Transcript
Speaker: This episode of No Sadietes is sponsored by Fullpool Wines, a Seattle -based wine seller who recently released their first book, 36 Bottles of Wine. To eat those of the book, a highly curated look at wine categories that provide exceptional value right now should be familiar to Fullpool readers. But there's loads of fresh content, and since it's not trying to sell any wine through the book, there's a bit more of a sass factor.
Speaker: And there's food! Lots of it! Fullpool's unique writing style is applied to recipes like Leftover Thanksgiving, Turkey, Smaltz of All Soup, and Pregnancy Nachos. This book can be purchased through Sasquatch Books. Hey, this is Christian Roldan. And Jordan Morris from the Seattle Sounders Football Club. And you're listening to... There's no study at this. The Seattle Sounders have done it! And now it's come out! And now they're working their science team!
Speaker: The bluest skies you've ever seen are in Seattle And the hills the greenest green in Seattle
Speaker: Like a beautiful child growing up. Welcome to another edition of NOS Adietes, sponsored by Full Pull Wines and our broadcast partner Bootstrapper Studios. This is episode 281 and we're recording on Wednesday, August 1st, 2018. I am your host, Jeremiah O 'Shan, and I'm joined as always by my co -host, Aaron Campo, and our engineer, Likit.
Speaker: It's the dog days of summer, so you know what that means. The Sounders are on another patented late season run. Their three to one win over New York City FC closed at a nine point week and they are now writing a six game unbeaten streak that has seen them pull within five points of the final playoff spot. A week ago, there were 11 points behind the pace.
Speaker: Just to make things a little bit more interesting, the rumors of Palo Hurtado potentially joining the squad are as strong as ever. I mean, they could be adding another DP level talent just in time for the stretch run. Oh, and season ticket renewals just came out with either small increases, or in some cases, small decreases, along with the announcement of all sorts of other perks, which include to, I'm sure, the delight of many reduced concession prices, at least in some limited fashion.
Speaker: All in all, this is about as good of a week as we've known. This is undeniably the best week we've had as Sounders fans this year. Is that a fair statement, Aaron? Yeah, I think so. I mean, most of the weeks have been pretty shitty. I came off mute and it just like the apocalypse started happening. Yeah, that was very, is the Blue Angels flying right outside your door today?
Speaker: Uh, if they got a shitty prop plane in there now, they might be, they might be flying out. Really scaled back. Yeah. Well, you know, budget cuts. That's how it goes. You know, uh, yeah, I know. Anyway, go ahead and yeah. No, I think it's fair. I think it's fair to say it's been a good week. Um, you know, it's everything that I think we talked about on the last show that needed to happen has happened. Um, and, and pretty comfortably, I don't think that there was a whole lot of doubt.
Speaker: in the San Jose game is as painful as it was to watch the NYCFC game. I thought after the first, I don't know, 15, 20 minutes or so, would you say things were pretty comfortable? I think, you know, it's funny, I was a little surprised to see the XG map on that game said it was something like two and a half for New York City and .75 or something along those like less than all goal for the for the Sounders.
Speaker: And I am a proponent of XG. I have used it many, many times to bolster arguments that the sounders are playing better than their record shows. That said, I think this is one of those games
Speaker: where some of the flaws of XG were exposed. And I say that because you look at the chances that scored very well in XG and they were all contested shots that the sounders were giving up. Now, those were shots from close range, but they were all shots that were well contested by the sounders and they weren't really dangerous chances as it turned out. Like it wasn't like Stephen Fry had to make these amazing saves. Conversely, the sounders three goals all scored very low in XG
Speaker: But they were all clean looks. Now granted, one of them was from 30 yards out, but there's a lot of players that if you give him that kind of space to hit a shot from 30 yards out there, there's a decent chance they're going to score. There was no one within 10 yards of Svensson when he hit that ball. He hit it great, but.
Speaker: Anyway, it's I think a chance that it's one of those examples of when you see how the lack of defensive positioning being reflected in XG is a little bit of a flaw. I say all this because I agree with you that the first 15, 20, maybe even the first 30 minutes of the game were not great. The Sounders struggled to hold possession. They were getting outshot eight to two by the time the water break happened in the 30th minute.
Speaker: But then after that, that water break, I thought they found their footing. They scored pretty quickly after that. And after they scored, I didn't really feel like they were in huge danger of not winning that game. And I thought that they controlled it pretty well from that point forward. Yeah, definitely. I think, I think the water break really was the, the, the point where everything came together, which kind of throws some, uh, well, I guess some throw some water on the, uh, the idea that Brian Schmetzer is, you know,
Speaker: tactically an app to not able to make adjustments, because I think they pretty clearly made some key adjustments during the water break. But just to circle back around to the XG thing, I think the biggest thing, you pointed out positioning, and that's a huge thing. And it also doesn't care about game state, and that's a huge thing.
Speaker: The Sounders were up 2 -0 when NYCFC got a lot of their big XG chances. It was 2 -1 for not an especially long time.
Speaker: So game states usually important. And if you score goals that don't have a lot of XG, you're probably going to change the way that you're playing a little bit. And I think the sounders did that. And I just think it's one of those things that on aggregate, it can tell you some interesting things. It can be illustrated with some things. In a single game, these are the kind of things that make it
Speaker: I don't want to say useless, but I'll say useless because I don't think you could have watched that game and thought that NYCFC
Speaker: you know, outplayed the Sounders to the extent that XG would have you believe so. Right. I mean, XG would have you believe that they outplayed them by a factor of like two and a half to one, essentially. More than that, it was three to one. Yeah. And I just don't buy it, especially because a lot of those high value chances came early in the game. So I was very happy with the way they played. You know, I thought that all three goals were well taken.
Speaker: Christian Roldan's was the result of a deflection, but he's still making a great run. He still controls the ball well in a crowd and gets space and has a nice finish. Fenson's obviously was great. Harry Ship had the stones to take the ball off Ladero's foot to score a goal, which is the kind of confidence I think is really encouraging to see.
Speaker: You know, it's just it's a good team. You know, yes, they were missing David Villa. Yes, they were missing Alexander Ring. Those are obviously two very key players. That's still a really good team. And, you know, I thought that the Sounders shouldn't win that game because NYCFC has been pretty bad on the road, but they hadn't lost in what, five games, right? And they were writing a four game win streak in which or at least maybe it was the five game win streak, like you said, but they hadn't conceded a goal in over 400 minutes by the time the Sounders scored.
Speaker: Yeah. And so, you know, anytime you're playing a team that has good players that, you know, is on that kind of a run and you can beat them comfortably, I don't care what players are missing. I don't care, you know, how short the rest was. I don't care how long their flight was. That's a good thing. And one of the things I think that
Speaker: people that want to discount that performance forget is that, you know, the Sounders were missing players too early in the season and those results still count the same. You can only be who's in front of you. And that was a good NYC FC team. They played some really good soccer and the Sounders adjusted and sort of nullified that and won comfortably at home, which they haven't really done all season. So yeah, I mean, I think it's definitely the Vancouver game.
Speaker: Well, yeah, that's true. That their last two results were comfortable wins at home or their last two home results were both comfortable wins should be encouraging. And I don't think that, you know, you can look at this game and you can come up with plenty of reasons why by itself it's not that impressive of a win. You mentioned the lack of rest. I think that that's probably a very relevant point. I don't quite understand how MLS is scheduling New York City FC to play in Orlando on
Speaker: Thursday and then forcing them to take the longest trip they can possibly take to Seattle for a Sunday game. I honestly don't know if they had a full day of training between the Orlando game and the Sounders game. So I think that's a fair caveat to point out. And I think it maybe just diminishes quite the quality of the Sounders win. But I don't think that you can discount the way that the Sounders are getting results at this point. They now won four of their last six. They haven't lost in six.
Speaker: If you go back to that Portland game, which is the last time they lost at home, that was a 3 -2 loss in which they definitely had their issues defensively. But there were offensive signs that they were getting better. We saw Victor Rodriguez probably have his best game at least this year at that point. And I think we've seen that somewhat carry over that as frustrating as that result was, I think just the fact that they were able to score some goals.
Speaker: they were able to get a little bit of confidence back and they were able to start putting, I think they got their head in the right place to get those road results that they needed to, they kind of grinded out some road results. They of course got the road win against the rapids, but these last three games in this week should all be encouraging, not because the centers have played so wonderfully, but because they are getting these results despite
Speaker: not being at their best despite, you know, it's not hard to look at this team and imagine them being better in a week, in a couple weeks, and certainly in a few months from now. And if they can get into the playoffs and continue to improve at the rate that they're improving, I think there's every reason to think that they keep going to run again. I know we kind of sound like a broken record with that, but
Speaker: I think it's actually encouraging that they're getting these results without looking good because I think there's every reason to think they they'll improve. Yeah. And that's kind of been the template the last few years, right? Is that they they're shitty for a long time and then they start getting results even if they're not playing great. And then they kind of round and form and start blowing teams away. Um,
Speaker: And, you know, maybe that doesn't happen again this year I don't know, but there's a possibility. Sure, you are, but I mean it's, it's just crazy because it wasn't that long ago we were talking about the math and how
Speaker: how everything had to go right. And we're pretty close to a point where they can just play fairly average soccer the rest of the year and still have a pretty good shot. I mean, they're five points out of the last playoff spot with a game in hand on RSL.
Speaker: Um, you can make up a lot of ground real quick if you get results. And I think it's easy to forget that. So, um, they made up six points this week. Yeah. So yeah, I mean, still, still obviously an insanely long way to go. And, um, still, I think some reasons for concern, but Oh yeah.
Speaker: You know, it's, it feels much much better and I think the consistent theme we've we've kind of talked about all season has been if they can just, even if they don't get into the playoffs if they can play exciting soccer if they can, you know, if we can sort of see the
Speaker: the end result of this kind of DP rebuild type thing they've been doing for the last year or so, it'll be encouraging. And I think we're definitely starting to see that. I mean, I think that really for the last hour against NYCFC, they were playing very good, very attractive soccer. And, you know, and they've still got guys that they need to fully integrate. And yeah, so it's I mean, it's actually fun again, and it's been a while since it's been fun. So that's certainly something to celebrate.
Speaker: Yeah. And I'll say one of the things that might be the most exciting about this Palo Hurtado rumor is that they are kind of doing what we've been asking them to do all along, which is to get their roster in order before the start of the season. And if you can bring in a player like, and this is like, I haven't watched a ton of Palo Hurtado play, but I can tell you that this was a guy that we heard about the Sounders pursuing as a DP this last off season.
Speaker: So at least that says that the Sounders rate him as a designated player. And it's starting to look like if they sign him that he will be a designated player next season. That, you know, and that's not such a bad, he'll essentially take Clinton Dempsey's spot as a DP. And you're kind of set with your DPs at that point.
Speaker: And I don't think that's such a bad thing, you know, that they could have a few months and then having to kind of play on a knife's edge for the second half of the season. That said, if they get this result in Minnesota, if they can win this game, which is not an easy win, which is not like, no matter what you might have convinced yourself about Minnesota, they've actually, they're well at home.
Speaker: Oddly enough, though, one of their home losses is to sound the earthquakes. I don't quite understand how that happened. But this is a team that if the sounders can win this game, all of a sudden, there's like actual room for error going forward the rest of the year. Now, if they lose this game, they're kind of back in the same boat of kind of needing every result
Speaker: But, you know, they get these points, which is not, you know, I don't, I'm actually cautiously optimistic about going into this Minnesota game. Maybe I'm, maybe I'm fooling myself. Maybe I'm setting myself up for a big letdown. All right. Well, that's probably a good place to call it a segment. We'll be back with a interview with David Estrada and then we'll take questions.
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Speaker: We're here with David Estrada, the S2 forward, and one of the coaches on the U16, U17s, is that right? Or are you just an academy coach? I'm an assistant coach to the U15s.
Speaker: If you could explain kind of the situation that ended up, this is a pretty unique kind of setup, at least within the Sounders, where you have a player who's playing for S2 or any of the teams, and then also coaching at the academy level. How did that all kind of come about? You want to take it all the way to the beginning? Let's take it all the way to the beginning. All right. Well, this past offseason, I had a little bit of trouble finding a club to
Speaker: even just let me come in and train, given with the circumstances that happened with NASL, the folding of that league, and there's just an influx, I feel, of free agents. And so I had a decent year last year in Charlotte, but nothing great that stood out. And so what I did is I contacted pretty much everyone that I knew from where I've been. And one of them was Brian Schmetzer.
Speaker: He kind of passed my information to John Hutchison. And so that's kind of how it initially started. And Hutch was very upfront from the beginning, told me that I'm more than welcome to come and train. But the reality of the situation is that they're not looking to sign any players. Obviously, their philosophy at S2 is the development of younger players to potentially make it to the second team. At that point, I really didn't need time to think.
Speaker: I knew if nothing came, like I wanted to be here. And so I ended up making the drive out here with, you know, just to train. From Charlotte? No, no, from Salinas. Oh, okay. At this point I was back home in Salinas just training and I was just kind of helping coach down there, a local high school Palmer. And so I was just kind of waiting around to hear something. And so when Hutch invited me, I was like, this is like,
Speaker: what I need to do right now to at least stay sharp and it's going to be training with players which is what I need at a pretty high level and so it came to a point where I forget how it came about where I noticed that there's an assistant coaching position in the academy and one of the prerequisites that they were looking for was someone that was bilingual and so
Speaker: I was very interested in that just because I've always wanted to coach at a pretty high level. And I know the academy, especially at a younger age, is probably the best level that you could coach at. To be a part of the Sounders is probably, as you saw, they just won the National Championship with the 17th. I didn't know how good they were, but obviously being the Sounders, they run their organization from top to bottom, like world class.
Speaker: I kind of reached out to Mark Nichols, who's an academy director. And so then from there, I told him I was pretty interested. I'm bilingual. And we kind of sat down briefly. And I told him, I don't know if you know this, but I've been coaching training with S2. And I would love to remain with S2. And if I can help you guys in the academy, for me, that would be the ideal situation.
Speaker: And from there, he said, you know, we've kind of like talked it over even before this. And he was the one that kind of, I think, made the decision that would give me the opportunity
Speaker: play for us to and be in the academy. And the other thing is, so I'm not sort of, I'm not, I don't have a, for coaching academy, you have to have a license. Right. And I'm not, I don't have a license. I haven't done any of the licensing. And so the way it works is you have to have an X number of years in the league and you can bypass certain levels or whatever. And so,
Speaker: We kind of sat down with Mark and he just told me that, you know, if I was to be brought on, like we could start at a C and then of course up to a B and an A. And so, you know, I was pretty excited about that because I did want to come here for a few years, couple of years and be a part of the development of this club. So you, so at that point you were able to get your, your C license, I guess. So at that point, it's now it's, I'm working under, I'm a
Speaker: coaching apprentice under Mark Nichols. Oh, okay. Yeah. And so you're working towards getting your C license, C license. And then so did you at that, like when you got, when you were looking at that, did you look at the, were you considering the possibility of Jess being a coach or was playing a pretty big part of the consideration for you? Oh, playing was a big part of the consideration. Yeah. I can,
Speaker: As a player, I feel like you know when maybe you don't, you can't run as much as you would like. Or the old saying is like, I think I heard Ziggy say first, it's like, you know, players don't retire when they're not good players anymore. It's like.
Speaker: when they know that what their mind tells their body what they want them to do, but their mind just, their body just doesn't, it's not up to like the speed. And so I'm not at anywhere at that point. I feel like honestly, I could play a couple more years on a few as fit as I've ever been. And so yeah, definitely playing was like.
Speaker: Because I'm not ready to. Right. And obviously the results suggest that you are perfectly capable of playing. You got eight goals so far this year, which is actually, I guess it's a career high for you in a season. And you were coming off two of your better seasons, I guess, as well. So it suggests that you certainly have something to offer at the playing level.
Speaker: But I have to imagine, though, playing on a purely developmental team has been a different experience than your previous teams that you've been on. You've been on a bunch of different independent teams in the USL. You've obviously played for DC United and played for the Seattle Sounders and MLS. And I would imagine this is a very, like you're at 30 years old,
Speaker: probably by several years, the oldest player on the team, but yet you're also the most productive player on the team. What's this year been like from a playing perspective? I think you have to kind of sometimes take a step back and realize that S2 is a developmental team. Having said that, we're also rotating players every, every game. I don't think there's been the same lineup back to back.
Speaker: And so I think I was talking a little earlier today and we've had like close to 40 players playing in and out, which is very. Which is high. I would like to see how many players are playing for the first team, like those first, when everyone was injured too. Right. I mean, maybe 25, I would think at the high end. Yeah. And so you always have that influx and.
Speaker: So it's pretty difficult to have a consistency in terms of the personnel and the identity of the team. And so yeah, it's a little bit, you have to realize the reality of the situation. But having said that,
Speaker: I think where we let ourselves down. And I say we too, because I'm part of the team. So it was like critical moments. And so those are things that you would hope that throughout the season we kind of learn from. And so, yeah, it's like we're young players. We as a team, not myself, but like we're a young team and we're going to make mistakes. And we're, I think, especially,
Speaker: being such a young group like we're gonna probably commit them consistently and so it's a matter of just kind of pushing forward and knowing that we want to get better like we're gonna make mistakes but we still like the idea is to get better.
Speaker: Do you find yourself approaching games, maybe approaching results differently as someone who is also coaching? Or do you think the sting of a loss is the same as it was in previous games? Yeah, I think there is a sense of more analysis of the game, trying to see it as a coaching.
Speaker: I'm like coaching during the games, trying to tell players where the pockets of spaces are, where to look to run to. And so there's that part of it, which I never did in the past. But that also has to do with how I've seen, how the academy works, how we try to play out of the back, how we want our center backs to drive at some other players to open up angles to be able to pass.
Speaker: And so that's kind of more or less like how my mind works now. It's like I'm learning in the academy and I'm also able to apply that, what I learned to my game and to try to like teach the players around these world. So how much of your week is devoted ultimately to coaching as opposed to playing? Coaching, I would say, um, during the season of the academy, I was here for like three, four hours. Every day. Yeah. Every day.
Speaker: but it's not like mandatory. It's more like I'm with the 15s but I want it to be around like the 17s and 19s and sometimes they don't train at the same time and it's an hour and a half each so it's like three hours but then you have to prepare for the you have to bring the gear out a lot earlier and then you have to bring the gear in and all that stuff.
Speaker: So do you see, like has this changed your perspective or maybe emboldened your belief that you wanted to get into coaching eventually? Yeah, I mean I think it only emboldened, it only solidified the idea that especially in this country there is a need to find and develop
Speaker: High -level talent and a lot of it is like mental and that's what I see here in the academy It's they run this academy where they just don't focus on the plane. It's also, you know, they set goals they they Not individually and as a team they'd have them sitting down in the classroom watching films
Speaker: which for me is like, I'm amazed at some of the things that these kids are learning at such, you're talking about 10, 11, 12 year olds watching film on how to move the ball, which is something that, for me, I was playing out in the backyard at that time, which I think says a lot about how we're moving forward as a country in developmental.
Speaker: Yeah, you know, obviously in the last year, especially, there's been a lot of debate about the way we develop players in this country. And you came from an era, not that you're so much older than the kids now, but it is a different it was a different time. And you also came from an experience that was very different than what
Speaker: anyone in the center's academy is going through. You obviously grew up in Salinas, which is kind of like a, I would say a farming community, a reasonably large farming community, but a farming community nonetheless, kind of outside of the major metropolitan areas in California. You didn't necessarily have access to high level clubs. You played for a, you played public high school soccer, obviously had a very
Speaker: productive career in high school, but you're playing against other high school kids, which now we see less and less frequently kids playing high school. Where do you see the development process in the United States? Is it going in the right direction? Are there things that you'd kind of like to see? There's also been a lot of talk about the way that US soccer reaches immigrant communities,
Speaker: which haven't had a big role in the development of the game here. Well I think the academy especially does such an amazing job in terms of trying to identify talent. Not necessarily just talent that you know our local clubs but even talent outside of Washington area. We go and obviously if our academies play against teams and
Speaker: Sometimes we'll play teams out Eastern Washington, Yakima, and some of those teams. And for me to see players like that in this academy is what makes this whole thing so much like full circle in a way. Because I see that those are the kids that are kind of sometimes falling through the cracks. So yes, I do agree that there is a shift in terms of the way we're developing kids, especially at such a young age, like you said,
Speaker: My route was completely different to how it was. And now you don't really play high school like that. Right. If you play that, it's because you're doing it for fun, right? You're not doing it because you want to earn a scholarship or you want to play in the next level. Yeah. There's still those outliers that are going to.
Speaker: make it through that, but I feel like at this stage, it'd be pretty difficult to make it to like the next level if you're going to be playing in high school. And so I think that that's changed. And I think it's definitely going in the right direction. The way I think the way they're bringing up the kids in terms of just like the mentality of how to approach the game, how to think about the game. And it's definitely something that I wish I would have had as a younger player to like really think about
Speaker: the spaces in the field. It just sounds very simple, but it's something that I never heard until I maybe was in college. I don't even think I heard it in college, to be honest. It's just things like that that you just hear and you're like, wow, these kids are going to be so good. They're already so talented, but to add the mental side to it, I feel like it really does transcend them to another level in terms of developmental.
Speaker: So the last few years you've been kind of playing in various U .S .L. teams. What's the life like of a U .S .L. player, especially a U .S .L. player who isn't playing in some place that he considers home? You know, like you play those games, most of the players aren't making, they might be making enough money to live off that money, but they're not getting rich by any stretch. I would imagine it's a very different lifestyle than what you have in MLS.
Speaker: And I wouldn't say that. I mean, that's what that glamor is. But obviously, being in Seattle, you definitely did see the high aspect of what it was to be a professional soccer player in this country. To be a second, third string player and still be recognized on the street is probably one of the coolest things. You're just walking down the street and, oh, it's David's child. Yeah, that's me. And so yeah, obviously, now you go to small market teams.
Speaker: Sacramento isn't that small, but they get decent followings, but then Charlotte Independence. Yeah, it's a small team, but I feel like the life is not glamorous. You're surrounded by like -minded, well for the most part, like -minded individuals, maybe like -minded in ages, like similar age, so the locker rooms are pretty good. You know that everyone that goes in there
Speaker: is kind of trying to prove themselves, has a little chip on your shoulder, depending on the group, too, as well. But you're able to live on your own, like, pretty well. And sometimes the way it helps in the USL is that the teams cover the housing. And so that's a pretty big help, I think. And then whatever you get paid, you just, you know, and then you have coaching on the side, too, which I did in Charlotte.
Speaker: and it's funny because I did it for like just kind of like I'll just do this just because it's there and I sure enough like I started enjoying it and so luckily this that kind of experience helps me now to like put it in my resume to rotate well I've done I've actually done a little bit of coaching it's not like I have zero coaching
Speaker: which I feel like to be honest is I almost have zero coaching, but like I'm so thankful to Mark Nichols that I think he knows the person that I am in terms of how I see the game and how I see the developmental side of this country and how there are these diamonds in the rough that we need to seek out. And I want to be a part of that. And so yeah, I'm just lucky that that whole like, it's funny how sometimes I look back and I'm like, I was coaching like these 10 years old, the 10 year old kids and
Speaker: It was so hard to do that. I was more tired coaching sometimes 10 -year -old kids just to get their attention. And now I come to the academy. It's almost the same age, but these kids are so focused and they want to. They already see themselves as sounders, which is just amazing to be a part of.
Speaker: So one of the things I think that I noticed once you made your debut, and I was, I think I know you reasonably well, but I was a little surprised. You were wearing 74, which did not seem like a random decision. What was the thought process into choosing that number and kind of representing, in a lot of ways representing Seattle every time you go out on the pitch? Yeah, well obviously,
Speaker: As an academy or S2 player, you're not allowed to get some of the earlier numbers, especially if the first team has them. Those are off limits. I forget the numbers. It's like 60 and above or something like that. Knowing that 1974 is when the sounder is originated,
Speaker: I wanted it to be kind of more of a reminder of every time that I put these shorts on is not necessarily just putting it for my sake, but more so for the, obviously the history behind it, but also the players around me that I can't just carry myself in a negative attitude. I can't be someone that puts someone down. I want to be encouraging, I want to be representative of this club and I know the history of this club and I want it to be that every time that I put
Speaker: the jersey on or my training kit on is that I'm representative of that logo. It's not just, you know, that whole history is not just about me. And so I think I've enjoyed that part too because, yeah, especially in your earlier years, soccer is all about you and kind of like you gaining this and
Speaker: furthering yourself and for me now it's how can I help these players maybe push them a little bit more to reach the next level to reach their full potential and you know it's been it's been a joy to watch some of these players actually just
Speaker: become better players. And the other thing that I love about Mark Nichols is that he wants to make good players with good characters. Right. And so if we put them, if we put out good players out there, but with bad attitudes that they're not going to last long. It's a, it's a truth in this sport with a bad attitude, you're rarely going to get far. And so one of the things that when we first sat down is
Speaker: He wants to look for good players with good characters. And like I said, to be a whole part of that kind of culture for me is pretty special. Well, I gotta say, I think that he probably found the right player to help share that message. I've gotten to know you over the years. I've followed your career. And it's been great to see this. I was overjoyed when I saw you came back here.
Speaker: definitely hoping for the best for you. And thanks for doing this, man. My pleasure. Thanks for having me. All right. This is no study at this and we'll be right back.
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Speaker: Welcome back to Nos Arietes. So hopefully you enjoyed that interview with David Estrada. Likit is with us now, and I'll just let him go ahead and start asking questions. Yeah, let's do this. KingdomNome asks, did you jerks cry watching the video attached to the season ticket renewal?
Speaker: It was a really good video. It was really good. I definitely got goosebumps. And I was already inclined to renew my season tickets. But yeah, it definitely would have felt pretty guilty if I didn't want to renew my season tickets. I haven't seen it because Jeremiah is the one that pays for the season tickets. I'll have to see if I can send that to you. I mean, I'd like to see it. It's good. It's a good video.
Speaker: All right. Uh, this is a Stevio 103. There's like four S's in his name. How scary is Darwin Contaro mega scary or ultra mega scary? Who do you deploy to slow him down tactically?
Speaker: I mean he's he's scary he's, you know, he's scored within nine and 16 games, that's pretty good. That's pretty good clip but I don't know, I like your defense a lot. There's, there, it's just, there aren't players that terrify me, it really against our defense. He might get a goal or two, you know, he might, he might cause some trouble but
Speaker: I trust our guys to handle it pretty well without really needing to make any alterations. We just, everybody is solid. Even I think Toro's in the, you know, the limited time we've seen him since he's been back from the World Cup. I think he's looked really, really good.
Speaker: So yeah, I don't think we need to change anything defensively. I think we're we're as good, if not better than than anybody in the league. And as good as Kentaro is, you know, I think I think he can be handled. He's going to score like six goals now. So I'll say this, but I'll say this as far as.
Speaker: what we might need to do tactically. The last two games I think I've expressed public misgivings about Oswald Alonzo starting. If Alonzo starts this game, I do think that's a potential problem.
Speaker: Yeah, he has not moved as like, despite everything that Brian Schmetzer has said, despite his teammates saying how great it is to have Ozzy back, I have to agree with our resident game raider, Relio, in agreeing that I just don't, I have not seen the kind of like the old Ozzy, like he's great in possession.
Speaker: Well, I should take that back. He's reasonably good in position, although in the first 10 minutes, he had three giveaways that were all in the defensive end. His free kick was what led to New York City's goal. He doesn't cover nearly as much ground. He's not a bad player, but he's not the same player. He's just not.
Speaker: He's not, and it feels like he hasn't quite realized it yet. Like, I don't think he's been a disaster. I don't think he's been a black hole, but I would much rather see Svensson enrolled on in the middle, or even Svensson and Ladero in the middle, especially on the road against the team that does have a pretty direct dynamic attacking threat like Minnesota does. Yeah. Okay. Ryan K. Smith asks, how would you improve the all -star game slash weekend?
Speaker: I think that the best suggestion is not an original one, but if we can get a Liga and Mechis,
Speaker: against MLS all -star kind of thing. I think that's probably the best that we can hope for in terms of it just being an event that you might care about. That said, the, I don't know, maybe the MLS all -star game doesn't need to be fixed. It's going to end up with probably the highest ratings of any game outside of MLS cup. It will have, you know, they broke, they had 70 ,000 people watching it in Atlanta. You know, a lot of people clearly enjoy the all -star game. I think sounders fans are pretty,
Speaker: united in not caring about it, and I love that Christian Roldan publicly stated that he didn't really care about it today, or that he didn't think it was an important thing, that he didn't really mind that no sounders were there, because I totally agree with him. But I don't know, maybe we over, we talk about this every year, and I'm starting to come around the idea that maybe, maybe there's nothing that needs to be fixed, and it's fine the way it is, and it's just not for us.
Speaker: Yeah, I think that's the key thing is I used to be just very vehemently anti all -star game. And I've just kind of come to realize exactly what you said. It's not for me, and that's OK. I feel like I used to indulge in a lot of concern trolling over like, well, what if somebody gets a career in ending injury in this meaningless blah, blah, blah? And that doesn't, it's never happened.
Speaker: Um, nobody's playing too hard, you know, it can't be any harder than just like a training session. Um, you know, like, yeah, there's some travel involved, but it's, it's just not a big deal. It's not hurting anything. Um, and the fact that it's, I just think the fact that there was something happening in MLS that I wasn't the target audience for pissed me off. And that's a really stupid way to go about your life, you know? So, um, yeah, I think it's fine. I mean,
Speaker: Gets good ratings, like you said, a lot of people show up. I would love to see them bring back the skills competition, that video.
Speaker: Yeah. Goalie Warriors, dude. I mean, that was great. But even just like the, here's Landon Donovan running really fast, you know, like that was, I would watch that. Not Landon Donovan, you know, he's probably pretty slow now, but like I would watch all kinds of babies, you know, like run through cones or whatever. That would probably actually get me to watch at least like some of it. I mean, I think the downside to anything like that is,
Speaker: You know, I think what MLS is trying to do is they're trying to thread the needle of having an event that doesn't take away from the season too much. And as long as you're having it in the middle of the season, as long as you're having it in the middle of the sun, well, I will say this, the one, one of the other potential benefits of doing it with Liga MMX is that you don't need to line it up with the, uh,
Speaker: with the friendly tours that everyone's doing. And so that's the big reason that they need to have it in the summer right now is because it coincides with the friendlies, or it coincides with these European teams already being in the United States. And I suppose if you do one with Liga and the Equis, you can have it at, you can pick a better time of year where maybe it doesn't interfere with the season as much. And then you can still do these skills competitions and you can do all this other stuff and it can be kind of more of a fun
Speaker: you know, full weekend as opposed to something that's just plopped into the middle of the season. Maybe you do it during the World Cup break or you do it during an international break or something like that. Although I guess the problem is that some of your best players are away, but anyway. Yeah, I think, I mean, yeah, I think if you're after a drastic solution to make it a little more of something for everyone, then that's a good one. But if they don't change it at all, I think it's fine.
Speaker: Okay. DX underscore D whole mass at what point at this point, what is Dempsey's role with the team? It's tricky. It's tricky because it's hard for me to believe that he's, you know, functionally Lamar Nagel, right? Like that he's just not going to play anymore. And that, um, he's just around cause he has to be, but it was really surprising to me that, that during, you know, that run of a lot of games, um, that he was not getting any playing time at all.
Speaker: um and and yeah so that's that's a little crazy it's just it's hard to say um i i expect he's gonna get more playing time here soon um but you know who knows i don't know it's it's it's tough and i i do want to see him um with ruby diaz and and see if maybe they can you know if there's anything left in Dempsey um that they can get out of him and and pair with Raul you know and and maybe capture some lightning in a bottle that would be nice to see
Speaker: I don't know. I don't know what to make of the Clint Dempsey situation. I think that, you know, as long as the Sounders are winning without him starting, I can understand the sentiment to not start him. They, you know, probably provide something off the bench, but I would be surprised at this point to see him start more than a handful of games the rest of the year.
Speaker: And then as a follow up, just gail asks if Dempsey's starting days are over for this club Do you think you'll become a divisive factor in the media and locker room like his pal? The gam did or will he find enough joy coming off the bench that he can write out his final days here in peace?
Speaker: I mean, I think Eddie Johnson was a very different situation, almost to the point where it's incomparable. Dempsey is, I think, knowingly at the end of his career. And I think at this point, he's probably a little bit more willing to just go along and get along.
Speaker: I don't suspect that it's going to be a huge divisive issue. Yeah, he doesn't really seem unhappy. I mean, he looked happy after the game on Sunday. And when he has played lately, he seems like he's just he's busting his ass and trying to do a bunch of crazy stuff. So I think, you know, I think I think it's entirely possible that he and Brian Spencer had a conversation about like
Speaker: Hey, you can't either. Hey, coach, I can't play 90 minutes and give you anything or Hey, you can't, you know, you can't play 90 minutes and give me anything. So this is a role we see for you. And he's, he's comfortable with that. Um, he does not strike me as a person that doesn't have a great deal of self -awareness. I'll just put it that way. I think that he probably knows and is happy to, you know, do whatever he can for the team.
Speaker: Yeah. And there was a tweet today, someone was talking about after practice, he spent like a few minutes with, uh, one of the academy kids, like coaching him whatever. So, I mean, he's obviously okay with that part of it. And that traditionally has not been his thing. Like he doesn't do a lot of that. And so maybe he's naturally falling into that a little more now.
Speaker: Turner Esquire asks, how upset should fans be if the only domestic beer available at CenturyLink for the $5 specials Bud Light? I mean, considering that's like half the price of what a domestic costs now, I don't know that I can be too upset about what they're choosing to put for $5. Yeah, I mean, there's no reason they shouldn't put Bud Heavy at $5 too, if they're going to do that. But can you even get Bud Heavy anywhere? Or is it just Bud Light?
Speaker: That's a great question. But heavy is not, is not that bad for five bucks, especially. I would consider it for five bucks. They could get the rainier cans for six. Okay. Uh, Rick sports feed asks, do you see anyone else leaving the sounders this window? There was talk of tours leaving during the World Cup, but that seems to have died down. Anyone else potentially moving?
Speaker: Yeah, I mean, I think that the only situation would be maybe a younger player that attracts the mentors from Europe. And there aren't a lot of guys on the team that I think would fit that bill. I don't think Christian Rolldown's international profile is quite there. I guess New Who is a possibility, but I haven't heard anything about New Who being at least other than random
Speaker: Cameroonian or whatever tabloids being like, oh yeah, these 27 players are all being scouted by Juventus. So, um, I don't know. I mean, I think, uh, it seems unlikely to me, but who knows? It seemed unlikely to me that, uh, that Magnus Wolf -Ikram would get cut. So maybe I'm way off, but yeah, I don't know.
Speaker: In hindsight, I have to say the Wolf -Ikram thing makes a lot more sense than it did before it actually happened. But yeah, unless there's a trade, I haven't heard any rumors of anyone, like any viable rumors. It would be pure speculation.
Speaker: Okay, T. Steege asks, is it just me or do other, I asked this one because you love that saying, by the way, is it just me or do other people have nervousness when Nuhu touches the ball? How about when he does that spastic stuff on defense? You know what, the funny thing about the spastic stuff on defense is that it's actually, it seems to be really effective. I don't
Speaker: I don't get super nervous when - Yeah, I'm with him. Wow, he's apparently mad that I'm agreeing with him. Yeah, it's been a long day. It's been a long day. No. Yeah, I feel very comfortable with Newhoo on the wall. I mean, my biggest complaints with Newhoo are in the attacking third. And I feel like he's shown improvement there. I don't want to say he's gotten significantly better.
Speaker: He seems like he's showing improvement and he's showing some growth there. I mean, I love this stuff he does defensively that's kind of weird because it's...
Speaker: It's unorthodox, but it very rarely puts him at a disadvantage in any way, and it's fun to watch. The only time I've heard Casey Keller sound happy about the Sounders this year was when he knew who just straight up football tackled a guy. I think that was against Vancouver.
Speaker: And he's just, he's a blast to watch play. Um, he's, he's extremely solid defensively. He's shown improvement in the attack. Um, so yeah, I don't, there are people that don't love new and that's, that's very weird to me. I think he's, he's a treasure. I never want him to go anywhere, even though I know he probably will.
Speaker: Yeah, I think he's actually gotten better. He still does his stuff, but I think he's more under control than he had been in the past. Cthulhu Lemon asks, can we at least get some irresponsible wild speculation on the rumored second non -Hurtado signing? I'm Jonesy. Yeah, that's weird, because I think, Jeremiah, you've said you don't really see any way for them to add two players without losing somebody. I mean, unless they're getting a green card, which I don't know about,
Speaker: Yeah. Or unless there's like an American somewhere out there that's going to move on a free. Um, yeah, it seems, I don't know. I think it's probably not going to happen, but who knows? Maybe a shit, maybe it will. I don't know. How do you like that? Yeah, it's probably not going to happen, but shit, maybe it will. That's my, that's my official answer. Pretty irresponsible answer. Yeah, I think so. It's the bill. Yeah.
Speaker: Okay, last question corked Northwest as was the slow start to the 2018 season a brilliant long play game plan by Garth to not have to play anybody in tonight's all star game. I like that. That's a little game theory. I like that. Yeah, I think it's, we can, we can make a cannon. We've done it before. So.
Speaker: Let's just say that's the case because, you know, Juventus are an Italian team and so they kick people a lot or whatever the stereotype. Is that the stereotype about Italian teams? I thought they were the ones that parked the bus, like they all packed the box. Well, and so if you play defensively, you're probably dirty, right? Yeah, that's true. Good job, Garth. Thanks. Brilliant. That's it. Short answers today are short questions. Wow.
Speaker: If there was ever a show that we really did not need a lot of questions, this was... Yeah, I'm glad to call this a show. That's a good one. Good thing to end on. This has been a nightmare on the recording end. Shout out to the Uber conference hold music guy. I'm gonna take a shit in your mailbox if I ever find out who you are.
Speaker: Actually, I have to cop to something. I set that up. I thought it would be funny. It's not funny at all. That was the one thing that I did that gave me joy today. Oh, that's good. Yeah. All right. Well, thanks for powering through that, guys. Hopefully, we'll get back next time with a little bit more of a cohesive show that makes sense. But anyway, thanks to our sponsors.
Speaker: Phobel Wines and our broadcast partner Bootstrapper Studios. I am Jeremiah O 'Shan, signing off on behalf of Aaron Campo and Lickit. This is No Sound Yet This, and remember, you'll never get alone. Green Douglas, where were the waters cut through? Down to wild mountains and tangents you flew. Canadian northwest to the ocean so blue. It's roll on, Columbia roll on.
Speaker: Roll on, Columbia Roll on. Roll on, Columbia Roll on. Your power is turning our darkness to dawn. Roll on, Columbia Roll on. We love you. Let's win another one!
