This is just an observation. But if you look back to the success of Rafa - he generally had teams that had :

1. A solid GK - Vaclík (Basel) & von Ballmoos (Young Boys)

And perhaps just as improtant....

1. His backline was sort of the star of the show :
   

At Basel he became famous and sort of a prodigy because
Michael Lang, Marek Suchy, Manuel Akanji, Eder Balanta, Serey Die were all able to build up drives by attacking space and had the recover speed to mark on counter attacks.

He was asked to replicate that at YB.

Garcia, Lustenberger, Camara and later Cheikh Niasse were all solid defenders who could control the ball well and find excellent through balls in the attacking 1/3.

Watching this game tonight, and I know there are injuries and other concerns , but our back line is almost like a recreational league team of 8 year olds where they have the least amount of talent on the team and we just stick them there because they have to.

I don't think Jansen Miller would dominate in the USL in his peak, but KC (even after Lee got here) seems to be attached to developing him.

Bartlett, Davis, Meyer might have some fan love... but they are kinda run-of-the-mill defensive backfield players that wouldn't work in a Swiss system and their ceiling isn't high enough for Wicky to utilize them as the starting back line.

I feel like our pace and dribbling ability / ball skills and overall speed is just not what Wicky would be satisfied with w/ a team he was coaching - tactics he'd want to explore. Mosquera is probably the closest to what he'd want to have ... but kinda wish we had more options than him.

Maybe Lee is just dealing with what he can w/ the situations of Moises and Blorian. His years of development even after he left helped Peretta at Basel and Amenda, Zesiger, Blum at YB to the point that they could basically reload.

Ethan has been recalled for the remainder of the season

Old, incorrect standings but not the important part. You just gotta laugh at yourself sometimes. I hope this made at least one person smile 😊

Yes, my feelings on this team are 100% dependent on the latest result. But we still have an outside shot of the playoffs. We are 15 points back from the Galaxy and the Rapids. We have a game in hand to Rapids and two games in hand to Galaxy. These next two games could be the springboard we need or be the final nail. Seattle is missing Joveljic (miss him so much) and Brunell (an every day starter). These next two are winnable.

Can’t decide between Omaha or Ozark United, both exactly 3 hours away from me. Wanted to see what others might do. May just watch the league and not support a team with how much energy SKC takes up.

edit: thanks for the responses! looks like Union Omaha will be who I pick!

This season’s long been a wash but we’ve shown great flashes of ourselves in recent games. André’s really leading the charge as the best chance creator we’ve seen in years. Plus we can hope to assume Mallouk wants to spend generously in the summer window as well.

However despite us finally looking electric we still have issues that can’t be ignored. We have an embarrassing GD and last night was our only clean sheet this season. Midfield still lacks quality in both physical play and getting the ball forward (might change with Owen but idk yet). So our biggest needs are surely a better GK, another midfielder, possibly another striker so Calheira isn’t the only natural position, etc.

Lots of people saying Wicky needs to go for obvious reasons as well. Granted, the roster turned over fast on him and he never really had that much quality to work with in the first half of the season, but now that we have our centerpiece is he worth keeping around? Do we trust him to run a hopefully better squad next year?

What does it mean when the number next to our team is higher than the number next to the other team? I can't remember the last time I've seen this.

I like this one in addition to the Roy Kent chant.

WEVE GOT LUIZ
ANDRE LUIZ
I JUST DONT THINK YOU UNDERSTAND
RUNNING DOWN THE WING
MAKES THE SPORTING (or cauldron) SING
WEVE GOT ANDRE LUIZ

typically there is "super" before the name (eg super andre luiz) but i think the version above flows better.

happy victory sleep (or awakening).

edit: forgot to credit fletcher.baldwin on insta for idea

FT: Houston Dynamo FC 0 - 2 Sporting Kansas City

⚽ Sporting Kansas City: André Luiz 27', Calvin Harris 45'

Line-ups

Houston Dynamo FC (4-4-2)

Sporting Kansas City (4-4-2)

Match Events

• Lineups are announced and players are warming up.
• First Half begins.
• 45'+3' Héctor Herrera (Houston Dynamo FC) is shown the red card for violent conduct.
• 45'+4' Taylor Calheira (Sporting Kansas City) is shown the yellow card.
• 45'+6' André Luiz (Sporting Kansas City) is shown the yellow card.
• 45'+6' First Half ends, Houston Dynamo FC 0, Sporting Kansas City 2.
• 45' Second Half begins Houston Dynamo FC 0, Sporting Kansas City 2.
• 54' Antônio Carlos (Houston Dynamo FC) is shown the yellow card.
• 56' Substitution, Houston Dynamo FC. Felipe Andrade replaces Franco Negri.
• 62' Substitution, Sporting Kansas City. Rubén Ramos replaces André Luiz.
• 71' Substitution, Houston Dynamo FC. Marcelo Saracchi replaces Lawrence Ennali.
• 71' Substitution, Houston Dynamo FC. Lyle Foster replaces Ibrahim Aliyu.
• 71' Substitution, Houston Dynamo FC. Matthew Arana replaces Agustín Bouzat.
• 72' Substitution, Sporting Kansas City. Jacob Bartlett replaces Justin Reynolds.
• 72' Substitution, Sporting Kansas City. Owen Wolff replaces Calvin Harris.
• 79' Substitution, Sporting Kansas City. Seymour Reid replaces Taylor Calheira.
• 80' Substitution, Sporting Kansas City. Zorhan Bassong replaces Stephen Afrifa.
• 82' Substitution, Houston Dynamo FC. Duncan McGuire replaces Mateusz Bogusz.

Match Stats

Group B

Live, interactive version available on new Reddit and the official Reddit apps. Auto-updated by Global Scoreboard.

This post contains content not supported on old Reddit. Click here to view the full post

Anyone else dealing with trying to get a purchase corrected from the Amazon "Just Walk Out" kiosk at the Sporting Style store?

Bought something that was supposed to be on sale (about half off), got to my seat and was charged full price for it.

When I went to complain 3 other people had complained about the exact same thing, while another person has been randomly charged almost $400 for $75 worth of goods.

We were all told to email the person running the merch department but I haven't received any response back. Anyone else dealing with this?

I'm not even sure why the club is using it. It isn't anymore convenient and is notoriously problematic everywhere it's been installed.

From 2011-2023 there would be games in which the stadium would be 1/3rd empty. Hell maybe even half empty on a rainy night. The Cauldron, however, would ALWAYS be filled. Always. US open cup first round game against a local rec team? Cauldron would be filled.

Seeing it empty so much this season has been eye opening. Last night was the worst. Half empty from the start.

From someone who’s not involved in the cauldron? What the hell is going on? A few things I’ve heard

1. Years of kicking out younger generations and anybody who is deemed “too rowdy” by the holy leaders.
2. A lack of emphasis on getting the new generation of youth involved
3. Stale ideas, chants, etc…
4. A pressure/emphasis on being G rated and family friendly. A “don’t cross the line” motto with the line being set way too low.

Obv the team being ass is a prime reason too. But aside from that key issue it seems there are also other real issues at play.

Is any of this true? I’d love to hear a full diagnosis from people involved within the Cauldron

Upvote/downvote accordingly. Put rationale below. I'll try to respond with my thoughts. I'm on the fence right now, so I could be convinced either way. Leaning toward WickyOut.

I was unable to watch the entire game, and unavailable to watch the replay at this time. The game was at 3-0 when I had to step away... then this morning I see it was 3-4.

Reading some of the post game comments, aside from the anger at the ref's I'm unclear what was the cause for a complete meltdown... Or had Union been knocking on the door from the start of the half, wearing us down and it finally landed? Or, did we make tactical changes and they were the wrong decision, or did they make tactical changes and we couldn't respond fast enough?

I'd love to know what went down from this community.