We are back from our almost month-long hiatus and Drew has returned rom New Zealand and Australia to find that not much has changed regarding the prospects of Sporting KC. We discuss the situation and the rather concerning lack of opportunity to do much about it.

The USWNT has similar issues regarding an idealogue of a coach with very specific personnel choices that do not seem to allow the team to play even up to the sum of its parts and it played out in this year's world cup.

Leagues Cup has been a revelation, providing the kind of drama and intrigue we candidly did not expect from the competition.

We also spend a little time delving into the European transfer market, including lots of USMNT players making moves this summer.

This week Drew and Cody discuss what was a fairly disheartening 2-2 draw in Houston, the boring nature of the team's tactics, and whether they were appropriate given the roster makeup.

Radoja's absence was felt, and Drew is finally completely done with the Kendall McIntosh experiment.

Tactical corner focuses on counter-pressing, how it is used, how SKC use it, and why it is an elite skill for this team.

We dig into the USMNT penalty shootout win vs. Canada, as well as the USWNT's fairly pedestrian 2-0 win vs Wales.

Finally a preview of a pretty dangerous RSL team that comes to Children's Mercy Park on Wednesday.

This week Drew and Cody discuss what was a fairly comprehensive performance for SKC vs the Vancouver Whitecaps. They were composed, meticulous, and at the right times creating chaos to take down the 3-0 victory.

There were many key performances but perhaps none more important than that of Gadi Kinda. He is in some ways, the prototype of what this system needs from the 8/10 position. We dive into how he is able to achieve this role so well and how he is likely the most important component of SKC potentially making a playoff run.

We spend a little time discussing the USMNT, Gianluca Busio, and Jesus Ferreira before also running through what was a wild and fun El Trafico on Tuesday night.

Finally a quick preview of the first match of a 3 game week in Houston.

Music by The Spin Wires

This week Drew and Cody discuss the state of SKC structurally, whether the roster construction makes sense given the game model and tactical ideas, and air some grievances regarding all of these topics after the somewhat predictable reversion in results occurred over the past 3 games.

Drew made the mistake of making an observation regarding the Khiry Shelton discourse on social media and somehow got drafted into being his greatest defender.

We spend a little time talking about home vs. away tactical dynamics as well as setting up your progression shape to create rest defensive postures to eliminate your opponent's best players' capabilities.

We briefly discuss the somewhat anticlimactic Gold Cup and also do a quick preview of the match against Vancouver that is most definitely in KC on Saturday, regardless of what Cody's brain convinced him of this week.

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After nothing but mostly good vibes since the beginning of May, SKC lose at home to LAFC and #thediscourse was not good. SKC was very unlucky to lose this match in a variety of areas(refs, fluke plays, chances going just barely awry, etc), but in the moment it was easy to look for someone to blame. Drew and Cody assess the performance in this match, and consider whether the hole SKC has dug itself allows for these types of results if they want to legitimately contend for the playoffs and MLS Cup.

Alan Pulido was in the news again this week with a variety of transfer rumors to the usual suspects in Liga MX. We discuss the veracity of these reports along with what conditions in which it makes sense for SKC to entertain them, or perhaps re-sign him in the off-season.

The USMNT played with swagger and took down the Nations League crown for the 2nd time this weekend after beating a hapless Mexico team and confounding John Herdman and Canada in the final. Things are looking very bright for this team nevermind the avatar mafia losing their respective minds over the Gregg Berhalter re-hiring.

Tactical corner focuses on the purpose of fullbacks, and whether SKC has the right players covering that position.

Finally, a quick preview of the upcoming matches vs LA Galaxy and Chicago.

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SKC are now the hottest team in MLS and the vibes are good. Drew and Cody unpack the performance against Austin on Saturday and discuss key performances from Nemanja Radoya, Marinos Tzionis, and Tim Leibold.

Alan Pulido scored what Cody is calling his favorite goal of the year and we break it down Zapruder-film style.

The USMNT is back in action in a meaningful game this week in the Nations League semifinals vs. Mexico, we discuss that match and the appearance of Gianluca Busio on The Gold Cup Roster

Finally a preview of the upcoming LAFC match where we hope the good vibes continue.

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Drew and Cody bask in the glow of 14 points from the last 7 matches, a pragmatic(if somewhat disappointing) draw against Vancouver, and the concept of what a team can look like when its best players are able to play regularly.

The team is playing entertaining, organized, and clear soccer right now, and it is a sight to see. Injuries are still a major concern, and they continue to pile up as fast as people can heal from them.

Andreu Fontas can be a somewhat polarizing player for Sporting KC. We investigate why, and discuss his value along with his weaknesses.

Finally, some guy named Leo Messi is coming to MLS apparently. We discuss his impact, and the wildness of the last several hours as this deal came together.

We also do a quick preview of Austin and the available SKC players for the match on Saturday.

Music by The Spin Wires.

Sporting KC had a fairly comprehensive win against Portland on Sunday and we go through all the key performances, including game changing substitutions from veterans(in this economy?).

It is a common refrain amongst the most online SKC fans that Peter Vermes' system is staid and boring. And while there is some merit to the argument that he is somewhat reticent to making wholesale changes, he has nuanced ideas about how to play soccer that are fairly progressive, and we try to unpack a few of them.

The KC Current are down bad(again). It feels like since Matt Potter's dismissal that his (interim?)replacement has struggled to have a positive impact or set up the team in a manner that takes best advantage of its best player(s).

Finally a quick preview of the 2 upcoming matches for SKC at home against Dallas, and the road trip to Vancouver on the weekend.

Music by The Spin Wires.

This week Drew and Cody get to talk about SKC showing up in St Louis acting like it was any other MLS match. Everyone seemed to know it was a rivalry game except the SKC players. They got handily out worked, and physically dominated. While the schedule wasn't kind to SKC, they knew about it and had the opportunity to plan for it. In hindsight, there were some poor personnel management decisions as well regarding which players played which games coming in.

Tactical Corner this week focuses on goalkeeping. With Tim Melia out for basically the rest of the season with a hip flexor injury, this seemed significant and important to evaluate the available goalkeepers and their strengths/weaknesses.

Finally a discussion on the verve, strength, and passion of this team. Mainly, do they actually have any of those traits? It's been a problem for a while that they do not set the appropriate tone in matches and rather generally have it dictated to them. Can this be something they turn around with the roster at hand?

Music by The Spin Wires