SoccerWise - MLS Soccerwise | Hell Is Real Derby, MLS Transfer News & Buy or Sell

Episode Date: July 27, 2026

Hell Is Real delivered another unforgettable chapter as emotions boiled over between Columbus and Cincinnati, reminding everyone why it's become one of MLS's fiercest rivalries. David Gass, Tom Bogert and Matt Doyle break down the drama from one of the league's marquee rivalries before turning to Columbus' statement performance, Portland's emotional farewell to Felipe Mora and the latest storylines from another eventful MLS weekend.The crew also opens the Ice Cream Shop for the latest MLS transfer news, breaks down the impact of Mbekezeli Mbokazi's injury and Sebastian Berhalter's departure, before wrapping up with an edition of Buy or Sell as they debate which Eastern Conference teams they trust to make the playoffs.0:00 Opening Chat 6:58 Felipe Mora's Portland Farewell 15:22 San Diego's Chucky Lozano Problem 21:05 Columbus Is Back? 27:25 Hell Is Real: Tempers Flare33:00 Texas Derby & Cali Clásico 38:05 Inter Miami Keeps Rolling 42:00 Ice Cream Shop | MLS Transfer News 54:49 Mbekezeli Mbokazi's Injury Impact 59:00 Sebastian Berhalter's Departure1:04:07 Buy or Sell | Eastern Conference

by the fact that I was able to get us live just now. So that's anyone watching on YouTube. That's the face that you're seeing is I am shocked by my own ability to run the platform that I run fairly consistently. Because we are back. We're back in the flow, baby. A weekend of MLS action, our Monday recap show.

Tom's got a freaking headband on. He looks like Peyton Pritchard in his dreams right now with the green t-shirt. A men's league title shirt. Thank you very much. Wow. Champions only. Rings culture now.

right Tom it's all we care about it's all we care about uh don't worry don't i've sent tom about three full recaps of the nix playoff runs already uh this weekend so he's in a good spot doyle how are you doing i'm good i i take issue with your description of us as being back in the flow because uh even though mLS restarted this weekend for real um man i did not feel like i was back in the flow at all. It was jarred, especially going from the World Cup, like straight into a full Wednesday night slate.

Oh my God. And then a full Saturday slate with all the games happening. Like, even by MLS standards, these games were not staggered at all. So it was like stuff. I had a, I had a really weird day yesterday,

just like getting up and watching replays of the games on like four times speed and trying to figure out what to even write about. So, yeah, muddling on. on. My favorite part of your Colin Doyle was when you like just straight up wrote like, I'm still like rusty and I don't know how to

connect these thoughts. So here are bullet points. Yeah. I just want you guys to know that Leandro Perettis four days after the World Cup final went 90 against O'Higgins with an assist. And I want you to know, I watch that game at the Colombian bar walking distance

from me. It was awesome. You just got one-up. You thought that was going to surprise us both. Rebecca. It's like, Rebecca was like, let's go out and have a drink. I was like, cool, I know a spot. And she like, you know, it's Colombian. So she likes the food. She likes the drinks and everything.

And I'm just sitting at the bar watching the game. It was great. Soccer never stops. Unbelievable. Well, we are in the flow because Tom's already disconnected himself and then come back into the recording. So we are cruising. Championship mentality right now. Championship mentality.

We've got a big show for all of you. Thank you to everyone who's already in the live chat. It's great to be back with everyone. and we've got a big show for a big week. So we are going to talk through the best things we saw this weekend as we do every single week. Then we are going to go through, of course, our ice cream shop as Tom hammers away. You're typing, dude. Please do so.

And then after we go through the ice cream shop, if we get Tom back on this one, we are going to do a little bit of a buyer-sell segment. So we are technically at the midway point in Major League Soccer for, I don't know, 70% of the teams have played 17 games so far. It wouldn't be MLS if it wasn't that way. So we have 16 games played by some people, 18 played by some people, but 17 by most of them. So we're going to go through the East and the Western Conference and talk about who we trust in to make the playoffs this year, who we feel very confident won't make the playoffs this year. and we'll do it in both conferences. So we're going to give you a pretty big recap

around the team sitting around that playoff line. We'll dabble on a little U-20s as well. But we do have a new show that's going to be launching this week. So on Wednesday, we will have our first soccer-wise U.S. show. We'll be covering the U.S.M.T., W&T, youth teams and everything else, in between every single week there.

And we have a special opener. We have Dan Helfrich, the CEO of U.S. soccer. I sat down with him for about 45 minutes or so. So that interview will come out. You know the moment it comes out. Mariso Pachitino will announce something that wasn't in the interview. So it's going to be perfectly timed to come out on Wednesday. And then we, of course, we'll have our NWSL show tomorrow off a wild weekend of upsets across the league.

And we will have our return MLS show later in the week. And then we've got a new interview show that's going to be coming out. So we're going to have you loaded every single week. Tom, you with me? I'm with you. Ooh. Right down the spine. Dulcet tones.

Before we dig into everything, if you're listening via Sirius Radio, we love having you here. Thank you for being here. If we go a little bit long, you're going to have to go find the show on the on-demand player. We, of course, are heading into an MLS All-Star Week. Doyle, Tactics Free Zone, anything to promote before we dig in. No, just back to regular service. You know, as fun as it was to like dunk my head underwater and be held underwater for two full match days this week, or as jarring as it was, it was also fun.

And it's just good to be writing again. It's good to be talking MLS again. And once again, I will tell everybody, turn notifications on for Tom Bogart. This is Tom's season. Like, this is what the man was built for. I mean, I made a rundown for the ice cream shop segment. And then I'm getting automatic notifications out of the Discord from the ice cream shop feed, telling me that Tom's breaking different news that he didn't even have in the run.

rundown, which he has access to. So it would have a nice spot to add it, but it's the least important thing. And I respect the hell out of it. And we're going to get into that in just a moment. Before we fully get started on the games, a big report came out from the Guardian, U.S. article Pablo Maurer and Alex Abnos, touching on an investigation that's going on around Austin FC's Academy, investigating some abuse amongst players. It seems like between players.

There is not a lot of information in there as the FBI. and the police are not really forthcoming on investigations that are going on, but it seems like the club is working with them. So we will keep you updated as we learn more things about it. We don't have a lot to say right now, but I highly recommend if you don't, subscribing to the Guardian for all the work they do and going and checking out that article that Pablo and Alex put out there. Let's dig into the weekend that was on the field in Major League Soccer.

As Doyle said, we had like the full slate coming out of this weekend. so it was drinking from a fire hose all of Saturday night. I had three screens going at the same time with a little NWSL on as well. So it was a wild experience. And classically, finally, I remembered that thing where it's like I always picked the wrong game. So I'm watching the zero zero while there's four goals going on in New York or whatever it is. Let's talk about the best things we saw. And Tom, why don't you get us started?

Yeah, I'll kick us off with Felipe Amora. He had a brace in his send-off match for the Portland Timbers. as they win. And first of all, he's been an underrated forward in this league, and it was cool to watch him get his shine. But more than that, I haven't not only not hear a bad word about this man as a person. Like, people have gone out of their way over the last week

to talk just about how great he is as a person to me, which you can tell when it's performative, and you can tell when it's like real genuine love. Merritt Paulson, the team's owner, said, quote, Pipe Moore is up there with the all-time Portland Greats. What he's given us off the field is equally as incredible as what he did on the field. He truly loves this club. He welcomes new players into his home. He bridges cultures in the locker room as a connector for everyone. He never asks for recognition in a position that

prioritized scoring. He's a uniquely selfless player. I was talking to another former Timber staffer a couple days ago and he goes, listen, I would say he's been the classiest guy I've ever coached, except that mantle belongs to Diego Chara, but like he's at that same level. And that's the kind of like person we're talking about. And to see him get this recognition and the fans obviously brought it for him. Channing his name is he got subbed off. After the game, Mora goes,

today's goals, they were special, my last for the club. I really hope you all remember me for being a great person who gave everything for this club. And I wish nothing but the best. Honestly, today was a dream. And it was really cool.

He had the brace and the timbers famously have not ever had a hat trick at MLS play. And I was talking to somebody about that this morning. And it was like, I almost had an aneurism because they subbed them off. But apparently he was cramping or whatever, but what a special night it was for Felipe Moore in the Portland timbers. And David Goss hates him.

Hates him. Gosh, are you willing to take the L on him yet? Is he on my golden boot team? Probably. No, I mean, he is what he is. He's a fox in the box. He does nothing else on the field for the team.

Clearly, he is the martyr of martyrs and then we're going to be building, you know, statues of him. so that we can go. What are you doing? What do we do? Why? Why? Doyle turned the positive thing to my thing immediately.

And it sounds like Vincent Jansen, who was very similar, might be the same. But no, for the production they got on a non-DP roster spot, he's been very good on the field for them. And I think it was a little surprising to me that he even played. Like you have the transfer set up, so you're risking the potential there with any injury. But I think it does go to show. how much he cares about the club and how connected he is. And it's one of the reasons the Portland Timbers are one of the places you want to be, right? It is, I'd say one of one in an atmosphere and environment in Major League Soccer.

And so it's been really cool to see players come into that. One of the fascinating things about it is there has been such a heavy Latin American presence in that club for a city that of all the American cities and MLS doesn't maybe have the largest community. And they have found a home there and are really, really happy Diego Valeri and Diego Charra, obviously leading the way. So that's cool to see. It was a cool ending for him and for them. And Doyle, can we be happy now? Or do I have to have to eat crow on? No, that was good.

That was really classy. He really good player. And Tom, the replacement is coming in the door immediately. And Vincent Janssen, is that right? Yeah, sources tell me that the team is signing former Dutch international center forward Vincent Janssen. He's a former Spurs, former C.F. Monterey. He has been with World Antwerp over the last few years.

Last season, he was the captain. I think over 40 appearances, he had 20 goal contributions. So this is a guy that's still producing. He's 32 years old, and crucially, this is not a designated player deal. And one of the things that I like about this is one, they were going to need to sign another center forward with Felipe Amour at departing. But this is a good signing for me in that if he doesn't give you a ton, you have Kevin Kelsey is the starter, right?

And maybe they can play together, but probably not. But this is a spot that I like for Vincent Jensen in. If it doesn't work, then that's okay for everybody. Like, not to put the bar so low to begin with, but I think he'll do well. But the season doesn't hinge on whether he scores 10 goals over the next two months. It's crazy to me that he wants to sign up to be Kevin Kelsey's backup. It seems like very odd to me. So I know, yeah.

A lot of teams in Belgium are broke. I'm not sure if Royal Antwerp are one of them. I know standard liaise are in big money trouble. So like that's a spot. Have they been tapping you up for loans? Yeah, exactly. Um, the tactics free zone.com is open to all business. Um, sponsors are right on the bottom of the uniform.

He'll tattoo it on his forehead. Right. Um, so it's a good place to shop. But also, Jansen has had a taste of what it's like to be the guy at big clubs or like like be the prospect for, for Tottenham. Right. And then when Monterey brought him in six years ago, they brought him. We all know how Monterey spends.

Like they brought him in. to be the guy who pushes it, and he didn't do it, right? So I think that he kind of understands that he's in a different place in his career, and he's probably looking for quality of life. And he spent time in North America before. Like, there's not going to be a culture shock. So if he is happy playing a sort of a supporting part, I think that it could end up making a lot of sense,

especially because Kelsey's taken a massive step forward this year. Yeah. Like, I was never a big. fan of his. He's obviously toolsy, but he had no idea where goals came from. That has changed this year. I've criticized Phil Neville a lot, but he and whoever on his staff were working with Kelsey on his box movement, they did a great job with that. So if Yonsen is willing to be the backup and to come in and play 20 minutes every week and, you know, and maybe start the occasional game, this is just a home run signing and it's a great job by that front office. Let me just also be clear.

It's not as if I was speaking to the coaching staff. Nobody's told me he's the backup. Like I also want to be clear about that. This is a player with really good pedigree. Again, somebody who played so many games just last year and was productive in Belgium, maybe, I'm sure like any of these ultra-competitive guys, they don't assume that they're coming in to be a backup or anything. And I think my larger point is that there's going to be plenty of minutes to go around for both of these players.

Yeah. And that was the case with Felipe Moore, right? Philippe Moore in his head sees himself as a starter. he's had a lot of injuries. He's been a starter off and on. Kelsey has stepped in, as Doyle said, and has been much better, especially over the last few weeks. My initial reaction was, I had just assumed it was a DP contract,

which I didn't understand where it was going to fit because of the profile of name he has been. He was a flop at Monterey. So it would have been a risky thing to do to take that and try and elevate him, but to get him on a TAM contract and to then have some flexibility if it doesn't work out to shift going forward. I think that's a pretty good deal. for Portland, for Portland, you're probably not going to get a better deal at this time to like for like replace Felipe Moore.

But he is the exact same player. You're not doing anything outside the box. He is not connecting the game. He's not really opening it up for the wingers. He is finding his gaps inside the six. And he is putting in goals if you can set them up for him. I completely disagree with that assessment of Yanson. I think he's-

You watched all the games where he played for the reserves for Monterey? I mean, again, I'm a big Royal Antwerp guy, you know. Mark Van Bommel, by the way, brought him there. Really? Yeah, now Belgium national team coach. Yeah. But I think he has really good feel and sort of like a natural playmaking nine's instincts around the box. And I think Felipe Mora was better at that than you give him credit for as well.

So I think it all fits. The other thing that this maybe opens up, look, if Kevin Kelsey keeps playing the way he's played, the past 10 games, they might have offers at the end of the year because he has that kind of talent. And so everything about this strikes me as a good move from the timbers who are suddenly playing good ball as well. Let's talk about some potential moves. Doyle, what's the best thing you saw this weekend? Yeah, well, San Diego looked like the 2025 version of themselves to a degree in their 1-0 win over over FC Dallas 70% possession

their one goal came off of like 17 pass back to front just pulled Dallas apart and then Alvarado who's the sort of scrappy player that the galaxy never developed he's the one who got the finish from about 20 yards and I always thought he had talent and I hope that he starts to develop it more because I do think there's something there

so that was all great and we haven't seen their new DP arrive yet, but the thing that jumped out to me, there was a plane flying a banner overhead at this game. And let me reach what the banner says. Fire Mikey and Tyler, that's head coach, Mikey Varis and CSO Tyler Heaps, free Chuky, quote, the fans.

Does any of them? Anyone here believe that's actually from the fans and not from Chuky Lazzano's representation? Does anyone in the world believe that this is from a group of San Diego FC fans and not from Chucky Lazzano's people? Maybe it's from LFC fans. Maybe it's a false flag operation. I like that. Oh, my God. We're fully in it.

How much do we think these things cost? It's a great question. I don't know. Like, that is such a great obvious both question. I'm going to Google it now. Unlike Tom, I'm going to mute my... I... Yeah, except he muted himself

before he stopped talking. Yeah, of course he did. I was on the beach on Saturday and there was like a storage container thing that had one of those banners up. And it's like, is that really the best way to advertise still? And so I was thinking about the pricing of it anyway.

So, yeah, I think that would... If it's 300 bucks, I wouldn't be shocked if a bunch of fans got something... It's $500 to $3,000 per flight, according to a simple Google. It feels like a lot. Yeah. It feels like a lot.

If you get 10 of your, 10 of your boys involved, like, that's a good bit. True. That's what you're going to spend it on. You know what? My goal now is to get a banner over something that Tom's had. I'm going to get him a banner one day. When's your next men's league game? Down the Jersey Shore.

Yeah, down the shore. It'll say, Tom, U.S. Open qualifier. But this was, this was, it was nice to see San Diego play that well again because I enjoyed them so much last year. they do need to solve the Chuki situation. They are still fighting with one hand tied behind their back because he's still taking up a DP slot. And even with the new guy in, Elias Achura, Achuri, even with the new guy in, you're still getting nothing from one DP slot. And just for everybody's mental accounting, Chuky has a contract to the end of 2028 guaranteed at $9.3 million a year. So it would take over $20 million to buy him out.

Well, so I, does Shookuizano want to play soccer? That is the question within. Seems like a solid fucking no, man. And that, that has been the answer so far. I've spoke about in the show a little bit like he wasn't going to leave in the winter because one, he hoped that there was going to be a way back because he just wants to be in San Diego. And the last I checked in with somebody at the beginning,

they were pretty much just like he still doesn't believe that it's over. over slash he still just wants to live here. And like Tyler Heaps said it in an interview. Does he want to play soccer anymore is the question? And he's going to win that staring contest. And as you say, Doyle, then it becomes, all right. So let's say that another MLS team, if you could convince him to leave. And let's just say he goes for one to one point five.

Somebody covers that much, that little of his salary. So what that would save a $3 million over the life of this contract, oil, if it happens like in the winter, if it doesn't happen this summer. and yeah, that's a lot of money, but what is the percentage of, what's that's $3 million of like $30 million? But it opens up the spot, right? No, but so what I'm saying is

you still have to buy out 90% of the contract. Right. Why not just do 100% of it right now? Yeah. And it's easy to spend other people's money, but at this point, what's the difference in laying out $30 million versus $33 million?

They should see if we're all Antwerps looking for a center forward. They could step in for all $20,000, million. I think San Diego now they are leading the charge on a new conversation in major like soccer, which is make where you want to play desirable for people to come, but not so desirable that they want to stay even if they're not playing. Now it's this new balance that MLS teams have to find where Chucky's like, how could I leave beach? I've got fish tacos, like where am I going to go? And he hasn't played soccer now in what? There's also like a super underrated

little Italy there in San Diego. I have been there. McKellarley. me go there. Oh, of course. I was like five streets and we got, I think we got an espresso at two of them. You're building up your tolerance for the Cuban coffee. I was shaking by the end of it. Yeah, so Chucky, if he wants to play soccer or not, we will talk about San Diego and Dallas because they are both in that playoff conversation in the Western Conference and my feelings

have shifted on one of the two of them. So that is a little bit of a... You know who could use Chiqui Luzano? FC Dallas. potentially probably won't happen. Let's go to my big thing from the weekend and yes, you know what it is. Vermont Green back in the national championship baby. Laredo Heat.

Talk about Laredo beat. 7-1 win down in Texas. You just got dead. Get out of here, Laredo. I don't know a single thing about that team. So congratulations to them for making the semifinals. Vermont won 7-1 in the semifinals. So the women's team in their first every year in the U.S.

USLW. They go to the final. They lose in PKs out in Seattle, again, Salmon Bay, who, of course, on the men's side, Ballard went to Vermont and lost in the national championship last year. And now Flint City, Michigan will host the final of the USL2 against Vermont Green next weekend at some time on somewhere. You got to watch these games, man. The guy yesterday was going through it. He clearly lives in Laredo and broadcasts all their games. And he did a game solo where the team he covers lost seven to one on a quote unquote neutral national broadcast and this dude was going through it in the second half. So respect to him. I have a ton of respect for any broadcaster out there and it was a wild game. But on the MLS side of things, to Doyle's point about San Diego,

that's how I felt about Columbus this weekend. It wasn't perfect. And I have some big questions about talent and where this team can get. But from a style point of view, Max Starveson playing left-wing back, right wing, and attacking midfielder, all in a three-minute span, that's what I sign up for. That's what I want to be here for. And Columbus went for it in this game. Even after going down one zero, they opened up, they attacked, it was flowing. There's a lot of freedom for players to pick up different positions. It's one of the best games I've seen Taha Habroon play.

And I think it's why he was elevated through this club because of the style they thought they'd be playing before Wilfred Nonsei left. And then we've got fight stuff that we can talk about after. But Tom, I was super stoked to see Columbus back to who they are and to do so in a big game and get a big victory. Give Laurent Couta the job. Like, honestly, it's been a small sample size, but I think this is what we knew of him as a manager.

And I don't ding him from Montreal. It's been a pretty no-win situation. And this is how he wants to play. And what we're seeing from this team is awesome. And it's a team in transition. I believe Twalman's on the broadcast. He said it in a subtle and a polite way where I think it was Jamal Tiari and somebody else was in a transition moment. And Twelman was like, yeah, this is the soccer they've been playing except two years ago.

That was Cucho and Diego Rosing. Yeah. So maybe that's why this didn't end in a goal. But like the underlines are so, so good. And we're going to see more change from this to him. We can keep talking about it. They're still waiting for Bryce, their DP attacking midfielder for Eric Baii, Bryce Mendez, right? Yes.

Yeah, Bryce Mendez. And Eric Baie, they still haven't debuted. There needs to be more evolution in this team. Middlesbrough are still chasing Max Arfston. There is momentum there. I don't know if anything is quite there yet. Who works at Middlesbrough? Is it just a former academy crew guy?

What is this? This is the team that signed Adelson Malanda as well. And Riley McGree, technically, by or sell, Middlesbrough makes the playoffs in Major League Soccer. I think they owes the first round game. But so this team will keep changing, but that was what we loved about the early days of Wilfr an Anzzi. It's like, it doesn't matter if it's, you know, Philip Quentin or Rudy Camacho. It doesn't matter if it's Darlington Nagby or Sean Zawatsky.

It doesn't matter if it's Coutre Hernandez, Christian Ramirez, or whoever is on the field. This is how we're going to play. And that's what it's been like under Laurent Coutre. And for me, I've seen enough, give him the job. four games, three wins, and a good loss, frankly, against NYCFC midweek. I thought that was actually a really well-played game. To your guys' points, they look a lot like the Wilfred Nancy team. And he's getting more out of guys who had been sort of, I think, justifiably minimized.

And it does actually look like he's starting to solve the Darlington Nagby. hole in central midfield. Dylan Shambo has been sort of reborn under him. I thought Bangura has had a couple of good, not great, but good performances. And then Andre Goems, who really struggled the first half of the year, since Courtois has taken over, he's been really good as well. It is, the ceiling is lower for the reasons that Tom mentioned. Like, there's no Cuchok here and there's no Diego Rossi.

When the attacking moment ends on. Dylan Shambos, it's not the same as a championship team that they had. Right. But it's still better than what it was. Exactly. They're going to be a fun team to watch for the rest of the year. And frankly, I kind of expect them to make the playoffs. Whenever I say like a grand statement about MLS, there's always with the caveat that I'm

not including messy. I think Max Arfson might be the most entertaining player in Major League Soccer. Like he is the show. There's this moment along the sideline where he draws two defenders. He flicks back along the line. I mean, he's all over the field. He draws the penalty kick in this one where Miaska cannot believe that he went to ground two minutes before the play happened and he got called for a penalty in the box. How could that be?

And then this game ends. Hold on. Really, in part of the physicality of this game, Max Arfson was like jostling for a ball for a throwing, picks it up, throws it off the defender. And then live to see another. Like, he didn't get kicked. I was like, that's such aura. That was a white chocolate moment. That was Jason Williams.

So the game ends, an odd game for FC Cincinnati, and we're going to talk about them in our playoff thing. They take the lead. This is a team that's been explosive and yet cannot defend. More goals didn't come. MLS did a fun video where they miced up two fans

and the Cincinnati fan in the crowd. When they gave up a goal, he's like, it's fine, we're going to score four or five today, which was not the wrong thing to say. I picked that game to be the big scoring game. They end up down 2-1, deep in the corner, the crew were trying to kill out the game, and Dado Valenzuela goes and takes a chunk out of, I don't actually, was it? Tah.

Yeah. Yeah. So he goes, takes a chunk out of his leg in the corner, and everyone on Columbus had a problem with that. And I think if I'm Laurent Quartois, this is the second part of this game that I love. For a team that's kind of been beaten down as the season's gone along, you've gone through a coach firing to rally that quickly the way they did. And it was everyone trying to get involved. And everyone's pulling people apart. and it's SINC players. It's Alan Chapman trips trying to get to Dada.

He was like pushing people away. I was like, I thought you weren't allowed to make contact with the ref. The ref is like initiating it. I think he tried to get the card out quickly to like kill the situation. But he trips into Dato doing that because it's so hectic.

Dotto was not going to let that situation be killed. Dotto was out there to inflame the entire thing. So Mo Farsi comes from right back to the left corner. That's ground coverage. Put that on your analytics. He gets involved. And then as Dado's walking away, he's pointing to the tunnel. And he's saying, let's finish this in the tunnel.

And they are zoomed in on Mo Farsi as the final whistle goal. He sprints out of picture so fast. And you can tell the direction he's going. And it's like, oh, my God, he's really going to do this. And all of a sudden, the zoom out, and everyone is heading into the tunnel. How did he get caught by his teammates before he got to the tunnel? He had such a jump. That's fantastic by the subs.

It was fantastic from the subs. Like, they read the play. ahead of time. They looked like George O'Killini. Put out the fire before it started. Yep. And then we got some video clips from some local reporters who were in the tunnel. And it was melee for a while.

I don't think anything was thrown. I don't think it ended, you know, it was, there was, it looked like local law enforcement. There was staff from both teams. Chris Albright running his full bouncer mode. So he's ready to throw on a black T-shirt and check IDs outside if you need him over the next. few weeks at any bar and any establishment and all everyone's tearing people apart and pulling people away but like this was for real tom like these these players were mad both sides were mad and hell is real yeah listen that that's the fun part of derby's like as long as it doesn't go overboard

i don't want to pile on a dado vansuela but like that was that was cheap um some some people were saying like oh maybe it was a yellow i was such a clear red man like that that's a dance of dangerous play and I get it. It's out of frustration and thankfully Taha Bruin wasn't like severely injured or something right. But even more so than just the moment like this is a kid who just won a starting spot and he's been a talented player who hasn't gotten a chance because he's been behind a vander and he's not somebody that was trusted to play deeper. Well, he is now. Well, now he's going to be suspended for a few games. There's no guarantee that you get your spot back in a good team, competitive team. I don't know if he's going to be in the doghouse or not. It's just,

again, a bad decision by a young player. Hopefully he's, learns from it. And then he got away a little bit. Nobody got a hand on him, right? There was a lot of yelling. There was a lot of people coming around yelling at the rep, yelling at him, getting close to him. Nobody got to him. And he's still chirping and saying, all right, let's go to the locker room. And then Farsi tried to get there, which is incredible. Yeah. And Apple didn't have a camera in there. And I was, I texted the 360 guys at Sasha, Kevin and Brad and was like, somebody needs to ask Sasha on air right now,

what would have happened in that playoff game against Toronto if there wasn't a camera in that way? Would him and Josie have been able to come back into that game? So you just think about the MLS lower there. But dude, like while it should be critical there of Dado Valenzuela, like, man, these are the things that when hell is real is played again, I believe in October.

Yeah. The pregame montage is going to be of that foul and of the coming together. So in two breaths of saying that, like, yeah, of course you don't want somebody to get injured, you kind of love that these are real, like, contentious rivalies. It's not just fake. And also, so Mo Farcy, this was like his sixth or seventh game back from injury. He was out for over a year, which was a huge loss.

But, like, this is a little bit of the grit that gets you championships. Columbus was a perennial title contender for two and a half, three years. If you go back to Caleb Porter and you span it through, Wilfred Nancy, it's what? five finals in like a four or five year span. It can't just be the pretty stuff. It has to be some of this bullshit and it has to be the collectivity of the group. And I think that's what you get from this.

And then from Cincinnati, maybe it's a rallying point. This is a team that does not look connected. This is a team that in final third moments, as we talked about on the last show, where Denké and Vander can't find ways to link up. This is a team that has spent as much as anyone on their back line and somehow continues to look open and exposed.

like there is a lot of talent on Cincinnati and I am shocked that when we do our playoff conversation how deep into it they are going to be how far down they are and it's not a place they've been so could this be a flashpoint for them to turn things around and rally off of so big weekend of action the the line I got from someone who was in the tunnel was it felt like old school MLS so that's the difference between laying faces against each other the new style and back in the day just bobby boswell out in somewhere in a in a in a trailer on a high school field talking throwing bows exactly um let's talk about some of the other big stories from the weekend we had two other rivalry games texas derby and cali classical on the texas derby side irvin torres

inspires austin i got a text from an austin fan saying houston will bring us back down to earth they obliged three goals in the first half they smoke austin fc and And this was the other team for me where it felt like Houston two, three years ago. They played into Austin's pressure. They played with the ball. They tried to play out. They drew Austin in. And then they have these guys now in Bogus and Guillermo who can stretch the field over the top.

But they've had that all year. It felt like the difference to me was their willingness to take risks and play in possession. So I see some of that. But I think this game was more about. about Austin being kind of a mess in how they're lining up and not really understanding where their pressing triggers are or how to prevent those long balls over. Like all three of Houston's goals came with Austin,

pulled all the way up to them and just like long ball into space. Well, the last two did. The first one was a little bit more buildup than that. And it was kind of suicidal from Austin because like Brad Stouver is one of the best shot stoppers in the league. But like that is written. he has proved it again and again and again. What he's not great at is coming off his line and closing that gap between a high line.

So you have to make sure. It's only 45 yards, Doyle. Yeah, right. So you have to make sure that your front line is really well drilled on how they want to get pressure and how to cut out those long balls. And they just didn't. And this goes hand in hand with the fact that they were a mess in attack as well because for some reason, and Daviano is playing two inverted wingbacks and then two inverted wingers in front of them.

So you get these situations where instead of like stretching the field vertically, like one stays, one goes, you're getting two guys just making the same looping like outside in runs over and over and over again. That leads to bad turnovers in bad spots. Houston really well drilled in how to punish every bit of that. deserved winners, but I still, I'm not, like, this did not make me think of the 20203 team. This made me think, like, they were just going to be really, really pragmatic,

and they were, and they deserved the three points because of it. Okay. I was impressed. I think that Ace Ache, Ace came and found the game for them, and that's not sustainable, but it's fun to watch when it happens. And Guillermo, Gereme and Boghus doing the work as Tom unplugs his mic for like the 15th time in this show. So we'll see him again in a little bit. But a big performance for Houston as they fly up the standings, they'll be on the edge of the playoff conversation that we will have. The other big game was the Cali Classico in which J.T. Marsencowski gives up a penalty kick in the 95th minute,

steps up against his old team, saves the penalty kick at Stanford Stadium. I think they reported was 43,000 fans at the game against Timo Verner and holds on to a 1-1 draw. Doyle it has not been the San Jose of pre-World Cup break at all since they've come out. But it was the potential to be a huge emotional lift that Marcinkowski just stuffed. Yeah, I thought the second half of this game was the best that San Jose have looked in a while. They still miss Nico Securis. They miss DeWan Jones and they're not going to have him back until next year. Preston Judd was absent in this one.

Rinaldo Vieira. So this is a team that we said, even when they were off to that great start after a dozen games, it's fun. And they're probably going to be a playoff team, but they don't have the depth to keep this up. And that's been the story for San Jose. And to Bruce Arena's credit, he was saying that even when they set the MLS record for best 10 games start, he's like, we're not the best team in the world. And then he said after this game, yeah, we're not the worst team in the world either. We're going to figure this one out.

And I, like, Bruce has a lot of equity with all of us. They're going to figure it out. But it's, it's got to be frustrating because they were, they had done everything that they needed to win this game. Beautiful little pass from Bolivu and a really good run from Usani Buddha to actually draw the penalty in the first place. And Timo Verner was, I thought, really, really good right up until the point where he had the chance to win the game. And that's got, that's got to be crushing for the quakes. it was a bad penalty too i mean it was a great save for marcentkaowski but it's the like here's the one spot you shouldn't put it is that like waist height three feet to your to the goalkeepers left yeah and he

kind of telegraphed it too i thought which very much had the feel of like yeah he's the best biggest name on the team is he the best penalty kicktaker nicote securis was taking them when he was healthy um and unfortunately not healthy right now so not on the field um okay let's go through some other big stories and then we'll dig into the ice cream shop. Miami, six game win streak has them two points behind Nashville. Casamiro made his debut in this game and then there were some scary moments where Bertrami was stretchered off after a big collision. But good news coming out of Inter Miami. They said, quote, Bertrami's doing well. He was discharged from the hospital today. He was returning home after spending the night under observation at Montreal General Hospital. Sustained injuries his left

shoulder and knows as a result of the hard blow he suffered during the match. He's been playing the best soccer of his time in Miami over the last few games. But no Messi, no DePaul. They're missing a lot of other pieces with injury, Tom. And they are two points off the supporter shield right now. Yeah. No matter what their form is, we're going to look at this team as one of the best in the league for obvious reasons because of the talent, because of what we've seen from them.

So even if they were in cruise control. And this wasn't an impressive win over Montreal, but it was still three points to your point. And they're going to stay in the shield race. And Messing DePaul will return at some point. and I have two big takeaways from this game. I'll do the serious one first and that it's obvious what Casimir will do

to help evolve this team. He will be the metronome. He had the most touches on the team. His average position in the midfield was the deepest and particularly Regulone was like way up forward. And I believe that Casamara ended up a deeper average position than the right back as well. And he's going to free up DePaul

to play a more all-action role, which suits him better rather than having to be the guy that's trying to get on the ball and dictate possession. Katsimir's better than that. The worry there is, Guillermo Hoyos is going to have to find the right combination of players to balance the team because Katsamiro is going to struggle in transition,

the same way Bousquet's did. And I take that trade-off because they're going to control games both with the ball and in pitch control, but when the ball turns over, and if you're going to have Swares and Messi in the attack, how do you kind of balance the team to both get verticality and then also have a couple runners around Casamiro in the midfield or if you go to three at the back,

whatever it is, Guillermo Hoyos will have to figure that out. My non-serious point, a terribly scary moment for Hermann Bertrami, you always watch the reaction to the players when something like that, that happens, and all of them immediately are demanding that the medical team gets on as fast as possible. You see an ambulance on the field, you hate to see it. It's terrifying. I'm so very happy that we got a very quick, positive update on Jeremy Bertrami.

There was probably a 20-minute stoppage, so both in terms of you're not moving at all, and it's really heavy emotionally, because you're thinking about your teammate, the seriousness of the situation. On that play, Miami won a penalty. 20 minutes later, after all the heaviness, the emotions,

the ambulance barely gets off the field, they blow the whistle, and Louis Swarves does a penenka, because at any point, if he has the option to do the most insane thing, he'll do it, and it's in the keeper the wrong way. He's halfway to the corner flag

before the ball gets over the line, because that's how much sauce he put on, on the backspin. And it was just like, it's incredible. We got games back on. Like, don't worry. Shooters going to shoot, baby. Yeah, it's incredible.

Yeah, he is, he is one of one. He's in form right now. And Miami are flying. I believe Yonik Bright's been added to the All-Star game as a replacement. Probably not a starter on his own team. So this is going to be a fascinating. Guillermo Bureau was an all-star last year. No, I know.

But I'm just saying, I think Yonick Bright's the first phone. call for any team in major league soccer right now just to figure out the price. And this is, Inter Miami's been here a couple times where they've sort of pushed their own guys out and then whatever assets they can get for them, they can get for them. Casamiro, the tampering investigation is still ongoing. So electric stuff there that we will keep you up to date on. The other big run right now, sunny's staying hot, scores again for L.A.F.C. They ran SKC off the field in that game. But let's talk. Ice cream shop. And we'll start, I believe, with SKC, Tom.

So you can bring us in here. Andre Luis, it sounds like, could be a record signing for Sporting Kansas City. So sources say that this deal is still not totally agreed. It's still not being papered and contracted. This is a longstanding chase by Sporting Kansas City. Sources say that it is getting closer, but a total agreement and finalizing is not quite there yet. There have been a lot of negotiations back and forth. The talks right now are around an 18 million.

fixed fee plus another four million in add-ons. For a player at a club like this, a player like this, he's a very good player, but that's a price that you don't really turn down. So I am surprised that we're not at the total agreement stage. Kansas City are confident, but it's not quite there yet. Plan A was Mosala and Plan B was spending $20 million on Olympiacos's backup right-winger. This one seems certain to work out. It is a weird profile, but like he was excellent in the Portuguese top flight.

And that's been an area where that's exported well to MLS. He didn't, like, he joined Olympiacos in January. And it wasn't like he hasn't had a great second after the season, but very clearly the underlying numbers are there, what he did in Portugal is there, the talent is there. And it's a potential interesting move. But like that's, they've got so many irons in the fire right now. I mean, you talk about Mosala.

I haven't heard an update there. as I was very clear on this show when we broke the news was that it's viewed as a long shot. He still hasn't signed anywhere else. So I guess we'll see what happened. There's a possibility they had two DPs this summer because they're still interested in Jan Gaboho from Toulouse

and if Andre Luis is getting closer and closer, like this is going to be a much different team, obviously, by the end of the window than it was at the start and that was even with a couple players coming in. To Doyle's point, raw numbers. The best season he's ever had is 12 true goal contributions, seven goals, five assists with Rio Ave. Um, otherwise, I mean, he's 24 years old.

So he hasn't played a ton, which is a huge risk in all of this. Although I think positive for SKC fans that they're going to do something, because that was not the case in the original window. And then obviously the number, Doyle, because this is not a club that I spent in this territory pretty much ever in their history. And you go from, you know, Shepi Sulamov and Manu Garcia as your big DP signings for what, a combined six million dollars, I think it was, to, now we're talking 18 to 20 for one single player.

This feels like a new owner-owner syndrome type of move. And like, Andre Louise could end up being a really good player in this league. And we've certainly seen $20 million players fall flat on their face in MLS before. But related, the team that spent $20 million that badly is now dead last in the supporter shield race. That's Atlanta United and Emmanuel Lottet-Lath. It just seems an insane amount of money. to spend on a guy with this resume. Like, Matt Isbighbio approves of this, this move.

Like, it doesn't make sense to me. But that said, if the owner's okay paying it and the guy is a good DP, then it doesn't matter because it's just the owner's money. It hits the salary cap. Whether you spend $2 million or $20 million, it hits the salary cap at $1.8 million. And if he's good enough to justify that,

then I don't care what the owner spends. and I like that there's another owner who's being aggressive and who very clearly wants to win. Yeah, the conversation around the number ends up coming back to, well, what else can you do? Like, if you're in that territory, that's the real only conversation from the outside as a fan of like, well, what else could you do with this money? Could you go get someone who has a more proven record? He's 24 years old, which I think the hope would be he's in a sweet spot where he's entering his prime and can be around for a little while or their salon quality. if he's able to be good enough. But in the context, like, it's basically Pet B.L.

And Pet B.L came over on, like, a non-DP contract. Right. So do you really want to go spend $18 million on this? And then obviously they have their scouting. One of the things to understand, though, like, Pet B.L was what, $3 million? Or he ended up being $6 million. It was somewhere in that range. Yeah, like, six years ago, Hanimuktar was like $1.8 million.

$2.8 million? I think Carlos. heel was less than that. So these values existed, but there's a difference between now and then, and we've seen the inflation to like the greatest extent, obviously with the Premier League, where the average transfer, just two years ago was like 36 million euros, and last year it was 60 million, and now it's like 100 million. It's absurd the way inflation has hit that league.

But everything that happens there trickles down. So maybe my way of framing. where it's like this guy is a $6 million a player. Yeah, he's a $6 million player in 2023. It's 2026 now and prices have gone up. So maybe it like my conception of these things

is what's off. And I'm trying to give the benefit of the doubt here, but it just seems like so much, especially for a team that very clearly has not figured out the defensive side of the ball at this point. Still having had the debut of one of the two centerbacks that they sign.

But they lost 4-0. And they give three goals of St. Louis, and it's not trending in the right direction, and they will not be a part of our playoff conversation. If you were listening on Sirius Radio, you're going to lose us now. So thank you for being with us. Go search soccer wise on the on-demand player or anywhere you get your podcast. Tom, let's continue in the ice cream shop here. Where do you want to go next?

I'll go with the Colorado Rapids. They are finalizing a deal to sign a French attacking midfielder, Yusuf Maziz. He's a free agent. He was just in Belgium with Luvin. he is a chance creator that is his primary skill that is what attracted the rapids to him the club we're looking for chance creation

as a primary skill this summer as he'll play in like a dual 10 role with Paxon Aronson and Paxson is more like of a finisher profile from the attacking midfield spot rather than a chance creator so the club believes that this will be a good balance and there's a team that is one

one of the top two top three in the league in possession even though they seem to get red cards every third game and they so play with the ball and the idea is we need somebody to unlock a rest defense when we get them kind of pin deep

and that's the idea with the signing and we'll see if it comes off but the team is excited about it Hafe and Navajo is still here there's still a good player's in his attack and they're hoping that this kind of profile will be the key to kind of unlock more and more goals

particularly against a low block. All right, we've got a lot to go through so you want to keep rolling. All right, we already talked about Max Arveson and Middlesbrough chasing him. Kerwin Vargas is leaving Charlotte FC. Sources tell me that Athletico Paranense in Brazil is signing the play. Paranayense.

The fee is up to $6 million, including add-ons. And Charlotte are going to keep a 20% sell-on clause. I think that's really good business. I like Curran Vargas as a player, but that's a fair price. And I think probably a really good price for Charlotte. He's been at the club for several years. He showed a lot of good flashes, but never quite like, consistent somebody to lean on.

He's a very talented player. I wish him the best in Brazil. And for Charlotte, over the last now year, 12 to 14 months, yeah, between this deal, Patrick Ajamong and Adjolson Malanda, it's all parts of like $20 million in transfer fees. So that's not bad for Charlotte for a team that we've fairly critiqued for maybe lack of development, but they're still able to. No, they have no issues with development.

As long as one, they're not born in North Carolina. or two, they don't spend a lot of money to bring them in. So they cannot sign DPs and they cannot develop their own talent. But the space in between, they're arguably the best at signing two players and then promoting them up through their team. That's fair. That's fair. So this is Kerwin Vargas leaving.

I reported early in the window the expectation is for the Elabata to move on. But obviously nothing has happened yet there is a team that's still waiting for the debut of Allen St. Maximum. Hopefully he'll have his visa soon. it's a little bit slower in or North Carolina than it was for I think Sunyung Min took like you know 36 hours Robert Levindoski took a couple days so hopefully St. Maximin will be able to debut after the all-star break but who knows? Leolobada has been putting in goals lately so watch out you might be wrong about that one. I feel like a shop window thing right like they're just trying to generate any kind of interest for Leelobada. I've been surprised to see him in in the lineup.

into the starting lineup. And yet, what, he's had a goal and an assist in the last two games. It's easily the best he's looked since he came to MLS. He's playing for the next contract. It was a big win for Charlotte against the Red Bulls exploded out of the gates on that one. We already talked about Felipe, Maura, Tom, a couple that seemed to be approaching official. So Jack Harrison is official.

So the revs announced that I believe he was in the building on Saturday. 34,4,428 fans at Gillette to watch them destroy Atlanta United. Tristan Muimba's soul still sits on the field where Carlos Heel crossed him up on the opening goal. Doyle, we talked about Jack Harrison on the last show. You were not with us. Any thoughts on what he brings? Yeah, he's another smart player.

He's more of a playmaker and a really good pressing winger than he is a play finisher. He doesn't, like, he's a classic winger. he does not play inverted or he i mean he can obviously but it is not his best skill he's he's actually better on the left side um so i assume he's going to start there and i guess that puts more of the play finishing onus on whoever the right winger is um which is interesting that's that's not necessarily how i kind of pictured it with the revs but to that point Peyton miller's been playing on the right wing. He got another goal this weekend. He's a guy who I think ends up projecting better as a left wingback or a left back. I think his ceiling is higher there. But he clearly, like,

he's a smart kid. He reads the game really well. He knows how to get to that post for one touch finishes. And if you could do that and you have guys like Carlos Heel and Jack Harrison making the game, you're probably going to get a few tapings. But I thought the movement overall in the Reves attack this week was more cohesive and more structured than what I've seen from them this year. That said, it comes with an asterisk because it was against Atlanta United, right? And like three days before that, we had seen the Revs really struggled to break down a pretty bad Toronto team. So everything comes with an asterisk at this point.

The Brooklyn Rain's goal was one of the worst defended plays I've ever seen in MLS. Like it was the slowest developing one, two, with Jackson Ewell and Broken Raines. And Atlanta was just like, all right, eight defenders are going to get cut out by this. There's nothing we can do. And it's just, listen, I sent this in the Discord. And I was just like, I don't know what to say other than to Atlanta fans. I'm just so sorry. I just don't.

It's just pity right now. The, embarrassing. The speed at which Muumba turns after Carlos Heel completely spins him needs like the meme of like, you're probably wondering how I got here. And like the full narrative behind it because he basically turns and is like, God damn it. And he turns around.

And as he's turning around, the ball goes into the back of the net. Tugerman with another goal, he's been really dangerous for this team. That opens up a little bit of space, I think, as well with his movement for a guy like Peyton Miller to read the game and sort of be in one v.1 situations

when he does close. But yeah, if you're going to put your biggest crowd of the year in the building, turns out Atlanta's the team, you do it again. So everyone that has Atlanta on the home schedule for the rest of the year start to line up the moves. Will you be seeing Darwin Nunez? Apparently not because 30 second MLS team Besheekdis has entered the conversation trying to line Mosala up with Darwin. That feels perfect. Like that just feels like this is where I don't know have any information on this. It just

he feels like a besiectus player. He does. So I think the reports were potentially alone to close out the rest of the, I don't know the con. I don't understand where anything sits right now. I don't know what month it is. And then we're talking sprint seasons and schedule changes and everything else. So there's a lot of craziness in all of that. On official news, Mbocase report came out of Chicago and then confirmed by Greg Burrhalter tore his thigh muscle in training, taking a shot. So it sounds very serious. I think the minimum you get back from that injury I've heard is six weeks, but the assumption is it's months. And that's kind of what Greg Berhalter alluded to. He was one of, I mean, he was the best player on South Africa at the World Cup.

He has been one of the best signings of the season. He is a skeleton key at the centerback position, his ability both in possession and out of possession. I'd argue Chicago's as covered there as anyone in MLS is to lose a player of that caliber and still have three to four guys you trust to put in that position. But, well, it's still a huge loss for Chicago. It is in large part because, you know, as great as Embaqazi is on the ball and he's really superb with his distribution.

He's the one guy that they have in that central, centerback mix who covers a lot of ground. And I think that covering ground is actually going to be more valuable for this team with Hugo Kuyper's gone and Robert Lewandowski

starting up top because Kuyper's, yeah, leading the golden boot race, but he's also one of the best defensive pressing forwards in the like, like his ability to cut out that first pass or shape the opponent's first pass into places where the fire wanted to be is really, really elite. And it made it so the fire didn't have to spend a lot of time chasing, right? The backline was able to defend primarily

in places that were comfortable for them. Levindowski is still a good defensive forward. He's not that level anymore. And I think that teams are going to end up building into Chicago's midfield a little bit more easily, which means there's going to be more uncomfortable defensive moments from the centerbacks. You know, Jack Elliott can still do it at a really high level. I don't know about Joel Waterman, like covering ground has never been his strong suit. Sam Rogers has not been an MLS caliber player, in my opinion. And then the wild card is Christopher Cups.

He's a really, really good young centerback. There aren't a lot of 18 year old centerbacks that get real minutes in this league in its history. So it's, I think they'll be okay. but with Embaqaze in there, this felt like a, like a, you know, a real, you know, MLS Cup contender type of team. I think they drop a level without him, even with Levin Dowski, but, you know, he's going to start scoring soon and it's going to look awesome. But even with him in there, I think this team drops a tier without Mbacazi. Well, you could argue he's the second best player on the team if you think Levindowski is the best. So that's a huge loss for any team.

Greg sort of alluded to everything is open in trying to replace him, Tom, in the post game press conference. So there could be a move here. The other thing he said was they could look at recalling cups from the U-20s. So he's down in Mexico right now. U-20 qualifying kicked off, or the U-20 championships kicked off three days ago. The U.S. 1-30 against El Salvador. Cups got to start alongside Nashville's Applewhite at centerback position.

It's a bit of a thin team for the U-20s. So they have El Salvador tonight. Then they play Cuba. All of this is to qualify for the next U-20 World Cup, which is in 2027 because we're in a five-year gap where, or five-year span where there's one every year. And then there's Pan American qualifying. There is Olympic qualifying involved with this, but the U.S. doesn't have to qualify because they're hosting the Olympics in 2028 in L.A. Or in New York City, Nashville, Columbus, and San Jose. Suburbs.

Yeah, exactly. the suburbs of LA. We actually talked a lot about that with Dan Helfrich on the show because he talked about how big a focus it is to try and win a medal for the U.S. and we know Steve Tarandolo has been brought in as the head of that team. So we'll keep you updated as that qualifying continues. We'll be back on soccer wise, both on the U.S. show, and he are talking about that as it goes along.

Last piece here before we dig into the playoff teams, Greg Burrhalter, sorry, Sebastian Burrhalter has been sold to Middlesbrough, as we know for $2 million. And I've been a little surprised that some of the conversation around this is why sell him? He was in the last six months of his contract and there's a lot of Convo. One, this is sort of what the schedule flip changes is the odds that a player of this quality is going to leave midseason shifts to it'll probably happen for the most part in the off seasons you can build. But huge question marks about like the $2 million and what it's worth versus their ability to contend this year with Burrhalter in. the team. I felt like it was a home run that they got this number out of a guy who you knew was

out the door and could have been free for a team in six months. Doyle, you were not on the show when we talked about the final move. What do you make of the move for him and sort of the idea of Vancouver just having held on for nothing? Yeah, he obviously wanted to go and that, you know, good for him. He has made himself into an excellent player, best 11 caliber player. And that's why if I was running Vancouver, I would not have let him go. I would have said, like, no, you could go for free in January. Sign your free contract now, but we have titles to win. And the parallel I draw is to Obed Vargas, right?

At one point, Seattle probably could have made $10 million selling Obed Vargas. They sold him late in his contract for $3 million. So they lost out on $7 million. They do not win League's Cup last year without Obet Vargas. and the point is to win trophies right so holding on to them got them a team got them a trophy but also because they hosted that game that was probably a 10 million dollar day for the sounders ownership in terms of gate receipts right i've talked to folks in mLS front offices feels like a lot i understand the millions but that feels i've talked to folks in mLS front offices not seattle's

about the number that seattle probably brought in that day and they said probably about 10 million dollars. So by selling Obed Vargas later, they turned a $10 million sale into $13 million of revenue. So the question is, what does this mean for Vancouver? Obviously, there's no guarantees, but this is a team whose window is open right now. It is might not even stay open for the sprint season because Ronco Vessel Lovich keeps getting injured because neither Brian White nor Thomas Mueller are getting any younger because Ryan Gald, you have no idea how long he is going to stay healthy. He's healthy again. The window, the best chance Vancouver is going to have to win, have to win either this

Fort Shield or MLS Cup or both is over the next four months. And the gap between Seb Burrhalter and Ali LaRaz or Jacey and Gondo is huge. Those are fine MLS players. They are not what Seb Burrhalter is. And to me, that's worth the $2 million. to have that chance. And I mean, if Vancouver ends up hosting MLS Cup, which they very well could, I think with Seth Burrhalter in that lineup, they are clear favorites coming out of the West and

might be favorites for Supporter Shield as well, which means they would host MLS Cup. They're there. They would put 50,000 people in that building. Now, because of the well-documented issues with revenue out of that building, who knows, how much they would actually take out of that. But that is a huge momentum moment for a team that is trying to stay in Vancouver and that is trying to find. So I think, look, I understand wanting to do right by the player.

I understand that $2 million, a cash in hand is worth $2 million. I think it is a missed opportunity. And I think I would have said to Seth Burrhalter, who you know would have been a good professional about all of this. I would have said to him, I'm sorry, dude, we have a chance right now. We're trying to win trophies. You will get to live your dream come January. The only, well, one, I would say, not only is an MLS Cup, you'd host how many playoff

games if you keep winning, if you're a number one seed. So all of that combined. The only flip side I would add is the assumption is Obed Vargas, my assumption, Obit Vargas won't play for Athletico Madrid's whole career. There's a sell-on fee in there. Seattle's going to make some of that money back for Vancouver. when he walks out the door on December 31st, there's not a single dime that's coming back no matter what.

So this was your one chance to recruit something to continue to build your roster. But I think it's a fair thing to say, one, $2 million alone, would you just pay that to win a trophy or have a shot at a trophy? That's like the whole point. And teams make signings because of that,

but I don't know. I thought Vancouver would get nothing. I think it's way more than I realized. And so I can understand why they did it. And it's also just the financial realities of different clubs in different settings and different situations that Vancouver just couldn't hang on. Are you ready to dig into some playoff teams? Tommy feels good. Let's do it.

Okay. So we're going to start in the Eastern Conference because it's easier. Then we'll go to the Western Conference. So what we are doing are buying and selling on the potential of each team to make the playoffs this year. What I did in the East is the nine seed is technically the last playoff team because everyone makes the playoffs. and we've got a playing games now, and that's the way it's set up. So what I did was everyone within a three-point touching distance of the final playoff spot, both above and below, I put into a list.

So we ended up with fifth through 11th for the Eastern Conference. It was very easy because everyone has played the same amount of games. That is not the case with the West. So we will get into it. So I will start at the top and have us go down, and we will each give our opinion on each one. We're going to start with NYCFCFC, sitting on 20. 25 points tied in fifth place with Charlotte, but a better goal differential on plus seven. NYCFC to make the playoffs in 2026, buy or sell time.

By a billion, the more interesting conversation is do you buy them as a contender in the East, and I buy them for that too. Yeah. I buy them as a contender. Like not an A tier contender, but their last five games, they're three one and one. All five of those games have been against playoff teams. Now, you could argue a little bit with the. underlines the last two games.

Like they haven't really exhibited control, but I think that's natural because they've moved Nico Fernandez Mercow to a number 10. He's much more of a downhill number 10 than Maxi Murales was. So like they're trying to figure some stuff out. Obviously, it's working really, really well with their two wins last week. They are going to get Alonzo Martinez back sometime relatively soon as well. Probably the fall.

Yeah. So is it going to be pushed back to like October then? it might be, but the point is he will play again this season. I just didn't want to alert people as if he's going to debut in a week. So go ahead, Dave. No, the other thing I would add is, A.N. O'Neill was out because of the World Cup ahead of it and then now coming out of it. And James Sands has been added to the team.

So incidentally, James Sands playing his centerback. So it's actually been Jonathan Shore playing as a demage these past two weeks, which I was surprised by because you don't think of him as like a real defense. defensive presence, but he's done a pretty nice job. So there's, I think there's just more experience coming to this team, more flexibility. And that's without Benny Traore, even really having hit the field yet. So a ton of potential. I agree on both buying them to make the playoffs and I buy them as a contender in the Eastern

conference. Let's go to the next team. Charlotte FC 25 points plus three gold differential. Doyle, buy ourselves. I buy them as a playoff team, especially because it looks like Christian Kalina, who had kind of a tough first half of the year by his standards. He was, he had a blinder against the Red Bulls. He was excellent.

And if he plays like that, we know that this team can do stuff like win nine games in a row. But I do not buy this team at all as a real contender. I think their ceiling is the same place. It's always been. Easy buy for the playoffs. We'll see what St. Maximum does in terms of if they could challenge with like NYCFC in that second tier. The only other NYCFC point I wanted to make like, I trust them, I mean, depending on if Chicago signs a DP, like, I trust them as the next tier beyond Nashville, Miami. me like and if charlotte if new if new england can can what they look like with harrison like maybe

they're all jumbled in that that spot but nyccc of the non top two teams and and charlotte is behind them for me yeah i buy charlotte as a playoff team i have them way below in the conversation from nyccc and the teams above um i've been less convinced over the last week even with some good results you could argue i mean they gave up two goals to atlanta you know for sure you know yeah they don't control games and st maxim could be great they still probably want to be one of the same and control games, but if you have a true difference maker, there's your potential. All right. This is the first, I think, real interesting one.

Seventh right now is FC Cincinnati on 23 points with a minus one goal differential. They are like potentially heading towards a record season for both goals scored and goals conceded. Tom, why don't you get us started? Buy has a playoff team and like that sounds like we're being positive, but they should be the third best team in these. And I, like, I am confounded by the money. and quality we know that's in defense. Doyle, you made this point to us privately.

So hopefully that I'm not doxing on this, but like Matt Miasga post-injury, it's a shell of himself. Miles Robinson post-injury. Did he go 90 minutes for the first time, all basically all season? I think it's more question mark, post-injury question mark.

Seriously. Like, it's just been disappointing. And I don't get it. And like, they're not a serious contender. And us talking about, do you buy yourself for the playoffs? is such an indictment on what I thought this team was going to be, and it's unfortunate. Yeah, I'm right there with Tom.

I do think they have enough juice to make the playoffs. They don't have enough good passers of the ball in that roster, and then they don't defend from the front. Neither Robinson nor Miazga nor Obina Noboda are the guys they used to be in terms of defensive presence, and again, injuries with all three of those guys. That's exacerbated by the fact that, neither Dengay nor Evander defend at all. Or look at each other.

Or look at each other, yeah. So there's some structural stuff in this roster that I think Chris Albright is going to want to fix come January. But we're not going to be talking about this team deep into the playoffs. They'll be there, but it'll be a cameo. Yeah, I'm going to say bye, but I think it's as a play in team. We don't have to go along on this,

but we've all been asked about Pat Noonan's security there for what, three years now, which I've thought it was ridiculous. This is the first time it's felt like legitimate. Do we think that this ends up being a real conversation to close out the year? It shouldn't be. I agree. I'm still pretty much all in on Noonan.

Okay. Number eight, the New York Red Bulls on 22 points with a minus 11 goal differential. It's the second worst goal differential in the group we're going to talk about here. They lost two zero to Charlotte on the weekend. Doyle, why don't you get us started? I buy them as a play-in team. I think that this is a, it's worth a year of pain to watch these guys develop. And they are all developing.

Justin Chey's been really good. Jekyll Marshall Reddy. I think even Kate Cowell has played really good ball at times. They are going to have greater variation in their performances just because of how young this team is. Audrey Mametti continues to be one of the best. I've ever seen the U.S. produce and just so gifted in possession and an attack, we saw this week that his defensive reads are slow. And that's a real problem for a team that also has young centerbacks. And, you know, the good example against Philly, that

incredible Frankie Westfield missed like two minutes into the game. That comes from Mehdi being like two steps too slow to win a 50-50 in central midfield. Like, he has to sharpen that. Again, against Charlotte, the Pep-Bel goal comes from Mehdi, making incorrect read and coming over to help, again, two steps too slow to actually help if he's going to get there on Lialabata when he should have just stayed with Pep Biel, who was on his back shoulder, you know, at the top of the box. So stuff like that gets compounded. but the talent is so high. Like this group is really, really talented, and Michael Bradley's committed to it.

And even after giving up those two goals, if it wasn't Christian Kalina in the net for Charlotte, that's at least a point for the Red Bulls. Yeah. I'm going to sell on making the playoffs. I buy everything else, Doyle said. Like, I think the Red Bulls are going to be good next year. I'm excited about them.

I just think that variance going down the stretch and saying, can you get tough points in must and win? in moments, like, just the way they've come out in some of these games, the way they put themselves behind the eight ball, that to me, I don't trust. So I think late this year, they're going to stumble, and I think, as you said, like, they're better off for it. But that's just the reality. I mean, they close out. They've got L.A.F.C. They've got Seattle still. They still play Nashville. They still play Chicago. Like, they have played, I think, one of the easier sides of their schedule, and they still have to close out with some of the biggest teams. So as much as I indeed,

enjoy watching them. I don't think we're going to see it in the playoffs. Tom. Sell for me as well. They need two serious centerbacks. And that would make all of this so much more fun and so much better. But until they do that, I don't even see them as a playoff team. All right. Let's go to the next spot, which is a little surprisingly, DC United on 22 points, minus three goal differential. It was a late winner against TFC based off the camera coverage post the whistle. I don't think Walker Zimmerman fully agrees that it should have been a late winner for DC night against the FC. It was a Tyberiebo penalty kick laid on in that one.

But it's been a good run of form for this DC team, Tom, buy or sell. Sell, and this is more about my belief of the next two teams we're going to talk about. And for them to make the playoff, somebody has to drop out. And I've bought the teams before the Red Bull. So I, DC, I think are doing a lot this year than I thought. Like, I didn't think that they were going to be really in the playoffs. It's like maybe still right now because, like you said, you could talk. yourself into Philly right now being there like pretty much everybody about Atlanta because they're so

sad but like I figured by September they wouldn't be in a playoff race and and this team I think is going to be there. Doyle. Yeah, I'm there with Tom including like, you know, Rennie Violer has done a better job than I, than I expected. That said, they have, I think, the most difficult remaining schedule in the Eastern Conference. and I don't really think they have enough chance creation in this team to get the goals that they will need down the stretch as the intensity rent. Like DC's advantage is they are coming out intense in every single game. It's like kind of their version of what Philly did last year.

That advantage tends to dry up down the stretch and I think that'll be enough. Confirm they are tied for the hardest strength of schedule to close out the season with FC Cincinnati and the Columbia. crew so kind of all teams that are in this gap who clearly have to play a lot of the teams still above them i'm going to sell on dc united as well uh then let's go into the next two time you're ready for it number 10 orlando 20 points negative 16 goal differential back-to-back wins with greasman after a one-zero victory over nashville in a weather delay game you are buying i'm buying for sure man greasman is every bit as good as i expected him to be um his fit with just analysis better than i thought it was going to be and they won these two games first on the road against San Jose.

Jose and then they fly back to that they played on the road. No, they played at home, but they fly back from San Jose to Orlando to play the best team in the east. And they beat him. It wasn't the prettiest game. It wasn't as open as I thought it was going to be. But that is such an obvious letdown spot after a cross country, the farthest trip just about that they can make. And this is without Martino Heda, who I think him and Grisman are going to be devastating together. And this is without Marco Possil, who may or may not be here for the rest of the season.

But if he's not, then they'll have an open deepy spot. And oh, by the way, D.Decay could factor into this too. So the attack wasn't something I was worried about. Like, we'll see what the defense looks like in if it can hold up. But I just buy, bye, bye, bye. Doyle? I'm going to have to sell. I don't like that I'm doing it.

But I just, I haven't seen enough from this defense, even though they just had a really good week to believe that they have all of this sorted out, just in terms of raw talent. And that includes Maxime Cripo behind them. who has not been a particularly good goalkeeper in this league for about five years. I just, I don't think they will be able to keep goals off the board. I will add, Wilder Cartagena coming back. So that's a huge moment for this team. And I think he can help some of that, which is why I'm buying. I agree for Doyle, like the defense is the question mark.

It feels like Brecolo has settled a little as Jensen's been back more. And Cartagena could be a real difference maker in front of them, as well as a lot of these young pieces starting, it feels like to get a little bit more comfortable in major league soccer. Okay, the last team we're going to do from the Eastern Conference is Columbus on 19 points in 11th place

minus two goal differential. Doyle, why don't you get us started? Yeah, I buy it. The improvement that we've seen under Laurent Quartois in processes and just getting your best players in their best positions. Like, why would you not do that? So I think that,

It's a huge upgrade. They still need to make moves in this window. We will see, like, I think the pressure is on Isatoll, and I think that's justifiable. But this is a better team than they were two months ago. They made the right decision to move on from Henneck-Ritchstrom, and we've seen it in the results already. Tom? Buying as well. I think Bryce Mendes is going to be so very good for this team, particularly within this system.

Even if Max Orffson does depart for Burrow, I think that there's enough talent there. Yeah, Rudy Camacho, Father Time has kind of crept up on him. But, like, I think that there's enough there for them to be a playing team. Okay. I agree. I'm buying on them as well. So I think me and Tom both have Orlando, Columbus, jumping up into the playoffs, Red Bulls and DC United dropping down in the Eastern Conference.

We have to go in a little bit, so we're not going to do the West here. I promise you will do the West on the next show. But because of that, we have a little bit more time. Real quick, Toronto FC was. the last team that I left out. Is there anyone in the bottom of this conversation? So TFC being the top one, but you mentioned Philly for a moment there. Tom, is there anyone in these bottom four that you think you're watching out for? Yeah, this is going to sound like recency bias, but for me, like, Philly, I don't think it's over for them. They've got nine points below, and I didn't expect them to look this good. And it's

just like both a vibe change. And like part of it's just going to be the new coach balance, but I believe that a lot more of it is tangibly sustainable. Simplification of roles, identity, desires. Milano Lovsky going on a heater, which he's prone to do, as San Diego FC fans will remember. Cabin Sullivan, as Doyle wrote, taking the leap.

Kai Wagner, back on the team, really stabilizes things, and Neil Pierre. I've hinted out it a few times, what an indictment on Bradley Cornell that, like, you couldn't use him? I just, it's, what would this team look like of running? Richard was the head coach at the beginning of the season. And that sounds crazy because they won the

shield last year. But like, I don't know, man. It's just very disappointing of what could have been, but at least to their credit, they made the change. And I believe more of this is real than just, you know, two good games. I'm right there with Tom. And the union deserved to win the shield last year. They were the best team in the regular season. They were the best team in the regular season, partially because all they played was the regular season. The teams that were right there around them, other than San Diego, had Concaf Champions Cup,

had Leagues Cup, had multiple companies. I think by the end of the year, Miami had played 20 more games than the Union had. So that's why the Union won in 2025. And then Bradley Carnell coached the team the exact same way in 2026, even though Ernst Tanner had sold half of his best play. players. It was just like this thing was set up to fail and it failed spectacularly and it is nice

to see that the changes in the front office and on the sideline have immediately reversed some of the results and a lot of the vibes and the fact that it's coming with guys like Kevin Sullivan, Neil Pierre and Frankie Westfield, frankly. He's been awesome the past two games. It feels like the union have their identity, not just on the field, but as a club over. overall back. And they were fun to watch. Even though it's still the same, it's largely the same type of tactical approach.

They're just much more fun when everybody's playing with that kind of confidence. And then if you have a guy like Sullivan out there who, who he tilts the field with his ability to just destroy guys 1 v.1. I mean, poor Matt Dos Santos got subbed out at halftime on Wednesday because Sullivan beat him. Like that opens up space for Milano Lossi. It opens up space for Dan Lejean Jacques to make those late runs out of Central Midfield. They become a much more effective soccer team overall.

I still don't think they're going to make the playoffs. Wouldn't shock me if they did. Wouldn't shock me. I just don't think that they're dead. And I would rather talk about it. And like I believe more in this team than Toronto, Montreal, and Atlanta or the other 14. What we've seen, let me just jump in here real quick. Given what we've seen from Portland, Columbus, Philadelphia, post-coaching change,

you have to think that Robin Frazier, TFC are 12 winless. You have to think that Robin Frazier's seat is scalding hot. I'm going to take Toronto as my team in this group that I have a little bit of belief in. Georgie Mihailovich, more minutes back. So two appearances since the injury in March for him, they've, they dominated possession once again, they don't create a ton of chances out of it. So Georgie helps with that. On top of that, if they can get this central midfielder over the line,

it can potentially close up some of the gets co-ageo is just not a starter in major league soccer. And he's definitely not a starter at the position they put him in. He's clean in possession and he can't cover ground and he can't really tackle. So I think of all the teams in here that I think could jump, I think Toronto has clear paths to getting there. I think your questions are fair doyle. and whether they peak with this group under Robin Frazier, I'm not saying that.

But I think of all the teams in this group, they've got a shot. We do have to do at some point some conversation about what Montreal is doing. What a bizarre window there. Do we? Listen, if there's a centerback being traded in MLS, just assume he's going to Montreal. But really, we're on Toronto.

Their next seven games are against seven playoff teams in the east. And it's NYCFC, New England, Charlotte, Miami, NYC, Chicago, Nashville. That's a gauntlet. And I assume, I can check that. I assume they're all on the road because they put a million home games. Surprisingly not. Oh, interesting.

Five of them right home. Because Toronto has played nine home games and now eight away, I guess, because they started with two road games to open up this second half of the season. All right. We will do the Western Conference in the next show. I promise we will get all of Doyle's answers as well. We will get them out to you. we have our NWSL show that's going to be coming up tomorrow

with myself and Jordan Angeli talking about all the big results and upsets from the weekend. We will have Dan Helferich on on Wednesday, C.O. of U.S. soccer to talk about that. I will be at the All-Star game over the course of the week. I am going to be there from Tuesday or Thursday. So if you're going to be in Charlotte, hit me up, let me know. Hope to see a lot of people there.

It won't be Tom, apparently. Tom banning himself. from being in the CLT. I don't want to get divorced. He won't be there. But thank you to both of you for being here. Big shout out to everyone listening. Big shout out to Gregory and to Katie for helping us out on this one.

And we'll talk to you all again very, very soon.