KC Soccer Journal: A Sporting KC Podcast

Sporting KC announced their offseason roster moves today in which they said goodbye to some key, aging players. This first effort from Mike Burns is giving a lot of positive signs that the mentality has changed... and the rebuild has begun. Johnny Russell is gone. Tim Melia is gone. Where does this leave the roster? Where do we go from here? Who will be captain next year? We discuss the current needs and give our predictions for signings to come. S7:E47 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The KC Current are set for the first round of the playoffs at home on Saturday against North Carolina. Could Vlatko win NWSL Coach of the Year? MLS is welcoming the league's 30th team next season. How will the schedule be different? How can we make the Supporter's Shield more meaningful? Should the draft be killed? A large portion of the Sporting KC fanbase feels forgotten. They feel the club used to care more about fans, but that focus has shifted to money. Is there anything the club can do this offseason to win them back? What would YOU like to see from the club and/or ownership this offseason? S7:E46 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The MLS Players' Association released the salaries for 2024. We're talking the Best (and Worst) Value Players for Sporting KC. Somehow, the three highest paid players come in as our worst values on the roster. Besides Jake Davis, who are the GOOD values? Rumors of a major overhaul of the MLS - and NCAA soccer - schedules are swirling. It's just the first trophy of the year for the KC Current, but they hoisted the Summer Cup. Now they eyes turn back to the final weekend of the NWSL regular season. S7:E45 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We clean our hands of the 2024 MLS season and are already looking ahead and the prophesized rebuild for Sporting KC. There are many decisions to be made this offseason. We walk you through every player and tell you what to expect when Sporting KC announce the roster moves. Do you bring back Johnny Russell on a reduced contract... or move on? Temwa Chawinga sets TWO NWSL records with one game left. S7:E44 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Poch has arrived for the USMNT and he's already giving us wins... and great audio. Tim Ream said they hadn't done a 2 hour practice in his 14 years with the national team. Temwa Chawinga scores again and sets a new NWSL record. The Current have secured at least one home playoff game, but they have their eyes on homefield advantage for the entire playoff run. Sporting KC announced their end of season awards. Thad has a wild pick for Defender of the Year. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Peter Vermes says a change in mentality is needed. But the problems for Sporting KC go far beyond the players' confidence. Last weekend might be the last time we see some of our favorite players at Children's Mercy Park. Could it really be the end for Johnny Russell? Or Tim Melia, Remi Walter, Andreu Fontas, or Logan Ndenbe? The list keeps going. The players and coaches admit the roster is not good enough. Joaquin Fernandez had a strong debut... and a great first quote. The KC Current have eyes on 2nd place, just one point back from homefield advantage throughout the playoffs. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With the Open Cup Final loss to LAFC, followed quickly by a loss in St. Louis, Sporting KC's season is all but officially over with two games left. Afrifa and Vargas got the start on the week in a heavily rotated lineup, how did the future on the wings perform? The boys put in a performance that made us proud in last week's Open Cup Final, but the quality off the bench from LA was too much. Peter Vermes the Manager was done in by Peter Vermes the Technical Director. KC Current dropped points against Gothem, but second place and home-field advantage is not impossible. What is left for Sporting KC to play for? Here's what we're looking for in the last two matches. MIKE STAT: 17th loss of the season last night for #SportingKC, setting a non-shootout record for losses in a season for the club. S7:E41 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We recap the 2-0 loss that eliminated Sporting KC from playoff contention... including who SHOULD have taken the PK to potentially save the season. The KC Current are officially in the playoffs after a big win over Washington Spirit. What do they need to lock down home field advantage throughout the playoffs? It's a late-night final in Los Angeles on Wednesday night as SKC take on LAFC for the US Open Cup title. We look at recent form for LAFC, their streak of losing finals, and our preferred lineups for SKC. S7:E40 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's been tough to record enough pods with all the games lately but a great win over Colorado cried out for a pod. Cody, Robert and Thad have to get the fun ones in when we can. Sporting KC stays alive with a great win over the Rapids, a brace for Pulido AND a brace for Thommy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sporting KC have now dropped a total of 22 points from winning positions this season after drawing the New York Red Bull. We analyze the 4-2-3-1 formation with Zorhan Bassong and Jake Davis in the double-pivot. Davis fulfilled the Roger Espinoza prophecy. Alan Pulido finally scored a goal. Will Temwa Chawinga win MVP of the NWSL? The US Men's National Team lost to Canada in front of a weak crowd at CMP in Kansas City. Mauricio Pochettino reportedly will be made official before the next friendly on Tuesday. S7:E38 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sporting KC have fallen up the stairs into the US Open Cup Final... and the CONCACAF Champions Cup. Do they have a chance against LAFC in a month? And what will SKC look like by the time the CCC begins? We look at the MLS table and try to come up with any feasible path for Sporting KC to make the playoffs. Alan Pulido is snake bitten. At what point should SKC consider buying out his massive contract? The USMNT roster is out for the upcoming friendlies, including the match vs Canada at Children's Mercy Park. Will our friend Stephen Afrifa keep a really impressive stat going for SKC? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This weekend marked the return to regular season play for both Sporting KC and the KC Current. And their fortunes were reversed. We're talking about SKC's 3-0 shutout over Orlando City and all the bangers along the way. Plus the rumors about Kayden Pierre's move to Genk. The Open Cup Semifinals are on Tuesday night. SKC have a chance to play for a final - and maybe even qualify for the Champions Cup - with a win over Indy Eleven. S7:E36 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The KC Current have their first trophy. But how excited are we about The Women's Cup and where does it rank among the made up, cash grab tournaments around soccer? Sporting KC signed Joaquin Fernandez in the Summer Window. While a big splash wasn't expected, it isn't easy watching teams like Real Salt Lake be so active. Could it be? Did the USMNT really land one of the most highly respected coaches in the world? We react to the Mauricio Pochettino reports and what it means for the 2026 World Cup. We're joined by Carrie Robinson, who you might already know from being hilarious on Twitter. S7:E35 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We have missed having David Greenwald on the pod as he worked tirelessly on a side project but were overjoyed to have him back on this episode: interesting insight and a fun friend to argue, err... debate with. The downside was we were missing the normal host Cody Bradley. Technical difficulties was his excuse but maybe he was just watching the Olympics. We made the best of it and talked lots of soccer and some Olympics in general. In the first segment, we discuss Sporting KC getting bounced out in the first knockout match of the Leagues Cup. In the second segment we discuss the new payer being signed by Sporting KC. Other topics sprinkled throughout the episode include how SKC manages their roster (quality, selling), the US Women's National Team success in France, the Current, and what is or is not a sport vs a competition. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Segment 2 (about 24min mark) kicks off the main discussion about Major League Soccer placing the Leagues Cup and the US Open Cup in opposition to each other. We're also talking about Sporting KC's win over the Fire, the KC Current with two wins in the Summer Cup, and the US National Teams at the Paris Olympics. S7:E33 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Last week was a big test to see if Sporting KC had really turned a corner. It appears not. The show talks about the Vancouver loss, the disappointing draw with STL, the KC Current, and the upcoming Olympics. Plus, Thad tells us that Peter Vermes is hinting a new player could be on the way ahead of the Leagues Cup. S7:E32 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Look what happens when the guys hired to score goals... actually do! Two scoring droughts were ended in Sporting KC's 2-1 win over San Jose. Have the soccer gods begun to look down upon us? We're talking about the recent form from Voloder, Radoja, and Shelton. Plus both young wingers were deployed. The Western Conference table isn't as tightly packed as years' past. But we search for a possible hint of a feasible idea of a potential comeback for Sporting KC this year. Preview of Wednesday's matchup with a sneaky good Vancouver Whitecaps. S7:E31 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thad Bell is joined by Zachary Cobb for an episode to discuss the Open Cup win over FC Dallas. Sporting KC was fun, the evening was fun despite a lengthy weather delay. Did it feel a bit like the old SKC? His there a hint of momentum? Follow Zach and Thad on X/Twitter S7:E30 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sporting KC got a win in Game 1 of the double header this week vs FC Dallas. Zorhan Bassong saw red but is able to face them again in the Open Cup on Wednesday. Agada giveth... and Agada taketh away. Mike Burns has a massive task on his hands the next four years. Busio, Davis, and Pulskamp are going to Paris for the Olympics. KC Current's unbeaten run comes to an end because of the media game curse. S7:E29 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It felt good to have fun at Children's Mercy Park again on Saturday night as Sporting KC turned in one of the best performances of the season with a 2-0 win over Austin FC. Johnny Russell was on fire and Stephen Afrifa scored again. How high is the ceiling for Afrifa? Brian Bliss was the sacrificial lamb and the new hire, on the surface, feels underwhelming at best. Is Mike Burns the sweeping change in philosophy fans have been hoping for? Did Tim Weah take the blame, or is Gregg Berhalter's job on the line vs Uruguay? KC Current break another record and have a massive game this weekend. S7:E28 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices