0:01

Extra time is exactly how

0:03

I find out what's going on

0:05

in the MLS. Get lost! Get

0:07

lost! Maybe this podcast has influenced me

0:09

a little bit as well.

0:11

Everybody up here, every single

0:13

day, goes into the office,

0:15

into the laboratory to try

0:17

to cook up some great

0:19

stuff for you guys. That's

0:21

why he's here! Ah, from

0:24

New York, New York, you

0:26

are listening to Extra Time. Hi,

0:28

I'm Andrew Webe with my partner

0:30

in soccer, the number one enemy

0:32

of the state of Minnesota and

0:34

all Loone's fans anywhere. Mr.

0:36

Matt Doyle, what's up Doyle? MLS got playoffs

0:38

in full swing. Some round

0:40

one series are over 50 % of them

0:42

done and dusted onto the conference semifinals

0:44

in a few weeks. And four of

0:46

them are still ongoing. We've got some

0:48

game threes coming up. So let's start

0:51

with the topic that matters most today.

0:54

Is a penalty shootout quote

0:56

unquote win really a win?

0:58

And are Charlotte fans basking

1:00

in their own insecurities right now? So

1:03

you're trying to become the number one

1:05

enemy of the state of North Carolina? No,

1:07

I love Charlotte. I truly do. I

1:09

had such a great time going there, meeting

1:11

their fans, meeting their players, meeting their

1:13

coaches. It's a wonderful story. I just don't

1:15

understand why they care so much about

1:17

what counts as a win when it felt

1:19

like a win. And they're going to

1:21

game three anyway. It just feels like

1:23

semantics, which on extra time, we would

1:25

never ever argue. We would never belabor.

1:27

We have no interest in that. You

1:29

know, defining words is not an MLS

1:32

thing. Terms are terms. Just, you know,

1:34

chill out. Be free, man. You

1:36

got to celebrate. A win

1:38

is a win and a draw

1:40

is a draw. And in this

1:42

case, they got to get very good

1:44

draw and a very good PK

1:46

shootout win, which is different from an

1:48

actual win. We would never, we

1:50

would never delve into semantics. No, come

1:52

on. What I will say, the

1:54

record book, what it says, not our

1:56

business, not our business. Very clearly,

1:59

Charlotte, we're the better. team. So they have

2:01

that going for them. And I think they

2:03

should be happy about that going into game three

2:05

against an Orlando side that have not been great

2:07

at home this year. Okay so if you need

2:09

us to sum up what's going on in the

2:12

and let's go playoffs right now we did our

2:14

round one game one show this is all of

2:16

the game twos that we will wrap up and

2:18

look at just a little bit to game three

2:20

but we'll save most of that for later in

2:23

the week when we believe Kaylin Carr will be

2:25

with us to talk through all of that yeah

2:27

oh yeah should be nice should be nice so

2:29

Charlotte and Orlando scoreless but penalties so Charlotte got

2:31

their penalty when they moved on we're going to

2:33

game three we're going to game three LA galaxy

2:35

womp womp womp womp womp Smacked up

2:38

the rapids at home for one Ricky

2:40

Pooh's show. They are moving on. They

2:42

were the first team to book their

2:44

spot in the conference semi-finals. Then Minnesota

2:47

joined them. That'll be the matchup in

2:49

the conference semi-finals. Loons Galaxy because Minnesota

2:51

for the second straight game drew Salt

2:53

Lake but won on penalties Dan St.

2:55

Clair out here with the epic Vince

2:58

Carter it's over a little bit before

3:00

it was over, but still very cool.

3:02

But also did it while Vince's number

3:04

was being retired by the raptures.

3:07

Dan St. Clair is a Toronto kid,

3:09

so he probably grew up watching, at

3:11

least watching Vince Carter highlights. I think

3:13

he would have been like an infant

3:16

when Vince was there, but pretty awesome,

3:18

I thought. I mean, it's great. It's

3:20

great. I hope that that was all

3:22

planned out and intentional by Dan St.

3:25

Clair. And I am going to assume

3:27

and let's hold otherwise that it in

3:29

fact was intentional. New York City handled

3:31

business and city field, so they'll go

3:34

to game three with Cincinnati. which will

3:36

be our game of the round in just a

3:38

little bit. We'll dig into that one. Shandes

3:40

Silva laid on in front of what 68,000

3:42

at the bins? Dax McCarty, he who is

3:44

not alive, may not die. We're not getting

3:46

rid of Dax just yet. Miami, they got

3:48

squeaky bum time as Dean Smith might say

3:51

coming up in game three. And then of

3:53

course on Sunday we had three games which

3:55

were all pretty awesome. Started out with New

3:57

York Columbus and the crew, the defending champs.

4:00

That's it. And we'll have to dig into

4:02

that and really do some self -evaluation as

4:04

well as some evaluation of the cruise season

4:06

because defending champs, but they will not be

4:08

winning another trophy. That's just one trophy this

4:10

year, league's cup and some disappointment in a

4:12

lot of other competitions. And then Houston, Seattle

4:14

was yet again to draw Seattle one on

4:17

penalties yet again in Vancouver, which we will dig

4:19

into in just a little bit had a big

4:21

time win at home against LAFC and Vanity Sartini.

4:23

You got to talk his talk about who has

4:25

no playoff wins now. So coming

4:27

up Friday, LAFC Vancouver at

4:29

BMO stadium, 11 p .m. Eastern on Friday,

4:31

endless season pass. We'll have the pregame

4:33

show 30 minutes before and wrap up

4:35

afterwards for you. Then on Saturday, November

4:37

9th, you have a triple header Cincinnati,

4:39

New York city starts the day at

4:41

4 p .m. from TQL Orlando, Charlotte.

4:43

Just after that, when I enter and

4:45

coast stadium, then Miami and Atlanta finish

4:47

the day at Chase stadium at 8

4:49

p .m. Eastern. Same deal. Countdown, wrap up

4:51

all on the unless season pass on

4:53

apple TV now. J

4:56

Mo hit us up. Duel said it's really been

4:58

the tournament of the underdog, which is interesting

5:00

because before the tournament and I mean repeatedly, I've

5:02

said like, good teams don't win unless cup

5:04

great teams do and that may still be true,

5:06

but right now we've got some iffy situations

5:08

for some of the great teams and more than

5:10

that for the crew, he says, many of

5:12

the Red Bulls defied the odds New York City

5:14

and Charlotte are pushing on while white caps

5:16

in Atlanta, respectfully pushed the first seeds to a

5:18

third game. What's the chance we see another

5:21

upset? And if so, which team will come out

5:23

on top in the game threes? I'm going

5:25

to say it's a toss up between New

5:27

York city and Charlotte, New

5:29

York city. I don't trust on the road. Charlotte.

5:31

I don't trust to score goals. Therefore it's a

5:33

toss up. So Atlanta, I didn't mention you put

5:35

it on your bulletin board. I just think that

5:37

Miami will get the job done. Who's the best

5:40

candidate for an upset in your opinion? I

5:42

mean, based upon the way they've

5:44

played, isn't it Vancouver, right?

5:46

Haven't the caps been really,

5:48

really good over the course

5:50

of 180 minutes against

5:52

this LAFC team that I had in

5:54

my top tier. Hey, not just not just

5:56

in LAFC. I mean, look, Swiss

5:59

slandered Portland. as they deserve to

6:01

be after that wild card game. But

6:03

like they were, they did it, they

6:05

did it to themselves. Sure, sure. But

6:07

they, but Vancouver still had to do

6:09

the things that sometimes we call into

6:12

question with them in that game and

6:14

repeatedly so. Yeah, and it's been

6:16

kind of shocking because of how they

6:18

ended their season, what, they were four

6:21

straight losses to enter the playoffs and

6:23

then they go and they. drop that

6:25

5 mil in Portland which was wild

6:28

because it should have been a home

6:30

game at PC Place that made this

6:32

one this weekend their first home game

6:35

of the playoffs and I put it

6:37

out after after the game was what

6:39

finished three now I put it out

6:41

that is this a top three performance

6:43

all time for the caps in

6:45

in their MLS existence and I

6:48

honestly think it is. It's up

6:50

there with the 5-nill over Portland

6:52

and the 5-nill over San Jose

6:54

seven years ago. I mean, I

6:56

would stack it on top of

6:58

both of those, no doubt. Just

7:01

a quality of competition. Exactly that,

7:03

right? Like they, I have, I cannot

7:06

remember, I cannot remember the

7:08

white caps handling a team as

7:10

good as this LAFC side are

7:12

in a big moment in their

7:14

MLS existence. And this wasn't like,

7:16

yeah, they got two own goals

7:18

in that. That's a bit of

7:21

good fortune and Vani talked about

7:23

that in the post game, but

7:25

they were the better team. They were like,

7:27

they were the ones commanding the

7:29

game. It's not to say LAFC

7:31

had nothing, they had their moments

7:34

as well. Certainly, Bongo was dangerous

7:36

and, you know, Bogus had a

7:38

few as well, but like, it

7:40

was Vancouver who were in charge

7:43

of that game. And it was

7:45

just a 180 degree reversal from

7:47

what we've seen. from these two teams

7:49

in previous playoff matches and in cocking have

7:51

champions like play over the past couple years.

7:54

That was the test, right? And we'll get

7:56

to this in a second about what we've

7:58

said about Vancouver, what they have. haven't lived

8:00

up to the expectations that they

8:02

just haven't got over the line

8:04

on. Like San Jose and Portland

8:07

were in many ways like a peer, right?

8:09

Like this mid level team that are trying

8:11

to take a step up, like can they

8:13

join? Not even join, can they just challenge

8:15

the elites? Yeah, be more than a speed

8:18

bump in these situations. And this was that

8:20

test. And honestly, in game one, I thought

8:22

they passed the test as well. They bang

8:24

the joint of the crossbar. Ryan

8:26

Gold, Brian White hits the post.

8:28

There are these moments, especially against

8:30

LAFC, where if you get up

8:33

on them, that's where the game is

8:35

to be won. More than I think any

8:37

other good slash great team in the league,

8:39

like LAFC need the first goal. It sets

8:41

up everything they do. It makes them so

8:44

difficult to play against. And when Vancouver

8:46

got it, they handle business. I also

8:48

have to say, just, and honestly, we

8:50

are into the best thing you saw

8:52

here. No, like, this has got to

8:55

be the best thing for you. Yeah.

8:57

Oh, yeah, absolutely. Okay, so a little

8:59

bit of a segment shift for those

9:01

you trying to track this at home.

9:04

I'm going to add to that,

9:06

just Ryan Gould in general,

9:08

like the signing for Vancouver,

9:10

the performances he's putting in,

9:12

not just now, but consistently

9:14

really since he arrived, Hey, this guy's

9:17

underrated. Hey, you guys don't give this

9:19

guy enough love. Like, here's your working

9:21

class MVP Trucker hat, even though that

9:24

was awesome. I still have it. It's

9:26

in my closet. I don't wear it,

9:28

but I look at it often. It

9:31

could be annoying, but I never. It

9:33

seems like a good fishing hat, though.

9:35

It does, that's true. I haven't

9:38

brought it out in that way. It's

9:40

a little cold for that now, but

9:42

next summer, you'll see me. is

9:44

the best player in a series that

9:46

has Denny Bawanga, Olivier Giroux, who

9:48

has been bad. Kike Olivera, you

9:50

know, like all these guys that

9:53

have big price tags, big pedagries,

9:55

big places both within Major League

9:57

Soccer, but also within big national

9:59

team. and Ryan Gold is

10:01

that guy. Like he's the guy

10:04

that when he gets on

10:06

the ball you perk up and

10:08

say, oh, what's he gonna

10:10

do now? That first goal that

10:13

he scores, the way that

10:15

he sets it up, the way

10:17

that he arrives, the just

10:19

like the nonchalant

10:21

aspect of some of

10:23

the things he does

10:25

technically. He doesn't,

10:27

he's Scottish.

10:29

a good

10:32

platform for

10:34

understanding

10:37

how good he

10:40

is, And we have to, you

10:42

know, we have to put our hands

10:44

up because of going into the decision

10:46

day, we were like, what is the

10:48

point of the Stuart Armstrong signing? He

10:50

had played 120 minutes. He hadn't looked

10:53

good when he got on the field

10:55

and he is reborn in the playoffs

10:57

and being able to stick him in

10:59

that three men midfield with Ali Ahmed

11:01

and Andreas Kubaas. It has

11:03

unburdened Ryan Gould from any

11:05

positional responsibilities, right? hand in

11:07

hand with that has been

11:10

Vanny switching to a four,

11:12

three, two, one, the Christmas

11:14

tree. And when you have

11:16

Brian White making the right run

11:18

every time and being the type

11:20

of sort of physical number nine

11:23

that he is, and then Fafa

11:25

Pico, sort of orienting his

11:27

movement towards. white and gold and

11:29

when I say towards I don't

11:31

mean like physically towards but like

11:34

basing what he's doing off ball

11:36

and attack being a complementary mover

11:38

right like a space creator yeah

11:40

and and making those hard runs

11:42

you know through the lines to

11:44

soften up the opposing defense and

11:46

occupy them the all of that

11:48

has worked in concert with putting

11:50

Ryan gold in a position to

11:52

win games and that's good coaching.

11:55

because you want your best player

11:57

in position to win games. And

11:59

this is Look, this is the best I've

12:01

ever seen the Vancouver Whitecaps play. This

12:03

is it. We've been waiting

12:05

since 2011 for them to look

12:08

like this team for any

12:10

sustained amount of time. I thought,

12:12

you know, I thought they

12:14

looked like it last week too, so

12:16

did Vanny Sartini. He said, after this game,

12:18

he said the performance was really good,

12:20

but it was kind of the same level

12:23

as we did in LA last week,

12:25

just that we had all the luck of

12:27

half centimeters go against us last week

12:29

and today it was all for us. And

12:31

he's right. You said it, like Gald

12:33

hit the crossbar on a free kick

12:35

at the end of the first half.

12:37

Brian White hit the post on

12:40

a really nice sequence of play, five

12:42

minutes into that game. They had

12:44

other attacking sequences that were just centimeters

12:46

off. And I said that

12:48

with the European spelling to

12:50

respect Vanny and our Canadian friends

12:52

up there. And in this

12:54

game, two own goals,

12:56

you know, everything sort

12:58

of aligning, but that's like

13:00

that's those are the kinds of

13:02

breaks that you get when you're

13:05

allowing your best players to decide the

13:07

game. And they've hit on that now

13:09

and their best players look at this

13:11

point, every bit as good as LAFC's

13:13

best players. And there's flip side is

13:15

there's bad breaks in the first game,

13:17

right? The handball, like just

13:19

an arm a little bit extended. And

13:21

now instead of from the run of

13:23

play, you're behind LAFC. You've handed them

13:25

the opportunity to kick it from X

13:27

yards away. And that usually goes against you.

13:29

So look, the way we'll do all these

13:31

series and try to dig in because we have

13:33

Thursdays, we'll give a little nugget on each

13:35

of the games and we'll try to go big

13:37

picture. So in this case, we've sort of

13:39

explored it. But is this happening for Vancouver? Like

13:41

are the quake or the caps almost said

13:43

quakes. I'm still throwing it back to that previous

13:46

playoff when are they this good? Is is

13:48

Stuart Armstrong, the Scottish and Iesta. Can we stop

13:50

talking about Vanny Sartinian playoff games and Vanny

13:52

said this quote, you're always busting my balls because

13:54

I've never won a playoff game. Now I've

13:56

won two. Bam. I just

13:58

like imaginary heard that mic drop. after he

14:00

did that. Rubarb friend hit us up on Twitter

14:02

and said now that the white caps have jumped

14:04

through all the constantly moving goalposts you guys keep

14:07

setting for them. They're not kind of. They have

14:09

not been constantly moving. They have not been constantly

14:11

moving. They've not been. They've been movable. We have

14:13

been we have been very consistent with what we

14:16

wanted to see from the Vancouver white caps. And

14:18

they jump through him, right? The one more piece,

14:20

through Armstrong was a question mark, but. Now that

14:22

he's on the field, he's clearly changing the way

14:25

they play in a great fit, the playoff win,

14:27

okay, we've got two of those, and you know,

14:29

I would count Portland, but I count the LAFC

14:31

one much more, and then a win against a

14:33

big team in a big moment. This is your

14:35

season on the line, at home, it's a big

14:38

moment. We are taking them seriously. And we should

14:40

be taking them seriously. What I love

14:42

about Stu Armstrong, Doyle, is the complementary

14:44

part and you talk about it with

14:47

Fafa, but within that midfield, like Ali

14:49

Ahmed is going to carry the ball.

14:51

He's going to put incredible defensive pressure

14:53

on teams. Cubas is just like, doesn't

14:55

get enough credit. He was awesome. For the

14:57

radar in this game. In terms of. Oh,

15:00

danger is coming here. I'm going to

15:02

be perfectly positioned and then I win

15:04

physical battles and I'm super clean with

15:06

the ball. Like I'm not giving it

15:08

away in bad positions, but I need

15:10

people in front of to give that

15:12

ball who can then make the pass

15:14

to advance the ball. And that is,

15:16

that's too Armstrong. And again, we can

15:18

raise our hand, the profile, the salary

15:20

number, the age. It didn't, it didn't

15:22

seem like it was a home run

15:24

and it may still not be. This

15:26

is a small sample size. Vancouver around

15:28

in the bases and they're like, why

15:30

not us in game three? Why not? Yeah.

15:33

And the pattern of play, the sort

15:35

of where the game is going

15:37

to be contested, right now

15:39

it feels like it favors

15:42

the caps because they're winning

15:44

the midfield battle. They're punishing

15:46

LAFC for playing two in

15:49

central midfield. And they're... the

15:51

caps are playing with three and

15:53

sometimes it's four because they have

15:55

the stability to let gold drop

15:58

in and that is putting LAFC

16:00

up against it, right? It's forcing them

16:02

to scramble. It's asking too much of

16:04

that two men central midfield to actually

16:07

contain things. And because of that, the

16:09

caps are getting into positions in the

16:11

half spaces or sometimes even with the

16:14

right back. By the way, Seth Berhalter

16:16

at right back was really really good.

16:18

I know. Getting these guys into positions

16:21

where they can create wide overloads and

16:23

then when you have. Fafa and Brian

16:25

White and then Gold, you know, crashing

16:28

in as a third man, you're getting

16:30

really good runs in the box. And

16:32

that is, like, it's, it's a

16:35

Vancouver who feel like they're in

16:37

charge of this series. LAFC might

16:39

win anyway. LAFC have a lot of

16:41

good defenders and they are terrifying

16:43

on the break and it didn't

16:45

work out for them in this

16:47

game, but like, I don't think.

16:50

I don't think Steve Toronto is

16:52

going to care that much that his

16:54

team is losing the midfield battle. I

16:56

think he happily trades that for

16:58

space to attack into and that's

17:00

the terms of the engagement in

17:02

in game three. I love the

17:04

fact that ready to set space

17:06

to attack into a massive horn

17:08

sounded in the background as if

17:10

to emphasize that point. It should

17:12

be really interesting Friday night 11

17:15

p.m. Eastern time LA of C

17:17

hosting Vancouver with a spot in

17:19

the conference semis on the line

17:21

unless season pass you know where

17:23

to get it. Best thing I saw

17:25

in around one game two it's it's gonna

17:27

be Ricky Pooh's the entertainer. There's

17:29

just something about watching Ricky that

17:31

I don't think that you get

17:33

from any other player in this

17:36

league perhaps even messy. Ricky's just.

17:38

insatiable desire and demand to be

17:40

on the ball basically all the time

17:42

and the way that he changes speeds

17:45

and changes angles and Reorient the field

17:47

based on how he's moving what touches

17:49

he takes in the movement around him

17:51

is just it's so fun to watch

17:54

and sometimes it bites them That like

17:56

insistence because there's the space

17:58

behind him and we we've seen

18:00

that this year, but when he's on

18:02

and teams can't get pressure to him,

18:04

the way that he runs through the

18:07

lines, the way that he makes himself

18:09

available, the way that he does

18:11

that little 10-yard burst and then

18:13

stop, his ability to play and

18:15

be technical at high speeds,

18:17

his composure in front of net,

18:20

and then add to all that

18:22

this personality that he has, which is

18:24

just like, you know, perfect hair, perfect

18:26

smile, white teeth. you know, blank

18:28

eating grin, grinning at you after

18:30

he begs the goalkeeper, you know,

18:33

hitting like coming up with celebrations

18:35

where he looks, he looks like

18:37

he's never thrown a baseball in

18:39

his life. Just he, everything, I mean,

18:41

did you see that he, the way

18:43

he threw that, I'm like, Ricky, you've

18:45

never thrown a, like, you've never thrown

18:47

a ball before, dude. But it's so

18:49

funny, he's like, I wanted to honor

18:51

the Dodgers and all this, but he

18:53

just, I feel like he gets it,

18:55

he gets it, he needs it. Like

18:57

it makes sense to me that he

18:59

ended up in LA and was like

19:01

I am going to resign long term

19:03

with the galaxy and I want to

19:05

be in a place where things revolve

19:07

around me. It makes sense to me

19:10

and it works. Now the flip side

19:12

is the galaxy weren't tested at all

19:14

Doyle by the rapids which we can

19:16

get to in a little bit but

19:18

Ricky being Ricky got me super excited

19:20

for the conference semis. He's been

19:23

the best player in these playoffs.

19:25

It is hard. to read a

19:27

ton into that given how depleted and

19:29

out of their depth the rapids looked.

19:31

And the rapids had a great season.

19:33

I think they checked most of the

19:36

boxes they wanted to check heading into

19:38

this year in terms of who they're

19:40

going to be as a club. But

19:42

they gave up 60 goals. And every

19:45

time they looked, they played the Galaxy in

19:47

the regular season, they looked like a team

19:49

that was about to lose 5-0. And what

19:51

was it, 9-1? over the two games. Well,

19:53

and just expand that too. If you spend

19:55

it the regular season, the last five halves

19:57

they played against them, it was I think

19:59

12. one, they were down one,

20:01

nothing the previous game, the regular season, one,

20:03

three, nothing in the second half, five, oh,

20:05

four, one. I mean, you just

20:07

knew from the jump and this is unlucky

20:10

for Zach Steffen, but it's also a mistake,

20:12

obviously when you play the galaxy and you

20:14

give up in two games, one, a soft

20:16

set piece goal on a looping ball to

20:18

the back post to start game one and

20:20

then two bang a ball off

20:22

Gabriel Peck into the corner

20:24

somehow and get, you just didn't have it.

20:27

You don't have a chance. Yeah. You

20:29

just don't have a chance. We'll get to

20:31

more on the rapids and their path forward in

20:33

just a little bit. Gabriel Peck, by the way, is

20:35

your MLS newcomer of the year. He beat Luis

20:37

Suarez. He won all three voting categories, media

20:40

players and MLS front offices. So

20:42

it deserved for me. He

20:44

got your vote, right? He did.

20:46

Yep. He did. Yeah, same. And

20:48

look, I can honestly say that

20:50

had Luis Suarez won it, I

20:52

would not feel any sort

20:54

of way. I would not be writing. It would

20:56

be, it would be deserved for Suarez too, but

20:58

I'm happy for Gabriel Peck to have won it.

21:01

And he's the first Brazilian since who Doyle to

21:03

win the newcomer of the year. A

21:05

golden boot winner. Camilo.

21:08

No. Good guess. Oh, Luciano,

21:10

Emilio. Yes. That is

21:12

correct. Those who know, know

21:15

Luciano, Emilio legend. All right. Game of

21:17

the round. Landy United versus Inter Miami,

21:19

Edgar Hernandez hit us up and said

21:21

FBA. That's all I got. Looking forward

21:23

to the episode. Why

21:25

not? That's like the theme of the

21:27

playoffs so far. Hey, why not? Why

21:29

not Atlanta? Why not scrape your way

21:31

in and then take the quote unquote

21:33

best regular season team of all time

21:35

to the brink to one win. Chanda

21:37

Silva with a goal and stoppage time

21:39

to send the bins into raptures. There

21:42

were 68 ,000 people there and it was

21:44

fun. Doyle was super fun. What did

21:46

you take away from this one? I

21:48

mean, all the weak points we've

21:50

talked about with Miami all year

21:52

long. They were on display and

21:54

then without Busquets to set

21:56

the tempo, the overwhelming attacking talent

21:58

advantage that they have. it just

22:00

was never able to

22:02

shine through, like they

22:04

didn't control this game.

22:06

And that's what, that's

22:08

the knock on Miami is that

22:11

in situations like this, they

22:13

are just, they don't put

22:15

games away in a way

22:17

that you would expect them

22:19

to. And it's why I've

22:22

kind of hesitated calling

22:24

them the best. team

22:26

in the league even though they have

22:28

the you know set a new points

22:30

record and our favorites to win MLS

22:32

Cup but they like they've done it

22:34

by winning the moments right they've

22:37

done it by having two or

22:39

three guys who can get into

22:41

the final third and create a

22:43

goal basically whatever they want it

22:45

sometimes seems but that's dried

22:47

up they haven't like Suarez

22:49

Messie and Alba haven't been

22:51

those guys over two games

22:53

against Atlanta and that left

22:56

the door open for Atlanta

22:58

to take advantage of the

23:00

mistakes that Miami make every

23:02

single game every single

23:04

game they give you chances the

23:06

way that Atlanta were able to

23:08

get chances in this one and

23:11

credit to Atlanta for

23:13

taking event like it was

23:15

it was unexpected but it

23:17

was also like yeah this is

23:19

the script we've seen it 34

23:21

times this year Set pieces and

23:24

then a transition moment where

23:26

the backline is forced to

23:28

make decisions quickly or act

23:30

as a unit and Don't make the right

23:32

decisions like It's it's really as

23:34

simple as that and I agree with

23:37

you that they just looked out of

23:39

sorts in terms of You know creating

23:41

those moments for messy and for Suarez

23:43

and and others to just have that little bit of

23:46

space on the ball to get out in an open

23:48

field where it's impossible to deal with them where they

23:50

say we're gonna make better decisions than you were just

23:52

way better technically than you and at the end of

23:54

this you're probably picking the ball up at the back

23:56

of your net and at the end to me it

23:58

came down to a weak link game and like why Wigan

24:00

all year has been a weak link.

24:02

If you're going with a 3 -5 -2 and

24:04

you're gonna play Wigan at wing back and

24:07

you're not gonna use Julien Gressel, like

24:09

what is Tata even

24:11

doing there? That makes zero

24:14

sense on any level. Like in

24:16

theory, you could say, all right, Wigan

24:18

is, he's the better defender. That's why he's

24:20

out there because we want, you know,

24:22

Messi not to have to worry at all

24:24

about, but Wigan is a terrible defender and

24:26

showed it on the goal. And that

24:28

statue defending is, it was like, it's like

24:30

his brain froze in the moment. Jean

24:33

de Silva is running out and he's like,

24:35

do I step? Like, dude,

24:37

you're the last defender in second half

24:39

stoppage time of a 1 -1 game. You

24:42

have to step. I

24:44

mean, you can't just stand there. That's the last

24:46

thing that you can do. It wasn't like

24:48

there was a runner on the outside. It's like,

24:51

and even if there is, make Jean de

24:53

Silva make that decision and execute on it. Don't

24:55

just let him run straight at goal and smoke the

24:57

ball like that. That's the

24:59

easiest scenario for Jean de Silva. And

25:02

credit the Silva coming off the bench. He

25:04

did it. And also credit to Moran Chuck. I

25:06

know that that's not like, oh my God, how does

25:08

he make that pass? What's going on here moment? But

25:10

those are the moments they need from Alexi Moran Chuck,

25:12

which is he gets on the ball in a high

25:14

leverage spot facing forward and there are multiple runners in

25:16

front of him. It doesn't have to

25:18

be a line breaking pass every time.

25:20

Sometimes it's just a matter of,

25:22

this guy understands how to pick the right option.

25:24

He plays to the right foot at the right pace and

25:27

he makes a simple play and you win the game because

25:29

of it. The thing that like

25:31

the common thread that we're

25:33

seeing from the good moments

25:35

between Moran Chuck and Stu

25:37

Armstrong and Emil Forsberg, which

25:39

we'll get to in more

25:41

detail in a bit here

25:43

is when like they do

25:45

not waste time. When they

25:47

understand that the opposing back

25:49

line is out of

25:51

sorts, is vulnerable. They do

25:53

not waste time

25:55

playing the ball into

25:57

an advantageous position.

26:00

It is a very

26:02

simple. simple thing, but you should

26:04

never ever ever let a scrambled backline

26:06

go to waste. And that's exactly what

26:08

Miami give you. Again, 15 times a

26:10

game, their backline shape makes zero sense.

26:12

And for the most part, they

26:14

have enough attacking talent where they

26:16

can win anyway. But not every

26:18

time. And that was a story

26:20

in this one. What do you think of

26:22

the Braguzan play before we go

26:24

a little bit deeper here? I just

26:27

think it's one of those really bizarre...

26:29

moments that people are split on and

26:31

I can give you my my law

26:33

side of it, but I think it's

26:35

more just to ask you straight up

26:38

like your gut. How do you feel

26:40

about it? I mean, Redondo

26:42

definitely sort of makes a

26:44

move towards him where if if

26:46

Guzan punts that, he's kicking Redondo

26:49

as well. And I saw I

26:51

know the consensus on social media

26:53

and I think in the studio

26:55

was like, then you kick it.

26:57

then you, you know, you do what you

26:59

have to do to make it

27:02

clear that Redondo interfered

27:04

with you. But also, it's like,

27:07

aren't we, haven't we tried

27:09

to legislate that out of

27:11

the game? Haven't we tried

27:13

to make it where it's

27:15

like, well, we know what

27:17

would have happened if Guzan

27:19

had pun, so I, like, I, I

27:22

didn't. I didn't like the ruling,

27:24

the decision on the field. I

27:26

thought it was like pretty clear

27:28

that what Redondo was doing. But

27:30

like I'm not gonna, I didn't lose

27:33

any sleep over it. Yeah, I hear you.

27:35

And I think I feel all those

27:37

things too. And there's a lot

27:39

of little moments that could have

27:41

flipped this one to goal stands

27:44

to, hey, that's clearly a foul.

27:46

And I think one of those is like

27:48

if he. kicks it, there is a decent

27:50

chance, but like there is at least a

27:52

chance that he injures himself or he injures

27:54

Donno. Look, I think we have to go

27:56

back and say there's a chance that he

27:59

doesn't hit Redondo. I don't think Redondo

28:01

is, it's not like Redondo's next to him,

28:03

like up on him. There's still space

28:05

based on the angles that we have for

28:07

the ball to potentially be kicked. Redondo

28:09

takes one step in. Now, if Redondo even

28:11

appears to act like he is trying

28:13

to kick the ball as it's being dropped,

28:15

this is a foul 10 out of

28:17

10 times. But Redondo took a step.

28:19

To me, it was more distract rather than

28:21

impede or foul and the laws are pretty

28:23

clear. Like it is explicit in there. It's

28:25

quote prevents the goalkeeper from releasing the ball.

28:27

He didn't do that. Now the flip

28:30

side is, did he try to attempt to

28:32

kick the ball with the goalkeepers in the

28:34

process of releasing? He didn't do that either.

28:37

So it's a weird one.

28:39

There's gray area in the opinion of the referee

28:41

always does a lot of work. It's like,

28:43

you know, that's what everything is based on.

28:45

Essentially the referee could have said to me,

28:47

yes, but he had a great angle. He said, no, and

28:49

it turns out to be a weird one. I'm just thankful

28:51

it didn't decide this game. Like I'm

28:53

just thankful that that moment, that

28:56

call, that little vagarity of the

28:58

law book didn't make the decision. And

29:01

look, Greg was on as

29:03

I'm guessing mad about that. I

29:05

can understand that he would be, but that's not

29:07

two games in a row where he's had a

29:09

little bit of a blip and it's, they figured

29:11

it out. Well, no, not two games in a row.

29:13

You go back to wild card. So two games, two and

29:15

three. Yeah. Yeah. So, hey,

29:18

you live to fight another day. FBA, baby. Nobody

29:20

cares what that call is now. Can

29:22

I ask you this on big picture? Ah,

29:26

should we use the upset forecast here?

29:28

I don't know if you remember

29:30

that model. 65 % that there's a

29:32

40 % chance of a 3 % upset.

29:34

Right. Are Miami really in serious

29:37

danger of getting bounced here? Or they

29:39

just, are they just coasting and

29:41

distracted? I

29:43

think the, I think Miami is

29:45

going to win. I would be

29:47

utterly shocked if they didn't, but

29:50

anytime it comes down to one

29:52

game, they could trace

29:54

a hot, pissed off goalkeeper on

29:56

the other side and great calendar could

29:58

do the thing that he did. what

30:00

on, was it, where he lets

30:02

the ball roll through his legs?

30:04

You know, the mistakes go both

30:06

ways, right? Yep. And look, so

30:08

far, MOS Cup playoffs has proven

30:10

to be too big a stage

30:12

for Suarez and Messie. It's just,

30:14

it's clearly getting to them the

30:16

amount of pressure. So I mean,

30:19

you don't, you don't know how

30:21

you'll perform until you get there.

30:23

Right. You know, it's, it's sort

30:25

of the unknown. Put a number

30:27

on it, Weavy. Put a percentage.

30:29

In Miami. Yeah, I'm very curious

30:31

Busquette's His status for this day.

30:33

They missed him in this one.

30:35

Did I did I read slash

30:37

here correctly that he was dealing

30:39

with potentially like early signs of

30:41

pneumonia? Oh, I missed that I

30:43

believe that's what Tata Martino said

30:46

and if I'm if I'm wrong

30:48

here hand up, but yeah, this

30:50

is gonna be a really interesting

30:52

week in terms of his his

30:54

status I would put the odds

30:56

of an upset at I'm gonna

30:58

say 30% You're given

31:00

you're given Atlanta a one in

31:02

three chance of winning this game

31:04

Dude, I think yeah, I think

31:06

Miami I was thinking I was

31:08

thinking like 5% Miami consistently make

31:10

enough mistakes that it's believable to

31:12

me This is the model dude.

31:15

There's nothing exact. It's all this

31:17

model. The model is so good.

31:19

It's me like clearing my mind

31:21

and then just seeing what number

31:23

pops up And if I'm right

31:25

I'm right and if I'm wrong,

31:27

it's the model's fault All right,

31:29

it's the model's fault. All right,

31:31

let's talk Red Bulls and Columbus

31:33

Crew because we will have a

31:35

new champion this year in Major

31:37

League Soccer. This is one of

31:39

the, I mean, it's one of

31:41

the all-time upsets. The New York

31:43

Red Bulls knocking the crew out

31:45

in round one and not only

31:47

knocking them out, two wins in

31:49

three games. Yes, Charlotte, I understand.

31:51

We're calling that penalty shootout win.

31:53

Is this the biggest upset in

31:55

MOS history? My gut says I

31:57

can't think of a bigger one.

31:59

Yeah, the only ones that come

32:01

to mind, NYCFC over the Revs

32:03

in 2021. Now that's just because

32:05

of the point differential between the

32:08

two teams. The Revs were 22

32:10

points better than NYCFC. For me,

32:12

no, because that New York City

32:14

team, I agree. If you go look

32:16

at the bones and you look at

32:18

their history and what they'd accomplished as

32:20

a group leading up to that moment, no.

32:23

Yeah, I agree with that. And then

32:25

the other ones that came up are

32:27

Galaxy over San Jose in 2005. San

32:29

Jose in 2005 were the supporter

32:31

shield champions. They would go on

32:34

the next two years to win

32:36

back to back MLS cups as

32:38

Houston Dynamo. Of course that 2005

32:40

Galaxy team had the best player in

32:42

the league in London Donovan and would

32:44

do the open cup, MLS Cup

32:46

double. So that one doesn't feel

32:48

right. And then the only other

32:51

one is another Red Bull upset

32:53

over Houston in 2008, that Houston

32:55

team coming off two straight MLS

32:57

Cup wins. lost three nil at

32:59

home to a Red Bulls team

33:01

that had been very, very, very

33:03

up and down that season under

33:05

one Carlos Osorio, but they settled

33:07

into a 442 for the playoffs

33:09

and became a much better team.

33:11

I mean, they were fifth and

33:13

they were fifth in the East

33:15

that year, if you remember. But

33:17

my, I personally think that Houston team

33:20

was kind of cooked by that they

33:22

were not the same team that they

33:24

had been the previous three years.

33:27

This Columbus crew team has

33:29

looked like one of the

33:31

two best teams on the continent

33:33

over the past 18 months. I

33:36

think I think yeah I think this

33:38

is probably it especially

33:40

considering the fact that the

33:42

90 days before this series

33:45

the near Rebels won two games

33:47

two. This was not a team

33:49

that had some like bona fide.

33:51

like record of success slash momentum

33:53

slash oh they might just go

33:55

ahead and do it sort of

33:58

vibes coming into this one. Foresburg

34:00

was getting healthy and

34:02

that was the big positive, but

34:04

like Lewis Morgan hadn't scored

34:06

in from the run of play in

34:09

months. Yep. Dante Vensier hasn't

34:11

been that dude all year long. It's been

34:13

a team that has had a good

34:15

defense, but questions of goalkeeper as

34:18

well. There were just all these

34:20

sinews that. that came together in the right

34:22

time from tactical to individual performances to,

34:24

you know, we can talk about the

34:26

crew, but I think on the cruise

34:28

level, like an element of sort of

34:30

exhaustion and, you know, bad performances at

34:32

the wrong time and in the Miami

34:34

point, also just, there's some flaws that

34:36

have been there all season long and they

34:38

got exploited. To me, when we're talking about

34:41

the crew and this upset and then also

34:43

enter Miami at the same time and are

34:45

the greatest team, like they were sort of

34:47

on different ends of the spectrum. In her Miami,

34:50

the argument was not about

34:52

aesthetics, it was about just

34:54

pure results. It was results-based.

34:56

Results and overwhelming talent. The

34:58

crew was more about aesthetics combined

35:00

with results, but then a question

35:02

mark in the big moment this

35:04

year. Because they have had a lot

35:06

of big moments. They've been in a lot

35:08

of big moments, and it's just the League's

35:10

Cup for them so far. What did you make

35:13

of the game playing and game two? Like, compared

35:15

to game one, the way the way the games

35:17

went. I mean, I thought the crew were

35:19

the better team, right? I think I sent

35:21

to the group chat when Rosie hits

35:24

the post and then Kucho hits the

35:26

post right afterwards. I was like, oh,

35:28

guys, I think Columbus are cursed.

35:30

Like this just feels like one where,

35:33

you know, it's a game of

35:35

inches and every little thing is

35:37

going against them and then they get

35:39

that breakthrough goal. And it's like, oh,

35:42

okay. All right, they figured it out,

35:44

they're gonna. you know, they're going to

35:46

start doing crew things. And then

35:48

they just didn't have the legs to

35:50

do it. And you got to give a

35:53

ton of credit to the Red Bulls because

35:55

they knew immediately every single time where

35:57

the next pass was to get in

35:59

behind. or to get into the channels,

36:01

or even to just get into

36:03

the half spaces and make the

36:05

crew play reactive soccer. And when

36:07

you talk about, you know, they

36:09

have their flaws as well, that's

36:12

the one. When the crew have

36:14

to play reactive soccer, they have

36:16

not been particularly great this year.

36:18

And that's built into the game

36:20

model. That's the trade-off that Wilford

36:22

Downsey is willing to make. And it's

36:24

why I love them as a head

36:26

coach and why I love this. crew

36:28

team because they went to Tigris and

36:30

Monterey and they played front foot

36:33

proactive soccer. But also when both those

36:35

games took took punches early yep

36:37

that were arguably preventable like

36:39

and in this case I think the biggest

36:42

preventable here is the the play

36:44

on the sideline with Marrera that

36:46

starts the counter attack that leaves

36:48

the first goal for the Red

36:50

Bulls. I mean that was eerily

36:52

reminiscent. A moment, yeah, of MLS

36:54

Cup, like a very similar location, maybe

36:56

not a completely similar goal in terms

36:58

of the way it was scored, but

37:01

it was like, oh, I feel like

37:03

I've seen that before. And it's

37:05

those little moments, like you just

37:07

can't turn off there. You can't

37:09

allow Rudy to be isolated. You

37:11

have to just run through the

37:14

guy, get the ball to play,

37:16

keep playing, regardless, as Darlington Nagby

37:18

said afterwards, you have to play

37:20

to play to the whistle. Like

37:22

you just need to do it once and Dante

37:25

Vanzier for all the stuff we spilled about you

37:27

know Is this is he at a DP level?

37:29

He did it once and he did it in

37:31

the biggest moment of the season for the New

37:34

York Redbles And then they did in the

37:36

penalty shootout and that is not a

37:38

place the New York Redbles historically loved

37:40

to be I was in the stadium

37:42

last year when they lost that penalty

37:44

shootout to Cincinnati and it just felt like

37:46

in that moment like Yeah, they're gonna

37:48

lose this this was their first ever

37:50

PKk shootout win in the playoffs. So this

37:53

was this was this was a

37:55

groundbreaking moment for the Red Bulls

37:57

who you know they had the

37:59

right game. They were, and you know,

38:01

Danny Higginbotham said it after the first

38:03

game, like they were better without the

38:05

ball than the crew were with the

38:07

ball. And I think that tilted a

38:10

little bit in this game. I thought

38:12

the crew were just, they were a

38:14

better team. But like, sometimes the better

38:16

team doesn't win. Sometimes it is

38:18

a game of inches and a game

38:20

of luck and the Red Bulls had

38:22

their luck and they had their game

38:25

breakers and Forsberg in

38:27

particular. Like, his ability

38:29

to create downhill momentum

38:32

in an attack out of

38:34

almost nothing is special.

38:36

It's why he's been a guy

38:38

who's played at or near

38:40

the top of the game for

38:42

the past decade. And he's, in

38:45

a lot of ways, the exact

38:47

type of DP that Red

38:49

Bulls fans have been asking

38:52

for for the past decade

38:54

since Tierra on Re. retired

38:56

and he was a difference maker. Even

38:58

if he's not out there scoring, you

39:01

know, two goals and getting two assists,

39:03

like he makes a difference in how

39:05

functional that Red Bull attack is. And

39:07

then on the flip side, like they

39:10

did just enough defensively. Like they held

39:12

up just enough guys like Dylan Neillis

39:14

and Sean Neillis and, you know, Tolkien

39:16

and Reyes, like they were able, they

39:19

were able to get it done, man,

39:21

and they deserve all the credit. I

39:23

mean, I vividly recall the moment where

39:26

Mo Farsi seems to be in, and

39:28

I think it was Dylan, Neelis, it

39:30

comes out of nowhere to block the shot.

39:32

Yep. You know, and they had to have

39:34

a bunch of those moments in game one

39:37

as well. And on Forsberg, I

39:39

completely agree with you in the

39:41

sense of like, like, oh, flip

39:43

the switch here's vertical, here's verticality,

39:45

but it's almost like when the

39:47

ball gets to him in that

39:49

little spot outside the 18, or

39:51

it's like... Can you turn this defensive

39:54

midfielder? It's almost like he slows down

39:56

to speed up if that makes sense. It's like

39:58

that moment for him is like. I know how

40:00

to create the right momentum, the right pace,

40:02

the right timing here to get the space

40:05

that I need, and then once I get

40:07

it, I not only make the right

40:09

decision in terms of where to go

40:11

with the ball, which you can't say

40:13

for everybody on that team when they're

40:15

in that position. And then I play

40:17

the right ball with the right spin,

40:19

with the right direction and the right

40:21

place at the right time. And that is the

40:24

difference maker we've been waiting for.

40:26

would I still argue that this club

40:28

should be more ambitious and have more

40:30

than just that one? Sure. But like

40:33

they got very fortunate that the timing

40:35

all worked out because for a lot of

40:37

the season email was not around to do

40:39

these things. This was not possible. And

40:41

at the very right moment that they needed

40:44

him to be the guy that they signed it

40:46

to be. He was that guy. I also

40:48

want to shout out Daniel Edelman. Because

40:50

you know in all of this praise,

40:52

you know, Forsberg's gonna get the lion's

40:54

share of the glory and you know

40:56

Coronel has got it as well for

40:58

his heroics and you know Vanzier gets

41:00

the goal etc etc etc. etc. But

41:03

you know Daniel Edelman who I am brand

41:05

up have not have always been like I'm

41:07

not so sure like I'm not completely sold

41:09

like is dunk like could dunk or start?

41:11

Edelman was a monster like in ground coverage

41:13

in the tone setting in this game setting

41:15

in this game He didn't make mistakes with

41:17

the ball and the crew can make you

41:19

do that. They like to counterpress and are

41:21

very effective in that way. He was efficient.

41:24

He was tough. And when it came down

41:26

to it, a 20-world kid from war in

41:28

New Jersey is standing at the penalty spot.

41:30

It has to make the penalty after a bunch of

41:32

saves and a bunch of drama right before him

41:34

where both teams felt they had it and then

41:36

they didn't. He has to be the one that does it.

41:38

I thought that was, I mean, that was like

41:41

what you write up if you're the New

41:43

York Red Bulls and you've invested all this

41:45

money in the academy and you've brought all

41:47

these guys through and you're looking for the

41:49

results of that labor. Not just the

41:51

praise for doing it, but the results for your

41:53

fan base of that labor and I mean, the

41:55

fruits were there man, it's a huge

41:57

upset, it's incredible. But let's dive into the.

42:00

We'll have more on the Red Bulls,

42:02

of course, because they've got a conference

42:04

semifinal to play Taylor Twalman

42:06

on Twitter. This is why

42:08

it was way too soon. All caps to

42:10

call this crew team, the greatest stimulus history

42:12

in a season of quote, what could have

42:14

been they end it with only a leagues

42:16

cup trophy. Interesting off season coming. And one

42:18

that is starting about a month earlier than

42:20

many thought the Rev coach go. Sorry. FC since

42:23

he talked, tack talk, looking forward to hearing

42:25

how Doyle and Weebie and Tom Boker try

42:27

to spin this crew bottle job into an

42:29

argument for how they're actually the greatest team

42:31

in the history of MLS, but their greatness

42:33

made it harder for them to win in

42:35

the playoffs. He's a, he's a Cincinnati guy.

42:37

So you can feel some of that from

42:39

the sense. He folks are Trumbull PhD, not,

42:42

you know, look, PhDs, maybe he is,

42:44

maybe he isn't kind of takes

42:46

the shine off the Nancy as a

42:48

genius vibes, lol. They couldn't muster

42:50

one win in a three game series.

42:52

Sean Rooney, Columbus bounced

42:54

in two in the first round. Question mark

42:56

will for Nancy coach of the year.

42:58

Question mark, lol. MLS quote experts like Weebie

43:00

and Doyle. How do you feel about

43:02

your nonstop gushing over Nancy now, lol. Doyle,

43:04

I at least have some respect for,

43:06

I wasn't going to read that last line

43:08

now that I remember reading the street

43:10

the first time, but you know, once you

43:12

get going, reading out loud just can't

43:14

stop. It was, I got a little theatrical

43:16

there and then this is from an

43:18

anonymous MLS insider that texted me quote, let's

43:20

get a little bigger sample size before

43:23

crowning your new king. If you want to

43:25

crown them, then crown their, but they are

43:27

who we thought they were and we

43:29

let them out to hook. I don't know

43:31

who that's in reference to that might

43:33

be in reference to us. It might be

43:35

in reference to the crew either way,

43:37

Anders with the impeccably time to drop right

43:39

there. And what do you say to all

43:41

this Doyle? Because we have, we have

43:43

gushed. We have gone overboard

43:45

maybe at times on the crew.

43:47

We have, you know, we

43:49

put Wilfred on a pedestal. We put this team on

43:51

a pedestal, but when you look back at it,

43:53

um, sort of a mid table team last year, one

43:56

MLS cup. And at the end of the season,

43:58

the way they played in the playoffs, they weren't mid

44:00

-table looking. And then this

44:02

season, they've been brilliant, but

44:04

they lost in the concav

44:06

champions cup final. Stomach issues

44:08

included. They were,

44:10

you know, they

44:13

lost Campionis cup. They did win

44:15

the league's cup, but I don't believe

44:17

they had to beat an illegal Mekki. Did

44:19

they lose? Did they lose Campionis cup

44:21

or did they draw? We'll let Charlotte fans

44:23

litigate that one. And then, you

44:25

know, they got knocked out here and

44:28

I put in the group chat,

44:30

you know, Hey, like we have bagged

44:32

on LAFC for arguably better because at

44:34

least LAFC got to the MLS cup

44:36

final and lost. I

44:38

mean, LAFC didn't win a

44:41

trophy last year. So I don't think

44:43

there's any comparison. I think if

44:45

you want to compare it to an

44:47

LAFC team, it's 2019 who also

44:49

won one trophy and ended up being

44:51

disappointing in the playoffs. Of course,

44:53

that LAFC team was also disappointing in

44:55

the U .S. Open Cup. They didn't

44:57

make the other finals. They didn't

44:59

have landmark wins. And the crew didn't

45:02

have an opportunity in the Open

45:04

Cup this year, right? Correct. They

45:06

had leagues cup

45:08

though and they had, like they

45:10

made the finals of two

45:12

separate continental championships. And as you

45:14

pointed out, they lost one

45:16

of them in large part because

45:19

of some bad rice and beans

45:21

or something. Yeah. And look, can we just, are

45:24

we, are we making an excuse on that one?

45:26

Is that an excuse? I'm just asking the question.

45:28

I don't know. I'm just thinking about how we

45:30

might judge other teams, but we love the crew. And

45:32

I say that without abandon because of

45:34

the aesthetics, because of the project,

45:36

because of, of really what they represent

45:38

and what Wilfred has given what

45:40

they, given what they did at Tigris

45:43

and at Monterey, I

45:46

like, I'm willing to give them the

45:48

mulligan and the benefit of the

45:50

doubt that it was stomach issues that

45:52

caused them to utterly fall on

45:54

their faces at Pachuca. Now Pachuca, is

45:56

it Pachuca or a worse team?

45:58

Like they just do not. have as

46:00

much talent as either the Monterey

46:02

sides, but they do play at

46:04

8 ,000 feet. So maybe Columbus would

46:06

have lost in the final half

46:09

hour anyway. We've seen plenty of

46:11

that from MLS teams over the

46:13

year. But I still think the

46:15

Columbus crew, this era, and I

46:17

hope this era is not over,

46:19

but there is a good chance

46:21

that it is. This is the

46:23

best MLS team I've ever seen.

46:25

I think Taylor's wrong. I don't

46:27

think it's too soon to say

46:30

that. I think the one trophy

46:32

this season is ultimately disappointing in

46:34

the same way that one trophy

46:36

for the 2014 Galaxy or 2019

46:38

LASC was ultimately disappointing. Can you

46:40

really put the Galaxy in that

46:42

same category? Can you really put

46:44

an MLS Cup winner there? Yeah,

46:46

it's just one trophy. Yeah, I'm

46:48

sorry, they had a big league

46:51

cup guy, not MLS Cup. That

46:54

was their third MLS Cup

46:56

in four years. I understand what

46:58

you're saying. I get that

47:00

they were disappointed, but if you

47:02

were putting those two trophies

47:04

next to each other, I respectfully

47:06

would say they're not equivalent.

47:08

I understand what you're saying, but

47:10

given that the crew won

47:12

MLS Cup last year, I think

47:14

their main aim this year

47:16

was to win a Continental title,

47:19

and they did that. Now,

47:21

the other argument for the crew

47:23

being the best team of

47:25

all time. Across

47:27

2023, League's Cup, US Open

47:29

Cup and playoffs, and then

47:31

2024, CONCACAF Champions Cup and

47:33

League's Cup, as well as

47:35

the Campiones Cup. All the

47:37

knockout tournament play heading into

47:39

these playoffs, Columbus had played

47:41

25 games and over those

47:43

25 games, they were 16

47:45

wins, three losses, and six

47:47

draws with a plus 24

47:50

goal differential. If you prorate

47:52

that throughout an entire MLS

47:54

season, 34 games, it's not

47:56

just a shield -winning pace. It

47:58

is a record - setting

48:00

points pace. It is equal

48:02

to what Miami did this year

48:04

in just the regular season. And

48:06

the crew have done that

48:08

over the past year and a

48:10

half in knockout

48:12

tournament play. And because we're

48:15

talking about knockout tournament play,

48:17

these are better opponents, right?

48:19

That is a record that

48:21

they've posted. It includes an

48:23

unbeaten mark against LAFC and

48:25

Miami in tournament play. Six

48:28

games against Club America, Tigress

48:30

and Monterey. Unbeaten in six

48:32

games against those teams who

48:34

are effectively the three biggest

48:36

teams in North America. And

48:39

the underlying numbers align with

48:42

the box score numbers and the

48:44

record. Per Opta,

48:46

they were plus 0 .67

48:48

expected goal differential per

48:51

game. If you just plop that

48:53

down into an MLS regular

48:55

season, that would be the sixth

48:57

best underlying numbers of the

48:59

past dozen years. So

49:01

doing that while

49:04

finishing second in the supporter shield

49:06

race on almost two points per

49:08

game and oh, by the way,

49:10

they sold one of their best

49:12

players mid -season, I

49:15

think this is the best team I've ever seen in

49:17

MLS. I do and sometimes the

49:19

best team doesn't win. It

49:21

happens, man. But

49:23

when I think back

49:25

to what this

49:27

season was, the

49:31

first thing I'll think of is probably still

49:33

gonna be messy, but 1B is

49:35

gonna be the crew. Just

49:38

because of the way they played and the

49:40

way they were able to do it across

49:42

multiple competitions, man. You think about that great

49:44

sounder's team that won CCL two years ago, they

49:47

then went into the toilet

49:49

in their regular season. I mean, Toronto, who

49:51

would be in the greatest team of

49:53

all time discussion. I mean, look, Toronto

49:56

is the greatest team of all time.

49:58

They're the only team to do. a

50:00

treble and then they followed it up

50:02

by going to the Concapped Champions League

50:04

final and coming closer to winning it

50:07

than the crew did. And then they

50:09

went into the toilet and they missed

50:11

the playoffs. You're not supposed to be

50:13

able to juggle multiple competitions and compete

50:15

at a high level in multiple competitions

50:18

in the way the crew did. Miami

50:20

couldn't do it this year. Miami got

50:22

killed by Monterey. Miami law. The crew

50:24

spotted Miami had two goal lead. in

50:27

a league's cup and the crew came

50:29

back and beat them. This is the

50:31

best team I've ever seen in MLS.

50:33

I hear you. I think there, when

50:36

you say the best team I've ever

50:38

seen, I think that's where we have

50:40

to, that's where I have to get,

50:42

it's about, you know, words matter in

50:44

the way you describe things, right? So

50:47

then to me, when I hear you

50:49

say that, it's not, because people will

50:51

do this on results, right? You'll do

50:53

this is. This is an aesthetics conversation

50:56

in a lot of ways. It's a

50:58

project conversation. It's not just about, hey,

51:00

in those 90 minutes or 180 minutes

51:02

in New York Red Bulls, it's in

51:05

the totality of that year on the

51:07

level of soccer played on the chances

51:09

they took on the players that they

51:11

improved on the tactical identity that they

51:14

implemented. How does that compare to teams

51:16

of the past? Not necessarily just in

51:18

the spreadsheet of time. How many trophies

51:20

did you win? But I think when

51:22

you look at that spreadsheet, and I

51:25

feel you and I hear you on

51:27

all the things you're saying, there is

51:29

going to be immense disappointment for the

51:31

Columbus crew Wilford Nancy and these players

51:34

over the fact that they didn't get

51:36

a couple more of these over the

51:38

line. And not just not over the

51:40

line. I think you can excuse the

51:43

the concave champions cup one because of

51:45

the path that they took to get

51:47

there and because of the extenuating circumstances.

51:49

This one is harder because it's the

51:51

first round. It's a seven seated team

51:54

that had done very very little

51:56

in the lead

51:58

up to make you

52:00

believe that they

52:03

could challenge you and

52:05

then, and then beat

52:07

you straight up over two games. So

52:09

you don't even have the chance to go beat Miami.

52:11

You don't even have the chance to go to the

52:13

concaf champions cup run where you're like, well, we beat

52:15

Cincinnati and we beat Miami and the New York Red

52:17

Bulls were a speed bump. And then we got to

52:19

the final and it bump went up the wrong way.

52:21

And you know what? This time, LFC or the galaxy

52:23

or fill in the blank got the best of us. That's

52:26

disappointing. It's disappointing for the crew.

52:28

It's disappointing for me

52:30

because yeah, because I love the

52:33

way they play. I love the way they've done things. And

52:35

I wanted to see it play out in, you

52:37

know, against Miami. I wanted this storybook that

52:39

we've been sort of writing all season long

52:41

of like, well, Miami were the team with

52:43

the stars who, you know, were able to

52:46

get it done by the skin of their

52:48

teeth through the regular season and sometimes by

52:50

brute force, but then they went up against

52:52

the shining white night. And it's like the

52:54

white night fell down. He fell off his

52:56

horse. He didn't get there. Red

52:59

Bulls are like, we're the black night

53:01

now, baby. Bulls

53:04

on parade. All right. Here comes our age against

53:06

the machine. That's the beauty of the playoffs, but,

53:08

uh, you know, sometimes beauty doesn't always shine through

53:11

in the biggest moments. I guess we be, what's

53:13

the best stimulus team you've ever seen? And

53:16

we're defining this on like, I turn on a

53:18

game and I'm watching them. I'm not, not, I'm

53:20

looking at a spreadsheet for. Define

53:23

it however you want. Uh,

53:30

I think on the aesthetic sides, it's

53:32

19 or it's this team. It's

53:35

LAC in 19. So

53:37

let's take every, every

53:39

MLS team fully fit,

53:42

drop them into a tournament. Who you

53:44

picking? 98

53:49

DC United. Another,

53:51

another team that didn't win the supporter shield,

53:54

didn't win MLS Cup, didn't win the us

53:56

open. I know, I know, but they had

53:58

more in their tank from the two years.

54:00

prior than I think the crew

54:02

do, right? Yeah, oh yeah. Like

54:04

they have more of those things

54:07

already in their bag, so to

54:09

speak. If you were going to

54:11

do, this is impossible. Let's set

54:14

a one cup cup to, yeah.

54:16

Let's set a final four. Let's

54:18

set a final four. Let's set

54:21

a final four just for fun

54:23

here. Would it be, would it

54:25

be 17 Toronto, 19 LAFC and

54:28

in 2024 crew? And then, I

54:30

mean, maybe 98 DC, who would

54:33

be the final four teams in

54:35

the final four teams in the

54:37

early 2010. It would be 2014

54:40

Galaxy. It would be 17 Toronto.

54:42

It would be this crew team.

54:44

And then it's a coin flip

54:47

for me between 98 DC United

54:49

and 2019 LAFC. I'll put DC

54:51

United in there. Well, you know,

54:54

sorry, LFC. We'll put DC on

54:56

there. Yeah, it's interesting. Let us

54:59

know you think the spreadsheet joc.

55:01

LFC is the best MLS team

55:03

of all time because by the

55:06

underlying metrics, I mean I expected

55:08

goal differential, they are by a

55:10

mile, but also if you sort

55:13

that into playoff teams versus non-playoff

55:15

teams, especially in the second half

55:17

of that year, LFC were not

55:20

good against playoffs. In fact, I

55:22

think coming into that series against

55:25

the Sounders, they had been winless

55:27

in their last six. against playoff

55:29

teams. So what they were really,

55:32

really good at was running up

55:34

the numbers against bad teams. And

55:36

that's where this crew, like this

55:39

crew team was just kind of

55:41

average. What made them outstanding, I

55:43

think the best team that I've

55:46

ever seen is what they were

55:48

able to do against the Montereys

55:50

and Tigris and Clube Americas and

55:53

Cincinnati in last year's playoffs and

55:55

playoffs and the way they absolutely

55:58

dismantled an LAFC team. that is

56:00

also one of the best teams I've

56:02

ever seen in two finals. We'll have

56:04

a lot to talk about in terms

56:06

of the crew going forward. You know,

56:08

Tommy Berger will get on here

56:11

and then do some scoopage and

56:13

you know, there'll be some news

56:15

obviously from this team. We had

56:17

a bunch of people hit us

56:19

up, many Cincinnati fans whose happiness

56:22

levels I think have gone up

56:24

a little bit in the last

56:26

24 hours asking. Did Joe Borough

56:28

have a good game or something

56:30

like that? Macaulay Colkine or Joe?

56:33

No, never run. How will Columbus

56:35

deal with Luddi Nanti and Kucho

56:37

in this off-season is

56:39

what they're all asking? Well, we

56:41

don't have the answer to

56:43

that because we don't know that

56:46

that's gonna happen though. I

56:48

frankly would be surprised if

56:50

they were both back next year.

56:52

Look, man, I think if Wilfred

56:55

Nancy is gone, this era is

56:57

over. I think he's one of

56:59

one in terms of head coaches

57:02

that we've had in this league.

57:04

Here's the last one and

57:06

we'll move on. Henry

57:08

Higueta says, rate Columbus

57:10

is season on a scale of

57:12

one to 10. I just want to

57:14

hear your number. I think an

57:17

eight, I think, God, if they had

57:19

gotten anything from

57:21

Hinnestroza, you know, one more

57:23

match winner to save Rosie's

57:25

legs. things would have been

57:28

different. I really do think

57:30

that, but as it is,

57:32

66 points, a trophy, two

57:34

other finals, a club record,

57:36

or not a club record,

57:38

but developing a player like

57:40

Aidan Morris into a significant

57:42

transfer out. I think Columbus

57:44

fans are still pretty happy

57:46

this morning, and I think

57:48

they should be. I agree with that.

57:50

But I think disappointment

57:53

is gonna. is going to sort of

57:55

be one of the overriding emotions

57:57

undercurrents of this season as well.

58:00

All right, more on the Red

58:02

Bulls here. Do we think there's

58:04

a flash in the pan or

58:06

is it like? Sustainable. Because

58:08

they always been cooking in

58:10

this pan at all, really.

58:12

Like, maybe early in the

58:14

season when Forsberg was healthy?

58:16

Like, maybe? When they have

58:19

Forsberg, Morgan and Vanzier

58:21

starting together across all

58:23

competitions, they're five wins

58:26

two losses for draws.

58:28

Pretty good. Pretty good

58:30

not like I'm not like two last

58:32

thing 11. Yeah, yeah, yeah And we

58:34

don't know who their next game

58:36

is against could be either Cincinnati

58:39

could be NYC FC Could be

58:41

at any number of Stadios like

58:43

those feel like teams that they

58:46

can beat Yes Is this the magical?

58:48

I will we'll save that for a later

58:50

day. Sorry I don't want to jinks

58:53

you out there Red Bulls fans all

58:55

right sounders If you have any thoughts

58:57

on the crew or the Red Bulls,

58:59

we'll get to them on Thursday, hit

59:01

us up. You know, you get at me

59:03

at Andrew underscore Weebie on Twitter.

59:05

Sounders go through, they PKi slapped

59:08

their way past the boneheaded dynamo.

59:10

That's the headline I wrote for

59:12

myself here. A couple observations from

59:14

the game. I think the big

59:16

obvious one. Hunter Bruck Bauer hit us

59:18

up and he basically sums it up.

59:20

Houston's back-to-back mental collapses from the

59:23

two guys from the two guys from the

59:25

two guys that absolutely. Ache, Ache, what are

59:27

you doing? Coco Karaskea, what

59:30

are you doing? How can this, I

59:32

mean, this has to drive Ben Olson

59:34

absolutely mad because clearly

59:37

he was frustrated about

59:39

the, about refereeing and

59:42

calls and generally he's feeling on

59:44

a sideline, but when you go

59:46

back and watch it, I don't

59:48

know how many. You don't have any, there's

59:50

no like, oh yeah, but extenuating circumstances that

59:52

you can really give for kicking somebody on

59:54

the field in a scrum, and then even

59:56

more so, much more so, spitting at the

59:58

feet of the referee. This

1:00:03

is a real sour moment for the Dynamo

1:00:05

and for Ache Ache and he has

1:00:07

an option next year and we don't know

1:00:09

how that'll all work out. But

1:00:12

that's inexcusable and

1:00:14

it's disgusting and

1:00:16

there's nothing, there's nothing, there's nothing else

1:00:18

to say other than that's an

1:00:20

epic failure in the biggest moment from

1:00:22

your highest paid player and the

1:00:24

guy who's defined on the field, the

1:00:26

shift at the club over the last two and a half

1:00:29

years. Super

1:00:31

disappointing, just a

1:00:33

crushing moment for the Dynamo

1:00:35

and still give them

1:00:37

credit for fighting in the

1:00:39

last half hour and

1:00:41

after going down one nil,

1:00:44

coming back and generating

1:00:46

that equalizer. So

1:00:48

the team spirit is

1:00:50

still there and Ben

1:00:52

Olson has earned his stripes

1:00:54

over the past couple

1:00:56

of years as a top level

1:00:58

head coach in this league. I

1:01:01

really do think that, but they

1:01:03

have some big decisions to

1:01:05

make this off season because like

1:01:07

Ache Ache didn't look like

1:01:09

the same guy that number on

1:01:11

his salary is really, really

1:01:13

big and this kind of disaster

1:01:15

in a home playoff

1:01:17

game where we're playing a

1:01:19

weakened opponent and

1:01:22

the team need like,

1:01:24

I'm sure

1:01:26

they're having meetings all week in Houston.

1:01:28

They've been thinking about this option for

1:01:30

a long time. There's no doubt about

1:01:32

that and this is going to add

1:01:34

a little bit of a little interesting

1:01:36

wrinkle to those decisions as well. The

1:01:39

other thing for Houston is they've gone

1:01:41

out on PKs in the last three

1:01:43

competitions and Steve Clark has been Owen

1:01:45

17 in that time. That's

1:01:47

rough. That's rough. Over 17 in

1:01:49

PKs. Yeah, the last three, yeah.

1:01:53

It's an offer. That's

1:01:55

tough. That's really tough.

1:01:57

That's really tough. maybe

1:02:00

make a call for Elliott Paneco

1:02:02

right about now. But anyway, on your

1:02:04

side, give me the sounders take

1:02:06

on this game. I

1:02:08

mean, it was serious in the

1:02:10

series. Yeah, pure sounders, like they,

1:02:12

they minimize mistakes and they, they

1:02:15

grind out playoff results in a

1:02:17

way that they've been able to

1:02:19

do basically since Brian Schmetzer took

1:02:21

over, it was impressive for them

1:02:23

to do it on the road

1:02:25

without Rusnak and, and Jordan Morris.

1:02:30

They, they've gotten such great

1:02:32

contributions from their home groans.

1:02:34

You know, Obed Vargas back

1:02:36

in, Danny Leyva was a

1:02:38

game changer coming in as

1:02:40

a number 10, which I

1:02:42

never expected. And then Georgie

1:02:44

Minungu, you know, he, he

1:02:46

looks to the part of

1:02:48

a different smaker on that

1:02:50

wing, but there's still Pedro

1:02:52

de la Vega is not

1:02:54

it. And the rest of

1:02:56

the attack, it doesn't feel

1:02:58

like can hit the level

1:03:00

that you need to hit

1:03:02

in order to win MLS

1:03:04

cup. Like this is not

1:03:06

the 2019 sounders. Yeah,

1:03:10

I don't have much else on this, this

1:03:12

particular series here. We'll

1:03:14

see. A lot of time now

1:03:16

for Jordan Morris and Rusnak to get

1:03:18

healthy. That's a good thing. That's

1:03:20

a good thing for the sounders. Anders

1:03:23

is, Anders is talking a lot

1:03:25

of trash in the chapter now. Anders

1:03:27

believes, he doesn't believe, I don't

1:03:29

think he believes what he really wants

1:03:31

is LAFC to advance past Vancouver

1:03:33

to get a little revanchia in the

1:03:36

conference semifinals. But be careful what

1:03:38

you wish for is what I would

1:03:40

say, Anders. All right. Let's go.

1:03:42

Minnesota United. They spiked the football early,

1:03:44

but they spiked it hard right

1:03:46

on your, the bridge, your nose, Doyle

1:03:49

RSL flopped. But, you know, hey,

1:03:51

penalties, Dane St. Clair, baby, how did

1:03:53

you feel being the, being the

1:03:55

brunt of the celebratory trash talk? Was

1:03:57

that a good feeling? feeling, middling

1:03:59

feeling, bad feeling. Did you revel in

1:04:02

it? I reveled in it. I

1:04:04

thought it was, I thought it was

1:04:06

great that the admin there was, was

1:04:08

keeping receipts, maybe using them a little

1:04:10

bit out of context, but you know,

1:04:12

that's what social media is for. And

1:04:16

how to context in

1:04:18

this day and age, in this

1:04:20

time of society, what? Imagine,

1:04:22

imagine that. But

1:04:24

like it, like you, you win

1:04:26

a playoff series when you're

1:04:28

underdog, you get to

1:04:30

talk trash at and

1:04:32

about anybody who doubted

1:04:35

you at any point all season long.

1:04:37

And they did it. They were

1:04:39

the better team in this series, not

1:04:41

by a ton, but they were

1:04:43

the better team in this series. And

1:04:45

then they were, you know, in

1:04:47

Dane St. Clair, they have the Nahuel

1:04:49

of, of, of MLS ability to get

1:04:51

inside the dude's heads. He's He's

1:04:53

so much fun. Yeah. We need that.

1:04:55

We that. didn't, I didn't feel,

1:04:58

I didn't feel, I didn't feel like

1:05:00

the wrong team went through. I

1:05:02

agree. I agree. And look,

1:05:04

for Minnesota United, I get it. This should

1:05:06

be celebrated for them, especially in year one

1:05:08

or under Eric Ramsey and all the changes

1:05:10

they made in the summer and, and everything

1:05:12

else, but like a lot of the experts

1:05:14

also like we both picked them. Like

1:05:16

I thought they were like the most obvious

1:05:18

ups quote unquote upset pick of the

1:05:21

entire round one. And it

1:05:23

wasn't perfect. You know, there are still some flaws

1:05:25

here, but I got to give a ton

1:05:27

of credit to the organization in a couple of different

1:05:29

ways. I think it was

1:05:31

an open question, like how Clid

1:05:33

El -Amad would adapt and what he

1:05:35

would do in MLS. You

1:05:38

know, we just, he didn't have the track record

1:05:40

here. And sometimes when you do that, you just

1:05:42

don't know. And I got to give him a

1:05:44

ton of credit for his summer moves. They, to

1:05:46

a man, like kind of generally worked brilliantly. Like

1:05:48

we're still waiting to see it from walking Pereira,

1:05:50

but he has his moments. The one that

1:05:52

I think would under the rated is not Kelvin

1:05:54

Yaboa. Like that one has, has gone really

1:05:56

well for them. You have tangible, you

1:05:59

know, box score. contributions. It's Diaz

1:06:01

on the back line, man. That

1:06:03

one was quiet, but that was

1:06:05

a great signing. In the

1:06:07

first, like the first impression we

1:06:09

all got of him was

1:06:11

against the sounders where he had

1:06:13

that awful game, like hitting

1:06:15

suicide passes across field, leading to

1:06:17

breakaways and all that. And

1:06:19

like the initial, like it was not

1:06:21

good, but that was not the

1:06:23

player that he is. And he

1:06:25

has been, well,

1:06:28

I'll let you can continue because No, no,

1:06:30

that was perfect. You were talking about this

1:06:32

terrible moment of like a bad first impression

1:06:34

as sirens blared in the background. We just

1:06:36

get fortunate with these things, you know, over

1:06:39

the years, the clanking radiator, the background noise

1:06:41

of the city. It all just seems to

1:06:43

work. It's the symphony. So his

1:06:45

ability to break lines with his

1:06:47

passing combined with Carlos Harvey's ability

1:06:49

to break lines, carrying the

1:06:51

ball off the back line

1:06:53

adds a level of

1:06:55

dynamism to this back

1:06:58

three. That is a little

1:07:00

bit crou -ish in terms

1:07:02

of their ball progression. Not

1:07:04

a lot else about their

1:07:06

game model is too crou -ish,

1:07:08

but that certainly is. And

1:07:11

credit to Khaled Ahmad for going

1:07:13

out and finding guys who could

1:07:15

do that. And then credit to Eric

1:07:18

Ramsey for putting them in positions

1:07:20

to sort of tilt the game

1:07:22

the way that Minnesota have done. Yeah,

1:07:25

the right team, the right team went

1:07:28

through in this one. How

1:07:30

do we judge RSL season? Let's go big

1:07:32

picture on this one, because we've got time

1:07:34

to talk Minnesota United. I mean, like as

1:07:36

Ricky Pooge would tell you a lot of

1:07:38

time to talk about that particular matchup

1:07:40

here. How do you judge

1:07:42

RSL's season? Like to do the

1:07:44

same sort of like crew

1:07:46

retrospective on it, because they in

1:07:48

the first, I don't know

1:07:50

how long it was, I mean, first, let's

1:07:52

say February, March, April, May, probably

1:07:55

first four months this season are like

1:07:57

the story, perhaps, of MLS. And in

1:07:59

the end... they still set a club

1:08:01

record for points. They made the

1:08:03

playoffs again. They sold Andreas Gomez

1:08:05

for a big old fat number.

1:08:08

Diego Luna took another and Fidel

1:08:10

Barajas. Fidel Barajas sure to do

1:08:12

and it took a big step

1:08:14

forward. A bunch of young players

1:08:16

got much better. I mean like

1:08:18

Nellie among them certainly and Ojeda

1:08:20

I think had his moments but

1:08:23

wasn't as consistent at the end

1:08:25

as you wanted him to be

1:08:27

and Brian Vera was spitting at

1:08:29

the wrong times. decent season overall

1:08:31

and also which we haven't talked

1:08:33

about enough perhaps but the club

1:08:36

knows and they're planning for they've

1:08:38

made the concave champions cup for

1:08:40

2025 that feels universally like a

1:08:42

massive success Doyle like if you

1:08:44

put those things on the spreadsheet

1:08:46

and didn't add all the you

1:08:48

know the context of the season

1:08:51

and the collapse and Chicho not

1:08:53

scoring goals you'd like bang on

1:08:55

man that is that is one

1:08:57

of the best seasons in your

1:08:59

history you know playoffs notwithstanding notwithstanding

1:09:01

and yet it still feels feels

1:09:04

It feels like, it feels kind

1:09:06

of like, in the end. If,

1:09:08

if Chicho hadn't completely disappeared, I

1:09:10

don't think we would, like, if

1:09:12

they had lost in the playoffs

1:09:14

anyway, but Chicho had played well,

1:09:16

I don't think we would be

1:09:19

feeling this way. But now there's

1:09:21

this, like, oh God, do we

1:09:23

actually have a high level center

1:09:25

forward or is that done? So

1:09:27

that, you know. kind of colors.

1:09:29

Do they? I think so. I

1:09:31

assume that Cheechas is going to

1:09:34

go back to me. Like, the

1:09:36

last half of the season is

1:09:38

the outlier from Cheecho in terms

1:09:40

of what we've seen of him

1:09:42

in MLS. So I think they

1:09:44

do. And I like what we've

1:09:47

seen from the Polish kid, Marcia,

1:09:49

on that right side as well.

1:09:51

Gonzales is a little bit more

1:09:53

of a worry to me. but

1:09:55

like they end up with a

1:09:57

lot of questions, but the questions

1:09:59

came. because the number of

1:10:02

answers that they had for

1:10:04

the first half of the

1:10:06

season was staggering and put

1:10:08

them in a position where

1:10:10

they got a godfather offer

1:10:12

for the most exciting young

1:10:14

player in the league and taking

1:10:17

that pillar away and oh

1:10:19

by the way they lost

1:10:21

popularies within like two games

1:10:23

and that's not an

1:10:25

easy replacement. I don't think

1:10:28

it would be fair to be.

1:10:30

unhappy with this season if you were

1:10:32

an RSL fan, disappointing as the final

1:10:34

two months were. I'm happy with the

1:10:36

ending of the season. I think it

1:10:38

is extremely fair. Unhappy with the overall

1:10:40

course of the season. I think there's

1:10:42

an understandable nature and all that. And

1:10:45

I saw you tweet something about people

1:10:47

hitting you up and saying, what is

1:10:49

Pablo under pressure? Should he lose his

1:10:51

job? And I'm just, I'm befuddled at

1:10:53

the reaction of the reaction of some

1:10:55

folks out there. It shouldn't even be

1:10:57

a discussion. you just like before the

1:11:00

start of the season they took his they

1:11:02

said hey your staff not your staff

1:11:04

we are going to bring in

1:11:06

staff then he helped usher in

1:11:08

an incredible tactical change and it was

1:11:10

I mean the way they did it was smart

1:11:12

like get guys around Pablo that are going

1:11:15

to do the things that he is that

1:11:17

are not his forte and let him be

1:11:19

Pablo and I thought this season throughout the

1:11:21

season he was that guy and at the

1:11:24

end he had to revert back to X

1:11:26

dog because his dog was an X

1:11:28

on the Squishy. I know, I did

1:11:30

that one just for you. Just for

1:11:32

you. And they didn't lose either of

1:11:35

these games, right? It's not like they

1:11:37

went out and they got blown out

1:11:39

in these games. They, you know, they

1:11:41

did not play particularly well, but they

1:11:44

were still there fighting. And I think

1:11:46

that the pieces are there for

1:11:48

RSL to be a good team.

1:11:50

Very good team, again. Once. Centerbacks.

1:11:52

That's been the, I mean, this

1:11:54

has been an underrated story. second

1:11:56

half the season coinciding with their

1:11:58

slide is that they haven't had

1:12:00

any center back health. They've been playing

1:12:03

outside backs at center back like basically

1:12:05

throughout this thing having to shuffle their

1:12:07

lineup now. And now we also had

1:12:09

a little bit issue down the stretch

1:12:11

of just keeping his level where it

1:12:13

was. But you're right to point out

1:12:15

when Ruiz comes back that's probably another

1:12:17

candidate for 10 or at least ball

1:12:19

progression player in the midfield who can

1:12:21

do something special. They've proved they'll spend.

1:12:23

Let's see what they do. Anything to

1:12:26

add from this one before we keep

1:12:28

it moving? Where are you on Minnesota

1:12:30

as like a threat to advance deep

1:12:32

into the playoffs here? Because that

1:12:34

was one of the things that

1:12:36

the Minnesota admin dinged me. Yeah.

1:12:38

Yeah. Yeah. I think I think

1:12:41

Minnesota is like a low key kind of a

1:12:43

tough matchup for LA because LA

1:12:45

want to have space behind you to

1:12:47

attack. They would actually kind of like

1:12:49

you to come out a little bit

1:12:52

more. so that they can hit those one or

1:12:54

two passes or draw you forward to get

1:12:56

Peck and paint so in behind and to

1:12:58

get Poosian open space to to attack at

1:13:00

speed and build momentum and attacks in Minnesota

1:13:02

I've sort of proved especially a way that

1:13:04

they're like yeah there's not going to be

1:13:06

any space for you to do that like

1:13:08

our number one. principle here is that we're

1:13:10

going to be uber organized in that 541.

1:13:12

We're going to take away the central areas

1:13:14

and we're going to dare you to go

1:13:16

out out wide and just sort of recycle

1:13:18

the ball endlessly because you can't find a

1:13:20

way through us. Like Ramsey has an extremely

1:13:23

well drilled in that since it just

1:13:25

feels like that sort of identity is

1:13:27

like the opposite of what LA would

1:13:29

would envision being a good thing in Minnesota

1:13:31

or a good away. They'll have believed over

1:13:33

the course of this entire season. Like why

1:13:35

can't we do this like we do this like we've

1:13:37

done it. We've done it. We've got a way

1:13:39

in one. Like we've got players that can

1:13:42

threaten those centerbacks with pace in behind.

1:13:44

Like, Yiboa can get there. Robin Lloyd

1:13:46

can have a special moment. We have

1:13:48

game changers off the bench. I think

1:13:51

it's actually a really fascinating matchup and

1:13:53

you know, the forecast model hasn't started

1:13:55

churning on this one. But we'll, you know,

1:13:57

we'll get there. How about, how about Galaxy?