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Corporation, all rights reserved. What is up,

1:01

all of you good to great listeners? This is a

1:03

quick message before the episode starts from your favorite

1:05

host of the show, not named Chuck or Big Tones.

1:07

That's right, it's me, Jimmy Conrad, the handsome one.

1:09

And listen up, when we dig into the

1:11

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1:13

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listen to call it what you want have

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expected goals, and that is unacceptable. So

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let's make a deal. If you smash that

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subscribe button today, we promise to work tirelessly

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to make your favorite average to good show

1:32

more good than average, with the hope of

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fact, you can do it right now because

1:40

that follow and subscribe button has a huge

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impact on our show going forward in terms

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of the guests we can book, going on

1:46

location to meet all of you in person,

1:48

et cetera, et cetera. So please take a

1:50

moment to help us get this show to

1:53

the next level. Thank you. Hi,

2:11

hello, and welcome to your favorite

2:13

podcast call what you want. I'm Jimmy

2:15

Conrad alongside Tony Miola and Charlie

2:17

Davies. And we have a really fun

2:19

show to get into today. We're

2:21

going to give a couple of players

2:23

their flowers after some individual success.

2:25

We're going to talk about rexham and

2:27

them getting promoted primarily as to

2:29

what we're seeing over there. Can it

2:31

happen over here? Should be a

2:33

good conversation. And then, uh, we

2:35

got a little cock a calf champions cup.

2:37

preview to get into Vancouver Y caps up

2:39

to zero in the first leg over into

2:41

Miami now going back to Miami for like

2:43

two game happens on Wednesday night. Yeah. So

2:45

there's a lot to discuss as always, but

2:47

we got to get into what happened this

2:49

past weekend. Big tones. You were saying off

2:52

camera that, that your golf swing has improved. You

2:54

got some lessons or maybe you took a step

2:56

back to go two steps forward. Where are you on

2:58

your golf swing right now? Wow. I know we

3:01

were going there. I took

3:03

some lessons while I was up at

3:05

Stanford in Stanford a couple of weeks ago.

3:08

And this lady completely just. threw me

3:10

in the gutter. Um, but it's coming

3:12

back to me. I'm, I'm committing to

3:14

it right now. So I The growth

3:16

mindset of Tony. Yeah, but it was,

3:18

it was a painful watch for a

3:20

couple of days. But anyway, I'm looking

3:22

forward to some, uh, good chat today

3:25

about some of this stuff, some great

3:27

storylines. Okay. Uh, fun fact. If you've

3:29

never seen Tony swing a golf club,

3:31

it looks like Charles Barkley. I'm just

3:33

throwing it out there at his golf.

3:35

I'm just kidding. No, it's no, no,

3:37

no, no, no, no, no, no, no. there.

3:40

It's better than that. Tony,

3:43

you got some proof you could put

3:45

out there? Some evidence? I

3:47

can get the video of the lessons. I don't

3:50

video myself, but I can get the video. Yeah, we

3:52

need to see that. We need to see that

3:54

simulator. Yeah. We know we have a lot of golf experts.

3:57

You want to. You don't need to. You

4:00

want to see it. All right. How

4:02

about you, Chuck? Anything happen this weekend for

4:04

you? Yeah. two

4:06

lacrosse games and two

4:09

matches with the boys.

4:12

My boys played up an age group,

4:14

but it was actually two age groups. And

4:17

one of them got his first

4:19

yellow card. He snapped. Ooh, I

4:21

like that. I like that. So

4:23

haven't you? Yeah. So Tony,

4:25

I don't know, or Jimmy, if you've

4:27

experienced this yet. So, you know, typically you

4:29

play a team and the coach, you

4:31

know, is a little bit more animated

4:33

than they should be. And so the parents

4:36

get a little bit more animated. And so

4:38

now you have two kids, you know, two

4:40

kids who are a little bit chippy on

4:42

their side and they know they're older. So

4:44

they're trying to bully kids and, you know,

4:46

they score goals and they're celebrating like they

4:48

want to work up. And I'm like, okay,

4:50

it's fine, whatever. But now my kids are

4:52

like trying to fight back. And he goes,

4:54

they're playing dirty ref and control them. They're

4:56

playing dirty. And I'm like, these boys are

4:59

nine years old. What do you mean they're

5:01

playing dirty? What are we talking about

5:03

here? And he goes, I know intent when

5:05

I see it. And so, so, so,

5:07

so I'm like, all right, I'm not gonna, I'm

5:09

not gonna address it anymore. Two minutes

5:11

later, this, this kid scores a

5:13

boom basal from their team, a goal

5:15

from outside smashed it. And our

5:17

goalie is a nine year old kid

5:19

who's like, not even half the

5:21

length of the post. So the

5:23

guy looks at me and goes, he

5:26

goes, yeah. No

5:28

way. Yeah. And I'm like,

5:30

no. Okay. So

5:33

didn't, Caleb Porter do that

5:35

to Bruce Serena way back when I think so. But

5:37

essentially, right? My

5:39

kid loses it because the one of their

5:41

center backs like elbows him from behind, you know,

5:44

forearm. So he loses it to the two

5:46

foot challenge, like aggressive, kind of reckless. And

5:48

I pull him over and I say, you know, relax,

5:50

calm down. It's not the, it's not the end

5:52

of the world. I know at the moment you're overcome

5:54

with emotions, but This is where you can't let it

5:56

get the best of you. And, you know, he snapped

5:58

and then he was finding the rest of the

6:00

game. But it was one of those moments where you

6:02

go, wow, like the intensity

6:04

was a little high for

6:07

a U11 game on a Sunday

6:09

morning. Yeah. Did

6:11

you put your arm around and go,

6:13

well done, son. Like, did you get one

6:15

of those? Well done, son. He

6:18

goes, dad, did you ever get a

6:20

yellow card? I said, son plenty. So

6:23

so. My daughter got her first red

6:25

card a couple of weeks ago, two yellows.

6:27

I should say she, she, she solves

6:29

a lot of problems with physicality. I don't

6:32

know where she gets that from, but

6:34

my favorite part was that I wasn't actually

6:36

that upset that she got the red

6:38

card itself. I was more upset that she

6:40

was still playing a little bit reckless

6:42

with throwing her body around when, when she

6:44

was already on a yellow, you know,

6:46

like you got to be smart. The guy's

6:48

looking at you now. The ref's looking

6:50

at you. You got it. You got it.

6:52

You got to play the game within

6:55

the game, you know? And so that was,

6:57

that was my sage advice. You

7:00

teach them the dark arts a

7:02

little bit. Oh, 1 ,000 % teach

7:04

them the dark arts. Yes. There's

7:06

a lot of, a lot, there's a lot of

7:08

advantages you can gain in trying to own your

7:10

space before a ball gets there. That could be

7:13

whether your team has possession or whether they don't.

7:15

And so yeah, a hundred percent we teach the

7:17

dark arts, but a lot of it's just. You

7:19

have to get that chicken wing out as I tell

7:21

the girl, get the chicken wing out, protect yourself. And

7:24

it makes a difference because now they can be

7:26

in a little bit more control of what's happening as

7:28

opposed to making it quote unquote fair, right? And

7:30

whatever, this isn't, I say the dark arts, but this

7:32

is how you have to play, especially as you

7:34

go higher and higher up the levels. I

7:36

do want to say, I know that I

7:38

said in the last podcast that my team

7:40

that plays at the silver level in the

7:43

league, we got it too. We

7:45

got to the final of state cup at

7:47

the gold level. And, and we

7:49

lost three zero. Listen,

7:51

we played some players. I

7:53

was like, Tony, sack

7:55

him. Sacked in the morning. Sacked in

7:57

the morning. He'll be getting sacked in the

7:59

morning. He's getting the sack. Listen, I

8:02

was really proud of how we performed. We

8:04

created more chances than the other team. However,

8:06

they were, I, we had never played a

8:08

team in my eight months in charge now of

8:10

this, at this age group of playing a

8:12

team that were, they had three chances. They scored

8:15

three goals. I was like, wow, they're so

8:17

clinical. And we missed our,

8:19

and that's how it goes. That's the game,

8:21

right? But you listen, I'll say this too.

8:23

How do we want the, the, the state

8:25

cup at the gold level? I

8:27

would have been more insufferable than I already

8:29

am. So it's probably

8:31

best that I got a little humble,

8:33

some humility here, humble pie. But anyway,

8:35

that, that's the weekend. There was a,

8:37

there was a comment from, from Des

8:39

wanted us to post it. And Kiko

8:42

says, gentlemen, my daughter was born yesterday.

8:45

Congratulations. Shout

8:48

out What name listen listen from all

8:50

of us here call it what you

8:52

want. We're gonna bless you with name

8:54

her what you want. Okay, that's Name

8:56

her whatever you want. Charlie's

8:58

a good name Big tones would

9:00

be a good one. Yeah, that's

9:02

probably not good for her. Did

9:05

he name her Barca? Barca?

9:10

It does. It does.

9:12

It does. All right, let's get into

9:14

the show I don't want to get into

9:16

my feelings about the big loss this

9:18

past weekend And, and we want to give

9:20

a player their flowers. And then this

9:22

player is Josh Sargent, who just got named

9:24

to the championship team of the season.

9:26

Him and his teammate, Borja Sainz are the

9:28

only two players on this team that

9:31

aren't in the promotion fight or getting promoted.

9:33

And that is a hell of an

9:35

achievement. And, and as our resident number nine,

9:37

Chuck, I feel like you should be

9:39

giving the one rose here to Josh Sargent.

9:41

Can you talk about 15 goals and

9:43

five assists this season? He scored 11 in

9:45

his last 15 games. He's got named

9:47

captain recently for the first time since representing

9:49

Norwich. And 44 goals and 97 league

9:51

appearances over the last three seasons for Norwich.

9:53

But this year, he makes the team

9:55

of the season. Chuck, take it away. What

9:58

do you think? Yeah,

10:00

it's an incredible accomplishment. He

10:02

finished fourth in the championship for

10:04

goals scored. And remember, he missed

10:07

some time due to injuries. So

10:09

I think for me, This is

10:11

the perfect swan song for Josh Sargent

10:13

to say, I've done everything I

10:15

possibly can for this club at this

10:17

level. And I got a team

10:19

of the year. I'm ready

10:21

for the next challenge. That

10:24

for me should be the platform

10:26

for him to move on. And

10:28

I'm hoping. It's it's somewhere

10:30

in Europe and a top league, you know,

10:32

you can go down the list of

10:34

is it the air divisi because I mean,

10:36

if you're making team of the year,

10:38

I'm certain you can get a club there,

10:40

although maybe the pay structure won't won't

10:42

be. quite as

10:44

high as he would like it. Then

10:47

you look at, uh, Liga, I'm sure

10:49

there are some French teams, Portugal top

10:51

league. We've seen guys go from the

10:53

championship. A Victor Georgius is a perfect

10:55

example of playing in the championship and

10:57

not even excelling the way you would

10:59

and excelling in Portugal for, for sporting. Um,

11:03

so I'm hoping that he, he moves

11:05

on, may possibly back to the Bundesliga

11:07

where he's had some success, but, um,

11:09

You know, I think he deserves a

11:11

lot of credit for the way that

11:13

he's performed at Norwich City. Okay.

11:16

So apparently, according to journalist Florian Plettenberg,

11:18

there's some interest in Sargent as, as there

11:20

should be, especially given what you said,

11:22

Chuck, does that he's done enough, right? I

11:24

feel like he's, he's done what he's

11:26

going to do in the championship. He needs

11:28

a new adventure now at this point.

11:30

But he says there's an interest in the,

11:32

and from Premier League teams and Bundesliga

11:34

teams. Now big tones. His contract has been

11:37

extended till 2028 or his last contract

11:39

that he signed till 2028. They're valuing him

11:41

at about 15 to 20 million. And

11:44

just to get back to, Sergeant

11:46

played three seasons in the Bundesliga with

11:48

Werder Bremen. He scored 11 goals

11:50

in 71 games prior to them getting

11:52

relegated. Then he moved the move

11:54

to Norwich. They were in the Premier

11:56

League, then they got relegated. And now he's had those

11:58

three seasons in the championship where he's had very good

12:00

success, obviously, topped off by what

12:02

he did. this season in particular. And I

12:04

swear the back half of that season,

12:06

11, 11 goals in 15 games is a

12:08

hell of a run, especially for a

12:10

team that was struggling to maintain relevancy as

12:12

they were kind of dropping down the

12:14

table. Where do you

12:16

think realistically is a good spot for him

12:18

to go? We can obviously throw bigger

12:21

names out there. And we have to take

12:23

into consideration. And I know we've discussed

12:25

this about a multiple of players here in

12:27

our player pool. It's not

12:29

going to behoove him. I love that word.

12:32

To go to a club where he's just going to be

12:34

a super sub, maybe it's a bigger club, but a

12:36

super sub as opposed to playing regularly and being the guy.

12:40

Yeah, and I'll take the money out of

12:42

it, right? Because that's always a factor, but

12:44

we'll talk about it from a footballing standpoint. First

12:46

off, it's amazing what he

12:48

did of the top 20

12:51

scorers in the league. He

12:53

scored in a higher percentage

12:55

of games than anybody. Charlie

12:57

mentioned, right? He didn't play all the

12:59

games. He only played 31 games. He had

13:01

the 15 goals. He scored in 48 %

13:03

of the games he played in. So

13:05

basically every other game, right, is what it

13:07

averages out to be, which is amazing

13:09

to me. And only his teammate, Borja Sainz,

13:12

who scored one more goal in him,

13:14

scored a higher percentage of his team's goals.

13:16

which is amazing to me. So what

13:19

could have been if he played

13:21

whether they have 46 games in

13:23

that league, right? I think

13:25

total in that league. So incredible

13:27

run. I don't know why

13:29

my brain for Josh Sargent thinking about the

13:31

way that he plays leans towards the

13:33

Bundesliga for me. Just goes

13:35

and like he fits the way that they

13:37

want to play. Most of

13:39

those teams play in very

13:41

similar styles. They attack. There's

13:44

not a lot of Bundesliga teams that just

13:46

sit back and endure pressure for 90 minutes where

13:48

I feel like to your point, Jimmy, if

13:50

he goes to like a Premier League team, and

13:52

again, money aside, if he goes to like

13:54

a Premier League team, well, like he did with

13:56

Norwich, I feel like he's not going to

13:58

be at the teams that are attacking all the

14:00

time. He's not going to be at the

14:02

Liverpools and the cities and, you know, those types

14:04

of teams. So you're going to be playing.

14:06

you're going to be playing in midfield the entire

14:09

game again. And we saw this story already

14:11

a couple of years ago. So my,

14:13

I don't know which team I'd have

14:15

to scrub down to Bundesliga, but I don't

14:17

know. His style of play just fits

14:19

the Bundesliga for me. It doesn't fit a

14:21

bunch of teams in Spain, Italy,

14:23

maybe it would fit in Italy. Now

14:25

that I think about it in some

14:27

places, he could, I think he could

14:30

survive there. Fryberg

14:32

and Leipzig are two teams that

14:34

come to mind because they play a

14:36

good brand. And Leipzig are

14:38

probably going to be losing one if

14:40

that two strikers. So if

14:42

you look at that, you going to be

14:45

gone. Yeah. Yeah. Benjy Schesko is

14:47

most likely gone. So my concern with Fryberg

14:49

is will they have the money to

14:51

shell out? Now we get into the financial

14:53

side of it. Right. 15 to 20

14:55

million for Josh Sargent. Leipzig for sure can

14:57

pay that. Brucia Dortmund currently in

14:59

six minds their club, maybe bring vertebrates at

15:01

eighth right now, where they consider bringing him

15:03

back. What do we even want to go

15:05

back? So yeah, I do like him in

15:07

the Bundesliga though. And I think that he

15:10

could help a bunch of Gladbach, Gladbach are

15:12

astute guards. If they were willing to show

15:14

out that type of money, but it's sporting. If

15:17

Yorker risk goes to many United Yorker

15:19

ish that yeah, because you're going to

15:21

go home. Yeah. Yeah,

15:24

you're gonna go to a team that's always

15:26

competing right in for a championship in that

15:28

league and if it's if you have an

15:30

off year We see the cycle right with

15:32

Benfica what's boarding? You know, we see the

15:34

cycle with those guys they compete for a

15:36

championship and Porto obviously in that in that

15:38

conversation as well Then they they sell a

15:40

couple players they have an off year and

15:43

then they build again And it's like they

15:45

recycle and recycle in those and you're constantly

15:47

you always have a chance to play in Champions League.

15:49

And I think that's so to your point, I think

15:51

if you're going to make a move, that's so important. If

15:54

you can get it, right? Again, there's

15:56

other factors in this, but just from

15:58

a footballing standpoint that that makes sense.

16:00

OK, hear me out on this one.

16:02

What if he goes and signs with

16:05

a team that just got promoted to

16:07

the championship? Wrexham. I mean, talk about

16:09

the visibility that guy would get. He'd

16:11

be the most famous American for sure,

16:13

because all eyes are on Wrexham. They

16:16

just secured. their third consecutive

16:18

promotion, which is a record, a

16:20

British record. It's never been

16:22

done before. And what little lesson,

16:24

what four years ago, Hollywood

16:26

stars, Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney

16:28

completed up. They had, they bought

16:30

the club for $2 .5 million. And

16:33

this club's been around for

16:35

161 years. They were toiling in

16:37

the fifth division and now

16:39

they are in the championship. That

16:41

is crazy. And we're getting

16:43

scenes here. of the fans

16:45

storming the field for the third

16:47

consecutive year. I guess the

16:49

big question is, and Chuck, I'll come

16:51

to you first on this. How do you think they're

16:53

going to do in the championship? Because that is a

16:55

massive, massive step up. I

16:57

think it's going to be

17:00

a real challenge for them because

17:02

they've been on this meteoric

17:04

rise into the championship and, you

17:06

know, eventually finances catch up

17:08

with you because of the level of

17:10

quality on every position. And

17:13

I just think even if they can stay

17:15

just in the championship for this next

17:17

season, that's a huge success just to stay

17:19

up. And it might not

17:21

be the same level as a championship

17:23

team going up to the Premier League,

17:25

but that type of comparison because it's

17:27

really difficult for teams coming up to

17:29

stay up. But I

17:31

think it's just above

17:33

that level. Okay.

17:36

So, so, Tom's, I think what's

17:38

interesting is that Rexum are unique

17:40

with regard to their marketing power,

17:42

unlike any other team, including the

17:44

ones that are currently live in

17:46

the championship. I guess Birmingham city,

17:48

though they just got promoted to

17:50

the Premier League with the Tom

17:52

Brady sprinkle of fame, could have

17:54

attract different types of sponsors. And

17:56

I say this because when, when

17:58

there was a, there was a

18:00

study done by Deloitte and in

18:02

the 2022 -23 season in league

18:04

one, clubs there averaged around

18:06

13 million in revenue. Okay. Last

18:09

year, rexham had 35 .6 million in

18:11

revenue, which is crazy. That's up 155 %

18:13

from the prior year for them. And,

18:15

and clearly that the Hollywood star power

18:17

makes a big difference in terms of

18:19

who they can recruit, the money they

18:21

can spend and, and I don't know

18:23

if people think that's an unfair advantage

18:25

or not, but that's, that's how promotion

18:27

relegation works. That's how the system works.

18:29

If you got the money in the

18:32

funds and you, and you manage that

18:34

money and make good, make good societies

18:36

and put the right people in place,

18:38

ultimately good things are going to happen.

18:40

But that's more in line with, with

18:42

the type of revenue that, that championship

18:44

clubs, uh, usually make on average, which

18:46

is around 41 million for them to

18:48

actually get promoted to the Premier League.

18:51

I mean, everything's going to have to

18:53

hit those like higher, higher notes. But

18:55

I wouldn't put it past these guys given what they've

18:57

done so far. Yeah, I

18:59

think I think this this will be

19:02

one mountain to be too high to climb

19:04

at least in a year or two

19:06

I'm not surprised that they got out of

19:08

non -league football to league two Then the

19:10

league one if you remember when they

19:12

were in non -league football everyone was saying

19:14

well This is a team that's spending like

19:16

a league one team In non -league football.

19:18

They didn't get promoted the first year

19:21

they get promoted after that and They've just

19:23

cruised. Well cruise is not fair because

19:25

they had to work really really hard to

19:27

do it, but with regards to their

19:29

brand and growing, that helps them also buy

19:31

players, right? How

19:33

to your original question how they fair

19:35

I think if they stay in the

19:37

championship and a battle in the middle

19:39

of the table somewhere next year That'd

19:42

be a massive massive jump for them.

19:44

Remember you already got three Premier League

19:46

teams that I don't know I'd have

19:48

to look at the salary salaries But

19:50

you got three Premier League teams coming

19:52

down. Of course, they've already been there.

19:54

They basically have Championship winning sides already

19:56

Because they've done it right they've just

19:58

gone to the Premier League these three

20:00

teams so I think they'll

20:02

be a little bit off the pace. Obviously,

20:04

they'll go buy new players, which will change

20:06

that. And we might have a better idea in

20:08

the summer transfer window. But it's

20:10

a cool story. And the

20:12

numbers you mentioned as far as income coming

20:15

into the team, that's

20:17

the way it's talking about building

20:19

your brand, right? Like, these teams come

20:21

to America. Remember, they came to

20:23

America and played Manchester United. And I

20:25

actually think they beat Manchester United

20:27

in California, right? And I get it.

20:30

It was a completely different Manchester

20:32

United side. But just think about it

20:34

from a marketing standpoint, because a

20:36

lot of their viewership, I would imagine,

20:38

are first timers. I know I

20:40

go to Stillwater or Oklahoma all the

20:42

time to go see my son.

20:44

I was talking to people in Stillwater

20:46

about rexham. They're like, have you

20:48

seen this rexham side? This is really

20:50

cool. You know, I'm like, yeah,

20:52

I saw it. And so you're gaining

20:54

some soccer fans, whether they like

20:56

the story of Reynolds and McElaney or

20:58

whether they like the story of

21:00

like the local club or whatever part

21:02

of the story they like, they're

21:04

engaged in it. Yeah. So

21:06

they've done such a great job

21:08

of building something at Rexham for sure.

21:11

And congratulations to them, by the

21:13

way, because what they did is obviously

21:15

never been done before. Right.

21:17

Right. Right. I mean, there's a lot

21:19

of teams out there. all over the world

21:21

that spent a ton of money and

21:23

it doesn't always equate to success. So fair

21:25

play to them for making that happen.

21:27

Just very quickly on the salaries. And then

21:29

Chuck, I want to get into a

21:31

bigger conversation about promotion relegation and how the

21:33

rexsum effect could impact what happens over

21:35

here. But in league one players salaries average

21:37

about $265 ,000 a year. Okay. That figure

21:39

jumps to around 825 ,000 in the, in

21:41

the championship. And then to get to

21:43

the Premier League, the average salary is around

21:45

four million a year. So, so. I'm

21:48

very curious to see how and

21:50

what they do in the transfer window.

21:52

And I agree with you. Success

21:54

for them should be, can we just

21:56

be stabilized and just survive, put

21:59

ourselves on a good pitch? It's almost like a three

22:01

year plan to get to the Premier League at this

22:03

point, right? As you kind of manage the high seas

22:05

of the championship, which I believe is one of the

22:07

most difficult leagues. to have success in

22:09

in the world because it's just so many

22:11

goddamn games all the time. Tuesday, Saturday, Tuesday, Saturday,

22:13

Tuesday, Saturday. And you're basically

22:15

playing at 70 % full

22:17

health. Um, the, for

22:19

most of the season, cause you can just never

22:22

get to that 100%. All right. So, so

22:24

Chuck, what do you think the rexome effect does

22:26

here? Do you think it hurts MLS because

22:28

MLS doesn't have that promotion relegation. They miss out

22:30

on those narratives. I mean, I know we

22:32

kind of, I've already spoke about this and maybe

22:34

we already know the type of answer, but

22:36

do you think that this, this This story, because

22:38

of the impact, because people in Stillwater are

22:40

talking about Little Rexum, and

22:43

they're probably looking for, oh, is there

22:45

something like that that exists here in the

22:47

States? And now USL Championship has something

22:49

in place to make that happen, obviously a

22:51

couple of years out. Where

22:54

do you think soccer, and

22:56

American soccer in particular, does it get

22:58

hurt? Does it get helped by this

23:00

story? What are your thoughts on that? Well,

23:03

just like Ted Lasso. It helps

23:05

in terms of promoting the game,

23:07

getting people to understand the game

23:09

a little bit more. Obviously,

23:12

it's all stories, but

23:14

storytelling is a big way to get pull

23:16

people in. Just like the 1994 World Cup,

23:18

Tony can attest to this better than anybody.

23:21

No one played the game in New

23:23

Hampshire. It was like little

23:25

pockets all around the country. Everyone

23:27

was kind of unaware of the

23:30

game, unless you had

23:32

some sort of of foreign

23:34

type of parent or friend

23:36

or relationship are in and

23:38

around your neighborhood or community,

23:40

you didn't really know anything

23:42

about soccer. My dad came

23:45

from Gambia. That's what he grew up

23:47

playing the game. But I had never seen

23:49

the game where I was growing up.

23:51

So the fact that the World Cup came,

23:53

people saw it and then, whoa, this

23:55

is amazing. I think we should

23:57

learn more about it. And then

23:59

MLS was born. And it was on

24:01

a skyrocket ever since then. And

24:03

I think, Tony, you can address this

24:05

perfectly of when someone gets aware

24:07

of what these games mean and the

24:09

athleticism that goes into it and

24:11

some of the ball mastery that you

24:13

can relate it to so many

24:15

different things. And it's relentless for 90

24:17

minutes. It's not baseball

24:19

where you sit and you watch. So

24:22

I think that type of action and

24:24

you're seeing some of the best

24:26

players in the world come across your

24:28

screen or come across the pitch. It

24:30

is, it is just such a beautiful

24:32

sport and it's hard to imagine not

24:34

wanting to be a part of it.

24:37

So I think in terms of Rexham

24:39

and Telasso helping grow the game in

24:41

this country, bring more awareness to it.

24:43

Well, people are not so, you

24:45

know, stern on not giving soccer a

24:47

chance anymore, or like, ah, it's not,

24:49

it's not American or it's not, no,

24:51

it's the world's game. And I think

24:53

we're starting to, starting to catch on.

24:55

So I think with promotional relegation

24:57

in USL, if that comes to fruition,

25:00

people will start seeing, oh, wow, every

25:02

game matters. Mless is still caught in

25:04

the, we'll wait till next year.

25:06

We'll wait till we get the DP

25:08

next year, or man, the DP's didn't

25:10

work out. Well, we'll wait till next

25:12

year for the coach to kind of

25:14

address those things. I think it's gotten

25:16

a little bit more stringent in

25:18

terms of culpability. When you make bad

25:21

decisions, coaches are getting fired now, but

25:23

in the past, you get two, three

25:25

years. And then it's like, oh, we'll make

25:27

a change. And there are some clubs who just still take

25:29

their time. And I imagine some of

25:31

the supporters in San Jose, in

25:33

Colorado, where they're like,

25:36

hey, what's going on here?

25:38

So I think, Tony, you should address

25:40

this because it's just something where I

25:42

think we just want this game to

25:45

continue to grow so we can compete

25:47

with the world and win a World

25:49

Cup one day. Yeah,

25:51

I mean, 94, if

25:53

I had a nickel for every time, and I've

25:55

told this story forever, every time someone said, man,

25:57

I got hooked on the sport in 1994. Um,

26:00

you know, and I wouldn't be sitting here

26:02

talking to you guys, uh, if I could

26:04

collect a nickel from all those people, but,

26:06

um, the, but that's the hope, right?

26:09

For this team and, and to relate it to

26:11

rex them a little bit, that that's the hope

26:13

for them, right? Is that they just want to

26:15

keep gaining eyes and they've done a great job

26:17

of doing it. But with regards to our sport,

26:19

we, we have, we, we know this, we have

26:21

the biggest opportunity. that

26:23

we're ever going to have, probably in our

26:25

lifetime. It may come around one more

26:27

time in our lifetime to the US, but

26:29

we're hoping by that point, we're considered

26:31

one of the best footballing nations in the

26:34

world. It's going to take a lot

26:36

of effort. So we have to

26:38

take advantage of this moment right here. How do we

26:40

grow the sport? I think all of these things, to

26:43

Charlie's point, all of these

26:45

things help grow the sport. Everyone will

26:47

digest it in a different way. I

26:49

hear people now there's that I haven't

26:51

watched it yet, but I'm gonna I'm

26:53

gonna start this formula one, right? There's

26:55

people who have said this Formula One

26:57

documentary that came out, I think, on

26:59

Netflix. It's growing their sport like crazy. But

27:02

that's what Wrexham is doing, and

27:04

that's what we hope the World Cup

27:06

will do for people. And

27:08

I know you want to get into

27:10

the pro rel side of it, but that

27:13

from a sort of a branding of

27:15

not only Wrexham, but our sport, I think

27:17

they kind of go hand in hand

27:19

when you think about them that way. Yeah,

27:21

100%. I think that there's something to

27:23

be said. and applauded with regard to storytelling.

27:26

And obviously, Ryan and Rob have a

27:28

vast amount of experience in storytelling, and

27:30

that's why F1 did what it did

27:32

with Netflix. Now, I know I don't

27:34

know if you guys have watched it

27:36

or not, and we've got to get to

27:38

a break, but the MLS Onside documentary,

27:40

I thought it has been very compelling

27:42

that was produced by the same guys.

27:44

And so if you haven't had a

27:46

chance to check that out, If you

27:48

have an Apple TV subscription, I highly

27:50

suggest you take a look at MLS

27:52

on side. It's been fun to see the

27:55

game have that level of storytelling, and

27:57

I wish that more eyeballs could

27:59

get on that. All right, we're

28:01

going to take our first break

28:03

and call what you want. When

28:05

we come back, we got to

28:07

talk about some Americans abroad, because

28:10

some of our guys had some

28:12

pretty good performances. Don't go anywhere.

28:14

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the zone by now at the

29:05

zone All

29:11

right. Well, welcome back into

29:14

call it what you want. I'm

29:16

Jimmy Conrad, also known as

29:18

Conrad Dino, also known as Red

29:20

Dot, also known as Trashcan,

29:22

also known as Charlie Davies and

29:24

Tony Mule, his best friend

29:26

forever. And let's finish that conversation

29:28

about rexham. This is promotion

29:30

relegation overall. We kind of didn't

29:32

get into that. talking about

29:35

a little couple other things. Could

29:37

I add one thing, Jimmy, before we can

29:39

get ahead? No, sure. Because

29:42

I want, I want to hear

29:44

your take on this because promotional relegation

29:46

is great in USL. But don't

29:48

you think it really wouldn't kick on

29:50

until we're talking promotional relegation with

29:52

USL into MLS. And I know that's

29:54

not, that's all completely off the

29:56

table. But I don't think The

29:58

highs of like let's say a rexham

30:00

being able to dream about going to

30:02

the Premier League It's not the same

30:04

if you have you know Portland Hearts

30:06

of Pine in Maine Hoping to get

30:08

to you know and lost to play

30:10

against the revolution the same league because

30:12

you're capped sure No, I agree with

30:14

you. I think what I find interesting

30:17

when when I hear Tony talk about

30:19

these people in still water and then

30:21

then I had a chance to see

30:23

rexham play Chelsea where the

30:25

Niners play their NFL games in

30:27

Santa Clara here in Northern California.

30:29

In the amount of people wearing

30:31

Wrexham jerseys, that was

30:34

their team. They got hooked by

30:36

the series, and

30:38

that was their gateway drug into the

30:40

sport. And so, Tones, and

30:42

Charlie talked about this too, yes, the 1994

30:44

World Cup was a big deal, and it

30:46

got people interested, but it felt like that

30:48

had a U .S. men's national

30:50

team, U .S. centric spin to

30:53

it. Now these, these, these

30:55

fans, these casual fans are getting

30:57

indoctrinated through foreign teams. And,

30:59

and then it, for

31:01

them to be, I don't

31:04

know. I'm

31:06

still cool with it, but I'm just saying like, it

31:08

would be nice if we had, or, or if

31:10

they had, if we had something in place, I just

31:12

think the connection will be a lot quicker and

31:14

sooner. If you said, oh, uh, look

31:16

what Rex's doing, but we have that

31:18

here too, right? You could support whoever

31:20

Oklahoma city. I don't even know

31:22

what their name is over there. But you

31:24

have something that's nearby that is in the same

31:26

type of pyramid and has that chance. And

31:29

I think you would probably get a lot more

31:31

crossover. As it were, the fans that I

31:33

saw at that Wrexham Chelsea game were just like,

31:35

we're all in on Wrexham. It was pretty

31:37

wild, all things considered. So

31:39

let me ask you this then, because

31:42

I'm just listening to you. There

31:44

are people who inherently don't like MLS,

31:46

right? They don't think the quality's good.

31:48

Or they like Chelsea and they just

31:50

think it's Yeah, or rex and whatever

31:53

it is, right? We hear it all

31:55

the time, right? Whatever the whatever your

31:57

rationale is. It's the perfectly fine up

31:59

to you if we added if we

32:01

added pro rel to MLS and believe

32:03

me I'm one that that wishes there

32:05

was but don't think there's going to

32:08

be anytime soon But if we added

32:10

it tomorrow do those people become MLS

32:12

fans because they're arguing about the quality

32:14

of the game They don't write quality.

32:16

That's why they watch teams in Europe.

32:18

Do they become an instant? MLS fans,

32:20

they better they talk. No, it's

32:23

better. But enough.

32:25

There's a portion. There's a

32:27

portion that would say, yeah, I'm in. And

32:29

there's a portion that will still say quality

32:31

is not good enough. Okay. Yeah. So then

32:33

what, you know, as much as I want

32:35

to see this be successful in the USL,

32:37

is it going to move the needle is

32:39

my is my question. I hope it does.

32:41

I hope I hope it is what everyone

32:43

who's pro rel centric says it's going to

32:45

do. I just have my doubts that it's

32:47

going to do it. I want to be

32:49

part of it. I want to support it.

32:51

I'm going to support it. But

32:54

I just wonder if it will

32:56

move the needle. For us, we're

32:59

soccer people, right? And most of

33:01

our viewers are soccer people. But

33:03

we're talking about Rexum and Ted

33:05

Lasso who convinced non -soccer people

33:07

to follow it. Those are the

33:09

people we have to convince. Not

33:11

the people watching our podcast. We

33:13

don't have to convince soccer people. We

33:16

have to convince... other people to come on

33:18

board and, and, you know, agree and,

33:20

and like the fact that we have all

33:22

of this stuff. That's the, that's the

33:24

hard part, man. That's the part that, that

33:26

we have to work at. I think

33:28

what's interesting is that it's not like rexham

33:30

at the league one level, we're playing

33:32

scintillating football as it were, you know, this

33:34

aesthetically pleasing. And, and if they didn't

33:36

have that chance, it's because they had more

33:38

talent than everybody else. They paid for

33:40

more talent to go out there and flex

33:42

and dominate those teams. But it wasn't,

33:44

yeah, of course they scored. Well, this last

33:46

game against charlton one of the goals

33:48

was unreal, but uh So i'm not denying

33:50

that they don't have talent, but i'm

33:52

just saying if it's about level and quality

33:54

I don't know if the rexum example

33:56

is the best one for that. All right,

33:58

we can go on that conversation forever

34:00

Let's get through the americans abroad Because producer

34:02

des put together a really nice graphic

34:04

and we want to give a shout out

34:06

for that No, i'm just kidding christian

34:08

pulisic scored a career high 16th goal in

34:10

all competitions for ac milan and their

34:12

big two zero win away from home against

34:14

venezia keeps them relatively in

34:16

the conversation. There are eight points back

34:18

in the top four with four games

34:20

left to go. So they're not mathematically

34:22

out of it, but it's going to

34:24

be a bit of a struggle. That

34:26

is his 10th league goal in Saria

34:28

this season. And before I move on

34:30

to any of the players, I just

34:32

have to say this really quick about

34:34

Christian Pulisic. According to opta, that goal

34:36

meant he is now only one of

34:38

three Saria players to have been directly

34:40

involved in at least 50 goals. He's

34:42

got 31 goals and 19 assists in

34:44

the last two seasons. in all competitions

34:46

alongside Atalanta's, Atomola Lookman and Lataro Martinez

34:48

of Inter Milan. That is pretty awesome.

34:50

And so we're giving out flowers today.

34:53

Christian Pulizic definitely deserves one. Chris Richards

34:55

got six clearances and helped Crystal Palace

34:57

get a big three zero FA cup

34:59

semi -final win over Aston Villa. He played

35:01

all 90 minutes and now they've booked

35:03

their ticket to the final. That is

35:05

going to be pretty awesome for him.

35:07

John Tolkien recorded an assist in a

35:09

very exciting four, three win for Holstein

35:11

Kiel who need all the points they

35:13

can get to try to survive in

35:15

the top division versus Bruce. She a

35:17

munching Gludbach. Unfortunately, he left the mat

35:19

and round the assist was a corner

35:21

kick corner kick with a head injury.

35:23

He leaves. So hopefully he is doing

35:25

okay. Pax and Ericsson recorded his fourth

35:27

assist there to VC season and a

35:29

four zero win for Utrecht. Ethan Horvath

35:31

recorded league season high five saves in

35:33

a very exciting zero zero draw against

35:35

West Brom for Cardiff. We had The

35:38

Celtic won the Scottish Premiership. So shout

35:40

out to Austin trustee and Cameron Carter vickers

35:42

for that Cameron Carter vickers I think

35:44

got named into the team of the season

35:46

in the Premiership as well. So congratulations

35:48

to him. Anybody else stand out for you

35:50

guys. I know that Uventus had a

35:52

big win and Western McKinney started at like

35:55

the right wing back position Tim way

35:57

I came on as a sub and that

35:59

keeps them fervently in fourth. I actually

36:01

thought Boussio looked pretty good in the Venetian

36:03

game. Wanted to give him a shout.

36:05

I really liked his movement in and around

36:07

the midfield and made some some good

36:10

final passes. I don't know if

36:12

we'll see if he's included in the gold cup

36:14

roster, but I think he's warranted some at least

36:16

some considerations just kind of dense in that area.

36:18

Chuck, I can feel you ready to say something. I

36:21

just want to hear from Tony

36:23

on because he's a diehard Milan

36:25

Milanista. Christian Paul said,

36:27

given a coaching change, given,

36:29

you know, some of the tactics

36:31

and kind of disruption of

36:33

this season, betters

36:35

his last season. And

36:38

it doesn't feel like he's even

36:40

played as well as he has last

36:42

season, right? Like the form, it

36:44

felt like he was more consistent last

36:47

year, but his production is better

36:49

this year. So how would you evaluate

36:51

Christian Pulisic this season? I

36:53

think what he's done this year is

36:55

actually more difficult than what he did last

36:57

year, because the team was playing really

36:59

well last year, right? There was support all

37:02

around. He was doing it when they

37:04

were competing for a Champions League spot, and

37:06

they were competing every week. mean, it's

37:08

been some miserable moments at Milan this year,

37:10

and he has been one of the

37:12

constants. The last part

37:14

of Fonseca coming in, that

37:17

part was sort of the...

37:19

shift for Christian, right? Because

37:21

the team was just in

37:23

a complete mess. Since

37:26

he's gotten into Serie A, I

37:28

believe he's the leading assist getter right

37:30

now. But I think since the

37:32

day he walked in, he's been the

37:34

leading assist guy in Serie A.

37:36

And then you add the goals that

37:38

he scored. I said all along

37:40

when he got there, I thought he'd

37:42

be 15 and 10 every year.

37:44

That's where I thought he'd be. So

37:46

he's been right in and around

37:48

those numbers. But I

37:50

think Charlie this year has been a

37:52

little bit more difficult for him.

37:54

So I give him more props because

37:56

there hasn't been the supporting cast

37:59

around him. And then you have a

38:01

midseason coaching change. So he's

38:03

now gone through three coaches at

38:05

Milan and the result has been the

38:07

same. Nothing has changed. And

38:09

we've seen in the past with some

38:11

players, right? Your coach changed all of

38:13

a sudden. You're not playing. You're not

38:15

that coach's guy. If they put

38:17

Christian Polisic on the bench, there's two guys. If

38:20

they put Polisic and Reinders on the

38:22

bench at Milan, the place will, they want

38:24

to burn it down, right? So

38:26

I give him credit for what he did this

38:28

year. I really do. Yeah, it's,

38:30

I'm kind of curious how they're going to

38:32

finish the season. Obviously booked our ticket for the

38:34

Copa Italia final against Bologna. That would be

38:36

some saving grace. They can make a late push

38:39

here to maybe get in the conversation for

38:41

top four. They're to need a lot of things

38:43

to go their way to make that happen.

38:45

But at least they'll be finishing the season on

38:47

somewhat of an upswing, but you never know

38:49

with this Milan team. You just never know how

38:51

it's going to go. Uh, some bad news.

38:53

Unfortunately, Kevin Paredes, who just came back from a

38:55

foot injury, came out of Wolfsburg's game with

38:58

a hamstring injury. Right now it's being reported as

39:00

somewhat minor, but we'll have to wait and

39:02

see that happens at times, right? When you come

39:04

back from an injury. And you're

39:06

pushing in a way that you have it for a

39:08

long time. And so some minor strains can happen. Um,

39:12

georena got in the, the game

39:14

against four Bruce, the Adortments against,

39:16

uh, Huffinheim, they ended up having

39:18

to squeak one out three, two. And

39:21

Eunice Musa, I guess let's go back to,

39:23

to Tony Mule on this, uh, not playing

39:25

once again, didn't get any minutes this weekend.

39:27

Doesn't seem to be first choice, second choice,

39:29

or a third choice, uh, at this point,

39:31

big tones. Do we do. Should we expect

39:33

to see him at any point in these

39:35

last couple of games for Milan? No,

39:37

I don't think so. Unless

39:40

there's a period where you're going to

39:42

rest some players prior to the Coppa

39:44

Italia final, then you

39:46

might see them. But as far as like

39:49

significant minutes and moments where it means something,

39:51

I don't think so. And it's amazing

39:53

because there was a moment when Conce Sal

39:55

came in. Well, first when Fonseca left, and

39:57

then when Conce Sal came in, that

39:59

Eunice Musa, they were trying to fit him

40:01

in everywhere because he was playing well. Man,

40:04

his game has just dropped. It

40:06

happened two weeks before... Remember, we talked

40:08

about this before the Nations League. He

40:11

hadn't been playing well going into

40:13

the Nations League, and since that point,

40:15

it's been almost... He's been almost

40:17

non -existent. I don't know if

40:19

he knows he's out of there at the

40:21

end of the year or this is just

40:23

a bad period because every player goes through

40:25

it. Eunice Musette, what is he, 22 years

40:27

old, is not going to be immune to

40:29

having a bad period in his career. But

40:32

for whatever reason, this has been like

40:34

a really bad two, two and a

40:36

half months for him. I'll

40:38

also add Jimmy

40:40

and Tony is he

40:42

practices Ramadan. So

40:45

February 28th to

40:47

March 29th. There was a

40:49

dip. There was a dip. And I see

40:51

a correlation because last time he had the dip

40:53

too during Nations League when it was during

40:55

Ramadan. So I think that

40:57

was a big reason for it. And

40:59

then next thing you know, you

41:01

lose the coach's trust, lose confidence, and

41:03

it's tough to bounce back. No,

41:06

that's a great insight there, Chuck. I appreciate you

41:08

bringing that up. And it's one of those things,

41:10

and this is going to happen to all the

41:12

players. We went through it as well. where

41:14

when things aren't going your way and you're not

41:16

getting or you lost the trust, it becomes very

41:18

simple. What are you going to do about it?

41:21

What are the things that you can control and

41:23

what are you going to do about it?

41:25

Can you make it positive or are you going

41:27

to get yourself into a situation where It's

41:30

just gonna be one kind of negative thing

41:32

that builds on another and so we're gonna

41:34

get to see This is where you get

41:36

to really see what your players are all

41:38

about and I don't think it's a bad

41:40

thing Ultimately, this could be very similar to

41:43

big tones as golf swing one step back

41:45

for two steps forward You know what I'm

41:47

talking about? That was a way callback from

41:49

the very beginning of the show. All right,

41:51

so using you to smooth says a segue

41:53

I was tasked with with our top five

41:55

right backs at our player pool at this

41:57

very moment and and you get to pick

41:59

apart. Everybody listening and watching hit us up

42:01

at gloss America. If you disagree with me,

42:04

which okay, it's fine. Or you can hear

42:06

and just live vicariously through big tones and

42:08

Charlie and their criticisms and or analysis of

42:10

my top five. Here we go. Number one,

42:12

I got serginio deaths. I know he's disappeared.

42:14

He was back and then he disappeared. And

42:16

I think he's working through his own injuries.

42:18

He came back from a significant injury, but

42:20

he's still my number one guy and all

42:22

looks like he's going to be in the

42:25

gold cup mix. I don't know about these

42:27

friendlies coming up, but the gold cup mix,

42:29

I still got him. Number one, number two,

42:31

just because I think he talked about trust.

42:33

He's earned the trust of Marisa Pochettino. I

42:35

got Joe Scali. He doesn't,

42:37

he's probably our, maybe our most bland defenders,

42:39

but guess what? He does the job on

42:41

the defensive side of the ball. He's been

42:43

solid. So we're going to, we're going to

42:45

keep him in solitary. Sorry. He's number two,

42:47

because nobody's really pushed him out. And again,

42:49

I think he's got the trust. Number three,

42:51

I don't know if this counts, but I'm

42:53

putting Tim way out there at number three.

42:55

Just because we need somebody to pinch. She's

42:57

got plenty of experience. We know he can

42:59

do it. Number four, even though I don't

43:01

like him on this list, because especially in

43:03

the nation's league, I didn't think he looked

43:05

good in this position, but Eunice Moussa would

43:07

be number four. And then number five, I've

43:09

got Marlon Fosse, who I think, again, adding

43:11

that trust into Mauricio Pochettino, that they do

43:13

like something that he brings to the table.

43:15

I got him at five. Now, now

43:17

I still think there's a shout that

43:20

you can have Richie Ledesma. Obviously he

43:22

hasn't. He's been good

43:24

and solid at that position for PSV, though

43:26

that's on his best position. And then, and

43:28

then listen, the way that Marisa Pochettino likes

43:30

to play, you could throw a center back

43:32

out there. That has some experience at the

43:34

right back position because if we're especially left

43:36

-sided where Anthony Robinson is going to be

43:38

the one going forward anyway, then we can

43:40

shift into that back three and be really

43:42

sturdy. Then Chris Richards, I think could be

43:44

part of that conversation as well. So I

43:46

just want to throw that out there. But

43:48

my top five is my top five. Big

43:50

tones. As someone who has marshaled the back

43:53

line before and boss people around from your

43:55

goalkeeper position Where are you on this right

43:57

back list? And how do you think my

43:59

top five stack up with what you had

44:01

in your mind? Yeah, so

44:03

There's you know desk alley way.

44:05

I'm supposed to I just don't

44:07

I don't know enough about falsely.

44:09

I mean I've seen him I

44:11

get it. I I don't know

44:13

enough about him. I seen him

44:15

in camps Right now, though, we

44:18

have three right back options. And

44:20

that's it. The list should end at three.

44:22

I mean, I don't see Eunice Moose as a

44:24

right back. I don't either. But he just

44:26

was used there and utilized there in our most

44:28

recent game. I actually think the

44:30

list is two right backs with an

44:32

emergency right back. That's essentially what it

44:34

is. Yes. Yeah. Yeah, you got deaths

44:37

galley and way and I'm not trying

44:39

to be disrespectful to any I just

44:41

don't know Marlon foresee enough I don't

44:43

see him play every week I see

44:45

the highlights that people put on on

44:47

you know, whatever social media and all

44:49

that stuff and But I don't watch

44:51

him like I can't tell you I

44:53

don't know if you can tell me

44:55

or anyone can tell me like what

44:57

his game looks like what I've seen

44:59

him in camp. We saw him. I

45:01

forget what was that in either September, October,

45:03

whatever camps he was in. I can't remember off

45:05

the top of my head. So I don't

45:08

have enough of a sample size. So I don't

45:10

want to take them off the list. No,

45:12

I get it. But I just don't have enough

45:14

to go on for Marlon Fosse. No, I

45:16

get it. I get it. Now, Chuck, when

45:18

we did left backs last week, it

45:20

was Jedi Robinson. There's like a steep drop off. Here

45:23

it's like we got, we

45:25

have dust. And then Scali becomes

45:27

just super solid. And then Wayan becomes putting

45:30

some guy who's not in his best spot

45:32

just on the field because he's talented enough

45:34

to make that work. I

45:36

feel like we're maybe not as sturdy at those outside

45:39

back positions. When you start to lay it down and

45:41

put it on paper and lay it, you're like, whoa,

45:43

wait a second. Our depth, it becomes a little bit

45:45

more thin. So I feel like we have more solutions

45:47

at the right back position in a pinch than we

45:49

do it on the left side. Let

45:51

me, let me tell you

45:54

something, Jimmy. We've never been solid

45:56

or deep in those positions.

45:58

We've only had one and Frankie

46:00

Haddock and Steve Schrundelow want

46:02

to have a word with you.

46:04

We, we, we've always struggled

46:06

typically. Especially at left back. It's,

46:08

it's, it's been tough. I

46:10

mean, throughout my time in the

46:13

national team, you haven't had

46:15

a long list of, of, of

46:17

players there. So. Yeah.

46:20

I don't envy you having to create this

46:22

list. And I know you, you tried to

46:24

turn every stone. Well, I try to be

46:26

positive about the situation ultimately. It's, it's again,

46:28

there are a lot of different ways we

46:30

could solve the right back position in a

46:32

way that we can't on the left because

46:34

it just, you need a left sided left

46:36

footed player that's so comfortable in that channel

46:39

of the field. And

46:41

I agree. I agree

46:44

with Dalton Harris here. He said

46:46

McKinney would be an option there

46:48

before Eunice Musa. Yeah, that's my

46:50

show. You might even use Weston

46:52

there before Timway as well. You

46:54

could. Yeah, it's another option. It

46:56

might be, it literally might be

46:58

Dest, then McKinney. If you had

47:00

to go to a, you know,

47:02

a second option and we're talking

47:04

about a World Cup because you

47:06

have the most depth in your

47:08

team is in midfield. So you're

47:10

talking about You're talking about Johnny

47:12

Cardoso and, you know, Tyler Adams.

47:14

And so you can figure out

47:16

something in the midfield. I think

47:18

the right back. Pochettino

47:20

is going to have to get the best players

47:23

on the pitch. Jimmy, to

47:25

my point about Marlon Fossey, I just

47:27

put in the run down in our

47:29

private chat. Fossey has three straight seasons

47:31

as a starting right back in the

47:33

Belgian League. OK, I looked that up

47:35

on transfer market. I get it. Is

47:37

he a good long passer? Is he

47:39

a good short passer? Is he good

47:41

defender 1v1? Does he make up or

47:43

laughing runs? Is he a good crosser

47:45

of the ball? Is he a leader

47:47

in the team? Does he have an

47:49

engine to go all game? We

47:51

don't know enough how many people watch the

47:53

Belgian League. We talk about the top

47:55

five leagues in the world every year. No

47:57

one, to me, mentions the Belgian League.

47:59

I don't get it on my cable. I

48:01

don't watch it. So that's my point

48:04

when I say I don't know. I just

48:06

want to explain. I just don't know

48:08

enough about him. Can anybody tell me, is

48:10

he a good short passer? Is he

48:12

a good long passer? Any of those things?

48:14

Yeah, I mean, honestly, Serginio Des would

48:16

be a good example of, he's

48:18

not Serginio Des, but he has elements of

48:20

his game. He's a former winger that's been dropped

48:22

a little bit deeper. That kid

48:24

can get going. When he gets going and

48:26

going forward, he's hard to slow down. So there's

48:28

a lot of elements I like about his

48:31

game. He's not a starter for us. But could

48:33

you bring somebody out that has that player

48:35

profile that can break people down and get crosses

48:37

off in 1v1 situations? That's a little bit

48:39

quick that looks to combine quick and maybe be

48:41

a catalyst if you're down a goal, but

48:43

we saw this all and we saw this all

48:45

for one game, right? It was one game.

48:47

We saw him play like he wanted to get

48:49

forward. He tried to get far. I forget

48:51

who it was, but like, I just don't know.

48:53

I just don't know. Like that's one game.

48:55

Maybe that's what that game presented it, but maybe

48:57

in. nine of the other games that he

48:59

plays out of 10, that doesn't present himself. He

49:01

has to defend the whole time. So is

49:03

he good at that? You know what I mean?

49:05

No, these are all great questions. I've seen

49:07

bits and pieces of some of his games in

49:09

the run of play, not just in highlights,

49:11

but the run of play in Belgium. And

49:14

what we saw in the game that he

49:16

did play for the U S looks very

49:18

similar. His decision making is I'm trying to

49:20

get forward. When can I break to go

49:22

forward in terms of being under under it

49:24

and having to sit in a low block

49:26

to cause you're playing against Brazil or Columbia

49:28

or whoever. I don't know if

49:30

I haven't seen, I have not enough sample

49:32

size with regard to how his decisions are going

49:34

to be and what he, how he is

49:36

in the locker room and all these, all of

49:39

these important things that we know are fundamental

49:41

and key and clutch for, for building a team

49:43

and how you fit within that. So all

49:45

right, we're going to take our last break and

49:47

call it what you want. Please

49:49

dissect our top five and our right back

49:51

conversation in the chat. While we get to

49:53

this break and when we come back, we

49:55

got some other stuff to talk about. This

49:58

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OK, now back to the show, or

50:47

on to the next ad. All

50:55

right, welcome back to the stretch run

50:58

of call it what it is. That's what

51:00

Johnny Bornstein calls the show. I'm

51:02

Conardino alongside Chuck Wacken and big tones.

51:04

And, and I would now want to pivot

51:07

the conversation to the concha calf champions

51:09

cup. We are into the second leg of

51:11

the semifinals. We got two Mexican league

51:13

teams battling it out in the other side.

51:15

We got two MLS teams that we're

51:17

going to really focus on. We have Vancouver

51:19

who are up to zero who really

51:21

good performance over into Miami in leg one.

51:24

Brian white I thought scored a great

51:26

header Sebastian burr halter scored again that guy

51:28

is on fire And I just want

51:30

to give a shout almost again. We're giving

51:32

flowers to this particular episode Jesper Sorensen

51:34

has come in took over for Vanny Sartini

51:36

who who got the Vancouver white caps

51:38

a bit of a surprise They let him

51:41

go, but I thought Sorensen or has

51:43

been I don't know if they thought I

51:45

think that he's done an excellent job

51:47

of just kind of building upon what Sartini

51:49

put in place And to do

51:51

it, uh, with, despite having some, some injuries, Ryan

51:53

Gald in particular has been really impressive for the

51:55

white caps, both, both not only in the conca

51:57

cap champions cap, but also in MLS. And

52:00

so I don't know which one

52:02

of you wants to kind of dive

52:04

into Vancouver a little bit more,

52:06

uh, big tones. I'm going to go

52:08

to you. What has

52:10

made them a little bit different? Are you

52:12

seeing something tactical that's different from Sartini to

52:14

Sorensen as a coach? Is it just the

52:16

players being ready to take on more responsibility

52:18

and just playing a little bit better, Burhalter

52:20

in particular, who I think is being asked

52:22

to join the attack a lot more and

52:24

more consistently and has scored some big goals

52:26

in both of these competitions? What

52:29

say you about these exciting white caps? They're

52:31

fun to watch. Yeah, they are

52:33

fun. They were fun under Vani Sartini

52:35

as well. They were maybe just a

52:37

little bit reckless in the way that

52:39

they went about their business, throwing everybody

52:41

forward. But Kubas has been excellent in

52:43

the middle of the field. Vite is

52:45

probably the most underrated midfielder in Major

52:48

League Soccer, maybe because he plays up

52:50

in Vancouver. He has grown

52:52

into a... an incredible midfielder

52:54

in this league. Sebastian Burhalter,

52:56

we've seen his growth start

52:58

to happen. Remember under Vanni

53:00

Sartini, he played a lot

53:02

at right back, right? They

53:04

were decimated at right back.

53:06

He played a lot of

53:08

right back there. Brian White

53:10

is scoring goals. Ali Ahmed

53:13

is a really solid winger

53:15

taking players on. They brought

53:17

in guys like Manuel Savi

53:19

from Salt Lake. The

53:21

experience plays them. Damir Krylak. Guys like

53:23

that that have come in and have

53:25

been, have been just steady, steady players.

53:27

And, you know, I called the games

53:29

on the weekend. I've had Vancouver twice

53:31

and we get the chance to talk

53:33

to managers prior to the game. Sorensen

53:36

is really, really impressive in the way

53:38

that he breaks the game down and

53:40

how simple he's been for this team.

53:42

And you could see, you could see

53:44

he's a player's kind of coach. You

53:46

could see that players would enjoy playing

53:49

for him. You're

53:51

right, man, because they're missing Ryan

53:53

Gold, who I think I've

53:55

always said to myself, like, if I ever had

53:57

a chance, he'd be the first guy to

53:59

go after in the league. I love the way

54:01

he plays. I love his energy. He

54:03

got hurt. He's got that knee injury. It's kept him

54:05

out now a little bit. Or

54:07

it might actually might be the back

54:10

of the knee calf that he had.

54:12

But he's he's a big miss and they

54:14

haven't missed a beat, man. So good.

54:17

Good on you, Esper Sorensen. They've been a

54:19

fun team to watch. Now, Chuck, I

54:21

want to give you a Jesper Sorensen quote

54:23

when he first took over the job.

54:25

He was at Bronby and the Danish Super

54:27

League where he had them competing at

54:29

a high level. He comes over

54:31

to MLS and what I appreciated about him was

54:33

this quote in particular. He said, I'm not

54:35

here to make a revolution because I could see

54:37

there was a great job done so far.

54:40

So a shout out to Sartini there, but make

54:42

an evolution to try and make some adjustments

54:44

so we can get better from actually a very

54:46

good starting point. I can see a lot

54:48

of good players with good mentality and playing with

54:50

a strong heart for the club. And that's

54:52

good to see. Um, and

54:55

so I wanted, I appreciate that,

54:57

that he's meeting the players and

54:59

the club where they are, as

55:01

opposed to being like, Oh, well,

55:03

I know more about everything. And,

55:05

and just, I've just been really

55:07

impressed with his approach. And then, and then

55:09

conversely, how, how quickly the players have adopted

55:12

that approach and the buy -in seems complete

55:14

with every player on the roster. It's

55:18

important to have a coach that

55:20

can galvanize the locker room, guys

55:23

respect that coach. I

55:25

know that Brombie is always a

55:27

team that plays football in Denmark.

55:29

So I think when he came

55:31

into the league, you have to

55:34

want to adjust to the athleticism

55:36

across major league soccer. So I

55:38

think that maybe poses a challenge

55:40

for a lot of foreigners that

55:42

come to MLS. But

55:44

what he's done extremely well,

55:46

look at this run. and the

55:48

Concord Calf Nation's Concord Calf

55:50

Champions Cup. It's been incredible because

55:53

they're scoring goals. They're

55:55

defending as a team, but they're so

55:57

good in transition. And I think

55:59

that's what separates them is they're pretty direct.

56:01

They're not in the game to keep

56:03

possession and dominate possession and pin you back.

56:06

They're organized. And this is

56:08

where you get a lot of the Danish coaches

56:10

in playing in the Superliga. All

56:12

their teams are super organized. You'll have

56:14

some that maybe throw few

56:16

more forward than others, but they're all organized

56:18

in transition. When they lose the ball, they

56:20

all get back. And so

56:22

what I love about Vancouver is when they

56:25

do win the ball to go forward,

56:27

they go forward and they don't hesitate and

56:29

they have an identity. Brian White, he

56:31

knows exactly where he needs to be. The

56:33

guys know exactly what type of runs

56:35

he likes to make and he's been clinical.

56:37

So that's been the difference right now

56:39

is you look at it in Miami, they

56:42

just weren't clinical in that first leg

56:44

and Vancouver was. And so it gave them

56:46

a real good shot to advance. I

56:48

don't know if Intermime is going to

56:50

be able to score two more goals

56:52

than Vancouver because Vancouver will get after

56:54

them. I'll tell you that right now.

56:57

Miami does leave themselves vulnerable because guys

56:59

get forward. You know, you

57:01

have some guys that don't defend once

57:03

the ball gets by them. And

57:05

so Vancouver's is a heavy favorite, in

57:07

my opinion, going into this, this

57:09

second leg, even though Miami will be

57:11

better at home. I know Vancouver.

57:13

will be heavy favorites. I think what's

57:15

interesting too is they're on top

57:17

of the Western conference and MLS 20

57:19

goals for seven against, uh, just

57:21

it's been really impressive in terms of

57:23

how they've established their identity. And

57:25

so that's an MLS side of things.

57:27

When I look at their, their,

57:29

their road through the conca cap champions

57:31

cup, listen, they, they, they beat

57:33

Supriza, which is not easy, right? Costa

57:35

Rican team. Then after them, they

57:37

play in the round of 16, they

57:39

have to play Monterey. And they

57:41

get a two, two result down in

57:43

Mexico is one, one in leg

57:45

one. So they go through on away

57:47

goals. Then they take on Pumas

57:49

again, one, one at home, two, two

57:51

away from home. They were down.

57:53

They fought their way back. And

57:55

now, you know, they find themselves up

57:57

to zero against an inter Miami team

57:59

that at home, especially are very, very

58:01

good. I just don't see

58:03

them getting beat. I fully expect Vancouver to

58:05

get to the final. And so given

58:08

how well, and Tony, I want to get

58:10

your thoughts on this. Sebastian

58:12

Berhalter scored three goals in his past

58:14

five matches. And I feel like has been

58:16

a real big catalyst for that midfield.

58:18

Do you think he's done well enough to

58:21

warrant some consideration from, from, uh, I

58:23

almost said Greg Berhalter, not from his dad.

58:25

I'm sure he's getting all the praise

58:27

and plaudits from his dad, but from Marisa

58:29

Pochettino, uh, to, to maybe get a

58:31

look at the gold cup. Is that, is

58:33

that if he continues this form? Yeah,

58:36

Jimmy, let me just add this real

58:38

quick on the this series right keep

58:40

in mind to Charlie's point You know

58:42

is my can Miami catch up two

58:44

goals? I think one of the other

58:46

questions we should ask is can Miami

58:48

keep Vancouver from scoring away from home

58:50

because in contact of Champions Cup away

58:52

goals still mean something right so

58:55

you know you're gonna you're gonna have

58:57

to make up two goals and then with

58:59

this leaky inter miami defense you're gonna

59:01

have to keep them from scoring as well

59:03

right so that that's another consideration to

59:05

burr halter if you're gonna put together right

59:07

now i i can't remember is gold

59:09

cup the 45 man roster or a 60

59:12

man roster either way I think if

59:14

you're going to put it together right now

59:16

and we think there's not going to

59:18

be everybody available, I think we

59:20

could see Sebastian Burrhalter's name on

59:22

that preliminary roster. Does he get called

59:24

in for a gold cup? I'm

59:26

not quite sure. But

59:28

I would think, again, when US

59:30

soccer has to submit that roster,

59:33

I would not be surprised if his name's

59:35

on there. Yeah, it's going to be interesting.

59:38

He's been playing extremely well. I mean,

59:40

I covered him in college when he

59:42

was at University of North Carolina. And

59:44

I remember seeing them a small but

59:46

super good on the ball, technically, kind

59:48

of what you would expect if your

59:51

father's the head coach of the national

59:53

team. But from now, from then to

59:55

now, it's been a remarkable growth. And

59:57

think about some of the moves he's

59:59

made with the MLS to finally end

1:00:01

up in Vancouver and come out of

1:00:03

his own shell. And he's not under

1:00:05

any anyone's shadow. He's out being himself

1:00:08

playing freely. And I couldn't be happier

1:00:10

to see him start to thrive. Yeah,

1:00:13

it's going to be. It's going to be

1:00:15

interesting. I mean, we have a couple of

1:00:17

exciting months coming up for, for, for our

1:00:19

player pool, both for club and country. We'll

1:00:21

see how our players finish up in Europe,

1:00:23

of course. And then we're going to see

1:00:25

how the domestic players get on in multiple

1:00:27

competitions and, and, uh, FIFA club world cups

1:00:29

coming and gold cup. It's all kicking off.

1:00:31

It's very exciting. Okay. So I want your

1:00:33

guys's predictions now. Who's going to get to

1:00:35

the final of the conca cap champions cup

1:00:37

before let everybody go. We have Krusasoul and

1:00:39

Tigris are in the other semi -final. It

1:00:41

was one, one after leg one. in Monterey.

1:00:43

That's where Tigris plays. They're going back to

1:00:46

Mexico City to play leg two. That game

1:00:48

will be on Thursday night. Kicks off at

1:00:50

7 p .m. Pacific. And

1:00:52

then into Miami, hosting Vancouver. That

1:00:54

kicks off tomorrow at 5 p

1:00:56

.m. Pacific, 8 p .m. Eastern. Should

1:00:59

be a great game. I highly encourage

1:01:01

everybody to sit down and watch these as

1:01:03

they book their ticket to get into

1:01:05

the CONCACAP Champions Cup final. Chuck,

1:01:07

coming right back to you. What is

1:01:09

your prediction? As to

1:01:11

who's going to make the

1:01:13

final between these four teams, Cruz

1:01:15

Azul is going to be

1:01:17

taking on Vancouver. Ooh,

1:01:20

that's not the sexy final that

1:01:22

we know. Cockatak wants because they

1:01:24

know they want Leo Messi in

1:01:26

the final. But I think Tony,

1:01:28

Tony, I think Tony was, was,

1:01:30

was spot on because Vancouver in

1:01:32

every scenario have been able to

1:01:34

score goals because they're so direct. And.

1:01:38

even though in Miami are chasing the

1:01:40

game. So now they have to throw

1:01:43

numbers forward to say that Vancouver is

1:01:45

going to walk away with no goals

1:01:47

scored when they've scored in Mexico and

1:01:49

they scored in Costa Rica over three,

1:01:51

three different legs. For me, I think

1:01:53

the two goal cushion is too much. And

1:01:56

listen, let's look at Inter Miami's

1:01:58

defense. They're not necessarily super locked

1:02:00

down. So it's not

1:02:02

like they're walking it. Yes. It's a fortress for

1:02:05

a lot of different reasons. And

1:02:07

mainly it's because Leo Messi can pull

1:02:09

stuff out of his backside anytime he

1:02:11

wants. But, but if you, yeah, I

1:02:13

just don't see it happening. I think

1:02:15

everybody can tell where I'm leaning tones.

1:02:17

What about you? Um,

1:02:19

conca calf, Jimmy normally

1:02:22

gets what conca calf

1:02:24

in these things. Oh boy.

1:02:26

Here we go. You think

1:02:28

it's going to get conca

1:02:30

calfed? Here we go. But

1:02:32

you think it's Tigris Miami

1:02:34

Tigris, but Tigris

1:02:36

will be playing Vancouver

1:02:39

in the finals. I,

1:02:42

I, yeah, I wouldn't be surprised for either

1:02:44

one of the, the Mexican league teams to get

1:02:46

through, but I'm going to lean towards crucifix

1:02:48

as well. I think that because they have the

1:02:50

home field advantage, it's going to be enough

1:02:52

to see them through. And then I like Vancouver

1:02:54

as well. Uh, into Miami, obviously from a

1:02:56

marketing standpoint is what they want, but Vancouver just

1:02:58

too good and they don't care about your

1:03:00

marketing feelings. All right. That's it. We're calling it

1:03:02

a show. Thank you for hanging out with

1:03:04

us. As always, we're coming back at you on

1:03:06

Thursday. We'll obviously have a recap of what

1:03:08

happened in the Vancouver, into Miami game and see

1:03:10

who booked their ticket. And we come back

1:03:12

to you live here on the gloss of America

1:03:14

YouTube channel that starts at 10am Eastern. So

1:03:16

come back and join us for that. Until then

1:03:18

we'll see you in 48 hours. You better

1:03:20

be really good and having a lot of fun

1:03:22

in those 48 hours. We'll see you in

1:03:24

a little bit. College

1:03:44

Football Summer is no time to slouch

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because we are taking you to school on

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