0:01

What's going on everybody? Welcome in to episode 32 of Lobbing

0:02

Scorchers.

0:07

This is Ari Lillianwall. I'm joined virtually here by producer

0:09

Noah.

0:12

Noah, say what's up to the people.

0:14

It's always a good day when it's not an L

0:14

-Pod, Ari.

0:17

You know, some people don't want to hear

0:17

it, but it's not an L -Pod.

0:21

I like that positive outlook. We got another doozy of a show for you

0:22

today, folks.

0:25

The Seattle Sounders drew the LA Galaxy

0:25

zero zero at Lumen Field last night in an

0:30

absolutely riveting display of attacking

0:30

soccer from both clubs.

0:34

Exactly as I predicted on the preview

0:34

show.

0:37

I mean, it was it was wild out there.

0:39

Just great chances flying back and forth.

0:42

Dynamic attacking play. There is one point, though, where I

0:44

thought I was watching Real Madrid play

0:48

against Barcelona. the apex of both of their powers.

0:53

So truly incredible stuff. Can't wait to break that down.

0:56

And then we're going to talk about some

0:56

other stuff too.

1:00

The Columbus crew have made it to the

1:00

CONCACAF Champions Cup final.

1:03

Should you root for them? We're going to talk about that.

1:06

Leon O'Meesey smashed a couple more MLS

1:06

records and it undermined my content

1:10

creating venture. I've got a funny little story for you guys

1:11

about that one.

1:15

So it wasn't the most exciting Sounders

1:15

game of all time, but...

1:19

we're still going to have a fun show here.

1:21

Before we get into all that, I want to do

1:21

the standard housekeeping at the top of

1:27

the show. The first thing I wanted to do was thank

1:27

our surprisingly lengthy list of new paid

1:34

subs. We've got a lot of people here.

1:38

Once again, can't emphasize enough how

1:38

much we appreciate everyone who's signed

1:42

up for that. I'm going to just go down the list here.

1:46

We've got Owen Mason. Thank you, Owen.

1:49

David. We got Christopher Mailey coming in with a

1:51

$10 sub.

1:54

Noah, I think you said you knew

1:54

Christopher somehow.

1:59

You're the gopher. You're our very first $10 sub, so that's

2:00

much appreciated.

2:04

We've got Bill Breitenbach. We've got Mike Lentini.

2:07

Sorry if I'm mispronouncing any of these

2:07

names.

2:09

We've got Aaron B. And we've got Derek Richards.

2:12

Thank all you guys so much for

2:12

subscribing.

2:17

And then I think that was all the ones for

2:17

the new ones.

2:20

But we've also got Sounder Naves. We've got Dan Piveto.

2:22

We've got my guy Mike Standish, Ryan

2:22

Shane, Eric Stanley, my nephews, CJ Miles

2:27

Maranakis, Andy Hill, Ian Mitchell, and

2:27

Greg Hoker.

2:30

I want to thank you all for watching. to give a special shout out to Greg

2:30

because he was the one who, the first one

2:34

to sub and he kind of kick started the

2:34

momentum on this.

2:37

So shout out to you, Greg. But we're up to 16 active subscribers now.

2:41

We really appreciate it, guys. And I was going to set a goal.

2:43

We're up to 16. I'm setting a goal of 50 right now.

2:47

Help us on the drive to 50 subs.

2:49

yes. And it really, the more we get, the more

2:50

it motivates us to continue churning out

2:57

this content. And the more we get, I would say, we might

2:57

start churning these out even more

3:02

regularly if we're incentivized as such.

3:05

So thank you guys so much.

3:07

It's honestly, I mean, no, we were talking

3:07

about it off air a couple of days ago, but

3:11

it's kind of just mind blowing how.

3:13

the response we've gotten both in terms of

3:13

listenership and then when we plug the

3:16

paid subs every time we get a couple more.

3:19

So thank you so much to our listeners and

3:19

subscribers.

3:24

I also want to, yeah, go ahead.

3:27

was just going to say we are so like every

3:27

single time we get a sub, we are giddy.

3:31

We're like children on Christmas or or

3:31

Hanukkah.

3:36

Yeah, literally, exactly.

3:38

So yeah, thank you guys for that. And I also, I wanted to plug our new

3:40

YouTube page again.

3:44

We're trying to grow our presence on

3:44

there.

3:48

And the Lobbings Quarters YouTube is at 33

3:48

subscribers right now.

3:53

That's not enough. I'm setting that goal at 100 subs.

3:56

I want triple digits on that.

3:58

It's frankly, you know, it's 33 subs, man.

4:01

Like that's tough for me to see.

4:03

I need that up above triple digits.

4:06

So if you could, if you're

4:09

to this right now and you haven't yet sub

4:09

to the Lobby Scorcher's YouTube we gotta

4:12

we gotta grow those numbers and thank you

4:12

to everyone who already has sub to that we

4:16

honestly like you know I joke but we've

4:16

we've got a little bit of solid momentum

4:22

on there right now and we're racking views

4:22

we're getting more subs every day so thank

4:28

you to everyone who has subscribed to that

4:28

as well

4:33

Before we get into this riveting Sounders

4:33

game, though, I do have, unfortunately,

4:38

something sad to report, which is that I

4:38

don't know the rules of the sport that I

4:43

cover. I'm going to have to, unfortunately, run a

4:44

little correction from the last episode on

4:49

the Stephen Fry Dog So Red card getting

4:49

overturned.

4:52

We were talking about it on the last show.

4:56

And I was saying that if that play at DC

4:56

United was called.

5:02

was called a foul, it would have to be a

5:02

dog so red.

5:04

And so they were essentially, like, I

5:04

didn't understand, like, how it could be a

5:09

foul and a penalty, but not a red card.

5:13

That didn't make sense to me. But it turns out that the rule is that if

5:14

you're making a play on the ball, but

5:20

you... end up fouling the guy, which is what

5:21

happened. The correct call in that scenario actually

5:23

should have been a foul and a penalty, but

5:28

just a yellow card and not a red. I didn't know that.

5:31

I thought anytime you have a dog -sauce

5:31

scenario, it was just like an auto red.

5:37

So I had a few people, there was a couple

5:37

people in the YouTube comments who I think

5:42

pointed that out. I got a couple of tweets about that.

5:45

Fair play, you know, if I ever make a

5:45

mistake like that on the show.

5:47

You know, it's called laughing scorchers

5:47

for a reason.

5:50

Like sometimes I just get on the mic here

5:50

and I pop off even when I don't know

5:54

exactly what I'm talking about. So this is an example of.

5:58

that happening and I'll always put my hand

5:58

up and admit it if I get something wrong.

6:03

So yeah, the stuff and fry play should

6:03

have been a foul penalty and a yellow,

6:11

which, you know, it frankly doesn't make

6:11

that sequence any less frustrating because

6:18

they would have had the penalty kick, but

6:18

Seattle would have at least still had 11

6:21

guys. So definitely all around unfortunate.

6:27

between Steph and Frye getting sent off,

6:27

retroactively overturned, and then me

6:32

incorrectly relaying the rules on the

6:32

show.

6:34

Noah, you were trying to victory lap me

6:34

both in the YouTube comments and on the

6:38

group chat. I award you no points for that because you

6:38

didn't know this double jeopardy rule

6:42

either. If you had pointed that out in real time,

6:42

I would give you that one.

6:47

But. I don't like, I feel like I don't actually

6:48

feel that bad for not knowing that rule

6:52

because it's a pretty, it's a pretty weird

6:52

play.

6:55

It's a bit of a like freak situation.

6:57

And I've, I've literally, I've never seen

6:57

that.

6:59

I never, I've never seen that exact play

6:59

on a ball over the top where you have the

7:05

goalkeeper who commit a penalty kick foul,

7:05

which to me looked like dog.

7:10

So, but like there's this weird kind of

7:10

wrinkle there where if he's, if it can be

7:16

reasonably perceived that he's making a

7:16

play on the ball, which I think if you,

7:19

that replay, there is that reasonable

7:19

perception there.

7:22

It's a penalty, but a yellow card, and you

7:22

don't get sent off.

7:26

So anyway, it makes sense.

7:30

of us knew how to do it or knew what it

7:30

knew what it was, like I think it was a,

7:35

it's, it's the right call. It's the right call.

7:38

Well, yeah, but they didn't make the right

7:38

call on the field.

7:40

not make the right call. They retroactively made the right call.

7:44

made the right call and I have no

7:44

grievances about that having actually

7:49

learned the rules of the sport that I

7:49

cover.

7:53

Okay. It gets so convoluted with this stuff.

7:58

I really, I don't feel bad.

8:00

Let's get into this Sounders game, Noah.

8:03

Just get it out of the way. I think I said on Twitter when I was

8:04

collecting your guys' questions that I

8:07

don't plan on spending all that much time

8:07

on this game.

8:12

But we'll probably get on a big old

8:12

tangent about it.

8:17

But I would say out of all the frustrating

8:17

matches that we've watched this season,

8:22

this one against the LA Galaxy at

8:22

Lumenfield last night might have been the

8:26

most frustrating just in terms of.

8:30

of how it played out for Seattle.

8:33

But let's talk about the lineup reaction

8:33

first.

8:35

To be fair, I think this was exactly how I

8:35

would run it.

8:38

I was excited to see Obid Vargas playing

8:38

right mid in this game, and I thought it

8:43

went pretty well again. After he dominated in Philly starting the

8:44

game, he started the game in the deeper

8:50

line midfield spot in that game. But he was moved up a line in this game

8:52

where he had played a little bit

8:56

previously this season. And I think that's an example of

8:57

something.

9:00

We've been asking quite a bit on this show

9:00

for different wrinkles, maybe moving a guy

9:08

like that. Obitz spent most of his career as a

9:10

defensive midfielder.

9:14

And I've liked what I've seen from him

9:14

playing up a line.

9:18

I thought that...

9:20

I thought that he was dominant in the Philly game. I mean, the title of the last episode was,

9:22

I think, aptly Obed Vargas is the greatest

9:27

player alive, which, you know, we're being

9:27

slightly facetious, but he had a dominant

9:30

game in that. So I like to move from Schmitz to move him

9:31

up a line there.

9:35

You had right back Christian rolled on out

9:35

of necessity with with his brother Alex

9:39

rolled on suspended for this game for his

9:39

red card against the Whitecaps.

9:43

And then with the front four, you have

9:43

Albert Rusnak at the 10 flanked by Jordan

9:48

Morris and Obed with Raul.

9:51

top. So you know I had I had really no

9:52

grievances with the lineup.

9:55

I like the JP Atencio double pivot.

9:57

The back line is how I would run it. So I really, me personally, I don't think

9:59

there's all that different of a way I

10:05

would align that up. You know there's the anti -Rusnack brigade

10:06

who probably would have put Christian at

10:09

the 10, started Cody Baker, all that

10:09

stuff.

10:11

I mean I don't subscribe to that so in

10:11

this scenario I thought they lined it up

10:16

correctly. The Galaxy were shorthanded for this game,

10:18

which that was another thing I kind of...

10:24

bungled on the preview show, although one

10:24

of the injuries to Ricky Puj happened

10:28

after we recorded, to be fair. But Dejan Jovalic, who I was talking about

10:29

when we were previewing it as if we were

10:34

going to play, he's actually been hurt

10:34

for, he was like hurt for a week before

10:37

that. So he was never going to play in this game. But I thought the big news was that Ricky

10:39

Puj didn't end up playing in this game

10:44

because I mean, that guy, he's really like

10:44

the, the undisputed engine for everything

10:49

that the LA galaxy do. And,

10:54

I think you saw that in this game, like

10:54

without him, as much love as I give to

10:59

Joey Paints and as much as I enjoy

10:59

watching him play and think that he's one

11:03

of the best DPs in MLS right now, without

11:03

Ricky Puj pulling the strings, they didn't

11:09

really have all that much in attack and

11:09

Joey Paints and Gabriel Peck were pretty

11:15

much neutralized. And then without Jovaldic too, they didn't

11:16

really, they didn't have anyone who.

11:20

could finish whatever chances that they

11:20

did create.

11:23

So the galaxy were down pretty bad, but

11:23

like it honestly makes it more frustrating

11:27

because they were kind of ripe for the

11:27

taking.

11:30

They did not really get especially close

11:30

to getting their offense running like

11:34

they're normally able to run it when that

11:34

front four is all healthy.

11:39

So really like all you need to do is score

11:39

one goal and you probably win this game.

11:43

So I think that's kind of what makes it.

11:47

very tilting that Seattle couldn't get

11:47

that done.

11:50

But the defense, Seattle's defense did

11:50

keep a clean sheet pretty easily.

11:54

Joey Paints didn't do all that much, but

11:54

Seattle's.

11:59

Execution offensively, particularly in

11:59

transition was just way off all game.

12:03

I thought they actually did a decently

12:03

good job at getting a lot of transition

12:08

opportunities, which when you're playing a

12:08

Galaxy team that is shorthanded and likely

12:14

okay with scraping out a 0 -0, getting out

12:14

in transition and trying to hurt them on

12:21

the break is what you should be doing.

12:23

So they did a good job winning the ball. They did a good job of getting out and

12:25

running.

12:28

But they just and yeah, they they possess

12:28

decently well, but I thought really I

12:35

thought really the biggest chances that

12:35

they had to to score in this game were in

12:40

Transition and they just they were not

12:40

especially close to finishing off any of

12:44

those those buildups They had some good

12:44

buildups, which is that's why it was so

12:48

frustrating because there was a decent

12:48

once again It was kind of classic sounders

12:53

like there's a decent amount of good ball

12:53

that was actually played but then but like

12:58

I thought the execution and transition was

12:58

worse than it usually is.

13:07

They would just get to the end of it, and

13:07

they would either flub the chance or...

13:15

It's just too conservative, Noah. It's not aggressive enough.

13:21

When they're getting into those final

13:21

actions in the final third in or near the

13:26

penalty box, there's too much slowing it

13:26

up and then recycling possession and then

13:32

digging it around. And by that time, LA's defense is reset.

13:36

And you haven't capitalized on the

13:36

opportunity that you had in transition in

13:41

a way that actually got you a good look.

13:44

I thought Leo Chu had the best of the game on one of those transition

13:46

opportunities where a ball kind of snuck

13:50

through the area and he had he was wide

13:50

open and he scoured the shot and it's just

13:57

one of those ones where like you know if

13:57

you if you haven't saved that's one thing

14:01

but like can you at least get it on target

14:01

my guy like I don't know it's but

14:09

the whole stadium was like they saw that

14:09

play in slow motion and everyone was like

14:15

getting up out of their seats around me.

14:17

And then he just absolutely bricks it into

14:17

the stands and everyone was just laid back

14:23

in their seat, hands on their face like,

14:23

my God, is this not the perfect

14:29

personification of the Seattle Sounders in

14:29

the last two seasons?

14:33

it was, I think that was the moment I

14:33

realized that they are not scoring in this

14:38

game. I mean.

14:40

To be fair to Leo Chu, I didn't think

14:40

anyone in the front four really covered

14:44

themselves in glory in this game. I thought Jordan had a bit of a rough one.

14:48

As much as I don't really subscribe to the

14:48

anti -Rustak brigade, I didn't think he

14:53

had a particularly good game. I didn't think Raul had a particularly

14:55

good game.

14:59

So it was just another tough go on

14:59

offense.

15:03

And I don't really know what to say about

15:03

that at this point, other than that it's

15:06

just something that we've seen too much

15:06

this season.

15:10

and it manifested itself in this game.

15:13

But I think the unfortunate thing is like

15:13

you're coming off a game against Philly

15:17

where you actually did, you scored three

15:17

goals and you had a pretty good

15:23

performance again, DC United despite the

15:23

red card that got rescinded and all that.

15:29

So it just, there's an opportunity here to

15:29

build on those things and.

15:35

establish some momentum on offense that

15:35

has been so sorely lacking this year.

15:40

And I mean, a 0 -0 against a short -handed

15:40

Galaxy team who couldn't get particularly

15:46

close to scoring themselves. You know, I thought New Who pretty much

15:47

pocketed Joey Paints again.

15:50

That's two games in a row against the

15:50

Galaxy where New Who's pocketed Joey

15:55

Paints. And I guess it was encouraging to see the

15:56

defense.

16:03

play well, but like, I don't really know

16:03

how much to read into that with this

16:06

Galaxy team, with the personnel that they

16:06

put out there.

16:09

It did kind of underscore to me like how

16:09

much the Galaxy really do rely on Ricky

16:16

Pooj. Like they really didn't seem like they had

16:16

anything going without him.

16:23

So. Which is interesting because I think like

16:23

how to not to translate that directly to

16:29

the sounders, but how much of that is kind

16:29

of reflected on how the sounders have been

16:35

playing without De La Vega.

16:38

Yeah, I mean, we haven't seen De La Vega

16:38

play enough yet to know if he has the same

16:44

type of impact that Ricky Puj does.

16:47

But I mean, like I knew that Ricky Puj was

16:47

one of the best players in the league.

16:52

But like I've been watching a lot of

16:52

Galaxy this year with that front four all

16:58

healthy. And it's really like, you know, it's like

16:59

an unstoppable freight train when they get

17:03

running. And.

17:05

They just, it was a very, very stark

17:05

contrast.

17:08

They were not able to replicate that at

17:08

all.

17:12

There was one kind of cool and fun thing

17:12

for Seattle in this game, which was we had

17:16

an MLS debut.

17:19

Georgie Menungu of Tacoma Defiance, he got

17:19

on the field in this game.

17:26

And I can't say I've watched him play all

17:26

that much.

17:29

I haven't watched that much TAC -D this

17:29

year, but.

17:33

I was into it, Noah.

17:35

He was out there. I liked that he seemed fearless.

17:39

He didn't seem overwhelmed by the moment.

17:42

There was a couple of sequences where he

17:42

got off and running, and he was making

17:49

stuff happen. I'm down to see more of him at this point.

17:53

That's the kind of thing that...

17:55

Yeah, I mean, it's the kind of thing

17:55

where...

18:00

you might as well start throwing stuff at

18:00

the wall and see if it sticks.

18:05

So I was glad that Schmitz got him out

18:05

there.

18:07

I thought that, you know, it was kind of a

18:07

fun little storyline, a fun respite from

18:12

an entire game of watching the team

18:12

struggle to generate offense.

18:15

And I thought he acquitted himself well,

18:15

but needless to say, the squad is now two,

18:22

three, and five, 11th in the West.

18:25

13 goals on the season, which...

18:29

I mean, I'll just say it's not enough

18:29

goals in terms of the amount of goals

18:32

that. From the Montreal game.

18:36

and two games in Philly. They're yeah, they're yeah.

18:41

So if you add up the Montreal game in the

18:41

Philly game, that's eight of their 13

18:47

goals and they have five goals in the rest

18:47

of their games.

18:51

You know, I don't think it's any secret to

18:51

anyone who's been watching this team or

18:56

frankly, anyone who plays for or coaches

18:56

this team that the offensive output has

18:59

not been high enough. We've talked about it on the show ad

19:00

nauseam.

19:02

So that's why I didn't really want to

19:02

spend all that great deal amount of time

19:06

in this game. I don't feel like there's. all that much different to take away from

19:08

it from a lot of the other games that we

19:12

watched this year.

19:15

Okay, hold on real quick. No, I ordered food. I gotta go grab it, but I'll be back next,

19:17

so mark that.

19:46

Sorry. You're good. So yeah, I mean, unless you have any other

19:52

broader takeaways from what we saw at

19:58

Lubin Field yesterday, I figure we can

19:58

just jump into the open cup preview and

20:01

take people's questions. But.

20:04

I just had a couple of things that I

20:04

thought that I personally noticed is I

20:09

thought that the Sounders defended really

20:09

well in transition on the counter attack.

20:13

I understand that Ricky Pooj wasn't there

20:13

and that honestly, probably if Ricky Pooj

20:17

was there, it would be a three nil game.

20:21

But still, I thought that on the counter

20:21

attack, which the galaxy absolutely loved

20:26

to spam, they they did well to defend

20:26

that.

20:30

I thought knew who you know, I'm a new

20:30

who.

20:33

Hater apparently, you know, maybe maybe

20:33

I'm just a realist here, but I thought

20:37

knew who played well He literally like

20:37

Joey Paints.

20:41

did nothing this entire game. We I know Ari Yeah, Ari is ignoring it

20:42

because he doesn't want to admit that his

20:48

goat is is falling apart, but knew who

20:48

pocketed his goat I needed it to be

20:57

brought up even more. No, I'm joking. But yeah, I don't know it did

21:01

I think also like let's talk about Obed

21:01

again.

21:04

Obed absolutely had an incredible

21:04

performance and I think we found that.

21:11

Yeah. He it's not his fault that we're losing.

21:15

He's putting in balls that should be

21:15

scored every single time and it's like no

21:19

one can finish that. like a few of the good chances that

21:22

Seattle did have in this game, Obed was

21:25

central to and it's kind of a small thing.

21:28

But one thing that I really like about him

21:28

and this is even dating back to like last

21:34

year, but he's like, he's really good at

21:34

drawing fouls.

21:37

So he's got like the the Nico Ladero in

21:37

him where you met like, I think out of all

21:44

of Nico Ladero's great qualities.

21:46

He's probably the best foul drawer I've

21:46

like ever watched.

21:52

He's so good at that. And Obed like learned that quality, I

21:53

think, from him.

21:58

But so he like, you saw it on the play

21:58

where he won the penalty in the Philly

22:01

game and then he won another free kick

22:01

from a really great spot in this game.

22:07

So that's more kind of like an offhand

22:07

thing that I've noticed about Obed's game.

22:11

But like, I really think, I really think

22:11

they might be onto something with.

22:15

playing him higher up the field as an

22:15

attacking player.

22:19

I feel like, I don't know, it's kind of,

22:19

it's very stark to me how much more of an

22:26

impact he's been making on games while

22:26

playing more aggressively and just with a

22:33

more attacking mindset than he does like

22:33

when he's playing back in the midfield,

22:40

which I know in the... in the Philly game, he was playing in the

22:43

double pivot, I believe, to start, but it

22:47

just felt like he was playing more

22:47

aggressive.

22:52

And I think he's able to manifest that a

22:52

little more when he's playing at right mid

22:58

there. So I don't know, I just think, I think

22:59

that's one, that's honestly one takeaway

23:03

that I have from the last couple of weeks

23:03

that could be get some positive momentum.

23:10

moving forward is just that like, just how

23:10

well Obe is playing right now and how they

23:15

seem to have kind of a revelation with

23:15

like moving where he's been playing.

23:18

Yeah, I agree. And the last one, boost put up a stinker,

23:19

but it happens.

23:22

So. Yeah, well, and you know what was

23:23

unfortunate is that he actually got subbed

23:28

in pretty early. You know how you're talking about how

23:29

subbing him in at like 87 doesn't really

23:32

do anything? Because he was on with enough time to make

23:33

an impact in this game.

23:40

And I don't really know who to blame for

23:40

it.

23:49

But I mean, the finishing in this game was

23:49

just, whew.

23:52

No, not at all.

23:55

We can move on to greener pastures, the

23:55

United States Open Cup.

24:03

Yeah, so the Sounders start their US Open

24:03

Cup venture on Wednesday against USL

24:07

Championship side, Louisville City FC, who

24:07

I believe, I mean, no, you were saying

24:13

they're one of the best teams in the USL,

24:13

I believe.

24:18

a superpower. how they're doing this year.

24:21

I think that's like, I've watched New

24:21

Mexico United in the USL.

24:24

I don't really follow anyone else. So I don't really know how good Louisville

24:26

is this year.

24:31

Okay, so yeah, they're good again. Like you said, they're perennially one of

24:33

the better teams in the second division.

24:39

And I guess... the amount of goals as the Seattle

24:40

Sounders.

24:42

Yeah. So I guess like the takeaway from that is,

24:43

you know, Seattle is probably going to be

24:49

doing like fielding a bit of a rotated

24:49

lineup in this game with the fixture

24:53

congestion that's going on. And so I mean, like, remember a couple of

24:55

years ago when they lost to Sac Republic?

25:01

These games are not a given when you're

25:01

playing them at a congested part of your

25:07

schedule. And.

25:10

you're playing a rotated lineup and these,

25:10

these, these USL teams are hungry.

25:15

Like they want to win this game bad.

25:17

Like especially anytime they go up against

25:17

an MLS team, they're going to be going for

25:22

it. So like my prediction for this game, I

25:22

know like I'm coming off a prediction week

25:27

where I said this would like, I was hyping

25:27

this galaxy game up is super exciting.

25:31

And I said, I specifically said that it

25:31

wouldn't be a zero zero and then it was

25:36

zero zero. So I don't know how much weight my

25:36

predictions hold.

25:39

right now, but my prediction for this game

25:39

would be that it's, I can almost guarantee

25:45

you that it's not gonna be a situation

25:45

where Seattle blows out and overwhelms

25:51

Louisville City. Seattle's gonna be fielding a rotated

25:52

lineup, so I think you're gonna have some

25:58

younger guys in there.

26:01

And Louisville City, they're a really good

26:01

USL team, and they're gonna be, they're

26:06

gonna be, bust in their ass for this game.

26:09

These games are kind of like their Super

26:09

Bowl.

26:12

They really are.

26:16

Yeah, and also, I think there's a lot of

26:16

stock that they put in proving themselves

26:23

against a team that's a league above them.

26:26

You do see the MLS team blow out the USL

26:26

team in this scenario sometimes, but.

26:33

Just with how Seattle is playing right

26:33

now, struggling to score goals anyway, and

26:39

the fact that it's going to be a rotated

26:39

lineup with the fixture congestion.

26:43

I mean, I think this is probably going to

26:43

be a really close game.

26:48

And I think it's probably going to piss a

26:48

lot of people off because a lot of people

26:53

go into a game against a USL team and

26:53

think that Seattle should automatically

26:58

blow them out, like blow them off the

26:58

field.

27:01

because they're an MLS team and I'm

27:01

cautioning you right now, like I don't

27:05

think that that's what's gonna happen.

27:07

I could be wrong and maybe Seattle search

27:07

their dominance here, but having seen how

27:15

these kind of go in the past, I don't

27:15

know.

27:20

I think it's gonna be like a grinded out

27:20

game decided by one goal.

27:25

What do you think Noah? I think that it's going to be way more

27:26

interesting than any Sanders games that

27:30

we've been watching just simply because

27:30

we're actually going to see a bunch of

27:35

young players on the field. Like, does that mean it's going to be a

27:37

better end product?

27:39

Probably not. I mean, you know, I think that a lot of

27:40

the, I don't know, a lot of the upside of

27:47

these young players is shown when they're

27:47

playing with complimentary players, you

27:51

know, like not to say that Obed's not.

27:55

talented if you put him in another squad.

27:57

But he also has really talented players

27:57

around him that elevate his his level in

28:02

his game. But that said, I think I think it could be

28:02

interesting.

28:06

I think this could be the best.

28:08

The Sounders have looked all season when

28:08

you put in this, you know, scrappy rotated

28:12

lineup of people who have most of them are

28:12

probably having to sit on the bench and

28:18

watch this team lose game after game.

28:20

I'd be pissed off. I'd be pissed off and I would.

28:23

think that this is my chance to go out and

28:23

prove that I deserve a spot.

28:29

I mean, people after 10 minutes of Georgie

28:29

playing are like, sign this guy as a

28:35

contract and replace Morris immediately.

28:37

So I mean, if I'm Georgie, I'm going out

28:37

there and I'm playing my ass off.

28:42

So I think I think the Sounders will win

28:42

this one.

28:46

And I think it could get out of hand.

28:48

I'm going to go opposite of Ari. I'm on the positive train today.

28:53

I would be down to watch that if for no

28:53

other reason.

28:58

Like I think it would be cathartic to just

28:58

watch them take it to a team, sort of like

29:02

they were to the Union before they let

29:02

them back in the game.

29:05

Like that first half against the Union

29:05

was, like, I was very surprised to, I

29:10

couldn't believe what I was watching. So if they could do that to Louisville

29:12

City in this game, that would be nice.

29:16

I mean, one thing,

29:19

One thing about these open cup games is

29:19

they can often get a little hectic and

29:24

crazy. So I think I'm hoping it'll be fun to

29:24

watch even even if it's not like just

29:29

Seattle running all over them.

29:31

I'm hoping it's at least like entertaining

29:31

and we get some goals.

29:35

I don't even really care who scores them. I just want to see I just want to see some

29:37

goals.

29:40

Paul Rothrock is our only hope Ari, okay?

29:43

We're bringing it back because Paul

29:43

Rothrock should be starting.

29:46

Put him at the nine and he will win you

29:46

the US Open Cup.

29:50

That's my take. He'll probably like if he actually gets

29:50

his run in this game, he will probably

29:55

score a goal or two like not as it like

29:58

It's going to be the Obed connection too,

29:58

I think.

30:01

I think Obed 2 assists, you know.

30:04

So yeah, that game is coming up on on

30:04

Wednesday Let's dive into questions Noah

30:09

and then we can add one other section and

30:09

then winners and losers and then we can we

30:13

can call it a wrap but Let's go ahead and

30:13

do some quick hitters here from the ones

30:17

that I collected last night for me with

30:17

the people

30:19

Heck yeah, from Greg he asks, do you think

30:19

that Rusnak is a DP number 10?

30:25

I don't think so. Tam at best, but not starting in the spot.

30:30

The Rusnak slander has continued already.

30:33

What do you think? Yeah, the Rusnack, the anti -Rusnack

30:34

brigade has been out in full force these

30:38

last couple of weeks. I mean, I just personally don't subscribe

30:40

to it that much.

30:44

I think it's, you know, when the team is

30:44

struggling on offense, I get why, I get

30:49

why he would become a target of ire.

30:52

But like I always, I've always rated

30:52

Rusnack as a pretty good MLS player dating

30:57

back to his days with Rial Salt Lake. Like when him and Demir Krylak played

30:59

together, they always made Rial Salt Lake

31:02

a really tough team. And the other thing that I think does,

31:04

this is what doesn't get acknowledged in

31:08

this whole debate Noah.

31:10

Okay, and this is important and I want the

31:10

anti -Rusnack brigade to listen to this.

31:15

Like you have to, when it comes to Albert

31:15

Rusnack and like why he's on the team, you

31:20

have to remember why he got signed to

31:20

begin with, which was to make a play for

31:25

CONCACAF Champions League. All right, they signed him.

31:30

because they thought they were in a spot

31:30

where they could actually compete for it

31:33

and they thought he could help them get

31:33

over the top.

31:35

And that turned out to be correct.

31:37

They won CCL with Albert Rusnak, not only

31:37

on this team, but playing an important

31:43

role in that tournament. Guys, they don't win CCL without Rusnak.

31:48

Like, do you understand that? Like, you have to like come at this debate

31:49

from acknowledging that off the top, in my

31:56

opinion, because that fact, and it's a

31:56

fact,

32:00

That validates the signing when they made

32:00

it, like right there.

32:05

Like if you grant that they probably don't

32:05

win CCL without him, which I don't think

32:10

they do. Remember he scored a really big goal in

32:10

the series against New York City.

32:15

He was pretty selfless in how he changed

32:15

positions.

32:20

And a lot of the criticism of Albert

32:20

Rusnak centers on how he hasn't really

32:28

stuffed the stat sheet. with Seattle as much as he did with RSO.

32:34

But most of the time that he's played for

32:34

this team, he was playing deeper.

32:39

Like, I feel like I'm taking crazy pills

32:39

sometimes where people harp so much on his

32:45

goals and assists, but he's been playing

32:45

like further back where you don't get

32:50

those numbers. That's just like not how it works.

32:52

So he's only really gotten a chance to

32:52

consistently play as a 10 this season.

32:59

Like has it worked super well so far?

33:01

I mean, no, like the offense isn't playing

33:01

super well, but A, you can't only blame

33:05

that on one guy and B, I still don't think

33:05

there's really enough of a sample of him

33:12

playing that position to really say how

33:12

effective it is or isn't.

33:16

Like it hasn't really looked that good so

33:16

far this year, but like, I don't know how

33:20

much just to blame that on one guy. Like blaming it all on one guy is, in my

33:22

opinion, a little ridiculous.

33:27

And also just the anti -Rusnack brigade,

33:27

like why don't you guys ever acknowledge

33:32

the fact that he was a key part of why

33:32

this team won Champions League?

33:38

I mean, if you're going to bring up the

33:38

flip side of it, I think you have to

33:42

acknowledge that as well. And that's just my take on it.

33:46

But I've always thought he's a pretty damn

33:46

good MLS player.

33:50

I was a big fan of the signing because I

33:50

watched him in Krylak for years on RSL.

33:55

And I thought they were like one of the

33:55

best kind of one, two punches in the

33:59

league. And I was excited to see what, what

33:59

Resonat could do with the Sounders.

34:04

And I would say if you look at how this

34:04

season has gone, it's underwhelmed

34:09

compared to what I hoped it would be, but

34:09

like he also helped them win CCL.

34:13

So I'm not really going to complain that

34:13

much about it.

34:15

Sorry, that was a rant, but. it. I think the biggest argument for not even

34:17

haters but just general people looking at

34:23

this roster is is Rusnak a DP or is he a

34:23

Tam player?

34:28

That's the I also want to know what your

34:28

take is on that Ori.

34:32

And that's okay. So that's where I would acknowledge that

34:33

the brigade might have a little bit of a

34:36

point. Like I really, if I'm honestly assessing

34:36

it and as much as I feel compelled to

34:41

defend him sometimes, cause I think he,

34:41

he, he gets a little unfairly targeted.

34:45

Like when you think of him compared to the

34:45

super elite dynamic tens that we've seen

34:52

in the league the last couple of years,

34:52

like I don't think he's been performing at

34:58

that level. And I think.

35:01

It is, I mean, it's fair. It's fair to point out that that's an

35:03

issue with this roster right now.

35:06

Like I don't mean to downplay that.

35:08

I just, I just do think that he's been

35:08

taking like a lot of slander and I think

35:19

it's like over the top compared to how

35:19

much of the problems can actually be

35:22

attributed just to him. Like if you ever find yourself just

35:24

targeting and slandering one guy, which I

35:29

think is an issue with New Who 2 frankly,

35:29

like.

35:31

It's just like, you gotta look at

35:31

everyone, man.

35:37

I think when you're talking about why this

35:37

team is struggling in attack, there are

35:42

names that people aren't gonna wanna name

35:42

that you probably should, man.

35:45

I think you gotta look at the whole

35:45

starting front four from this last game

35:51

underperformed, including Russnack, so.

35:54

Yeah, I don't think Rusnack's the problem,

35:54

but I do think he is a Tam player.

35:59

And I do think he still has a lot to bring

35:59

to this team.

36:01

And I don't think he's the reason we're

36:01

losing games.

36:04

And I don't think he's the reason he's

36:04

he's he generates a lot of chances and he

36:08

looks really great on the ball.

36:10

And there's a lot of times where he gets

36:10

you out of a jam because he's going to

36:14

dribble past a defender or two defenders

36:14

or turn his back, rotate the play and

36:19

recycle it out and, you know, continue the

36:19

attacking play.

36:24

The fact that we can't put that ball on

36:24

the net is not his fault.

36:27

Like, are his shots that good?

36:30

No, but you know, he's a 10.

36:33

He's not a pure goalscorer and that's

36:33

fine.

36:36

But regardless, down with the Rusnak

36:36

slander.

36:40

Up next to Samour slander.

36:42

It's tough to be so critical of a player

36:42

when I know there's a lack of options, but

36:47

Leo Chu is so wildly overrated.

36:49

Easy money coming in with the heat here.

36:51

The rate at which he loses possession is

36:51

outstanding.

36:54

I like he's attacking minded, but God, his

36:54

decision making is awful and doesn't pass

36:58

the cost benefit analysis. So Ari is Leo Chu fraudulent.

37:04

That's the question. my god, I've been defending Leo Chu too.

37:11

Just because, I mean, okay, I understand

37:11

and share people's frustration with his

37:17

decision making. It's comical sometimes, honestly, like

37:18

watching him try and take guys on and just

37:23

not make the correct decision with the

37:23

play that he's making.

37:28

The only capacity in which I'll defend him

37:28

is that I do feel like he's one of the

37:32

only guys on this team that makes plays.

37:35

Like... At least he's trying. He doesn't, it's a small percentage of the

37:36

time that what he's trying succeeds, but

37:44

he at least is making runs.

37:48

He at least gets on the stat sheet

37:48

sometimes, you know?

37:51

So for me personally, I put Leo Chu like

37:51

lower down on my blame list as well.

38:01

But like there was,

38:04

a couple instances in this game where like

38:04

the decision making when he's taking guys

38:07

on and then also just the not being able

38:07

to get that wide open shot on target where

38:12

it's just like, yeah, yeah.

38:15

Yeah, that's a yeah, it's a tough one.

38:17

He shows flashes of brilliance and then,

38:17

you know, he fizzles out.

38:22

It happens. It's kind of, you know, but what are you

38:23

going to do when when he is your starter?

38:28

That's tough. That is tough.

38:31

Nate here has a scorcher for us.

38:34

What can Brian do to give these older

38:34

players a spark?

38:38

The young and new guys are playing with

38:38

desire, but it feels like the vets don't

38:42

play with desire or creativity.

38:45

Is this a Pedro de la Vega waiting room?

38:47

Question mark. We chatted about this a little bit earlier

38:48

in the season about how maybe there is a

38:54

continued CCL hangover and, you know,

38:54

people like Jordan and Christian, they

38:59

realize they have reached their ceiling.

39:02

So what do you think, Ari? What if you take over the clipboard of

39:03

Brian Schmitzer?

39:08

Are you bashing in the heads of these old

39:08

players with it?

39:15

You know, it's funny because I thought

39:15

during the during the Philly game, you

39:21

kind of you kind of finally start started

39:21

to see a team that was sort of playing

39:26

like they had nothing to lose. And Schmetz even said in his postgame

39:28

press conference, he was like, you know, I

39:32

feel like these players feel like it's

39:32

them against everybody right now.

39:35

And I was like, OK, that's cool to hear at

39:35

the same time.

39:38

I mean, they kind of put themselves

39:38

against everybody by not being able to

39:42

score goals and picking up a bunch of red

39:42

cards.

39:45

But like, you know, yeah, that's if that's

39:45

what if that's what you need to foster

39:50

some motivation and some fire and get them

39:50

and get them playing with more energy then

39:56

yeah, sure like go ahead and lean on that

39:56

and I thought that that was that's sort of

40:03

like that's not a bad mentality to try and

40:03

To try and lean on in a situation like

40:09

this where you know We come on this

40:09

podcast every week every time that they

40:13

get shut out or get red cards We have our fun with it.

40:16

The discourse on social media around the

40:16

team is largely negative.

40:21

And when you're in a situation like that,

40:21

I think it does kind of give you nothing

40:25

to lose. And it makes you, I thought in the Philly

40:26

game that might have been a reason why

40:31

they started playing well and started

40:31

scoring goals, because they were kind of

40:34

just like, you know, fuck it. Everyone's bagging on us.

40:40

Everyone's making fun of us. We're picking up.

40:42

We're picking up dumb red cards. We're not scoring goals.

40:44

Let's just go out there and throw down as

40:44

hard as we can.

40:49

And sometimes when you're playing like

40:49

that, it actually works.

40:53

They're channeling a bit of the underdog

40:53

mentality.

40:57

And I thought that everyone who was

40:57

starting in that Philly game in the first

41:02

half, they were playing with some of that

41:02

fire and effort and energy that you're

41:08

talking about. They just, it just didn't carry over to

41:11

the galaxy game.

41:15

So I don't really know how you channel

41:15

that consistently.

41:19

It was nice. It's been nice to see it in spurts.

41:22

And I really, I don't, I don't personally

41:22

think that effort is really what I would

41:26

boil this team's struggles down to.

41:29

Like I know it's easy to point to that

41:29

when thing, when results aren't going your

41:33

way on the field. I see a team that's definitely like, it's

41:35

not like they're not trying or that

41:40

they've quit on the coach. I definitely don't get that sense at all.

41:46

It's just they're not producing

41:46

consistently enough right now.

41:51

So I don't know. I don't know if that was a good answer,

41:52

but. I think that's solid.

41:55

It's it's you can only do so much as a

41:55

coach.

41:57

You can only do so much as a coach to

41:57

motivate players.

41:59

You can only do so much as a coach to, you

41:59

know, fix mental things.

42:04

That's like I think people put a lot of

42:04

weight on coaching.

42:08

And we've talked about it a lot. Like what is Brian Schmetter supposed to

42:10

literally do everything?

42:13

Is he supposed to magically heal every ACL

42:13

that gets like torn?

42:17

Like, I don't know. I don't know what Brian could do to like.

42:22

completely fix this. Is he without blame?

42:24

No, but if guys are quitting on you, like

42:24

it's your decision to bench them.

42:29

But it's hard to get him to like it's not

42:29

I don't know.

42:33

I have a hard time knowing or figuring out

42:33

or blaming Brian for a ton of stuff like

42:40

that. But you know what I will applaud Brian for

42:41

is the next question that we're going

42:47

into. which is Georgie flashed more danger in

42:47

attack than Jordan Morris has all season.

42:52

Is he our best left wing playing in

42:52

Tacoma?

42:55

Question mark. What I will add Ari is this sample size

42:56

versus reality?

43:02

Because he only played 10 minutes. What do you think?

43:05

Georgie. I mean, he only played 10 minutes.

43:08

So I don't really know if I'm on the train

43:08

of like he should be an unquestioned first

43:15

choice starter based off that 10 minute

43:15

cameo.

43:18

It was fun though. Like I'm down to see him play more.

43:23

I think you're in a situation where you

43:23

may as well start giving guys cameo

43:27

opportunities like that. Why not? Yeah, I like that a lot.

43:30

And let's finish it off here with three

43:30

games this week.

43:35

A point is a point, but it gets harder the

43:35

next two matches.

43:38

Is it bad? Was this draw really that bad in the long

43:40

term of things?

43:43

Ari. I mean, it was a pretty bad result.

43:46

Yeah, because if you take it in the

43:46

context of all the other results that

43:49

they've had this season and the fact that

43:49

I think the thing that bugs me about it is

43:53

the galaxy, the galaxy were there for the

43:53

taking.

43:55

They didn't have their best player, Ricky

43:55

Puj.

43:58

They didn't have one of the best number

43:58

nines in the league down over which like

44:04

all you need to do is score one goal and

44:04

you win this game and you couldn't do it

44:09

despite having a lot of pretty good,

44:09

pretty good chances.

44:13

So. It's definitely, this was two points

44:14

dropped much, much more than it was a

44:21

point gained. Yeah, I agree. And just to add, our boy Mike here, he had

44:22

a funny little comment and says, name the

44:29

zebra Jordan Morris because he's lost.

44:32

For those of you who get the zebra

44:32

reference that were loose in North Bend.

44:35

But thank you all for your questions.

44:38

We love it when you lob your scorchers.

44:40

Thank you for actually dropping some, even

44:40

though we didn't lose.

44:43

So. Yeah, no, agreed.

44:46

I always appreciate getting the discourse

44:46

flowing in my mentions after these games.

44:51

Even if we don't get to your question or

44:51

you don't even have a question, you just

44:54

have a take. I think it's a good way to check the pulse

44:56

of the streets and how everyone is feeling

45:02

about the squad, even in these difficult

45:02

times.

45:06

OK, Noah, for the next segment, I had a

45:06

question to pose for debate that I was

45:11

going to have us talk about, OK? And what I wanted to talk about is the

45:13

question of should you be rooting for the

45:19

Columbus crew? The Columbus crew are in the CONCACAF

45:20

Champions Cup as it's now known final and

45:25

have an opportunity to join the Seattle

45:25

Sounders as the only MLS clubs who have

45:29

ever won the modern incarnation of the

45:29

tournament.

45:31

And so I think the question comes down to,

45:31

you know, is it better to be the exclusive

45:36

holders of that accomplishment? Which, you know, Seattle, as we all know,

45:38

famously won in 2022.

45:43

Or do you want them to win? Like, are you okay with them joining that

45:44

rarefied air and pushing MLS forward as a

45:52

whole and all that stuff?

45:56

But I think, you know, before we get into

45:56

that, I wanted to talk a little bit about

46:00

the crew, because I feel like I've sold

46:00

them a little bit short on this show this

46:03

season. When I talk about the best teams in the

46:04

league, or at least my favorite teams to

46:07

watch, I've talked about Inter Miami a

46:07

lot, obviously.

46:10

I've talked about the Galaxy a lot.

46:13

But the crew are arguably the best team in

46:13

the league right now.

46:16

They're reigning MLS Cup champions.

46:19

They have a really good, really dominant

46:19

roster with DPs that hit.

46:24

Cucho Hernandez, Diego Rossi, Darlington

46:24

Nagby.

46:28

That's as good of a trio as you could hope

46:28

for in MLS.

46:32

Patrick Schulte is one of the best

46:32

goalkeepers in the league.

46:36

And their run in Champions Cup this year

46:36

has been really impressive.

46:40

But I think what truly... What truly honestly separates the crew

46:42

aside from, you know, Cucho and all the

46:47

great players that they have, Wilfred

46:47

Nancy is the best coach in MLS.

46:52

I don't think it's particularly close.

46:54

You know, there's a couple of names that

46:54

you could put up there, but, you know,

46:58

I've talked a couple of times on this show

46:58

about how I'm kind of agnostic on the

47:02

effect of coaching and I don't really

47:02

think who's technically the coach always

47:07

makes as much of a difference as people

47:07

think it does compared to the roster.

47:12

that you have, which I think is the

47:12

primary thing that drives winning.

47:16

But like every once in a while, like there

47:16

are a select group of coaches that

47:20

actually give you a tangible advantage in

47:20

every game you go into just because of how

47:28

well they're able to impart and have their

47:28

players execute their tactics and how

47:33

their tactics, their tactical

47:33

understanding of the game is kind of just

47:36

like a step above everyone else that

47:36

they're going against.

47:40

So there's like, there's a few coaches on

47:40

the global stage that I think are

47:43

considered that tier of coach.

47:46

Like, you know, Jurgen Klopp with

47:46

Liverpool comes to mind.

47:48

I think Pep comes to mind.

47:51

Like Alex Ferguson is a guy I think who

47:51

people considered like that in his day.

47:56

Just guys who understand the game so well

47:56

that every team that they're coaching has

48:07

an actual... Advantage over the other team because of

48:08

who the coach is that's pretty rare and I

48:12

I think it's pretty clear that Wilford

48:12

Nancy is in that category I think probably

48:18

more probably more than any coach in MLS

48:18

right now and there's been a lot of

48:22

speculation that he's Probably not long

48:22

for MLS that he might go overseas at some

48:27

point. I could see it happening Just because I

48:27

mean if you look at his background before

48:31

he got to the crew He had CF Montreal

48:31

plant punching way above their weight

48:36

And that's why he ended up getting the

48:36

Columbus job.

48:38

And now he's right on the cusp of, of

48:38

winning champions cup.

48:43

So I'll tell you my perspective on it

48:43

first, Noah.

48:49

I actually, I kind of am rooting for the

48:49

crew.

48:52

I, it's sort of a win -win because if they

48:52

choke and lose, then that's fine with me.

48:57

And Seattle remains the only ones to win

48:57

champions league as it was called when

49:02

they won it. So like,

49:04

I would be totally fine if the crew lose.

49:08

But for me, it comes down to a couple of

49:08

things.

49:12

Number one, just their whole team, their

49:12

organization, the brand of ball that they

49:17

play, it's worthy of respect to me.

49:20

I respect Wilford Nancy. I respect Cucho.

49:24

I respect Diego Rossi.

49:26

Darlington Nagby. I know he's a former Timber, but you can't

49:26

not respect that guy and what he's

49:30

accomplished in the league. And.

49:32

about Morris. Yeah, that's good shout.

49:36

Aiden Morris is one of the best young

49:36

homegrown players in the league.

49:40

Aiden Morris kind of owns Seattle. I hate to say it, like during the COVID

49:42

MLS Cup, like he probably put in as good a

49:49

shift against Nico Ladero as any player

49:49

I've ever seen.

49:53

So when it's a team that I respect their

49:53

players, I respect their coach, I respect

50:02

their organization and how they do things,

50:04

I don't mind seeing them succeed in this

50:04

situation.

50:09

But like honestly, more than that, Noah, I

50:09

also wouldn't mind seeing the pundits get

50:14

a little bit of their comeuppance for the

50:14

big victory lap that they took about

50:19

Seattle having an easy path and it being

50:19

like indisputable proof that the gap

50:25

between MLS and League MX has not actually

50:25

closed and all that.

50:29

If they published a big column,

50:32

about that with that victory lap and then

50:32

the crew actually end up winning Champions

50:37

Cup. That would be a pretty funny way for that

50:38

take to age.

50:41

So that's another reason that I'm okay.

50:44

I would be okay with the crew winning this

50:44

thing.

50:47

What do you think? Yeah, I I've never been offended by the

50:48

Columbus crew.

50:52

One, because their original logo was kind

50:52

of the most fire logo and all of MLS right

50:57

behind the crayon flag of the revolution.

51:00

Damn, I'm choking because of how much I

51:00

love the crew, apparently.

51:06

But I'm not offended by the crew winning.

51:09

We already won it. Like, let's spread the wealth.

51:12

Let's you know, I honestly.

51:14

If I'm if I'm being honest, I want to see

51:14

the Columbus crew and the Club World Cup

51:18

because I kind of want to just see how

51:18

hard they ball out.

51:22

Like it's it's a good thing for the

51:22

league, which like I know that a lot of

51:27

people don't give a shit about what's good

51:27

for the league, but it is good for the

51:31

league and it's cool. It's like this team is incredibly fun to

51:32

watch.

51:36

I love Wilfred Nancy. I would honestly pay any amount of money

51:37

to have him be the coach in Seattle.

51:42

And frankly, I think. The biggest signing this year was not a

51:43

player, but it was the fact that the

51:49

Columbus crew were able to resign Wilfred

51:49

Nancy to another year.

51:53

So, yeah, I'm so for it.

51:55

Who cares? I think also it bodes well for the

51:56

Sounders.

52:00

If the Sounders were the ones to have

52:00

broken the glass ceiling to say, like,

52:04

hey, this can be done.

52:07

This can be done. Here is a model for how you do it.

52:12

Here's a model for going into Mexico and

52:12

not losing.

52:16

And then, you know, you have the crew

52:16

absolutely bawling out.

52:20

It's like it doesn't boat.

52:22

It doesn't change anything about the Sounders. I don't care for the only ones to ever do

52:23

it.

52:27

it doesn't take it. It doesn't take the shine. What was so cool about Seattle's is that

52:29

like even if another team wins it, like

52:35

Seattle is still first, you know, and that

52:35

doesn't the crew winning it doesn't change

52:39

that. So I feel I feel no type of way about

52:39

another team joining those ranks.

52:45

And it's like, like, you know, Seattle

52:45

people can still pull the card of like

52:50

they were they were chasing Seattle to

52:50

begin with, like Seattle.

52:54

Seattle walked so Columbus could run.

52:57

And especially, I don't mind this Columbus

52:57

team being potentially the one to join

53:03

those ranks. They're deservedly in the final.

53:09

And you have to give it to them at a

53:09

certain point.

53:12

They deserve the accolades and their

53:12

status as arguably the top team in the

53:17

league right now. I still think.

53:21

I still think if you gave a one game

53:21

final, Inter Miami versus Columbus, like

53:27

I'm taking Inter Miami all day.

53:29

See, that's a bad take. Like, I'm sorry.

53:32

There's no way though. There's just no way.

53:35

Like, I know that it's fun to think of a

53:35

team, any team in this league beating

53:40

Inter Miami in a one -off, but like, I've

53:40

seen enough at this point now.

53:45

The New York Red Bulls just lost to them

53:45

six to two, brother.

53:47

but they beat them for nothing at their

53:47

place.

53:50

So, I mean, it was an equal margin. they weren't healthy, when they weren't

53:51

healthy.

53:53

But like, I mean, OK, so if you if you do

53:53

that hypothetical with Inter Miami as like

54:00

injured with no messy, then yeah, I'm

54:00

taking the crew.

54:02

But like if you if all things are equal

54:02

and both teams are of relative health,

54:07

like I'm taking Miami and wouldn't even be

54:07

close.

54:11

I but that's actually a good segue.

54:13

I'm glad I'm glad we talked about that.

54:15

you okay, here's another one just quickly

54:17

been covering CCC enough on this show.

54:20

I kind of let it fall by the wayside, so.

54:23

okay. You know, neither is the MLS dots the

54:23

soccer .com.

54:25

So, you know, that's how it goes. Too much Lees Cup coverage.

54:29

Anyway, just being a hater here.

54:31

No, I'm kidding. The the one thing I was going to say, if

54:32

you hate Inter Miami, absolutely root for

54:37

the Columbus crew. If you love the Sounders, absolutely root

54:38

for the Columbus crew.

54:42

That's all I'm going to say. I'm done with that.

54:46

good shot. Okay, let's get into winners and losers

54:46

from the latest slate of matches in MLS,

54:51

match day 12, I believe. And we just, I have a funny story for this

54:53

one.

54:56

We just talked about it, but Inter Miami

54:56

smashed the New York Red Bulls 6 -2 and

55:02

Lionel Messi broke two MLS records.

55:05

He had one goal, five assists.

55:07

The five assists were a single game assist

55:07

record for MLS.

55:11

The six goal contributions were a single

55:11

game record for MLS.

55:14

And I just had a fun time with this game

55:14

because I was covering the whole slate on

55:22

the MLSsoccer .com editorial desk.

55:25

And so I was watching this Miami game.

55:28

And when Messi got to one goal, two

55:28

assists, we were doing a little post, like

55:32

a running post during the game about it

55:32

because I think he now had, he gave him

55:38

multiple goal contributions in like six

55:38

straight games.

55:41

It was some kind of, it was kind of. some kind of historical milestone or, or I

55:43

think it would mainly the post was just

55:47

like Messi's doing it again. He's going off against the Red Bulls,

55:48

whatever.

55:50

But like he, he got three more assists

55:50

between the 69th and the 81st minute while

55:57

I was trying to write this post. And every time he gets another assist, it

55:59

kind of changes the angle.

56:02

I have to change how many assists are in

56:02

the post.

56:06

It changes the like historical

56:06

implications of it.

56:09

It changes his numbers for the season and.

56:12

He this guy was just I was just like stop

56:12

getting assists.

56:15

Like I need you to stop right now.

56:18

Like I'm trying to do this content and I

56:18

can't do it because every time I look up

56:23

you have another assist by the time it's

56:23

all said and done.

56:26

He has five of them six goal contributions

56:26

and broke two different MLS records.

56:30

I mean that's that's that's why I just

56:30

think there's like a game like that is

56:36

just why there's there's no.

56:40

There's no team that's even close to this

56:40

team right now when they're at their apex,

56:44

not even the crew. It is a different level of ball than any

56:45

MLS team has ever played.

56:52

And six goal contributions in one game,

56:52

you don't see that.

56:56

That's as good as Cucho is, as good as

56:56

Diego Rossi is, as good as some of the

57:02

other players are in this league.

57:06

I don't know if we'll ever see six goal

57:06

contributions in a game.

57:10

again, like in any league. That's just a crazy crooked number.

57:14

I still like, Luis Suarez had a hat trick.

57:17

I don't know. It's just, it's ridiculous to watch.

57:21

And like, I just, I hate to spoil how this

57:21

season is going to go for everyone, but

57:26

like, if this, if this Miami team is

57:26

healthy, they're winning MLS cup.

57:29

And it's not even like, There's no one who can stop it.

57:35

I'm sorry. I hate to be that guy, but...

57:40

love they did the bit as well, which is,

57:40

you know, they love to concede the most

57:44

embarrassing goal possible and then bang

57:44

in the three most disgusting or six most

57:49

disgusting goals you've ever seen.

57:51

I'm glad that you brought that up because

57:51

what the other thing I was going to say is

57:55

that like we need to stop falling for

57:55

that.

57:58

Every time they concede the first goal,

57:58

everyone's like, this team does this team

58:03

have the defense to really, really contend

58:03

in MLS?

58:07

I mean, their defense is pretty bad.

58:10

They keep giving up these early goals. How long can they really last?

58:13

Guys, like it does when you can score four

58:13

to six goals a game without even trying,

58:17

it doesn't matter. Like you can give up two to three goals

58:19

and you're probably, you're still going to

58:22

win. Like, so I just, let's learn our lesson

58:23

this time.

58:26

As soon as they gave up that goal to the

58:26

Red Bulls, I was nipping it in the bud.

58:30

Like in my head, I was like, that, I mean,

58:30

it does like that.

58:33

That's meaningless. Like the Red Bulls may as well have not

58:33

even scored that.

58:36

Like it does, that gives them zero

58:36

advantage.

58:39

It gives them zero leg up. It doesn't, it doesn't mean anything.

58:43

Miami is still going to win this game by

58:43

multiple goals and sure enough, they

58:46

scored six. So, that Messi put this up directly after Obed

58:48

put up a Messia messianic performance, I

58:55

think. And I'm just, you know, I'm I'm just, you

58:55

know, this is just me putting this out

59:00

here. But I think he saw Obed's performance and

59:00

he locked in and was like, you know what?

59:04

I can't let this kid outshine me, frankly.

59:08

it's a good point. We did talk about on the last show how

59:10

Obed's performance compared to Messi,

59:17

which I think was a well thought out and

59:17

well reasoned take.

59:22

And then Messi has six goal contributions

59:22

in a game the game after.

59:25

So I don't think that could be a coincidence. Minnesota United.

59:28

Yeah, exactly. Minnesota United beat Atlanta United 2 -1

59:29

on the road.

59:35

And. They deserve to be highlighted as a winner

59:36

this week, I think, because they've been

59:39

one of the best teams in the league this

59:39

year up there with Inter Miami on points

59:42

per game, close to two points per game,

59:42

which is typically like the pace you need

59:46

to win the shield. And they've done it without Emmanuel

59:48

Reynoso, who is missing in Argentina, and

59:53

Timu Puki, who was their big DP forward

59:53

last year.

59:55

I don't know if he's been hurt or like

59:55

just not as much in the rotation right

1:00:00

now, but he hasn't really been

1:00:00

contributing the way that you would.

1:00:03

You would think that a DP forwarded it

1:00:03

have to for especially for this team to

1:00:06

succeed So I guess the reason I bring that

1:00:06

up is because like it shows that it can be

1:00:11

done like like They don't have their DP 10

1:00:11

and they're still like One of the better

1:00:20

they're they're still pulling results and

1:00:20

they are one of they have one of the

1:00:22

better points per games in the league so

1:00:22

Like I don't know what Seattle has to do

1:00:28

to like pull a similar feat

1:00:30

But Minnesota United is kind of showing

1:00:30

that it's possible to overcome personnel

1:00:36

challenges in this league. We kind of talk about it in absolutes

1:00:37

sometimes where like, OK, you're missing

1:00:42

your number 10. It's all over.

1:00:45

Like, not always. Eric Ramsey, their new coach, he's doing a

1:00:47

good job there.

1:00:49

And then I have Nashville SC 4 -1 over CF

1:00:49

Montreal.

1:00:53

They got Walker Zimmerman back. They looked more like themselves

1:00:55

defensively, which they hadn't without

1:00:58

him. And then Sam Surge scored a hat trick who

1:00:58

he's kind of been an underperforming DP

1:01:03

nine for them. And it's kind of resulted in Nashville SC

1:01:04

not really achieving the heights that a

1:01:09

lot of people thought they might after a

1:01:09

strong first couple of years in MLS.

1:01:14

So seeing Walker Zimmerman come back and

1:01:14

seeing Sam Surge score a hat trick, that's

1:01:18

big news for Nashville SC.

1:01:22

For the losers, Atlanta United, Noah,

1:01:22

Gonzo Pineda.

1:01:26

I mean, I think he's on the hot seat.

1:01:29

A lot of Atlanta United fans have been

1:01:29

talking about this for a while.

1:01:33

And after this loss at home to Minnesota

1:01:33

United, which was their second home loss

1:01:37

in a row, the Gonzo out crowd was in full

1:01:37

force.

1:01:40

I'm kind of partial to Gonzo Pineda.

1:01:42

Like, I think he was a pretty sick coach

1:01:42

for Seattle.

1:01:45

And I tend to blame Carlos Bocanegra more

1:01:45

for what's gone on with Atlanta United

1:01:52

than I blame the coach. Again, I typically tend to think like.

1:01:57

with Atlanta's United roster, Atlanta

1:01:57

United's roster of the last couple years,

1:02:02

like it, yeah, you could fire Gonzo

1:02:02

Pineda, that's fine, go for it.

1:02:07

Anyone that you put in with that kind of,

1:02:07

with how that roster has been built,

1:02:13

they're probably gonna struggle with the

1:02:13

exact same stuff.

1:02:17

Like, I don't know, I don't know how much

1:02:17

of a difference it really makes, but

1:02:21

Atlanta United underachieving again so far

1:02:21

this year, their coach is on the hot seat,

1:02:26

the fan base is not happy. I think that's pretty funny, but I do feel

1:02:27

bad for them.

1:02:30

Yeah, that's a good bit. Bring them home.

1:02:33

You bring them home, it might come to it

1:02:33

at some point.

1:02:37

The Portland Timbers are doing just as

1:02:37

badly as the Seattle Sounders.

1:02:42

I think they have the exact same record

1:02:42

now.

1:02:45

I know they both have 10 points.

1:02:48

They lost 2 -0 at Charlotte FC, and I

1:02:48

think it's noteworthy just because the

1:02:52

Phil Neville era is kind of reeling.

1:02:56

I hadn't really been paying that much

1:02:56

attention to the Timbies this year.

1:02:59

I just kind of assumed that they were

1:02:59

doing OK or doing pretty good because they

1:03:02

got off to a good start in the first

1:03:02

couple of weeks.

1:03:05

And Phil Neville was getting positive

1:03:05

press for the job he was doing there

1:03:08

early. It is torpedoed on them.

1:03:10

They have the same record as Seattle.

1:03:13

And it's kind of, yeah, so that's what I

1:03:13

was going to say.

1:03:17

They've gotten to that record in a different way. They score a lot more goals, but they've

1:03:19

also conceded 10 more goals than Seattle.

1:03:23

So their defense is just really bad, but

1:03:23

neither, the Vancouver Whitecaps are the

1:03:29

best Cascadia team and it's like not even

1:03:29

remotely close.

1:03:34

Which I think is kind of sick, honestly.

1:03:36

I like Scottish Metsy and Sartini and like

1:03:36

the Whitecaps have kind of been the

1:03:43

Cascadia punching bag over the years.

1:03:47

So, you know, them getting their due and

1:03:47

getting to kind of lord it over.

1:03:52

over us and Lord it over Portland.

1:03:55

It's fair enough, I guess, is what I'm

1:03:55

saying.

1:03:57

Like they've earned it. And then one more loser and then we'll get

1:03:59

out of here.

1:04:03

L .A .F .C. absolutely bammed on by the San Jose

1:04:04

earthquakes.

1:04:07

No, no, no respectable MLS club would ever

1:04:07

lose to San Jose earthquakes.

1:04:12

I can't fathom it. It definitely it would it would just it

1:04:14

would never happen to a club that that had

1:04:19

any sort of dignity or self -respect.

1:04:22

I can't even think of the last time that a

1:04:22

club in Major League Soccer lost to the

1:04:28

San Jose earthquake. I mean, just incredibly embarrassing.

1:04:31

That is their only win of the season.

1:04:33

any any club that that happened to should

1:04:33

be absolutely embarrassed of events,

1:04:40

relegated him. And of course, we say that because the San

1:04:41

Jose earthquakes have two wins now this

1:04:46

year, the other of which from this L .A.

1:04:49

of C. game was against the Seattle Sounders.

1:04:53

I think I might be making that up.

1:04:55

OK, yeah, yeah, we'll have to check that

1:04:55

one.

1:04:58

Yeah. Anyway.

1:05:01

Let's call it a wrap right there for

1:05:01

episode 32, Noah.

1:05:05

Thank you to everyone, as always, for

1:05:05

tuning in.

1:05:10

As I say every week, the listenership on

1:05:10

this show is just so far beyond what we

1:05:16

hoped for or thought it would be when we

1:05:16

started this thing.

1:05:21

So we love and appreciate each and every

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1:05:25

We have a lot of fun doing it. We're going to keep grinding this content.

1:05:29

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1:05:29

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Like, comment. can, there's a link in the podcast show

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1:06:08

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Tell your friends, tell your family, all

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Tell everyone.

1:06:23

But thanks for tuning in to episode 32.

1:06:26

Until next time, we out.