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Nos Audietis, Episode 295: Reds Dead ... Redemption?
60 Plays6 years ago
What a way to head into the first tricky portion of the schedule. The Sounders improved to 5-0-1 on the young season by beating previously unbeaten Toronto FC 3-2 at CenturyLink Field on Saturday. It was easily the Sounders biggest test of the season and I’d say they passed with flying colors, especially when you consider they were missing Raul Ruidiaz.
This sets up a pretty enticing matchup with LAFC on the weekend, who may well be unbeaten as well depending on tonight’s result. If they are, this will be the latest in a season since 2010 -- and the second latest all time -- that two unbeaten teams have squared off in MLS. To help us preview that game, we’ll be talking to Alicia Rodriguez of Angels on Parade later in the show.
This week's music: Perry Como - "Seattle", "RVIVR - "Ocean Song", Woody Guthrie - "Roll On Columbia", "Your Journey Begins" - OurMusicBox (Jay Man) (CC BY 4.0)
Thanks to James Woollard, Sounders Public Address Announcer, for doing our sponsor reads. You can follow him on Twitter at @BritVoxUS - if you’re looking for a British Voice to advertise your business or non-profit, please reach out to him.
Want to hear the music from the show in their glorious, full versions? Check out the Nos Audietis playlist on Spotify!
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Transcript
Full Pool Wines Book Release
00:00:00
Speaker
This episode of No Sadietes is sponsored by Full Pool Wines, a Seattle-based wine seller who recently released their first book, 36 Bottles of Wine. The ethos of the book, a highly curated look at wine categories that provide exceptional value right now, should be familiar to full pool 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.
00:00:21
Speaker
And there's food! Lots of it! Fullpool's unique writing styles apply to recipes like leftover Thanksgiving turkey, schmaltz-a-ball soup, and pregnancy nachos. This book can be purchased through Sasquatch Books.
Sounders Victory Over Toronto FC
00:00:32
Speaker
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. Fuck! Hey, Ocean! Let's go! Morris runs right by him and sticks in and slots it in for a roll! Fantastic for George Morris!
00:00:55
Speaker
Here's Morris! Morris! Think of an ant! What do tigers dream of? They take a little tiger's hand. The bluest skies you've ever seen are in Seattle. And the hills, the greenest green in Seattle.
00:01:24
Speaker
like a beautiful child growing up. Welcome to another edition of NOS Adiatus, sponsored by Full Full Wines. This is episode 295, and we're recording on Wednesday, April 17th, 2019.
Sounders Season Performance and Challenges
00:01:36
Speaker
I am your host, Jeremiah O'Shan. As usual, I'm joined by my co-host, Aaron Campo, and our engineer, Lickett.
00:01:42
Speaker
Well, what a way to head into the first tricky portion of the schedule. The Sounders improved 5-0-1 on the young season by beating, previously unbeaten Toronto FC, 3-2 at Century Lake Field on Saturday. It was easily the Sounders biggest test of the season and I'd say they passed with flying colors, especially when you consider they were missing ballroom ideas.
00:02:00
Speaker
This sets up a pretty enticing matchup with LAFC on the weekend, who may well be unbeaten as well, depending on tonight's result. If they are, this will be the latest in the season since 2010 and the second latest of all time, the two unbeaten teams have squared off in MLS. To help us preview the game, we'll be talking to Alicia Rodriguez of Angels on Parade later in the show. But before that, how would you assess your current optimism at this point?
00:02:26
Speaker
I feel very good about this team. I think that there are probably going to be some rough patches when international absences start to become a concern and there are going to be injuries that pop up. Hopefully they won't pile up the way they have in years past.
00:02:44
Speaker
you know, they're going to happen. And it's going to be something the team has to weather. But I think especially beating a team as good as Toronto has been this year, and doing it without Raul, Rui Diaz, that just made me feel very, very good about where this team is at.
Impact of Raul Ruidiaz on Sounders' Season
00:03:04
Speaker
You know, the sort of the narrative that
00:03:07
Speaker
emerged last season. And I don't think it's entirely fair or accurate, but it was the narrative was that all the sounders went and made a sign in and saved their season again. And Raul Ruidiaz was responsible for the turnaround. And it's just not really true. I mean, he certainly helped. Don't get me wrong.
00:03:28
Speaker
But it was a combination of players getting healthy. It was mostly that, I think. And the team finding an identity that they can really find early in the season because they had to shuffle the lineup so much. And some good luck and things like that. But it wasn't like that was the one missing piece. And when you take him away, the team is garbage.
00:03:55
Speaker
Um, and so to see them perform that well against the team like TFC, who's been very good this year, um, on, on both sides of the ball, uh, was very encouraging. And I know that TFC, you know, was missing some players too. Um, but most of their big names were there.
00:04:13
Speaker
Yeah, and so, and I don't think the Sounders played TFC off the pitch by any stretch, but if that game had ended 3-1, I think it probably would have been a little more reflective of how the game actually went. I thought the Sounders were just a much better team than TFC. TFC took, well, Josie took the two chances that they had very well. The second goal especially I thought was a world-class goal. And, you know, when you've got a world-class
00:04:41
Speaker
ish striker like Josie Altador. Sometimes you're going to get goals like that, but it took a special finish for them to get that second goal.
Sounders' Depth and Will Bruin's Role
00:04:53
Speaker
That was the first, I think, real test that people were waiting for. We've heard a fair amount of, well, yeah, the Sounders look great, but they haven't beaten anybody, which is fair because we hadn't really beaten anybody.
00:05:06
Speaker
But now we have. So obviously the real test is in the next week, playing LAFC twice, I guess week and a half to be accurate. So that's going to tell us a lot about where the teams are. A week and a half from now, yeah, I suppose. Right, right.
00:05:25
Speaker
Um, so yeah, I mean, we'll know more about where the team's at, at that point. But I think the, you know, the idea that the Sounders were flat track bullies early in the season is, has lost a lot of credibility at this point.
00:05:39
Speaker
Yeah. And I think that, you know, I've been banging this Trump drum for a little while that, you know, Rui Diaz made this team into a MLS cup contender, I think. And I think that they, he's what is the difference between them being a very good team and maybe the best team in the league. But when you look at, so like the degree that they turned around, I think is largely.
00:06:04
Speaker
you know, you can give some credit to Rui Diaz, but the turnaround itself, I don't think was about his arrival. I think it was about them getting healthy and I think it was about them kind of finding, like you said, like finding an identity. And what I thought was interesting is I went back and looked at, you know, their record over the last 25 games is 22 and three, which is frankly amazing. Like that's Premier League. That's, you know, that's Manchester City.
00:06:28
Speaker
stuff that's almost, you know, that's not so different than the pace that Man City was on when they got 100 points in the Premier League. So it's a very good pace. And I think Rui Diaz is a huge part of that. But what I thought was interesting is that if you look at the seven games, he did not play at all. And the eight games that he didn't start during that 25 game set,
00:06:55
Speaker
Will Bruin started all those games. The Sounders went 5-0 in two in the games that, that Rudy Diaz didn't play. And they went 6-0 in two in the games that Rudy Diaz didn't start. Bruin has five goals in those games. He, in about 600 minutes. Those are good numbers. Now, I don't think holistically he does everything that, that Rudy Diaz does. I don't think that defenses are forced to account for him in the same way that they have to account for Rudy Diaz.
00:07:22
Speaker
But the point I was trying to make in assembling those numbers is that the gap just is not as big as people want it to be, or have kind of worked it out to be. If Will Bruin was playing for a team, I haven't been paying close enough attention to the standings this year to know what they look like right now. But let's say he's playing for the eighth ranked team in the Eastern Conference right now. He'd absolutely be a starter.
00:07:48
Speaker
Um, assuming that that team, I just picked at random, like they're one good players in a, like he's, he's a starting caliber player in MLS.
Sounders' Record and Academy Success
00:07:56
Speaker
He's, he's not a starting caliber player for, um, for teams with supporter shield or MLS cup, uh, aspirations, but, um, to have a guy that could be starting for, you know, a handful of teams in the league as your, as your backup is pretty good. I mean, it's hard to get much better than that unless you want to allocate, you know,
00:08:18
Speaker
even more resources towards the attacking core of the team. Yeah, I mean, I think it would be a disservice to your roster construction, frankly, if you replace Will Bruin with assuming that there's not suddenly a larger portion of money available. I think you're doing your whole roster construction a certain level of disservice if you're going out and finding a more expensive player who
00:08:47
Speaker
you think is going to give you much better production because I think you want Rui Diaz playing most of the minutes and I think one of the things that makes Will Bruin valuable is that as much as he might not want to be coming off the bench, I think he gets it. I think he understands that it's his job to make the most of the moments that he does get and that, you know, I don't think he's
00:09:11
Speaker
trying to engineer a way out of Seattle because he's not starting. I think he understands his role in this team. And if he ends up starting a bunch of games, I'm sure he's very happy about that. But I think he just gets it. I think this is the right guy for the player that the Sounders need. And then if Jordan Morris is essentially your third
00:09:35
Speaker
third striker. I just don't think the centers seem to be going out and devoting more resources to defining another striker. I guess is the short version of that. But what else I thought was interesting is that if you go beyond that 25 game set, which is a very impressive set, obviously, and you zoom all the way out to 34 games, this win actually put the Sounders at 71 points in their last 34 games. And they're plus, I think,
Sounders Strategy and Tactical Acumen
00:10:02
Speaker
27 goal difference during that time, which essentially is
00:10:06
Speaker
almost to the goal, what New York Red Bulls did last year, which was rightly considered one of, if not the best seasons in MLS history of all time. They set the points record. So the centers have been really good for pretty long. And I think you can, I think what's interesting about stretching all the way back to 34 games is that they went two, three, and four in those first, those first nine games in the, in the, in that set.
00:10:37
Speaker
I don't think that they were, they clearly weren't great in that time, but they had at least started to kind of turn their season around at that point. Like they'd, they'd stopped being completely awful. Yeah. And I mean, considering how the season had gone to that point, not being completely awful was, uh,
00:10:55
Speaker
an accomplishment. So yeah, um, yeah, I mean, I think as far as the brewing thing goes, I think that you don't necessarily want, uh, the players that are on the bench to be totally happy with it, you know? Um, cause that's how you breed complacency. And I, like the impression I get about will ruin is he's exactly what you want, where he wants to be starting. He's, he's annoyed that he's not starting, but he's also
00:11:24
Speaker
he understands why he's not starting and he's just going to work harder, you know, when he does get the opportunity. Um, that's, I mean, that's ideal, right? And, uh, you know, he's, he's reasonably well compensated. Um, so I don't, I don't think we need to be shedding a nice house in, uh, in, uh, Beacon Hill. Uh, you know, yeah, he's, he's doing okay. Um, so we don't, you know, we don't need to feel sad for him, but, uh, yeah, I mean, I think,
00:11:51
Speaker
I know that I'm bad about this and I think that there are probably other Sounders fans that are too and I think just sports fans in general. We're so familiar with this team and the players that we kind of forget how good they are and we look at other teams and say, oh LAFC has Carlos Villa and they have
00:12:10
Speaker
Diego Rossi and, um, you know, oh, Pazuelo is so good. And, and that's, I mean, that's all true. Like those are all, they're all great players, but Nico Ludero is a, is a really, really good player too. Um, Raul Ruidiaz is a really good player too. I think that this 11 matches up extremely well, you know, with anybody else's. Um, and then I think that the quality of the depth is, is what,
00:12:35
Speaker
is really where the Sounders have the advantage. And I think Bruins isn't indicative of that. I think Torres isn't indicative of that. Harry Ship is another player that I kind of put in Bruins category where if he wanted to, he could probably go to a non
Defensive Challenges and Chad Marshall
00:12:51
Speaker
-playoff team and be a starter, be an important player on that team. But I think he'd rather be somewhere where he's winning. And that's a nice thing to have.
00:13:02
Speaker
Um, yeah, I just, the sounders are probably not going to keep up this kind of pace all season. Um, if they do, that'd be pretty awesome. You know, it would be pretty awesome to destroy the.
00:13:17
Speaker
From the record for points, uh, regardless of era, that would be pretty sweet, but, um, I just, I don't see any reason unless they go out and lose to LA handily twice in a week to think that, you know, they're not as capable of anyone as winning the sport or shield this season.
00:13:36
Speaker
Yeah, it's a fun team right now. It's a team that you should feel good about. And I thought one of the other little elements that I like to see in this game was the way that they were pressing.
00:13:51
Speaker
And Will Bruin talked a little bit about this and he just, there's a more coordination, I think, to the pressing. It's not just one or two players who are running up and harassing the opposing center backs. It's, you know, we saw moments in this game where there were four players surrounding, you know,
00:14:11
Speaker
that were all collectible testing and creating turnovers. The Sounders had something like had 26 defense, what I call positive defensive actions in the offensive half this last game, which was a season best for them. That includes recoveries, successful tackles, interceptions, and one other stat that I made. It's just those three things.
00:14:35
Speaker
But it, to me, showed a lot of a new wrinkle to what the Sounders are doing. And what was also kind of interesting, I looked this up, is that the Sounders, I think, have had at least 20 of those kinds of actions in every game, which suggests this is a little bit more of a sustained effort. I know that they've been working on this at the academy level. They're trying to do it at the defiance level. It's not really going off as well there. But
00:14:58
Speaker
I just think that it's nice to see they're adding these wrinkles to what they're doing. And it's not just, we're gonna sit back, we're gonna absorb, and maybe we'll possess the ball, but we're gonna beat you with our best. We just think we have better players and we're gonna beat you straight up.
00:15:16
Speaker
Yeah, I think that any remnant of the idea that there's not some pretty serious tactical acumen on this coaching staff has got to be out the window at this point.
00:15:33
Speaker
There is an element of saying, hey, we've got this really talented roster with these really talented players, most of whom are veteran professionals, and we're going to let them go do what they're good at. But there's very clearly a plan to press and to disrupt and to just generally be a pest about things that the team seems committed to. They press as a team. They press everywhere on the field.
00:15:58
Speaker
And it's something that's frustrated me in years past that they haven't done because I think that they've had the players to do it effectively. And I think it's been very successful for them this year. It's not something you can do against every team in every situation, but
00:16:17
Speaker
They've definitely created some of their better chances out of it this year. It gives them the ability to counter-attack without playing deep and considering the speed that Jordan Morris has, the vision that Christian Roldan and Nicholas Ledero have for springing the counter-attack, that's hugely valuable. I think that the sounders very clearly recognize
00:16:42
Speaker
what their team is good at, what their players are capable of doing, and put them into situations where they can do those things effectively. And it just so happens that pressing pretty effectively fits their personnel pretty well, which is nice to see, because it's a lot of fun to see when it's working well. It is nice to see when it's working well. And they got a couple goals out of, not necessarily pressing, but they got a couple goals that were created off of,
00:17:10
Speaker
not allowing TFC to clear their lines, essentially. And I think that's another important thing about that kind of play is it's not just creating turnovers, it's forcing teams to defend longer than just your set of passes that are connecting. Right. And, you know, I think that they were able to do it against Toronto FC is hugely, you know, I think really telling because this is if anything, Toronto has a lot of talent going forward and that they weren't afraid to
00:17:40
Speaker
to gamble in that way, I thought was really telling. You know, you mentioned this earlier, Marshall got beat basically on both goals. The first one, I think you can chalk it up a little bit to not, like Christian Roldan did not pressure Pazuelo enough. And that allowed him a little too much space, but at the same time,
00:18:01
Speaker
partial kind of lost Altidore and it was a great header. I think it should be said it was not an easy finish. But, you know, he did seem to lose Altidore there. On the second one, though, I have a hard time faulting
00:18:15
Speaker
I know people that are really astute with these kinds of observations, in particular, really appointed this out in his ratings column, that his footwork was maybe a little bit off, but man, that's a tough one to defend.
Sounders U17 Success and Academy Stories
00:18:30
Speaker
He hit that with the outside of his right boot.
00:18:33
Speaker
just kind of to the far side. That's a really impressive finish. That said, Marshall hasn't looked great in at least a couple of games this year. Are you at all worried about him or do you feel like this is kind of par for the course? He's human. This is what happens. Both, I think. I mean, he is human. It is what happens. It tends to happen around this time for an athlete. But I think that it's a two-part thing where
00:19:03
Speaker
I don't think he is the player he was last season or in seasons past. And that's concerning. But I don't think that he's bad. You know what I mean? I think that he's still one of the better defenders in MLS. I just think that he's maybe a step slower, maybe isn't as quick to react to players
00:19:29
Speaker
trying to sneak in behind him, which I think was definitely the case on the first goal. And you know, he can't, Father Time's undefeated, right? But I just, it's disarming to see him make mistakes like that or, you know, be caught out like he was against Altidore and like he has been in a few games this year. But generally, he's still a very, very reliable defender, you know, that's doing a good job. And the Sounders defense, I think, reflects that.
00:19:59
Speaker
They've only given up five goals, which I think is still tied for best in the league with two other teams. So it's not like this is the team that's leaking goals. He still had some very important defensive plays. So it's not like he's fallen apart. He's not quite what he was last season. If it degrades as the season goes on, then maybe it's a bigger concern.
00:20:25
Speaker
I don't know that it necessarily tends to go that way. I tend it seems like it tends to happen over the off season. So we'll see. I mean, it's worth keeping an eye on. But but as of now, I still think the Sounders have the best center back parent in the league by a pretty decent margin. Yeah, I'm I'm with you. I'm not really freaking out at this point. I do think that, you know, I think he's probably at the point now where you don't push him to three games in a week. I don't know what the plan was for him to plan.
00:20:56
Speaker
in Colorado or not, but I think that probably would have been a good one to give them off. The last thing I wanted to touch on.
00:21:06
Speaker
before we go to our preview of the LAFC match, which now is officially no longer a battle of unbeatens as LA fell to the Whitecaps for their first win of the season. Anyone that saw that one coming, please collect your winnings at the nearest window. But the Sounders U17s are through to the GA Cup semi-finals. After a 1-0 win over River Plate,
00:21:36
Speaker
I watched not the whole game, but I watched enough of it to feel pretty confident in saying that they held their own. And I think you can even argue that they were deserving winners. The winner came in an extra time. They played two 35 minute halves and then they were playing 10 minutes of extra time. Alfonso Ocampo Chavez
00:21:55
Speaker
who is signed through to Defiance but is just 17 years old, got the game winner. It's a third straight game with a game winner. All of them after the Sounders lost their opener in the GA Cup to Valencia of Spain.
00:22:09
Speaker
And it was just a very impressive performance. I was very, I, I, you know, it's, it's 17 year old, 16, 17 year olds, 15, 16, 17 year olds. I don't want to make too much of it, but it was, it was pretty cool to see. But one of the things that kind of came up in this is the guy who assisted on Ocampo Chavez's goals, a kid, kid named Christopher Hagart. And I don't, I had never heard of him before.
00:22:33
Speaker
I had never, I didn't know anything about him, but you Google this kid and he was the subject of a ESPN E60 kind of mini documentary five years ago because he, at one point was, I get, you know, as far as nine year olds go, he was apparently one of the top prospects in the United States and
00:22:54
Speaker
He got kicked, a ball in a soccer match, he got kicked, ball hit his stomach, he started vomiting blood. Apparently it had ruptured a tumor in his stomach. They found out he had a bunch of tumors, he had cancer. And so like the ball hitting him in some ways may have saved his life, but kid survived cancer and eventually found his way to Seattle about a year ago.
Future Impact of Young Academy Players
00:23:17
Speaker
And just kind of an amazing story that I felt like sharing because it was,
00:23:22
Speaker
Just this kind of remarkable thing that this kid went through. He's 17, 18 years old now, but he must be 17. I guess he's playing on the U-17s, but maybe he's only 16 even. But anyway, any thoughts on the Sounders Academy? Do you allow yourself to even be that interested in kids that young?
00:23:44
Speaker
Uh, I wish you would have phrased that question differently. Yes. Oh, I guess we're not doing phrasing anymore, are we? Yeah. But, uh, yeah, I mean, apologize. It's, it's one of those things where I think it's fine to get excited about. Um,
00:24:02
Speaker
but I worry about getting too excited about it just because lots of things can happen to kids between 16, 17, and 2021 where you'd expect them to start getting first team appearances. But I mean, it's certainly much better than getting beat 6-0 by River Plate, right? Yeah, right. Hey, better than a kick in the pants.
00:24:22
Speaker
And I mean, this is apparently a River Plate team that has in the past few years in this competition made a habit of doing that kind of thing to MLS teams. Right. Yeah, they won 2015 to 2017, three straight years. They've won this tournament. And you're right, they've done a lot of they've embarrassed a lot of MLS opponents. So yeah, I mean, I think that it's encouraging. I think that the players that
00:24:51
Speaker
folks probably know the best, like AOC is probably the most prominent example, showed very well. And yeah, I mean, I think that even if none of those kids ever go on to do anything at the professional level, it shows
00:25:11
Speaker
how seriously the sounders are taking the Academy and that it's starting to produce some results. And that's exciting because for a long, long, long, long, long time, it's been this thing that we've talked about is like, this is going to be a big deal at some point. We felt good about the money the sounders were investing in the Academy. We felt good about the decisions they were making about the people that they were bringing in to oversee things.
00:25:39
Speaker
And there was just sort of, you had to have faith that it was going to start paying off and it, it, you know, apparently it really has. So it's exciting. You never know what's going to happen to these kids as they get closer to professional age. Um, so it's probably not something worth investing too much emotional energy in, um, aside from, you know, being happy about the win, but, um,
00:26:05
Speaker
But I mean, it's encouraging, right? I would rather have an academy that's being competitive in these tournaments and doing well than not have an academy like certain teams that the Sounders have rivalries with. Because if they can produce from each sort of academy class one or two players that have a home on the roster, that's a huge competitive advantage. I mean, we've seen that New York is done with that.
00:26:34
Speaker
New York is not a team that spends a lot on players, but they're always good. And a lot of that is because of what they've been able to do with their academy. And the Sounders, they've had a ton of success in MLS without that pipeline. So to think of what they would be able to do with that pipeline is pretty exciting.
00:26:56
Speaker
Yeah, it would be very exciting to see that kind of come through. And yeah, I think you're right. It's more exciting in a big picture sense than it is in any one game.
Interview: LAFC's Performance and Expectations
00:27:07
Speaker
That said, if you're like me and you aren't ashamed to watch 17-year-olds play soccer, it's available on Twitch on Thursday. They're playing West Ham in the semifinals. I think the game's at 1.30. Probably worth checking out. That's tomorrow, I guess. So by the time you're listening to this,
00:27:23
Speaker
you can plan your day. But anyway. And actually that level of soccer is actually generally pretty fun to watch because it is developed enough physically and have technical skills that haven't been beat out of them yet by playing against dudes that are three times their size. So it's pretty fun to watch.
00:27:45
Speaker
Yeah, I will say the one frustrating thing is the camera angles are oftentimes less than ideal. And so it's hard to sometimes watch it from that perspective, but it's the quality of soccer is actually pretty high. Anyway, so that's a good place to call this a segment. We're gonna come back, talk to Alicia Rodriguez of Angels on Parade about the LAFC match. After that, we're gonna take your questions. You're listening to no study at this.
00:28:16
Speaker
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00:28:35
Speaker
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00:28:56
Speaker
Welcome back to NOS Arietes. We are joined by Alicia Rodriguez of Angels on Parade, as well as MLSSoccer.com. Welcome to the show, Alicia. I don't know if we've had you on before, but you and I obviously know each other quite well. I think I've been on once or twice over the years, yeah. Yes. I would have been a little surprised if you hadn't been, but we have been doing this for eight or nine, eight years. Crazy, isn't it? I'm sorry. Our time flies.
00:29:23
Speaker
Anyway, so welcome to the show. I'm sure very proud to be covering what has to be the most exciting team in MLS, if not outside of Seattle in any case. No, I think LAFC probably gets that title right now. How different does this start feel from last year's start, which was also blazing hot?
00:29:48
Speaker
Yeah, I think last year's start was great. I don't know that we could have necessarily counted on them to be as good as they were right out of the gate. But once we saw a few games and saw that they were playing really well, it was like, wow, this is really exciting. At the same time, I think last year, there was still the sense of like, I don't know, maybe the wheels are going to come off at some point. Let's just wait and see. And I don't think the wheels ever fully came off.
00:30:15
Speaker
you know they they got kind of nervous i think it was maybe the third or fourth game they played atlanta and got blew away blown away last year you know there there were some bumps along the way and that's not to say that there's not going to be bumps this year of course there will be but um i think this year there's a sense that you know last year they were kind of playing with house money right it was like if they can get into the playoffs you know if they can make a decent run in the open cup if you know that
00:30:40
Speaker
that's considered success still today in MLS and they did those things and they didn't end the season that they want the way that they wanted to but at least they kind of hit those minimum benchmarks this year I think it's like okay they think they can actually get some silverware and that they ought to get silverware it's not a matter of like well it's possible we'll see what happens I think they're kind of locked in like we have Carlos Vela playing at his
00:31:08
Speaker
best potentially right now. We need to take advantage of this moment and actually win something from it. So I think that there's been kind of a greater focus and maybe crystallization of kind of the goals that they have in mind for this season.
00:31:23
Speaker
So I want to get into this team as we see it now eventually, but I do want to talk a little bit about the journey that the club has taken to get here and talk a little bit about the documentary series that if you haven't seen, I don't think it's like a
00:31:42
Speaker
peak achievement of filmmaking or anything, but it does provide some interesting insight into the team and it's pretty exciting to have a documentary series like that about your team so quickly out of the gate. First of all, what did you think of the ESPN Plus series that came out basically chronicling the first season?
00:32:01
Speaker
Yeah, I thought it was a good series overall. I mean, obviously from an LAFC perspective, there's a lot of stuff that you're like, oh, I know this, you know, I know what this is. I know who that is. I know what this is about. But there still is plenty of fodder, you know, behind the scenes items that I think even the most die hard.
00:32:21
Speaker
uh, supporters weren't aware of. Um, and I think from a, a general MLS perspective, you're right. It's interesting to, to look behind the curtain a little bit. I mean, there, there were some moments that were really, I was actually pretty surprised made it into the documentary in particular, uh, LAFC lost late in the season at Chicago and
00:32:42
Speaker
That whole episode, I think, was probably the best one of the series. Was that the Andre Horta episode? Bob Bradley's on the field, kind of cajoling, kind of chewing out Andre Horta for playing badly. And the team has a meeting after the game is over, and the cameras are actually watching them trying to process the loss. And the episode ends with Bob Bradley cursing, which is like,
00:33:12
Speaker
One of the, it's like kind of funny, kind of intense, you know, like one of those like, wow, they really went there. That's wow. Okay. That's pretty, you know, pretty gutsy, I guess, to, to actually put that those kind of words out there. Um, but there was plenty of, of Sheen and gloss on, on the whole series as well. I mean, I think that they definitely mixed up the, you know, these supporters are incredible and not to take anything away from the supporters. I think they've done a good job with the fan base, but.
00:33:41
Speaker
Um, you know, kind of the propaganda of it's so special here, balancing that with kind of those moments of things going wrong or acting kind of candid in a way that, um, you don't always see in these kinds of shows.
00:33:58
Speaker
Yeah, I will. I guess if there was one, it is funny you mentioned that like if there was one area where I felt like they maybe put a little of a overly glossy sheen on it is like, I think what the, like the three, three, two, five, two is pretty amazing to see.
00:34:13
Speaker
on TV. And I thought the game for me that really epitomized how special that is, is the Houston Dynamo game where there was this hour-long rain delay or however long it was. But when it came back out of the rain delay, the crowd was effectively gone.
LAFC's Documentary and Fan Culture
00:34:34
Speaker
There was dozens of people, seemingly.
00:34:36
Speaker
in the stands for the most part but the 3252 was packed and they were singing and it was kind of this kind of amazing thing to see that like this is really not this is not just for show this is actually a pretty impressive uh supporter section um i you know i think that you know from a from a journalism perspective it felt like you know
00:34:58
Speaker
ignoring the pea chant thing and some of the other elements was maybe doing a little disservice to the entire picture but it is I think it is very I gotta I have to admit I was very jealous watching large portions of this this documentary series just in the fan experience and the stadium and everything that's they've managed to put together in LA it does feel like
00:35:25
Speaker
in a lot of ways, you know, I think there are built in advantages to MLS teams that are launching today as opposed to that were launching 10 years ago and certainly 25 years ago, like the galaxy, but it does show some of the potential of, you know, how you can recapture a market that in some ways felt like it was maybe being lost. Yeah, for sure. I mean, I think obviously I have a stake in it, but I've always thought that there was a possibility that
00:35:55
Speaker
you know, Sock, MLS in LA can thrive with two teams. Um, you know, two teams can be successful side by side and, and help bring up the level of the league. And I mean, it's still pretty early, but both, uh, both of the LA teams are doing really well so far this year. Um, you know, they're in different kinds of moments as far as their, uh, front offices and coaching staffs and so forth. But, uh, I think that they're.
00:36:25
Speaker
It's showing that there's certainly, if you do it right, you can actually build a sustainable fan base. And I think that that's something that's pretty important for the whole league overall, because we've seen in a lot of markets, especially the bigger markets, that if the teams aren't really putting in the full effort, those teams can sometimes die on the vine. And so they need to really be like, you can't coast. And I hope that, my big hope
00:36:52
Speaker
it for both of the LA teams is that they don't get to a point where they're like, you know, we're doing really great. We don't need to spend as much on marketing. We can, you know, cut our this department in half. We, you know, like, I hope that they maintain that like pedal to the metal enthusiasm for it throughout.
LAFC Team Dynamics and Momentum
00:37:10
Speaker
Yeah. And it also makes me wonder what can be accomplished in someplace like New York if things had been going a little differently, especially with New York City, like FC. Whereas can you imagine, like it's just like you let your imagination run. It's like, imagine if New York City FC had made a point of saying like, no, we're going to have a stadium ready.
00:37:27
Speaker
Like if not for the first season, we're going to have it planned out and ready to break ground relatively or in the process. And I am worried that maybe so much momentum is being lost there by playing in a stadium. Like the first year seemed like it went great, you know, and not to get too off the rails here, but it does make me wonder if
00:37:46
Speaker
if that situation is hopefully can turn into, like hopefully LAFC is providing this example of what can be done in a market like that. But anyway, let's focus on this team that is now on the field. What would you describe as their ethos? Is it just attack, attack, attack, which seemed to be the idea last year, or does it feel more balanced this year?
00:38:14
Speaker
That's a good question. Um, I actually think it's probably pretty similar to what it was last year. I think the big difference is, um, you know, not to get into coach speak, but to like execution, right? Like I think last year it was like, they had these ideas for wanting to control the tempo, control the chances, you know, make sure that they were in charge in pretty much every game. But they had a lot of problems with dealing with, uh, opposing attacks and
00:38:43
Speaker
taking a lead and then coughing it up and, you know, not really being able to balance on both sides of the ball. And I think that the biggest difference this year so far has been the defense is much more steady. Um, seems to kind of roll with the punches better. They have been down, um, I think three or four times this season. So it's not like LAFC is racing out to a three, no lead, you know, 30 minutes in every single game.
00:39:10
Speaker
And if they hit a hard game, what's going to happen, you know, they are going down in games, but they're able to kind of fight back to get back in the game, turn it around. And then when they have a lead so far, they've been able to hold it up. So, I mean, I think that's the biggest difference. And I think, um, you know, obviously the goals are helping a lot. Um, you know, putting up a big leader or cruising to a big win, I think helps psychologically and it helps as far as.
00:39:38
Speaker
Not putting too much wear and tear on the players sometimes, but I also think that the biggest difference is the defense is just clicking a lot better this year. And they seem to be playing smarter and they seem to be working as a unit much better and so far that's paying off.
00:39:54
Speaker
Were there any big personnel? I guess Mark Anthony K being back is probably the single biggest addition to this team. Is there anything else? You know, Sounders fans haven't seen LAFC play up close and personal in almost a year. What other changes has this team undergone since the last time these two teams met?
00:40:16
Speaker
Yeah. So Kay, being back from his ankle injury, he broke his ankle in August against the galaxy. Uh, that's big, obviously. I think he's a player that, um, you know, he, he plays a really good two way game in midfield. He's also somebody who I think is kind of has an edge. Um, you know, something that I think was sort of whispered about LAFC last year was that they seemed a little bit soft at times that they, you know, weren't able to kind of get in and, and, you know,
00:40:45
Speaker
mess around, I guess, with the other other team. And he's somebody who, like, isn't afraid to, you know, step up, go face to face with the player if he doesn't like what's, you know, a given tackle or, you know, thinks his his teammates being treated poorly or whatever. And I think that that that's helping a lot. But I think the the biggest change, actually, I would say that 10 of the 11 starting spots are taken up right now by players who are on the team last year. The only change has been Eddie Segura.
00:41:15
Speaker
who was brought in on loan from Columbia. He's, I believe, 21. And they talked a big game about him, but it was sort of like, okay, well, I've never heard of this guy. What's he gonna do? He's been really great so far. He's sort of fit in seamlessly alongside Walker Zimmerman. And I was thinking about this earlier this morning. I think to a large extent,
00:41:42
Speaker
I think Zimmerman and Segura are probably the best center back pairing that LAFC have had to date. I know it hasn't been that long, but that was certainly a concern all throughout last season. Even when Laurence Iman and Zimmerman were playing together, there were a lot of nervous moments with those two. They could be dominant and they could be kind of a disaster together and you never quite knew what was going to happen. And I think it seems like Zimmerman and Segura
00:42:09
Speaker
pair up a lot better together. And so that's helped a lot with the defense improving, I think. And so I know that the, you know, there's a little bit of how the sausage is made here on no say at this, but this is being recorded before the game on Wednesday when LAFC are visiting the Vancouver Whitecaps. But if you could make a best guess as to how much rotation
00:42:34
Speaker
we're expecting to see between I guess last week's game and this week's game for the Sounders. Is your expectation that the starting lineup from the previous weekend is going to probably be the starting lineup for Sunday's game? I'd say based on the history with Bob Bradley so far, he doesn't seem to really want to make huge changes in most league games. So I expect there to be
00:43:02
Speaker
maybe minimal rotation for the Wednesday game. I'm projecting maybe two or three starters are slotted out. And I think for Seattle, it's probably going to be the full side or maybe one change at most. I think it's going to be pretty much the first unit, obviously health and suspension and whatever permitting. But I think it's going to be
00:43:26
Speaker
pretty close to the full group. And one thing to keep in mind is in June, they're not gonna play hardly any games aside from Open Cup. So I wouldn't be surprised if he really, Bradley goes really strong with his main group now on the expectation that they're gonna get a little bit of a rest in June.
Sounders' Attendance and Ticketing Strategy
00:43:47
Speaker
And we'll see if that actually comes to fruition, but yeah, I don't think there's gonna be tons of changes.
00:43:53
Speaker
Yeah. And so I guess the sound, I guess the upside for the Sounders is that they might be facing a team that has a little, that is actually playing on short rest. Yeah, for sure. Um, and it's the first time this season. So, you know, we'll have to see, I mean, um, you know, and you never know how things are going to go in the previous game. I mean, you know, this is MLS, anything can happen, but yeah, I think from the center's perspective, they'll be on short. Uh, LAFC is pretty likely to be on short rest, uh, most of their players. So.
00:44:23
Speaker
Um, it'll be a new experience for this season for that group. Yeah. And of course the sounders will be kind of repaying that favor the following weekend when they, this is an crazy part of MLS schedule making. I don't know what in the world led anyone to think that having the sounders in LAFC, who I think we all expected to be two of the best teams in the West to play both times within a week. That's crazy, right?
00:44:49
Speaker
Yeah, I think it's kind of weird. I mean, I think unless they're doing some kind of like prep for CCL or it would have been for the playoffs in the past, you know, you might've been like, well, this will be good practice, but the playoffs aren't even double, you know.
00:45:03
Speaker
home and away. So it doesn't, I mean, there's really no like, you can't even make up a narrative justification for doing it. So yeah, I think it's pretty weird, too. The Sounders had a similar thing with RSL. Now granted, those two teams weren't necessarily expected to be comparably competing for the playoffs, but they had a random midweek, you know, double with with RSL last year. But anyway, I guess this is MLS schedule making at its at its finest.
00:45:30
Speaker
But anyway, how confident would you say you're going into this slate of games between the Sounders and LAFC? I think it's going to be interesting. And again, I don't want to get ahead of myself, sound like a big Homer and be like, oh, this is it for the season. I don't want to be like, this is the turning point of the whole season. We're going to know everything after this. But I think this three game set is really pretty important for LAFC.
00:45:55
Speaker
Um, if they play, you know, Vancouver who has been struggling a lot and play them, you know, get a good result there. And then they, they do well against the Sounders. I mean, that's, that should vault them, you know, even higher and kind of the early shield, you know, reckoning. Um, and if they struggle against the Sounders in particular, uh, in one or both of the games, I think that's going to be a wake up call, you know, it's going to be like, okay, well, the first.
00:46:23
Speaker
you know, month or two has been going really well, but, you know, there are some problems that need to be addressed. Let's, you know, tap the brakes a little bit on kind of getting carried away with, you know, how great everything is going right now. So I think as far as kind of the pre, you know, gold cup break, um, era, I think this, this three game set is like really, really massive. Um, but yeah, I mean, like you said, it's early in the season. So like.
00:46:53
Speaker
you know, these teams are going to look like in September. I know. That's just the, that's the thing that kills me. I would love to have one of these two games be played in September or at least the summer. Heck we're, we're, we're still in this the first two months of the season here. It's not like either city is, um, like what there's not like a weather justification. Like it's not like where you're like, Oh, it's going to be a million degrees. So let's get this over with. It's like Seattle and LA are pretty, you know, temperate. So.
00:47:22
Speaker
don't know what what that's about. But anyway, yeah, here we go. Well, it will be fun. This is a, you know, an interest for sure, an interesting, interesting set of matchups here. And I do think it's kind of interesting that both teams are playing on the road.
00:47:37
Speaker
Um, or not on the road, but they're playing midweek games before they play their home match, which is kind of a funny coincidence that I don't, I can't imagine was on purpose, but, uh, I guess there's a ring of fairness to it in some ways. Um, but anyway, uh, thanks for coming on Alicia. Uh, definitely give Alicia a follow on Twitter. She's at soccer musings. Of course, angels on parade is out. Espinations.
00:48:03
Speaker
LAFC blog. And yeah, I mean, I'm looking forward to this week. I think it's going to be a lot of fun. I think LAFC has every reason to feel very confident going into this set of games, but I guess maybe that's easy to say as the opposition. Yeah, that's why they play the games, you know? Right, right. But anyway, thanks for doing this. And yeah, you're listening to NoS, adiates.
00:48:28
Speaker
Welcome back to NOS Adiete. So we have a bunch of questions. I'll just let Likit go ahead and take it away. Sure. Leading off with the big news ones. Abom88 asks, actually there's two questions related so I'll ask them and you guys can just talk about them. Abom88 asks, the last two sounder matches have had the same number reported for attendance, 37,722. Do you think they just are making that number up?
00:48:57
Speaker
By the way, the other two home matches were 37,725 and 39,011. And then Pbar96 asks, are full stadium matches a good thing? Why are they doing them this year and not in the last couple? Well, I'll tackle the second part of that question first, because I think it's a little bit more. Well, no, let's tackle the first part of the question. I did not notice. Well, I guess that makes sense. I didn't notice since I wasn't at the game, but I definitely did not notice that the attendance the last two games was exactly the same.
00:49:27
Speaker
And I'll say that I didn't even realize that it was so close to the game before that. But what I actually, I don't think, if they were making it up, I don't think that would happen because they would be presumably smarter than that and not announce the exact same number. I will agree that that's very weird. But my suspicion is that those are tickets distributed and that number is probably pretty static.
00:49:59
Speaker
right now because I think that they've reduced the seating manifest to the point that they just don't have, they're not doing walk-up sales really anymore. So I suspect that the actual attendance number is gonna be pretty steady. But anyway, that is funny.
00:50:18
Speaker
Yeah, it is it is kind of crazy. But yeah, I mean, I think you're right. Like, for one, you're right. It's always tickets distributed in every sport, everywhere. And at least in the United States, apparently in England, they don't do that. Well, good for them. Good for them. I don't know. But I, I
00:50:38
Speaker
Like, I don't know what the season ticket holder numbers are this year. And so I don't know what percentage of the stadium is season tickets sold, but I mean, it's it's weird that they would have sold the same number of walk up tickets for, you know, well, I don't think they're selling. I don't know this for sure, but I don't think my suspicion is that there's either no walk up tickets or very few walk up tickets available. But anyway, yeah.
00:51:09
Speaker
No, that seems right. Yeah, so and as far as the full stadium games go, I mean, I think the fact that they've reduced capacity this year is sort of indicative of the fact that they're kind of moving away from some of the initiatives that they've tried over the past few years, I think. The guy that put those things into place is no longer in the org. He's in the XFL now hanging out with Vince McMahon.
00:51:37
Speaker
I am curious as to get the backstory on that. I think it's Eric Gustafson is his name. I'm very curious if like what if he left on his own accord, if the sounders were dissatisfied with kind of the direction he took the ticket sales, but anyway go ahead.
00:51:54
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, I think in hindsight, it's probably fair to say that he did sort of maximize their profits in the short term, but maybe hindered some of their growth in the long term. And I don't want to say he. I mean, I don't know who all is involved in his decisions, but opening up the full stadium more or less for every game, taking away some of the
00:52:23
Speaker
the specialness of being able to get tickets. I think that that was a huge part of the buzz in the earlier years. And I think maybe the Sounders underestimated how far along they were in terms of how many tickets they could actually sell by doing that. So I think maybe they want to create a little bit more of that artificial scarcity and try to get some of that buzz back. And I also think that just picking four games that
00:52:50
Speaker
for various reasons I think are most likely going to be pretty important. And making a big deal out of them is a good way to go. I think that every time the sounders do anything related to ticketing, there's going to be a lot of assumption that it's some kind of a panic move. And I don't think it is.
Player Rotation and Lineup Strategy
00:53:10
Speaker
I mean, I think that they're just going to naturally change strategies over time. I think it's hard to deny that
00:53:17
Speaker
Um, some of the, the shine has probably worn off and then it's not as hard or as hot of a ticket as it used to be. Um, you know, five or six years ago, but I think that that's inevitable. And I think if you're in the sports business, you have to kind of realize that's going to happen. So, well, especially when you're playing in a stadium that effectively has unlimited seating, like whether or not you're limiting the number you're selling, everyone knows that.
00:53:44
Speaker
there's more tickets available. And if they had been playing in, let's just call it a 40,000 seat stadium this whole time. My suspicion is that there would be this buzz that there would be, that they'd probably be selling it out and that, you know, uh, it would be very different. But because they play in a 70,000 seat stadium and they're only selling, you know, uh, somewhere between half and 60% of those seats.
00:54:09
Speaker
I think it's just hard to create that, keep that buzz sustained. And, you know, they've won MLS Cup, they've brought in, you know, the most famous and arguably best American player of all time. They've brought in plenty of other exciting players. So I don't think that the
00:54:30
Speaker
that the easy explanations always pass the smell test for me. This is a team that's been competitive the whole time. Maybe the ticket prices, maybe the soccer community here is just really sensitive to ticket price changes. I think that's very possible.
00:54:50
Speaker
And I will say that I went to a Mariners game last night and I was kind of very impressed by how the variety of not just concessions, but even like beer that they have at that stadium, especially in comparison to what's available on a random match day for the Sounders is pretty remarkable. And so like stuff like that, I could see maybe, you know, wearing down Sounders fans to some degree, but I do think you're right that it's mostly kind of just the
00:55:20
Speaker
The shine is worn off. Uh, inner Pearson will ask going on seven games, new who has just a handful of minutes with Smith locking down the left back spot because of his great offensive production. When do we start worrying that Optus 2018 best 11 left back isn't getting the playing time he needs to grow?
00:55:39
Speaker
I mean, I've been worried about it. And I think it's a reasonable thing to be worried about. But I also think it's impossible to take Brad Smith out of that starter's role at this point. I think he's going to have to be exposed defensively on a consistent basis to lose the starting job. And I think Nuhu's going to get playing time. I mean, the Sounders are entering into a part of their schedule where they're going to play a lot of games on short rest.
00:56:07
Speaker
he's going to have opportunities. So it's a concern for me just because he's at the age, I think, where it's important that he's playing. But I don't think he's destined to spend all 34 games as a sub. I think that he's going to get probably 1,000 minutes this season, even if Brad Smith sticks around. So it's maybe not ideal for his development. But again, I mean, it's really hard
00:56:36
Speaker
to say that he should be starting over Brad Smith at this point. Yeah, I suspect we'll see him start soon. If not against LAFC on the road, then I think we'll see him start at home against the earthquakes on Wednesday. What would you like to see, though? We might as well bring that up. Would you rather see him or Smith against the road game for LAFC? I think that...
00:57:06
Speaker
It's tough because I think you want to play what you feel like is your best team against LAFC. But I think it also kind of has to be informed by what happens in the home leg, right? Or I guess we're not playing them at home first. So it can't really be. But that would be nice if it was. It would be really great.
00:57:27
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, I think that you, when you're playing the team that, uh, unless they lose to Vancouver currently has the claim on, on being the best team in MLS, you want to play your best lineup. But I think that there is a compelling case for playing new who, um, just because I think that he, you know, he's going to help shut down the side that LAFC does the most damage from, um, probably to an extent that Brad Smith can't, but
00:57:55
Speaker
You know, Brad Smith has been an important part of the Sounders possession game and
00:58:00
Speaker
I think the Sounders are much better when they're trying to defend by keeping possession than they've been when they try to defend by playing deep this season. So, I mean, I think that they're probably gonna play new who against San Jose. I think that's probably the right decision to make, but I think that there is a case that maybe you swap those two and play new who against LA.
00:58:27
Speaker
The problem, or against San Jose, but the problem is that if you make the decision to play Brad Smith and, you know, against LA and he has a rough game and you say, well, we can't really do that again next week, then, you know, New Who sits another game and then you're playing New Who at home, which is really more of a defensive kind of lineup. So I don't know. I think it's probably the safer call to play a midweek.
00:59:01
Speaker
Okay, moving on. Drone637 asks, how can you convince the team to quit going to five in the back? I mean, I know that there's a situation about that and I understand the frustration. I suppose the way you convince them is that it actually cost them points at some point. So far it hasn't cost them any points.
00:59:24
Speaker
Um, you know, they, you know, it's not been pretty, uh, necessarily, but they have managed to hold all the leads that they've been trying to hold when they go five to back. So I don't, I don't know that we're necessarily destined to see that change just because it's frustrating to watch at times. I will say that I didn't think they were.
00:59:49
Speaker
in as much trouble against Toronto over the last 10 minutes. Like I only watched the game after I knew the result. So maybe that unfairly colored my perception of what was happening. But I really didn't think they were under nearly as much danger as I kind of was expecting to see. Like they had the one chance in particular that
01:00:14
Speaker
that required the Stephen Fry fingertip save, but that was also a pretty tough shot from a tough angle and it looked like the sounders had that covered. And then there was the Lauren Seaman blast that went off the outside of the post.
01:00:31
Speaker
And that was definitely an unfortunate chance. I think that regardless of Spry having it covered, it was a bad giveaway. But I also think that was a situation where you had Kim trying to play out of the back instead of just kind of putting his foot through it.
01:00:49
Speaker
aside from those two chances, I actually thought they did a pretty good job and they were probably a little unlucky not to score a goal of their own. So I don't know, I think we're gonna see that five in the back, at least until it actually hurts them.
01:01:07
Speaker
I think you're right, which I get no, no joy out of saying for several reasons. My issue was not as much with the five at the back as it is the implementation. Yeah, I think, I think that the example of Kim, you know, trying to play out of the back when they're in that
01:01:29
Speaker
in that formation is a great example of that. If you've committed to playing nine guys behind the ball, five of whom are defenders, and you're playing a flat back five, just hoof it, man. Just hoof it into the corner and take the 30 seconds that eats up. You can't
01:01:49
Speaker
You can't play a formation like that, that deep, and try to play a possession game. You just can't do it. If they're going to play that style, they either need to just commit to parking the bus and, you know, hoofing the ball out of play, which I think they're doing it way too early in a lot of games to pull that off. Or I think that you need to push the full backs a little higher and play more of a traditional five at the back rather than a very flat five at the back.
01:02:19
Speaker
and try to have some outlets for the defenders and try to play a little bit more of a possession game.
01:02:27
Speaker
I wonder how much of it is making sure Roman Torres is getting playing time. Yeah, I think that's part of it, but I should say I think Torres has done okay in his... I think every Torres has ever been the problem. No, no, I don't either. I don't either. But I agree that I think there's an element of they're trying to keep Torres from totally losing it.
01:02:51
Speaker
Right, which, you know, I mean, that's that is part of coach's job, right, is keeping his players happy. And Torres, I mean, Torres has a right to feel like he's earned playing time. I don't think that he's being a diva by feeling like he should be playing, you know, more often than he is. So it's not like he's, you know, been a terrible player for the Sounders. And I mean, he just kind of lost his job in unfortunate circumstances. So
01:03:15
Speaker
So I get it. It's very frustrating to watch because I don't feel like they're playing it in a way that's conducive to doing what they're actually trying to do. The Chicago game I think was the worst where they switched to that formation, gave up a goal, came very, very close to giving another one and blowing a huge lead.
01:03:35
Speaker
And I think that that's probably colored people's opinions, myself included, because I'm pretty vocal about not being a huge fan of it. But I want to see them get better at it. And until they do, I'm never going to feel truly comfortable. I will say, I like that they have the flexibility to do it.
Debate: Effectiveness of Five-at-the-Back Formation
01:03:56
Speaker
This is not a team that has always been able to do that. Yeah, that's fair. But they might be going to the well too many times, anyway.
01:04:04
Speaker
I just want them to get better at it or don't play flat. Right. Yeah. Also, it doesn't seem like Brad Smith is best. Neither Brad Smith nor Kelvin Lyrdom are particularly well suited to playing as flat, you know, flat five defenses. Maybe if Torres upped his fashion game, he'd get more playing time.
01:04:28
Speaker
Maybe. Could be. You never know. All right. Kenneth M. Young asks, how do you view the season that Tacoma has had so far? And how do you think the Sounders front office views it? Personally, I don't think it's really a surprise. I think that when you've got as many kids playing up a level or two, as the Sounders do, that the start is probably going to be pretty rough.
01:04:56
Speaker
I don't think that it was anticipated that it would be this rough necessarily, but I think that it's reasonable to believe they're going to get better as the season goes along. Maybe not. I mean, and that's part of the risk in taking this approach with your USL team. You know, maybe they don't. But if they don't get better this year, they're probably going to get a lot better next year.
01:05:18
Speaker
And, you know, I'm sure there's some frustration within the Sounders Run office and I'm sure there's some frustration with, you know, the Rainier's on the business side that they've been as bad as they have. But it's not, I mean, I don't think that this is a strategy that you can bank on being successful in terms of being competitive within league play every season.
01:05:44
Speaker
It's not always going to be there. Sometimes it's not going to come together. Sometimes you're going to have a thinner academy class than needed the year before. But I think it's the right thing for the organization and the defiance of there to develop players for the organization. Yeah, I would say that I think the organization has actually gone on record. You know, Brett Garth Legaway, his logger ways,
01:06:13
Speaker
was on centers weekly this week and he was talking about it and he doesn't sound like he's happy with the results and I don't blame him for not being happy with the result because it's not like they're just losing a bunch of two to one games you know they're
01:06:26
Speaker
They've been pretty badly beaten, most recently 5-0 by the Las Vegas lights. And I can understand how that's concerning because you start to pile up losses like that, and you can see how it maybe harms the development. But I also think that they're doing the right thing here. And I wasn't sure that they were going to do this, but I get it now.
01:06:51
Speaker
You know, they're letting their top Academy guys still play in these big Academy tournaments. So you saw Danny Leyva and Alfonso Ocampo Chavez and Ray Serrano and a few other guys playing in the GA Cup. And they're playing, you know, they're not playing other MLS academies in this thing. They're playing against the River Plate Academy, who might very well be the top Academy in the Western Hemisphere.
01:07:16
Speaker
So these are good learning, these are good learning opportunities for them. But I also think that there's, whether or not they're doing well, I think the strategy makes sense. I think it makes sense to throw these guys into the fire, see how they perform against grown men. I think it makes a lot more sense to do that than to sign a bunch of 16, 17, 18 year olds to the first team and just let them languish on the bench.
Tacoma Defiance's Season Focus
01:07:43
Speaker
You know, I think they're trying to do the right thing. Now, it's not playing out, you know, through the first six games or whatever the way that I think they wanted it to. But that that doesn't necessarily mean it was a bad strategy. But yeah, I mean, results got to improve. And I think that there's there's reasons for them to expect them to.
01:08:05
Speaker
I think they're always going to have a disadvantage having to play against some of these USL like pro USL teams. Yeah, but I they will. I 100% agree there's always going to be a disadvantage there to some degree, but I also think that that's kind of irrelevant to what they're trying to do. They're not trying to win USL championships. Now do they want to be competitive for the purposes of development? Of course they do, but you know whether or not they win at any given game is not as important as.
01:08:35
Speaker
as how they play. True. Hey, while we're on the subject, Cthulhu Lemon asks, U17 has just knocked off one of the best academies in the hemisphere in the GEA Cup. How long until we see the first wave pushing for real first team minutes and calls out Leyva and AOC? And how will that change how we build the first team roster?
01:09:00
Speaker
You know, I, this is what I'll echo it. Lago way said he's, he thought it was going to be two years until we really see this, this generation of players pushing for first team minutes before we can expect them to. I don't think Danny Leyva is on the precipice of starting. I don't think.
01:09:17
Speaker
Nothing I've seen from Alfonso Ocampo Chávez at Defiance suggests to me that he's ready for MLS minutes. So I think that there are, yeah, you know, at least a year, if not two or three away from seeing that. And that's okay. You know, Leiva's 15. Ocampo Chávez is 17. You know, these are young, young players, and I wouldn't necessarily expect them to be pushing for first team minutes.
01:09:42
Speaker
I think if anything, I'm a little I'm a little disappointed that we haven't seen more of him. Wanna this year, because I think he looked like he had made a step forward late last year and that we've hardly seen him play any like I think we saw him play 90 minutes in Tacoma in the one game that they won. But I don't I don't know that we've seen him at all of them, have we? He played against Las Vegas. OK, he did play against Las Vegas.
01:10:11
Speaker
Not a great performance, apparently. Yeah. OK. Change of subjects. Score prediction for LAFC away and LAFC home from MattLee69. Assuming Raul Rudeas can play,
01:10:35
Speaker
And I think that's a fairly safe assumption, but I'm still throwing that caveat out there. I think that the sounders will lose away, let's say three to one, and when at home, let's say three to two. I was going to say, I actually feel pretty decent about their ability to pull out a result on the road.
01:11:00
Speaker
I'm going to probably eat those words, but I, I'm going to say two, two in LA and three, two in Seattle. Okay. Uh, let's see along those lines. Muffin top model asks her says L A S T away. San Jose at home. LAFC at home. What kind of rotation do we do? Do we just play the same starting 11 versus San Jose that we did versus Sacramento?
01:11:28
Speaker
Oh, I don't think you need to do that. Um, I think the rotate, like, so first of all, I think that there are probably six or seven guys who we can reasonably expect to play all three games. Fry, uh, Lirdham. Well, maybe not Lirdham. Let's say Fry, Lidero, Roll Dawn.
01:11:52
Speaker
For sure, those three I think are guaranteed and maybe even Kim. So that's four that I think are basically guaranteed to play in all three games as long as they stay healthy. I think Leardum is a pretty good candidate to play in all three and I think that
01:12:10
Speaker
Rodriguez or Morris will probably play in all three. And I think there's a chance that Svensson
Preview of Upcoming Sounders Matches
01:12:16
Speaker
plays in all three. And if all those guys play in all three, you're talking about eight out of 11 guys. So you don't need to do a ton of rotation, but I think Bruin's going to start at least one of those games, assuming he's healthy.
01:12:30
Speaker
And I think that's probably the San Jose game. I think ship probably starts one of those games, probably the San Jose game. I would think that's probably that's for either Rodriguez or Morris. And then I think Delham probably is going to start one of the, probably the San Jose game in the midfield. I think new who is going to start one of the games probably at probably again, San Jose. And I think Torres is going to start probably against San Jose as well. Yep.
01:13:00
Speaker
Yeah, I think you're pretty much right on. I mean, I guess if you get three points in LA, maybe that changes the equation, but I don't know why it would because San Jose still sucks ass. I mean, I guess if you get three in LA, maybe you're inclined to just
01:13:24
Speaker
push it and go for three. Are you saying if you get three in LA, you just play all the starters in San Jose and then just go with like a more of a mixed lineup? Yeah, but that doesn't make any sense because the more I think about it, because San Jose is bad. And I mean, I mean, like if we if we were coming back here and playing LA midweek, maybe that would make sense. But we're not. We're playing San Jose and they suck. So.
01:13:51
Speaker
As a footnote, I'd like to say that I'm really, I mean, I kind of said this already when I was talking to Alicia, but it is a bummer that that game is being, that these two games are so close to each other because I feel like just from a tactical perspective, I'd like to see how these teams match up early in the season and late in the season instead of twice early in the season. Yeah, it happens every year and it's always frustrating. It's always really frustrating because there just doesn't seem like there's a good reason for it.
01:14:20
Speaker
Um, other than they just don't really seem to care to avoid it that much, but right. I don't know. It's weird way to go out on limb though. Calling fry for all three games there, Jeremiah. Right. Big call there. I know. Let's see. The safety lemur asks, is there any concern over the lack of luxurious hair on the team?
01:14:46
Speaker
There's not a ton of great hair on the team. Roman's hair is great, obviously. But I mean, it's not like there's a ton of bad hair, you know? But yeah, there's nothing mind-blowing, really. I think Jordan has had good hair this year. A little different comb job. Yeah. It's kind of a 40s kind of thing. I like it.
01:15:13
Speaker
I have to say, I would not have guessed that Morris would be a guy who has a fair amount of style, but it does seem like he has come to the game with a look every game. Like if you read Tim Foss's fitness column, he has called out Jordan Morris several times and whether or not you love his style, there is a style there. I'm kind of.
01:15:39
Speaker
I wouldn't necessarily have expected that. I wonder if he's getting help or if that's something he's just into. It feels like he's one of those guys that buys the look in a box thing. Could be. I wouldn't be shocked if some of his teammates, maybe some of the veterans were like, hey, you're a very good looking dude making decent money. In the mid six figures, you can afford to dress very well. I will say this.
01:16:05
Speaker
I've never been someone who had tailored clothes. That's going to shock you all, I'm sure. But man, I can't say if I was making, if I was a professional athlete, even if I wasn't making great money, I would feel a lot of pressure to have tailored clothes. Yeah. I mean, I think too, like if you have the body of a professional athlete, like I think that it's a much more compelling thing to talk yourself into. Yeah. Like there's no point in putting lipstick on this pig, right? Like I'm not going to spend
01:16:36
Speaker
a ton of money. Like, you know, like I try to buy nice clothes and like look presentable or whatever. Right. I'm not going to. I mean, I barely do that. Spoke shit, you know, like, well, you don't have to leave the house during the day, really. Right. Right. Yeah. Like, but I mean, if you I mean, if you looked like a professional footballer, you'd probably want to show that off a little bit more, I think. Yeah. I think you are skinny jeans if you were professional. Come on. Yeah. I mean, I will say this as a
01:17:06
Speaker
As someone who has seen more of these players up close and personal, I get the desire to wear skinnier cut jeans than like a schlub like myself, who I'm like, no, I'm, I'm wearing something that you can't see anything under it. You know, I don't want anyone, my body, I'm a box. The more mystery, the better. You're just a meat bag. Okay.
01:17:34
Speaker
This one will test your knowledge of beyond soccer. Matt Oak asks, convince me we're going to beat LA FC using only game of thrones references. I should have really prepared. No, did that on purpose. Go on. Only game of throne references. So I feel like we are.
01:17:57
Speaker
We are, this is probably the most similar, and I just read this part of the book, so maybe that's where my mind is. But I suppose that in this case, LAFC is looking a lot like Stannis Baratheon's army when they were getting ready to take King's Landing. They had all the ships, they had this massive navy, they were going to storm through Blackwater Bay and just overrun King's Landing.
01:18:27
Speaker
I think that King's Landing had plenty of, you know, they had, they had, they had plenty of surprises up their own, up their alley. Uh, not the least of which was dragon fire or hell. What was it? Is it dragon fire? Wildfire. Thank you. I knew that was wrong. Wildfire.
01:18:45
Speaker
And, uh, I don't know who our wildfire is necessarily, but I feel like, you know, this is, this is the potential here where the, the paper says maybe we're the underdogs, but we've got a formidable force of our own. Yeah, that works for me. I don't want to put any thought into this to say, uh, Bob Bradley kind of reminds me of the night King. Oh yeah. Yeah, I can see that. We don't want him to win.
01:19:15
Speaker
Okay, last question, wrapping up with this. Freeman Mester asks, thinking about Russell Wilson's in-bed video contract announcement, what sounder would you most like an in-bed announcement from? I couldn't bring myself to watch it. That seemed way too cringy to me. It was creepy. I mean, maybe Christian. I think Christian. Because I feel like Christian could play the part best. He's got a very cherubic face.
01:19:47
Speaker
You know, like it seems like it would be calming to see. I'm actually surprised that Raul hasn't done one yet on his Instagram. Right. But I thought the one I want to see most, but I think he's the one most likely to do it for sure. For sure. That's it. All right. All right. Well.
01:20:07
Speaker
Uh, in case you, you will not be shocked by this news, but, uh, because you're going to be listening to this tomorrow when you well know the result, but LAFC has fallen to the Whitecaps, which is, I guess, good, kind of a shame at the same time, or no, they haven't fallen. What am I talking about? It's 83rd minute. I don't know why. They're probably not going to score though. Other than watching. I may have just jinxed it. I don't know why I thought the game was over. Oh, because they're acting like it, I guess.
01:20:36
Speaker
Uh, anyway, maybe it was just cause the show was ending and I just felt in my mind that the thing was over. Anyway, uh, that was the show. Thanks to Alicia Rodriguez for joining us and talking about this upcoming LAFC matchup. Uh, thanks to our sponsor, full pull wines, who we absolutely love and I hope you guys are giving them lots of business.
01:21:01
Speaker
And yeah, I guess that's that. I'm Jeremiah Shan signing off on behalf of Aaron Campo in Lickett. This is No Study Yetis. Remember, you'll never go to Lickett. Green Douglas, where were the waters cut through? Mountain-wild mountains and tangents you flew. Canadian Northwest to the ocean so blue. It's Rollong, Columbia Rollong.
01:21:28
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!