Home and Away - A Sporting KC Podcast

We've been whining about it all year, and SKC finally signed a #6.  We discuss the addition of Nemanja Radoja, what we really know about him, and what reasonable expectations are for his addition to the team.   The Current's run finally came to an end, and honestly they were outplayed by the Thorns.  That said, there is plenty to look forward to with that team both on and off the fi...

The MLSPA made their bi-annual roster dump just in time for us to evaluate the SKC roster, salary cap situation, and identify priorities for next year, along with discussing who should potentially stay or go?  Obviously there a many dependencies on how certain players effect the required tactics, their fit with their potential teammates, and how they effect the club's ceiling.  We try to...

SKC Closed out a fairly forgettable season with a somewhat forgettable result, but we tell you why you shouldn't forget it!  It's a stark reminder of some structural issues that need to be addressed, and we go through them all(sign a defensive midfielder pls, Fontas still is a liabililty, and should you build your posession structure around a 36yo RB?).   We also discuss a couple fairly...

It was an almost perfect day at CMP on Sunday, in almost every imaginable way.  The weather, the vibes, the fans, and the performance on the field.  Some of the best soccer we have seen all season was on display, and SKC controlled and contributed the majority of it.  We are running out of words to describe Willy Agada, and we are also seeing players like Ben Sweat really round into...

It's an international break with no SKC games!  Drew and Cody discuss a rather listless pair of matches for the USMNT and what they see happening, and whether relying on a single 19yo midfielder for success is a good idea.  Also some discussion around coaching idealism and how GGG might need to adjust to get his players at their best in Qatar. We also cover the KC Current and what may be...

We're back!  And SKC have extended their positive run of form to 8 games with 2 more wins and a draw and only 1 loss across the last 2 months.  We spend more time evaluating the underlying numbers of Willy Agada and Erik Thommy's performances since arriving in KC(spoiler alert: They good).  Also, a discussion around off-season squad construction now that we know what pieces will be...

Drew is back from LA after bringing back one lowly point on the trip.  We discuss what was a fairly mixed performance from Sporting KC.  There were positives we have become familiar with over the past 6 weeks, and negatives we have seen a lot this season.  In any other circumstance, a 2-2 draw at LA would be a decent result, so we need to take that in context.   A discussion ar...

Erik Thommy.  What else can be said.  Dude was on one all night against San Jose, and abused Thommy Thompson regularly.  Quite clearly the best player on the field, and his quality lifted the rest of the team.  While it was a 1-0 result, SKC never felt to be in significant trouble outside the first 10 minutes of the match.  John Pulskamp also had another very good match, a...

Fun soccer is Fun!  Who knew?  SKC turned in the most comprehensive performance of the season against Portland.  Yes they outscored their xG by a bunch, but it is more about how they played, the positional play, the possession, the winning second balls, the pressing and counterpressing.  For the first time this season, they looked like the SKC we have come to expect for several...

Drew and Cody discuss their relative elation given the first legitimately positive performance of the season by SKC against the LA Galaxy on the weekend.  We were treated to another vintage Rog performance, as well as Zusi at his best dropping dimes from deep.  Is there reason to be concerned about how SKC can effectively move on from these players?  You can see how important they c...

Drew and Cody discuss a 2-0 loss to Austin that on the face of it seems pretty bleak.  SKC probably actually played one of their best matches of the season though, and there are potential positives to be excited for.  Willy Agada is a real center forward, and it meant actual chances were created in this match.  Was the offside trap effective or just lucky?  Is Kayden Pierre the...

The disappointment is real.  SKC get summarily smacked by LAFC in the 2nd half on Saturday then score no goals on 31 shots(creating a whopping 1.3xG) against a USL team getting knocked out on penalties in the Open Cup semi-final vs. Sacramento.  This feeling is all too familiar this season. There is plenty of blame to go around, and we discuss many of the places it could/should reside. &...

Grim is right.  SKC got thoroughly outplayed by RSL at the end of this 3 game road trip, and there were few positives to take from the game.  We discuss why this capitulation may have occurred, reiterate how the need for perfection hurts this team's long term prospects, and discuss whether the philosophy for rotation across these games was appropriate. Also a lot of talk about roster construction,...

Consecutive points on the road?  In this economy?  Drew and Cody discuss two very organized and functionally well played(albeit completely different) performances by SKC over the past few days.  We cover the concerns with the requirement of perfection to get results, the evolution of Kayden Pierre, and the return of Rog(as long as his minutes are managed effectively).   Also so...

Drew and Cody are a bit apoplectic.  This SKC season seems to be bordering on(if not already completely) lost, and it's a tough feeling to have in early July.  The team showed signs of life for the first half hour before the weather postponement, and then Struber and RBNY made significant adjustments and neutralized SKC's attack.   We like the more direct play of the 8's, but they s...

Seriously, what are we doing?  Drew and Cody discuss a pretty demoralizing loss to Seattle.  SKC's play wasn't overtly terrible, but this was a clear distillation of clubs in vastly different places.  Schmetzer had a fantastic scheme to both keep SKC from being dangerous and to exploit them for chances.  Watching Will Bruin and Kelyn Rowe be significant pieces in said scheme is...

Two SKC wins in one week?  In this economy?  Drew and Cody discuss both the (albeit somewhat lucky)away win at Nashville and the 6-0 drubbing of Union Omaha in the Open Cup quarterfinals.  Drew professes his love for Felipe Hernandez(again), and we hope that PV agrees with the assessment that the Walter-Hernandez-Duke midfield is the most functional one that SKC has at the moment. W...

We're back!  Under less than auspicious circumstances.  We discuss the latest SKC debacle against New England(it's not all bad, except for the usual suspects), and whether The System(trademark) needs a tweak, not just for the short term, but perhaps the long term, given current roster construction and the available traits of players.  There is reason for frustration, but also some p...

Drew and Cody discuss the SKC-Vancouver match and how disheartening it is to watch a team with no offensive players lose to a really bad team at home.  More alternate formation discussions arise given the available personnel.  Will the International break give SKC the time needed to rest, heal and come back with some semblance of themselves when they return?  Will they sign a defens...

We're back!  It was a bit of an up and down set of results for SKC and there are many reasons for it.  Drew and Cody discuss many of them, including the performance of Cam Duke at multiple positions, and the ways the team has been constructed vs. what the goal is of the style of play.  We also discuss how much of Johnny Russell there may be left come the 2nd half of the season. &nbs...

Drew and Cody have got 2 games to discuss this week after the 0-0 against NYCFC at Citi Postage Stamp..errr..Field and the 4-2 extra time thriller Open Cup win against FC Dallas.  We appreciate PV's willingness to adjust tactics to the opponent and available personnel, and willingness to realize one of the choices was a bit galaxy-brained and use the water break to revert to a known quantity....

SKC had what is likely their best performance of the year vs. FC Dallas and came away with a 2-2 draw.  The numbers definitely look like SKC got the raw end of this result, and while this was an improvement over previous weeks, there is still plenty of work to do. Drew and Cody discuss a fantastic sub performance from Cam Duke, Daniel Salloi being the offensive threat we became used to last y...

Drew and Cody discuss the 0-0 home draw vs. Columbus and what worked and what didn't.  The defensive mentality that Peter Vermes asked for after the LAFC loss was definitely there, in the form of Kortne Ford.  A discussion around head injuries and what IFAB or MLS can do about it after Isi's injury. Offensively, still fairly vanilla, and struggling to create chances or get the ball in da...

Drew and Cody discuss the current state of the team, tactics and structures.  Should they be able to win every game 1-0?  Are they even set up to attempt to do that?  Are players being put in positions to succeed?  On the heels of the second viewing of the 4-2-3-1, what are reasonable structural changes that may alleviate some of the deficiencies seen so far and allow for a dif...

Drew and Cody get a little lively in this one.  Not full gasbag, national sports media debate show, but we have some frustrations, and we air them out.  Don't listen to this one with kids in the car unless you want them learning four letter words.  If you want an optimistic look at the club and what they are doing, probably want to skip this one.  We will get on the "where can...