SoccerWise - Weekend Recap/Mailbag Edition: Leagues Cup Final & NWSL Return

Episode Date: August 26, 2024

What a weekend it was! Columbus maintains their dominance over LAFC in cup finals, NWSL is back and honoring a legend in Megan Rapinoe & MLS teams are enjoying the road? Gass recaps all of this and dives into the discord mailbag. Answering questions on NWSL CBA, MLS transfer rules, and are LAFC the evil empire of MLS?! 4:16 Leagues Cup Final 15:30 MLS Weekend Notes 19:46 NWSL Weekend Notes 28:45 Mailbag 33:18 NWSL CBA's Reality For Small Market Clubs 40:38 MLS Club Relocation 42:45 Willian Free Agent Signing 43:47 MLS-USL Transfer Window Rules Soccerwise Live 2pm ET Every Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday on Youtube/Twitch/Twitter

Hey everybody, welcome back to SoccerWise, the weekend recap here and mailbag episode with your host, of course, David Goss. I'll be back with Tom and Jordan all week this week because we've got a massive week coming up on the show because we had a ridiculous and wild weekend. Both NWSL and MLS back into league play after their summer breaks. For MLS, it was for the League's Cup.

For NWSL, it was for the Olympics, which then had the Summer Cup Series. So we got to see every single team out on display, a ton of new signings in both leagues out on the field for the first time or with new teams for the first time. So a lot to dig into, a lot to talk about. The Leagues Cup Final, of course, a massive moment for Major League Soccer, most especially for the Columbus crew, who win another trophy at home, who knock off LAFC in the second straight final in less than a year. A lot to dig into, a lot of celebrating crew fans in the Discord, in the mailbag,

and of course all over our SoccerWise community. And then of course, the historic NWSL CBA that was signed. I'm not going to dig into it as much today because I'm going to do a special episode on Wednesday talking about the CBA with some experts and some people who can give us some different angles of how to look at this, but a monumental moment both in NWSL and in the sports landscape in North America and in the world. So some huge news there. If you haven't seen it, go check it out. It's easier, I think, to read than to be told.

But some of the big parts that pop out is the elimination of drafts both for college and we believe for expansion drafts as well. So players will merely sign with teams now. The need for every players as well. So players will merely sign with teams now. The need for every player to okay trade, so not being able to just be traded. They have to sign off on every single trade that a player would be a part of, and a rising salary cap, amongst many other little details that I want to talk about with a bunch of special guests as we dig into that. And we've got the U.S. Open Cup semifinals this week. Tuesday night, Indy 11 against Sporting Kansas City. Wednesday night, we get Seattle

against LAFC once again for a chance to go to the U.S. Open Cup final. LAFC has hosting priority. So if they win, the game will be in LA. If they lose, Indy 11 has hosting priority. If Indy wins and LAFC loses, Indy will host. Seattle, the third option behind that if it ends up being Seattle against SKC in the final. With that Wednesday night match, 10.30 p.m. between Seattle and LAFC, we are going to do our Soc soccer wise private happy hour so for our highest level subscribers at the MVP level we are going to do a private happy hour via zoom that you can join with me and Tom to chat about the game ask us questions hang out just watch whatever it is

you want to do so go to patreon if you don't already subscribe and join us at the mvp level and you can come and be a part of our zoom on wednesday night uh we've got a lot of fun stuff in there as well it's how you get access to the discord it's how you get access to our exclusive mailbag so you could have sent in questions for today's show which i will get to all of in the second half of the show some really good ones including some audio questions as well. It also gets you access to our Discord to hang out and chat about the games and whatever else is going on in the world and our depth charts. In MLS, we've got our salary cap tables that show how much every player makes

and how every team allocates their money. We've also got depth charts for both MLS and NWSL, so you can see where every player fits in. Of course, furiously updating those as we get the return of those two leagues here over the course of the weekend. Let's dig into it. And of course, we got to start with the League's Cup final. Columbus crew 3-1 winners at home in a high level game different than MLS Cup last year. For 45 minutes, it wasn't. Columbus came out, they dominated possession, they dominated opportunities, they played in LAFC's defensive half, they made LAFC defend with five across the

back. LAFC was not able to build out. They were not able to play over the top even and threaten this Columbus team. And it felt like, again, you were going to see Columbus pummel this LAFC team at home. Dennis Buonga, no success in that opening half, really throughout the game in getting opportunities. He played mainly down the right side to open up this game. LAFC struggling to get either of the wingbacks into the attack to help and add. Olivier Giroud got his first start. You saw a little bit of the quality, but not a ton of opportunity in that first half. And Columbus were excellent. Once again, we've seen how good Max Arfsten has been in this competition. He was good in this game, but it was all Mo Farsi down the right side,

taking players on, winning 1v1 battles, winning aerial duels. His physicality on top of his foot skills and his ability and possession is what makes him a big time starter for this Columbus team in a game where Steven Marrera was not as aggressive out of that right center back spot. Farsi was a huge factor from the right wing back spot. And of course, Nagby was big in this game. Of course, Diego Rossi was big in this game. Of course, Christian Ramirez was big in this game. And no one bigger than Cucho Hernandez.

I messaged in the Discord about 25 minutes into the game. The Columbus crew were finding success playing straight up the middle of the field into the feet of Diego Rossi, who was starting as that highest center forward with Cucho and Ramirez sitting underneath him in the half spaces. Columbus rotated Cucho into that center forward spot so he could start to find the ball in those areas and find that success. And it didn't take long for him to help create chances. Starts peeling off into the left-hand channel because LAFC center mids were getting pulled left and right.

Those were the openings to be able to find the ball at the attacker's feet. And Kucho, once he got into the game at that moment, never let up, dominant at times. This Columbus team ends up re-rotating a free kick or a set piece excuse me Mo Farsi gorgeous first touch to take it down once the ball is cleared to beat the first defender lays it out wide gets it back clips a ball from inside the box into a dangerous area and Cucho for the second or third time in a week, dunks on someone, puts it in the corner off the header, gives his team the one zero lead going into halftime.

And you're thinking, this is the replay. This is the rematch of MLS cup. This is what we've seen already. Then in the second half credit to LAFC, they made the change at halftime. They brought Lewis O'Brien on to give a little bit more ground coverage to help them. I think progress the ball North to give a little bit more ground coverage to help them, I think, progress the ball north to south a little bit more, which I thought Atuesta would be key in this game in helping LAFC get more possession than MLS Cup. That wasn't the case.

O'Brien helped this team figure things out in that second half. Credit to Steve Trundle. The other moves he made all helped this team in the second half, but they waited too long. They came out and they didn't play in the first half. And if you give this Columbus team the opportunities, they will take them. And for LAFC, they fought back. They get the goal off a corner kick from Olivier Giroud. They tie it at 1-1. They have a ton of the ball in the second half. They're dangerous around the box, but you can't win this game in 45 minutes. And LAFC played with a hand behind their back by not showing up from the

opening whistle, by not being prepared, by not being aggressive off the opening whistle and trying to go and win the game, but really sit in and try and survive, which is what I didn't expect. Me and Tom talked about this game a ton on Thursday and we both said this team is completely different now for LAFC and we thought we'd see a different game we saw that finally in that second half but when you've got match winners on the field like Acucho Hernandez if you are LAFC you are always in a danger zone and Cucho ends up scoring the winning goal in stoppage time he curls the ball in off a throw in, looking for a cross towards Jason Russell Rowe's run across the near post. Russell Rowe doesn't touch it. But by the time it gets by him, Hugo Lloris doesn't have enough of an opportunity to react.

The ball bounces and goes into the goal to make it 2-1. And then Cucho sets up Russell Rowe a moment later on the break after LAFC throws numbers forward to make it 2-1 and then Cucho sets up Russell Rowe a moment later on the break after LAFC throws numbers forward to make it 3-1 and the scenes were epic at lower.com field off the 2-1 goal Cucho pulls off the jersey goes and sits on the video board security guards are bowing down to Cucho for being the god and being the number one player in this league right now, the number one player in this competition in League's Cup for sure, and arguably the best player in Columbus crew history. Helps them win another trophy.

Nagby lifts another trophy. This stadium hosts their second final as a victory, and I believe it was 260 days. Wilfred Nance has still only lost two games in this building in his time as head coach. They will host the Campeones Cup as well coming up against Club America, which could be a third final. And of course, they are one of the favorites for MLS Cup. You cannot overstate what this team has accomplished. I watched this game and obviously Wilfred Nance

is a huge talking point. He has left now, but I don't think you can get past talking about Tim Bezbachenko with this club. In watching a setup where Tim Bezbachenko came back to the United States to his hometown, Columbus, for the most part, from Toronto, and then watching a game in which Mo Farsi, a lower division player from Montreal, and Jason Russell Rowe, a cast out from the Toronto FC Academy, both either score or create a goal. You can't look past Tim Bezbachenko's fingerprints on this game and the staff he brought in. And for Montreal fans, it should kill you to hear that Mo Farsi plays for this Columbus team. but the man

who brought him into Columbus Corey Ray is now in charge of things in Montreal and hopefully the next Mo Farsi and the next Moise Mambito doesn't fall between the cracks because this Columbus team has hit on their players all across the board so you talk about the Mo Farsi's Max Arvson being brought in as a former MLS next pro player in the MLS Super Draft because he was eligible. I believe he went to college, then joined and signed in MLS Next Pro. So his rights had not been distributed in MLS yet. And Columbus drafted him. Sean Zawadzki, former homegrown player, brought back into the fold after his time in georgetown huge performance in

this one for this team in central midfield filling in for aiden morris then you go and look at the rest of this group kucha hernandez record signing something done at a level columbus had never done before tim bezbachenko gets that deal over the line convinces ownership that it's the right thing to do and they are able to get the crown jewel in this whole thing. The difference right now, it feels like, between this group and what Wilfred Nance could build at Montreal is a player like Cucho Hernandez, who can be that point, that top of the entire thing, along with the belief and quality that you have going on around the field. so you got to tip your cap to that front office group what they've built what they've done and of course you have to tip your

cap to these players for going out and executing at such a high level so often in the biggest moments doing it last year in the playoffs coming from behind against FC Cincinnati on the road against your rival to win the whole thing grinding through Orlando last year as well in a tough series then you go to this year the comeback against Inter Miami knocking off Philadelphia team that had been there before and then in this LAFC game because it was different than cup this team showed that grit to be able to take the lead have the momentum and then lose it and still stabilize and find your feet again and have that belief Cucho after the game talked about the grit in this team he talked about this team wanting things a little bit more fighting a little bit more every team's gonna say that but it does feel

different with this Columbus group that they always have their foot on the gas, that they are always fighting. And when you look at the goal, the winner for Cucho, it's just a simple moment. It's a quick throw-in where no one on LAFC is paying attention. And so off the quick throw-in, in stoppage time, Cucho is able to get the ball to his feet, face up on goal from the edge of the box, and pick his head up. It is those half seconds there in which he's now able to make a dangerous play that LAFC aren't turned on. And you're talking about an LAFC team that are great at what they do. And I'll talk about them more coming up in our mailbag. But this is what you talk about

when you say a team playing an all-time high level. We are a few months away from being able to say that this Columbus team is the most successful in a 12-month span in MLS history. And they already could be there. So they are going to be a lot of fun to watch down the stretch. They've still got a shot. They're probably the one team that still has a shot at the Supporter Shield race, even though they bobbled it a little bit. They've definitely got a shot at MLS Cup as well.

So a lot to lock in for and a lot to watch there. Congratulations to the Colorado Rapids, who get third place in the League's Cup with their shootout victory in Philadelphia. Zach Steffen back to the club that he was a homegrown for and back home makes two saves in the shootout after a 2-2 game. The Rapids go up 1-0, a little bit against the run of play. Immediately, who else but Ty Burribo answers to make it 1-1. Philly goes ahead in this one and then Ali Laraz with a stunner off a corner kick that was knocked out. Laraz with the inside the foot volley, pure power to beat Andre Blake. Tie it at 2-2, and the Rapids able to hang on.

A huge year for this Colorado Rapids team. They qualify for CONCACAF Champions Cup already. They go to a semifinal. They win a third place game in year one under Chris Armas. We've talked about it a bunch on the show, but I think this is already year one success for this new group in Colorado. A ton of building blocks for them to lock things around and a ton of opportunity going forward. Your hope would be CONCACAF Champions Cup means, okay,

let's go big. Let's increase the spending. Even if you're not going to go find your Cucho out there and go crazy, go get your Luca Origano. Go get a game-changing winger who can at least give you something. Go get your Usman Bakari, a player like that. We haven't seen that in the past with Colorado. You'd love to see that for this group going forward in the future. Let's stick with Major League Soccer here and put a bow on the weekend. MLS Action returns a bunch of ridiculous games, ridiculous results, a bunch of comebacks,

a bunch of six, seven, eight goal games over the course of the weekend. The biggest one being Portland's come from behind tie against St. Louis in Portland. It was a 4-4 final in which the Timbers tied down a man through a goal from Evander. Evander has played as one of the best 10s in this league. He's in an MVP conversation, even though this team's results are not at the level. And Portland awarding me and Tom for putting them as our top two on the MLS Watchability rankings last Thursday.

If you haven't listened to that show yet, go listen to it now. We went through all 29 teams, ranked them in terms of watchability. Who are you going to put on when you open up the MLS Season Pass app and say, okay, what's going on today? Who are your go-to teams? Portland were the one team in the top five that are not competitively in the top five because of games like this they cannot defend and they have an elite attack with DPs and U22s and high level TAM players across that attacking front six consistently playing

wild games in front of one of the best crowds in the league and this was another one in that vein FC Dallas their first road win come from behind after conceding in the second minute against DC United they went up 4-2 then went up a player with a red card for DC and then ended up holding on for a 4-3 win for their first road win of the year. San Jose got their second road win of the year, a 2-0 win at RSL. I don't know what's going on. And the Revs put a five spot on Montreal, in Montreal, 5-0. They are now, I believe, 11th in the Eastern Conference, but 1.08 points per game is tied for eighth place because they have two games in hand on Atlanta United who are, excuse me, the ninth place team, the last team technically in to the

postseason right now. Philadelphia in that conversation as well. So wild stuff across major league soccer. Talking playoffs, Miami have qualified for the postseason already. They clinched their spot with a 2-0 win over FC Cincinnati. It was a Luis Suarez goal in the first minute and the sixth minute to go up 2-0. Tomas Avilaz picks up a red card sometime right before halftime, and yet this Miami team hangs on and they win 2-0. Listen to this stat. I pulled it off Twitter. I cannot remember who I got it from so I apologize for that but FC Cincinnati have one goal this year. They have played in four games. They have

played up a player in 172 minutes playing against a team with a red card down a man. FC Cincinnati have only scored one goal. That is a brutal number for this team. Me and Tom talked about it on Thursday, how must win this was for Cincinnati in the Supporters Shield race. Lucho Acosta didn't start, but came off the bench. Nico Joachini got the start. And this FC Cincinnati team, that race may be done for them and the focus might be

solidifying things for the postseason and the LA Galaxy can continue to solidify things Marco Royce comes off the bench has a goal and an assist in his debut for the LA Galaxy so just more added firepower to this attack and you could see how he will fit in with this group a little bit different style obviously high quality allows you especially with the injury to Jovalich to move things around behind pain still or instead of pain still and just gives this team another option he came off the bench with Miguel Berry in this game and was able to make the difference for the LA Galaxy. On the NWSL front, as league play continues after the Summer Cup Series and the Olympic break, it was hit or miss on the Olympians back on the field. A number didn't play. Most didn't start. Shout out Trinity

Rodman for grinding straight through things. So we didn't see the complete teams we wanted to see over the course of the weekend, I think, in some of the games. But some big performances, some surprise victories as well. One that wasn't, Orlando, 1-0 win over Houston on Friday night. They set the NWSL record for an unbeaten regular season streak. 18 matches going back to last year so Orlando has now set every record on the run for unbeaten streak to start a season unbeaten run to start a season and now a consecutive unbeaten run across multiple seasons in regular season play so Orlando continue rolling the same way they came out of the first half of

the season. Kansas City did not. Kansas City, their first loss of the year, the final game before the break, and they go to Washington on Sunday in what me and Jordan called the game of the weekend, and they got crushed 4-1 at Audi Field to the Washington Spirit. They were down 2-0 in the opening 18 minutes of this one. Corey Bethune ties the NWSL assist record with her assist to Uli Saar in that opening half. She's going to break that record. There's no question about that. And another unique or another different setup for Washington as Lacey Santos, the big Colombian

international signing, comes into the team. She gets to start at the 10. Corey Bethune starts on the left wing. Rodman and Saar in this group as well. And now you're starting to see Yonatan Geraldez be able to really get into this team. There is so much individual talent in this group. It is scary when they are cohesive, when they have a clear idea of how they want to play, how good they can be. Now for KC, these are the games they want to play.

They want to open up. They want the game to be hectic and they want it to be open and they want to play direct. They didn't finish their half chances in the opening few minutes. And by the time they were down, they seemed to have lost a level of belief, which is hard to say about a KC team that's been so good over the course of this year. A big mistake on the second goal, on the accidental pass back that Washington was able to pick up and go. Maybe if that doesn't happen, it's a different game.

But at 4-1, this was a clear sign from the spirit that they are here to play for this second half of the year. They are going to be in the race for the Shield. They are going to be in the conversation for NWSL Cup the entire way through the rest of the season. Esme Morgan didn't even get on the field for this one. There's still a lot more to come for this Washington team going forward. We take a look around the rest of the league. Utah, we got their new setup wrong, but some of their new players were in there

and they got a 2-1 win against Bay FC to try and start this turnaround. Undefeated in summer cup play. Some big international signings for this utah team and they start the second half of the year strong angel city as well a big win down in san diego thompson gets two goals in this one breaking a goalless drought for her and san diego really struggled landon donovan's first regular season game as manager it wasn't any better if not worse than what we had seen their only threat came down the left wing and Jakobsen again continuing to

pump in crosses but not be able to break teams down through possession and then leaving themselves extremely exposed in transition moments the other way whether off their own turnovers or being broken down by Angel City's build out. A really good start for Angel City. Katie Zalem didn't even get the start in this one, but I thought Kennedy Fuller was fantastic once again in that number 10 role. Thompson able to break out with the goals.

You could see the relief on her face after the opening goal. She goes sprinting to her own sideline screaming and then gives the hug to Kristen Press and the other players on that sideline you could see what it meant to Alyssa Thompson to finally get that goal and then immediately she's driving at defenders making their life hard and gets the second goal moments later so a big victory for Angel City in that one. For Louisville, a big win with a lot of their new players in their group. Balser getting the start up top. She had an assist on the opening goal. We saw Janine Becky come off the bench as well for this Louisville team. We didn't see the back line threatened that much. And what I think is going to be interesting going forward for this Louisville team is without having a true left back,

but you have a player at Millet and right back who loves to get high up the field. Louisville played in a 4-4-2 in this game with DeMillo on the right wing who wants to come inside. You have some really nice balance. You've got a player at right back who will stretch the field and stay wide. You've got a player at left back who will stretch the field and stay wide. You've got a player at left back who wants to come inside and connect and a player at right mid who wants to come inside. And so there's a good optionality right now for that Louisville team and Balser, a difference maker, not in the way we would have expected. When you talk about Balser, you talk about the best aerial threat at center forward in the league. Talk about a pure goal scorer. In this

game, it was her ability to know the attention she was going to be given by the defenders to make the difference. So the opening goal, she wheels out of the center forward spot into the right channel inside the box to play the cross in for the opening goal. And then on the second goal, it's her strong near post run that draws defenders and attention to allow the opportunity at the far post so you see balser's presence mattering already even without her putting it in the back of the net and we heard from louisville once again we've heard from bev yanez it's about making the playoffs this year and winning now. And it feels like Balser is going to be a difference for that. Balser, of course, traded for Jalen Howell.

Howell hit it off the post in her game in maybe the story of the weekend. Seattle rain. They retire Megan Rapinoe's jersey, a ceremony before the game, incredible crowd atmosphere. They put her number in the rafters. And if anyone saw this photo or if you didn't, go search it. Emery Adams, the U18 signing for the Seattle Reign team. Her mom put up a picture of a picture of Emery as a little kid with Megan Rapinoe. Rapinoe coming out of training, taking pictures with fans. The two of them took a photo together.

Now, Emery Adams gets the header in stoppage time to cause the own goal from Casey Murphy. And then she hits the Pino celebration on the sideline in front of the legend on her night to seal the victory for Seattle rain. It was an incredible moment for the league. It was an incredible moment for this club. And it was an incredible moment for Laura Harvey, who comes off the sideline at the end of the game, pure emotion, screaming at her coaches, screaming at the fans, pumping them up as the game ended. And then after the final whistle, Leanne Sanderson on the broadcast said, I known laura harvey for years i've never seen her that emotional at a game and this was a regular season game but seattle trying to find their feet once again i thought they were good in this one they didn't have possession in the first half as you'd expect

against north carolina but they built they started to find the game they started to create opportunities and chances for G to sort of link play and create out of central midfield they should have had a goal earlier Fischlach tried to set up King Fischlach probably should have taken it herself in that breakaway situation. We saw Serna Gorovic get her first start in this one. As I said, Howell came off the bench and hit it off the post. Mondesir looks like a real game changer. Didn't start, still getting comfortable into the regular season for her and with a new team. But you could see her be a difference maker for this group going forward. And a teenager getting to start at center back in Jordan bug playing

phenomenal in this one as well. So Seattle, they just need points at this time of the season. They're trying to find their feet and they're able to do so in this moment. Let's jump into the mailbag and let's start with our audio question from Skin Matt. Hey guys, question today for you about fan perception of LAFC. If I go back to thinking about what Sam and Paul used to talk about a lot in Allocation Disorder, was that the league really lacked a villain in the league because they didn't allow enough parity or they allowed too much parity

to have one team run away as overly successful if we look at lafc another in their fifth final in two and a half years and could potentially get up to six or seven depending on how they fare in the open cup and mls cup and they're on the verge of potentially signing even more stars like griezmann and who knows who else afterwards. So I guess my question for you guys today is, has LAFC really reached that status of being the villain of MLS? Because we don't seem to be talking a whole lot about the continued success to get to the big moment, albeit with some falters along the way. Thanks and appreciate all of what you do. Thank you, Skin Matt. And let me say for everyone wondering, this was sent on August 22nd. So this was sent before the League's Cup final. It is tough on a day like this to say that LAFC are that heavyweights. This is the Dallas Cowboys

theory. And it's something that I have spoken about with Sam and Paul. It's something I've spoken about with a ton of people around MLS circles, which is the best ratings always come when the Lakers are good, or the Dallas Cowboys are good, or the 49ers, or the Yankees. You could probably say the same across soccer. When Real Madrid are at their best, those Champions League games are going to be the highest rated, even if a larger portion of the ratings are people rooting against that team than supporters of that team. Because you'll always say, yeah, if the Lakers play the Knicks in a finals, it's going to be highly rated because of the two biggest markets, two biggest cities, two largest fan bases.

But what you see is you still get those numbers, even if it's just one of those. And a lot of those numbers are big outside of that market because you've got that favorite. It also gives you benchmarks. It's a way for you to say, oh, Columbus are the best team in the league because part of the way you ascend to that is by knocking off the big team, right? When you look at an Aston Villa playing well in the Premier League, you say, well, they got victories over Arsenal. They got victories over Chelsea. So they are part of that conversation. In MLS and WSL as well, that convo is always shifting because it's hard for teams to stay good. And it's hard for the same club to be good consistently over and over. And so you have to constantly reshift and say, oh, the Rapids, the Rapids are an ascending team that's doing well because they knocked off RSL

and RSL are a good team right now because they knocked off LAFC before that. And Houston's a good team. And you're constantly reshifting that conversation. Having a a giant I think it can be good for a league I don't think LAFC are there it's hard to say right now and not be a prisoner of the moment and say that they have lost five of the six finals that they've played in over the course of the club's history even with how impressive I believe it is that they've gotten to all those moments but the cities are always going to matter and LA being a big city and being a coastal city and all that stuff that angers fans across leagues in all sports is always going to come to the fore and so you're always going to see I think people dislike teams like that and root against them inter Miami are probably the

obvious other ones right now where they stand with the amount of investment they've had. Obviously, with Messi being also a big glamour market and all the other things. I don't think any of them are big enough to be that team like you talked about, to be that Dallas Cowboys. And I understand to an extent that the Cowboys have been terrible for a really long time. And that maybe goes to show that this conversation is not as reliable as it could be. But I don't think that any of the teams in MLS are capable of that because partially of the salary cap rules and the way things are held together. are starting to see more and more those big teams get a Hugo Lloris to come or a Gareth Bale to come or a Jordi Alba to come and not be a DP, which starts to set those teams apart a little bit from other teams in the league.

Callan K says, Will the new NWSL-CBA agreement hurt smaller market teams? I will preface by saying this is, of course, awesome for the players. However, as a Utah Royals fan, the amount of freedom for players to choose seems like it will hurt smaller market teams ability to bring in exciting players. For example, without the draft, there's no way Utah is bringing in Ali Centenor, who has single handedly been drawing in fans. How do you see the freedom of choice for players affecting teams of different sized markets? This is part of the conversation that everyone is having right now. And this is part of what will be fascinating about this new CBA coming forward. I've seen a lot of fans talking

about, obviously, the size of the markets, as well as the life experience in those markets for young players and young people and young women, what they're going to want in their lives and where you want to go. So I think that part of what people are missing with all of this is that the salary cap will remain. The salary cap is going to go up over the course of this CBA, I believe almost $2 million by the end of the CBA. Paul Kennedy had a really great tweet out there that said, the minimum salary at the end of this CBA will be equal to the maximum salary in 2019

when the women's U.S. national team won their last World Cup, which is fantastic. It's obviously not high enough. We're talking about, I think, $49,000. You want it to be way more than that for every player in this league. But with the salary cap remaining, you assume salaries start to move in proportion with that. So as the salary cap grows, the players that take up 8% of your salary cap will still take up 8% of your salary cap at a higher number. It means that there will still be a squeeze on salary cap numbers and that a Gotham won't come out of an NWSL cup and have enough space to offer an Allie Centenor coming

out of college the biggest deal. And if you're a bad team and you're able to clear space up and run your team properly, you can also go to an Allie Centenor and say, you'll be our 10 or our nine. She wears the nine. She plays the 10. Sometimes she plays the nine. We saw a little bit of both this weekend and say, we're going to build our team around you. You're a starter day one. You're our star. All of that still exists. And I would remind you when Allie Centenor chose to join the NWSL draft, she did so knowing that the top two picks would be Utah and Bay. and that if she was going to go in the draft, it was going to be to one of those two teams. So she already consciously made the decision to be a part of a team in a market like Utah.

I don't think that this means that every top NCAA player is going to go to Angel City or San Diego or Gotham. I think the competitive part of this is going to be the ones now that smaller market teams choose to target and say, rather than try and talk to four players in college, we're gonna lock in on one player and say, this is the player we think can be a difference maker. I'd also remind you that Corey Bethune just tied the assist record and was the fifth pick in the draft. So there is a ton of

talent in college soccer, and it is not just one player each year. An asset does go away in a draft pick for smaller market teams, which was if you're a small market team and you're bad or you're good, that first round pick was going to get you a player or allocation money if you wanted to trade it that goes away but the quality of facilities the quality of coaching the quality of club setup and the opportunity that you're going to approach a player the plan you're going to approach them with the recruiting pitch the same as it is for colleges i think is still going to be a massive part of this. And with the cap being with there being a salary cap, you won't, I don't think see something like Alabama football where like the six best quarterbacks go to the same school. Again, I'm shot in the dark here. Don't really watch

college football. I don't think Ali Centenor is going to come out of college and look at teams and say, yeah, I want to go to Gotham and play behind Esther and behind Lynn Williams and now behind Ella Stevens and behind Crystal Dunn. I think there's a space where you approach a player like that and say, you're going to be a key part of what we do. What will be fascinating now is the schools that are, or the teams that are in areas with great schools. Like this feels like a home run for a North Carolina courage where now they can go to the UNC's and the Duke's and NC state's and UVA's and all the schools in that area and start to recruit players who maybe want to stay

home or maybe feel comfortable having already a relationship with some of the coaches. And I think most schools or most teams around the league have schools like that in their area. It'll be interesting to see how tied in they become going forward. How tied in does Bay become with a Stanford and with a Cal for the Seattle rain? You know, how tight does it become with a UW and an Oregon and Oregon State and all of those? So that will be interesting going forward as well.

I don't think, though, it kills the opportunity for smaller market teams. And I think you see that in the signings that Utah just made with overseas players who are big time players coming from the Japanese national team and from some of the best teams in Spain and Amandine Henry choosing to come there or allowing themselves to be put there going forward. Jacob says, how likely is it that MLS requires players consent for trades in the next CBA now that NWSL does? I have seen MLS circles sort of start to pull the NWSL CBA into their conversation and try and compare things. I think it's tough to compare the two leagues in a moment like this because they are in very

different standings around the world. Right. NWSL is arguably the best league in the world. I would say is in what they do. MLS is not in that sphere and MLS operates very differently. One of the conversations is how is it that NWSL abolished the draft before MLS did? Those two drafts are completely different. As we just said, Ali Centenor is probably the best U20 player in the world right now, coming out of college into NWSL. That is a completely different conversation than Tyree Spicer coming out of Lipscomb and being an okay starter for Toronto FC in year one, and most other players in the draft not being an MLS player in year one. So I

think it's hard to compare the two. I wouldn't be shocked if MLS did this, but the way I read the NWSL CBA and the way it sets up is you're basically eliminating trades and just turning it into an internal transfer window in which players are just going to be bought and sold for cash because it's going to be too hard, I think, to get two players that both teams want to agree to make a swap. You've now got four parties at a minimum that need to agree to and want to make a deal. And that just seems like a little bit too much. I'd be surprised if that happened. And I'd be surprised if this was something that MLS players made a forefront of their fight in the next CBA and what they push for going forward. Owl on the pitch says, since MLS can't expand forever, theoretically,

which team do you think will be the first to relocate and where do you think they'll go? Whew, Owl on the pitch, this is a tough question. You are already forcing me to move a team in Major League Soccer. I will say, I think when you look at the cities that exist still, that makes sense for MLS expansion, there actually aren't that many, and you probably have enough spots left to put most of them in. So we're talking about,? Detroit. Las Vegas. Phoenix. If anyone can build a closed stadium there. With enough money to make it happen.

Maybe Tampa Bay. I think that's pretty much most of it. For the obvious markets in Major League Soccer. And you are at 29 teams. About to become 30 with San Diego. It's not outside their own possibility. You end up with 34, and that is probably your Major League Soccer going forward until everything changes and you open up the table and whatever else can go on. So I don't really know that I can go with this question saying that a team will be moved

or a team has to be moved. And Major League Soccer is hard because the owners buy in and they buy in as a piece of Major League Soccer. And so therefore they can't force the teams to move. Like the ownership has to shift like what happened in Columbus with Anthony Precourt, in which he then made the decision as an owner coming in to try and move the team. I would be surprised if MLS really opened up their doors to that. And I would be surprised if that happened in the next 10 to 15 years in Major League Soccer. I think when you look at most of the teams, they've got pretty established stadium setups now. They've got pretty established

markets. And the ones that don't, the New York teams, Chicago, you're not going to move those teams out to another city because of what those markets mean to the league and what those teams mean. You know, those are the cities you move teams into, not the cities that you move teams out of. So I would be surprised if anyone really ended up on that list. Cap says, asks,

so with Olivero leaving and potentially Bogus, could Willian be on his way to LA? Originally thought Willian was just at the LAFC game to support his friend, Sharud. With these rumors, I feel like as a free agent, there's more of a chance. There are rumors around Bogus being offered, I believe to Celtic right now in Scotland,

as well as maybe some other teams at a similar level. There are also rumors around Olivero being offered out right now. But I think, if I'm correct, let me make sure here. Yes, Kike Olivero came off the bench in the League's Cup final. Bogus started. I think both of them are there but Willian is a free agent so he can still be signed before the roster freeze date it wouldn't be shocking to me in a Christian Teo style move if LAFC because they've left roster spots open

that they won't be able to fill with a Griezmann at this point if Willian wants to if they give him a contract for the rest of the year. Let's close out with a nerdy one. Nick. Crew fan here. Locked in. This is how you get to be great. The crew win League's Cup.

And Nick's asking me questions about Cole Marocco loans. Columbus crew just loaned out Cole Marocco. To the Colorado Springs switchbacks. The transfer window closed on August 14th. But he played for crew 2 on August 18th. Are there different rules for loans or for players getting time for the reserve team so there's a few elements going on here the first being that transfer windows only matter for the receiving team so you can send someone out anywhere in the world as long as where they're going, the transfer window is still open,

and they can process their ITC. That's why you see MLS players sold outside of MLS windows to European clubs. For example, if Mateusz Bogusz or Kike Oliveira got sold from LAFC, the transfer window in MLS in the US would be closed, but wherever they got sold, it would still be open. So that's one thing to remember. Then inside of a federation, that federation can control how players are moved inside that federation once those ITCs are there. So, for example, U.S. soccer could say the transfer window closes on this day, but any player already inside the U.S. can be moved for more days. That then, to my understanding, becomes down to the protocols of the league. And that's where we talk about roster freeze dates.

So MLS, the roster freeze date hasn't occurred yet. That's why Willian, who's a free agent, so his ITC is not with any club, could sign with LAFC and be eligible even though the transfer window has closed. MLS has decided to close trades as well at this point. So in theory, Major League Soccer could have it open that you could still trade players inside the league, but you could only do it amongst U.S. teams. Hence, MLS has decided to close it to make it fair for Canadian clubs. None of this has to do with the USL. So USL Championships roster freeze date is on September 9th at midnight, as well as League One. So Cole Moroka, leaving Columbus, his ITC is already in the United States under the US

Soccer Federation, can move from an MLS team to a USL team up until September 9th and then he can play based off the USL's rules so that is um that's why this rule was allowed one thing to note in here um which I didn't know and I found out in doing this research a player must make at least five appearances in the regular season to be eligible for the postseason in the USL championship, one of which must occur prior to the roster freeze date. That's for both lone players and for free agents, I believe. So, Cole Marocco will be fine with that, and that will fit, and he can play in the playoffs for the Colorado Switchbacks. But that is the one rule that stands for USL teams in which that player could still

come. They just wouldn't be eligible for the postseason. Great question here, Nick. I had a lot of fun running this one down and chatting with some people. I will also say this, huge fan of Cole Marocca's game. Don't think he's a pure 10. I think it's probably more as a dual eight or an eight alongside a six, which is something that Columbus uses. But I think he has a really bright future. I love this move for the switchbacks as well. While we're talking USL, I have to shout out here to the legend. Bob Lilly recorded his 400th win as a head coach across all competitions after beating the Birmingham Legion 3-0.

His first head coaching win was for the Hershey Wildcats in 1997. I've been lucky enough to talk to Bob Lilly for years in covering his teams, both in Rochester and Pittsburgh. He has an incredible soccer brain. He has lived through so many fantastic eras of soccer. He has won championships for Canadian clubs in USL as well as across the US. He built one of the best teams I've ever seen in the Rochester Rhino groups that he built before the team went under. Teams that set records for shutouts, for goals conceded, and everything else.

And then the things he's done in Pittsburgh, he has built contenders and then he has rebuilt them and consistently rebuilt them. He is a fantastic coach. He is one of the great stories and personalities in the game here in the North American region. I hope he gets all the flowers he deserves right now. I've really enjoyed watching a lot of the Pittsburgh teams he's put together. I've still never been to a game at Highmark. I love watching the games there with the water in the background and the train running along the field. It is one of the coolest and unique setups in USL and in North American soccer. So shout out to Bob Lilly and all he has accomplished.

And we're going to try and continue to talk all things North American soccer to bring you the stories you care about. You've been listening to Soccer Eyes. We'll be back tomorrow because we've got U.S. Open Cup to preview. So myself and Tom will be on on Tuesday to preview the Indy 11 SKC semifinal as well as, of course, LAFC and Seattle. As I said, we will be doing our private happy hour for our MVP level Patreon subscribers on Wednesday during that Seattle LAFC game. So go and subscribe if you want to be a part of that one. We'll continue to break down all things NWSL CBA on Wednesday.

We'll recap, review everything from the Open Cup on Thursday. Back with Tom. Preview the weekends, of course, across both these leagues. Keep talking all things soccer. So thank you all for listening. We'll talk to you again.