The Hot Cast

On today's episode of the Hot Cast, Ruben and RJ discuss the 6-point week on the road for the Chicago Fire. They start with the 2-1 win in Portland and use that game as a framework to discuss the emerging greatness that is Brian Gutierrez. They also talk about Jairo Torres and his improvements, as well as the return to the back 4 and how that's helped them. They then talk about the win against Kansas City and dicsuss whether or not this was the best win of the year.

In the show's second half, they talk about new signing Ousmane Doumbia and what his signing could mean for the way the Fire play in the future, and what it means for the current roster.

All of that plus RJ's opinion on the League of Legends Coke on this week's Hot Cast.

On this week's episode of the Hot Cast, Ruben and RJ are sad. Sad and Disappointed. They discuss the match against Columbus and what went right in the first 30 minutes and what went wrong after that. Then they praise Miguel NAvarro's effort and talk about why the game wasn't the worst (A low bar, they know). The second half of the show is all about Messi and whether or not Joe Mansueto should accelerate the timeline for hiring new staff so they can make their own summer window splash. All of that plus the summer flu on this week's Hot Cast.

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The Chicago Fire have been eliminated in the US Open Cup and we're here to talk about it. Ruben and RJ discuss the penalty decision and how it was game over afterward, the questionable tactics from Head Coach Frank Klopas, and how the roster was not prepared for the schedule congestion. Then they spend some time on where the Fire go from here and we stake our early claim on who the new manager should be of all the known candidates. All of that plus some rage and sadness on this week's Hot Cast.

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Ruben and RJ return in another Postgame edition of The Hot Cast. They discuss the win in Austin and how they did it-- alongside the redemption of Xherdan Shaqiri and why he's playing well all of a sudden. They talk about innovative ways Frank Klopas has this team playing and how his substitution decisions have helped improve the way the Fire games have played out. Then they talk about what the next week is like with games in Foxboro and Toronto coming up in the next week. All of that plus ACEN vibes on this week's Hot Cast.

A link to the formation tweet discussed in the episode https://twitter.com/amcalabrese12/status/1661543829575540736

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The Hot cast is back and so is the Frank Klopas era! Ruben and RJ discuss his two first league games and the highs and lows their in. They talk about how on the road, his conservative approach led to Charlotte having too much time on the ball, whereas RJ talks about how the players let themselves down. Then they talk about the St. Louis match and how Frank got the personnel and the tactics 100% right. They go on to discuss how he can try to find some sort of middle ground.

After thanking our patrons, They then talk about Xherdan Shaqiri and try to identify what if anything is different is going on with him. Then they move on to the games at the weekend and whether or not they should rotate the squad at home against Atlanta to make sure they have the best chance of winning their Round of 16 Open Cup match in Austin midweek. All of that and more on this week's Hot Cast

Ruben and RJ are back to discuss an action-packed week in Fire soccer, and it's not even over yet. They start with the game against Nashville and talk about how much it stunk to lay down in service of the Open Cup midweek. Then they discuss Ezra Hendrickson firing what it means for the club, and how Frank Klopas would change the team. They transition nicely into the Open Cup game from Tuesday. They discuss how the team played well and how they dealt well with St. Louis's press at times. Then they look at Saturday and beyond to see how the next few weeks could go for the club.

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Ruben and RJ are back after a disappointing draw with the New York Red Bulls. They discuss some big-picture themes on what's going on before getting on to the game proper. There, they discuss the pleasant surprise of Meran Halie-Selassie and what he means for the team. Then they talk about the goal at the end of the game, and discuss what is actually the real problem. After that and the Patreon thank yous, they look forward to the game against Nashville. All of that plus RJ reviews a Jack & Coke on this week's Hot Cast.

Ruben and RJ are back post US Open Cup to discuss the last week of Fire soccer. They start, inevitably, with Xherdan Shaqiri and the Fire's loss against Atlanta United. They discuss the wasted good performances and worry about things other than performence deciding lineups. Then they discuss the first-ever Chicago Derby as the Fire took on Chicago House for the very first time. They talk about how impressed they were with the amateur squad and what the game meant to them. Finally they talk about the upcoming game against the Red Bulls—all that and more on this week's Hot Cast.

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Welcome back to the Hot Cast. On today's show, Ruben and RJ go over another collapse against the Philidelphia Union. They start by discussing Gastoin Gimenez's value while Ruben asks if he's either the only sane man or the actual crazy one when mentioning how valuable the former DP is to the team this year. Then they spend some time talking about Xherdan Shaqiri and Georgios Koutsias, who made their return from injury and team debuts respectfully. Then, after taking a break to thank our Patrons (patreon.com/thelantern), they go on to discuss the defense and the problems the team face there. They end the show with concerns over this Sunday's game against Atlanta. All of that plus RJ's allergies on this week's Hot Cast.

PS. I apologize for the audio. We had some technical difficulties.

The Chicago Fire have won two in a row, but more importantly, they have an opponent for their Third Round Open Cup match, and It's Chicago House! Ruben and RJ start this week's show by talking about the cupset and giving some Open Cup trivia about the last time the Fire played another team from the Chicagoland tournament in the oldest of American Soccer traditions. After that, they then transition to talking about the Fire's relatively easy win over Minnesota United and the looming specter of Xherdan Shaqiri. Then after thanking our Patrons, they go on to talk about next week's clash with the CCL-depleted Philidelphia Union. All of that and more on this week's Hot Cast.

You can Support the podcast at patreon.com/TheLantern