Orlando City continues preseason preparations although it’s been a quiet week for the Lions otherwise. Meanwhile, the Orlando Pride had a much noisier week, which was expected with the 2023 NWSL Draft taking place last Thursday.

Our show opens with a discussion of Orlando City’s remaining needs as preseason training camp rolls along and how there seems to be a segment of the fan base that is not concerned with the youth at striker behind Ercan Kara. I would like to not worry about that, but that’s not in my nature.

We also discussed the report about the Lions’ interest in a Colombian defensive midfielder, and we gave a couple of brief Orlando City-related updates.

Orlando Pride Head Coach Seb Hines joined us to discuss draft night in Philadelphia. There are five new Pride players and it will be interesting to see if all of them earn a contract and how much they can contribute in 2023. The coach also discussed some of the club’s recent moves.

Following our discussion with Hines, we had our own chat about the NWSL draft, the loss of Meggie Dougherty Howard, and the re-signing of right back Celia and defensive midfielder Jordyn Listro. There are still some weaknesses within the Pride roster but things are starting to come together as the NWSL preseason approaches.

Finally, we spent some time answering your questions from our mailbag, where we were asked about Arsenal (for some reason), some odd juxtapositions in the Orlando City starting XI, and the recent NWSL investigation findings. If there’s anything — and we do mean anything — you want us to address on the next show, just ask by tweeting it to us at @TheManeLand with the hashtag #AskTMLPC.

Stay safe and enjoy the show!

Here’s how No. 322 went down:

0:15 - We discussed the Orlando City position groups that still seem a little problematic as the season approaches. With four different competitions this season, it still feels risky to go into the season with just the strikers the Lions have at the moment. Even if a reported move for a U22 Initiative happens, is it wise to put so much responsibility on the kids?

21:18 - Seb Hines jumps on with us and tells us about his new draft class, why the Pride were willing to trade the No. 2 pick and two of the team’s third-round selections...plus, how he’s approaching the preseason and why the word “formation” doesn’t matter to him.

42:27 - More Pride talk about the draft, a departure, and two re-signings, plus we delve into a rather full mailbag this week.

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