The Mane Land PawedCast

With only MLS Cup remaining, it's a painful time of the off-season for Orlando City fans. As such, we try to entertain you a little bit by diving into our annual "stays or goes" episode. Quite simply, we go down the Orlando City roster, giving you what contract information we know and trying to predict which players will be back in purple next year and which ones will be moving on to another team....

The season is over. It seemed like this was an Orlando City built to do the darn thing, but you can't do the darn thing if you don't score any goals. It's also difficult to do the darn thing when one of your center backs gets sent off and your team has fewer players than the opposition. These are the things the Lions had to contend with on Saturday and there were still opportunities there to take...

After an unbelievably long gap in the playoff schedule, Orlando City is back this weekend with an Eastern Conference semifinal match at home against the Columbus Crew. And because it's a special week, we've got a special show for you. We open our discussion this week with a quick look at the United States Men's National Team's two-leg performance against Trinidad & Tobago. The games couldn't have...

Orlando City now knows its opponent for the Eastern Conference semifinals. The Lions will welcome the Columbus Crew into the purple palace in Parramore on Saturday, Nov. 25 for a 5:30 p.m. match. The series this year has been extremely competitive, with Orlando going 1-0-1 in the two regular-season meetings but needing to rally from two goals down both times to secure a result. We look at how thes...

Second verse, same as the first! Orlando City scored a first-half goal and rode that and a solid defensive game plan to a 1-0 playoff victory over Nashville SC in Game 2. This was essentially the same script, only with a less impressive winning goal and it took place in Tennessee rather than Florida, but the result is that the Lions are through the first-round series and on to the Eastern Conferen...

Orlando City played a great game to start the 2023 playoffs. Although there were a few things the Lions could clean up, it's hard to imagine the team playing much better against a stubborn Nashville SC side. Sure, it would be nice to finish a few more chances, but the important thing is that Orlando is halfway to where it needs to be in this opening-round matchup. We break down the match, in which...

Oftentimes, awards are popularity contests. We get that. But it's still nice to see the players and teams you follow get some recognition. To that end, we discuss the Lions who made the final cut for Major League Soccer's end-of-season awards. We don't think they'll win, but it's nice to be nominated. However, it's not nice to be snubbed. We point out two individuals who should have been among the...

The regular season is over. Despite Orlando City giving everyone a participation trophy on Decision Day and the hosts having a bit more to play for in the season's final game — a retiring legendary captain and a new coach at the helm — the Lions prevailed 2-0 over Toronto FC on the strength of a fully caffeinated cup of Duncan's finest. Rookie Duncan McGuire came off the bench and played like he'd...

We've gotten through the final international break of the 2023 Major League Soccer regular season and soon we'll be watching the matches around the league on Decision Day. The final day of the season takes place on Saturday and the Lions will be north of the border for a meeting with Toronto FC. The Reds will have a few more things to play for than Orlando City on Saturday, including a new head co...

Orlando City completed a monster eight-day run, getting wins against Montreal, Nashville (on the road), and the New England Revolution. Saturday's home win over the Revs wasn't as close as the 3-2 scoreline would seem to indicate, and it's another good sign for an Orlando City team that has feasted in the past on lower teams while not being quite at the level of the better sides. The Lions have cl...

Orlando City claimed another big road victory in a difficult place for visitors to get wins, and the Lions did it with only one shot on target all night on Wednesday. Duncan McGuire's strike late in the first half held up and the hosts didn't look particularly threatening after the opening moments of the second half thanks to a cool, calm, and collected Orlando City side that bossed the midfield,...

The Lions put together a complete game on Saturday night, soundly defeating visiting CF Montreal to the tune of 3-0 at Exploria Stadium. Orlando City needed that victory, which snapped a modest, two-game winless streak (0-1-1). Facundo Torres, Rafael Santos, and Dagur Dan Thorhallsson were particularly good but the entire team played a solid match. We break down the victory — Pedro Gallese's ninth...

Without a match to recap since our last show, we turned our attention to several news bites that have come out since Monday. We started with the news that Ajax is "monitoring" Orlando City winger Facundo Torres. Hey, they're not the only ones. Plenty of teams are keeping an eye on the young Uruguayan, and boy if he ever develops a right foot to go with his left, he'll get snatched up quickly. The...

Orlando City didn't have to face Inter Miami's "big three" of Lionel Messi, Sergio Busquets, and Jordi Alba, but still fell behind and had to have a Duncan McGuire cannon shot to rescue a point at home. It wasn't that the Lions played poorly per se, it was just that they struggled to put chances away, which can happen during the season. Miami did the same a time or two, and ultimately both teams l...

As special and memorable as Saturday's win over the Columbus Crew was, Wednesday's match at New York City FC was the polar opposite. The Lions played one of their most forgettable games of the season in a lethargic 2-0 loss on the road. The Pigeons played well, so give them credit, but that was not the Orlando City we're used to seeing. The Lions lacked ideas, urgency, energy, and — perhaps most o...

There have been a lot of special moments already this season, but Orlando City's three-goal rally from down 3-1 to up 4-3 at the death on Saturday night against the Columbus Crew was special. The Lions came roaring back behind Martin Ojeda, Facundo Torres, and Ramiro Enrique, who somehow found himself in the right place at the right time repeatedly against the Crew. We look back on the lineup chan...

With no Orlando City match to recap, we turned our attention to the United States Men's National Team's performance in the recent international window. We aren't as angst-ridden about the 3-0 and 4-0 wins over Uzbekistan and Oman, respectively, as many people are, but there is certainly room for improvement and it wasn't the best two games from Sergino Dest or Christian Pulisic, but the Yanks stil...

Orlando City went to TQL Stadium and did something no other visiting team has done this season — defeat mighty FC Cincinnati. In fact, the Lions went 1-0-1 against the assumed Supporters' Shield winners in 2023, so that might bode well for a potential postseason run. You'll recall that the Lions are also the only visiting team with an MLS regular-season win at the Philadelphia Union. We broke down...

Orlando City fell into the proverbial trap. With St. Louis City in the rearview mirror and a trip to league-leading Cincinnati looming this weekend, the match in Charlotte against a team that's below the playoff line always looked like a trap game, even taking into account the Lions should have been out for revenge against a team that beat them at home in regular-season play and knocked them out o...

Orlando City had one of its toughest tests of the season and passed with flying colors. The Lions held the high-powered St. Louis City offense to a single goal and even that one wasn't originally awarded. The defense did a good job of cutting off the visitors' transition chances, and Orlando got a brace from streaky winger Facundo Torres, including a winner from the penalty spot early in stoppage...

We've got Robin Jansson on this week's show! The Beefy Swede himself took time away from out-muscling opposing attackers to chat with us about many topics, including facing Lionel Messi and the Inter Miami circus, his partnership with Antonio Carlos (and Rodrigo Schlegel), what he enjoys about Orlando, the possibility of cutting down on yellow cards by yelling at match officials in Swedish instead...

Orlando City returned to regular-season play on Sunday night and ran into a stingy Chicago Fire defense that kept the Lions stymied for the first half. The second half was a different story, even though it started out on the wrong foot. The Lions fell behind just moments after the restart but were resilient enough to come back against the Fire on the road, ending a string of three consecutive Chic...

With another off week for the senior Lions, we turn our attention to the Young Lions of Orlando City B. OCB headed northeast to face New York City FC II in Queens and it was yet another wild affair for the Young Lions. They grabbed an early lead, threw that away, went down multiple goals, and then stormed back for a much-needed three points on the road. We break down the proceedings as "drunk OCB"...

We're still in the limbo between Leagues Cup and the resumption of the Major League Soccer season, so it's time for the Young Lions to take center stage. Unfortunately, this week that means having to rehash an unsatisfying 1-1 draw against an Inter Miami II side that was down a man for more than half an hour. That draw was followed by an even less satisfying shootout loss. We break down the match...

The Lions got got. It's difficult enough to deal with an Inter Miami team getting not only the new coach bump, but also adding three former Barcelona stars through whatever financial gymnastics MLS employed, but it's even worse when you have to take on the officiating crew as well. Another downy soft penalty, an uncalled second yellow on Lionel Messi, a chalked-off goal, a forcible hand to Kyle Sm...