For the Glory KC - A Sporting KC Podcast

For the Glory KC is back with the 127th episode of the show!

Our long national nightmare is over! Sporting Kansas City have finally won a game. New interim coach Kerry Zavagnin is a perfect 1-0-0 and he got the best of Sporting KC's rival, St. Louis City SC. It put an exclamation point at the end of a tumultuous and emotional week for anyone in and around Sporting KC.

Sheena and I work through the big moments of the game. From our pre-game emotions and expectations to Dejan Joveljic's breakout performance. We also talked about John Pulskamp stepping up on the night Tim Melia retired. There were post-game antics with Jake Davis and the St. Louis players as well as Jansen Miller shushing the road support. Considering he's from STL, it's even more endearing to local fans.

The week wouldn't be complete without going back and reflecting on all the change and the news we got from Mike Illig and Kerry Zavagnin's pressers. Weaved into that conversation is a mini dive into my editorial about how ownership may have still botched the Peter Vermes firing.

We honor Tim Melia on the week of his retirement (listen to Thad's exclusive podcast with Melia) and discuss a trade that snuck under the radar potentially for Sporting KC fans.

Finally, the KC Current had the week off, but still made a bit of news on the international front and with five (!!) of the 11 players of the month coming from KC: LaBonta, Temwa, Cook, Debinha and Lorena.

In the Digital Crawl, we touch on a few more topics, including:

• The future of the Women's World Cup (USA & UK)
• The Des Moines Menace being bounced from the US Open Cup
• And FC 25 jersey updates for SKC and the Current

Here is a rundown of topics (and approximate start times):

• Sporting KC finally win, and soccer is fun again! - 6:46
• Mike Illig and Kerry Zavagnin pressers - 40:19
• SKC Round-up - 1:08:33
• KC Current Round-up - 1:13:44
• Digital Crawl - 1:16:04

Upcoming Games

• USA vs. Brazil, Tues. April 8th at 9:30PM CDT
• SKC II vs. Minnesota United 2, Wed. April 9th at 6:00PM
• KC Current @ San Diego Wave, Sat. April 12th at 9:00PM
• Sporting KC vs. Portland Timbers, Sun. April 13th at 1:15PM

As a special gift to For the Glory KC listeners and KC Soccer Journal readers, Backheeled dot com is giving away 30 days of their amazing, independent American soccer coverage for free. If you decide you want to turn that into a paid membership, they'll give you 10 percent off too. Just follow this link!

Big thanks to Splitter Conspiracy (listen to them here) for our theme music made with the permission of the KC Cauldron.

Episode 126 a day after 125? It's an emergency people! After nearly 16 years in charge, Sporting Kansas City announced they had "mutually parted ways" with Chief Soccer Officer and Manager, Peter Vermes.

Sheena and I get together for an impromptu podcast about one subject: Peter Vermes. But there is a lot of meat on that bone. We get into:

• Initial Reactions
• Peter's Accolades
• The Cauldron/South Stand Letter
• Replacement Candidates (including the Vlatko Andonovski rumor)
• When do they hire a coach?
• And a bit of Peter Vermes appreciation

Big thanks to Splitter Conspiracy for our theme music made with the permission of the KC Cauldron.

For the Glory KC is back with the 125th episode of the show!

We were all set to talk about another Sporting Kansas City loss when Sunday the KC Cauldron and South Stand "demanded" Peter Vermes resigns his jobs. We started there and then moved into discussing another loss.

In terms of the cries for Vermes' resignation, Sheena and I get into whether we actually think this will happen and the case to be made for and against him leaving. It's also worth remembering, he's just entering this second year of a five-year extension. That contract continues to age poorly, which feels like yet another indictment of ownership.

Turning our attention to the game, despite a losing effort, Sporting KC actually showed some promise against FC Dallas. There were significant changes to the lineup that paid off immediately with another Daniel Salloi goal. He's scoring 0.71 goals per 90 after only scoring 0.13/90 in 2024. Another spark may have come from the first start of Jake Davis in the midfield. We also learn Davis' unique middle name during this week's podcast.

Finally, the KC Current rescue the soccer weekend yet again with a great performance back home against the Utah Royals. While it was a great day for the Current, it was a tough outing for old friend Kate Del Fava who was involved in all three goals KC scored.

In other KC Current news, they had an immense number of international call-ups, and we played a mini game about how they would fare with those nine players missing. Luckily, it was just a thought experiment, as the Current have the next weekend off since NWSL doesn't play through international windows. As for those call-ups, let's list them:

• United States: Claire Hutton, Michelle Cooper, Alana Cook
• Brazil: Lorena
• Canada: Nichelle Prince
• Costa Rica: Rocky Rodriguez
• Kenya: Jereko
• US U-18s: Mary Long, Katie Scott

In the Digital Crawl, we touch on a few more topics, including:

• SKC II winning in penalty kicks
• Boston's NWSL rebrand
• Denver's NWSL side announcing new facilities
• US Open Cup broadcast rights on Paramount+

Here is a rundown of topics (and approximate start times):

• Calls for Peter Vermes to Resign - 5:32
• Sporting KC make progress, but still falter against Dallas - 29:17
• The KC Current continue to dominate - 53:13
• KC Current round-up - 1:01:20
• Digital Crawl - 1:08:50

Upcoming Games

• Des Moines Menace vs. Union Omaha, Wed. April 2nd at 7:30PM CDT
• USWNT vs. Brazil, Sat. April 5th at 4:00PM
• Sporting KC vs. St. Louis City SC, Sat. April 5th at 7:30PM
• USA vs. Brazil, Tues. April 8th at 9:30PM 
• SKC II and KC Current have no games

As a special gift to For the Glory KC listeners and KC Soccer Journal readers, Backheeled dot com is giving away 30 days of their amazing, independent American soccer coverage for free. If you decide you want to turn that into a paid membership, they'll give you 10 percent off too. Just follow this link!

Big thanks to Splitter Conspiracy (listen to them here) for our theme music made with the permission of the KC Cauldron.

For the Glory KC is back with the 124th episode of the show!

Sporting Kansas City dropped their most recent match with LAFC 2-0. It was their 11th loss in their last 12 games with the only other result being last week's draw against Minnesota United. Of course, we have to discuss what happened in the game and what needs to change. But the biggest question, other than the job security of Peter Vermes (which we address), is 'When will Sporting KC win again?'

The upcoming schedule has games that appear more winnable than others, but nothing about recent trends suggest Sporting KC are in a good position to win. Here are the next 10 games and the team's current point total:

• @ FC Dallas (7 points)
• vs. St. Louis City (8 points)
• vs. Portland Timbers (7 points)
• @ San Jose Earthquakes (6 points)
• @ FC Cincinnati (7 points)
• vs. LA Galaxy (2 points)
• @ Portland Timbers (6 points)
• @ St. Louis City (8 points)
• @ San Diego FC (8 points)
• vs. New England Revolution (1 point)

When do you realistically think Sporting KC can win a game? Let us know in the comments.

Beyond the abysmal current state of Sporting Kansas City, Sheena and I delve into the results of the US Open Cup against the Des Moines Menace, talk about the Johan Ortiz signing and Alenis Vargas finds a new home.

Finally, the KC Current had themselves another delightful week. They went on the road and beat the previously perfect Washington Spirit, leaving just KC and Orlando Pride as perfect teams. We delve into some bright spots in the game that included VAR (seriously), Lorena and of course Temwa, including a fantastic Temwa Chawinga stat. Then we talk about the low key signing of Friday Mukoma.

In the Digital Crawl, we touch on a few more topics, including:

• CF Montreal fire their coach
• Exciting MLS kit news
• USMNT's double loss
• Pro/Rel in the USL
• and Denver NWSL's stadium plans

Here is a rundown of topics (and approximate start times):

• Sporting KC return to their losing ways - 3:47
• SKC II vs. Des Moines in the Open Cup - 32:43
• SKC Round-up - 40:13
• KC Current win a big road game - 45:10
• New KC Current signing - 53:59
• Digital Crawl - 55:59

Upcoming Games

• SKC II @ North Texas - Fri. March 28th at 7:45PM CDT
• KC Current vs. Utah Royals - Sat. March 29th at 6:30PM
• Sporting KC @ FC Dallas - Sat. March 29th at 7:30PM

As a special gift to For the Glory KC listeners and KC Soccer Journal readers, Backheeled dot com is giving away 30 days of their amazing, independent American soccer coverage for free. If you decide you want to turn that into a paid membership, they'll give you 10 percent off too. Just follow this link!

Big thanks to Splitter Conspiracy (listen to them here) for our theme music made with the permission of the KC Cauldron.

For the Glory KC is back with the 123rd episode of the show!

Sporting Kansas City came back to life on Saturday night. When it looked like they were dead and destined to extend their 10-game losing streak, they clawed back for a 3-3 draw against Minnesota United. A draw isn't a win, but it's a step in the right direction. That first point of 2025 also keeps them out of the basement of the league (on goal differential, but it counts).

Sheena and I work through our thoughts from the game. We talk about John Pulskamp's performance (and awful new scar).

We also talk about the performance of Robert Voloder, Daniel Salloi being a spark (and giving the team wings), Memo Rodriguez, Dejan Joveljic's stunning goal and of course all the bad that led to Minnesota being up 3-0 in the first place. Overall, let's hope this is some positive momentum for Sporting KC as they host LAFC next week.

And let's hear it for Kansas City weather. Wait five minutes, right? Sleet. Snow. An Orange ball. Wild times.

In the SKC round-up, we talk about more signings coming to Sporting KC, Dany Rosero's injury situation, Ian James getting an important international call-up and Memo expecting his second child.

Finally, the KC Current do what they do and play beautiful soccer to start the 2025 season. In a single game, they have more points than Sporting KC and it felt like more great chances created. From the glorious goal and hair of Temwa Chawinga, to the golazo of Michelle Cooper and 'the best version' of Debinha, the team showed up at Saturday's opener against the Portland Thorns.

Also, we have KC Current injury updates for Bia, Gabby Robinson, Alex Pfeiffer, Regan Steigleder and Mallory Weber's situation with the team. Plus, the team made a new signing.

In the Digital Crawl, we touch on a few more topics, including:

• SKC II vs. Des Moines Menace
• Felipe Hernandez's return
• Tony Meola
• AD Franch's new team
• And an NWSL rebrand in Boston

Here is a rundown of topics (and approximate start times):

• SKC w/ a wild 3-3 Draw against Minnesota United - 3:16
• SKC round-up - 35:23
• KC Current win big to start 2025 - 41:25
• Digital Crawl - 1:03:00

Upcoming Games

• SKC II vs. Des Moines Menace - Wed. March 19th at 6:30PM CT
• KC Current @ Washington Spirit - Sat. March 22nd at 6:30PM
• Sporting KC vs. LAFC - Sat. March 22nd at 7:30PM
• SKC II @ St. Louis City II - Sun. March 23rd at 4:00PM

As a special gift to For the Glory KC listeners and KC Soccer Journal readers, Backheeled dot com is giving away 30 days of their amazing, independent American soccer coverage for free. If you decide you want to turn that into a paid membership, they'll give you 10 percent off too. Just follow this link!

Big thanks to Splitter Conspiracy (listen to them here) for our theme music made with the permission of the KC Cauldron.

For the Glory KC is back with the 122nd episode of the show!

Sporting Kansas City played their first game on full rest for the 2025 MLS season, and it seemingly didn't matter. D.C. United pulled off a 2-1 come from behind victory at home. Maybe it's rest plus chemistry that Sporting KC need. Plus, Jake Davis in the midfield. Plus... something else?

Sheena and I open the episode looking for positives from Saturday's game before inevitably turning to the negatives. One list did outweigh the other, sadly.

In a more fun story, we spend some time talking about what's happening at our neighbors to the north. The Des Moines Menace are signing all kinds of retired MLS players to bring some positive attention to the 2025 US Open Cup. Among those signings is Sporting KC legend and former SKC II coach, Benny Feilhaber. He'll be joined by at least eight other retired MLS players as they take on Sporting KC II in the opening round of the US Open Cup on March 19th.

After that, we blitz through the Sporting KC round-up which includes an injury update for Andrew Brody, last week's SKC penalty maybe being the wrong call and why Erik Thommy is only the captain "right now," according to Peter Vermes.

Finally, the KC Current get to bring us some joy with their season getting started next week. We take a quick look ahead to the season opener against the Portland Thorns.

In the Digital Crawl, we touch on a few more topics, including:

• MLS Next Pro looking for more teams out of their primary markets ("2" teams included)
• Chris Rindov finds a new club
• Sophia Smith Wilson is pregnant
• and upcoming goalkeeper rule changes

Here is a rundown of topics (and approximate start times):

• Sporting KC lose their 10th straight - 1:35
• Benny Feilhaber is back (sort of) - 28:56
• SKC Round-Up - 41:10
• KC Current season is starting - 48:29
• Digital Crawl - 56:17

Upcoming Games

• SKC II vs. STL City II - Fri. March 14th at 6:00PM CST
• KC Current vs. Portland Thorns - Sat. March 15th at 11:45AM
• Sporting KC vs Minnesota United - Sat. March 15th at 7:30PM

As a special gift to For the Glory KC listeners and KC Soccer Journal readers, Backheeled dot com is giving away 30 days of their amazing, independent American soccer coverage for free. If you decide you want to turn that into a paid membership, they'll give you 10 percent off too. Just follow this link!

Big thanks to Splitter Conspiracy (listen to them here) for our theme music made with the permission of the KC Cauldron.

For the Glory KC is back with the 121st episode of the show!

Sporting Kansas City had another poor week with two more games played and two more losses. Sheena and I try to work through if the team is truly bad or if it's a combination of a lot of other factors. Sporting KC did play four games in 11 days, and two of the games were against Inter Miami who are loaded with stars. The team also just signed three of its more critical offseason additions in Dejan Joveljic, Manu Garcia and Shapi Suleymanov. Their chemistry will take time.

The good news with 32 games to go there is very little congestion the rest of the way for Sporting KC. That excuse will mostly vanish and SKC just to start talking steps in the right direction. 

We worked our way through the bad and the good from both games, with a greater focus on the 2-1 loss to the San Jose Earthquakes. The discussion really started around the lack of rotation, despite the short rest between the 3-1 loss to Inter Miami and the SJ game. The tired legs really seemed to be a problem, despite being up a man for over 40 minutes.

The CONCACAF Champions Cup game with Miami didn't get much time this episode since no one really expected KC to advance when the game was announced. That said, we had to talk about the defensive blunders that ended the first half.

There was plenty of other SKC news this week too. William Agada was rumored to be part of a trade with Real Salt Lake. Benny Feilhaber popped up in a UMKC/SKC II game as a guest player and gave us a hint about his future. Andreu Fontas retired officially. Sebastian Cruz found a new home. SKC executed a minor trade, and some other roster news came out.

Sheena and I also watched the Sporting KC/St. Louis City episode of Onside, the new Apple TV+ show. It's good, we definitely recommend it.

Finally, the KC Current had a slightly louder week with the release of the Teal Town secondary kit. They also made a minor trade, played a couple preseason games and made some news with the USWNT.

In the Digital Crawl, we touch on a few more topics, including:

• SKC II updates
• Jaylin Lindsay finds a new home
• Seattle Sounders running a "first match on us" free game promo
• The ref who took Messi's jersey got suspended

Here is a rundown of topics (and approximate start times):

• SKC lose their home opener to San Jose - 6:01
• SKC bounced from CCC by Miami - 46:24
• RSL called about William Agada - 53:24
• SKC Round-up, Including a Benny Feilhaber update - 58:37
• KC Current news - 1:13:11
• Digital Crawl - 1:17:57

Upcoming Games

• Sporting KC @ D.C. United - Saturday, March 8th at 6:30PM CST

As a special gift to For the Glory KC listeners and KC Soccer Journal readers, Backheeled dot com is giving away 30 days of their amazing, independent American soccer coverage for free. If you decide you want to turn that into a paid membership, they'll give you 10 percent off too. Just follow this link!

Big thanks to Splitter Conspiracy (listen to them here) for our theme music made with the permission of the KC Cauldron.

For the Glory KC is back with the 120th episode of the show!

Sporting Kansas City played their first two competitive games of 2025. While we warned you not to overreact to the initial results, it hasn't stopped a slice of the fanbase from getting quite worked up. We work our way through both the freezing cold of the Inter Miami game and the slightly less cold, but rainy Austin FC game to talk takeaways.

Daniel Salloi caught a fair amount of grief for his performance in both games. But there was a lot of other notable things that happened. There were Sporting KC debuts for Dejan Joveljic, Manu Garcia, Shapi Suleymanov and Jacob Bartlett. 19-year-old Bartlett started both games! We give our opinions on their performances and those of their peers.

Plus, a look at the injury report, a few tactical wrinkles, and a breakdown of the Austin goal before getting to some breaking news from the week. Sporting KC cut Alenis Vargas and signed Andrew Brody. Erik Thommy was named captain and Roger Espinoza got hired to SKC's coaching staff. And a little roster composition news came out as well.

Finally, the KC Current had another relatively quiet week, but they extended the contract of new signing Haley Hopkins who just arrived via trade. They also had a few national team call-ups and some new NWSL rules came out, including a bump in the salary cap from $2.75 million to $3.5m.

In the Digital Crawl, we touch on a few more topics, including:

• A ref asking for Messi's jersey
• USWNT results
• Benny Feilhaber's new job
• KC Comets just keep winning
• and a Tony Meola update

Here is a rundown of topics (and approximate start times):

• Sporting KC freeze against Inter Miami - 8:11
• SKC vs. Austin FC in the Season Opener - 26:48
• Captain Erik Thommy - 48:32
• Alenis Vargas released - 52:01
• Andrew Brody signed - 57:18
• Sporting KC story round-up - 1:00:27
• Sheena does Manu Garcia bio - 1:07:30
• KC Current news - 1:14:46
• Digitial Crawl - 1:18:28

Upcoming Games

• Sporting KC @ Inter Miami - Tuesday, Feb. 25th - 7:00 PM CST
• Sporting KC vs. San Jose Earthquakes - Sat., Mar. 1st - 7:30 PM
• SheBelieves Cup USWNT vs. Japan - Wed. Feb 26th - 9:30 PM (San Diego)

As a special gift to For the Glory KC listeners and KC Soccer Journal readers, Backheeled dot com is giving away 30 days of their amazing, independent American soccer coverage for free. If you decide you want to turn that into a paid membership, they'll give you 10 percent off too. Just follow this link!

Big thanks to Splitter Conspiracy (listen to them here) for our theme music made with the permission of the KC Cauldron.

For the Glory KC is back with the 119th episode of the show!

 This weeks' episode ventured into the "a little bit more in depth" as we break down Sporting Kansas City's media day and how all the information we learned impacts the roster. The team has said they are still looking to make a big signing.

My KC Soccer Journal colleague, Josh Wallace helps breakdown the roster and we both weigh in where we think the team needs to add players. From there, we basically work through a potential starting lineup as we talk through most of the players on the team and where they fit best. Including why Jake Davis should be in the midfield, and not at right back. Despite that, right back is where we suspect we'll see him Tuesday against Inter Miami.

Mike Burns gave tons of info on Friday, and we break down the international roster spots on the team. Those spots may impact Jan Jurcec earning a contract and have a domino effect on the aforementioned Davis. We make projections about future player sales (based on a rumored offer Burns told the Shades of Blue Soccer Show). Josh and I also talk staffing and get an injury update on Logan Ndenbe.

Not to be left out, the discussion turns to Jansen Miller's signing and his impact to the team, Sebastian Cruz not signing and what we could take away from the 0-0 draw against the Las Vegas Lights in the final preseason tune-up. Plus, thoughts on the new kit!

If you sat out the offseason and need a quick catch-up, we go through all the incoming and outgoing moves and how that'll impact Sporting KC. We look specifically at the defense, which is mostly unchanged. The late arrival of Joaquin Fernandez and the return of Logan Ndenbe could be look at as "additions."

Then the big question comes up. Is Messi going to play against Sporting KC on Tuesday? And will there be a game at all in that brutal cold (there will be!). We also talk realistic expectations for the season and what will be different to watch for tactically from SKC.

Finally, the KC Current had another quiet week but had one piece of big news. Claire Hutton and Michelle Cooper earned call-ups to the USWNT for the SheBelieves Cup!

In the Digital Crawl, we touch on a few more topics, including:

• Marinos Tzionis already finds another new home
• USL announced a new first division league
• CPKC Stadium get its first international friendly
• Kansas City's USL2 teams, Sunflower State and SantaFe Wanderers are in the same division

Here is a rundown of topics (and approximate start times):

• SKC's roster, Media Day quotes and team needs - 1:42
• Sporting KC story round-up - 41:01
• Sporting Kansas City Season Preview - 1:08:43
• Will the game against Miami go forward on Tuesday? - 1:25:07
• Hutton and Cooper get the call - 1:46:14
• Digital Crawl - 1:49:13

As a special gift to For the Glory KC listeners and KC Soccer Journal readers, Backheeled dot com is giving away 30 days of their amazing, independent American soccer coverage for free. If you decide you want to turn that into a paid membership, they'll give you 10 percent off too. Just follow this link!

Big thanks to Splitter Conspiracy (listen to them here) for our theme music made with the permission of the KC Cauldron.

For the Glory KC is back with the 118th episode of the show!

Sporting Kansas City had a very busy week with two more preseason games under their belts. Before that theylocked down the signings of Designated Player Manu Garcia and Russian winger Shapi Suleymanov. Sheena and I discuss where they fit into the team and if it makes us more confident going into CONCACAF Champions Cup and the 2025 MLS season.

After the second preseason game againstMinnesota United, theKC Soccer Journal asked Peter Vermes where he still wants to add to the roster.

"Honestly, all over the place," started Vermes. "As I've told you guys before, we're in an area of trying to rebuild this team. I would say that there is no position, nothing that is off limits. We're going to continue to add players and move this team around."

If you missed the preseason action, the games are available to stream in their entirety on YouTube. TheNYCFC game ended in a0-0 draw in a game mostly played by the starters. And the backups faced starters in arough 6-0 loss against MNUFC. We give our thoughts on what the results mean (not much), who played where (a little more), injury updates and the general state of the team heading towards the final preseason game.

Beyond the action in the games, there were a bunch of random Sporting KC tidbits that came out this week.Roger Espinoza was spotted coaching players in both preseason games. Tim Melia, Johnny Russell and Andreu Fontasall showed up to the Super Bowl. MLS also released a ton of new roster rules, expertly explained bySixOneFiveSoccer.com's Chris Ivey in thethread on BlueSky.

Part of that layout of rules confirmed that Sporting KC, along with all the other MLS teams, cannot receive General Allocation Money (GAM) for the sale of a DP. That means Alan Pulido won't be adding any GAM to SKC's roster, but at least they got off that terrible salary and added Dejan Joveljic in his place. Speaking of Pulido, after missing a few games injured for Chivas, he playedand scored in his second appearance.

We also talk about how young this team has become, a few more Peter Vermes quotes, how likely Messi is to play on February 18th at Children's Mercy Park and answer a really good listener question about developing and selling players.

It's not until the Digital Crawl, but SKC II announced the preseason roster and KCSJ's Mike Kuhn gave aquick breakdown of those players, including a few familiar names.

Finally, theKC Current had a relatively quiet week, but they did announce two closed door preseason games. First, they'll playRacing Louisville on February 23rd and theChicago Red Stars on March 2nd.

In the Digital Crawl, we touch on a few more topics, including:

• SKC II's US Open Cup announcement against the Des Moines Menace
• Jack Kortkamp got called up to the US U-17s
• And a ton of big MLS moves, including Cucho Hernandez leaving and Atlanta swinging big

Here is a rundown of topics (and approximate start times):

• More Sporting KC Signings - 8:00
• Two Preseason games for SKC - 18:24
• Random SKC Stories - 36:39
• How should Sporting KC handle youth development/sales - 52:49
• KC Current News - 1:00:53
• Digital Crawl - 1:12:10 

As a special gift to For the Glory KC listeners and KC Soccer Journal readers, Backheeled dot com is giving away 30 days of their amazing, independent American soccer coverage for free. If you decide you want to turn that into a paid membership, they'll give you 10 percent off too.Just follow this link!

Big thanks to Splitter Conspiracy (listen to them here) for our theme music made with the permission of the KC Cauldron.