Buzzard Nest Podcast

Send us Fan Mail Twenty-one shots. Nobody had taken more than fourteen against Vancouver all season, and we did it at BC Place without Baribo and without Munteanu. We went ahead, came from behind twice, and still took just one point. Sensei Nono and Hosei Kijima showed up to a fight, 1976-style, against a top MLS side in the Vancouver Whitecaps.

Send us Fan Mail (Fahhh) Why did we have to lose that game against Charlotte? It doesn't feel right. Well, it doesn't, because in many areas that was our best performance of the season and we still lost. This is a therapy session for DCU supporters, and a bit of praise for finally having a system that isn't the 4-4-2 and that works.

Send us Fan Mail We're back facing Charlotte FC, but this time at Audi Field, and Charlotte is not the same team away as they are at home. Since two set pieces killed the game for us last time, I review how well they've been doing in that area since we last faced them. Finally, I look at which formation and midfielders should start, based purely on the numbers.

Send us Fan Mail The podcast will return on Sep 19th.  

Send us Fan Mail DC United drew 0–0 with LAFC, and Saturday's 4-3-3 did more for our midfield in one match than the 4-4-2 has in twenty — Servania posted his first positive receiving figure of the season, Peltola his best in twenty games. We check all three pre-match predictions, unpack why Son Heung-Min was somehow the best mover and the worst finisher on the pitch. 

Send us Fan Mail The LAFC arriving at Audi Field have one of the best defensive records in the league, but some of the statistics get interesting when they face a direct playing style. We look at where their left side hurts us, why Son is four goals short of expectation, and some of the areas DCU can exploit.

Send us Fan Mail DC United created nearly twice Charlotte's open-play expected goals, put seventeen shots up, and lost 3–1 to two set pieces in two minutes. Let's stay positive and review the game completely bias. 

Send us Fan Mail DC United host the New England Revolution at Audi Field on tonight, and the data says the Revs' fourth-place table position is running well ahead of their actual performance. I break down the event data for the Revs and make four predictions you can hold me to.

Send us Fan Mail We graded our own pre-match calls against the data: two misses, one flip, and a defensive line swing that decided the match. Montreal's high line generated a recovery every 8 minutes in average and posted the best shot-quality conversion any team has managed against us all season — while DC United survived on Sean Johnson and a decent 7.9-rated debut from Kimito Nono with ass...

Send us Fan Mail Montreal have taken two points from twelve since the World Cup break and scored twice in four matches. We dig into event data to flag interesting points on CF Montreal defensive leakiness and predictions for the game vs DC United. Short and consice pod, enjoy! 

Send us Fan Mail DC United fell behind 2-0 to MLS leaders Nashville SC before roaring back for a 2-2 draw, and the numbers say it wasn't luck. We analyze some of the numbers as why DCU doubled Nashville's non-penalty expected goals after the break, and reveal a season-long pattern: this team turns into someone else entirely once they're chasing a game.

Send us Fan Mail Nashville SC sits atop the East, but the underlying numbers tell a different story: led actual xG in only half the matches we tracked, and their whole build-up engine runs through two players you can actually stop. Inside: where their engine runs, the flank they'll attack, and a bold predicted XI before kickoff. 

Send us Fan Mail DC United finally snap an 11-match winless streak with a stoppage-time penalty at Audi Field — but the real story is a match of two total opposites, decided by a back line that scored, assisted, and absorbed Toronto's entire attack. Bring your umbrella because it's about to rain stats and numbers.

Send us Fan Mail Back from the World Cup break — we break down DC United's first-half numbers and what they really say about our wins and losses, then scout Houston Dynamo ahead of the return. Data over vibes, as always. Just fútbol.

Send us Fan Mail In this episode we break down the Montreal tie. Was Bartlett to blame? Rene? Or something only the numbers can explain? Let's dig into why this draw felt like a win we should have had.

Send us Fan Mail Same eleven for the third straight match, same problems. St. Louis walked into Audi Field with a map of our weak flanks, Kurokawa got carved open, and Durkin buried the goal we all saw coming. Rene waited sixty-two minutes to react. Then Peglow smashes a rocket from twenty yards in the ninetieth and saves the night. The episode digs into my match-day sensations, player ratings, an...

Send us Fan Mail DCU lost 1-3 at home to Chicago Fire in a match decided more in the dugout than on the pitch. Gregg Berhalter brought a scouted plan to overload our wings. René Weiler answered with ten men behind the ball abandoning four games of pressure-building progression in a single lineup card. At home. In our nest. The episode digs into my match-day sensations, player ratings, and a peek a...

Send us Fan Mail DC United showed up at GEODIS Park in Tennessee for a fight and punched Nashville twice before a red card in the second half sent our performance downhill. The episode digs into my match-day sensations, player ratings, and a peek at our next opponent Chicago Fire. 

Send us Fan Mail DC United beat NYCFC 2-0 and kept the clean sheet. NYCFC threw everything at us but got peanuts back. The episode digs into my match-day sensations, player ratings, and a peek at our next opponent