,
00:20:13
Speaker
at some point soon and and he's able to get a hold of that midfield again and you're able to dominate tempo and in and the games in that
Absence of Key Leaders
00:20:24
Speaker
area of the field. But right now there just seems to be nothing.
00:20:27
Speaker
There doesn't seem to be anything. And one of the things that has jumped out is this sense that there's not really a leader out there. And I know people have been pointing this out and I'll admit that I have been a little,
00:20:40
Speaker
reluctant to sign on to this idea that the team really doesn't have enough leaders. But look, when Christian Roldan is not there, when Alex Roldan is not there, when Yamar is not out there, when Steph Rize is sort of like a, is a backup at this point.
00:20:57
Speaker
ah When when you're missing players like that, I think it is kind of obvious that there's not really an on field leader in this group. It clearly isn't Jackson Reagan. I mean that knew who got the armband game after the sound after he was captain the captain previous game where they had maybe their worst performance ever and then he was given the armband again.
00:21:17
Speaker
I don't think that makes a huge difference practically, but it like it just symbolically looked very poor to to sort of just give the armband back to him.
00:21:28
Speaker
And he's not out there really providing much leadership. And I think that was one of the things, I don't know if this was too harsh on Brian's side, but he was really frustrated, I think, with New Who's sort of inability to muscle through the the muscle issues that he was having.
00:21:47
Speaker
And like I think he thought that New Who made a little bit more out of that whole situation. And it did create some weird flow to the game where he went down with cramps and they were trying to get the game stopped. And then it was like there was this, it was kind of a strange part of the game.
00:22:03
Speaker
And i think what I think what Brian was getting at is that New Who... wasn't providing leadership in that moment, that he was sort of just, he was he was not, you know, he wasn't being helpful. And even though he, I guess ah you have to assume he was really feeling cramps, but I think it sort of illustrated the lack of leadership that the Sounders had there.
00:22:24
Speaker
Albert Rusnak is a player who I really like. I, maybe people have said that we've defended him too much at times, but look, he, I will admit he is not the guy who's going to be providing a ton of on-field leadership.
00:22:35
Speaker
That's just not really who he is. He's someone that's more going to lead through his play and his play hasn't been that great lately. So that's, that creates problems. Right. And so, uh, you know, I, it is, it is a team that doesn't feel like they have leaders And I will say that was maybe even better illustrated by Jackson Reagan's really silly red card at the end of the game.
00:22:57
Speaker
I know Albert came to his defense and said, sure, I'm fine with him taking that red card. We sort of needed to send a message, I guess. But, We have not 100% confirmed this, but I'm almost positive he's going to miss the next two games at a result. And look, there's just no message that you can send that's worth sitting out an extra game for, especially when you're Jackson Reagan, especially when you are a player who the team is relying on, who is one of the veterans, and he just commits this silly foul when the game is already over at three one deep into stoppage time.
00:23:33
Speaker
Yeah. And going back to what you said about Brian being a little bit harsh. I mean, i don't know, man. I guess I understand him. I mean, he has to be frustrated because look, he called out Snyder Burnell.
00:23:47
Speaker
ah He called out new to a certain degree. He called out Jackson Reagan there. When I asked the question about the red card, just called it not. smart yeah And the the reality is that that's what happened, man. And it goes back to leadership. Yes. This team went from having a ah Dempsey, Ozzy Alonso, and a JP, and all of these players, Christian, obviously, every time that he's on the field. But right now, there's just none of that.
00:24:18
Speaker
There's just nobody. And I think, you know, he talked about Yammer. providing some of the leadership and, and, and, uh, Stefan f fried, which I thought was that notable that he identified two players who were not, who were not in this game as guys who were providing leadership.
00:24:37
Speaker
Yeah, and those guys are always going to be leaders. Steph, you know, I see it on the training ground. I mean, the guy's just a born leader. And Yemar, don't know, ironic as it is because his English is not the greatest ah still.
00:24:54
Speaker
I was rewatching the game this morning and he, in every single of the water breaks, he is in there and talking to guys and talking to Stu and talking to Paul Rothrock for some reason as well. I don't know if he saw something there on the field. I don't know, but those sorts of situations are important and, and, and you do need those leaders on the field. So is that part of this free fall that we've seen, you know, perhaps you're going to get those guys back, but,
00:25:23
Speaker
There just needs to be more accountability from the players. And I understand that we're always going to, and look me more than anyone have criticized Brian Smetzer at one point we've criticized the front office, but I always do tend to come back to saying, look, at some point you got to criticize the players and they have to play, play better. And is there a connection? Sure. ah I'm at this particular moment, I'm not going to go ahead and say that the players are, you know, upset with Brian or they're not playing it to their best of abilities because of Brian, because that is a narrative that's out there right now. But I just think it goes back more to them. I mean, look, I saw Jesus Ferreira get upset a couple of times because, look, Snyder Burnell, right before the end of the first half, Snyder Burnell takes a...
00:26:08
Speaker
you know, low percentage is shot from top of the 18. He could have passed it to him on, on the right side. There's like three other opportunities where there's this court in the first goal where, you know, it's a, it's a regular corner kick that, uh, Out of all people, and he's my guy, I really do i really do like him, but Ilya Sanchez should not necessarily be beating you to a header in the way that he did. And then there's like this argument between Jackson and New. So, you know, there is, you know, some miscommunications and things. I just don't know what happened after the break where this team is just not as as connected. And i think that all of it has to do with the poor performances that we've seen.
00:26:51
Speaker
Yeah, I, I, speaking of dumb shots, the the one that killed me was Jackson Reagan lining one up from like 40 yards out. It was, and it was really weird about that. I was during a rare spell of good possession from the
Directionless Team Concerns
00:27:06
Speaker
Sounders. And then for some reason, he just decides to step into one from, like i said, like 35, 40 yards, like kind of just a, a wild shot, ah especially from a player who does not usually shoot.
00:27:19
Speaker
Agreed. Yeah. So, or certainly with his feet and you know, you could argue maybe he should shoot more, but that's not the shot that we want to see him take. I'm not sure ever when a center back lines up lines went up like that. I'm never always a little confused as to what is going through their head, but you can always see it coming from a mile away.
00:27:37
Speaker
And anyway, that's, a little beside the point. The point is that this is a team that looks rudderless right now. That looks like they don't have any leaders that doesn't have any goal scorers. If Paul Rothrock is the leading goal scorer, that's, I suppose, ah credit to Paul, but that's not an ideal situation.
00:27:59
Speaker
You got to be getting, he is out. Paul Rothrock has outscored the entire forward contingent. That is a wild stat. He has seven goals ah between Morris, Mussovsky, and De Rosario. They have six.
00:28:14
Speaker
That is across all competitions. but we have The Sounders still do not have a goal from a starting number nine in ah any game this year. that is 19 games, I believe, that they have played without a goal from the starting number nine. That's a really, really bad sign and an indictment of the state of the number nine spot on this team, which I honestly thought looked pretty deep at the start of this year.
00:28:38
Speaker
This was the same three players had combined for 30 goals last year. That is a really good total. And they are on pace to maybe finish with half as many goals as they had last year.
00:28:51
Speaker
That's wild to me. and and I don't see, and I, and I think you can point to very easily the lack of service and where is that lack of service? Well, I think a big problem is that Paul Rothrock has been elevated from a nice player off the bench to your written in ink starter in part because there's not really anyone pushing him for time out on the left-hand side. I think Jesus Ferreira has been doing the job that he is assigned to do, which is to play as more of a pocket winger or as a second 10.
00:29:23
Speaker
And the width is supposed to be coming from the right side, which ideally was going to be Alex Roldan, but has been Kalani, Costa, Rienzi more recently, but in this game, it was Peter Kingston. And look, they are just not giving you the same kind of production.
00:29:37
Speaker
And you know you're missing Pedro de la Vega. They got rid of Georgie Manungu. They, i think, may have over-indexed on how much depth they could afford to trade.
00:29:48
Speaker
And this is where they're left with, where they are looking really thin in attacking spots.
Goal-scoring Challenges
00:29:54
Speaker
No one is really producing. And i don't know where the goals are going to come from.
00:29:59
Speaker
Other than, you know, Rothrock scrapping one out every now and then, maybe you can get Osaze de Rosario, I think is, to me, looks like the player who is the most promising at the number nine, but he is not, to me, a every game starter.
00:30:14
Speaker
So i don't I don't know what the solution is in the short term. No, in the short term, to me, you... and I know I'm going to get a lot of comments that I hate Danny, that's not the case. But look, Osas is the youngest player. He been good. He hasn't been good. Danny hasn't been good. And look, anyone who thought that Danny was going to be anywhere close to the amount of goals that he had last season, I mean, you know, I have this pet rock I want to sell you.
00:30:44
Speaker
um But the reality, and if you're not naive, was that he was going to have – you know, at least a downgrade of a year to to the half of it. Now it's been more than that. But if I'm looking at this roster, if there's a guy that maybe has the potential to all of a sudden break out Osase. So I think that you have to put Osase right now and give him more minutes, give him consistent time, get him to really, you get some chemistry with Albert and and and Paul and and Jesus and and really get him going and ah look crosses haven't been great at and this game ah like Albert was over for four on crosses i don't even know if Jesus had any crosses but you know there wasn't a lot of great services in but maybe in coming of of of the terrible game that he came on as a
00:31:35
Speaker
um subtitu substitution. But I think Paul Arriola is a guy that maybe you need to include in there because Paul has a real, Paul Arriola, if anything, has a very educated foot. he He has a very good way about services into the box. He's very smart when he comes to just reading ah passing angles and things of that nature. He knows when to pass it early. He knows when to cross it deep in the line. so I don't know. You just got to shift things around. does seem like a little bit better.
00:32:05
Speaker
It does seem like you need to change things. You can't just keep rolling out. And this was, i was a little disappointed. I'll be honest with the lineup that Schmetzer put out because the changes that he made,
00:32:15
Speaker
I thought, you know, look, the changes he made worked okay. Peter Kingston, I thought was fine. Stu Hawkins was fine. I don't necessarily blame him for putting those players in, but I just thought that this was a game where you could have used more change.
00:32:30
Speaker
And maybe that meant putting Paul Areola in somewhere. Maybe that meant moving Peter Kingston into the central midfield instead of putting them on the right. Like, i like that like, I think what you could have potentially done is put Paul areola as your right back and put Peter Kingston as center mid for frankly, either Dotson or Brunel.
00:32:52
Speaker
Cause neither one of them were great. And I think like the thing with Dotson, people are all over him and he look at as a max salary player. he has not been good enough. Let's just say it. Like he has not been what the Sounders thought he was going to be.
00:33:08
Speaker
he has not been so atrocious that I don't have any hope that he will get better. The reality is he missed a lot of last year. He's still gaining sharpness. I think he'll get better, but he clearly is not ready to assume Christian Roldan's role as the starting number six. That is, he is a long way off from that. He is not doing nearly enough to connect.
00:33:27
Speaker
He is not doing it nearly enough in defense. The Sounders don't have a lot of good options right now. We're, we're grasping at straws. They, they desperately need Christian Roldan to get back. They desperately need Alex Roldan to get back.
00:33:40
Speaker
I would hope that at least on the other side of the league's cup, that we will have something closer to a full roster. Of course, by that time, the transfer window will be getting close to closing and we'll, you know, hopefully have some reinforcements.
00:33:55
Speaker
But the short-term prospects of this thing are bleak, and I don't want to pretend as if they're not because there is a real possibility that this season could go sideways.
Transfer Window Expectations
00:34:06
Speaker
And it's just sort of amazing to me that we're even talking about this given the way that the season started, how high the vibes were.
00:34:15
Speaker
And ah i suppose this is maybe a good time to transition into talking about the transfer window where we keep getting, i want to say, and don't know I've been getting, I feel like mixed messages about what the intention is here because on one hand, i think there was a
00:34:36
Speaker
what's the right way of putting it? I think that they were not approaching this transfer window at the start of the season as if they absolutely had to do something. I think they wanted to do something. They always want to do something in the transfer window.
00:34:52
Speaker
But it really wasn't until the last week or two that I got the sense that doing something this summer was of utmost importance. And we'll see if anything actually gets done.
00:35:06
Speaker
But i like I don't think they came out of the first half of the season saying, we got to make sure we have reinforcements ready to go at the end of the World Cup break. like I think we can easily say that, right?
00:35:18
Speaker
Yes, I would agree. I mean, and to be fair to the team and fair is probably k a bad word to use in today's present and and what we're currently living and how irate and frustrated the fan base but at the time, this team was coming from their best offensive season ever.
00:35:49
Speaker
There was a lot of guys with potential that looked like players that can go beyond that. And so this was going to be an assessment time. Right. And I called that, i said that same word a thousand times during our shows. And I said that the checkpoint was going to be the summer window. And and that's why you're right. It's not like they were looking at this thing, like we have to do some, they were going to look, and assess and see where things were at and where Jordan was at and had was Pedro making any, you know, real strides to get back really soon and what you got out of Peter Kingston and you know, was Snyder Bernal going to, you know, be the guy that was your new break out player you were looking at ah perhaps, you know, the center backs being one of the best duos in MLS. Once again, ah you were hoping that you were going to get at least close to those 30 goals out of your forward committee or striker committee. You were hoping that Jesus Ferreira was going to continue to be on the path of a guy that got you a league's cup championship and that played the most minutes of any player last season.
00:37:00
Speaker
And a lot of those things did not come to fruition. So no I think a month ago, they started figuring out, man, we really need to do something about the nine position. We have to try to figure out perhaps another center midfielder that that that we can look at, true six or or something along those lines. Now, the team did...
00:37:25
Speaker
make their own bets and now they got to sleep in it. Right. And i I'm not going to shy away from that. You moved away from Georgie Menungu. You moved away from Reed Baker Whiten. You moved away from Danny Leyva.
00:37:38
Speaker
You had all of these players and and I think Danny Leyva, ironically, I'll say that because I know a lot of people didn't believe in him. I did, but he's probably the the guy that's looked the best in Mexico. I mean, the dude has been absolutely killing it down there. um So when that happens, now you have to realize, hey, we shipped some guys. So now we definitely got to bring some pieces in. And I think that's why now all a sudden, to your point, there is an urgency. There is a, oh my goodness, we need to do some. But that got, if there was a fire under
00:38:12
Speaker
The front office is, but the lighting fluid was just the last two results. And now it's like, man, we got to get everybody on board to try to figure out how big this team better. and And I hope that's the case. And I hope that there is that hypothetical fire that I'm over here painting you because that's the way I feel. That's what I kind of hear and see. and obviously there is some urgency, but Now I'm hoping that they do have the budget to make it happen. and That's really where I'm, I said this on on Fox 13, nothing on Monday, where I was like, my confidence drops. Like I know that Craig is in the right places. I know that the scouting department looking at the right guys, but my confidence drops when it comes to can the Sounders compete in the open market in MLS, which is a very competitive market.
00:39:01
Speaker
That's where I don't know. Yeah, and I think one of the things that I've maybe underestimated is when Craig says he's not willing to sign a guy who's just going to compete for a roster spot and that he wants to sign someone who is going to be a starter. What he's really saying is that's to me, that's more of a message to ownership saying you guys got to give me enough of a budget to go out and go out and get a starter.
00:39:27
Speaker
Because youre anyone can look around the league and say, there are lots of players who seem to be in our budget who could help this team in one way or another.
00:39:38
Speaker
what Craig is saying is you need to give me enough money to go out and find a starter. Now that bar for what that might be seems to have dropped a little bit because they need more help.
00:39:50
Speaker
But I do think that the biggest disconnect right now in terms of what the Sounders transfer strategy is is, with the budget. Like, I don't know that they are getting enough money to go out and get real difference makers.
00:40:03
Speaker
And I've, I don't, I'm not holding out any hope that they are somehow going to figure out how to open up a DP spot and sign a new DP, at least not this summer. Maybe they do that in the winter. Maybe they do that between the the sprint season and the 26, 27 season, but they aren't going to do that right now.
00:40:21
Speaker
But I do think that there's a reasonable hope that they can at least go sign an international like Tam level player and maybe bring in someone from other where somewhere else in the league and to be a contributor either on the wing or like you said, maybe a more of a holding defensive mid type.
Striker Position Focus
00:40:40
Speaker
I think that's ah those are problems that's probably the high-end expectation is two players who are real contributors. Maybe one of them is a u twenty two I don't know. that The Sounders don't seem to be super enamored with using the u twenty two in part because there's not been there's a lot of busts at the u twenty two especially at the price range that the Sounders seem to be shopping in. If you're only paying $1 or $2 million in transfer fees for a you're look, you're going to end up with a Leo Chu type. that's that's the ri That's the reality. that's so that's ah That's what that gets you.
00:41:12
Speaker
Maybe they have a little higher upside, but there's no guarantees at one to 2 million, especially on the U22 area. But what are you, i don't know, are you getting any sense of what they might actually be looking for in the in the market?
00:41:26
Speaker
Yeah, look, obviously, Striker is the number one position. And I want to throw a couple of names out that Some have been reportedly out there, like Daryl DK. i know a lot of people are upset about Daryl DK not coming to Seattle and the Sounders moving on for from those discovery rights for x amount of GAM.
00:41:50
Speaker
i think that that was the right choice. And I'm i'm sitting here. with the the possibility that I get crucified for this take. But I don't think that he was the right fit for here. I think that there was a history of injuries. And what I mean by fit, I mean not as a player, because I think his profile could absolutely help out this team. I just think that when it comes to the turf, when it comes to the – The history of this team being unlucky with guys with a history of injuries, I just think that it was a good idea to move on. Now, the salary, that was a whole other thing. I mean, that the amount of salary that was going to take to keep him here, that's the biggest thing. And so that's fine. Do we know what is said do you have a good sense of what his salary was is going to end up being?
00:42:43
Speaker
It's going to be a little bit over a million. and Okay. if not Well into the, well into Tam range is what you're saying. Well, well into Tam range, right? So for that much of, for that much of an investment, I just don't know if he was going necessarily be a guy that because of all the circumstances that come with being a soundress player was going to immediately come into fruition. um,
00:43:09
Speaker
And look, I could be wrong, but but that's just the way he feels. Now, you know, there was that look at guys like, you know, Peter Judd. ah There is, um look, right now, you know, Inter Valencia is a guy that this team has looked at in the past. Inter Valencia has no team right now. He could come as a free agent. So he's a guy that I, you know, I have on my list and I'm just sharing it because I'm just trying to give you guys something to just kind of enjoy about this episode that just started so negatively or there is such pessimistic outlook. So Stryker is definitely where they're looking at the most. Now, I'm not sharing the guys that I am looking at a lot closer because they seem to be
00:43:57
Speaker
tougher to land but the ninth position is without a doubt where they're looking at now that's not a u22 and to your point that's probably why because the u22 players don't necessarily come immediately to perform and look i know enter valencia is not going to be a guy that is going to get anybody ah extremely excited but he's a guy that's done it before and he can score some goals then he's got some experience right so you know that there is that part of where the centers are looking at, but center midfield, without a doubt, is somewhere where they're looking at left back. I mean, right now with how much you're asking your fullbacks to do, because essentially when you're in possession, you're playing with three in the back and all of the width comes out through your fullbacks or your wingbacks, essentially there is looks there. yeah,
00:44:51
Speaker
To me, if this team could have it their way, i think that they would bring in three players. Now, I think that the reality is more two.
00:45:00
Speaker
I have said this for a very long time. I think one is where I would place my bet that that they're at least going to bring one player to come and help out. um But the budget continues to be the problem. and in And let me take two more minutes to just rant about this.
00:45:19
Speaker
there is this misconception that, and you could talk on your own i don't want to put words in your mouth, that both you and I have been in some sort of way content or happy with the way that business gets done with this team and that we've never been critical about how much money goes into this team. And that's absolutely false. Both you and I have said, look, this team has a fundamental edge on any other team, which is that they have an academy that provides a sustainable program
00:45:50
Speaker
pipeline to produce players into your first team, but you need to add resources. I've asked for U22 for the longest time. Last season, when the summer window came about, you asked questions to Craig about that U22 position. You asked Craig questions about where the ah things were coming up and what why players were not signed. I myself said, look,
00:46:14
Speaker
be Before that, way before that, I asked Craig Weibel myself, I said, Craig, in a salary cap league, it is not efficient or effective to have a DP-level player like Raul Radias sitting on your bench doing absolutely nothing for you when you know that he's not really going to play because I think we all knew that Bryant's Metro was not going to play him anymore. And so in reality, we're both you and I during our podcast and say, look, if you're a serious team with some serious money, you should buy him out because he's ready to walk. But that's not the Sounders MO. That is not a Sounders MO. They're not going pay a player to walk away. day There was a trade on the table, ready to go, ready for a signature for Raul Riediaz to go to New England. And that did not happen because there wasn't a for sure budget that would bring another DP level
00:47:07
Speaker
player into the roster. So why move a DP and give yourself this pressure to add a DP when there's no budget for it? We've called out all of these elements. So I don't know where people are or they forget, or it's just about what you've done for me lately. But just so you guys remember that we were the ones who did that. Everyone, everyone who's right now calling for Brian's message head, which actually right now,
00:47:32
Speaker
I don't agree with. I don't agree with it. But I was the first one when Nicoladero was still here. The reason why Brian hates me and we got into it and this whole debacle happened about him just coming at me at all the press conference happened because I was calling for his job where I was asking about him being on the hot seat. I asked Adrian Hanauer about it. So,
00:47:55
Speaker
Let's just remember that both you and I have been very fair of this team and it stays very consistent because we saw this coming to a certain degree. We were, but at least me, I had to eat crow.
00:48:08
Speaker
I had to eat crow because Brian Smetzer reinvented himself, in my opinion, and changed things about them himself, changed things about his press, changed things about the way he approached offense. He added players into the attack and he had the best...
00:48:24
Speaker
goal scoring season of any Sounders season ever. So I had to eat crow and say, Hey, I was wrong. Brian figured it out. And now of a sudden when things are going south, then all of a sudden you guys are just brilliant because you guys are asking for his head.
00:48:39
Speaker
just, because you asked for his head five years ago, I needed to get that out just, just cause I hear I see it. And I just needed to get it out. Yeah. I mean, I think one of the nice things, not to turn this into a meta conversation about,
00:48:54
Speaker
about commentary, but I do think one of the things that drives me a little crazy is people say the sky is falling. The sky doesn't fall. And, and then when there is finally something bad is happening, they come back around and say like, see, I told you it was going to happen. It's like, well, yeah, these are, that's how these things work at the time.
00:49:17
Speaker
Things were going pretty good. And just because you, you know, uh, whatever. I don't, we don't need to turn in this into a big debate about that. But I do think that when things are to criticize, they're to criticize you and I are more than happy to criticize them right now. There's a lot to criticize in this team and we're criticizing it. And that's,
00:49:37
Speaker
You know, that's that's where we are, I suppose, on this. A little bit on a practical matter, the Sounders do have an open international spot after tre after sending Yusuke Nome out on loan.
Roster Changes and International Spots
00:49:50
Speaker
I know there was a little bit of confusion as to what exactly was going on with Sukunome, but we have... We have since confirmed that he's going on loan to the Pittsburgh Riverhounds. So that clears up a international roster spot for the rest of the year. And I've come to find out that it would be pretty easy for them to open up a second international roster spot if they wanted to, even though they only have two international spots right now.
00:50:13
Speaker
But they could also, if they if they really needed an extra international spot, they could buy out Kim Ki-Hoo, who was not yet played this year. So that would not be a particular loss, I suppose. ah But yeah, they could buy him out and it would, you know, he's on a minimum salary. So it'd be a relatively low cost move for them to buy out Kim and open up another international roster spot. That said, they don't need an international roster spot right now ah because they have, they will have one open.
00:50:42
Speaker
And they have the flexibility to go out and make some signings. They have theoretically as many as three senior roster spots available. They have three supplemental roster spots available, especially after the, because they also sent Cody Baker on loan.
00:50:56
Speaker
So they are clearing some roster room, which you would like to think means that they have signings, if not lined up that they are fully intending to make, right?
00:51:09
Speaker
Correct. Correct. and And obviously, as ah we've said before, MLS is the most feasible way for this team to add a couple of players, but they are looking out broad. And I think that's part of that international spot that we opened up. And and let me just, you know, be public about
00:51:32
Speaker
apologizing and it was my bad to, there was a gap and in information. i handled a a network of sources and there are times where information has gaps in it. And although at the time I thought that I had done my due diligence and obviously the end result was that you was not going to be here. The situation was misinterpreted by one source and I had to do a correction on it. But clearly, The reason of that move was because one, Yutsukunomi wasn't really doing anything for the Sounders. He had logged zero minutes. There was really no pathway for him to get in. However, he was not as desirable as a Cody Baker, as a Georgie Minungu, as other players. So they had to move him on to a USL team, which is the Pittsburgh Riverhounds. And thankfully we were able to correct that before anyone else reported it. And, um,
00:52:26
Speaker
that's kind of the the whole deal when it comes to you took on but I do expect them to to use that and, and, and go out there and get somebody. Yeah. And look at the end of the day, the information, the core part of the information was correct, which was the sounders had opened up, had figured out a way to open up an international roster spot. And it was used international roster spot that they opened up that he was not cut. I suppose it's good.
00:52:51
Speaker
ah I don't know if I'm in the same way that I'm not, I don't know that the difference between Cody Baker going on loan or trade to new England is much different than you. So Konome going, being a cut or going on loan to, uh, Pittsburgh makes much of a difference from a Sounders perspective, because the reality is that I don't think either one of those players are going to be back with the Sounders.
00:53:15
Speaker
i If Baker plays almost at all with new England, I believe the loan trigger, the, the purchase option on the loan triggers in the same way, Sukunomai, I suppose, could come back at the end of the Riverhound season. Maybe he gets another offseason with the Sounders where he can do some training, but it's not like he's on a multi-year guaranteed contract anyway. But I suppose the Sounders have some insurance, whereas if you know, in the same way, when Sam and dinner and went on loan and he lit it up on loan, he became more attractive and they were able to trade him to St. Louis ah in the same vein. If you Suconoma goes to Pittsburgh lights it up there, there might be some suitors who would be willing to pay the sounders some nominal fee to get Suconoma. So it gives them a little bit more of an out. And I don't, I'm not even going to,
00:54:07
Speaker
Judge Tsukunome whether or not he was a, like, I know there was, I, I, I get frustrated when people act like he should be playing.
00:54:18
Speaker
Look, the Sounders have won. The Sounders have watched him up close for a long time now. And on some level, I think you just have to trust him. Brian Schmetzer that he had made a decision that he wasn't going to play Sukunome. And I suppose you could say he made the same decision on dinner and that didn't really pan out.
00:54:38
Speaker
But I think from the front office perspective, your hands are sort of tied. Like if your coach isn't going to play somebody, you owe it to that player to move them along. And the reality is that Brian makes that decision.
00:54:52
Speaker
He doesn't see a way that Sukunomi can help the Sounders. So I think it's it makes sense for the Sounders then to find a place where he can get some playing time and you don't want to just stash a guy on the bench and not let him play.
00:55:05
Speaker
And that's a good way of doing business, Jeremiah. I think that it is something that. this team hasn't done in the past and it's, you know, getting some positive results because look, at the end of the day, you're going to be able to get some money, additional money, essentially for, let's say a guy like Danny Leyva. Look, ah Danny Leyva has been a guy that right now, after you selling them and obviously the Sounders kept the percentage for future moves, Pumas and other teams are looking at,
00:55:39
Speaker
Danny Lever right now because he's being so good and Nekaxa tends to be a seater for the rest of the league. So if you're able to get him sold somewhere else, that's not going receive X amount of money. I think Georgie Menungu is another guy that you're betting on to continue to play well. And then you could do that rather than just having him here sitting down doing nothing. Now, in retrospect and, and you know, sitting here today, I could tell you that I kind of wish Danny was here and that Georgie perhaps would add a couple of things as well in the wide areas. But, know, The reality is, is that you kind of went with what you had and you're hoping that guys come back. And so to me, it's a good way of doing business that if a player that you have invested in and is just sitting on your bench, isn't really going to get any playtime, you move them on. And i think Yutsukunomi kind of falls under that same area, maybe in a lesser impactful way, but but still, i think it's a good move.
00:56:33
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, it's a it's a move that I think works out for both teams. ah The reality is that the Sounders can hopefully use an international roster spot. I mean, it is a little weird that the Sounders had two internationals on their roster right now, and both of them are occupying...
00:56:50
Speaker
places on the ra are are essentially minimum salary players who were not playing for one reason or another.
Future Roster and Leadership Concerns
00:56:56
Speaker
That's not a particularly good use of international roster spots. Ideally, you want your internationals to be some of your top players.
00:57:03
Speaker
And these are players at the other end of the the roster. So if you can reallocate those international roster spots to players who are much bigger contributors, that's a much more efficient use of that roster spot. And now the Sounders have the option to do that.
00:57:19
Speaker
So let's hope that they do. ah They have the resources. It seems to make a couple signings, maybe not the signings that we all want, but there's bigger. And I think it's worth talking about. Also, the thing that has me worried about this roster is not so much.
00:57:36
Speaker
The short term, look, they may or may not figure out how to put a better team together this year. Maybe this ends up being a lost year. That would be horrible. It is what it is. ah Like, I'm not, I'm not trying to diminish that, but what really scares me beyond that the,
00:57:53
Speaker
I am worried that they don't have the resources to replenish this roster when that's necessary, when they have open DP spots. Like, are they, are they talking? It seems like right now the the best argument for renewing or picking up Albert Rusnak's option is that he's here and it doesn't require you to do anything to acquire a new player.
00:58:14
Speaker
don't Are they willing to do it? Like they really should not at this point be stuck on Jordan Morris. If he is going to be constantly injured the way that it's starting to look like he maybe is. They, they also have a DP spot on Pedro de la Vega, another player who is hurt.
00:58:31
Speaker
Like they are going to have to make some big decisions if they want to get serious about being contenders in the next era of and MLS. And I think the thing that has me worried right now is that they there's not a lot of assurances that they are going to do that. And I think that's what has me worried. I think that's what has a lot of fans worried, even if they don't articulate it exactly like that, that it's not that the current roster, like the current roster is what it is, but we'll we'll see what they can do with it. But if they can't, if they can't upgrade their DPs, that's going to be a problem long-term.
00:59:08
Speaker
Yeah, look, I said this going into this season. I thought that if healthy, this team could very well be third or fourth in the Western Conference. I yeah still believe that that's an accurate statement.
00:59:21
Speaker
The reality is that they are not healthy right now. But in order for you to go beyond that and to make a run in the playoffs with a Western Conference that continues to get better is by putting some resources into it and moving things out. Now, I don't...
00:59:36
Speaker
we're not talking about getting a new DP immediately. I wish we were, but that, I don't think that's, ah reality But next year, when you have to make the decision on Albert, I would hope that just because you don't have to go out there and pay a transfer fee and and get somebody is not a reason to write keep Albert. Look, I really love what you and Aaron, and Aaron, to to give him credit, he said something along the lines, you're going to know this better because you were there, but he said something about don't let the...
01:00:11
Speaker
don Oh my, um I'm killing it now. But he said, don't be afraid to be, don't let the, oh my goodness, I killed it. he's like some of but Don't let the enemy of good be the... Yes, there it is. Don't let the enemy of being good Be great. Something like that. But yeah whatever it was that he said, i love it. I love what he said because that's kind of what it feels like where you're kind of afraid to make a move because, you know, you're doing all right. You're doing okay. But that's not what the fans want. So they want great to Aaron.
01:00:42
Speaker
Check it out because he said way better than me. But that's exactly what it is. But it does come back to the money. And that's where I said this on Thursday on soccer down here.
01:00:56
Speaker
There is hope that Adrian gets an injection of capita if you know they publicly went out looking for investors. I don't know if the new sale of the Seahawks could at some point influence this team when it comes to bringing in some more money. um I don't, I don't, I personally don't blame Adrian for maybe not having the funds or the possibility to do things. Like again, I don't know his finances, but the reality is that he doesn't have them. And so if he's looking for other investors, then maybe that's a way
01:01:30
Speaker
To help this team out because the reality is that that's where you've fallen behind. Another thing that I love but what you said in that ah show with Aaron and and and yourself is that the Sounders are 30th in spending when it comes to 2022 to now, which is outrageous. on the And I just don't think it should be.
01:01:50
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah, that's the that's a transit that's that's their 30th in transfer spending in the last since 2022. And they are 30th by a ah pretty healthy margin. It's not even particularly close. Like this is the the Sounders more than any other team have sort of put their flag on the mountain of we don't pay transfer fees. And I think that's a really dumb place to put your flag.
01:02:15
Speaker
I think that ah ownership needs to realize that you you need to spend money on transfers in order to remain competitive. You don't have to spend the most, but you can't be the least by a long shot. And Adrian Hanauer has often told me on the record that they won't be the highest spending team, that he doesn't really see any value in winning the transfer cup.
01:02:39
Speaker
but he also won't be the lowest spending team. And unfortunately, they are getting a lot closer to being the lowest spending team right now than they are anywhere else. So that's going to have to change, I i believe.
01:02:51
Speaker
and And I would urge the Sounders to dig into their wallets and start spending some money. And hopefully that happens in the next couple weeks because the time is running out to really salvage this season, I think. And it absolutely needs an injection of talent.
01:03:06
Speaker
And it's not going to be, it's not sufficient to just wait for everyone to get healthy. I think we need to be realistic about Pedro de la Vega's path to recovery. Even if he is back on the field in a week or two, which I think would be a very aggressive timeline.
01:03:20
Speaker
We should not expect him to be the Pedro de la Vega, who was looking like a particularly dominant player ah at the end of last year before his injury. yeah, we have to bring in some more talent.
01:03:32
Speaker
Hopefully the sounders understand that. I know the front office understands that. Hopefully ownership understands that as well.
Call for On-field Leadership
01:03:38
Speaker
And, and hopefully in a month or so we are singing a much better tune, but right now it's, it's looking bleak.
01:03:46
Speaker
I agree. I really do hope that's the case. And, um, that all of it could could be a an injection to to just completely change where the trajectory is going right now. and And look, just a segue probably to what we're going to finish the show on, that you're able to at least get a result in Philadelphia and you can work from there. And that guys are taking these results and the narrative and because they read the comments, they hear people saying, Yeah, it weighs on They know what's going on. and I hope they take it personally to the point where, man, they just play better. They play more unified. ah And again, I really do ask more of the top players, man.
01:04:32
Speaker
yeah i have been Jesus Ferreira guy. i continue to be. But I think he needs to take an extra step to be more than a facilitator and really be out there.
01:04:44
Speaker
doing even more than he's already doing. i think that Albert's a guy that really needs to step up and do a whole lot more than what he's doing at this yeah particular moment in time. And so all of these guys just need to come out and really play with their, you know, everything, ah their, their hearts out there and be able to really get this team going.
01:05:05
Speaker
Absolutely. why don't we take a break? We'll come back and we'll talk about the Philadelphia union and sort of the path ahead for the sounders. You are listening to sounder heart or sorry, you're listening to no side yet. This on the center heart podcast network.
01:05:20
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 numeral. 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. 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.
01:06:16
Speaker
Welcome back to another, or sorry, welcome back to No Sadietes on the Sounder Heart Podcast Network. All right. ah We got some games coming up here, but let's start with Philadelphia Union. this is This is, what's so frustrating about this stretch of games for the Sounders is that this should be a point where the Sounders are picking up points, where they're sort of stacking points. They played a pretty bad Austin team.
01:06:39
Speaker
They opened against a pretty bad Portland team. Now they face a Pretty bad Philadelphia team, albeit one that is coming off their first win since April
Challenge from Philadelphia Union
01:06:49
Speaker
11th. April 11th.
01:06:51
Speaker
ah they They've only won one of their last nine games, including this most recent game against the New York Red Bulls. That was their first win at home all season. So at least I suppose they don't have the Sounders don't have to worry about being Philadelphia's first home win.
01:07:07
Speaker
but But i yeah, Philadelphia is coming off a pretty good win against the New York Red Bulls. I don't know if that was sort of like a dead cat bounce type situation where their first game under an interim manager. Again, another thing that's crazy is centers are playing a third straight game against an interim manager.
01:07:26
Speaker
They will then play a fourth game against a manager who is relatively new when they place the Timbers next week. But Right now it's Philadelphia. What do you make of this team? They they were the Supporter Shield winners this year, and they got off to an absolutely dreadful start to the season.
01:07:44
Speaker
Yeah, look, there were a disaster, to be quite frank. I mean, to the point where they get a coach of the year, winner, fired. So, you know, it was a difficult start there for this team. But what I will say is that they do get some firepower back. and Not just a firepower back, but some fan favorites, right? We saw the Once again, with the team, Kai Wagner and Quinn Sullivan, I thought that there were two players that were important for this team going into this game, both who played very well, specifically Kai. I thought that he gives them just a different playmaker on that side, someone that gets deep, provides width. Can both, you know, be good on the outside channels as good as he is on the underlaps and working in those inside pockets. So he was very good. He gets an assist in this one. I just thought that there was a different feel to this team, which is unfortunately not good for the Sounders because it wasn't just the win.
01:08:46
Speaker
but it was how it happened. I thought that they were dominant. I thought that Quinn Sullivan ah was, was, was very good at that. Kevin Sullivan was dangerous, right? I thought that playing from that, that far side, he's also another guy that could be a reference inside the 18. He had a couple of really good looks. I thought that he was creative, incisive. And so, man, it's, um,
01:09:08
Speaker
It's really not great to see this Philadelphia team be as good midfield as they were with, I'm going to kill this name, but Daniel Janjaquez in midfield. I thought he was the one who really moved the strings for this team. So they just look composed. They look like a team that understood what they wanted to do with the ball. And they really brought it upon the Red Bulls.
01:09:34
Speaker
I'm going to guess it's Jacques is probably how you pronounce that. Jacques. There you go. Yeah. He's, he's Haitian. And so it's probably a French pronunciation. So yeah, Daniel Jean Jacques is who you're talking about, but yeah, they were dominant against the Red Bulls to to your point. They had 3.25 expected goals. That's a, that's a huge number.
01:09:53
Speaker
In case you don't understand what that just know that that's a big number. They had 24 shots. They had 29 touches in the box. They put nine shots on target. They were, they were dominant. They, they looked really good.
01:10:07
Speaker
And it's, that should be a little scary for the Sounders because, uh, The Sounders
Hope from Past Turnaround?
01:10:13
Speaker
are not in a good place. And I suppose if you were to find any hope, ah if this is the way you were inclined to think about it, is I'm thinking about 2024 when the Sounders were off to one of their worst starts ever. I think it was actually their worst start ever. They only had one win in their first nine, I believe it was.
01:10:33
Speaker
they... they we're coming off of a two, one loss to DC United, who was not a very good team. That was the game. Stephen Fry got red carded in case you're kind of wondering. And they had a rescheduled game against the Philadelphia union, the union who had this, I think a really long, actually they they had just ended a really long home on beaten streak. And they were one of the top teams in the league at the time.
01:10:56
Speaker
The Sounders jumped out to a three zero lead, ended up winning that game three, two. That was sort of Obed Vargas, his breakout game. He scored his first, I think it was his first career goal for the Sounders.
01:11:07
Speaker
And that sort of kickstarted a turnaround that year. They, it was a so a bit of a slow build, but the Sounders ended up ending that season on a pretty good run.
01:11:19
Speaker
And so, I don't know, maybe, maybe some sort of similar, Magic can be found on this, like, ah like in that game, like the thing about that was it was a two game road trip where they went out to DC and they stayed overnight and they stayed the whole time, sort of like what they're doing now. But from a purely analytical perspective, this looks like a really tough time for the Sounders to be playing the Philadelphia, a Philadelphia union.
01:11:47
Speaker
but Man, um I would agree. And I'm going to because I was doing my homework for this show. I watched the game this morning, the entirety of this game. I have some notes with some parentheses of how that would apply to this Sounders game.
01:12:07
Speaker
And this is kind of what I came up with. Like, it's this team. Look very good. And a lot of it has to do with having at very experienced, savvy attacker, nine specifically as Milian Ilovsky. I thought that he's off the ball movement was very, was very creative. It was, it was just savvy. He he just knew what he needed to do to get away from a young guy like Che. Che for the the Red Bulls, he he's one of the top prospects in MLS. And so when I look at my parentheses here,
01:12:44
Speaker
when you're going to possibly have Stu and Tony, oh my goodness, why is he saying my name? Tino Lopez. Tino Lopez being that center back duo, that's going to be something to look because I thought that he put there, they say keep your head in a swivel. He made that swivel go round and round again when he came to those center backs. I thought that Bruno Damian, they were Hawaiian. He was, Demiani was very, um,
01:13:11
Speaker
very good about attacking space. It's not like he was always on the ball, but he knew when to get wide to create openings for other players. He knew when to push. I thought that their pressing was pretty interesting. So because of the things that you're going to have to do to replace a guy like Jackson Reagan because of the lack of experience, it worries me a little bit of what I saw from this team. Now, Indiana Vasilev is one of the players that I like to watch. I've liked them in St. Louis. I just love those type of players that are
01:13:47
Speaker
They have that this endless engine, and he is so good under this system to run late into the box. He gets a goal in this one. That's something else that the Sounders haven't been doing well, which is tracking runners into the box.
Defensive Setup Concerns
01:14:01
Speaker
So there are things about this game defensively that or that that are concerning that are concerning because of the situation of the team and the personnel that you might see this weekend.
01:14:13
Speaker
Yeah, and aan muofsky or i ah Milan Ilovsky is also a pretty dangerous player for ah Philadelphia. He's someone who, when he gets hot, he can put up a lot of goals. He's sort of a, i don't know, what in some ways, he's similar to Danny Masofsky, except for he has been much more productive in a longer period of time. But he is sort of a a a player who gets into a lot of good ah dangerous spots and more technically gifted and more technically gifted. He could put it away from anywhere.
01:14:46
Speaker
Yeah. ah But he's someone, I guess in that he doesn't get a lot of touches. he's you know, he, he's just sort of someone who is really good in the box. And, but he's, he's a player that the Sounders absolutely need to be worried about.
01:14:58
Speaker
What lineup changes do you think we might be seeing for the Sounders? Obviously you you mentioned Tino Lopez for Jackson Reagan. It doesn't look like Yamar is going to be quite ready to certainly not start. We don't know if he will be able to play. I've heard that that there's a chance that they might be able to get him ready in time for the Timbers game. But ah what other changes in this game do you think we should expect lineup wise?
01:15:21
Speaker
Yeah, look, it's hard to say because obviously the team flew straight into Philadelphia for this game. um i would think that Kalani Kosarriensi starts this game. And I mean that because...
01:15:36
Speaker
if there's a way that you can keep Kai Wagner from creeping up on you and being consistently on the forefront is pinning him back. And I think that if there's anything that Kalani does well is getting in the front foot, being able to get,
01:15:54
Speaker
Farther out and and into that that end line, right? He does a very good job of giving you width. And as much as like Peter Kingston and a lot of the attributes that he provides, I don't know, in this particular game, I'd like to see him more central. Maybe you move him in at playing center midfield. i don't know if...
01:16:13
Speaker
I got the sense that maybe Bryant's mess, sir, wants to reset a guy like Snyder Brunel. Maybe you sit him. Maybe you play Peter and um Hassani Dawson and you and you tell Hassani Dawson to just stay deeper and be more simplistic with his play and be more of a disruptor and just be more of a holding mitt. um I think without a doubt, you're going to see Osase De Rosario up top. up
01:16:45
Speaker
That's just my opinion. i thought it would be crazy to me. It would be totally crazy to me if Osase doesn't start. I think Osase has been the more the most dangerous forward in each of the last two games.
01:16:57
Speaker
You got to give him the start, man. I just don't i don't get it. he He needs to start in this one, I think. No, and then he came off frustrated. Totally understandable, right? You get that he wants He's always frustrated. Danny Masowski is always frustrated when he comes off.
01:17:11
Speaker
ah But you know what he didn't do in this game that, to me, is that deciding factor when you should start Osase is there were times where me and you always talk about how Danny looks different when the ball is about to be in his space or he's about to get the ball where he just kind of shifts into this guy that's like hustling for the ball. In this one,
01:17:33
Speaker
I don't know if it was the tempo of the game, but he he was just not even doing that. I mean, he wasn't pressing well. He wasn't getting into space as well. So I think that Osase is the other for sure player that should start this game. And then finally, it's one that I just touched on. i think that you need to see Paul Arriola. I think Paul Arriola is a guy that needs to start. And I'm not sure where that fits into with this setup. um I don't know where... um Nuhu is. I mean, if he cramped up and he's having all these issues, sometimes those cramps are just the heat because it was incredibly hot in Austin. But sometimes that could be, ah I don't know if it if it phrases the same, but some muscle overloads in Spanish is kind of what they call it when a particular part of the muscle is just being overloaded a little bit. So maybe do you rest a guy like Nuhu?
01:18:27
Speaker
I don't know. But I think those are some of the changes that we could see into this game. Yeah, I agree with you. I want to see Paul Areola. I hope NewHoo, look, NewHoo for all the complaints I have about him at times.
01:18:40
Speaker
I'm really worried about what happens if you have a relatively inexperienced, well, he's not inexperienced, but I don't think that Paul Areola is anything like a lockdown left back. Like that's not his strength.
Experimenting with Lineup Changes?
01:18:53
Speaker
I think agree mostly, i think he probably needs to, play ah higher up the field, either in place of, ah like, I think this is what I would probably do is I would put Jesus at the 10. I would put Areola on the right and I'd probably keep Rothrock on the left. And then I would see how it plays out. And then I would, you know, potentially bring Rusnak in at halftime or, or something along those lines. Uh, but I, I do want to see,
01:19:20
Speaker
Jesus, I think at the 10, I want to see how that looks like. I realized that the Sounders are effectively playing with two tens for the most part. I don't know if they will, you know, if that'll be altered at all in this game with, you know, with the way that they they are expecting. Like, I don't know if they'll, they'll be doing the the three, four,
01:19:39
Speaker
ah buildup thing, the three, two, was it the three, two, four, one buildup thing that they do, but we'll see. i definitely am okay with making changes almost for the sake of changes at this point. I think you need to shake things up and look, I know Areola made this honestly I don't know if it's an unforgivable mistake, but it is a mistake that you don't want to see a veteran making where he gives the ball away in a center part of the park unnecessarily. And that leads to the winning, the game winning goal for
Execution Mistakes and Strategy Changes
01:20:13
Speaker
Austin last week. But look, I think that was more of an execution mistake where he was trying to put it off the defender and the defender did a good job of jumping over it.
01:20:22
Speaker
ah But to me, the smart play is just to kick it down the field as far as you can and get it out of danger. We don't need to spend too much time rehashing that, but I want to see some changes for this game. I think that even if it is just for the sake of change, you, you, you really make it clear to guys that you you need to do everything that the coaches need to be doing everything possible to find a solution Because it's like we've said, it's really in danger of spiraling pretty badly.
01:20:49
Speaker
And they can't just sit around and wait and and say, well, the XG said we were better than the result was. That's not that's not going to cut it right now. That's the reality. No, you know what? And that might not be bad. I mean, look, if moving things around, I mean...
01:21:06
Speaker
I would not even mind seeing um maybe you drop Albert back a line and you have him play next to ah Dotson and then you move Paula Riola maybe to the right and and have him play in that three-man setup under Osase.
01:21:24
Speaker
So, yeah, man, I definitely want to see something a little bit different in this one. You're looking – to play a team that you can't necessarily sit on. You want to be able to dictate the tempo, even if it's in their court. So, man, it's it's not as easy as it may seem on paper because this team, again, is running energized off of a ah new head coach that, you know, as we said, right, you've you're playing all these interim head coaches, but if anything that Ryan Richards has been able to do is that, know, It's provided more more energy to this team. and And it looks like the old teams of Philadelphia Union, where they were going to be able to just outwork you the whole game. So maybe having some of these more producers would be interesting to have. But but but what I do know is that you don't want to go with the exact same lineup that you just had last week and or just a couple of days ago because it's just not going to work out You need to be able to see something else. You got to shake things
Player Position Adjustments
01:22:29
Speaker
up.
01:22:30
Speaker
Yeah, the only thing you do in this game is you change out Lopez and you're right. Like, honestly, am a little worried about Lopez going in if Kalani is on the right, in part because that was a disaster of a combo in the Portland game. And so maybe you but maybe you want Areola there instead.
01:22:51
Speaker
Like, maybe that's where it makes sense to put Areola. Mm-hmm. he can, he can definitely play as sort of like that wingback type that maybe makes more sense there. ah He's going to be a little better in possession than Kalani.
01:23:03
Speaker
I wouldn't mind seeing that one. And I don't necessarily put this like, I like Kalani as a player, but I think we have to realize that he's limited. And that, especially when we don't have a solid D mid set up, when we don't have a top center back set up, you have to protect him a little bit. And I think that yeah putting him out there with Tino Lopez is asking for trouble because they were like, they really, really were a problem in the, in the Timbers game in terms of their ability to, to build out and whatnot. So hopefully the Sounders are able to find some solutions. If they have, like Albert Rusnak said, if they have to win ugly, then so be it. They
Coaching and Performance Concerns
01:23:40
Speaker
just need to figure out a way to get a result.
01:23:42
Speaker
And ah you know, And if they can get a result, you know, maybe they can ride some momentum into Portland. They can, if they can beat Portland, which, Hey, ah Portland is not a great team. There's no reason they shouldn't feel like they can, they can win that game.
01:23:56
Speaker
Maybe we can get some positive vibes going, but they need those desperately because, You know, it's been a theme on this show. I am really worried about this spiraling and, and who knows where it ends when, when things start going crazy, you know, people start losing jobs, players get cut, players get traded and, ah and you hope that you don't do any, you know, you don't end up with worse outcomes as a result of it, but that's probably a good place to call this. I think, I think we, we, we cycled through our, our whole list, right? Nico.
01:24:31
Speaker
Yes, but you know what? Just to throw a wrench in your plan, I'm going to ask you this plain and simple because okay as much as I don't want to talk about it, it is something out there. And I want to hear your take, then I'll give you mine. But do you think that if everything's the same and this team...
01:24:52
Speaker
continues to have the same roster is Brian's Mets for being let go. The the solution. do you think that that's something that, you know, that that's the problem when you look at this team is Brian's Mets are the problem.
01:25:05
Speaker
I don't think Brian Schmetzer is the problem. And I'll tell you, Well, let me rephrase that. I don't know. the The reality is that if you fire Brian Schmetzer, you are almost certainly going to replace him in the short term and maybe even the long term with someone else that's on staff.
01:25:24
Speaker
And so maybe that's Precky. Maybe that's Freddy Juarez. Yeah. Heck, maybe you get really lucky and in you think bigger and you you end you end up figuring out how to get Gonzalo Pineda back or you you figure out how to get Andy Rose back in here. These are all known quantities.
01:25:42
Speaker
And where we are right now, I don't think that firing Brian Schmetzer improves anything. I guess maybe this is a discussion where if they, you know, if they play three more games and they get smoked in three in the next three games, which is a definite possibility, yes it's it's a different conversation, right? But where we sit right now, I think it's, you know, he's on the lukewarm seat. I'll say i I just don't see Adrian Hanauer firing b Brian Schmetzer. And that's really who makes that call. It is not Craig Weibel.
01:26:17
Speaker
I think Craig is more likely to lose his job right now than, than Brian is. And that might be in the fan vote. It might be because Brian, because Adrian Hanauer gets frustrated with the whole situation.
01:26:31
Speaker
But I think if we're measuring what we think is going to happen, i think Brian's going to be around. If we're saying what
Arguments for Retaining Coach
01:26:38
Speaker
should happen, Oh, that's a tough one. I'm not ready to to pull the ejector seat on Brian yet, but I think I'm reserving some judgment for a few weeks from now. How do you feel, Nico?
01:26:53
Speaker
Nope, I ditto. I co-sign absolutely everything that you said. And what I would add is that... Look, there have been times where I believe that Brian was, ah his setup was stagnant and maybe his delivery and what he does well in terms of getting the best out of each player kind of went stale. And he proved me wrong. And I would be...
01:27:19
Speaker
way to hyperbolic to do that now. The reality is is that yes, this is bad. It's five games that the team hasn't been playing well and it's four losses and it's some pretty scandalous results. But I don't think that asking a coach that we can look in the roster and see the voids. We can see the injuries and calling for his job is going to be an immediate solution. So I think that for right now, as you said, where do we stand today, he continues to be the guy that I will stick with that. He is, if anything, someone that could rescue the season, he's done it before. You just got to be able to get some guys healthy, get them some help. And I think it'll be all right now in the future. That's totally different. We'll see what happens, what happens in, you know, 2027 and all that stuff. But for right now, for this team, I think he's the guy for the job. and again, this is coming from a guy that at one point was calling for his job, but I think it's unfair to do so right now. It just, it just is the situation, the break, the injuries, absolutely everything. Just the way the games have played out. I mean, ah there's a lot of times where you can criticize the coach and there's a lot of times where you could just,
01:28:33
Speaker
be very clear cut that mistakes happen on the field with players. And that you could point to a lot of those when it comes to this team. Yeah. And I, I'll say if I look at the individual decisions, the one that I'm most flummoxed by is new who at left back. I don't, or not, sorry, not new at left back knew who as the captain is the one that I'm a little, I'm most confused by.
01:28:56
Speaker
and Look, if he's the captain again, i guess we, I am starting to sort of lose my mind a little bit as to the message that we're sending to the players. I doubt that's going to be the case, but I guess we'll see. I don't know who the captain is otherwise. And look, if your biggest complaint is who's the captain,
01:29:14
Speaker
Like they just need these guys to be playing better. it's It's not about who's the captain, right? It's about making sure that this team is is set up for success. And we'll see. We'll see. But
Closing Remarks and Thanks
01:29:26
Speaker
as of right now, I think Brian is not the main part of the problem.
01:29:30
Speaker
It's more about injuries and sort of the cohesiveness of this roster build and that there were some some areas of this roster that were more shallow than I think we appreciated at the time. So hopefully, hopefully, hopefully we're hoping we're hoping, but let's ah let's get out of here. I suppose ah Nico, I appreciate you throwing that wrench in the box.
01:29:57
Speaker
in the mix here, put me on the hot seat. That's okay. We're okay with that. But your, thank you to all of you listeners for sticking with us. Thank you to our sponsor, full pool wines. Thank you to our subscribers. And I just want to remind everyone that if you appreciate what sounder at heart is doing for the sounders and rain and Ballard FC and the local Seattle soccer scene,
01:30:22
Speaker
please consider becoming a subscriber to Sounder at Heart. Plans start as low as $30 a year. We are currently in our membership drive for 2026. So hopefully people are still interested in making sure that this operation is floating along.
01:30:37
Speaker
But with all that said, I'm Jeremiah Shan signing off for Nico Moreno. This is No Sadietes, part of the Sounder at Heart Podcast Network, and we will catch you next time.
01:31:14
Speaker
Let's go, and Sounders.