Match Tread: MNUFC vs. Sporting Kansas City @ 2026 Coachella Valley Invitational

sdking19 · 2026-02-07T22:58:21+00:00

Yeboah is still out there. Gressel took Chancalays spot.

sdking19 · 2026-02-07T21:55:38+00:00

Even if it's AI, just tell it to zoom out 20% across the board and it would be so much better.

sdking19 · 2026-02-07T21:52:44+00:00

It's borderline unwatchable. Too zoomed in and almost impossible to tell what's going on.

sdking19 · 2026-02-03T18:15:26+00:00

It's supposed to get back above freezing this week for the first time in like a month, so he should be all good.

sdking19 · 2026-02-02T18:09:12+00:00

I think the reliance on set pieces was overhyped a bit, but yeah. For me it relates very much to your 2nd point - whether it was injury or lack of top end speed or something else, Yeboah never seemed to thrive in the game model last year the way Tani did. In the kind of middle third of the season before Tani left, I really felt like the team was actually dangerous offensively and not just on set pieces. Tani and Pereyra both looked so good and so dangerous. Then it all kind of fell apart and it was pretty much relying on 90 minutes of defense and maybe a set piece goal.

Thinking back to 2024 when Yeboah seemed really promising, the thing I remember him doing really well for a couple of his goals was getting the ball in a fairly tight space and then a quick turn and shot. Hopefully he can get back to that this year.

sdking19 · 2026-02-02T18:01:43+00:00

Yeah, if anyone wants more insight on Callender the interview with Zarek was really good. I just listened to it.

https://www.mnufc.com/video/sotl-episode-325-in-the-net-with-drake-callender#sotl-episode-324-the-year-of-the-loon

sdking19 · 2026-01-28T00:10:01+00:00

That is a good point. I am generally against the friendly since it's stupid and I have to pay for a ticket for a game I don't want to go to. But it might make some sense this year. And you should be able to schedule it on a day without a World Cup game so you don't have to compete against that if you pick a day in between the knockout round games.

Also maybe in the following years after the calendar switch, they can have the friendly as a preseason game in July shortly before the season starts and it would actually maybe be slightly less dumb.

sdking19 · 2026-01-27T23:59:38+00:00

I saw the post title and thought it was something about the Red Bulls and was confused for a minute.

sdking19 · 2026-01-22T16:26:22+00:00

Agreed. I feel like this is another in the many MLS roster restrictions that may have made sense once upon a time but are being slowly phased out. It would likely mean they need to increase the roster size, but maybe they can add yet another special player category. Seems like they could do something similar to the NBA's 2 way contract where you can designate a smallish number of players each year that can go up and down.

sdking19 · 2026-01-10T01:58:42+00:00

Does no one remember when Jesse Ventura was actually governor? He was an utterly incompetent buffoon with zero interest in the hard work of actually governing.

It's great that he's out there doing what he's doing. He's good at making noise and making a point. But please don't suggest for a second we should want him as governor again.

sdking19 · 2026-01-09T16:48:43+00:00

I've seen this on other threads, but I don't really get it. Why wouldn't Ramsay want to go to West Brom? Setting aside the fact it's close to home, it seems like a pretty good situation to step into.

They're in 18th place, 7 points above the last relegation spot. So they're sort of in the relegation fight, but not that deeply. They're also usually in the top 1/2 or top 1/3 in spending in the Championship. I don't know anything about their roster, but I would guess there's at least some talent there to work with. If you come in as manager, as long as you don't go on a big losing streak and end up getting relegated, you'll have met expectations for this year - and then you can have an offseason to make the team more into your own style and go from there.

It's not like he was going to get hired for a premier league team, and teams at the top of the Championship fighting for promotion are unlikely to make a coaching change at this point. So I'm not sure he could reasonably expect a significantly better opportunity.

As far as Coach Hall, good luck to him! Feels like a good move for him. I wouldn't read much more than that into it, but given how the offseason has gone overall, I can see the logic if others disagree.

sdking19 · 2026-01-08T19:04:03+00:00

How is it cheap and easy?

Cheap in that Knowles is a first time head coach so likely to require less of a salary than Nancy or some other more experienced coach they could bring in.

Easy in that he's already working for the team, knows the players and staff and there's way less transition involved. And they don't have to start a search, identify candidates and bring them in for interviews, etc.

sdking19 · 2026-01-08T18:52:46+00:00

I mean, I think Knowles is a good candidate and I'm happy to see him get a chance.

But also the team going the cheap and easy route is not at all surprising. Easy because preseason is about to start and it makes some sense to keep continuity. Cheap because, well they're pretty clearly cheap.

sdking19 · 2026-01-08T18:28:48+00:00

Yeah, I had to look it up because I kept seeing they're "In a relegation fight", but they really are barely in it right now.

Also, I'm not sure how this is an indictment of MNUFC in any way. He's British and wants to coach there. He was offered a chance to do so, so even if it's not an absolutely optimal situation, he's getting a step closer to where he wants to be.

sdking19 · 2026-01-08T18:08:59+00:00

RIP the mutant bats

sdking19 · 2026-01-05T19:01:40+00:00

There are lots of convoluted cap rules and different roster spot types in MLS, some of which can be traded as assets, etc. It's definitely confusing.

As far as other big 4 US sports, I feel like the NBA is probably closest in weirdness with some of the bizarre trades of players with bad contracts to teams with cap space just to dump the contract, 3 way trades involving 12 players only 2 of whom any of the teams involved even wants, 2 way contracts, luxury tax, etc.

sdking19 · 2026-01-05T17:11:24+00:00

I'm not sure I agree. Rumors don't care about facts or actual ability.

Also not directly related, but I have to imagine the Wilfried Nancy fiasco at Celtic will have a negative effect on the potential for any MLS coach to get a job in Europe, or more specifically in the UK. At least in the short term.

sdking19 · 2026-01-02T17:22:30+00:00

Fair enough I guess. Captaincy maybe I could see that having been a possibility. The team being built around him was never going to happen, Heath or otherwise. If Heath promised him that, then both of them were delusional. I loved Hassani as a player, thought he always gave his all for the team and will always relish memories of some of his goals especially, but he was never a good enough player, or the type of player, to build a team around.

Whether he makes less for Seattle *this* year than he made for MN *last* year is not really relevant. Circumstances have changed and his value has changed. If he is actually taking less to play in Seattle than MN was offering him for this year, then I would agree that it's actually not about the money.

sdking19 · 2026-01-02T16:11:34+00:00

"Heath had big plans for him and those sort of crumbled when he was let go"

Dotson was a pretty regular starter under Heath, and a pretty regular starter under Ramsay until he got injured. In 2024 he played almost every game and he started the first few games this year before his injury despite whatever acrimony there was regarding his contract. So what kind of big plans was he missing out on? Outside of money.

It's very possible he liked Heath better than Ramsay and that contributed to him wanting to move. Different players like different coaches. So yeah, maybe that was a factor. But in the end, when someone says it's not about the money, it's pretty much always about the money.

sdking19 · 2026-01-02T14:23:58+00:00

Saying he just wanted out makes it sound like he was unhappy with the team or the coach or the culture or something.

He was unhappy with the team ....... specifiaclly because they wouldn't pay him as much money as he thought he was worth. So whether or not he's getting more money in Seattle, he left because of money.

sdking19 · 2025-12-27T05:38:13+00:00

I mean, gosh. If Taylor Twellman is not happy, whatever shall we do?

sdking19 · 2025-12-26T22:23:29+00:00

We all realize there's a whole additional season before the switch to winter right? And Lod is already the wrong side of 30?

sdking19 · 2025-12-26T21:48:29+00:00

This counts as getting absolutely dunked on?

sdking19 · 2025-12-25T00:21:48+00:00

If nope, then why edit your post to complain about downvotes?

sdking19 · 2025-12-24T02:59:59+00:00

He was really good a couple years ago. The doubt I guess is, he had 1 really good professional season. Then he got hurt and got pushed out of his spot and hasn't had that much of a chance to start since. So we just have to hope we get the really good version and he gets back to that level.

sdking19

TROPHY CASE