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.

Never was the gap in quality so significantly on display during this recent stretch of games than it was in Seattle Sunday night as Sporting KC made it no wins in 6 straight getting pretty well dominated by the Sounders 5-2.

Not only were SKC thoroughly outplayed, they were outplayed by youth players that were more engaged, better prepared, and just playing at a higher speed than SKC's youth could match. It was quite the on the job training for several of them, and many failed to meet the standard.

The starting tactic was fairly aggressive, and failed to make a lot of sense given how recent opponents had frustrated Seattle in their last two games. Leading us into a deeper conversation about Kerry Zavagnin's potential as the coach that could lead this team forward through it's fairly significant winter rebuild.

The USMNT discourse was set ablaze by both the roster selections of Mauricio Pochettino as well as his commentary afterwards. Neither of us are sure it's as big of a deal as it's being made out to be, but it's certainly entertaining.

Finally a quick word on the Current and the shambolic management of NWSL Commissioner Jessica Berman, and a quick preview of this week's home match vs. the Colorado Rapids.

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Sporting KC’s winless streak was extended to 5 games after a disappointing 3-1 loss in Orlando on Saturday Night after a substantial weather delay, making it 2 separate Kansas City soccer clubs facing significant delays to their matches vs. teams from Orlando in the same day.

Kerry Zavagnin did bring the 4-4-2 back out for this match, although it was a different setup than the prior week and while some things worked, leading to a 1-1 scoreline at halftime, other things very much didn’t.  Manu Garcia’s re-introduction to the injury list meant the bench was very thin and the choices Zavagnin made were less than optimal as the club appeared to run out of steam and quality as the match wore on and Orlando took advantage.

As the team continues to lose ground on potentially eking its way into the playoffs, much of the conversation has shifted to the upcoming winter and the impending roster rebuild, with 17 players either out of contract or on an option year in 2026.  Games like the last several also have us considering who may be seeing their last minutes in Sporting Blue.

In Potpourri, we get into the Current vs Orlando game, and the NWSL scheduling debacle that turned into a 4hr delay.  Also news around the league regarding a potential CSO candidate leaving his role in Montreal, as well as a number of players exiting Inter Miami as they find playing time hard to come by with Messi and Friends.  And we had some fun news this weekend with the announcement that Premier League Mornings Live Fan Festival will be coming to Kansas City next month.  Seems like that argument about soccer capitals only truly exists in certain people’s minds. 

Finally we will take a look at SKC’s upcoming trip to Seattle because we have to, but it’s unlikely either of us will have a whole lot of optimism about how that match will go.

Sporting KC unfortunately extended their winless streak to 4 games on Saturday night losing to the visiting Western Conference leaders San Diego FC 2-0.  While the result seemed somewhat predictable to the proprietors of this podcast and many of its listeners, the performance that led to it was not.  Sporting KC largely limited San Diego’s attack, and created a flurry of chances of their own, and probably deserved more from the final score line than they received.

That said, Sporting has been on the fortuitous end of several results this season, so it was only natural for that luck to turn away from them at some point, and San Diego’s Designated Players both capitalized on some SKC errors with a level of lethality that SKC were unable to replicate themselves.

This did lead to a bit of a dour mood on the H&A discord in the hours following the match regarding how far behind the club is from the top of the league at this point, creating the 2nd discussion in as many days about how realistic it is to have optimism and hope for the future of this team.  We’ll dive into what is next for this club and why at least I am a bit bullish on its potential in the future.  

Finally we will discuss the Current continuing to find a way to get results, Tim Ford vs. Vancouver, and preview SKC’s upcoming trip the home of Mickey Mouse.