Scuffed | USMNT, World Cup, Yanks Abroad, futbol in America - #558: January Camp 5-a-side draft with Matt Doyle & Watke

Episode Date: January 10, 2025

MLS senior writer and veteran podcaster Matt Doyle graciously joins us and we each pick 7 players (one goalkeeper, five field players and a sub) from Mauricio Pochettino's January Camp roster for a make-believe 5-a-side round robin. Who got the best team? Patrons can vote on who has the best team here. We may open it up for a vote on Twitter in a few days. Skip the ads! Subscribe to Scuffed on Patreon and get all episodes ad-free, plus any bonus episodes. Patrons at $5 a month or more also get access to Clip Notes, a video of key moments on the field we discuss on the show, plus all patrons get access to our private Discord server, live call-in shows, and the full catalog of historic recaps we've made: https://www.patreon.com/scuffedAlso, check out Boots on the Ground, our USWNT-focused spinoff podcast headed up by Tara and Vince. They are cooking over there, you can listen here: https://boots-on-the-ground.simplecast.comAnd check out our MERCH, baby. We have better stuff than you might think: https://www.scuffedhq.com/store Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Welcome to the Scuff podcast where we talk about U.S. Soccer. Hey, everybody. Welcome to a special January camp edition of Scuffed where we're going to try to turn this midwinter MLS talent show to something a little more spicy. Waki and I are pleased to be joined today by Matt Doyle, who's been writing for MLSS Soccer.com since the 1960s. We're going to raid Potch's January roster to draft five-aside teams. Doyle, welcome back to Scuff.

It's been a while. How are you? Yeah, it's been a few years, I think, since I've been on. I'm doing all right. It's nice to, it's nice to see you guys sort of in person again. You know, still a fan of the show. Still trying to rev my engine in this long, dark winter between World Cups. And hopefully this will get us going.

Yeah, I think your engine's going to get pretty well-rived today. Even though Adam said, you know, we're trying to have some fun here. I knew kind of when I woke up this morning, this felt pretty serious. This is kind of a big deal of a draft. I think we're all out here to win it.

Out for blood. I know you are, Doyle. You always come in with this like really congenial demeanor. But then there's, you know, there's ruthlessness underneath all that sunshine. Steel beneath the velvet? is that you would call it? That's what you would call me as a guest on your show?

He said that, actually. He says it all the time whenever he, not every time he mentions you, but often. Yeah. He'll say velvet steel. Steel velvet's coming later. When he doesn't say it, it's always implied, I assume. You can hear it in his tone.

So a few logistics. First, we're calling it five aside, but this is really six aside with five field players and a goalkeeper. So we're each going to select seven players That means we'll each have one sub And three players from this roster are going to be left off Which is a terrible shame for them

But they're just not even going to get drafted And I guess we'll see who that's going to be Also we're going to snake the draft Meaning one two three three two one two three Etcetera after some intense negotiations I get the first pick Chris gets the second pick And Doyle gets the third

fourth pick, which is really the best spot in the draft. But we're generous. We're generous to our guests, even when they bring the steel under the velvet. I have more logistical questions for you. Are we assuming like a half field? Are we assuming like a five-yard goal mouth and goalkeepers have to use their feet, can't use their hands, like a proper small-sided game? or like, what are the other rules that I should be aware of as we head into this?

These are really good questions. So it's a small field. What is it? 45 yards? Yeah, it's a small goal, probably a little above head height, about half the, a little over half the size of a normal goal. The box is a little bit bigger than a six-yard box. It looks like our keeper's going to need to, It's going to be advantage to have the keeper be able to play with their feet a little bit.

Yes. I'm thinking through. I don't know how much shot stopping. I think it's probably pretty important. They're facing a lot of shots. Usually is. Yeah, usually is. So, you know, you got to figure out how early you want to draft.

But we're not talking about a small-sided game on a regulation-sized field. No. No, no. Yeah. It's a smaller field 20 by 40 or 20-by-50. or something like that. It's like an indoor field. If you've been to an indoor facility,

it looks like that. I like it. Any other questions, guys? What's the substitution rule? We have a sub. It's just fluid subbing throughout the game. Line changes like in hockey? Sub on the fly.

That's civilized. I like that. Okay. So I get the first pick. And I am going to go. We all know who you're going to. pick. Do you?

Yeah, you're going to take Diego Luna. He's going to take Diego Luna. Yeah, that's true. I am. How, you guys know me so well. Not only is he the people's choice, he's good in tight space, shifty, creates his own shot, scores decisively with both feet, as anyone who saw his game winner at San Jose in October will remember.

And he's a provider. He's well ahead of the field in this roster when it comes to non-penalty XG plus X-XA in the 2024 season. He's one of the few players on this roster with a decent chance of making an impact on the full national team. He's my number one pick. Diego Luna. He's more fit and better defensively than I thought he would be three years ago when he first sort of broke on the scene. I had hopes, but I never thought he would be a particularly effective defensive player.

And he has been. We saw it, I mean, for real with the U-20s when he was. playing as a false nine for that otherwise kind of unwatchable team. I thought his work rate defensively and his intelligence defensively were real assets to that team in a way that I never expected from Diego Luna. And then that translated to MLS. Like he's a really good two-way player. It's funny.

The one thing that he was absolutely outstanding at in USL was his 1V1 ability. It just turned guys into knots. hasn't really translated in MLS. Like he has struggled to create separation off the dribble. I don't think that's an issue as much in a small-sided game because he is so good with that first touch. I think the, I think the separation will come somewhat naturally. But it's, if you think about this in the context of can he make the 20, 2016, what you want to see from

Diego Luna in 2025 is the ability to create that separation and eliminate players off the dribble in the way that he was able to do at the lower level hasn't quite translated yet in MLS. But all the other touch points, especially physically, he's actually exceeded my expectations over the past couple years. So I wonder if there isn't a distinction between getting separation and eliminating people, You know, because, like, I can agree. He doesn't really eliminate people on the dribble.

Like, you know, weave through a crowd and get to the goal. But he does have, he does, even in the MLS, have the ability to get just enough of a window to get a shot off. So I feel like that usually happens off the ball for him, or if it's in context of him taking a touch in a direction, that sort of crosses up the defender in the first place and uses the defender's momentum against him. In terms of just going from a place of isolation

and then just eliminating that defender, creating separation when the team runs out of ideas and cycles either of all, he doesn't do that yet. And I think he needs to have that in order to be the guy that we want him to do. be at the international level. Yeah, totally.

Waki. All right. The second pick, now I'm looking at this board. I'm seeing a lot of yet unproven attacking quantities. So the direction I think I want to go is I want someone who I know is going to be there for my team.

And I also, with my pick, want to make a statement of a belief and appreciation for this man. So I am going to honor Tim Riem by making him my first pick and just having that really solid force back there. Is it the best strategic pick? I don't know. But I think the voters are going to, in the end,

look at my team and see a team that has something about it but having Tim Rie Matt back there. Tim Rie. I think it's a good play with the voters for sure. Probably a good strategic pick too. But I don't want to say too much more because I don't give away the rest of my draft strategy. It's smart. I was trying to draw you out a little bit there.

I think Riem makes sense because his ball playing ability from the back is one of one in the U.S. pool, and especially in this current camp. And if you can eliminate players from the back in a small-sided game, then you've really done yourself some good. It's even more valuable. just think about it, right? Like if you eliminate one out of five field players, that's more valuable than eliminating one out of 10 in a large side of game.

And Reams' passing ability is superb. It's a good pick, Chris. I was thinking about that myself. Also, you don't want people making mistakes out of the back in a small side of game either because, you know, it's just immediate punishment. Yeah, I think my team maybe isn't going to press up that high. We're not going to leave.

There's already a short space, but in behind, we might go full bunker, depending on the rest of the... Or just use them as a sweeper, right? Like, throw it back to, you know, 1970s, 80s style, you know, bring me back to my youth. Well, I'll tell you, I'll be tempted if Walker Zimmerman's still on the board to just... You're going full-on defensive. Yeah. That feels like a smokescreen you just put up right there.

All right, let's go to pick number three. Doyle. Patrick Schulte, he's not my favorite goalkeeper in this camp, but if we're playing a small-sided game with the rules that you guys specified, the biggest margin is in terms of having a goalkeeper who is good with their feet. And Schulte is the best of this group with his feet by a pretty decent margin. If I was choosing one for a large-sided game, I would have chosen Matt Freeze,

but again, this is a different kind of scenario. And I just think Schulte's comfort, sometimes even just like walking off the line with the ball and becoming an extra field player, none of the other three goalkeepers available can do that. Well, I'm glad you said that because I didn't realize Shulte was that clear of the rest of the goalkeepers with his feet.

And I think having a goalkeeper who's good with his feet is really important in this game because they end up being like basically the sweeper. for the team. You know, they end up being the deep distributor. Unless you're rocky, in which case you're going to have an actual suite. Yeah. Yeah.

Something I didn't realize until I was researching for this draft. Matt, you had pointed out that freeze. His shot stopping numbers are Turner-esque. Yes. I didn't realize that. Yeah, he was incredible this year for NYCFC. And this is something about the last. limits of the data because I don't, I think on FBREF, like the goalkeeper distribution stats

are, you know, it's hard to tell the difference between the four. So, but you've watched all these games, you know, what they look like. So trust the eyeballs. Yeah, I don't think, I don't think Freeze is, or sorry, I don't think Shulte is, you know, Prime Jorge Campos out there. but I am much more comfortable with the idea of him sort of dictating play with the ball a little bit than I am with the other guys.

So Fries has, I think, more to him in that regard than Stefan or Callender. Stefan is kind of the outlier in all the stats and not in a positive way. No, I'm not trying to gain intelligence here for later in the draft. I'm just kind of curious. How much of a drop-off would you say

in what ways between Freeze and calendar? I would say if I were one of you guys with my next pick, I would probably take freeze. Yeah, that's what I was thinking. It's a pretty good job off. Yeah. You might have been trying to gain intelligence there. I may have been. Yeah.

Could be. All right, you get another pick, Doyle. Pick number four. Emeka and Nelly. I want a guy who can cover a ton of ground in central midfield. I want a guy who is never afraid of getting on the ball. in tight spots. And he's also got that Darlington Nagby thing

where he goes from zero to 60 in two steps. And that creates pitch control with the ball and puts the opposing team on the back foot. I love a Meccanelli. I think he's a guy who has a real Dark Horse chance of actually making the 2026 roster because I think I'd be comfortable with him as a ball-winning central midfielder.

also as a right back, which is, like, that was supposed to be his primary job in the league. He was drafted as a right back. And he is able to receive the ball in tough spots and play forward as a right back, more so than as a central midfielder, and play forward in areas of the pitch where I think the U.S. frankly struggled without Sturgenia test. I think our fullbacks specifically on the right side weren't able to hit the types of progressive passes that we really, needed over the past year. I think all of that is amplified in a small-sided game because that touch is good, because that balance is elite, because that burst and agility is international caliber.

And this is an easy pick for me. I love that pick. That quickness of his with the ball is it really, it just pops off the screen, you know, the way he just blows by people. And I am curious, you don't think Joe Scali's breakout season this year has changed your opinion about us not getting much progression from our non-Surgenio desk right backs? His breakout season?

Well, he does, the truth is he doesn't progress the poll. That's correct. I read something on Substack by WACI. Yeah. Which is my favorite WACI is media critic WACI. It's like our own version of On the Media. And I think you have a very important voice in U.S. soccer. Well, this one was a really nice combination of, like, substantive incisive soccer analysis.

Yeah, it's something I avoid doing at all costs, but it seems like I should probably do that. Yeah, you should. More. You should. All right. So we're five picks in. You can go ahead and put me down for Matt Fries. And I think the people who will be voting on this will notice just how solid I am.

defensively at this point. And I've done a lot of scouting. You've done a lot of scouting on Matt Freeze, huh? A lot. My scouting was reading your article. Hmm. I mean, we've covered, I feel like we've covered Matt Freeze pretty well, so it's my turn. Bells, I just want to point out that the last two guys who were drafted are Ivy League guys.

Yeah. An Ellie, a Cornell grad, majored in biological engineering. Mm-hmm. He immediately becomes probably the smartest person on the team. Was he like a four, he went to college for four years, and that's why he is emerging later? Yes. That's correct. Yeah.

Now, you have the opportunity here to follow up two Ivy League grads by picking a guy who does not believe that gravity is real. Yep. And that's what I'm going to do. John Tolkien. With the sixth overall pick, I'm taking John Tolkien. I don't think you need big centerbacks in a small-sided game. I think you need fullbacks, basically, who are sturdy. Tolkien is that sturdy, sturdy defensively, and he can pick out a pass.

He's not Tim Ream. He's not Tim Ream when it comes to picking out a pass, but he has composure. He has some polish when he distributes the ball. He can get forward, although that's not going to be his primary job on my team. So John Tolkien is my sixth overall pick. I'm going to go next with I was going to take a Mechonnelli but you can't do that anymore

I know, can't I'm going to go with Brian Gutierrez so six goals four assists this past season the Chicago Fire 21 year old admittedly he only scored twice since the middle of June

but if you kind of look a little deeper well if you look at the advanced stats they're also not very good But if you watch a little bit, if you watch a little bit, he is creating a lot of danger. I think he's creating chances for his teammates. He is able to create his own shot. I think of all the attackers in the pool at this point, well, he's probably the most tricky and dangerous.

Do you think you would be able to body Brian Gutierrez if you were playing against him? No. I actually think his frame isn't so bad. Okay. He has something of a baby face, though. He looks very bodyable face-wise. I'll grant that. I think he's a good player.

I think his frame has filled out a little bit. I think it needs to fill out more. And when Bells County faces Doyle Town, and Nekka Eminelli is going to absolutely bury Ryan Gutierrez. Yeah, but it's a team sport, you know, so he'll be able to pass it before he gets buried.

And you need creators in this game, and I look at this list of attackers. I don't see a lot of creative ability outside of my two picks. So congratulations to me. Waki, your turn. So we've been floating Tim Riem playing as a sweeper and I like that idea a lot

in principle, but now I'm looking at the board, I see an opportunity to create some problems for you guys in your own back line. I'm going to take Walker Zimmerman. You're going to be left with some folks that they're going to be some pretty serious question marks about. I'm just playing a strong two centerbacks.

Very defensive lineup. But the base I've built for this team is really outstanding. Walker Zimmerman, correct me if I'm wrong, one of the best centerbacks in the league. still win healthy probably the best center back in the league yeah there you go all right very strong back line from hockey here doyle has two picks in a row number nine number 10 the best one v1 player

in this camp is max arston and that's going to be my pick i want guys who who can create separation and eliminate guys off the triple, have an eye for the final ball, two-footed, fearless in big moments, which we saw in P.K. shootout against Tigress and also, I think, against Club America, the guy's just a baller. Doyle, do you worry about the way he defends?

Like, he's a fullback, I guess, technically, or a wingback, but he looks like he's kind of going through the motions. He looks a little out. Who is defense for? Who is defense for? What type of people? What type of people is defense for? Well, people like Waki.

I don't know what. Defense? Defense is for ugly people. And we will not have ugly people on my team. Okay. You have a good looking team so far. I just saw him, you know, he would go flying into a challenge and just get eliminated a lot. Fortune favors the brave.

Okay. All right. I won't argue anymore. You got the next pick, number 10. A few different ways I could go here, but I'm going to pick Jack McGlynn, who is not a player I love in 11 v. 11, because I think he turns off defensively.

But in a small-sided game, he's got the best range of passing, anybody in this roster. And he has the ability to make guys miss and open up passing lanes by using his eyes and his hips. Like he shapes his body really well and really deceptively when hitting the pass. So his role with this team is going to be Carlos Valderrama. He's just going to stand in the center circle and try not to run. I'll be upset with him, actually, if he even breaks a sweat,

and just dictate everything that happens on the field. And given the guys around him, I'm pretty sure he's going to be able to do that. Yeah, I'm a little bit upset. You took Jackie there. I really wanted to put him in front of my defense. Yeah, you got nothing left. I got a problem. Yeah, at this point, I think Tim Riem is going to be your 10.

We're bunkering though We're gonna gut out some wins And it is my pick now, correct? Yep I'm gonna get Jesus Ferreira It's a great pick Just to have a worker And the guy who's gonna get us some goals

He is definitely gonna get you some goals I mean he can get a shot off in tight space He can create a little bit Not like 1v1 But All right so I get two points picks here. With the 12th overall pick,

I'm going to take DeWan Jones. I like that pick. He's going to be my right back in a essentially a two, a two-three formation. He, you know, he's not quite the distributor that Tolkien is, but he's very steady, very sturdy. He can get forward a little bit. We're not going to be easy to score on,

those two back there. So there it is. Oh, brother, what do? Who do I pick next? Sorry, guys. Bigger time. It's a big decision. I guess I'll take

Benjamin Kramowski. I don't particularly rate him, but I need a midfielder. And that's that. Kramaski, I don't particularly rate him either. I feel like

it's not, out of the realm of possibilities that he ends up having like a like he's the third Aronson brother where where certain types of people who look for certain types of things in a midfielder see something there that I'm just never really going to be able to see that's all I've got on Ben Haugh-Gromassie at this point right like he's I was like he's dynamic in changing phases of play which is a very erinsent thing he goes from defending to pure attacking really quick, defending to, or possession to pure attacking,

or attacking to possession. Like, he's good at that thing, and that matters a lot as you move up a level. So if there's a path for him, that is, I think, where it is. But, like, he leaves me cold in his vision. I don't think it's great. And his skill with the ball is, yeah, he's fine. Yeah, he's pretty bang average with the ball.

He does give a lot of effort, so I'm going to demand that from him to just die for the... See, I think the thing is you're not going to have to demand that from him, right? Like, he's just going to give you that, which is a good thing. Yeah. He's going to get bodied by Emeka and Ellie in there when we played Doyle County FC. But not by Jack McLune. Yeah, what are you going to... You've got two central midfielders in your lineup.

Well, we can talk about that later. Let's take a little break and come back and do picks 14 through 21. All right. You're up, Wackie. Yeah. Looking at the board now, what I would give for a third Aronson brother for my midfield. It's getting thin. Guys, I think I'm going to have to believe in Caden Clark here.

He's not even a midfielder, is he? He's not. He was really good once he got to. to Montreal, basically playing as a left forward who would just come in off the movement of the number nine, he would come in from that left half space and just find one touch finishes in the box. It was useful, right? Like, that's a legit, like, it's a legit skill to have.

But I haven't seen much else in the hope is that, hope is that Laurent Cortois can help unlock it. Well, that works well for my team. We're going to be sitting deep and then lumping it forward. That makes sense. So I'll just need someone for Caden to run off of. I think Jesus and Caden work pretty well together. Could. Yeah.

I guess. All right. So we're to the 15th pick. We got, what, six picks left? Doyle, you get two in a row here. Yeah, I'm going to take Pat Aljiman as my, uh, my number nine, Big Pat, 81st percentile in non-penulty goals, 68th percentile in non-penalty XG, which is really good for his first year as a starter in MLS,

but where he really shines, 94th percentile in progressive carries, and 93rd percentile among forwards in successful take-ons. He is a guy who made match-winning play. with the ball on his foot in isolation against really good defenders. And he did it pretty consistently. He also became more dangerous with his off ball movement

as the year went along. And physically, he's a match for, more than a match for most centerbacks that he'll run up against. I think he's fantastic. Like, I couldn't be higher on this kid. A bit of a transition specialist, though.

Wouldn't you agree? Yeah, I would say so at this point, but also we haven't gotten a chance that he's played for Dean Smith. We're not going to see him outside of transition. I'm impressive. Because of... Impressive little moves for his sides

that he does. Yeah. I really appreciate it watching. He's maybe the player I'm most looking. forward to in this camp, either him or freeze. Not that I think there's a clear path for Ajiman, given that we do have a lot of talent at the number

nine, less so obviously in goal. But I just think there's something pretty special to this kid and his skill set both physically and skill-wise. And then the tactical part of it is developing pretty quickly. Yeah, he'll be intriguing. He's intriguing for the national team, for sure.

What's your next pick, number 16? Miles Robinson, and Miles, you know, is a lockdown 1V1 defender, great in the air, has become a much better passer than people realize if you all go to American Soccer Analysis, excuse me, American Soccer Analysis and look at their goals added page. The underlying numbers there suggest significant improvement over the past few years, and that matches the eye test from this past year with Cincinnati. I thought he was really, really good. Okay.

Waki, you're next. I'm going to take a player. I just like the cut of his jib. I guess I don't actually like it, but I like... The unpredictable energy he's going to bring to the team, Mattko Milchievich. He was, you know, when he was in Vancouver,

he was playing in a Sunday league under a fake name. It was Montreal, but yes. Well, you know, leave it in, I guess. He was in Canada somewhere. And he was, he had a, he got in a fight, got kicked out, sent to Argentina, then he was with Pocchia. Chitino's old team. Didn't work out there, but I won him, I want him with my group.

I don't know how good he is. Chris, when you lived in New York, did you play rec league soccer against guys from the Balkans ever? You know, I never did. Do you have experience with them? No, I've never played against them, but I have experienced secondhand via friends who have come back from those games with broken bones and concussions. So to get kicked out of a rec league, a Balkan heavy rec league in any major city in the world for fighting, do you know how hard you've got to bring it to that scenario?

know. Isn't there something kind of admirable about him wanting to play Sunday League so bad that he would come up with a fake name? I mean, that's an incredible story, really. Well, I think, I mean, I didn't even know what team he was playing for, so you'll do you need to correct me here. I think he maybe was unsatisfied with his role. That's correct. Partly making a statement. Yeah.

I think he had some energy to burn off. But I mean, I still agree with you, Bells. Like, I don't blame Montreal for saying, like, no, you got to go. You violated the terms of your contract, and you're not that good. But I also don't blame the kid himself for being like, I need to play a game. I need to kick somebody. Yeah. It's kind of awesome.

At least on paper. So it's my turn. I get two picks. My last two picks are. Jalen Neal, just to hedge my bets on my whole full-back strategy in the defense. So I have a centerback who can pass the ball with his right foot and his left foot pretty well. And then I'm going to take a goalkeeper and it's only two to choose from. I'm taking Drake Calendar.

He gets a lot of volume with his feet. I don't know how good he is at it, but he's getting a lot of practice. So he'll be as ready as he can be for my five-a-side. team. Of the remaining choices at goalkeeper, that was the correct one. He's about even with Schulte on shot stopping, right, and not as good

with his feet. Not as good of a shot stopper as freeze. All right. Waki, one more pick for you. This is my sub, correct? Yes. I mean, you could decide in your line. It's going to be a long season. You might have to rotate. Yeah, we're not holding you to this.

You're right, and I'm going to use And he's starting lineup you a lot. Is Shaq Moore still available? Yes, he is. I got him. He's on my team. I think he's going to add a lot. He can serve a role out there.

What role? He'll be on, you know, the side of the field. Getting it and then you got to remember we're just kind of kicking it forward here. Okay. An energetic role. He'll do some defending. I'll ask him. to do various things.

I don't know. What role should he be in? Well, in a bunker, he'd be armed-to-arm with Zimmerman back there, right? Just bunkered in. Desperately defending, listening to what Walker says. Now, you said you were going to have Caden Clark hunting for knockdowns off of your number nine. Yeah, I don't have a nine. A big nine, do I?

There's some stuff we're going to figure out in the tactical room. Not on the training ground. that I'm not going to tell you right now exactly what we're going to be doing because I want there to be an element of surprise to it. Oh, that's good. I'm already really surprised. Doyle, you get the last pick? Yeah, I feel bad.

Which of these poor fellas gets to be the last pick? I feel bad for Chris because when he was saying... Why didn't I take Brian White? I don't know. Oh, my... Oh, what a terrible mix-up. Oh. Can I tell you a quick story? Yeah.

10 years ago now, when Orlando City and NYCFC were coming into the league, we did on MLSSoccur.com, we did a stream where one representative from Orlando and one representative from NYCFC would literally draft their drafts. Because we have so many different player acquisition devices in MLS. there's a re-entry draft, there's a waiver draft, there's a super draft. Two expansion teams come in at once. One's going to have the first pick. One's going to have the second pick in each of these drafts.

And Jason Christ was the representative for NYCFC, and these ping pong balls or coin flip or whatever, and they got the first pick in the draft of drafts. And Jason Christ accidentally drafted the wrong. draft first for NYCFC. And then Orlando City were able to get the first pick in the super draft or whatever it was. And Jason Christ on the stream realized after that pick that he had made the wrong decision and he wanted a do-over. And this was on a live stream.

And we were like, I'm sorry, sir. The rule is you made the pick and you've got it. I think he picked first in like the waiver draft. And like that was the one draft where expansion teams don't get priority. So instead of getting like the first pick in the super draft and the first pick in the reentry draft, he got like the 19th pick in the waiver draft in Orlando City got the 20th. I feel like I feel like that's happening to me again. again with you having forgotten to take Brian White?

I just Jason Christ did. You did? It's one of the great, maybe a top ten mistake of my life. And there's some pretty bad mistakes in there. I have a solution for you, Chris. Without a do-over, just play Zimmerman as your nine. Yeah, Walker Zimmerman's your nine, man. You're okay with that.

He's actually really good at knocking the ball down. He does go up there at the end of the game. Yeah. Okay, I got Walker Zimmerman at the nine. I felt a little bad when you were saying that you would give your arm for a third Aronson brother earlier in the draft because Indiana Vasselov is basically an Aronson brother. He's just a guy who you put him in any spot. He's going to run around like a chicken with his head cut off for as long as you have him out there. and that's useful, especially around Jack McGlynn.

You know, Mechinelli can't be my only runner. I need someone else out there who will cover ground, and he's done it on the front line. He's done it in central midfield. He's done it wide midfield, and he's done it occasionally as a fullback as well. So my final pick, the final pick of the draft, is going to be Indiana Vasselav.

Apologies to Brian White, and who else did we? George Campbell. George Campbell and Zach. Stefan. Yeah. Apologies to those three guys. I mean, you don't have to apologize to him.

All right. That's fair. George Campbell, though, he might eventually be. He's just a very young centerback. Does he have stuff? Youngish now. He's like 23 now.

He's had moments where it looks like he has stuff, but he's had moments where he looks like a young centerback. I'm not giving up hope on him. for all time, I would not expect him to see, I would not expect to see him in non-January camps between now and the World Cup. Which is going to be true of 90% of these guys. So maybe more. Yeah. All right.

So let's quickly, I mean, let's just recap what our formations are going to be to help the listener really choose a winner. I guess I'll put a link to a Twitter poll in the notes. Is that what I should do? Yeah. Okay. That's what I'll do.

Are we trusting Twitter, though, to decide this? Wouldn't it be more appropriate to have the... The Discord server? You know, the Discord, the email list. Yeah. Maybe I'm just... We'll figure it out. I don't want to be ripped apart

by the Twitter voters. Maybe is my... I am going to have walkers and I'm going to have walkers and I'm going to have I'm going to have calendar and goal and my starting lineup is going to be

it's going to be a two it's going to be like basically a one two three so the goalkeeper is the one and two fullbacks are going to be DeWan Jones and John Tolkien. And then I'll have basically in free rolls, Luna, well, Luna and Gutierrez in free rolls up top. And I guess Pramasky's going to be my,

sort of my midfielder. Now remember, in a small side of game, you don't, you're not going to have like a Burrhalterian will trap type number six, you know, dictating play from there. It's not like that. You're basically playing, you're playing it from the goalkeeper to the defenders,

and then they're just trying to figure out a pass, and the attackers are dropping in. So, you know, we don't need Bousquet's out here in this small-sided game or somebody like that. That goes against my understanding of small-sided game. Really? My understanding of small-sided games is that guys like Bousquet's are even more valuable.

Yeah, but then, but, But not as like a, you're not going to have like a defensive midfielder, you know, like who is who all the play is going to go through. A guy like Bousquetts would be valuable, but he's going to be getting forward. You're looking at me as if this is self-serving analysis I'm giving. And you're right, it is. That's what I'm worried about whenever anyone says anything now. It all feels like vote-winning activity.

And it's throwing everything into question. So what we've learned over the past few months is that the information, environment is really important. And Bells clearly understands that. And I respect what he just did. Yeah, I'm not new to this. Waki, why don't you give your formation real quick? And then I've got Jalen Neal coming off the bench.

All right, I got Freeze in Keeper. I am going to have remit, a sweeper-type roll. Then I'm going to have a fluid setup. Ferreira tending to be in the middle. and Caden Clark and Milgevich finding space doing what they have to do for our big target man up top Walker Zimmerman. And I've got- And you guys Shaq more often. And I've got-Shack-Mor off-ed-ed-thelling guys as needed.

Now, we have some tactical flexibility. We can always move-Zer-Mend back. Is that what you're calling? This is what you're calling it, tactical-flexibility. It's a highly flexible squad I've put together. Zimmerman can always move back and play in a two-back. We could even see some interchange between Zimmerman and Ream during the run of, like Ream gets on the ball, makes a Beckenbauer-esque gallop forward. Zimmerman recognizes that and drops in to be a shield.

Ream and Zimmerman are going to be playing a two-man total football the whole time. We love to see interchange between a sweeper and the striker. I love it. This is brilliant. It's groundbreaking, really, is what it is. I actually don't feel like your analysis was self-serving at all. I think, if anything, it was understated. Like you were just kind of making it up as you went along.

No, well, hold on. Now I feel like now you're doing, now you're kind of leading people, the voters, to doubt that this is a great setup. Yeah, the master over here. All right, what's your formation, Doyle? it's going to be, I'm going to have Jack McGlynn as that focal point in the center running everything. And I'm going to have Big Pat up top going wherever he wants to go.

And then the rest of the guys, Emeka Anelli, Max Arston, Miles Robinson, will orient themselves around what those guys are doing. and look, I'm a player's coach, so I'm not going to make it too rigid. I'm going to let these guys sort of figure it out on their own. And that includes Patrick Schulte and goal. And look, if he sees an opening and he wants to come off the back line with that ball on his foot, he's got freedom to do that. Like, I will be mad as a coach.

I will be mad at the chances they don't take rather than the ones that they do. So McGlynn's going to be getting it from Shulte. a lot and then picking out a pass. That is probably going to be our primary buildout pattern, but I don't want to, you know, that's not written in blood or anything. Like we've got guys who, I think, can figure stuff out on their own and make the game. All right. Interesting.

Anything else we need to cover? I think we got to just, I think we got to kick this over the voters and, you know, let the chips fall where they may. Real question, which guys on this roster are you most excited about seeing in this camp? And if you get to see like 180 minutes from three players in this camp, who would you want to see? Well, now I want to see Anelli. I'm at Canelli, because I've only seen highlights of him. I mean, I want to see Anelli, but I think he just happens to be really uniquely valuable for this exercise. That's my thought on him.

But I am interested to see him. Of course, Luna, honestly, that's about it. I mean, I'm mildly curious in Tolkien about Tolkien, Tolkien and Gutierrez. Sorry, Chris, I don't think Kaden Clark got it. I think he's got, he can hit that, like you said, that first-time shot. But, man, he creates nothing when he has the ball at his feet. So, you know, I mean, best case, he becomes a Thomas. Well, Doyle said that he may have found his happy place.

Was that just a way of coming with something nice to say about King Clark? No, like he's really, he's really extraordinarily good at coming in as a second forward from the left and finding goal scoring chances. But that is, that's really all he does at this point. I mean, the Thomas Mueller thing that Bells just said is, like, insane because Thomas Mueller is, like, insane. saying because Thomas Mueller is like the second best chance creator of the past 15 years. And Ken Clark does not have the chance creation gene. If he does, he hasn't shown it at all. He's just like the only thing he does is score bangers in and around the box.

It's a super valuable thing. And in the right setup, which is kind of what we saw the past or the final 10 games of last season with Montreal, like that's an asset. I don't think it's a U.S. national team path, but he's still young, and he's a very good athlete, and sometimes it clicks for these types of guys, and maybe he'll turn into the next Clint Dempsey or something. I don't. I think it's unlikely, but there's not nothing.

Yeah. Scoring beautiful goals is kind of an important thing. Well, I'll tell you that... Let me ask... USMint Twitter loves Caden Clark, so that's going to help me with the voters, but I think probably my Zimmerman is going to... cancel all that out.

Actually. Well, before I ask you the guys one final question, I do have to tell you my original... I want to ask you the question, besides Anneli or who are you excited to? Freeze. He was so good this year with

NYCFC and it wasn't entirely out of the blue because if you look at his numbers the past couple years in MLS Next Pro and MLS, he was mostly a pretty good to very good shot stopper. Back in 21, he was pressed into emergency duty as a kid in the Eastern Conference

Final against NYCFC when everybody else in Philly was sick with COVID, and he was awesome in that game. So there's been a starting caliber or a very good starting caliber keeper in this kid for a few years. And now over the past 12 months. He's shown that he's maybe a level beyond that. And given the situation at goalkeeper, which I don't think is dire, right? I hope that Matt Turner will find a spot come summertime. And if there's one, you know, if he has 12 months as a starter before the World Cup, I think that's fine. And I would still put my money on Matt Turner being the starter in

26. But Frees has, there's more opportunity at goalkeeper than there is basically any other position on the field for the U.S. right now. So I'm really excited to see that. That was a question I was going to ask you guys. Like, you know, what is your level of concern at goalkeeper? And what are your level of hopes? Well, I feel a little better now after you've made clear.

We do have these other options that aren't. It's not a huge, huge drop off. But for a while there, we're just counting on whatever Turner was going to do. So I'm about a five or six out of ten on a concern level. Ten being the most concerned? Yes. Yeah, that sounds about right. Turner is, he's not like a boss.

He's not a boss man, you know? You kind of need a boss man at goalkeeper. and I don't know if Matt freezes that either. Sax-Stefen sort of looked the part, sort of swaggered like he was, but it was all a ruse. Didn't last. The other thing I have to say,

I have to tell you, Chris, because I already told this to Bells as we were sending texts, setting this up. My original plan for my team was to draft Christian Roldon six times. just make everybody live with it. I mean, five of Christian Roll-Donds,

maybe, okay, six, even at goalkeeper, wouldn't be a bad small side team, you know? It does a lot of things. It sure would have made it for a great internet post. The discourse is the business that we're all in here. Hey, if you want to, if you, I'll give, I don't have complete control of rules here, but if you want to switch your team to seven,

Roll Dands. I think you can do it. I get an extra rolled on. Well, you'll have him a keeper too. You'll have five on the field and one sub rolled on. So, yes, seven total. We could just have that as the fourth team. How should we have it?

Should it be rolled on at Keeper as well? Yeah, I think so. Maybe put Alex at Keeper, because Alex has played keeper in MLS in an emergency situation before. So Alex is Keeper, and then nothing. by Christian Roll-Don as a field player. We'll get the graphics team on it. I love it.

Hey, I think that's it. Doyle, we really appreciate it. Thank you. And thank you, Chris. Thanks everybody for listening. We'll see you.