Sporting KC had two consecutive playoff "wins" this week after winning the PK shootout against San Jose after a fairly uninteresting 0-0 draw on Wednesday and then took the wood to St Louis in their park on Sunday night. The former being everything we have come to expect from this team on short rest against a team that didn't want to play soccer, and the latter being the exact opposite.

Luchi Gonzalez seemed to be banking on his best odds being waiting for an SKC defensive mistake(fair, but it didn't happen) or going against Tim Melia in penalty kicks(LOL). Things worked out as expected setting up the match we all have been waiting for in St Louis.

Peter Vermes brought out a very pragmatic and well coached and thought out tactical shift in St Louis in both style and personnel, and it worked impeccably to a 4-1 rout of the Pink Dog Food club in their park. Now the question is how much of that style does he bring back to KC next Sunday and what makes the most sense to ensure SKC are able to win and move on.

We spend Tactical Corner this week evaluating the difference in Erik Thommy and Gadi Kinda's games, and whether they are actually that different materially at all.

Finally Potpurri corner focuses on #playthekids and what appears to be a directionless USWNT at the moment.

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We're making an Ali-like return to this podcasting space to discuss SKC's improbable run into the MLS post-season and the "no one believed in us" narrative that the coach seems insistent on giving air to.

In fairness, we had significant doubts about this potential outcome, so we were apparently the "doubters" he was referring to, and we are willing to own that. That said, we will also discuss the fact that being pessimistic about the team's prospects, and being supportive fans are not mutually exclusive.

We get a little nerdy about analytics, the concept of luck as a data point, and our thoughts on how this information is used in MLS and SKC as a potential competitive advantage.

Finally a preview of Wednesday night's match vs. San Jose.

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We get some things off our chest. Things around Sporting Kansas City are in a word, Stale. The playing style, the general energy around the club, the decision making characteristics of the coach, etc, etc.

We discuss the frustrations around not just the 4-1 loss to St Louis, but the feeling that it was generally inevitable. The playing format never sufficiently attacked them when they were disorganized, and appeared to be more interested in managing a result more than attaining one.

Finally we spend time talking about the general structure of the club, the supporters, and whether we think the current regime can create the kind of change necessary to reinvigorate the lifeblood that made this club a staple for the past decade-plus.

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Sporting KC put in a fairly listless performance on the mid-week versus Nashville and it was unfortunately something we saw coming. Thankfully they brought much higher intensity against Houston on Saturday and even managed to raise it higher after an unfortunate red card for Johnny Russell.

We dive into the differences in the way SKC attack when they have Alan Pulido or Willy Agada in at striker, and how it impacts the personnel around them. There are some potential positive setups for both players, and it is instructive as KC go into a very important match in St Louis this weekend.

We also discuss the Home and Away Derby this weekend, the Swelce/Traylor relationship, and the Open Cup final that occurred while we were recording the pod.

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Sporting KC come home from Minnesota with 3 points, which would normally be a reason for optimism. Unfortunately SKC seemed to be more lucky than good on Saturday night and while that is also a welcome change from previous performances, it is hard to take it as a positive into the next two games on short rest against quality opponents.

Alan Pulido gets his official contract extension, and we think it is due. While it does mean things will likely remain the same for some time, he's probably the best #9 in MLS this year, and you don't look to replace that if you don't have to.

The KC Current seem to be a mess on the soccer side of the organization. They have signed many quality players, unfortunately too many of them rarely play, and the ones that do seem to be mired in a tactical system of the sophistication of a mid-level high school team. We appreciate the aggressive nature in which the Longs are investing in this team, but hope that they get the right soccer minds engaged to make that investment work for them.

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Sporting KC did a lot of the things we have come to expect from them the past couple years when playing on the road: Had veterans make significant mental errors, played soft in the midfield, and showed a complete lack of urgency attacking in transition until they were down multiple goals. We shouldn't be surprised by this, but it still is very frustrating to watch.

We discuss the structural issues with the club and staff, and the somewhat disenchanting feeling that nothing significant could really happen to change it even next season.

A "Major Player Announcement" is coming from the club tomorrow(may have already happened by the time you are listening to this), and we suspect it is the contract renewal of Alan Pulido. We discuss the pros and cons of this potential decision, and what it means for SKC going forward.

Gadi Kinda made the news this week for taking a call up to the Israeli National Team. While he was an unused sub in both of the matches, his injury situation made for a pretty terse press conference with Peter Vermes regarding both the Israeli Federation requesting his presence and Kinda's interest in going.

The New England Revolution have a borderline soap opera going on in their clubhouse as Bruce Arena recently resigned after allegations of "inappropriate and insensitive remarks" that were the subject of an MLS investigation. Apparently some of those allegations were found to be credible and he has given up his position at the club as a result. There have been a number of dramatic twists in this story since doing so and we try to give a brief primer on them all.

The USMNT played two friendlies vs. Uzbekistan and Oman winning them by a combined 7-0. We try to ascertain what exactly can be learned from both, other than the team is still struggling to find a legitimate backup for Tyler Adams.

Finally a quick preview of SKC's upcoming match this weekend at Minnesota.

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It was a derby atmosphere in Children's Mercy Park on Saturday and the game lived up to the hype. It was a fairly comprehensive performance by SKC even if STL fans don't want to admit it and blame the referees for their lot in life(get in line).

There was a lot of bantz before the game, even leading up to player intros, and we are here for it. This is what makes rivalries fun, and we can tell this is only going to intensify in the future.

Lots of key performances from SKC players that are becoming more consistent at the most appropriate time(Thommy, Davis, Rosero, Pulido). The team is coming together well, but time will tell if it means anything substantive this year.

We are Nemanja Radoja stans on this podcast, so of course we spent another 20 minutes talking about his impact, which is not insignificant. A lot of it is in the larger, less applicable metrics(goals and wins), but those count too.

Finally, a discussion around the tactical ineptitude of the KC Current, as well as a brief preview of SKC's away match vs. Miami who will be missing many of its starters(including one really important one).

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SKC is back and it was a comprehensive 3-0 win vs San Jose. While the score may have flattered SKC somewhat, it was a deserved win regardless. Drew and Cody discuss the quintessential JFR game(including the injury), the tactical personnel choices, Tim Melia doing his thing, and what we will be calling "The Full Fontas".

Tactical Corner is focused on building out of pressure, for reasons that should be pretty obvious. This is less of a structural discussion and more of a fluid one highlighting ideas and adaptive philosophies that work best against a quality pressing team like St Louis.

The RFEF are making the news for all the wrong reasons, and it is taking the shine away from an exceptional performance by the Spanish Women in Australia/New Zealand last month. It's a story that gets more unbelievable and ridiculous by the hour, and it is an unfortunate yet all too common circumstance when it comes to women's sports.

Finally, a quick preview of what should be a really fun atmosphere on Saturday vs. St Louis.

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SKC hasn't played a game(again) this week, so we focus on the management portions of the club, discussing how MLS clubs are constructed and the potential options for how you do it, the Pulido contract renewal and how it impacts SKC's future roster construction prospects, and why the KC Current are getting fined for chartering what amounts to a Spirit Airlines flight to Louisville.

As promised, there is a fair bit of time devoted to Game Models. What are they? How are they put together? What is their value and how to teams employ them. There is more to this than you probably think and we spend a fair bit of time discussing the nuance involved with them and how that relates to SKC.

Finally, Leagues Cup has been very fun, and some interesting teams are in the final. We discuss the competition to date and the game models the finalists employ and our assessment of how that final may go.

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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.