Home and Away - A Sporting KC Podcast

We will be mostly focusing on topics around the world of Sporting Kansas City soccer this week, because candidly that is the only place where anything of note is currently happening.  Both MLS and NWSL have begun their playoffs and there have been a number of interesting stories emanating from those matchups that caught our eye.

The USMNT is convening for their first meaningful matches under Mauricio Pochettino as they take on Jamaica in a home-home series in the semifinals of the CONCACAF Nations League, with plenty of questions due to injuries in key positions as well as some returning players that missed the September friendlies.

Finally we will cover a number of interesting news topics coming out of MLS in the past couple weeks, including coaches being hired in Chicago and San Jose, a coach being fired in Philly, and Taylor Twellman allegedly not being able to control his temper.

The offseason has well and truly begun and given the length of time before SKC plays another meaningful game, the feelings of malaise and cynicism regarding the future prospects of the club seem to be permeating the fan base.  We spent a fair amount of time talking about the amount of work that Peter Vermes and Mike Burns have in front of them and the length of that timetable was predictably frustrating.

We also briefly discussed the comments Vermes made in the press just prior to our recording last week, and part of that discussion certainly eluded to a fairly drawn out process before making and announcing decisions on what players will be leaving the club and who might be returning.  His rationale for using the available time to make those decisions effectively was sound, but for a fanbase eager to visualize these significant changes he kept referring to, it was another ask for patience amongst a group that has very little left to give.

Given the amount of available time for the team to make these decisions, it allows us to do some fantasy GM-ing of our own on the podcast.  Having already discussed the 4 players out of contract, we will focus on those with option years available to be picked up next year, who we think is worthwhile to keep around, and who can make room for potential signings.  Additionally, we will take a look at the known free agent class and discuss whether any of them makes sense for SKC to make a run at.

Finally we will discuss how pervasive boring soccer has become in the world game(and MLS), the ridiculous Ballon d’Or discourse, a potential schedule change after the 26 world cup and take a look at whether the Current can make it up into 2nd place and gain homefield advantage throughout the playoffs.

Sporting KC went out with a whimper as they traveled to Frisco TX on Saturday night to close out a fairly forgettable season against FC Dallas.  Much of how the game went was a microcosm of the season as a whole, including giving up a bad goal, making ridiculous mistakes due to poor communication, and Willy Agada being the only one creating chances of any significance in the game.

While we may have expected it to be a curtain call for a number of players on the team, most of them didn’t even make the trip as they were “injured”.  This created a fairly unbalanced lineup that certainly influenced SKC’s ability to impact the game in the way they wanted.

There has been a lot of talk about the upcoming rebuild this offseason, and the factors that are driving it, being a lack of spending to date, the lack of mentality in the locker room, or the incomplete nature of the roster build.  Peter Vermes has finally started to say the rebuild word out loud, as well as making clear commitments on where the club will be looking to spend in the offseason.  We’ll discuss some of these structural changes that need to be made, and assess what realistic expectations should be had of the club next year as well as in the off-season before competitive games begin again next February.

Finally we will spend some time discussing a fascinating discussion David Gass had with Bobby Warshaw around youth development and the implications it has for Sporting KC, as well as the Temwa for MVP discourse, and finish with a quick preview of the MLS playoff race which begins with the Eastern Conference play-in game tonight.

Sporting KC welcomed LAFC to Children’s Mercy Park on Saturday night for what was billed as a re-match of the US Open Cup final and a final opportunity to close out the home season on a positive note.  What it was instead was a stark reminder of how vastly different the trajectories these two teams are at the moment.  It was so bad that anyone at the stadium within viewing distance of a television decided to watch the end of the Royals game instead of being subjected to that 2nd half performance.

It also reminded us how Sporting has to perfectly execute a game plan at their maximum capability to even compete with a team of this quality, and how quickly the dominos fall when they do not.  

We finally got a look at summer window signing Joaquin Fernandez, and while it was a short 45 minute cameo, I think there were some things to be positive about regarding his performance, even if it was clear he was not close to 90 minutes fit.

After the game there were a lot of quotes from Peter Vermes and the players regarding the need for this team to go through significant change to raise its competitive level(our favorite word mentality was thrown around again), as well as the recognition by some of the longer standing members of the team that their time may be at an end in Kansas City, whether they want it to be or not.

Finally, the Current get a goal from someone other than Temwa(if a bit un-repeatable), the MLS 22 under 22 list predictably has no SKC players on it, and both Jurgen Klopp and Gregg Berhalter find new jobs.

We are back!  After a bit of an extended break due to yours Drew’s visit to Los Angeles for the Open Cup Final, we have returned to find there are 2 games left in a season many people would like to forget.

The performance in LA was probably as good as could be expected, with a legit chance to steal the game late on Johnny Russell’s foot.  Unfortunately once Extra Time started, the limitations of Sporting KC’s roster began to show through and the candidly much higher quality of LAFC took advantage.

Then Sporting were made to travel to St Louis on 3 days rest for a derby with the Pink Dog Food team, and were predictably short handed.  There was a ton of rotation in player quality, and while the performance wasn’t exactly poor, a familiar refrain of the team with better players making better plays played out, and SKC took a 2nd consecutive 3-1 defeat.

In my distinct hope to find some kind of silver lining, we will discuss what appears to be more competent and improved performances in light of these results, and whether Peter Vermes has actually had one of the better coaching seasons of his career, if one of his poorer as the Chief Soccer Officer.

Finally, the Current try to secure some home playoff games, the USMNT’s first roster on Mauricio Pochettino is out, and LAFC comes to town for a re-match from that Open Cup final.

Drew has returned from the Pacific Northwest and while he enjoyed much of his trip to Seattle, the soccer was not a reason why.  Sporting KC came away with a pretty lackluster performance and a 2-0 defeat to the Sounders that honestly could have been even worse.

The absence of Jake Davis was apparent pretty early in this match, as the Bassong/Walter double pivot struggled to contain the Sounders and often lost central control as has often been an issue with this team when Jake has not been in the midfield.

Candidly it’s been a bit difficult to find new and inviting topics to cover when it comes to this team as the negative results continue to pile up.  I went crowd-sourcing on the Discord for ideas and it led me to dig into some historical data on this team and remember fondly of simpler times when Khiry Shelton playing CF was the only thing to really complain about.

Finally, the Current look much better the 2nd time around vs Orlando, Joaquin Fernandez is finally in full training, and we preview 3 more matches coming up including a Cup Final.

If you had told me that Sporting KC was going to head up to New Jersey without a number of players and come away with a 1-1 draw before the game started I’d have probably thought that was a decent result.  Unfortunately, the way they went about achieving said draw left a bit of a sour taste in the mouths of fans and was a reminder of how many leads the club has shipped in the 2nd half of games the season.  

Sporting KC will also be without perhaps the most promising member of the roster, Jake Davis, for the next 2 league matches after he somehow acquired two yellow cards in a matter of 10 minutes.  Jake continues to be a bright spot in a pretty dour season, and it’s telling that his suspension is causing as much consternation as it is amongst Sporting KC fans.

We will dive a bit deeper into the Roster conversation as it seems Peter Vermes is trying to get good looks at a number of players over the waning months of the season, and discuss what type of turnover is good, and what can perhaps be too much.

Finally, there are a number of topics to cover in Potpourri before we do a quick preview of another road trip for Sporting KC as they head to the Pacific Northwest to take on the Seattle Sounders.

In the category of “Things I did not expect to open with,” Sporting KC won twice in the last week and maintained shutouts in both games!  They had maintained a grand total of 3 shutouts in all competitions this season prior to last Saturday night, so to get two in a row was, shall we say, unexpected.  The performances in both games were significant improvements defensively over what we have become familiar with lately, and they also did not get punished for every single mistake like they often have this year, so perhaps some luck is turning their way in that regard.

There was also a fair bit of tactical fluidity in both games, specifically in possession structure, that seemed to be personnel dependent.  This is a welcome shift in philosophy from Peter Vermes and the coaching staff, and one we have been pining for basically for the entirety of this podcast’s existence, and gives us something to nerd out on a bit in tactical corner this week.

In Potpourri we discuss KP’s move to Belgium, KU football invading Children’s Mercy Park, and the menagerie of roster moves the KC Current have made as their summer transfer window closes.

Leagues Cup has become a bit of an extended break for Sporting KC, and probably one they welcome after the level of schedule density and player availability issues that they had encountered over the past several weeks.  The players and staff all got a welcome few days off and hopefully are returning to training this week with a renewed sense of motivation as they look towards the last couple months of the season that hopefully include a legitimate run at the US Open Cup trophy.

Unfortunately that also means that for the proprietors of this podcast, the only soccer we had to consume were the games played by the teams that actually advanced to the later rounds of Leagues Cup and it certainly underlined the gap in capability between Sporting KC and the teams they ostensibly want to be competing with in the future.  It also brought to light some concerns about what SKC is actually trying to accomplish on the field from game to game, and what their goals should be for the remainder of the MLS season as they look to identify the right personnel to take forward into 2025 and what the game model should be to get the best performance out of said players.

In Potpourri there is some significant USMNT coaching reporting that has yours truly quite excited, the KC Current win their first trophy(technically), and the Leagues Cup continues to be a bit of a bugaboo for Liga MX teams for a variety of reasons which has their fans questioning the competition in general.

We’re back!  After an inopportune bout of COVID for Drew, we have returned and wow have things gone well for Sporting KC in our absence.  Actually, I’m sorry, the exact opposite has happened as their Leagues Cup campaign hit the skids.  SKC went down 2-1 at home vs. Toluca in a match they certainly could have gotten a result from had things gone a bit more their way, but perhaps from a quality perspective may not have really deserved.  Then they headed to Columbus where the predictable happened, they got sent home again with their tail between their legs after a 4-0 defeat.

But there’s good news!  Sporting KC have signed a player!  What’s that you say?  It’s a Centerback?  Oh.  From Spain?  Shocking.  Who barely played last year because of a knee injury?  Yay.

Let’s be honest folks, there isn’t a ton to get super excited about when it comes to this team.  We know that.  But as any Chiefs fan that existed prior to 2017 will tell you, that’s what makes the elation that much more significant when things finally start to go your way.  In the meantime, we will continue to break down this team, flaws and all, and hopefully provide some combined levity and catharsis for both ourselves and you as we progress through this season.

In Potpourri there was some actual good news, the USWNT brought home gold for the first time in 12 years.  The KC Current made it to the final of the Summer Cup which is in…checks notes..October.  And on Wednesday they are kicking off some other tournament called the “Women’s Cup”?  The MLS is strong with the NWSL.  And, speaking of MLS and NWSL connections, a 16yo kid gets derided on the internet for “reporting” something the adults in the room should really have done a much better job of vetting.