DCFCFC - The Podcast

DCFCFC returns (even if we don't know exactly what we're calling it these days) with Sean breaking down what we know so far about Detroit City FC's 2018 roster.

Sean & John speak with Sam Piraine, head coach of the Detroit City FC women's team and technical director of DCFC Youth West. The women's season may only have lasted three matches, but there was still a lot to talk about - including Sam's brief stint coaching against City and why it's a lot better to be with us than against us.

Sean and John return from their brief hiatus to discuss the NISA 2021 Fall Season and start unpacking all the news (and feelings) about DCFC's departure from NISA and new affiliation with the USL.

John & Sean are joined by fellow DCFC owner and club CEO Sean Mann to discuss the massively successful investment campaign, how the club and its people are responding to the COVID-19 pandemic and how DCFC is engaging with the #BlackLivesMatter fight for racial justice in its communities. We also have #Juicenotes for the Independent Cup/Rust Belt Derby wins against Buffalo and Cleveland and take a quick overview of the roster (including new additions) for the upcoming NISA "fall season."

New league, who dis? Sean shares what we know -- or often don't know, because this is lower-league American soccer -- about the seven other teams that Detroit City FC will face in this inaugural NISA Spring season.

With AFC Ann Arbor's elimination this evening from the 2019 NPSL Playoffs [pause for hysterical laughter] it's time for a 2019 Juicenotes, Playoff Edition! Sean breaks down the three teams traveling to Keyworth this weekend, and he and John dig into what's different about City this season and what might be starting to change in the near future. Also, John puts Sean on the spot and makes him pick a Black Arrow winner.

#Juicenotes is back, as Sean takes us through the players who've been announced for DCFC's 2019 NPSL roster before the opening friendly at Chattanooga. Oh, and if you're one of the clubs whom we've heard listen to this podcast in order to get inside info on City: You suck, your club sucks and go do your own damned homework.

Sean and John sit down with Detroit City FC head coach Trevor "MF" James for a wide-ranging discussion about what brought him to City, how the team will operate in its new professional structure, how he's building a roster, what the club's supporters mean to him and the players and much more.

Sean and John sit down with DCFC co-owner and CEO Sean Mann to get an update on the club, its league, its new ventures and some thoughts on what the season and future hold. (Interview recorded on February 11, 2019.)

At roughly halfway through the NPSL regular season, we take a look at what's going right on the field for City, what needs work and who's impressed us so far. Also, Coach Sean gets put on the spot and is made to pick his starting 11 at this point of the season.

For various reasons, including lawyers, it's been roughly half a season since a full podcast. That means there's a lot to talk about. Most things happening on the field are not good, while things in the stands and in the community are wonderful. There's an #askPadre on the Rust Belt Derby, Sean points out that the standard narrative about what's wrong with the team doesn't seem to be truly correct and we get into the rest of the division on and off the field.   Dedication: The trademark practice team at Brooks Kushman who gave us pro-bono assistance when the lawyers came calling over our previous name.

Dean and John enable Sean by making encouraging noises as he descends the rest of the way into madness and/or roster analysis. We finish up the DCFC roster discussion, talk a bit about the Bucks match and the Sharta and Dayton matches later in the weekend and note that there's some really amazing deals available should you ever want to go watch an AFC Cl*veland match. This week's interviews are short post-match discussions with George Chomakov, CAPTAIN Dave Edwardson and Coach Ben Pirmann. This is also the first DCFC Fancast episode that is part of the Just Can't Get Enough collective, a new effort to provide a welcoming home to as many creative people as possible who love Detroit City FC and want to share their creativity with the world.

Two quick interviews: Detroit City FC Head Coach Ben Pirmann following DCFC's victory in Windsor New City players Danny Deakin and Omar Sinclair at the Supporter Prom Links: Omar on Twitter Danny on Twitter

Sean and John speak briefly with new DCFC midfielder Ali Al-Gashamy, whose path to a summer in Detroit led from Iraq to Norway to Estonia to...Boiling Springs, North Carolina? Links: Ali on Twitter Transfermarkt profile

Sean levels up in soccer nerddom by providing more than an hour of analysis of Detroit City FC's 20 announced players to date and occasionally thin hints from the other six teams in the Michigan+Dayton NPSL division. (Spoiler alert: Kalamazoo's gonna suck, and City's going to be good.) Links: Detroit City FC roster

John, Sean and guest host Andrew Goode of "Boys In Rouge" sit down with Detroit City FC head coach Ben Pirmann before the club's open tryouts. Ben talks being Caesar, balancing college and NPSL responsibilities, his thoughts on what's going on around the division and more. We're also joined by DCFC co-owner Alex Wright for an update on Keyworth, 2016 season plans, sponsors and more. Links: Boys In Rouge DCFC 2016 season schedule  

DCFC defender Seb Harris talks about a soccer career that included both a win at Anfield and a game-winning header against Cleveland, as well as what life is like for City players who balance 9-5 jobs, family obligations and Monday-Thursday training schedules in season. This episode also features Sean's first analysis of what we know about City's opponents for the 2016 season, as well as an #AskPadre on what comes first for the club: A DCFC women's team, a professional men's side or a youth academy? Links: Seb Harris goal, celebration and post-match interview from Northampton Town, 2010 Seb's goal and celebration against AFC Cleveland, 2015

Danny Dragoi tells us the story of how a U-16 Romanian national team member traveled through more than 20 clubs in Romania, Italy, Albania, the NCAA, the PDL and beyond to become one of Detroit City FC's most dependable players. He also discusses, from his perspective, the difference between a "team" and a "club" and we learn the first thing he'd do if he ran the US Soccer Federation. In #AskPadre, we get into the #INeedAKeyworthBuddy movement and at some point, Sean intentionally brings up pro/rel. Some men just want to watch the world burn. Links: /r/DetroitCityFC Keyworth buddy thread

Dean, Sean and John are joined by "Soccernomics" author and University of Michigan professor Dr. Stefan Szymanski as well as Detroit City FC co-owner Todd Kropp to talk about the economics of DCFC, the NPSL, American soccer and sports in general. (Warning: This interview contains what Sean described at the time as "one of the most productive promotion and relegation discussions ever to occur in the United States." Listen at your own risk.) We also get an update on Keyworth investment from Todd and talk about NPSL realignment's implications for DCFC's 2016 schedule. Links: Michigan Funders Keyworth investment site Dr. Szymanski's new book, "Money and Soccer" on Amazon Sean's big map of Midwest amateur soccer teams

John talks briefly to Alex Wright of Detroit City FC and Jeff Aronoff of Sidewalk Ventures after the #KeyworthKickoff community investing launch event. Plus, some background on the FC United Manchester friendly. "Language barrier" our ass, Sean Mann. Go invest in a stadium here: MichiganFunders.com.