It was an almost perfect day at CMP on Sunday, in almost every imaginable way.  The weather, the vibes, the fans, and the performance on the field.  Some of the best soccer we have seen all season was on display, and SKC controlled and contributed the majority of it.  We are running out of words to describe Willy Agada, and we are also seeing players like Ben Sweat really round into form.  We also saw a great performance from Remi Walter, but discuss why those could be harder to come by next year if the midfield makeup changes.

Rog and Zus got standing O's, and it reminded all of us that nothing lasts forever, even if we'd be surprised if the end was now for those two Sporting Legends.

We also discuss future plans, and Peter Vermes' relative candor recently regarding what those could be, and SKC's potential cap flexibility next year.

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It's an international break with no SKC games!  Drew and Cody discuss a rather listless pair of matches for the USMNT and what they see happening, and whether relying on a single 19yo midfielder for success is a good idea.  Also some discussion around coaching idealism and how GGG might need to adjust to get his players at their best in Qatar.

We also cover the KC Current and what may be the most fascinating tactical setup in the NWSL, or in soccer in general.  Matt Potter is setting up his players to succeed, maximizing their strengths, and you love to see it.

SKC has their last home game of the year on Sunday and can knock Seattle out of the playoffs with a win.  Another thing you love to see.

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We're back!  And SKC have extended their positive run of form to 8 games with 2 more wins and a draw and only 1 loss across the last 2 months.  We spend more time evaluating the underlying numbers of Willy Agada and Erik Thommy's performances since arriving in KC(spoiler alert: They good).  Also, a discussion around off-season squad construction now that we know what pieces will be in place and where the areas of need will be.

Robbie Voloder has a wonderful game against DC United and is a halftime sub against Minnesota, which was a bit of a surprising development.  Felipe Hernandez and Kayden Pierre also continue to impress, while Cam Duke struggles.  Signing Ben Sweat makes a lot more sense when the team has more possession and midfield control, and we discuss SKC's visually inept performance at set pieces, or more specifically, corner kicks.

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Drew is back from LA after bringing back one lowly point on the trip.  We discuss what was a fairly mixed performance from Sporting KC.  There were positives we have become familiar with over the past 6 weeks, and negatives we have seen a lot this season.  In any other circumstance, a 2-2 draw at LA would be a decent result, so we need to take that in context.  

A discussion around the fairly disparate profiles of those in both fullback positions vs. their counterparts, and whether SKC had the appropriate time to alter the game plan to adjust for them.  They did after about 20 minutes, but it felt like a bit of an emergency change.  After we saw Erik Thommy easily look like the best player on the field against San Jose, this time Riqui Puig took that crown fairly substantially.  

Another very solid sub appearance from Felipe Hernandez, who definitely has had 2 of his more impactful performances of the year in the last 2 games.  

And some USMNT/European soccer discourse to close out the pod.

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Erik Thommy.  What else can be said.  Dude was on one all night against San Jose, and abused Thommy Thompson regularly.  Quite clearly the best player on the field, and his quality lifted the rest of the team.  While it was a 1-0 result, SKC never felt to be in significant trouble outside the first 10 minutes of the match.  John Pulskamp also had another very good match, as well as Daniel Salloi, who signed a new 4yr contract extension this week to extend his stay in KC through 2026.  

Drew and Cody talk through it all as well as a little USMNT discussion, mostly focused on the striker conversation.

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Fun soccer is Fun!  Who knew?  SKC turned in the most comprehensive performance of the season against Portland.  Yes they outscored their xG by a bunch, but it is more about how they played, the positional play, the possession, the winning second balls, the pressing and counterpressing.  For the first time this season, they looked like the SKC we have come to expect for several years.  Drew and Cody unpack all of the pieces of the performance, as well as some concerns about its sustainability given how much it relies on one player's performance(Rog).

Much discussion as well about how good Willy Agada really is, and some mea culpas regarding the scouting department as well as the plan that Vermes had in place to deal with the absences.  

Also, a quick few minutes on Major Leeds Soccer and how enjoyable it is to watch some USMNT guys playing in a system perfect for them.

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Drew and Cody discuss their relative elation given the first legitimately positive performance of the season by SKC against the LA Galaxy on the weekend.  We were treated to another vintage Rog performance, as well as Zusi at his best dropping dimes from deep.  Is there reason to be concerned about how SKC can effectively move on from these players?  You can see how important they can be when they play well vs. the other available options.  Will Willy Agada become one of the most lovable SKC players in recent memory?  He is surprisingly good, active, and per his own description, plays simple(but effective).  

Erik Thommy may be the most intriguing signing in some time.  He is obviously very talented and plays the game well, but he's also a very smart player, and seems to be taking on a coaching aspect to his play, urging and communicating with his teammates on where to be to be effective.  But also, we need to talk about that goal.  The quality he has is obvious, but the way he described it was fairly enlightening as well.

At the end, we discuss roster construction and strategy more.  Drew was able to get some info from the SKC stat-master himself, Mike, on both SKC's involvement in the trade market and how that market has shifted in MLS recently.  We discuss how SKC's strategy for allocation money may have hampered their ability to participate in this market as well as whether the COVID-induced pausing of the salary cap increases could have also really hurt SKC's future planning.

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Drew and Cody discuss a 2-0 loss to Austin that on the face of it seems pretty bleak.  SKC probably actually played one of their best matches of the season though, and there are potential positives to be excited for.  Willy Agada is a real center forward, and it meant actual chances were created in this match.  Was the offside trap effective or just lucky?  Is Kayden Pierre the highest upside youth player SKC has?  Will Cam Duke ever be seen again?  All reasonable questions to ask, but there were many glimpses of positive behavior to look for in the next match.

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The disappointment is real.  SKC get summarily smacked by LAFC in the 2nd half on Saturday then score no goals on 31 shots(creating a whopping 1.3xG) against a USL team getting knocked out on penalties in the Open Cup semi-final vs. Sacramento.  This feeling is all too familiar this season.

There is plenty of blame to go around, and we discuss many of the places it could/should reside.  The Fire Vermes pitchforks are out, and we discuss if they are appropriate, and what the potential for such a move could or should be.  As the season is effectively over, we also discuss what the expectations should be for the next 11 games, and what a potential rebuild could look like in 2023.

Also a bit of a discussion around Erik Thommy, and which part of his addition is more important:  His quality, or his highlighting the absence of it prior to his arrival.

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