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Maple Syrup Massacre - Ep. 67
1.1k Plays2 months ago
We’re back with one of the best Dub Pods of the season as the Seattle Sounders obliterated the Vancouver Whitecaps 3-0 at BC Place in Matchday 36. Georgi scored his first MLS goal. Albert Rusnak has 15 assists. And Paul Rothrock continues his ascent into the Major Leagues Soccer elite. We break it all down in our game review, hit our Agenda Check, take your questions and discuss Inter Miami clinching the Supporters’ Shield.
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- This podcast was made possible through the support of Full Pull Wines.
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Transcript
Introduction to Full Pole Wines & Episode 67
00:00:00
Speaker
This episode of Lobbing Scorchers is sponsored by Full Pole Wines, a Seattle-based seller. Not only are they a local company, but they've been supporting independent Seattle soccer media since 2011 and are run by Sounders fans. They offer the best boutique wines in the world to members of their mailing list with special focus on their home, the Pacific Northwest. Their model is simple. One, they email compelling offers. Two, you request bottles that sound appealing. Three, your wine arrives at their Soto warehouse and is ready for pickup or shipping. Their Soto tasting room is also open to the public.
00:00:30
Speaker
If you're interested in joining their mailing list or learning more about them, visit fullpolewants.com. What's going on, everybody? Welcome to episode 67 of Lobbing Scorchers. This is Ari Lillianwall. I got producer Noah here with me, and we are coming to you from way too early on a Thursday morning.
00:00:52
Speaker
for a dub pod no how are you feeling it's never too early for a dub pod ari and you know frankly i like the morning pods i feel like i get to have my little coffee in my little chat with you it's it's like we're living together again it's a nice way to start out the day there's nothing wrong with a 7 45 am dub pod which is what we're doing right now um we are back at it with what i think is at least one of the best dub pods of the season, if not the best dub pod of the season.
Seattle Sounders vs. Vancouver Whitecaps Recap
00:01:18
Speaker
Seattle Sounders 3-0 over the Vancouver Whitecaps. So much to talk about with this performance from Seattle. You had Georgie with his first MLS goal. Congratulations to Georgie.
00:01:30
Speaker
Albert Rusnak had another couple goal contributions and was absolutely cooking again. Oh, yeah. And then, of course, there was the Paul Rothrock goal, obviously. I mean, you know, that's old news, but he did get another one. um Another banger. Another really nice one. That was a great team goal. So we're going to break it all down in our game review. We're going to hit our agenda check. I've got a new agenda for the week. Let's go. um We're going to take your questions. Thank you to everyone who submitted those. We're going to hit some other results from around MLS, including ah there's a Supporter Shield winner. Shockingly, Inner Miami has won the Supporter Shield, which um you know it's like an underdog story of a scrappy team that defied the odds of you know no one thought they could do it.
00:02:13
Speaker
And they had to break rules to get there. They had to, you know, they were sanctioned. It's really they were hated on inspirational. Like they're going to make a 30 for 30 about it one day. But anyway, we are going to talk about inner Miami winning the shield.
Lobbing Scorchers Joins Sounder at Heart Network
00:02:25
Speaker
We need the k clicks, folks. Yeah, we're going to. But it's going to be it's going to be a good show.
00:02:29
Speaker
um Before we do all that, though, I did want to let you all know that Lobbing Scorchers is a part of the Sounder at Heart Podcast Network. 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. Scroll down to subscribe and support to get 30 days completely free. Every sign up through our link helps support and grow this show. We have a couple of new subs to thank. Noah. We do. Do you have the list pulled up? Oh, Ari, of course I have the list pulled up. How would I be? Would I be a producer if I if i didn't?
00:02:59
Speaker
Here we go. Are you ready? Yeah, do it. Kenneth Wade, Joey Pascanelli, David McCoy, Owen Mason, Daniel Pavato, Samuel Fow, Ian Mitchell, Christopher Smith, Norm Bontye, Thomas Martin, Greg Hoker, Chris Mayley, Andy Hill, Mike Lentini, Nate Bontye, David Rodriguez, CJ and Miles Maranakis. My nephews. Mark Ottinger, Zach Heckman, David Pope, Brian Morton, Claire Berger, Robert Sink, Tyler Nakatsu, Steve Hudson, Choska, Patrick Sexton, John Hammaker, Emma Mebach,
00:03:26
Speaker
Justin Walker, Jay Anders, Ryan Shane, Nathan Jones, and then our newest two subscribers, Benjen Dovishar and Isaac Johnson Legends. Thank you so much, Benjen and Isaac. we're getting We're getting up there now. We're getting close to 40 subs, so we'd love and appreciate all of you.
00:03:45
Speaker
um And thank you for supporting independent Seattle soccer coverage more than anything Jeremiah was actually up in Vancouver, and I was gonna go with him as well But I didn't because I have to fly to Texas tomorrow, but regardless you're helping us improve this podcast you're helping literally have better coverage of the sounders period.
Seattle Sounders' Dominance in Play
00:04:04
Speaker
Yeah, absolutely. And also, if you have yet to do so, please subscribe to the Lobbing Scorchers YouTube. We are still on the drive to 600 subs. We're at about 567 now. So all you have to do is click your mouse one time. Super easy. super idiot That's ah another great way that you can support the show as we try and continue to grow our presence on there.
00:04:24
Speaker
All right, let's get into this game review, because ah there's a lot to get into with this dub pod. Let's start with our lineup reaction, as we usually do. ah Just a couple of like minor things, but they turned out to be significant. You had a Georgie start, yeah which was good to see. And it turned out to pay off. And De La Vega off the bench. Noah, what did you think of this lineup?
00:04:45
Speaker
I saw Georgie. That was my first thing that I noticed. I saw No De La Vega start, which didn't really surprise me, to be honest, considering that's not really been the the thing they've been doing with him on short turnaround and rest. um I was stoked to see to see Georgie get minutes. And I thought with, you know, Scottish Messi being out, this team had every opportunity to have a breakout match. Yeah, absolutely. ah Both of their Scots were out. The Scot and the Scot. Stuart Armstrong was out as well. Which is who's boys with Scottish Messi, right? Yeah, exactly. ah So Vancouver, they were definitely a little short-handed going into this game. But you're right, that presented an opportunity for Seattle. And they still had some of their guys out there. Brian White was out there. Kubas was out there. They have a pretty good defense. Those guys were all, I think, for the most part out there. so ah But definitely,
00:05:38
Speaker
I think this game illustrated how important Scottish Messi is to everything the Whitecaps do. It didn't seem like they had many ideas without him. um But ah honestly, even with those absences, this game was a lot more one-sided than I would have expected, especially playing at BC Place. Seattle beat the shit out of the Whitecaps, pretty much front to back. um This was a fantastic performance on both sides of the ball, I thought.
00:06:03
Speaker
um You know, Vancouver had a couple of chances and Seattle was for like, Stephen Fry had a couple really like saves of the season and knew who had a goal line clearance. I thought like, yeah, exactly. Like I thought, uh, uh, With the knowledge that when you're playing on the road, the other team is going to have a couple of those chances. The defense came through with some huge plays in this game. So I actually thought that some of the chances that Vancouver had that Seattle was able to thwart like that really added to the performance, in my opinion. But let's talk about these goals because it was really
00:06:40
Speaker
I thought Seattle's control of the game state and also their execution in attack, in possession and transition were all fantastic in this game. And they were rewarded for it with three goals, which anytime you drop three on the road, that's a good night at the office. yeah um So let's break these down. um Seattle scored first. Who scored the first goal, Noah? That was...
00:07:07
Speaker
Who was that? I don't know. It wasn't Rothrock. It was Georgie. Okay. you got first Honestly, I, uh, I set you up for that because I was not prepared. It was Georgie guys. Listen, this is a very professional podcast. get fifty a du pod Okay.
00:07:24
Speaker
It's being open, but this was another set piece goal. And, uh, really Seattle's been, uh, one of the best set piece teams in the league this season. I think at this point we can safely say that. Albert Rusnak with another pinpoint corner kick delivery. The dime deliverer. Dime deliverer. Jordan Morris skies up to win the header, which meant like they've been a dynamic duo in general, but like just on corner kicks and set pieces. home they're good They're one of the best two doing it in MLS right now. Jordan's winning in every header. Roosnax deliveries on point every time. ah This time Jordan wins the header and heads it across to Georgie, who was just right in front of goal. There's a defender in goal, keeping him totally on side.
00:08:06
Speaker
And he literally just, I mean, he just puts his hands behind his back and sticks his body out and it deflects off him into the net. um So it wasn't like a banger finish by Georgie or anything. Like he's really, he basically just poach in, but like that's, he gets credit for that. That's smart positioning. That's a good run. And that's um that's perfect execution of your job on the set piece and a fully deserved first MLS goal. And we're going to talk about Georgie, but I think,
00:08:35
Speaker
It was great to see him finally get rewarded with getting on the stat sheet for how he's been playing, because he's been making the most out of these minutes, I think, in every way except for that final product. So to see him get a goal, that's a great
Game Strategy and Key Performances
00:08:49
Speaker
sign. And really, I thought the wingers, Georgie and Rothrock, they were cooking in this game. They were so cooking. They were so cooking. It was a great game for both of them. But congrats to Georgie on his first MLS goal.
00:09:05
Speaker
Seattle at one zero. ah What I what I liked about this is they maintained control of the game even when you go up one zero, you know, the other team, especially when they're at home, they are going to be coming at you to try and get that ah get that equalizer. And Seattle did not relinquish control of this game.
00:09:23
Speaker
at all. no um They were so good in possession in this game, man. i agree they They were winning all the second balls. They were keeping the ball. At one point, I don't know what it ended at, but they were up towards like 65, 70% possession. Looks like it was 60-40. 60-40 which doesn't mean anything in itself, but it was it I think it was very much possession with purpose like Yeah, well and I think too like towards the end of the game ah the The white caps were really pushing for just like one goal. This was after a dignity. goal Yeah a dignity goal So like I think those possession stats may be a little bit Like they don't tell the full story, but like yeah the in possession
00:10:04
Speaker
The Sounders were doing what they do best, and that was keeping the ball, pinging it around, working those those spaces, finding passes, and you know eventually building up into banger goals. Right, and ah they finally they got there. It took till the 65th minute for them to get the second goal, but I think it was well-earned based on how the game had been going. um It was a penalty kick, won by Paul Rothrock. The go-hoo.
00:10:34
Speaker
God he was ah he was he was really he was really use this scar He's been so good over the last three like it's he he might be and I mean I think this is fair to say he is on the top of his career right now like just like form wise yeah Easily. Easily, because I mean, he's never he's never really done this. He's never gotten consistent MLS minutes before this season. and So for him to um for him to still be doing this, I mean, it's just kind of crazy every single week. It's a new thing. but like I mean, we could have told you that, but you know. this I mean, out of all the Rothrock games that we've talked about this season, um I mean, this was one of the better ones. yeah Great work from him to win this penalty. um Stone cold penalty. I don't think there's any question about it. And then Rusnak.
00:11:21
Speaker
doubt that was ah That was a nasty penalty from the spot. So at 2-0, it's pretty much cruise control from there. um Again, Seattle didn't relinquish control of the game, which when you're when you're playing ahead on the road like that, sometimes that can happen. And it's happened to this Seattle team several times in the last couple of years. So it was just nice to see them really like keep that stranglehold on the game that they had and never really give it up. you know Like I said, the Whitecaps did have their looks, but Stephen Fry came through um when they needed him to. There was the one in the first half where there was the deflection. That was a really good save. He made another really good save in the second half. And then there was the play where, uh, knew who had to make the goal line clearance, which was, that was an insane play. yeah Um, but, uh,
00:12:10
Speaker
you know Like I said, i'm not really ah like a couple people were pointing out that you know the Whitecaps had their chances in the game, so maybe it was like ah not as one-sided as the scoreline looked. I mean, look, other teams are going to get their looks, man. like Even without Scottish Messi, they're playing at home. They're playing for playoff seating, too. You're not going to get out of a game like that on the road against a rival without them having a couple moments like that. It's about like what you do in those moments.
00:12:38
Speaker
And um Seattle's defense stepped up. Stephen Fry stepped up stepped up and knew who, ah like it was one zero when knew who made that clearance. yeah no That could have entirely changed the name. Knew who arguably saved the game yeah on that play. So I think he should get credit for that as well.
00:12:54
Speaker
Yeah, no, I thought I think what we can look at here in know in a way to see how much this team has improved since last season last season, it was like the highlight of the whole team was the defense fairly like totally valid because they were playing lights out. Then the beginning of the season, we felt like, oh, it kind of dipped off, but the offense has picked up, right? Like the offense was humming all of this stuff. And now we're getting into this end of the season spot where it feels like Everything is kind of coming together the defense is playing lights out stuff fry makes a mistake You know who's there three defenders new who makes a clearance all of that kind of stuff, you know Everything just seems to be kind of harmonizing you have Paul Rothrock breaking out Jordan Morris breaking out Albert Rusnak on the best season of his career right now and then you have you know Georgie who's a young player and that you can throw into these situations that there's not a lot of film on, that teams have not played against, and he's effective, he's fast, and now he's getting on the score sheet. just And just the way he eliminates guys, one one-on-one, it's really satisfying to watch after how much of the Leochu experience we've had over the past couple years. um He really, like, when you when you're defending him one-on-one,
00:14:16
Speaker
good I mean, good luck. yeah like Honestly. like if you If you push him to the ground, he's somehow coming up with that ball. Yeah, his body control yeah and ah his dribbling. like is He's very technically skilled. yeah um Last goal, Paul Rothrock. Great team goal. I loved the ah the dime from Rusnak on this one. um he it's I mean, didn't it feel like ah The Whitecaps were just conceding like an inordinate amount of space. Like it felt like every time they beat them really bad on that one. Well, yeah, every time it felt like ah Seattle got out in transition, there was just so much space for them to work with. And they took full advantage of it on this last sequence where Rusnak finds Rothrock and ah
00:15:01
Speaker
Really, it's a not not an easy angle on that finish by Rothrock, but he gets another goal. Also, I forgot to mention, but Rusenak had, I mean, God damn, he was so good. He was so good with the perfect dime to find Rothrock. He had, I forgot to mention it earlier, but he had one of my favorite dimes of the season. I think ah in the first half, you know, which one I'm talking about where he split the guys and found Rothrock right in stride. um So he is just still absolutely locked in right now. and he but ari But Ari, it's the Vancouver Whitecaps. He only performs against the bad teams, Ari. Right, yeah. the It was ah honestly with the Whitecaps being short-handed. I'm glad you segued that into our update on the brigade. The brigade, it was a kind of hot week for them because the Whitecaps are, ah they're an OK team. They're solid, but they're not great. So it was probably going to be a hot week for them, even if the Scots played. With the Scots out, ah you know the caveats are abound. but um
00:16:00
Speaker
I mean, I think anytime you manhandle a team like this on the road, especially a rival, like, I don't put any caveats on it. You guys can put caveats on it if you want. I don't. um Listen, if he wasn't showing up against the Whitecaps, that'd be one thing, but he is a goal and an assist, like.
00:16:16
Speaker
what do you what What more can you ask? Well, and it's not it's not even just the production in this game. His all-around performance was, I think this was probably his best game of the season as well. yeah And that leads me to my rapid-fire takeaways, which I'm going to just rattle off right here. You can tell me. Back it off. Yeah, I mean, for me, this was the best performance of the season when you take into account what was at stake in the game with the playoff seating, with the fact that it was on the road.
00:16:41
Speaker
Against arrival how thorough it was how much I thought the scoreline represented the domination that took place on the field um and How how precious those points are and really? um just a very dominant thorough performance in a big moment that puts Seattle up to third there are third in the West right now they are in the top four and They're in line to host their round one series in the playoffs, which would be huge. That gives them a much better chance of winning it, whoever they play. um So they earn themselves a good position through a great performance on the road against a ah
Seattle Sounders' Playoff Prospects
00:17:22
Speaker
ah regional rival. So I don't know. Four wins in five games, man. Yeah. And they're yeah they're hot in general, too. So not much to complain about right now.
00:17:30
Speaker
in in my opinion. um My other one I mean just ah the Georgie thing is like I think there's an argument to be made that you should keep starting him like into the the playoffs like I don't think it's a coincidence that they had a performance this good on offense with him starting. Like I thought he made a very pronounced impact on the game and that was the best he's looked and he scored a goal. So yeah intriguing stuff from Georgie. um Is anyone going to want to play in Seattle in the playoffs? I don't really think so. l ac other That's it. That's it. That's the only one though. That's the one LAFC, maybe enter Miami.
00:18:13
Speaker
Well, I'm talking west. Very well. Yeah. Who else? Well, apparently the San Jose earthquakes, but thankfully we don't have to play them. They're not in the playoffs. Thankfully. Yeah. But like you think the galaxy wants a piece of Seattle right now? I don't think so. Last time, uh, last time Seattle played the galaxy, they destroyed him. Yeah. And drew away rl is spiraling. Um, they just beat Houston.
00:18:33
Speaker
They just beat Vancouver. They're going to play the rapids on Saturday, so we'll find out about that. But I don't think I don't think the rapids really want to see him either. I guess my point more than anything is that um the West is wide, wide open. You know, you got LFC who obviously if Seattle has to go to LFC in the playoffs, you might be a little not picking them to win that game. Yeah, um we will go though.
00:19:00
Speaker
Yeah. I mean, yeah, obviously we will go see our happy foot. football But also, yeah, we will shout out happy foot set foot. But, um, you know, like even, uh, even a road match to LAFC, like I wouldn't pick them to win it, but it's not impossible with the form that Seattle's in. And also the precedent of, uh, them going to LAFC and beating a historically good, uh, type of side, which LAFC is really not even, they haven't had the type of season this year that they had in 2019 that's for sure. So anyway, Yeah, point is they're getting hot at the right time and they're in a conference where they could like actually make a move in the playoffs Yeah, that's that's kind of I think what the exciting thing is right now um No, you had one update on the Cascadia Cup. What's going on? Ladies and gentlemen folks you thought that oh we bombed out a league's cup Oh, we bombed out of open cup folks. It's not over We we're gonna cut final basically
00:19:54
Speaker
Cascadia Cup can be won with a draw or a win against Portland in in in the final match. So take that. You said the season was chalked because we can't win a trophy. Well, guess what? We're right there. We're in a final. Get the champagne ready, boys. um Have you ever been to the ah Cascadia Cup website?
00:20:14
Speaker
Yes, it's so it's like bad. It's good. 2006. Yeah, it's great. look Go to ida cascadiacup dot.com or whatever. It's really funny. There's also on the Sounder Heart website, you can also track all the standings there. We we update them as well.
00:20:28
Speaker
um All right, yeah, good update. um We already did the anti-roost snack brigade update, so we're good on that. Let's hit our agenda check. Let's just get right into it. um So I wanted to update first the agenda that I talked about on the last show, which ah turned out to not be that popular, which I kind of knew it wasn't going to be um based on how the discourse has gone this season.
00:20:48
Speaker
and But it was my this season hasn't been that bad agenda, which a lot of people Disagreed with a lot of people have been talking about this sounder season like they're wooden spoon winners I was kind of disputing that on the last show and like I don't want people to get it twisted I'm definitely not saying this has been like the greatest season of all time or anything My point is that it's not it has not been nearly as bad I don't think as people have been talking about it and Um, I don't think they should be talked about like wooden spoon contenders in a season where they're literally third in the West right now. that's yeah That's not that bad. Objectively looking at the, at the table, they've won 15 games, gold differentials up to plus 15. I think it's been a not great, not elite season. And I think the discussions that we've had all season about the Gulf that exists between this team and the truly elite teams in the league.
00:21:36
Speaker
That stuff is all still true, but but as far as ah my take that it hasn't been as bad as it's been talked about, that strengthened after this week and where Seattle has risen to in the standings, and I pretty much stand by i stand by that agenda. like i think ah i Think my only point is just like I don't agree with the notion that like It's been like this like terrible Catastrophic embarrassing season like it's it's been it's been it's been an okay pretty good season. Yeah, I don't think that I
00:22:13
Speaker
I don't think I disagree with you because if you look at the play on the field and the players that we have and whatever, it's like, yeah, the season has not been that bad. Again, it has not been that bad. It's been good, perhaps. Is it, ah you know, the best season ever? Is it a trophy winning season? No. What's the standard for the Sounders winning trophies? So, like, absolutely. You're totally valid to feel frustrated and upset that, you know, we couldn't beat L.A. FC. Season's not over, though.
00:22:41
Speaker
Seasons not over. We're looking good. Something that I wanted to know too. The Sounders literally look like they're in playoff form already. I was gonna say like ah that's sort of what this team does is Regardless of what happens in the regular season good or bad. Yeah, they turn up in the playoffs They do and they have that kind of vibe and look about them right now where like it's like go time You know, yes, that's how it feels to me right now
00:23:07
Speaker
All right, let's do our De La Vega yeah evaluation. because i had ah I had a YouTube commenter, actually, if we want to if we want to cook on the agenda, but also respond to... Oh, sure. Yeah. I just thought this might be a ah good way. Zach here. Zach Richardson, thank you for your comment with the with the Seahawks' profile picture. You know, go Hawks, baby. Gino Smith, legend.
00:23:28
Speaker
Here we go from Zach. You gotta relax on the Pedro topic. Damn. um he He has had minor improvements in every game that you would expect from a player who missed 75% of the season. He created legit chances and looked proactive in the attack. Those little moments for those little moments frustrating of decision-making will work themselves out. To me, it's fairly obvious it's a chemistry thing. Go rewatch the game and pay attention to the Pedro and Jordan specifically. The connection wasn't smooth in either direction.
00:23:57
Speaker
Plus, no, he's not getting, quote, played off the field by Paul Rothrock. Would disagree with you there. Rothrock has the familiarity locks down and is just more informed. They're both starters and justifiably so. Yeah. So thanks for the comments, Zach. And there is actually there's a couple other comments and tweets out there to the same effect. And ah I think people what people were saying we are being too hard on him. So that I guess that's what I wanted to talk about for this agenda.
00:24:24
Speaker
What do we think of that? And you know I think there's a there's a case to be made for that. I definitely respect that viewpoint. I just think for me, the thing that you have to take into account is um he's going to be judged at a higher standard than most signings coming in from the outside. That's just how it is when you come in as a flashy young DP signing like this who's expected to make a pronounced impact.
00:24:47
Speaker
um if you're not making that impact in ah in statute production and impact on the field like that is uh that's going to get pointed out. And it's like, I think there might be, uh, there might be a lot to what Zach is saying as far as chemistry and fitness and all that stuff that needs to develop. But, uh, until that happens, like he is, uh, he's just, you know, he's going to be judged harshly. Like that's a, that's part of what comes with the type of signing he is. That's kind of how I see it. Yeah, no, I agree. I think one of the things that we've hit on multiple times is he can become something amazing. But like, you know, a lot of the Sounders fans and Sounders, you know, players in the past have come in, been really good off rip. I mean, we obviously, yeah you know, we're a little biased. We had Nico who came in and just like that might skew the perception a little bit. And there are like, there's a lot of precedent for DPs, especially on the younger side, taking time to acclimate for the league. So I definitely understand that. And when you throw the injuries is on top of that, it's true. Maybe I think
00:26:04
Speaker
I think you could say we're maybe judging it a little prematurely, yeah but like, you know. But we we do couch our yeah our commentary on like, listen, this is not gonna be the end all be all of Pedro de la Vega, but like in the context of this season, he has not been good. He has not been good in the in the terms of like, he has not had stat sheet production outside of a penalty that he did not was not involved in drawing.
00:26:31
Speaker
But took which like I loved that and an assist they got smashed off his face like no disrespect And he had you're right the chemistry has not been there at all at all But it's like he's been with the team for how many months now Whatever anyway the only comparison that I was thinking about making is like Evander when he first came in in the league He looked like a bot dude, and we made fun of him and now he is a legitimate and bonafide MVP candidate that Yeah, no, that's a good point. And that definitely, I'm still more than open to the possibility that that could happen. And ah it would be huge for this team if something like that took place in the playoffs. um All right. This is my new agenda for the week. Georgie Rothrock, best winger duo, best winger duo on the team. Yeah. not In the world. Best, best winger duo on the team. What do you think of that?
00:27:21
Speaker
I think that's a take that I like want to agree with, but don't think that I agree with completely. You can't, it's sort of one of those ah preliminary, yeah like I'm happy to push it. I think yeah, ah like because the sample's not big enough to say it yet, but I mean they were electric in this game. um All right. Did you want to update your intensity or more minutes agenda?
00:27:46
Speaker
Yeah, I thought ah josh uh played pretty well this this game He got some extra minutes. Uh, he was making some great runs into space and I honestly just I want to see him obviously the same thing get on the stat sheet You know make the make the most of the minutes he's been given but he in the last few games and just in general has been looking like he's played really well and I love to see that and You know, I thought the, um, the, uh, Atencio Obed, was it, did they play together or
Player Highlights: Contributions and Chemistry
00:28:19
Speaker
did Obed get subbed? I can't remember. Wherever he was, whoever he was playing within the pivot, it looked pretty solid. And, um, I am excited for our boy to get some more minutes.
00:28:29
Speaker
Good stuff, good stuff. um All right, let's dive into questions here. we got Thank you to everyone who submitted. We got a few that we're going to go over here. ah Noah, what do we got? All right, here is our first one. Are you ready, Ari? Are you really ready? I'm ready. These might be flaming hot. I haven't even read these yet. You need a strong academy because they play for the badge. The team out there tonight, they care. That's what that means to be a sounder. The culture, the locker room, they rally for the badge. Ari?
00:28:58
Speaker
All of these young players, Georgie, Rothrock, I mean, Morris isn't young, but like Academy products. Guys, well, I guess Georgie technically not, but you know what I mean. Came through the program, worked their way up. What does that mean for the club and how it's structured and how important is that? Yeah, thanks for that ah observation. That was from Donald Dingo. um Yeah, like I included this one because ah I think ah for me, it's kind of what's Part of what's ah cool about this team is like how much local presence there is to it. And that makes it feel like a ah like an authentically Seattle team. you know like Especially in soccer, you have players from all over the world that aren't necessarily affiliated with the the city or the place where the club is located. um But when you have these academy setups and these youth development structures,
00:29:56
Speaker
And you have local kids come up and actually make it to the first team It kind of gives the team like that that look distinct local identity And I think when you have guys like I mean you could go all the way back to Jordan Morris um But like Rothrock Obed attention they all They all are like ah Seattle born and bred. I know Obed's from Alaska, but he came here when he was super young. So ah i think I think what you're saying is exactly right though. When you when they have that connection and they kind of like they bleed rave green like a lot of these kids do, ah you kind of you see that in in how they play on the field. And ah we've seen that this year with how Obed has broken out, with how Atencio has played like you mentioned. and
00:30:42
Speaker
Yeah, like Georgie, not necessarily an Academy product, but came up through Defiance. The system. Yeah, through the system. So I think I count him in all this. And um so I think you have you have to credit the ah the youth development of the of the team. And I do think, ah too,
00:30:57
Speaker
ah I think Schmetz probably deserves more credit than he gets for a guy like Rothrock doing what he's doing this season. That's good coaching to get that out of a player like that who he he literally has talked about how he didn't know if he was going to keep pursuing.
00:31:14
Speaker
Yeah he's like career moment And now yeah, you know this was this was it like if it didn't work out here He was gonna go get a real job real yeah and ah and Schmetz has him looking like ah Not just an MLS starter, but a plus MLS starter um So I I think you have to ah that has to be acknowledged in this as well. So anyway, yeah, thanks for that observation one more thing I want to add on to this too on the Brian Schmetzer note is the like There's not a lot of coaches in this league that would have the, I guess, gall even to bench your multi-million dollar striker for a random guy who played for your second team, essentially. Like that's, and it changed the entire season.
00:32:04
Speaker
Right benching Raul Rodriguez for Paul Rothrock changed the entire season from that moment You can look back and track that decision Completely flipped the script for this this year's team. There are very few coaches that would ever do that It's a great point and like I think that's another just amazing thing about Brian Schmetzer is he He grew up in the era of like no one made any money so i don't think he gives a shit how much you're making i don't think he gives a shit what your stature is i think he cares about like what's gonna win me games who's showing up to practice and uh listen i love brian schmetzer so i'm just i'm biased here but i think that's a really impressive thing and brian definitely deserves a shit ton of credit Yeah and I think you know we've been ah like earlier in the season when the results weren't going as well and the team didn't look as good and ah we wanted like we wanted Schmetz to make more changes you know we were I think ah critical of him when where we needed to be but I always try and ah
00:33:10
Speaker
If I'm going to be critical, I also have to give credit, you know, yeah for the things that I think he did everything that we criticize, too. Right. and But like ah I'm always going to ah I'm always going to acknowledge the flip side of it. And I do. I really honestly do think that Schmetz and the whole coaching staff deserve credit for how some of these young guys have contributed this year and broken out.
00:33:30
Speaker
Yeah, no, absolutely. I agree. This next one here is from Dan. How much fun was it to watch Georgie and Rothrock play together? Obviously, we hit this a little earlier, but the fun note, the excitement note. I mean, they were they looked like Gabriel Peck and Joey Paints out there. yeah They like they literally did. Yeah, like that's. ah I mean, I'm still between between the two of them and then Rusnak. That was just a cook show, man.
00:33:56
Speaker
Yeah, no, I and I love to see them play together too because they both played on the defiance and they're they're boys Because that's what makes it fun to that I we even talk about the goal celly the goal celly that wasn't it was a fortnight dance Yeah, yeah, it was dude. I love them. They're they're fun to watch. They love playing together that kind of chemistry That's important. There's nothing like busting out a goal celly like that on the road. Yes, yes. When the other team's fans, especially a rival, see you styling on them like that, it reminds me actually of ah the very first game I ever went to at BC Place in 2014. It was the Dempsey Oba years in Seattle, whooped on Vancouver. And I just remember Oba scored the last goal and then took the ball and just kicked it as far as he could into the stands. And it was just this like emphatic, I just dunked on you yeah moment.
00:34:48
Speaker
um It kind of god I miss him. Yeah, but like the that Georgie Rothrock goal Sally It was like a similar idea of like we just bammed on you and now We're going to revel in yeah, you know, I love that. I love that That's that's along the lines of the dark Jordan Morris era and I love it This next one comes from another Dan, but a different Dan, Dan Teller. Sounders now control their destiny for a CCL, well CCC birth. Folks, let's not, you know, let's not get it twisted. No one can ever win CCL again. ah If these last two games go well, they could end up regular season second or third in the West, number one defense in the league, Cascadia Cup champions, CCC qualifiers. If that's where it ends, gotta call this season a success.
00:35:37
Speaker
I think there's a strong argument to be made for that, and that kind of harkens back to um my ah my agenda from earlier. But yeah, you know if they finish top two to three in the West, um you know number one defense Cascadia Cup, I don't weight those maybe as much, but if they finish top two or three in the West and qualify for CCC, i don't if if they do that and then get bammed out of the playoffs like first round,
00:36:02
Speaker
I still think the season would be a little bit disappointing if not if still not like terrible. um But if they do those two things and then make a deep playoff run and look set up for a couple of additions that could boost them going into next year, I would feel pretty good about where things stand. And I don't know, maybe I'm just like... ah Blindly optimistic compared to a lot of but like i I you know I kind of judge every team including Seattle The same way I think and if if if another team had the exact same season that Seattle had um With some of the factors that Dan mentioned there. um I would call that ah a pretty good season
00:36:44
Speaker
Yeah, no, I think you are even seeing it with the national pundits, right? Like we like to zoom out and see how people who don't really cover the team is in-depth view the club and dude, they're in the power rankings. We're like sixth or fifth in the power rankings. Like they are seen as a top 10 MLS team, a top, you know, an upper echelon team. I wouldn't say like top tier, but you know, maybe sub sub head, you know, and, uh, that's,
00:37:13
Speaker
Really, honestly, all you can ask for from a season that seemed like it was chocked from the start. Yeah, I think what it is right now is ah you should feel pretty good about the prospects of going into the playoffs and making a little bit of noise. And, you know, I think the expectation should be to try and come out the West. You know, I know LFC is going to be the ah odds on favorite to do that. If I had to pick someone who's going to do that, I would pick them. um like the galaxy I don't think ah Yeah, yeah, I mean one of the LA teams yeah I would probably pick LA FC But you know, I think you try you try and make a run this year I don't really see why the expectation would be anything different um but ah Really? I think what it is right now is Looking ahead to next year. What additions do you need to make? What tinkering do you need to do to get into? closer at least to the Columbus inner Miami tier where right now I think
00:38:10
Speaker
you are youre You're the tier slightly behind that. You're a good team but not an elite team. ye And the goal should be to get back to collecting points at that more like 1.8 to 2 points per game level as opposed to this year that's more like 1.5 to 1.7.
00:38:29
Speaker
Yeah, no, I agree with that completely. This next one here is from Graham. Great to get three goals but strongest performance. Ooh, they're coming for you Ari. I saw a lot of loose balls and we had two goal line clearances. I'm not a convincing win overall, but still tons to clean up. He said it was a convincing win overall. Oh, convincing win. Sorry, I was about to butcher your question there, Graham, but still tons to clean up. But still tons to clean up. Ari.
00:38:58
Speaker
i Are you wrong? No, I don't think so. i i have that I do have this as the strongest performance overall. And like I said, I think I mentioned this earlier, but I take that into account even with the chances that Vancouver had. You're it's you're just very rarely going to make it out of a road game, really any game, ah but you're very rarely going to make it out of a road game without the other team having their chances. Like I said, it's how you respond in those moments. Can you make the plays to to preserve the result and i actually I look at that the exact opposite way. I give them credit for the goal line clearances. I give Stephen Fry credit for making the biggest saves in the big moments. I credit the defense for keeping the clean sheet on the road, ah even with the moments that they had where they had to absorb pressure and Vancouver had some pretty good chances.
00:39:45
Speaker
um They didn't give up any goals. They scored three. I mean, you really, ah as far as execution of a game plan on the road against a rival with heavy playoff seating on the line, I don't think you can do it much better than they did it. You really can.
00:40:04
Speaker
We've come to the end of your questions, now it's time to answer someone's question who's way more important than all of you. Me, Ari, this is my question of the week. On MLS 360, Shasha Kleschin posed, he lobbed a scorcher, I'm just gonna say it outright. This is what he said, he said, you know how I know the supporters shield is the best trophy? Because no one has ever said that a team was lucky to win the shield, Ari.
00:40:29
Speaker
Do we agree with this take? How does the shield stack up to MLS Cup? And in general, do we really believe what Sasha is saying or are they just pushing a pro inner Miami narrative? Yeah, I mean, this is the age old debate shield versus Cup, so I can just break down how I kind of look at it.
00:40:48
Speaker
I am very sympathetic to and agree with the argument that the shield is the trophy that represents and illustrates who actually had the best team for the year. I think a 34 game sample proves exponentially more than a tournament at the end of the season where who gets hot at the right time determines who wins more than who actually has the best quality of team.
00:41:16
Speaker
Now that being said, um
00:41:20
Speaker
I just think that um how it's perceived, MLS Cup is the trophy that everyone cares about more and remembers and is gunning for. And ah that's the one that has more weight on it for me. And I think just because it doesn't necessarily come down to who the best team is, who wins it,
00:41:44
Speaker
that doesn't diminish the importance of it like that's just how we do it here like the playoffs are what determines the champion and as such who merges victorious from that is the top dog for the year even over who wins the shield and the reality is whatever team wins the shield is going to say it's the the most important trophy, especially cause it's pretty rare that you see teams win the double. Um, so, and then enter Miami has a chance to win the triple. I mean, I know not the open cup, but like if we're counting league's cup, which objectively is a tougher competition than open cup. Yeah, yeah, definitely. So, um, I, uh, I wait MLS cup more, but you know, if people, uh, anywhere they didn't win league's cup, what am I talking about? yeah Don't worry about me. They won it last year. Don't I'm just, but they could win it. They could win the shield cup double. I think they probably will. We're going to talk about that. but Um, I, I think, uh, I think the cup is the winner of this debate. Uh, even though I definitely agree with the notion that whoever wins the shield definitely has the claim of we were the best team over
00:42:49
Speaker
a much larger sample than just the playoffs. I like the shield, but I don't think that it really proves completely exactly what Sasha is trying to say here. It definitely, you have way more of a sample size, um but does that mean it's the best team? you You don't play every team the same amount of times, right? You don't play all of the West teams if you're in the East. you don't but and And neither, you don't do that in the playoffs either.
00:43:17
Speaker
um But I think like if you played every team twice every MLS team twice, which would be like 100 billion season 100 billion game season Like hell yeah, that'd be I'd be so down for that like a Premier League style I still love the playoffs, but like if you're gonna do it, that would be the way to do it I think both are a huge accomplishment. I don't think either are over each other but like I think I would slightly rate um and MLS Cup above just simply because you don't get a star on your above your crest for winning the shield. And you know, there's plenty of teams who have won the shield and you know, aren't really didn't really do anything in the playoffs or Red Bulls are like the classic example. They've won a few shields but never won MLS Cup.
00:43:59
Speaker
And they're they're considered a team that um is really good and really consistent in the regular season, but like can't get over ah can't get over that last hurdle of winning MLS Cup. Fair or not, I think that's just what the perception to objectively is. Yeah, no, I completely agree. I think this is a fun question by Sasha, though. I think it ruffles a few feathers because people think he's just gunning for inner Miami. But again, remember, he's a Red Bulls merchant. So, of course, he's going to say the shield is way more important because his ass never won an MLS Cup. So what are we what are we going to do here? But Sasha, come on the pod. We love you.
00:44:31
Speaker
um All right, and let's hit a quick preview of this rapids game then there's a couple news items Then we'll hit ah then we'll hit winners and losers and get out of here. Does that sound good? Let's Colorado Rapids ah better season this year than people thought they were gonna have Chris Armas I think is a coach of the year contender. Although I think with how their season ultimately panned out I think that's getting like a little too much hype. They've had a good year and overachieved compared to, I think they were like, did they not win the wooden spoon last year? They were last in the West last year, I know that. So full credit to ah Chris Armos and honestly their front office for some of the ah ah for the roster makeover that they did over the off season. They brought in Georgie Mihailovich, which was a great signing.
00:45:14
Speaker
um He's been one of the better number 10s in the league this year um and they're just an all-around pretty solid if inconsistent team that ah Can score a lot of goals for sure? um But they also concede a lot of goals Seattle can get at this team. I think they've conceded 56 goals this year They've scored 59, but ah I think ah the thing to always take into account when you're going to Colorado is ah you're playing at altitude, so it's pretty tough. It's not an easy place to get a result. um They're 10-3-3 at home this year, so that's really what they've kind of ah
00:45:48
Speaker
They've built their season on there only five nine and two on the road um So this is a this is a pretty solid team, but one ah One that the Sounders should be able to hang with I think One point is a reasonable expectation in this game and with the form that Seattle's in coming off the big win in Vancouver um I think ah Taking all three here is not out of the question Yeah, I would be stoked to get three, but I would also be completely understood and and happy with one. ah They are, you know, and I mean, the Sounders are on fire, right? Like 12 goals in the last five matches.
00:46:27
Speaker
you know they haven't lost in five a draw would feel just about right i mean listen the rapids have scored six in their last five so they're they're literally getting outscored double by the sounders they should come in here they should compete they should be at least competitive yeah and uh another thing i'll say about this is um You kind of like i've I've seen Seattle go to Colorado a lot of times over the years obviously and you kind of get a feel for how teams just kind of the trends of how they match up when they play each other and ah Seattle usually plays pretty well at at Colorado like
00:47:06
Speaker
It's not like a RSL dynamic where every time you go there, you basically just chalk it up as a loss.
Seattle vs. Colorado Rapids History
00:47:12
Speaker
And if you pray for a draw, like ah typically when Seattle goes to Colorado, they play pretty well and give themselves at least a good shot at getting a result. So ah with the form that they're in right now, like I don't see why this should be any different.
00:47:27
Speaker
um Alright couple news items to hit here another one on Obed know you want to hit this one Yeah, these are brought to you by sounder at heart comm slash LS subscribe and you can get all of this news first to your email inbox This first one Obed officially called up to the Mexican national team which the the first team as well um Which was first reported by Jeremiah O'Shan that this was a potential that was gonna happen and now it's happened now It's happened. They've released the roster his picture is on it
00:47:58
Speaker
ah Some of the Mexican pundits were kind of mad by this, which I think is hilarious. They were like, Oh, I don't know. Were they doing the ah like the bot thing? Like we shouldn't bring an MLS player. No, they were doing like, we should not be using the the first team as a testing ground for player. They're just, you know, the I see. I see. the the the The Mexican media around the national team, I think, is rightfully pretty triggered by how absolutely dog shit their team has been. um those I mean, oh, man, if you want to talk about some blazing hot dude pressers. I love those guys. Oh, my god. and An L-tree post-loss presser is my all-time yeah favorite presser. We think that our MLS coaches get grilled sometimes. The media down there, they don't give a fuck.
00:48:45
Speaker
No, they don't give a shit. No, I love that that like the media tries to go to out flaming hot pressers They're they're the ones on that are flaming hot But this is exciting ah Obed said that he feels like his career has been complete just with this call-up And I think that just shows you how much ah means a lot to him this Yeah that it means to him and how important it is and how he clearly feels like he can be a changemaker in El Trit, which is
Obed Vargas' National Team Call-Up
00:49:12
Speaker
amazing. And I think we've both been so stoked to see him be able to do that. I will start rooting for Mexico if he gets consistent minutes. I'm not going to lie. I'm definitely, uh, it's given me a reason to, uh, I mean, I'm going to root for him individually. correct yeah um
00:49:27
Speaker
All right. The other one was we got our first we're going to do a little bit of USMNT punditry right here. It does well on the YouTube. Not a lot. Yeah, it does. But ah ah we got we got our first Pocatino roster that came out. And I really only have one thing to say about this, um which is that I thought it was funny that ah he called Zach Stefan. Yeah. What was that? Well, it's just like ah so it's funny because this is ah the type that this is the exact type of coach right that the bots have been pining for for years like a yeah big name european coach first thing he does is he puts out a roster that has it has the exact same like yeah guys that are pretty much always had but he brought zach stephen back who's a guy that the bots hate so it's funny because they can't
00:50:13
Speaker
get can't escape can't get Well they can't get up in arms about it though because it's their boy that called him in so ah they have to like do this balancing act now where everything Pocatino does is um You know the greatest thing ever because he's this brilliant ah European mastermind coach, but he called in the box Stefan who like Objectively one of the worst goalkeepers in the league. He's gotten better, but like I Well, he's yeah not it's he's definitely I don't know like what the stats say now, but he's definitely had like an inconsistent at best season for the rapids went to Europe didn't really do that well um and like for me like I look at this and I'm like
00:50:55
Speaker
Why not, you know, Patrick Schulte's in there too. yeah I would literally give at least one of those, I would give one of those spots to Gaga, man. Like, oh yeah you know, like ah some young guy that has, so I i mean, I understand cause like this is the, not the camp where they usually bring in a bunch of young players. This is usually they're like, okay, this is our like current set first team, but it's like, bro, Zach Stefan.
00:51:18
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, you know, you know, i I'm open to the possibility that, uh, he knows something that we don't on that, but like, I was just laughing when I saw that. like Yeah. I mean, listen, they called in Tim Reem too. That dude is a bot.
00:51:32
Speaker
Tim Reem I think Tim Reems ah he's ah I'll disagree on that okay put in some so like ah good service to the nation especially at the World Cup when ah Lord knows we needed some CB help and he came in there and did solid the thing about Tim Reem where he plays in the MLS though so like he plays in the MLS that he's like thirty six yeah So like how much longer can you call and fry at that point? Yeah, like I don't know how much longer the Tim Reem thing can work, but um the Tim Reem thing ah is less surprising to me than Zach Stefan.
00:52:07
Speaker
Yeah, I don't like I get it. I get all these call ups. Um, I just think that and maybe maybe the the thought from Pocatino is like let me assess what we have let's take stock of our of our horses and then once we get there we can start to you know go into the to January camp bring in all our youngsters and then we could kind of like You know judge side by side, which is probably what is happening. That's fair. That's fair but like Zach Stefan, like, are we, are we sure? Look, you know, I'm not going to, I'm not going to definitively judge it yet. You know, maybe Zach Stefan gets in there and balls out. Uh, and it realistically, he's like the third or fourth goalkeeper. So it doesn't matter that much. Also, how is Jordan Morris not gotten a call? Like I go, I know I'm going to fucking trigger the, the USMNT bots, but like dude is dude is cooking. He's the perfect.
00:52:59
Speaker
They lob in a bunch of, I mean, I don't know, Pocatino's new style, whatever. But like in the past, they were just like bombing and lobbing in garbage crosses or playing in, you know, balls to like, Jordan would like fit really well in and he's in great form. And like, you cannot tell me that Tim Waya is genuinely better than Jordan Morris. I like this take. It's not going to be popular, but ah cook brother. All right. Let's hit some winners and losers from around ah MLS and then we'll call it a wrap from, for episode 67 here. And I think we're we'll spend most of this honestly on a air Miami because they won the supporter shield. So they are the winner of, of this slate for sure. um They clinched it ah with their results, which was a, it was a three two win against three to win against Columbus which by the way that was also the game of the slate last night that was in electric game ah at lower comm field and you know what was nice about that game is we've been we've been kind of doing the Columbus vs Miami debate a lot this season I've been on the Miami side of it you've been on the Columbus side of it we got to kind of see how it would actually play out and honestly it ah Miami was a
00:54:14
Speaker
was definitely getting the best of them for a while, but the crew really brought it back. And the crew could have tied this game. They played them straight up. um They got a Diego Rosie goal to make it ah to one, I believe. And then ah Kucho had a penalty that ah made it 3-2. And then um the crew got another penalty kick, ah even after Rudy Camacho got a red card. um And ah Drake calendar made an insane PK save yeah to deny Kucho and that's what preserved the result but really the crew The the crew played him straight up. like Yeah, I will give him that and I've been pretty firm that like in one game in that matchup I mean, I'll take inner Miami over anybody and But they won this game, but the I think the crew showed that they can at least hang with them even with Messi You know everyone was out there. Messi was out there. Busquets was out there. Jordi Alba was out there. Yeah um So two goal game whereas like the whole gang the whole gang was out there um but
00:55:12
Speaker
ah Inter Miami wins the game, they win the shield.
Inter Miami's Potential Dominance
00:55:15
Speaker
And I think just my main takeaway is not much different from what I've been saying all season. But I think this is the most loaded MLS team I've ever seen. And I think on their day when everyone is healthy and they are playing their best ball at their peak capacity,
00:55:32
Speaker
I don't think there's ever been an MLS team that's as powerful as this. Yeah, but in terms of just I test how they produce in the depth that they have on their roster.
00:55:46
Speaker
I don't think I've seen anything like it. no um it's and i mean And that's like even before you get to the fact that the greatest player of all time is on their team. That's the crazy thing about it. On the depth piece, they literally were scoring more points per game without Messi than with him. And that's like that's not that doesn't really say anything, honestly, but it does say,
00:56:05
Speaker
oh Yeah, like even without your best player on the field the best player of all time the best player to ever play the game ever played the game You're performing. Yeah, you're performing to the highest and standard level possible. at an elite level It's disgusting. This should be I don't understand I mean, I know there's the conspiracies of like there's no way that they're roster compliant I don't really believe that because head that's the messed up thing man is they are they are anyone who's perpetuated that I'll just tell you they literally are Yeah, like are they using? You know other tactics like come play for us for pennies on the dollar, but you get to hang out with Leo Messi Absolutely, but like that would be one of the reason not to do that's one of the reasons you sign star players That's one of the reasons that you use your ah your your status as a club to draw people in like Barcelona or Real Madrid and now it's inner Miami because it's like okay you get to live in Miami and hang out with Messi dude That's like every Argentinian dudes dream you Yeah, like so they can get these you know 14 year old wonder kids from from ah from Argentina that are like fuck Yeah, i dude put me in the academy pay me $10 an hour. I'm ready to go Diego Gomez I think is the odds on favorite to be the winner of the 22 under 22 which as you should at some point ah We're gonna do an episode where I go over my ballot from that yeah votes for that so we'll do that ah But I mean I'll tell you I put him at number one, and I mean there's just so many
00:57:30
Speaker
So many facets to how loaded this roster is but the other point I wanted to make here is you know The MVP debate is going on right now and it's about as wide open as it's been in years and I think the conventional wisdom is that it's not gonna go to Messi because he He missed so much time this year He really only played like 1200 minutes or something and the guys that he's going up against for MVP played like double that Yeah um Let's be real though. Like I know he's not going to get it, but let's be real. He's not just the most valuable player in this league and the most valuable player of this season. He's the most valuable player ever. Yeah. And you just like, uh, in terms of, and I know like, like what you said is true. They played at just, they played just as well points per game wise, if not better when he was gone. But if you're talking in terms of raw value and what that means,
00:58:22
Speaker
There's nothing more valuable than a player that produces as much as efficiently as he does. yeah He has 16 goals, 17 assists in those 1100 or so minutes. Ben Wright, who does great work covering Nashville SC, I saw a tweet from him this morning that I thought made a great point, which is that if you just gave Messi another thousand minutes yeah without a single more another goal contribution and he had 16 and 17 in that same amount of minutes as all those other guys he would easily be MVP easily so like what's the difference yeah you know and so that's why when I look at it I'm kind of like you know what I know he didn't play as much as these other guys but like if we're honestly giving it on the merits he's probably the MVP like i totally yeah
00:59:06
Speaker
I'm totally cool with them giving him MVP. They they won't but yeah like i but i but i'm I'm going to say it like respectfully in the minutes that he's played dude like he is bald out like there is not another player who you would be like okay. This person is going to touch the pitch for limited minutes have an injury and still produce.
00:59:27
Speaker
you know statistically up there with every other MVP candidate. He produces at a rate that if you were doing it in like football manager or FIFA like it would be unrealistic yeah like yeah having actually watched his games on a regular basis like all the way through for the first time since he got to MLS He's as close to a real life cheat code as I've ever seen in any sport. You know, it's like, you know how like ah the NBA to K makers can't make Steph Curry realistic the shots. he It's like, that's basically the yeah game breaking. And I think like to, to, to further my point, it's, I understand they're not going to give it to him, but
01:00:06
Speaker
what other player in this league genuinely makes an impact from front to back on a club as much as Leo Messi. Like I'm saying, like we were just talking about the ability to bring in young players and market him as a tool to not only drive fan engagement, but to like bring young players and build depth on your squad off the back of someone who isn't even playing in those matches. Like I think I know MVP is based on the stats and what you do and how you play. But like, if we're talking about just like a general like player who has completely made this supporters shield season and there there are, could they break the record? Is that still possible? Yeah. Yeah. If they win their next two games, they break the record. They could break the record for most points ever. I don't know. If it was me, I'm a shill. I would, I would, I would argue for our boy Leo Messi. Yeah, I mean I think he's got a He's definitely got a great case. Um, I know people like to hate to and say like, oh the league is just a messy show but it's like it
01:01:10
Speaker
He's still so good. Well, I mean and just their whole team You got it like you you can ah you can root for their downfall while also right acknowledging that they're playing the best ball that Probably any MLS team has ever played and I'd probably hate him if we were in the East but we're you know um Yeah, I think the only thing that can slow them down for MLS Cup is injuries if they stay relatively healthy I don't see a scenario where they don't win it to be honest with you um DC United, Nashville was a crazy game. Nashville was up 3-2 in second half stoppage time and gave up a brace to this DC guy for DC to take a 4-3 win. So DC stays alive for the playoffs. And Benteke with two more. And Benteke is going to win the Golden Boot. My boy Troy Lasain might get them into the playoffs. Coach, who are you? Yeah, I mean, I'm voting for him. There we go. I don't know if anyone else will. DC is a winner for the week, for sure, for that. And Nashville is a loser for that. Let's see what else happened. I know we've talked about Benteke, but just real quick.
01:02:17
Speaker
How absolutely terrible would that team be without him? I think he's an I know he's not going to get it, but I think he's a genuine MVP candidate like without him and his production assists and goals. This team would be close to wooden spooning if not wooden spooning.
01:02:35
Speaker
I like that take. Ben Teke, if he got it, I wouldn't argue. I would be so happy. He's going to get the Golden Boot though. So shout out. um I think you got to put the the sounders in the winner's section for the week for a three goal win at Vancouver, at BC place to vault up into the top four in the West.
01:02:52
Speaker
ah And NYCFC took a big win ah hosting SC Cincinnati at Red Bull Arena. They take a 3-2 win. ah So that was another notable result in the galaxy bammed on the Colorado Rapids 3-1 in Colorado. That's who Seattle plays next. So that's a notable result as well.
01:03:13
Speaker
um All right, unless you got anything else I think we can call it a wrap there for episode 67 Thank you so much as always to everyone for tuning in We love and appreciate all of you all of our subscribers all of our listeners all of our viewers on YouTube like rate comment subscribe share where and Share with Lionel Messi Messi share with We're like a couple reviews away from ah from like passing no Saudi at this on number of reviews So like, you know, we're because we're competitors and lovers at the same time Go drop us some reviews on iTunes. so We pass no Saudi at us. Yeah We're gonna call it for this one until next time we out peace