In this episode, Drew and Cody discuss the offseason storylines surrounding Sporting Kansas City and the Kansas City Current, including injuries and coaching decisions. They analyze the Current's playoff performance and the tactical choices made by coach Vlatko Andonovski. The conversation shifts to the MLS playoffs, highlighting key matches and player performances. Finally, they delve into proposed changes to the MLS schedule, discussing the potential impact on the league and its players. In this conversation, Drew and Cody discuss various aspects of soccer, focusing on the impact of league participation on teams, player safety concerns, and the US Men's National Team (USMNT) roster selections. They delve into the role of players like Giovanni Reyna, evaluate the USMNT's prospects for the upcoming World Cup, and discuss the importance of upcoming friendlies. The conversation also touches on tactical approaches, player roles, and the future of Sporting Kansas City, including potential player acquisitions and the challenges of building a competitive team.

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The offseason has well and truly begun for Sporting Kansas City as David Lee made his first official decisions as the new Chief Soccer Officer of the club moving on from at least 12 players from the 2025 roster, with one in negotiations to stay, leaving only 13 currently rostered players going into the 2026 season.  

This leaves a mountain of work to accomplish over the next 10 weeks as he and his staff look to reload this roster with players before preseason training begins in early January.  While it is a significant endeavour, it is of course something we all expected and he certainly signed up for when taking on the job.  

Lee met with the media not long after the decisions were made public, and spent a good 25 minutes discussing the opportunities that the team has this offseason, his thoughts on the players remaining on the roster, as well as his thought process for identifying new players and the manager meant to coach them.  There is a lot of work ahead, but Lee appeared to be a man not only aware of the task at hand, but also invigorated by potential it provided. 

We will dig into all of that information, adding our thoughts and context and what we hope for and expect to see from this offseason, as well as checking in on the beginning of the MLS Playoffs, as well as the USWNT as they gear up for their match in Kansas City against New Zealand.  

Cody - we no longer have to make any predictions or provide any personal opinions on which players should stay or go, those decisions have been made, and they largely aligned with what we both have been suggesting likely would and should happen once the season ended. 

To do a quick recap, 6 players had their options declined, who were Tim Leibold, Nemanja Radoja, Khiry Shelton, Mason Toye, and Ryan Schewe, who has since re-signed to a new contract with the club(more on this later)

Additionally, 7 more players’ contracts or loans expired and will not be returning, namely Joaquin Fernandez, Logan Ndenbe, Erik Thommy, Robert Voloder, Memo Rodriguez, Andrew Brody and Alan Montes.  Santi Munoz’ loan also expired but the club is looking into options for retaining his services.

In this episode, Drew and Cody reflect on the disappointing end of Sporting Kansas City's season, discussing the lackluster performance in their recent game against Houston and the implications for coaching and roster decisions moving forward. They highlight the importance of player performances and the need for significant changes in the offseason. The conversation shifts to the upcoming MLS playoffs, where they analyze key matchups and potential surprises, as well as updates on the women's national team and their upcoming games in Kansas City. The episode emphasizes the need for a strong midfield and the impact of injuries on playoff outcomes, while also acknowledging the crucial role of fan support in the team's success.

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In this episode of Home and Away, Drew and Cody discuss the current state of Sporting Kansas City, focusing on player evaluations, potential roster changes, and the upcoming free agency period. They delve into the performance of key players, particularly the goalkeeping situation, and the need for significant upgrades across the roster. The conversation also touches on the U-22 initiative and its implications for player development. Additionally, they review the recent performances of the US Men's National Team, highlighting the team's tactical execution and overall improvement under new management. In this conversation, Cody and Drew discuss the performance and potential of the US Men's National Team as they prepare for the World Cup. They analyze the impact of players like Balagan and Pulisic, evaluate forward options, and address concerns in the center back position. The discussion also highlights the Kansas City Current's dominance in the league and the development of young players like Claire Hutton.

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To begin this episode, Drew and Daniel Sperry discuss the recent appointment of David Lee as the new Chief Soccer Officer for Sporting Kansas City. They explore Lee's genuine approach, his understanding of the MLS landscape, and the importance of community identity in soccer. The conversation delves into Lee's intentionality in the coaching search, the need for transparency in communication, and the club's future plans regarding roster flexibility and academy development. The hosts emphasize the urgency of making player decisions and the expectations for Lee's impact on the team's performance.

Later, Cody joins the pod and Drew and Cody discuss the recent press conference featuring David Lee, the new hire for Sporting Kansas City. They explore the implications of his hiring, emphasizing the shift towards competence and ambition in club management. The conversation delves into the importance of transparency, modernizing the club's structure, and the role of analytics in player recruitment. They also touch on the club's facilities, budgeting strategies, and the need for a proactive approach in the global transfer market. Overall, the hosts express optimism for the future of the club as it embarks on a new chapter under David Lee's leadership. In this conversation, Drew and Cody delve into the complexities of soccer performance metrics, coaching strategies, and the challenges of building a competitive team. They analyze player performances, discuss the implications of coaching decisions, and reflect on the current state of the team and its future prospects. The conversation also touches on the dynamics of the national team and the intensity required from players to succeed.

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In this episode of Home and Away, hosts Drew and Cody discuss the recent hiring of David Lee as the Chief Soccer Officer for Sporting Kansas City. They explore the implications of this hire, the reactions from the league, and the expectations for the future of the club. The conversation delves into Lee's track record with NYCFC, the ambition behind the hire, and the challenges he may face in a new environment. The hosts emphasize the importance of analytics in soccer operations and express optimism for the club's future under Lee's leadership. In this conversation, Drew and Cody discuss the current state of Sporting Kansas City, focusing on the performance of Mike Burns, the coaching staff, and player evaluations. They analyze the challenges faced by the team, the dynamics of coaching, and the potential for youth development. The discussion also touches on recent game performances and the overall trends in MLS, highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of various teams.

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In this episode, Drew and Joe discuss the recent appointment of David Lee as the Chief Soccer Officer for Sporting Kansas City. They evaluate Lee's background with NYCFC, the influence of the City Football Group (CFG), and the potential challenges and opportunities that lie ahead for SKC. The conversation delves into the importance of youth development, the need for a strategic roster overhaul, and the excitement surrounding the blank slate that Lee has to work with. They also touch on the historical context of SKC's past successes and failures, and how this new era could reshape the club's future.

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Sporting KC put in a pretty dire performance in against Vancouver on the weekend, leaving Cody and Drew apoplectic regarding the state of this roster and the direction of the team.

We go over the performance in the game and how much it shows about the relative quality and depth of the team, which leads to a much deeper conversation about the upcoming offseason rebuild and who should remain to be rebuilt around.

CSO chatter is heating up as it appears SKC may be closing in on a hire. News of finalist candidates is coming out through various media leaving Drew and Cody to try to sift through it all and come up with a consensus on the direction of the club, as well as play CSO themselves on what they'd like to see this person do once in role.

Finally, the Current stay dominant and clinch the shield, Son Heung Min decodes MLS, and a preview of a Wooden Spoon 6-pointer in LA.

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Sporting Kansas City were unfortunately unable to capture a result against Austin FC Sunday Night at Children’s Mercy Park, falling 2-1 to the Verde giving up a couple goals on the types of sequences that have become all too common for them this year.  

It was a return to the 4-2-3-1 setup we saw for the first hour against Colorado, and similarly to that game  Kerry Zavagnin switched to the 4-4-2 to attempt to try to take the game to Austin late, but they were unfortunately not able to catch lightning twice, and gave up a late set piece goal that despite Dejan Joveljic’s best efforts in stoppage time were not able to equalize.

It was yet another reminder that this team still has a lot of work ahead of it to become a consistently competitive team in MLS, and reinvigorated conversations about how the team might go about doing it roster-wise.  The long awaited CSO conversation was brought back with renewed vigor as Andrew Wiebe reported pre-game that the team was in final interviews for the position and alluded to some interesting details that really got the conversation going regarding how significant this roster turnover in the winter could potentially be.

The USMNT completed their September window with two very differentiated performances, candidly the first game was quite different between the two halves against S. Korea, and an interesting tactical switch by Pochettino had at least one member of this podcast crew making comparisons to Sporting KC and how a setup we’ve begged for most of the year might bring similar positive results.

Finally, the KC Current continue dominating NWSL, we do a quick stock up stock down of the USMNT roster, and get into a preview of this weekend’s trip to Salt Lake City.

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Sporting Kansas City exorcized some demons against the Colorado Rapids Saturday Night in Children’s Mercy Park, sweeping the season series with 4-2 win.  We did see some adjustments to the setup moving Santi Munoz more centrally in more of a 4-3-2-1 as someone on this podcast suggested might be a good idea, and it largely improved Sporting’s shape as well as Munoz’ ability to impact the match.  That said, it wasn’t until the team switched back to the 4-4-2 late that they were able to create the 3 goal scoring barrage that took down the Rapids and had the fans in the stands screaming with joy.

There were a number of performances to highlight in this one, both good and bad, because the while we want to celebrate the final scoreline, it was enhanced due to some rather key interventions by John Pulskamp and Ian James, as well as some fortuitous poor shooting in key moments by the Rapids.  We will get into all of that, as well as discuss more in game adjustments by Kerry Zavagnin, as well as the ebbs and flows of watching this team play that can often be exhausting for the emotional centers of our respective brains at times.

There were a number of other news stories in and around the Sporting KC/MLS Soccer Sphere this week, including a Leagues Cup final that might be making more news due to the actions after the the game than the ones during it, the KC Current continuing their winning ways, as well as Mauricio Pochettino continuing to anger a certain segment of the USMNT fanbase with his player selections.  Finally we will do a quick preview of Sunday Night Soccer in Kansas City as Austin FC comes to town and SKC tries to string together a pair of positive results in a row.