SoccerWise - MLS Edition

Episode Date: August 15, 2024

WOW! USMNT is about to hire Mauricio Pochettino the same day the MLS summer transfer window closes. This is what Soccerwise was built for and Tom & Gass are excited to work through it all. The guys go through their winners and losers in MLS from the window. And then they react to the big Pochettino news. 6:47 Charlotte FC Pep Biel signing 17:06 Judgement on FC Cincy’s Summer Window 25:45 The Crew’s Strong Summer Window 27:55 Houston Dynamo Summer Winners 31:00 SKC’s Uninspiring Season 34:37 STL City Strong Additions 38:58 FC Dallas’s Lack Of Additions 43:00 LAFC Winning The Window 46:55 MIN Starting The El-Ahmad Rebuild 50:00 Duncan McGuire’s Contract Extension 52:01 Jose Martinez Sale 54:27 ATL’s Underwhelming Year 56:31 Revolution Reactions 58:44 RSL Window Review 1:03:31 Pochettino To USMNTSoccerwise Live 2pm ET Every Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday on Youtube/Twitch/Twitter

Oh, money. We've got SoccerWise live here on a Thursday for whenever you're listening, wherever you get your podcasts. I am David Goss. He is Tom Bogert. Tom, you've been working so hard to close out the transfer window. or whenever you're listening wherever you get your podcast i am david goss he is tom bogart tom you've been working so hard to close out the transfer window i can see the smoke rising from your keyboard you have been surprisingly in high spirits over the last 24 hours that is a perfect way to put it i can't even push back on that um yeah it's been it's been

manageable maybe it's just getting used to just this being like this all the time um i was looking at my phone yesterday i think i had like 33 phone calls and you can't even count the text or like looking at twitter and stuff so um yeah i guess there's only one time where i tried to pick up my phone when somebody was calling me and i was like let me grab my airpods real quick and i looked back at my phone and somebody else was calling me and i was like did I just have a mirage on who that was? And then I got off the phone and saw that, like, apparently if two people call you essentially at the same time, one just gets elbowed out of the way. And I was like, all right, thank God I'm not going crazy. Sounds like my new excuse.

Anytime I don't pick up someone's phone call and don't call them back. Oh, apparently two people were calling me and you've gotten elbowed out of the way yes another good anecdote from yesterday i called the sporting director and he like i guess his wife was nearby and he goes like mike you've never met my wife she knows who you are like when i was like oh it's it's time calling me that's how much i'm bothering that poor guy that is his uh loved ones are like oh is that who's calling you again uh it is not shocking i would assume you spend more time on the phone with some of these people than i spend with people i actually know and like so that doesn't surprise me in any way it depends where the stories are it's funny like going like

looking back like at some teams and some sources where like things are happening and it feels like you're talking to them all the time and then it's like their roster set and it's like you check in a few times here and there and it's like oh man like i was i was joking with somebody today about like marco royce finally got announced and i was like i feel like i want to text you and ask for an update just for old time's sake because i don't know what else to do with my hands it just feels normal for me to ask you for a marco royce update even though there's no more updates to be had i just felt like this was a worn blanket of a familiar area and comfort. Marco Reus's quote saying, after Dortmund, it was the only place I wanted to go,

but taking two months to get there was like a flex. It's literally like having broken up three times, and then at the wedding being like, we were always meant to be together. So, to go super inside the game. Bro, we're here. We are on soccer-wise on a transfer window closed. We're inside the game. So I don't want to be too reckless, but if I had to guess,

so Marco Reus being like, screw it, I can make some stuff up on the back end in sponsorships or whatever. I made enough money in my career. I want to be in LA. Do you know who loses out on the transaction to not go to Saudi Arabia? His agent. His agent would have gotten a big old uh percentage of a Saudi check so like I don't know if that was part of the hold up like again I know that the deal was uh took a while because they had to be super creative with everything they could do but yeah like it was

funny that like it's been it's been set for almost like a month more or less and like people are like no there's nothing to be worried about it's like then why hasn't he traveled I don't understand we are going to do our winners and losers of the transfer window it's going to be a way for us to hit all of the big stories so feel free to jump into the chat if you're watching live tweet at us as well we are now live on twitter every single show so feel free to jump in there as well and let us know you know what you want us to talk about what your thoughts are any specific moves and of course we have heard that the U.S. men's national team has hired a new manager. His name is Mauricio Pochettino.

We talked about this. So I went back. July 11th was the day that we did our post-Greg, here's our list of names. You poo-pooed most of the ones I said. Why? Mauricio Pochettino wasn't one of them you were pretty high on that one so uh so we've got the records for the first time ever to say that we are very high on this signing uh we will talk all about that so feel free to plug the chat with your comments

there as well i i love the limited fake tom boge. That was very good. And when you started that, I was like trying to remember, I was like, did I say like, why would he like, I was afraid that he was going to be on the list of people. I said, dude,

there's no, you didn't. It was too cool. Was a little bit like, I don't know that he fits. Will he play guys? Whatever. Poggettino,

you like, I I'd be super excited and probably one of the more realistic ones. Tom, you're so level headed. Yeah. I tried to get that one clipped out, didn't have the time to do it. So we'll just make a new clip today.

Oh, that's cool. We didn't have time for me sounding really smart, but we had time for me trying to say the word gargantuan. Yeah, we did have time for that, actually. That was a very funny clip. I was dying. We have a lot of time for that one as we go along. So a lot to talk about, a lot to do,

and the League's cup update uh because this weekend we will have the quarter finals so then we will know the semi-finalists going forward a little bit of preview for you there as well but let me ask you this on the marco royce thing it sounds like charlotte is getting 400 000 in allocation money yes for his rights yes is that correct yeah isn't that above the threshold of like if you can't sign him we automatically get so i think it's 50 is the auto or um but like if you make an offer to the player you technically have to read the terms um and the reason why this one was such a sticking point is like charlotte believed they had a real chance to sign the player and then they're in the game

baby you're telling me i've got a chance the galaxy of tampering and of like all all of a sudden now he only wants to go to los angeles after you guys talk to him without permission again this is i i stress that like i i don't oh now he's heard of this city called i'm not reporting this as a fact i'm just saying that that was charlotte stance um i know that they were upset about that and that's why they said okay if we're giving you his rights one normally in these deals you only get compensated the deal only happens if the player signs it was like one whether you sign him or not you have to give us some money and two if you do sign him it has to be the most uh discovery claim again the biggest discovery claim in league history um i think it's that i think the biggest like player rights transaction was paul areola but that was homegrown rights so bottom line is that charlotte felt that they were on strong standing ground to say we know yo like 150

doesn't work it has to be a significant fee yeah okay yeah it was an outlier to me didn't know why this is why i do this show with you uh and an opportunity to ask you and uh charlotte fans already flooding the chat uh did we already miss a chance to talk about pet bl uh what about stangs where is all this money coming when's it coming in and all of that so let's start with our winners and losers of the transfer window uh let's start positive as we always do here we'll start with our winners um tom you want to go first yeah so i think that's an easy segue um again i'm not listing these in like biggest winners like we're just gonna do winners and losers and because we're just talking about charlotte i'm gonna start with charlotte um i think that they're a winner in this transfer

window i know the last few days doesn't totally seem like it but if you take a step back this team signed tim ream pep bl and they brought back carol swiderski i'm long on the record making fun of the like a new signing joke except in reality like he wasn't here for half the season and then it was just like oh he'll probably leave he's probably not coming back um so again like with tim ream that's an elite level center back in his league pep yell that's look yeah he's not mikhail maroon giovanni localso or calvin stangs and guess what like at least two of those players were going to be viewed as a handful of the very best players in mls so yeah he's not quite that level and maybe

doesn't quite work out but the fact that they got somebody who was just sold for like eight million dollars to olympiacos who's in his prime, who is ready to go, and they didn't have to commit future assets. So if he works out great, bang, you trigger the purchase option, he's your DP10, we're all settled, and then we see what's up next. If he doesn't work out, you get out of that deal immediately, and you try again in the winter. You try again for LaKelso, you try again for Alvaro,

or whoever else that they want to go for, a player like Stangs in his prime, and a bit like a bit younger a bit a different profile all of that like they still have that flexibility for the winter while making the team significantly better this summer and they got additions that they needed um again with bl with swiderski coming in a couple of attackers ream ed to a position of strength and now with a a group like their core is ream melanda abada swiderski bl kalina ashley westwood vargas like that's a really solid core for me and they're not quite

in the columbus cincy miami range if they signed al marone stangs or lokel so i would have put them there but that just because it wasn't an a plus doesn't mean that it wasn't a win they were i believe somewhere around the 17th 18th best attack in major league soccer last year they have now brought swiderski back they've unearthed patrick ajamang they've added abada and pet bl so like it is a clear move in their biggest weakness to try and improve. That part I think is fair. It is hard coming out of the few weeks they've come out of to call them winners because I talk about process all the time. They had no process when they started in MLS. It was a huge reason why they've struggled out the gates because it's like, we'll pull talent here.

We'll pull talent here. We'll hire this manager. We'll fire this manager. We'll hire this guy. Yeah, that wasn't the guy. We'll hire this guy. And so the hope was you were coming to an end of that. And I don't feel that way right now.

Even if you want to say Stangs was an outlier in a ridiculous moment and they had the whole window right. We don't have a window where we can look and say, Charlotte had clean business. And like Charlotte are on the right pathway forward. I think the talent makes sense. And I do like the idea of not locking yourself into the player you scrambled for on the last two days of the window and saying like, no, let's go big.

Let's sign him to a four-year deal. It'll work out. Talent is talent. Who cares? If he can do it in the championship, he can do it in Salt Lake City. You don't stick yourself in another one of those. But it does take a little bit of the shine off, not just because of the name, but just the way this whole thing has gone down for them.

And it may not be their fault. That's fine, and that's a fair reality. But I don't know that that changes the perception totally of them, but they are more competitive. And I think if you're a fan, you should be excited to watch this team get on the field over the next few weeks. I'd push back at that. First, I'd say that their winter window, I think that was a really strong process.

And, like, yeah, sure, like, Leo Bata coming in early March rather than early January. But, like, that deal wasn't available in January. And, like, at the end of the day, Leo Bata, I think it was a very good signing oh and they signed Idan Toklamadi I don't know if they've announced that yet or not but that's done um so you have talked about this move I know three weeks and because like I was looking at the transaction pages because I was trying to be comprehensive in all the signings and I forgot to write that down because it wasn't I don't think it's been announced uh but anyway so like I think in the winter like they brought in jabrilji diani i think it was a good signing they brought up a

couple players from the second team but more importantly they got rid of a lot of deadwood in the winter so i thought that was a really strong window and again i still think this one is and we talk about process zora granata flew to london in the hopes of finalizing a deal for giolo calzo like that would have been incredible. And they were close on some stuff, but, like, the player wasn't going to say yes before the end of the European transfer window because he's going to leave Tottenham. And he didn't, and, like, business happens in Europe

where over the last week, right, like, different options present themselves and prices go down and teams get either more desperate or stop holding to their, sorry about that, stop holding on to their players and saying, oh, no, this is a $25 million player. And then, oh, in the last week, it's, okay, he's fine. He's an $8 million player.

So, Lo Celso, like, didn't want to commit when, like, what if Real Batiste comes in at the end of the window? What if a Europa League team? Like, whatever, right? Like, you can tell yourself what the what if, what if. So, that didn't get done. Pivoted to Stangs. Stangs of the window. What if a Europa League team? Like, whatever, right? Like, you can tell yourself what if, what if. So that didn't get done. Pivoted to Stangs. Stangs was all done.

He failed a medical. Like, what are they supposed to do about that? And immediately, we're in talks for Miguel Moron. So you talk about process. And Pep Biel, he's not somebody that, like, they were just, like, hitting up agents and being like, yo, do you got any players? Like, that's somebody they scattered out.

He's been on the radar for a while. Like, I think that this shows a good process. Because a bad process, they wouldn't have signed anybody. Or they would have signed someone, I guess, even more random or less of a profile. So, that's where I'd push back on the process here. Yeah. I think that's fair. I think it's fair to say that it's gotten better.

But in the winter, they got the Abada deal done. They brought Deani in. And that's it. Like, they haven't really progressed the roster. Otherwise, except for internal progression. done they brought diani and that's it um like they haven't really progressed the roster otherwise except for internal progression uh pepe l by the way 27 year old spanish designated player he's coming over on loan from olympiacos he spent last year split the first half of the year at olympiacos the second half at augsburg in the bundesliga zero starts at augsburg only 270

minutes so mainly a substitute uh and his prime run his his best point of his career so far 2019 to 2022 at fc copenhagen which puts him in the same convo as diego diego conclave's that rsl just signed so like he is of a profile of a genuine dp signing in mls and they got it done pretty quickly late in the window uh and he should help them immediately in this group so I think it's fair to say like they are a better team today than they were a week ago and then they worked four months ago and all of that going forward and so there should be genuine excitement for this team and I think the fans should be excited as well we've already got a bunch of questions from Charlotte fans

because Charlotte fans are super intense and really excited. And this is why Sir Minty approves of Tom, apparently. And the House of Bogart is what we're getting in the comments as well. So a big winner there for you. A medium winner for me, but fine. It's okay. I don't mind. Do you have a second one lined up?

Do you want to keep ripping them? I have a quick one, and then I'll let you go. Okay, wait. Before you do that, let me tell everyone that if you want, we have salary cap tables and debt charts that you can get access to. If you subscribe to our Patreon, we are updating them as the moves happen. So if you want to understand, okay, Pep BL's in. How does this affect the rest of this team?

That is there for you, and it's there for every single team. And we've got salary cap tables as well to understand money that's been moved out. Why would a Shaqiri get signed? Why would they buy him out? What would they do? For all things like that, as well as the money that players are still on and the length of their contracts as well. So you can get access to that if you subscribe to our Patreon.

You also get access to our Discord where you can chat about all these things and talk during the games and transfers. And we have a feed that's just Tom's tweets. So if you don't want to be on Twitter, but you want to know when stuff's happening, you can get that. And then we've got, you know, fake rumor section as well with some other Joe Schmoes that we'll throw in there every once in a while. So I just want to throw that out because to me, this depth chart and the cap table has been a godsend over the course of this week. And it will be once again in this show. Yeah, this is going to be a different dismount off of that super serious point, which is awesome. I love those depth charts. I use them again. I'm updating them to try to reflect what we see.

My next very quick winner, Inter Miami's team admin and their people team. They had one summer signing this year. One summer signing. Last year, it was Messi, Busquets, Gomez, Alba, Farias, and Aviles. The team admin didn't have a ton to do this summer. I hope that he or she

got some time off. Nobody had to build IKEA furniture. Nobody had to get some apartments or houses ready nobody needed to help anybody settle there was just one player i bet he had martinez had a lot of help hey what do you need we're here for you we're here for you we're here for you we're used to doing this for eight players and a couple of them the biggest stars in the world so winner enter miami's team admin and their people team but they didn't give him the opening speech which is if you tackle someone from behind on a breakaway in MLS, it's a red card here. It's not anywhere else.

I'm sure the people team made him comfortable. I'm sure that they got him either a nice hotel or helped put together some nice furniture, which reminds me of one of Kaku when he was leaving the Red Bulls or trying to leave the Red Bulls. One of the things he said publicly about how upset he was is that the Red Bulls didn't put together his IKEA furniture, so they didn't care about me.

They didn't make me feel at home. So that's where I'm always going to go with the IKEA furniture. That's just an incredible story that's living rent-free in my head forever. Okay. That's a good one. You seem disappointed. You saying that's a good one did not seem forthright. You can just be honest with me.

Well, FC Cincinnati fans are asking us questions. And I'm like, well, they're not a winner exactly, maybe. Actually, they could be. I'm going to go next. Talk it out. Talk it out, Gus. Yeah, I'm going to put FC Cincinnati as a winner. We talked about the move at center back.

And so for Cincy, the whole conversation right now is around center forward and, like, the replacement because they let um bupenza go and the potential to add there and make them better and strengthen and all of that stuff but awazium i think as we talked about a week or two ago i think he's a stud i think he's a legitimate upgrade on like the pieces they already had let alone being able to fill in for a miazga on the fly and keep this team churning and then you bring in joe akini in a space in which you've probably made your locker room better. You've brought in a guy who played in a similar system in this league already and will probably hit the ground running. You have not locked yourself into the next player like we just talked about with Charlotte FC.

And he scored 10 goals last year on a worse team. Even if you say St. Louis won the West, Cincinnati won the East and won the Shield. So this is a better team. He is playing with Alucho Acosta. That is a better player. Orellano, a better player. There should be a ton of openings for him. He's not an elite center forward. He will not create chances, a ton for himself outside of the press he is not the best finisher in mls but he is an upgrade to a empty hole that wasn't bupenza a week ago yeah that's fair i think it was really important for them to get that deal over the line i didn't know if they were going to get anything over the line like i'm sure we'll talk about atlanta at some point later like atlanta all day or the last 48 hours they were working hard to get somebody over the line and they didn't right like that happens i know cincinnati had many other targets joaquin he wasn't the uh grand prize at the end of the day

right like but they still got something done i thought that was pretty crucial for their window because i think we would have been sitting here hammering them right now and that's not to say that like joaquin is like this huge huge. It's that they did get something done and they were creative and they got something done. As you say, that doesn't cost any future flexibility. Like it was funny kind of looking at some of the reactions where I think fans were happy at first. I was like super happy. Just any signing, any forward, a forward we know. A good forward, somebody who's proven that he can score goals in this league.

In this kind of system, like St. Louis has the generalities. And now he's got a chance to create a neutral close and like in a better team so he should be seamless i also thought cory baird was going to be seamless addition to this team so it's never guaranteed right um and then it was like pat brennan like reported that like technically he's occupying a dp spot right now and and some people are like oh my god like no like never mind this is stupid such a bad deal like it doesn't matter like it's not like they were going to go sign a free agent we're going to fill that spot right like yeah so and like that's it's just um like a salary mechanism right like it's it's accounting it's not so like i think you take that away and they brought in an mls proven center forward again not like crazy big time signing they tried very hard for some other stuff um and it didn't happen but

at least they did get something over the line so i don't know how like again oasiem i think it's a really really good signing i love that like that's i think the better move of the window even if they needed a center forward really bad too but at the end of the day they got the two things they needed center back center forward and maybe it wasn't perfect it didn't go quite according to plan but they got it done and they're still within the race at the top of the east at the top of the league so matthew brew's question in the chat was did we strike out on so many guys that it was this or nothing what do you make of the fact that it ended up being joe akini again like this wasn't plan a it probably wasn't plan b c or d right like this was um again i know for a fact that they had other targets and other

attempts and there was some stuff that that they're working on um again we'll see we'll see kind of what comes out but yes like that was the case and again the fact that dracini as not being the plan a like that's still solid enough um again it would have been pretty catastrophic if they didn't get anything done honestly like if they had this, where you have Lucho Costa, still one of the very best players in the league, reigning MVP, somebody with such a singular difference. It's like, very different circumstances right now, but with New England Revolution, whether or not they're significantly better than they were at the beginning of the window, they have Carlos Hill in his prime.

Every single window, you have to try to get better you have to and so if cincinnati were to have exited this window without breaking jokini it would have been a big disappointment because of you do you have lucho cosa you have this defensive foundation of everything else like you need to be going for it every single window every single year because you never know when that window closes you never know how quickly it goes from shield to uh-oh we need to reload philadelphia you look at them like we all thought they're going to be top four top five and they've been much better of late but beginning of the season we're like oh my god they're even going to make the playoffs so you never know how quickly these things can go with 29 teams in the league and when you have lucho

cosa when you have miles romson and yasga obviously before you got hurt you have to go for it and they went for it and they got something done in the end so yeah i think that's positive uh fc cincinnati are five points behind inter Miami for the supporter shield. Right now they're a point behind the galaxy, but they have a game in hand on the galaxy. Uh, August 24th, FC Cincinnati travels to Miami to restart play.

They come home to play Montreal and Columbus. They then have back-to-back road games at Minnesota and Nashville, LAFC at home. And then they travel at NYC home Orlando, at Philly to close out, which I told you, Cincinnati, Philly. That's a good one all the time, and it was a good one once again in League's Cup. They are trying to make a run at another shield. This club is too new and has had too many bad days

to not care immensely about the shield. They are better off on that road right now. I would not say they are favorites, but I think they have a decent chance to get over the line here. Yeah, I think that's the best way to put it, because I think that Columbus and Miami are a slight step ahead of them now because they weren't able to get a DP9 in. And I've seen in the chat about the U22s for FC Cincinnati not coming in.

Yeah, I understand the disappointment. But, like, signing a U-22 initiative player, overwhelming majority is not somebody who's going to help your team in the next six months. So they could sign them in the winter, and then maybe by the end of the season they're key players. Like, it's not the regular for for u22s to come in like diego gomez did like for catarica redondo did it's more like all right these players are going to

take a little while even again andres gomez we've talked about plenty he wasn't this player that's going to rent for 11 million when he first joined and again about marco angulo yeah right like their own signing and isaaconga in the past. And Barial. He came good under Pat Newton and Chris Albright in this regime. How long did that take? So, like, I'm not going to hang it on them that they didn't sign U22 initiatives. Again, it would have been nice.

There are possibilities. Like, the Revs going out for Luca Langone, they think he's going to be an impact player right now because they're spending just under $7 million on him, and he's 22. He's not 18. So there are ways to do that. But for the part you 22 initiatives aren't for like all right loading up for a title run here like we got to bring in the 19 year old from ecuador you know like and it could

have helped but it's not something that i think sinks their season and i think ideally kevin kelsey outplays joe akini and he doesn't play like that option is still on the table you are not required to play him in any way we have one question in the chat which says is there any feeling that we're hurting ourselves when an MLS team brings someone back from Europe this quickly I believe that's about Joe Akini one none of these teams care about that like Nicholas Joe Akini's future and the USMNT future that's not their job the other thing I would say is playing is better than not playing it doesn't really matter where it is if he wasn't going to play at como then he wasn't going to get better over the next few months and so he gets this opportunity to play and this season ends he comes back in the

january transfer window if he's in form then he can get a chance to win his spot back there as well going forward so that's it oh quick quick loser n Nico Jokini off the field. I'm fond of Cincinnati, but Como is one of the most beautiful places in the world. It's tough, man. I don't know if I might have sat on the bench. I'm just going to hang out here. I'll go to training, and then I'll go home and live in Como. I wanted to see.

I couldn't remember. What's the name of the river that runs through Cincinnati? Is it the Cuyahoga, or do I just always make that up and yell that? It's the Ohio River. The Ohio River is not Lake Como, I guess. Yeah, I think that's fair. Maybe in summer. I mean, people are saying that it's the Paris of the Midwest. People are saying that, which Como

isn't Paris, but it might even be better. Yeah. Okay. Do you have another winner you want to go with? No, I've just ripped through a few. I just did Cincinnati. But you started with, I don't know if they're a winner. I wouldn't say that they're a loser. I got there.

I was there. I felt good about it. Keep it in the family. Keep it in Ohio. Winner, Columbus Crew. In, DeJuan Jones, Dylan Chambos, AZ Jackson, Andres Herrera. Out, Aiden Morris, Will Sands, Marino Heidens-Rosa. The best part of their outgoing list is that it does not include Kucho Hernandez. And with the MLS transfer window closing, I cannot

imagine they'd sanction a sale for Kucho Hernandez by the end of the window. Again, famous last words, but like at this point, I feel pretty safe in assuming that Kucho Hernandez is here for the rest of the season. So to bring in DeJuan Jones, a new starter, Dylan Chambos, and you know, Sean Zawadzki has already internally helped replace Aiden Morris, that they've had the replacements, plus they got a little bit better with DeJuan Jones. They've added more to the attack with AZ Jackson. They've brought in an Argentine potential right wing back starter. I don't know if he will or won't, but they brought all these players in. They really only lost Aiden Morris, who is obviously very important to this team, but they're so deep, and they kept Kucho Hernandez. That's a big, big win for me.

Yeah, I think that's a safe one. They were the best team in the league. They got better over the course of this window, and they were in the right spot at the right time on some of these moves where they weren't pressed. They knew who they were. And then a DeJuan Jones shakes loose and an AZ Jackson shakes loose, and they have belief in their process that they can make those players better and those players can fit for them I think

with Dewan Jones not making him better it's just like no it's a clean fit he's already super talented um and he can be a part of that group so I absolutely agree with you I also think there's like some good energy that comes there of like for DewJuan Jones, it's got to be awesome. Like you've struggled. It's been a struggle for a year and a half, two years in your environment. You didn't know your future, which is always super worrying. You scored on your first, your third touch with your new team that just won MLS Cup. You are hosting potentially all the way through to a Leagues Cup final. We haven't really seen that much of AZ Jackson yet.

And that's not super shocking because it's not easy to get minutes in this team but like chambeau scores as well on his debut so i think that feels like a safe one as well with columbus um you want me to go next you haven't you have anything i've got a whole list here i came prepared but yeah you ready you want me to go no tom i'm like good but i did just do a crazy thing, and I minimized everything on my screen. No, I'm going to go Houston Dynamo. As? As a winner.

Okay. I figured, but I was just making sure. You've got to announce that we're winners and losers. Couldn't win either way. You could have had a new take, and I could have shredded you for it, but I'm not going to. No, I'm going to name them a winner. Ezekiel Ponce obviously is the big part of this.

Lawrence, Anali as well he looks by the way ollie looks good man he looks good yeah you feel good about that i do i didn't know what to expect when i saw him and he kind of jumps off the screen i was like oh wow like this is this is a real guy that's gonna help them right now i think that's fair um so for them to fill the center forward position and legitimately do so in a record setting way for them. And then to also continue to add on the wings where it's like, now you're not reliant on Keanu and it's coming back and hitting at a high level for his injuries. I'll use already looked really good for them.

They're rock solid in central midfield. They're rock solid across the back line. Another window where they keep everyone around and the Griffin door season, the Franco Escobars and all that, where you never really knew if people would come asking still strong in goal this is a team that got better they got better at a time when they should because they are in a good window with Ache Ache um and they got better in clear ways that we weren't sure the Houston Dynamo would do now this is not Cucho,

but you're bringing an in-prime center forward that you think fits your system as well. And again, if Sebas Ferrer outplays him or someone else outplays him, you don't have to play this player every single minute, but you've given yourself the option. And I think overall, Houston Dynamo, a really strong summer window.

Yeah, for me, they went for it. They had a strong team. They won the open cup last year they're they're good again this year with potential to be better and instead of saying that's good enough or I don't know I don't know if we can quite catch LAFC oh Miami the Columbus they're so good now they said like we need we're signing a DP number nine we're gonna put up a club record fee so well done to ownership for putting that together well done to the front office for having him ready to go so he could debut the first day he was eligible to play all of that is great i like again uh we i was talking we were talking to the discord here shout out to the soccer wise discord you can get into it on patreon like somebody brought up a good point about austin

i think it works for houston that like we haven't talked much about their window because they did everything already yeah like they signed ponce i think like weeks weeks before the window so we just haven't talked about him like if they brought in a club record signing right now like they would lead the show just because it was new news um yeah i really like what houston did for them for going for it when they had a good team and i'm always going to commend them you got another winner you want to start going losers no i was gonna just mix in a loser uh because we haven't we haven't gotten that way yet. We need more losers. I have a few here. I don't know which one to pick. Yeah, I mean, I do.

And it's not even like – Rattle three off and I'll pick one that I want to talk about. I've picked one. I'm going to go with Sporting Kansas City. I just don't get it. I don't get what they're doing. I don't understand. What was the point?

What is the point? What is the point gosh what is the point so this is a funny one with sporting kc which is we did a show last week i believe where we were like who are the teams you want to see the most make moves and it was based off who do we think is competitive and who has holes that they need to fill that they could to jump them up the fact that we didn't even mention sporting kansas city in that conversation because we came out of that and i was like i probably should have said skc and i said and then i was like competitive for what like i could understand the holes they need to fill but they are 12th in the western conference right now they got knocked out at the first knockout stage by a mile to columbus in league's

cup play their reality is way different than it should have been and it was two years ago and maybe even a year and a half ago and we can talk about the second half run last year when healthy no one wants to see them in the playoffs pulido and eric tommy and all this stuff that's the same conversation we're having over and over again. They haven't gotten better. They don't fill the holes, the issues that they have. They are very weak to play against. The rest of defense is one of the worst in MLS.

1v1 defending is still one of the worst in MLS. And, like, yeah, if you had asked me, if they went out and got a rangy, dominant center midfielder, they could change the reality. There was never even an inkling of that and like that's where skc stands right now yeah i mean like this team it's pretty middling at best like what like what is the best case scenario of this like you said the like one i pushed back on the whole nobody wants to play this team in the playoffs brother it's a playoffs

we're all nobody's supposed to want to play anybody they're supposed to be the best like i like i hate that as a phrase or like you know what you don't want to see me in the playoffs like the eight nine game in ms right now it's the only time it's like you know what i want to see that team like hell if you look at the western conference some years it's like i don't know about that but like yeah like i think because that's like that's that's the nice thing you say about a team you don't have anything else to say like again just like looking at this team like maybe joaquin Fernandez, hopefully he's good.

That'll change a lot if they get an A-minus center back, above average to elite tier center back. That'd be great. But I just don't think that they have enough going forward to really matter. I don't think that they have enough control. What do they do really well? What do they want to do really well? This is one of my favorite ways that you look at the game.

That's one of the first things you come up with. What do they want to do really well? This is one of my favorite ways that you look at the game. That's one of the first things you come up with. What do they want to do? I don't see it. Yeah, they don't have categories that they dominate the game. They play in the middle. And in MLS, with a salary cap league where you have to choose your strengths and allow your weaknesses, having a strength you dominate can make you a lot better.

There are some teams that can hit on talent acquisitions well enough to be like we're just really solid and that's who we are and that's that's okay that's not the case with skc right now and some of that's injuries logan and debbie's been a big loss for them like he came on really well but they're playing jake davis in central midfield so now they've taken a step back at the right back position and a step back at the center midfield position. No, it has been really tough. Their fans have been really frustrated.

As we know, we heard the Peter out sort of like movement at the beginning of the year. And then they kind of got a sacrificial lamb in place of that one and moved a bunch of fake names around below. Peter needs to be like, look how everything's changing. We gave everyone titles and then we fired them and then gave them titles there there is control from the top down and and that part has not shifted at all and it's another bad window for an skc team um at the same time by the way that i think st louis is a winner right yeah yeah good and like st louis's reality is not perfect um they fired their manager who helped them have a historic expansion year immediately there is some chaos with that team and i don't

know that they are perfect but damn did they play well in the second half against club america in in that environment they did so even without um toy shirt one of their new signings going out with an injury and being unavailable. Lovin looks so much better with true runners in front of him who he knows can pick up that pass and attack. And so what you saw on the penalty kick they earned was like, his hips are going to the right. The whole game's going to his right. And he cuts the ball back to Hartle coming in off the wing.

Hartle's first touch is perfect. And the defender clatters into him because he doesn't know how to avoid a shot coming from a dangerous area. These are things where that wasn't clean a year ago. Like that wasn't clean with the players that were in those spots over the course of time. I said it on Monday show or Tuesday show. I think Simon Boettcher has been a really good add at the center forward position. He is a little cleaner in some spots than I think Adenarin was with this group. He also, I think, is on the same soccer brain as a few of these guys. Where he wants to connect, you see him make lung-busting rungs to pull defenders, like knowing he's not going to get the ball and still being there.

I would like to see how the back line shakes out when it's horn and kessler and whoever's actually back there and and where they play and where it all ends up but overall for st louis again this is another team that feels better today than they did a week two weeks and three weeks ago yeah and i think pretty significantly too and you could push back to say like yeah well they were very bad in the first half season that's fair enough they brought in like five new starters right like henry k bad in the first half of the season. That's fair enough. They brought in, like, five new starters, right? Like, Henry Kessler in for Parker, so maybe that's, like, again, sideways or whatever you want to call it. Like, they lost a starter to bring in a starter. But, like, Cedric Teutcher, Marcel Hart.

I love the Marcel Hart sign. I think that was one of the best signings of the window. Giannis Horn. Like, I think that one went under the radar. If he's a difference maker at left back and somebody that can play left center back in the back three, if they needed to change it up or whatever happens i just really really like what they did and it's probably too late for this year maybe it is as i pull up the standings here right like they're they're 10 points below ninth place it's probably too late for this year but i'm glad

that they weren't like oh screw it we'll figure it out in the winter particularly because loose fantasy was on the record saying you get the best players in the summer. So, like, again, it's not like that they're ditching this season, but I think it's you have to be realistic to understand that it's unlikely that they'll come back. But like this team is significantly better than it was two months ago. And I think that's really good. Like, I think that these are all long term signings. like uh the front like like you said with how it impacted edward lovin like the like dirkin lovin hardell toy shirt better or klaus and vasilev thor and like insert anyone who's going to be the fifth or sixth starter in that group that's really strong for me that's really really strong and the team their style of being transition high pressing you know the team is the star

uh the press is the the playmaker like with all those but like you maybe you don't need that you know best 11 type guy or all-star type guy like they have six really solid players moving forward like i think that this team is really solid and if this was the team for the beginning of the year they would be significantly higher on the table than they are right now yeah they'd be a playoff team with this group and they're probably on the road to doing it next year um you'd like to see a couple more ads but like see what Kessler looks like in your system um and see if if center back has to be yeah one where you have to make a move see if Durkin looks better with this

group around him as well so good work for St. Louis um I think you could tell in our discord for we have a ton of St. Louis fans like the feeling watching them play Club America I think you could tell in our discord for, we have a ton of St. Louis fans, like the feeling watching them play club America, I think was like genuine hope and excitement and enjoyment with the way they played that game. And if I'm a fan, get me back to that for the end of this year and end on a high, basically the reverse of last year where you started on the high and like,

and then ride that out through. And that club America game was like, Oh, are we that good? Like when Club America shredded them in the league's cup. Oh, yeah, 4-0. Yeah, so it's a funny inflection point. I'll stick on the loser's target. We just did another winner.

We've been super positive, obviously. For me, loser of FC Dallas, they didn't do much of anything. And I understand it. I don't even necessarily know what I was expecting them to do. I just keep on thinking that this team should be better than they are. And it just never happens. Taking a roll of the dice on Juan for next to nothing, like, that's cool.

Signing Kafoumana. But, like, Jose Milato is the only departure. If this team was this bad this season, they needed to have more departures. They needed to have more evolution. They still need to add a head coach if they don't keep Peter Lucine. I just don't think, like, we're talking about St. Louis, and a lot of the positives were, yeah, like,

maybe it doesn't change the fate of this year, but they're going to be better going into next year, and at least they're trying to do something positive, and they're trying to do things long-term. Dallas just didn't do anything. And I don't think that they're in a be better going into next year, and at least they're trying to do something positive and they're trying to do things long-term. Dallas just didn't do anything. And I don't think that they're in a position to do that. And to your point, Dallas' top one, two, three, four, five, six players are under contract next year, not on options.

So if you're talking about the team's not good enough, we want a clear salary cap to make moves, they didn't do that, and they are in a tough spot to try and accomplish that. Going forward, Eugene Ansah and Sebastian Ibiaga are the two highest-paid players that are even on team options going forward. Igor Mendy is only on 550K, which is wild, and actually a pretty good signing for them. Juan, his deal is up, and that's why they went and brought him in.

It also, again, Giovanni Jesus has two more guaranteed years left on his deal. And it clearly, but for trading for Juan, you are acknowledging he will not play again this year. I'm acknowledging that. Are you sure?

Why would you go bring a right wing back in? Because they stink and you could get a serviceable MLS player for nothing. Like I'd like, I don't know if I'd read that much into it if i'm not winning anything why do i need to go get another right wing back um on my team have you considered that pace is cool yeah that's why i just watch the olympics bro that's why i signed giovanni jesus and have paul areola and kumunga on my team all these other players who were supposed to be wingbacks for my side. Yeah, I think that's fair. Now, in saying one thing, for Dallas, their biggest move is Pat Sarmusa, and he has come pretty good pretty quickly. And in theorems, he should get better

next year. And that's their big signing, and that's their big move but the dna of this team is weird the midfield jesus has had a really tough year yeah legit has had a really tough time in dallas across the board paxton's sadly probably you can't rely on him at least no you're not done and and they didn't they haven't improved that center back and like that's the big one that they need to give their team an opportunity uh if i ask you right now august 15th at the start of the 2025 season is martin poss on the fc dallas roster i don't think so yeah i think so so that's gonna be another big loss that they have to replace yeah yeah again there's enough interest abroad and again i know that when he was signed it was coming here was what he wanted to do but also that like i still wouldn't go back to europe uh so again we'll see but yeah like to your point like with musa like again maybe i just need to challenge my own perceptions of

what i keep on assuming that a lot of this talent fits like musa ferreira and velasco who is still working back from injury like those three players should make a lot of sense like you said but like the defensive unit is pretty disastrous er many needs a bodyguard next to him do they have that on this roster so like how many new starters do they need between you know the summer window in the winter window and they brought in none like ruan at best is a stopgap because as you say his contract's up at the end of the season and in in what they hope is that he he's not relied on to be the starter moving forward as giovanni j again, as the U22 initiative. Or if you play a wingback, you put, you know,

Paul Arreola or Camungo there, right? Like, so how many new starters do they need? And they didn't really get any. So that's Dallas for me. I'm ready to go back to the positives after all these negatives. I'm going to go with LAFC. They didn't do much. I can't do one.

Sorry, did I just go back? Well, I'm going to talk about LAFC. Screw you. I was going to say LAFC is my winner. Oh, were you? I have it up on my screen. Oh, that's convenient. Yeah, I'm sure. I'm sure.

It was my idea. That's exactly what I was going to say. Let the newspaper show this was my idea. LAFC. Classic print media guy. Olivier Giroud and Louis O'Brien, two really good signings, particularly with Giroud, like the combination of his talent, current ability, what he'll be for the next 18 to 30 months, however long he's still here.

And what this team needed was a Olivier Giroud size hole. And getting Louis O'Brien on loan, I think is, is really, really strong signing. I just love what they did. They didn't have to do much and they knocked it out of the park. We have a question in the chat. And it's one that I think I've thought about a bunch as well for this lafc team they have almost never maxed their dpu 22 spots in their time in mls what do you make of sort of like this the way they set their roster and their decision making um again antoine greaseman

what they're waiting for with that db spot so it's not like they're going to go sign somebody else. Um, yeah, I mean, you could look at U22s, but man, they had to loan Tomas Angel to the USL championship to Phoenix because they don't have enough minutes for him. We were talking about, you know, you don't look, they brought in Lewis O'Brien. They have five starting caliber players for three spots in central midfield. So like, yeah, they could do more but like steve abuke they spent five million on him didn't really have much playing time like he was clearly wasn't the right signing and like wouldn't just sign another high highly rated player like part

of the way that you get these five million dollar players you 22s is like hey you can come develop here they can't promise that to a lot of these players yeah Yeah. The first team is so strong. Shout out to Eric Johnson, the one asking the question. I think what you said completely makes sense. And then the added part is it has worked for them in like, if we have the spot open, we have the optionality later on to figure out, does Gareth Bale want to go golfing this year? Does Giroud want to go? And the Griezmann one is very clear and obvious, makes sense,

and not just because it's VAR on Antoine Griezmann in that moment. But then the flip side with them is they have players who are playing at DP U22 levels that aren't on those roster designations. That's the only reason you can do this. Like if you need guys to outperform their roster spots for you to be allowed to build a competitive roster in this way they have that whether it's like a tim tillman or someone like that or any of the center backs or ryan hollingshead or any of these other pieces that they've had where it's like that player is playing at this level and

buonga so good that we can sort of save these spots because then you get a Giroud on a free and you don't have to pay the transfer fee because you've waited and you're patient and all of that. And obviously LAFC are in a really strong spot right now, as you mentioned, like I think Lewis O'Brien might be the most underrated move of this window in like he could be a 1A guy for this team going to an MLS Cup final. And it happened on the day and it got mentioned and moved on. But like he was legit for DC and this team going to an mls cup final and it happened on the day and it got mentioned and moved on but like he was legit for dc uh and this team is even better for him to play inside of yeah i couldn't i couldn't agree more like this team got better this summer um the top of the league is really strong between again i think it's a clear top tier of them columbus and miami

and like again real salt lake la. Those are really strong too. FC Cincinnati. Like that would be a slight one B for me. Like that top six is really, really strong. And then beyond that, it's, you know,

your Charlotte's your New York's I'm sure for Colorado's like the top of the league. There was a bit of an arms race this summer. Wouldn't call it flat out big time arms race, but like all these teams, most of these teams got better. If not all of these teams. Yeah.

Do you have any other huge winners or losers that you want to throw in there? Yeah, I'm going to go, I have one of each. I'll start with one more winner before we go to a loser. I'm going to say Minnesota United. Interesting. I was going to ask you where you fell on this. I wouldn't, so I can't call it a big winner yet because we just don't know. Like we don't know about Calvin Yeboah and we don't know about Joaquin Pereira.

But like they brought in potentially six new starters. Like this was what they used as like a primary transfer window. They they again, Yeboah, Jefferson Diaz, Mateus Komet, Joaquin Pereira, Anthony Markanich. And they moved on. Like they continued evolving this roster from when Khaled El-Madin took over in the winter and then Eric Ramsey came in in March so they had a lot of work to do to transition out of the Adrian Heath era and they've been solid this year again they're above if they make the playoffs that's an incredibly positive year of what was supposed to be a transition year of what is a transition year if Kelvin Yeboah and Joaquin Pereira hit that's the foundation moving forward

they have a lot of talented players in tech they have a lot of versatile players they have a lot of options they still need more i think over the winter they're going to try to bring in more defenders if i had to assume probably like defensive spine type but if the attack kind of floats around with with robin load and yaboa and joaquin perera and bongi and john sangbin and just any combination of that tanyo will say any combination of that like that's a solid team and going to the season i thought they were going to be a bad team and i thought that was okay because it was a transition here so again this i think has to do more with expectations than oh my god like now they're going to be fighting to get out of the wild card game or whatever we're calling it the playing game

i don't even know too many sports too many too many of these designations for the playoffs but if if they're not quite there but i think they could be again if frera and yaboa do hit it's a great window if not i still think it's a pretty good window like even if those two aren't long-term a plus solutions especially if they're not on crazy numbers because yeah they're not yeah that's that's good if And we don't know the exact numbers yet because of the way MLS works, so we don't know the salary. But, like, if they are not, you could also then open up space to then go get other TPs or fill those roster spots in other ways. I agree with you that if I'm Minnesota, I'm happy with the window I have.

There's a decent chance that they've added four starters right and especially both the wing back slash fullback spots which have been a bit of an issue for them over the last few years like they may have solved those markinich low key has been a solid mls player that's like not a bad pickup and that is to me someone who's paying attention so yes they are in south america and europe trying to find dps but also noticing like a potential mls starter is out with his team can we go pull that player in and see what we can get there and sort of play it out the rest of the year i like moves like that and pookie's up at the end of the year and with that up like they only technically have well they have no true dps left on the roster outside of the new ads that this front office and coaching staff have gotten to select themselves.

And so now it's their project and it's on them. But that's all they could ask for at this point going forward. So I don't mind putting Minnesota in the winner column. But as you said, not at the top and not as one of the big winners. Would you put Orlando in the winner column? I mean, I don't think it was a negative one. Like, I feel a little weird talking about them as big winners. Like, again, the Duncan McGuire new contract, dude, that's really good.

That's really where it would stand, right? Yeah, because, like, they're bringing in a U-22 initial midfielder. And, like, again, as we were talking about with Cincy, they're not expecting him to come in and, you know, start every game or even start most of the games or even start maybe any of the games who knows like this is a strong midfield group so like I don't I don't even think that I would give them a ruling like solid they didn't have a lot of freedom they were able to bring in the U-22 initial player and keep Duncan McGuire which again that that saga has been ongoing since the winter and I'm sure the front office and duncan mcguire's camp are just very happy that it's over no no i don't think i can i can say for certain that both sides are very very glad that they got to this kumbaya moment

and can put their arms around each other and stop uh countering uh with proposals and texts and calls and meetings and all that so it's all over and that's one thing left to worry about tom doesn't have to flight track another flight to England out of Orlando as well. But the news there is Duncan McGuire has agreed to a new contract through 2027 with an option for 2028. So he has decided that he wants to be there long term. They have compensated him in a way that makes him happy. This is probably what makes the team best um and then if a sale comes back into a conversation orlando has some strength in all of this to be able to negotiate the deal they would like i have

no idea where this leaves louis muriel like what is the future there he is now fourth or third on the depth chart he's their dp center forward but he he was going to be there he was going to be there on august 16th no matter what so having duncan mcguire in the fold and knowing the future there makes you better off you probably lose a little negotiating ground if you are trying to sell him going forward but you probably lost that by just not playing him um as well they're one of the odd ones well. They're one of the odd ones. Philadelphia is one of the odd ones. Jose Martinez.

Odd's a good way to put it. Yeah, Jose Martinez leaving. And, like, you look at Jim Curtin's quote, which I believe – Town. Who is it? What? It was at a town. Someone tweeted it at us. Yeah, okay.

I was trying to remember who it was. Someone tweeted it at us. Jose Nunez. Jose Nunez did that. Yeah, thank you. It was like 18 names going through my head. But Jim Curtin basically was like these players. He talked about, I think he was talking about Julian Carranza

and Jose Martinez together of like this club did a lot for them. They did a ton for this club. They'll always be a part of this club. But like this is just the reality. He's 30. He has taken a half step back over the course of the year i think being with venezuela and the troubles that philadelphia had had taken a bit of a toll on him so i'm not sure that that's who the player he still is or will be

going forward but they're gonna make over a million dollars total on him that number is probably not going up at his age as he goes forward so if you were going to sell him now's the chance you could convince me that you shouldn't sell have sold at all and just remain good with him in the team um but this is a position that philly has successfully found new players at over and over again yeah and i think that's the point it wasn't about uh what was the profit you turned on jose. I think it was about whether to keep him or not. And again, I don't know where the player stands on this. I don't know if he was necessarily pushing for it or not.

I know that he was in the past. I thought he was going to leave a year and a half ago. It seemed like he was ready to go. I want to go to Europe or whatever. And then he turned around and said, you know what? Actually, I want to stay. Let's talk about a new contract. And then he signed a new contract.

So I thought he was going to stay for a while. That hasn't happened. Again, the deal is not done with Corinthians. But, like, as you said, Jim Crow is talking about it. It's trending that way, to say the least. Like, I just think that the personal terms need to still be set. Last I checked in on it yesterday. We have two from the chat, which I think are fair ones to ask for.

Carl Van Von Hassel says, was New England a winner or a loser? Losing DeJuan Jones, not getting another striker seems like a loss. Veroni's inconsistent. Bobby Wood's legs aren't getting younger. And what was the other one from the chat? What was the other team? Please talk about RSL. It was all it said.

Shout out to RJ Game. I think so. I think that we should hit New England, RSL, because my next one was going to be Atlanta United in loser. Yeah. So you tell me which one of those three you want to go to. Let's start with Atlanta. Yeah.

Disappointing. Just straight up disappointing. I really like the Alexei Moranichuk signing, but not bringing in another DP. The patience is starting to wear thin in this group. Last summer would look really, really strong. Those three key signings, Miyombo, Lobogenite, and John De Silva, particularly Silva, have not quite been the same this year.

Miyombo hasn't been so good. I think Lobogenite's been the best out of the three. So what we were looking at as the foundation of like, all right, cool, now they just need to add their DPs. The foundation is a little bit rockier than we thought it was, the dps didn't go one dp came and not a second they can still add two in the winter um and that's kind of the silver lining i'll say to this i think they deserve to be criticized i know that they were trying like hell to get a dp attacker in before the window closed and they didn't um they probably got to a point where you know we're not just going

to sign anybody and we'll take our lumps right now and again they deserve to be taking lumps right now but they can add two dps in the winter and i think i'd like you give them a leash till then you give them hey i would maybe not even necessarily benefit the doubt but like you have that hope on the horizon of we can bring in dp9 and a dp whatever else we want to do and trust garth loggerway to do that and hire a head coach and see what happens next but um patience is is dangerously thin i think in atlanta right now and i understand that this summer isn't quite what everybody hoped for and right now you put the season's over you punted on the season this team is doing nothing they're

going nowhere cool maybe you make it into ninth place maybe you win the playing game great who cares raise a banner right hell even last year like garth logway had like a good quote uh like i when i was trying to be like hey man like this was a better season than i thought you're gonna have it's really good and he was like one i don't think we were very good and two like we're not having a trophy parade because we made the playoffs like that's not the expectations here so by that standard um like this season's over and i think atlanta defense up right to be upset but i think this will be quickly forgotten if it's march and the team looks awesome because they signed two more dps all right let's talk new england do they fall in one of these two camps

or are they just neutral i would say winner i would say winner um they definitely needed to do something they needed to do more than a little bit of something i like the the tim parker for henry kessler swap and just kind of the way that that changed just fresh place and getting a player who's going to, he has less future money owed. You know, he's only guaranteed the rest of the season. Luca Langone getting that done as a U22 initiative rather than a DP,

I think is really, really strong. We talked about it when that deal was coming through that if you have ownership that will give you the budget to be like hey go sign the top of the line you 22 initiatives spending 7 million gives you a lot better on a 22 year old gives you a much higher probability of instant success and long-term success than signing an 18 year old for 2 million or whatever it is right like so the pet uh the pedophile uh the pedigree jesus christ the pedigree is uh the pedigree is significantly higher for this profile, and I like that.

They really needed a central midfielder. Yusuf, I don't know a ton about him. I've talked to a few people who rate him very highly. They needed another option in the midfield. And if the midfield trio is Yusuf, Polster, and Carlos Hill, that's among the strongest in the league if this player does fit and the profile that has been described to me is exactly what he is in MLS. So, yeah, I'm going to say I would call them a winner.

I think that's fair. I want to see how Carlos Hill plays and what he says to call them a winner over the next few weeks. That's fair. He was down about the DeJuan Jones move, but if he is playing happy and full energy and believes in the group that's on the field and he's motivated and all of that,

I'm going to be sold on it. If not, I'm like, eh, the Langone move is a fantastic move and the rest of it, yeah. The rest of it, I'm not. I know, I'm walking in Phoenix. Yeah. Yeah. The rest of it, I'm sitting on,

and whether or not I give that thumbs up comes there or not. Last one here is RSL, which I think is a fair question. We were so excited about the Gonsalves move, followed up by my heartbreaking Andres Gomez move. Are they the same? Are they better? Where do you fall for them that's a really great question on it like i don't think that they're worse um and i'll start there so i think that's a win to be able to get the fee that they did for andres gomez and understand just

the reality of we can't keep them right now this is the bid that's coming it's just you know we have to deal with this whether we're perfectly happy or not. So Gonsalves coming in. Again, we really like that. And then between Marciuk, Benji Michel, and Lachlan Brooke, I think between one of those three, or like Matty Crooks, if you want to put Gonsalves on the wing, I think like between one of those four, like, look,

you're not getting Andres Gomez production. You're not getting Andres Gomez profile. Benji Michel has the same kind of, or similar kind of, dynamic athleticism and can add goals from the wing the same way that but like they're all different profiles if by collective the four of them can just be close enough and you add gonzalez that's supposed to bring it up like i think this is a win i really do though again like i really wish we could have seen a front four of Gonsalves, Diego Luna, Andres Gomez and Chicho Arango. Yeah, I think I think to say they're not worse is fair. And to say not worse means they're competitive for winning the Western Conference, but not one of the heavy favorites and would still be a little surprised.

That would be the case with them having made $13 million with the potential for it to go up to $15 million, right? With Barajas combined with Gomez? Yeah, no, $15 million guaranteed up to $17 million because Barajas was $4 million and Gomez was $11 million. Oh, I thought it was $9 million plus $2 million with Gomez. No, $11 million plus $2 million. Ah, yeah.

So if you're a club, that's not a bad place to be and we have said it on this show like they are still under some newer ownership who is still finding i think the identity of like where does this club sit in the mls hierarchy how do they maintain success and how do they push it forward to have a transfer a little pocket of kitty thing like that not a bad life to be living and to remain as a potential home playoff team in throughout that would be really really strong the Javaine Brown move was a good under the radar move as well for them to bring in a legitimate MLS starter whether it's at center back or at fullback as well and so going forward I think this is an RSL team that can feel pretty strong.

They are one of those groups you look at where the guys they want are under contract and the guys you don't kind of aren't. Most of them have options coming up or are done, and so you can open up some space as well. They'll have an open DP spot at the end of this season to use because Andres Gomez is coming off of one of them. No, sorry, but technically, but they're going to be a team that does two for two oh fair yeah that's fine um which yeah okay that makes sense good point all right any other mls specific stuff

you need to get in i've one question for you do you do you need me to lay out and you could just tell me all your personal feelings when you got the notification? Cause I know you have my tweet notifications on, of course, when you got the notification of me breaking the news that Matthew 28 is on his way to grasshopper clubs, Eric, I said,

for anyone listening to the podcast, your audio did not go out. I muted myself for anyone watching. You got to see my reaction uh fully he literally texted me that too to be fair yeah i don't really know how to edit audio in that way so it was easier for me to just do it live was a very a very strong from from his deep emotions bleep you just so you know i'm the besides mr and mrs schwanier i'm just guessing that um i'm the biggest matthew schwanier fan in the fan in the world i won't be watching us what next don garber commissioner

selection i will not be watching a swiss league game like that won't happen i'm also going to be a little annoyed when this all ends which is him clearly on Chicago right no that's the move you you go to Switzerland then you come back Grasshopper is co-owned by LAFC are they yeah uh this this winter interesting okay I could be sold a little bit yeah now we've got the the wind horse fingers going up that's good Tom okay I could be sold a little bit on that one i would have loved to see him get the keys to the car for a team um like a nashville honestly chicago probably should have been in that conversation yeah i don't know what an austin's doing that's another one where you're like oh this guy could fit in pretty well and fit a system. Obviously, you have to assume Columbus tried because non-says a fan and has been in the past. And this is where we stand.

And this is where we're at now. So, yeah, I hate you for that one. I'm just going as well. The whole thing sucks. Let's let's finish a little bit positive here. And let's go. Mauricio Pochettino, baby. Yeah.

U.S. has a new manager. It is the greatest manager in the history of the sport number one USA get hyped Tom yeah this is awesome like of realistic exactly what you want to hear this is yeah this is awesome it like of realistic candidates like you can't do much better than this it's really great the like i was worried that he might hold out to see if england would be in for him or not i was worried that hey like i can't give you a yes now so really well done by the united states to get this done to get this over the line um paul tenorio said you know when when he broke the news that he was going to be the top candidate was a top candidate and like again for for paul to put that out like that it wasn't just like that he was on

a short list and they were thinking about it like that meant that they were trying to sign him that they were trying to get him done and paul's reporting said that like he's you know mikey varus is probably going to be the the interim head coach for the september window um espn is saying that pochettino might be done in time to take charge. I think that's another important part, too. I don't need to see another interim manager in charge of the United States men's national team for multiple cycles. I'm good on interim managers for a long time. So hopefully they can get this done.

There are still some things to do. He's still getting paid by Chelsea, so that needs to be changed. Not be changed. They need to figure out a solution there of what a buyout needs to be. Again, I really like this. I think that he's going to have the personality for it. I'm very curious to see what his tactics are going to be with this group. But, again, Jurgen Klopp was never realistic.

That would have been my top choice overall. I think Pochettino would have been number two. We did the show after Greg got let go a month ago, a little bit over a month ago on this show. And in the list of names, he was probably our favorite between the two of us. And so, as you said,

to ID it and then get it done, that's as good as you're going to do at this point. He should have been hired a year ago. You can't go back and fix that. That's the reality. You can't go back and fix that. So from the reality. You can't go back and fix that. So from this moment on, how can you operate as well as possible? This is what you do.

You get him in the door, as you said, ASAP. Get him working. Allow him to get around the players to start to implement some of the things he wants to do. To start to assess from the inside and say, like, here's what's going well. Here's what's not. Here's what needs to be adjusted the positives for me with him even though he doesn't have international experience is basically managing Tottenham as being an international manager of like well you can't spend any money and you can't bring in any players so he was able to do the best with what he did and

he's the one who gave Harry Kane his opportunity yeah this was a guy they had loaned out and was like a non-existent part of the club and And every other manager is like, I need more money. I need more money. And he generated him, Danny Rose, Kyle Walker. He pushed them all to ending up being in England international than one of them. One of the greatest players in the club's history and the country's history as well. So he's been in situations like that. And we've seen him be tactically flexible with the options he has and i think that's key for being a national team coach he is a bielsa light but also bielsa light he is not the full jorge sampali of like i showed up training with no shirt and ran through the wall to get here like everyone be there with me but there is a little bit of that like wacky professor stuff with him which i think is fun fun because you're hosting the World Cup. You don't have competitive games over the next two years. The Copa America was your chance.

Like, how can you challenge players? How can you push them but also be able to create a culture that they want to be around and set this team up for its best opportunity? And to grow the sport in this region and this country, your best chance is to be good at the 2026 World Cup. This was your first step to getting there, and this was the best case scenario to do it. And so I think all of that's exciting. And as you said, just the sigh of relief of like it being done. We don't have to wonder. We don't have to talk about it. We don't have to watch an interim. Nashville doesn't have to pull out another resume. They're like, oh, interim Mikey Varas. Let's check him out. Let's see what's going on here. We don't have to do out another resume. They're like, oh, interim Mikey Varas? Let's check him out.

Let's see what's going on here. We don't have to do that again. We have a name. We have a guy. We have a direction. And I think he's going to be an interesting spokesperson because he's on his own. Like U.S. soccer has its issues. And I think there's some negativity around there and there's some frustrations.

Pochettino is going to come in and sort of be in his own space like emma hayes has yeah and like he's going to speak for himself and that's going to be a new voice to have i think talking about this program and these players and this team and the sport in this area bilingual as well so it adds a little bit of the ability to help maybe grow the umbrella of the fan base of this team there's a lot of checks there's a lot of boxes that are checked off uh by this signing and i think it's fair for a lot of people to be really excited to expect him to change the entire landscape of the sport in this country and to expect him to turn them into 1998 Brazil? Probably a little bit of an overreaction, but I guess we'll get there as we go through some of these friendlies.

Yeah, again, I'm really excited, and let's see if he can take a lot of, like this is an attractive job with the player pool in that there's a lot of talented players, a lot of talented young players. It's a lot of potential right now. Can he turn potential into current talent, into current production, into current performance over the next two years um he's got the best chance of anybody i was i was on uh bbc radio this morning and like one of their questions was like the bbc one of their questions were like you know he lost the champions league final like um he didn't win

it he didn't win the premier league with toddam like is Like, is there any worry about that? And I was like... It brings culture. But I was like, it was like, hey, if you're trying to win it, I was like, well, Jurgen Klopp isn't taking the job. Pep Guardiola's not taking the job. Colin Ancelotti. Zidane's not taking the job. Like, those are the people who win the Champions League. Those are the people who win the Premier League.

Like, the people who consistently win those trophies and win those tournaments, they weren't available to the United States. This is, like, yeah, he lost the Champions League final. I'm good with it. He got there. Like, that Spurs team, are you kidding me? I think that they would take that right now, too, as much as they love Big Ange.

But, yeah, I was like, yeah, no, that doesn't bother me at all. Can he win a Nations League? Can he win a Nations League? Can he win the big one? Can he get the U.S. finally over the line to winning a World Cup is that the question because if we're there then like I think we would all take that reality of oh we just can't break through and finally win the World Cup knockout round game it'll be awesome we're nowhere near that reality that is a wild wild thing we've got a comment here in the chat that says poch in for 26 then on to his next job

and then clop full-time post world cup after his extended vacation from coaching get tim howard on the plane it never ends the opportunity never goes away uh i think it's fair for fans to be very excited today i also think if you're a fan like you should enjoy moments like this it is not a fix all it is not perfect i will be interested to see especially after as the stories come out how he affects some of these players individually of like how does he affect weston mckinney's career what is he saying to him as one-on-one and and part of being a national team manager is going and talking to the teams about those players you're trying to do that from a management level of, like,

trying to bring those players into camp more often and have good communication about injuries and stuff. But, like, when Mauricio Pochettino shows up to a club and he's like, oh, we actually think Luca Dellatore is really, really good, and for these reasons, are there other people now listening, saying, like, hmm, should we give him a shot? Or, like, is that a move we should make? Or does that player deserve more minutes and we're actually missing this? He brings a level of gravitas there that I don't think existed.

Those are small little things. But like if he spurs two or three players careers on in a way that would have been different without him, those could be the two or three starters for the national team. Those players could have Champions League careers and all of that going forward. And it will be interesting to see which of the players now are sort of the ones he leans on. Because Greg had really solidified the group he believed in. And there was not a lot of movement in and out the lineups. And now it's a new manager.

Clean slate. Obviously, Pulisic is going to be a main part of it. But I don't know that anyone else has a guaranteed spot. And I think that's pretty key and pretty necessary for the team at this point uh any final thoughts now i'm just excited and i hope that he's in place for september friendly so we get to see it in action who are they playing they're playing canada the first game is jesse marshall canada and is it uh it's in new jersey right i hope so that's where all the the birthplace of American soccer, global football, the absolute hotbed. Tom just assumes all U.S. soccer events are happening in New Jersey.

Me bringing it up, you were like, yeah, I didn't even realize. No, it's in Kansas City. Never mind. Who cares? We don't need them in place. What are we going to learn in Kansas City? Nothing. Who cares?

Fake game. Fake game. Mariso Pochettino has arrived. The transfer window has closed, which means Tom is going to take a nap for the next 18 hours before he breaks the next story of a DP for San Diego next year.

Right out the gate. Shout out Tyler Heaps for getting that job on the side as well. Thank you to all of you for watching and listening. Subscribe wherever you get your stuff. And we'll talk to you again very, very soon