For the Glory KC

How Far Down Can Sporting KC Go?


Listen Later

S3E19 - For the Glory KC is back with the 84th episode of the show!

Sporting Kansas City just keep tumbling. They are down to 12th place in the Western Conference, just a single point ahead of 13th and 14th placed San Jose Earthquakes and the Portland Timbers. They got there with a 2-1 loss to the Houston Dynamo on Saturday night.

Sheena and I set out to try and figure out what is wrong. I have a theory that they actually need to go away from the 4-2-3-1 formation and back to the 4-3-3. Folks get tired of that formation, but the 4-2-3-1 is not working! They haven't won a single game in five tries rolling it out. Let's recap:

  • We first saw it against the LA Galaxy and blew a 2-0 lead to lose 3-2
  • Then again against Portland and blew a 3-0 lead to tie 3-3
  • Lost to Inter Miami in this formation
  • Tied St. Louis 3-3
  • Lost to Minnesota United
  • We talked about the outstanding performances of Memo Rodriguez and a lot of middling performances all around the roster. Peter Vermes agreed in his post-match press conference. There was a lot of discussion around a "change in mentality." Vermes said, "its' not all the guys, it's quite of few of the guys though." He also called the Houston goals "atrocious" and "amateur, at best." And above all else, he said a lot of players lacked effort. There was talk in benching players, suffering and so many other topics in a short seven-minute presser. Daniel Salloi gave some tough interviews in the locker room too. 

    We try to figure out who lacked effort and who is going to get benched, and there are a lot of potential candidates. We also discuss briefly the 120-minute win over Union Omaha to advance in the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup to face FC Tulsa in the Round of 16.

    Thankfully, we still have the Kansas City Current. While they only mustered out a draw Wednesday on incredibly short rest and travel nightmares against Vlatko's former team, the Seattle Reign, they won again on Sunday against the North Carolina Courage.

    In the Digital Crawl, we hit a few topics, including:

    • Espinoza and Zusi are back... sort of.
    • SKC are the 41st most valuable franchise in the world
    • And a bunch of other stuff covered in this story
    • Bia, Chawinga and DiBernardo earn NWSL honors
    • Neil McGuinness is the new LAFC Technical Director (but SKC only could find Gavin Wilkinson?)
    • 14-year-old Cavan Sullivan is one to watch
    • Here is a rundown of topics (and approximate start times):

      • Northern Lights - 1:38
      • Sporting KC lost at home again - 5:20
      • Vermes post-game Presser after Houston - 21:59
      • SKC (barely) advance in the US Open Cup - 43:37
      • KC Current have another solid week - 50:11
      • Digital Crawl - 1:04:01
      • Upcoming Schedule:

        • Sporting KC at Austin FC, Saturday, May 18th @ 7:30 PM CST
        • KC Current vs. Racing Louisville, Saturday, May 18th @ 8:30 PM
        • Spotify took away our ads, so we turned on "Listener Support." Don't feel obligated, but if you have a few spare bucks and are a fan of the pod, we'd appreciate your donation.

          Big thanks to Splitter Conspiracy (listen to them here) for our theme music made with the permission of the KC Cauldron.

          ...more
          View all episodesView all episodes
          Download on the App Store

          For the Glory KCBy Chad and Sheena Smith

          • 4.3
          • 4.3
          • 4.3
          • 4.3
          • 4.3

          4.3

          25 ratings


          More shows like For the Glory KC

          View all
          Total Soccer Show: USMNT, Champions League, EPL, and more ... by TSS, The Athletic

          Total Soccer Show: USMNT, Champions League, EPL, and more ...

          3,589 Listeners

          Extratime by Major League Soccer

          Extratime

          1,214 Listeners

          Alexi Lalas’ State of the Union Podcast by FOX Sports

          Alexi Lalas’ State of the Union Podcast

          1,089 Listeners

          KC Soccer Journal: A Sporting KC Podcast by FFSN Sporting KC

          KC Soccer Journal: A Sporting KC Podcast

          77 Listeners

          The Bill Simmons Podcast by The Ringer

          The Bill Simmons Podcast

          30,014 Listeners

          First Things First by FOX Sports

          First Things First

          2,048 Listeners

          KCSN: Kansas City Soccer News and Analysis by KC Sports Network

          KCSN: Kansas City Soccer News and Analysis

          282 Listeners

          Scuffed | USMNT, World Cup, Yanks Abroad, futbol in America by Adam Belz and Greg Velasquez

          Scuffed | USMNT, World Cup, Yanks Abroad, futbol in America

          903 Listeners

          Soccer 101 by TSS

          Soccer 101

          804 Listeners

          Home and Away - A Sporting KC Podcast by Drew VanderPloeg and Cody Welton

          Home and Away - A Sporting KC Podcast

          18 Listeners

          What's Wright? with Nick Wright by iHeartPodcasts and The Volume

          What's Wright? with Nick Wright

          1,124 Listeners

          Call It What You Want: A CBS Sports Golazo Network Podcast by CBS Sports, USMNT, U.S. Soccer, MLS, World Cup, UCL, Americans Abroad

          Call It What You Want: A CBS Sports Golazo Network Podcast

          306 Listeners

          New Heights with Jason & Travis Kelce by Wondery

          New Heights with Jason & Travis Kelce

          17,000 Listeners

          Men in Blazers: Early Kick Off by Men in Blazers Media Network

          Men in Blazers: Early Kick Off

          388 Listeners

          Soccerwise by Jordan Angeli, Tom Bogert, David Gass

          Soccerwise

          102 Listeners