3rd Degree the Podcast #254

[00:00:00] Speaker A: Um, yeah. Ooh. Third degree. The third degree nap, I guess. Third degree the third degree nap, I guess. Third degree nap, I guess. Third degree nap. [00:00:25] Speaker B: Podcast Third Degree the podcast is brought to you by Soccer 90. Com, explored the Dallas Burn collection from Mitchell and Ness, featuring the new vintage jackets and hoodies. Stuff is fantastic. It's going quick, and they are limited edition, so move fast if you want one. Listeners to third degree the podcast get 20% off in store or online with the code. Third degree in store, online code third degree soccer 90. Com some exclusions apply. Third Degree the podcast is also brought to you by the Lindstrom law firm. For wills, trust, probates and business law. Call 469-515-2559 that's 469-515-2559 or visit lindstromlawfirm.com for a free consultation. [00:01:04] Speaker A: Well, hello there, FC Dallas. Curious fan. Welcome to another episode of Third Degree, the podcast number 254. Hi, I'm Peter. Dan Crook is busy doing crook things, so it's just me and your hero. My hero. Everybody's hero. Editor, founder of third degree. Net, and the original soccer influencer, Buzz Carrick. Come in, Buzz. [00:01:30] Speaker B: Peter, are you saying Dan is a criminal? Is that what you mean by crook things? [00:01:35] Speaker A: Last name. It's his last name. [00:01:37] Speaker B: Oh. [00:01:38] Speaker A: It'd be like saying. It's like doing. He's out doing Carrick things. [00:01:42] Speaker B: I thought you were implying he was up to no good. [00:01:45] Speaker A: Who, me? [00:01:46] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:01:47] Speaker A: I would never say that about Dan Crook. I would never say that about our favorite mad hatter. No, not at all. I'm sure. You know what? When you were to say something like, he's out doing crook things, in my mind, that means he's like a Bible study or something like that. [00:02:08] Speaker B: Yes. Or a drag show. One or the other. [00:02:13] Speaker A: Oh, yeah. Okay. Those are kind of in the same stratosphere to each other. [00:02:17] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:02:19] Speaker A: Yes. Buzz. I was going to start off this particular episode by making an observation. And that observation is when, only three games into the season, the good, smart dean of Dallas soccer journalism, Steve Davis, is already having to write a pair of contrasting articles as to whether or not Dallas fans should be pushing the panic button. I don't think that's necessarily a good sign. [00:02:48] Speaker B: No, it's definitely not a good sign. But he's correct. This thing is teetering on the edge. So it could go either way, and I think the players know it could go either way. So it's right now things are not great. So it sounds like you were about to ask a question there. [00:03:07] Speaker A: Well, it was I think the reason I'm trying to be optimistic because we know MLS is pretty famous for the fact that you can kind of goof off with the first half of the season and get away with a lot because all you really got to do is make the playoffs in this stupid, you know, MLS is pretty littered with a lot of teams that ultimately had successful seasons after having a pretty crummy first half of it, and we're not even close to the first quarter of the season being up. So I just wondered if you feel like it is really worth at all panicking at this point. Even if they lose against Vancouver this. [00:03:49] Speaker B: Weekend, it's not worth panicking because you're right, you can rebound and make the postseason with the second half turnaround, but there are indeed some bigger picture sort of structural issues with this team and this roster and the choices they're making that are problematic. That's what I mean by it's teetering on the edge. There's about five or six questions and ifs and buts around this squad and this team that could break either way and depending on how many of them break, which way and whether if they all break good, this team could end up being where we thought or hoped that it would be, and if they all break bad, this team could be trash. So it's welcome MLS parody, but at the same time, as Steve raised in his articles, there are some outlying things that have us concerned and some of them we've beat into the ground over the winter, and we probably will mention them, at least in passing, if not in further depth today and going forward as well. But there are just some things that are not optimal. But MLS, that's always true. Rarely do you have a team that doesn't have some kind of issue somewhere in it unless you just have a really good GM that phenomenally builds teams like a Garth lagerway or something, which this team doesn't have. So yeah, there are were to. [00:05:12] Speaker A: If somebody was to ask you, you got to pick one or the other. Are you pressing the panic button after three games or are you not pressing the panic button after three games? [00:05:21] Speaker B: I'm not panicking yet. There are several things that can be mitigated that will get better as the team goes forward. Some of them are short term fixable solutions and some of them are long term problems that you can't really fix without a season to work on them. The ones that are short term and solvable, if they do become solved, that will get this team headed back in the proper direction and get it back to where we think it was, which was a bottom half of the playoff picture in the west, I believe is where we all predicted them, fourth through 7th or something like that. So I still think that's true if they can get these things righted. [00:06:03] Speaker A: So Dallas heads up to New Jersey last weekend, end up losing at the place they always lose at Red Bull arena, which if you haven't been to Red Bull arena, you should go. While it's a house of horrors for the team, it's a fun place to watch a soccer match in this country if you haven't made the trip and end up losing that game two one. And it did feel pretty inevitable that a bad result was coming. Even set the historical records aside, the players that were at Nico's disposal, his insistence on playing this formation and the combination of those two things seem to be at its peak conflict here, Buzz, because we've talked all season about not having enough center backs, and here we are in almost the next to worst case scenario on the back line, where the only healthy starting, actual real life center back is Nikosi Tafari. He's got junka on his left and he's got Emma Tuamasi, that's not even a defender by nature on his right. What happened to Omar Gonzalez? [00:07:11] Speaker B: He was there on the bench. [00:07:13] Speaker A: Why didn't he start? [00:07:14] Speaker B: Because he's slower than dirt. [00:07:17] Speaker A: Well, then why did you buy him? Why did you bring him into the roster? [00:07:20] Speaker B: Not every team you play is really fast. Some teams are not fast. New York's strikers are very fast, so they chose to go with, um, who is quicker than know at a position. [00:07:33] Speaker A: He'S never played before. [00:07:34] Speaker B: Yeah, we'll get back to that in a minute. Ema had two or three moments that were bad and the team did not do a good enough job of helping. And some of those moments Ema made mistakes, and some of those moments he didn't get enough help. The bottom line is, for me with Ema, that coach did him dirty in a sense of like playing a guy at a position he's never played with hardly any training, and a guy who's not fit, it's not game fit. He's only come in back a few weeks. He couldn't even do squat really, when he was out. So it's like he was definitely. It's not that he wasn't even game fit, it's like he's not even fit, let alone game fit. Some of the fans were cheered at him because of what he looks like, and I'm sure he'd be the first to tell you that he's not in shape, and coach knows it, too. And yet coach still did it. [00:08:29] Speaker A: No. You're telling me he falls into Buzz's definition of fat? [00:08:33] Speaker B: Oh, yeah. [00:08:34] Speaker A: Oh, no. [00:08:35] Speaker B: Have you not seen him? [00:08:36] Speaker A: Yeah, but I always want to make sure we're being specific in our name calling and what that. [00:08:43] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah. It looks like a guy who sat around for three months and now admittedly, too, Ema's been hitting the weights pretty hard, so he's bulked up a little bit. I actually think that was the wrong choice on his part, that maybe it's what he could do when he couldn't know. So he's just a little thicker than you're used to seeing. And he got spun a few times and grabbed when he shouldn't have and got a. And I think he was put in an unfair situation. I don't blame him for any of this because he should not have been playing. He should not have been playing because coach should have done something different. He should not have been playing because the team was built with an inappropriate number of centerbacks. [00:09:19] Speaker A: I suspect you're going to tell me you talked to Nico today at training or whenever you saw him, and we'll get to that. But this does continue the very frustrating topic of why is he insisting on playing this formation despite the fact that he has to go to New York and play two guys that aren't even natural centerbacks at centerback positions. It is weird to me that you have a veteran center back that you could put out there, but he's not fast enough, so you end up going with, you know, it just creates more problems than I think it solves in some ways. And I don't know if it frustrates you as much as it does me. [00:10:05] Speaker B: Well, I'm a little frustrated by it, but I'm frustrated more with the lack of development of the people that are being asked to play different positions. It's one thing when you say you have an understanding of, I'm putting a younger guy in a position he's never played before and I want to develop him and I want him to get better. But if he continues to not get better and continues to not do it correctly, and we're talking about some kids that have been doing it since middle of last year, even in training, and you're not seeing it happen, that frustrates me. [00:10:38] Speaker A: Who would be the best example of that? [00:10:40] Speaker B: Oh, see, Lee and, you know, not being backs and trying to play wingback Tuamasi being asked to play centerback. I watched Marco Farfan play center back today. Oh, no. Guys that are not in their natural position being asked to play other. You know, the hallmark of a modern center back in a lot of ways is your ability to pass out of the back. You got to be able to play this build out sort of game. And some of these guys he's using should give you some ability in that regard. But they're also not basically defensive minded centerbacks. So I'm less concerned about Junko. He's played a little center back before. EMa is the one that's like, I don't know what you're thinking. I mean, I know what he was thinking. He was thinking that EMa at that position when Nakosi middle was better than Omar middle and Akosi right, would know. Your mileage may vary on that. He may have, in hindsight, made the wrong choice there, but the New York front line is pretty, you know, he made a choice and it didn't know. There were also big stretches of that game where he would say, and I would agree with him, a lot of parts where Dallas played pretty well and controlled a lot of the, you know, those little mistakes are what makes a difference. [00:11:49] Speaker A: How much did the team miss Mendy? [00:11:52] Speaker B: Oh, huge. Yeah, massive, massive. Now, Sebastian legit, I thought, played really well. He was my man of the match. I thought that was a really nice surprise, how good and active he was. I mean, he looked like that at the end of the last game when he subbed in. It was great to see it. For the bulk of that game, I was really pleased with that. But when you're talking about two dudes that are in their 30s, you don't want them, either one of them, to play all 34 games. You're going to have to manage their minutes. And so you don't want Yarmini to have to play every game. You don't want legit to have to play every game. But when you're missing, clearly number one best player through the first three or four spring training games on the first game and you're not missing him, that's obviously going to be a big blow. It doesn't matter how old he is, when he's your best player, as he has been this year, it's going to hurt when he's out. So that was no surprise that that. [00:12:40] Speaker A: Was the know, last season on this podcast, I made a lot of jokes about how Liam Frazier was like the most anonymous soccer player on any Dallas roster ever. There was a whole stretch of time after he joined this team where I couldn't remember anything from any of his games. And then he kind of got better as the season went on and as they got into the playoffs, I went, okay, maybe there's something there. He's another one of those guys who I'm curious as to what you think his performance status is so far this season. [00:13:14] Speaker B: Well, I thought game one was pretty good, but the next two he's dropped off. When he loses Yara Mendy in there, he, I think, tries to overcompensate and he's actually been poor defensively, strangely enough. The last two I thought so. Not ideal, not as good as when he's at his peak. Not horrible, but not outstanding either. The drop off, a little bit of worse play there when Iron Mini is out is perhaps not surprising. He's trying to overcompensate. He's doing some nice things in terms of progressive passing and getting forward, but he's getting caught out of position. And maybe it's because legit's not as disciplined with his positioning and so therefore Fraser's trying to compensate because that player over there is more of a pure eight linking eight than yard Medi, who wants to play really deep anyway and sort of occupies that space even when he's passing and building out. So I think that Fraser at best is going to just be a good, serviceable, solid roster piece that you can start. If he has to start 34 games, that's a problem. But if he starts 15 games, I'm okay with that in the mix is fine with him. It'll depend on, I think, availability of other players and matchups who you're going with. Like if you want a game with a little more bite in there, a little more intensity, he might be the choice. Whereas if you want a game where Ball's gonna be moving a lot and no one's really gonna be hitting hard, you might go with guys that are more like a double passing kind of look where you had Yaramindi and legit next to each other together, which would be, you know, he's just a valuable, not, not a star piece like Sam junka, a guy you can use when you need to. Not gonna light anybody on fire. [00:14:51] Speaker A: You've also been pretty object to the idea of playing Paul Ariel as a wingback for what I think is a very good pair of reasons. But he did play there against New York, and I have this running feeling that that's kind of where he's going to end up being asked to play whether we like it or not. And I'm wondering how you felt about his performance on Saturday. [00:15:14] Speaker B: I thought he was pretty good. This was the best game yet in terms of defensive positioning of the wingbacks. Dante Seeley is very, very slowly getting better at that. He's still just jogging around the field, which isn't helping, but his positioning is better. Paul obviously has played there before, knows how to do it, and is a smart soccer player, even if he's losing a step. But yeah, this defensive adaptation may be just where he is in his career now, playing more of a defensive role. My objection, of course, is having is if they're forced to use him there every game, 90 minutes, week after week after week, you will burn him out. He is approaching 30. He'll end up looking like Farfan does at the end of the season where they've just played him too much. So that would be my worry with him in that spot, if I only have one or two games to win. Yeah, of course you play him there. If you're talking playoffs, of course you do. But when you're trying to grind through cups and other things and deep schedules and crazy heat, it's like you need to have other people that can do it. You can't just be like, oh, Paul, solve it. That's not going to know. It'd be like, remember Grana? When Grana came here and played the first half of the year, he looked great. The back half of the year he looked horrible because he burned out. Oh, yeah, same thing. Especially wingback, man. Up and down and up and down. If you're not 18, in superstar shape, you just cannot do that around here in that length. And that's my concern with Paul. One game, on paper, absolutely he's the right choice. And you saw in this game that he was the right choice. Even though he hadn't done it all spring. He didn't do it a single time that I know of. They were just, I just go do it. And he was fine. So I'm sure it would be better if he keeps doing know he wasn't the problem by any stretch in this. Didn't he didn't do enough between him and Nakosi, perhaps they could have done a little more to help. Maybe, but ima got isolated. It was pretty clear the first couple of games, the opposition clearly identified the hole behind the wingbacks and played balls into those spaces and ran guys out into those spots. Montreal crushed on that right side, getting in behind the left wingback, whether it was Sealy or Bernie. Well, this game the team, New York didn't do that. They didn't play into those holes. Instead they went right at Masi. They identified that that was going to be a problem spot and they attacked it and he mostly did well except for those one or two moments. And again, that's not necessarily his fault per mean, it's asking a guy to do something he doesn't. I mean, yeah. [00:17:38] Speaker A: All right, well, then that takes us to the front end of the team, which would be Jesus and his return and petter. Musa, any reaction or thoughts about that? [00:17:48] Speaker B: Yeah, it looks like spring training to me. It looks like two guys that just got know whether one of them just got here or whether one of them has been know. It looks like two guys that are trying to figure out the pace of the game, the pace of the play, the speed, how each other move, how each other like to play and interact. It's just a complete disconnect between those two guys right now. And that doesn't worry me because I'm confident both those guys can play at a really high level and they'll get it. I mean, if they don't, obviously it's a serious problem, but you would expect that they both will. But it's like watching two guys that are three weeks into this preseason that are still trying to figure everything out. Jesus got better in the second half and then he ran out of time. He was on a 60 minutes restriction because he's just coming back from that injury. So I'm not too concerned with this particular game with those two guys because we've seen enough out of Musa to know he looks pretty good. His movement is pretty good, but yet he is still not dialed in with everything the team's doing either. It's not like he doesn't understand the concept. It's just that he's not always on the same page with everybody yet the instincts are not there. They're reading each other which way you're going to go, which way I like the ball, that kind of thing. It's just not there yet. It looks like guys that are just now starting to play together, which is exactly what they are. So it's derailing their offensive opportunities like the first game, right? They had all those opportunities that came offensively. Well, now Jesus and Moose are in there trying to adapt compared to guys that play together in the spring. And those opportunities dropped off because they're not working together yet, not on the same page yet. [00:19:14] Speaker A: I'm going to come back to Jesus and ask you another question here in a second, but anything else from the two one loss at ripple that you'd like to discuss or point out or highlight? [00:19:24] Speaker B: It looks like a team still trying to find itself. It looks like it's a preseason game. From the Dallas perspective, there was like multiple guys that were playing their first complete game of the year. That was Legit's 1st 90 minutes. That was Tuamasi's first start. That was only maybe the second time that Ferreira and Musa been out there together. Paul's playing a different position. It looks like a spring training process for FC Dallas. They look like they're a team that's not ready to start the season except that it's three games into the. You know, some of that stuff just can't be helped when you have the injuries that you have in the spring. [00:20:03] Speaker A: It is a weird deal because it is so early in the season and I think it does feel ridiculous to have any reason to want to panic while simultaneously having a very clear foreboding sense that this doesn't look like it's possibly going to get better when three of your key players into the concept of it getting better are all guys that are either coming off of injury in the form of Velasco and Giovanni Jesus, who I'm not convinced either one of those dudes are going to be really 100% anytime this season. [00:20:40] Speaker B: No. [00:20:40] Speaker A: And the foreboding sense that we're about to get some really awful news about Paxton. [00:20:45] Speaker B: Yeah. There's a difference between the structural roster concerns that are big picture and the stuff that's the little stuff. The little stuff like guys that have been hurt and are still trying to get fit, guys that haven't played together much, guys that are maybe using slightly out of position because other dudes are hurt for new formation, growing pains, guys trying to develop a new positions. Those things don't bother me. Those things don't worry me. Those things, if they continue to be horrible, it'll be a problem. But you expect them to get better. Then there's the things that are big concerns. Not having enough center backs is a big concern. The age of a couple very key players. The age of, er, Mendy, the age of legit, the age of, well, Paxton, in terms of his know, the age. [00:21:27] Speaker A: Of Ibi, what about the age of some of these young guys being asked to play positions on the wing that really require somebody with a bit more experience? [00:21:37] Speaker B: Yeah. Part of the issue is that it feels like the roster was built by a technical director that thought they were playing a four three three and then the coach changed to a three, four, three. And it's like, well, crap, dude, I bought you all these players we were talking about. 343433, what happened? So there's a bit of a disconnect between what the coach wants to play and the players he has available. And because it's spatially slacker, you can't just go buy six players. You got to develop. You got to work at it. So the big picture concerning ones are the thinness of the defense, the fact that if Pause gets hurt, you're in trouble. If you are, Mandy's missing huge chunks of time. You're in trouble if Musa and Jesus don't ever get on the same page, if Paul really has lost a know. Those big picture disconnects, big picture roster construction problems, those are the things that concern me where I say it's teetering. It could go either in the minor problems, couple of guys hurt, a couple of guys still getting fit, a couple of guys developing. Those will be magnified because of the big picture things. If those small ones don't go away, it all gets worse and worse and worse, and then thing steers into the wall. If those little things start to get better and better and better, then those big picture things maybe aren't a big a deal. And you can get through them because your defense stays healthy, because your midfielders are consistently rotated enough, you don't burn any of them out. Your wingbacks do develop. Then we feel really good about everything, and everything's going back to a positive. You know, Steve wrote two pieces about it, and I'm of the mind myself where I'm waiting. I don't know which. There's so many questions that could go either way, and they could all go one way or, or the other, or they could go a myriad of different ways, and it's going to affect how the season goes. And so we just kind of have to wait. It's going to take a bit to figure that out, for the team to figure it out and for us to figure it out. And it may be that in a month from now, we're like, holy crap, this thing's a nightmare. Or maybe that in a month from now we're like, yeah, see, no worries. It's fine. We'll find out. I mean, we're kind of stuck waiting, right? Because you can't really do anything about it. We kind of just got to see how it goes. [00:23:46] Speaker A: Well, on the bright side, of the three Texas teams, Dallas has the most points. [00:23:50] Speaker B: Yeah, it's weird that we're talking about how bad this team is. And it's like they're in the middle of the table. They're still like 9th in the west or know there's a whole bunch of teams that have lost, that have not won a single game. [00:24:01] Speaker A: Yeah, well, but here's the deal, and I'm sure everybody else listening has already done this math, but Dallas is so close to being zero wins, zero points, everything. They are literally like three Martin paws saves and one Dante Seeley added time goal away from being Owen. Three, which came against arguably one of the worst teams in the league in the opening game of the know. And maybe losing to Red Bull in Montreal is no shame because I think both of those teams are turning out at least this point of the season, two of the better teams in the so. [00:24:38] Speaker B: Well, except one of them was at home. So you would like to have gotten at least a tie there. I mean, you're going to start with three or four at home. If you come out of it with only like three or four points, you're not going to be super happy about know four points over the first four games without the end of the, you know, if you can get this one against Vancouver, it'll obviously really help how you feel about everything. [00:24:56] Speaker A: Yes, well, we'll talk about that here in a second. You did go to training today. We're recording this on Wednesday, and I'm interested if you got into it with the coach at all and gave him a good yelling at, because that's what I think all the fans want you to do. Buzz, did you point and wag your finger at him and go, what are you doing, Nico? [00:25:19] Speaker B: I had one of those little, I had a fan and I wiggled it really quickly and then flicked it. That flicked it at him and then stacked him on the nose. Well, what I will tell you is what I said at the beginning of the podcast. Did the players know? They know there's a. Intensity is not the right word. Training is always intense. There was a snappy vocal vibe to training. Nicosia Tafari yelled at everybody the whole time. [00:25:49] Speaker A: Really? [00:25:49] Speaker B: Yeah. Ibiyaga yelled at um. There's a group of people that are probably what you would consider the leaders at this point that know that things are precarious and were quite expressive of. That's crap. That's not good enough. Multiple times in training, there was an edge to it. They know. They know that the performance haven't been good enough. The people that have been around do, the leaders do. So you can tell that they're concerned that there's like, it's not good enough. And part of that, my feelings about it could go either way, was watching training. I was watching it, thinking to myself, holy crap, this team could be horrible because there really are moments where it's like, it's not working, it's not good. Then there are moments where you're like, okay, maybe it'll be fine. This happens. That happens that. It's just chemistry is tough and positivity is tough to maintain when things are going south. And there's an edge to it today. And I think they know that this game is already a big game, even though it's only the fourth game of the year. [00:26:55] Speaker A: Maybe I don't have to point it out, but you didn't throw in a third of. Sometimes you watch it and you go, man, this could be really awesome. You didn't say that right. [00:27:04] Speaker B: Well, it needs certain things to break a certain way for it to be awesome. You know what I mean? It needs Musa and Jesus to get on the same page. And I watched the training today, and they are not on the same page. [00:27:16] Speaker A: Well, somebody's got to help them get the ball in the first place. [00:27:19] Speaker B: Yes, that is also part of it. And Yara not being out there is part of that. Paxton not being out there is part of that. You're putting a whole lot of weight right now on Sebastian. Legit be able to link because Seeley's not a passer. Sealy's never going to pass to anybody. Right. If you use him, Paul on the right, he at least will try to cross and pass to somebody, but he's not going to be know dribbling through the middle. Little tiny combinations. He's more of a go at somebody and then drive it in kind of. Right. So, like right now, if you want to go through the middle, you're looking at legit. And that's pretty much it. [00:27:54] Speaker A: I remembered what I wanted to ask you about Jesus, because not long prior to us starting to record this, the roster for the Nations League came out and Jesus is not on it. [00:28:06] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:28:07] Speaker A: And I just wonder, you know him better than has a net. You think that'll have a negative effect on him? Like, is he going to get moody or pouty about his situation? [00:28:20] Speaker B: Well, let me just say that I don't know him very well. Jesus is a very standoffish guy. He's not a chummy guy, he's not a chatty guy. He's not a buddy buddy guy. He's a lone wolf kind of. You know, when you see him out and about, he's never with his teammates. He might be with other people. He's got friends that are in gaming stuff. He's not necessarily crew, as they call it. Yeah, if you will. I've seen him show up at stuff like at North Texas games by himself. He's not a chummy fellow, but that's fine. [00:28:56] Speaker A: Neither was his dad, to be fair. [00:28:58] Speaker B: Yeah, to be totally fair. That has nothing to do with how he is as a player. It just means that I don't know him. What I do know of him from afar, and afar is relative. I would say he's the kind of guy that will be mad that he's been left out and be pissed and continue to work really hard. I think he's a guy that reacts well to being challenged. You know what I mean? He talks about wanting to outperform his dad at this club, and he's driven by that. He's driven by people that question him, that question if he's good enough. So I actually think that being left out will actually be really good for him. I think he knows that he needs a really good season now because you have. He's not a ten, sorry. Because he's not a nine anymore. He doesn't need an 18 goal season, but he needs a ten and 1210 and 15. He needs to bring up the assists. The problem is that Jesus is not a ten. He's not a string puller, an orchestrator, a director of balls like his dad was or his dad was a little bit. He's not like Maro Diaz. He's like Jason Christ. He's an off striker, so he needs to be played in a system that uses that. So the three four three is a proper thing for him, where he's not sitting behind guys trying to dial in these tiny little passes to break them into the box. He's a guy that he's going to be up there closer to the striker than nine, right, and working these little combinations that way. Now, if you change formations to put him in a shape where all of a sudden he's being asked to be a real ten, that's going to be a mess, in my opinion. He really needs like a three five two, or maybe a four four two with him and moose up top. Yeah, but he's not going to get that. So I do think he'll be challenged. I do think that he's not a. Jesus is not like Paxton, where he's like a thousand miles an hour in training. He does pace himself a little bit more, but he's a big game. Rise to the occasion guy. He always takes care of himself physically. He's always ready to go. Unless he's out, then that's different. But once he's back, he's always ready to go. I think you could have run him 90 minutes and they basically put a limit on him. So they had to force themselves to take him out because they could have left him in there easily. And I know he'll come good because he's hates suits and he's got the warrior know the question will just the, do he and Musa have the similar soccer instincts or they get dialed in together? Because if they do, it could be Graziani. Christ, if they do, but if they don't, it could blase where it's like they both are trying to do totally different things. [00:31:40] Speaker A: For those listening to the pod that weren't around back in those days, boy, those are two diametrically different pairs of stickers. And yes, Graziani and Christ was absolutely the best. It was so good. [00:31:53] Speaker B: That's what you're hoping for, that kind of interaction. But proof is going to be in the pudding. We got to wait. But I'm not worried about kisses. [00:32:01] Speaker A: Graziani. Christ in 2024 would arguably, if you were just to take the same two guys from whatever years it was they played and stuck them in 2024 in MLS, I still think they'd be a top three duo in the league. [00:32:15] Speaker B: Yeah, you'd have to put them in a shape that would work. It would need a two man front system. Four, four two or three, five two. Because again, Christ is not a ten, right? He's not Mario Diaz. He's not a string puller sitting in midfield, yanking the ball all over the place. That's not Christ. He was an off striker, took advantage of chaos. Jesus is the same player. David Ferreira did it to a certain extent with, like, David, was it Cunningham? That was a similar sort of combo, like high guy underneath. You know, you could make that analogy, except that moose is not a Cunningham. He's more of a, you know, that's what we're optimistic for and that's what we hope it is. And if that happens, the team will be fine because Martin paws, as long as he's healthy, will hold up and Safari will hold the defense together enough that if those two front guys produce, the team will be fine. [00:32:58] Speaker A: Okay, so what did coach say when you did the finger wag? [00:33:03] Speaker B: Well, I was going to ask him where he was in terms of frustration and annoyance about the tactics and how it's not coming together. It's not working. But then they spent half the session working a second formation, not just three four three. So I asked him more specifically about that. Okay, are you looking at another formation? Is it because you're losing faith and frustration in the three four three? And he said, no, it's because of Vancouver. They're thinking about running and not running the three four three because of the way Vancouver plays. And I don't want to go too deep into what it is because then someone who works for Vancouver can listen to this podcast and know what Dallas is going to do. So I'm not going to go too deep into what. Well, I'm trying to. I want to talk about, but I don't want to go too deep into it. [00:33:49] Speaker A: You don't want to be one of those media people that get their pass pulled. [00:33:53] Speaker B: Yeah. Because you pissed off the club, right. Well, I don't know the coaches listening or anything, and I don't even know the other team's listening, but I don't want to go too deep into why they're going to do. I'll talk about it more like when we get to the weekend in my preview or even as the game happens, I'll try and talk about it, but depending on which way the team actually goes, because obviously it's under consideration, but it's not the four three three. I'll say that it's a three four three or something else, but that raised the question of like, okay, where's your level of frustration? I see you trying this other thing. And then he said that the other things about Vancouver. Okay, so really, where are you with this? How's it going? And he talked about a lot of the things that we've talked about in this podcast. So are like, the guys that aren't missing, guys that have been injured, guys that have been, that are just now almost in preseason form, young players that are not adapting as quickly as he had hoped for the position, trying to make do with what he has at certain positions, clearly talking about centerback, key players that are being out. So he's frustrated by all those things. I think that he does not want to give up on the fourth. I specifically asked him. So that's still the plan. He's like, yeah, I still think that that's the best formation that will help us the most over the course of this season. So he still believes in it. He still is going to be working towards it. Just don't be, if you see something else this weekend, don't take it as a sign he's given up. Take it as a sign that this is a coach that from time to time would change formations. If you think about the last two seasons, from time to time, he would roll out something other than four, three, three. And this might be one of those occasions this weekend. [00:35:27] Speaker A: Well, it would make me feel a lot better to see him adjust his team. Look, you know, Buzz, we've talked about this, and in a perfect world, Dallas would be a club with a manager who said, this is my system. We're so good at it, we're sticking to it. You have to change for us. [00:35:43] Speaker B: Yes. [00:35:44] Speaker A: Right. You and I are big believers in that, but that's not what this team is capable of. And so what I was worried about next is that he would be that coach, despite the fact that the system wasn't working and he didn't have the players to accommodate it. So in a very weird twist of fate, I'm kind of relieved to hear that maybe he's open to the idea that he may have to adjust the team to account for who they're playing and account for what he's got available to. Yes. [00:36:10] Speaker B: Yeah. Oh, he definitely is a guy that changes the tactics and even the shape from game to game to game within a context of what he would prefer to do overall. I was just talking to somebody about this today. I have always said that the US national team coach doesn't need to be an American, but they need to be a person that's been in North America for a long enough time that they understand the system and the kind of players that we produce and what we're about. And I also feel that's true of major league soccer. I always felt it's important to know this league and know the kinds of players you have. The guys that have come in from a complete, raw, foreign background with no idea about the American. And the american system, I think, have not traditionally done well here. Like up until Tazo Martinez won the MLS cup with Atlanta. No foreign coach other than Rongan, who had been here for 20 years at that point, has won MLS cup. Right? It's always guys that know the system. And so part of that for me is one understanding how to build teams here, how to build the teams with the funny rules, but also understanding that you can't just go get guys when you need them. You have to look at your team, I think. And Dave Durt was really good at this. For example, every year he'd sit down, he'd look at his team, what do I have? What can I play that puts these guys I have in the best position to win. And I don't think the reason I'm telling this story is because I think if you look at what Nico's doing, Nico's trying to fit the roster he has into a formation that he thinks will be really good to take on the league, to take on the teams in the league where I think you should as an MLS coach, particularly one that doesn't have crazy amount of money to spend, that you should be like, here's my roster that they've given me. Okay, how do I optimize this set of players? What should I play? And so if you would remember, of course, that Dave Durh would play, one year it was a three, five two. The next year it was a four, four two. The next year it was three, five two again. And then every year the base system would change based on who he had and what kind of players he had. Nico doesn't do that. And so I worry about that a bit, that, as everyone's been saying, he's square pegging around, know. [00:38:17] Speaker A: Yeah. And see, here's the thing. Because actually, it's funny you brought up Dave Durr, because I was thinking about this the other day and it brought up a memory of Dave when I read in your discord, and I see people on different social media use exactly that phrase, square pegs, round holes in relations to Nico, trying to force this system on this particular roster. And I do feel like we all are looking at this situation, scratching our head, going, why is he doing this? This makes no sense. And that made me think back. What was the name of the little restaurant in Fair park that we all used to go to after the games outside the cotton bowl? The old mill. [00:38:55] Speaker B: Yeah, old mill. It was a water mill kind of looking thing. Yeah. [00:38:58] Speaker A: And you would go in there and not uncommonly, if you hung around long enough, Dave Durh would show up. And it wasn't uncommon that Dave might have a beer or two while hanging out at the restaurant with everybody. And I remember going to him one day, frustrated about the team, and I said something to him and in his very. Dave Derway. And I was frightened at the moment. And now I think it's very funny. He essentially looked at me and said, I'm paraphrasing. Look, kid, I've forgotten more about soccer than you'll ever know. I know what I'm doing. Just trust me on this one. And I shut up. And I just said, yes, sir, Mr. Durr, and left it at. I've. I've lived with that for a very long time. These guys go through a lot of coaching licenses, have a ton of experience, and they will always have forgotten more about this sport than I will ever know. So when I see somebody like Nico doing this, there's a part of me that wants to just go, Peter, stop it. He knows what he's doing. He's going to figure this out. He has to, because there's a reason why this doesn't make sense to you, but it makes complete and total sense to him. [00:40:04] Speaker B: It does make sense to him. You might be selling yourself short there a little bit on that, by the way. I'll tell you a real quick Dave's story, funny story with me. When I first started going out to training, one of the first times I ever talked to him after training, I kind of walked over. There was no PR people these days at the practice. And I walked over towards training and he kind of saw me and kind of walked. [00:40:28] Speaker A: Did you fall in a hole out by her trailer? [00:40:31] Speaker B: Tore up my hip. I was watching the training and I was like, so three, five, two this weekend, obviously. And he's like, man, you know better than to ask that. I was like, okay, you're right. I can see it clear as day, but I'm not going to. [00:40:45] Speaker A: Right. [00:40:47] Speaker B: Well, you remember, Peter, we talked about, we made the sort of tongue in cheek argument that when Lucci got hired, it's like I was more qualified than Lucci because I've been going to training for 30 years and he'd only been there for like two or three years out of being a player academy coach. Right. It's not really true because he has licenses and I don't. But it's like, that's the idea. You don't sell yourself short. The coaches these days have all got 15 years less experience than you. Nico's. This is his first job, so it is fair to question that sometimes. This is my big question with Weagle right now, is this idea that he's convinced that this formation is the right way to go and it's the right way to attack the league. And he might be right, but that doesn't mean he has the players for it and he's trying to make the players for it. And so that's a concern. It may be the difference between you being really good and just sort of average. On the other hand, he's a very preparation heavy coach. Lots of planning, lots of minutiae, lots of specific adaptations and tactical shifts for the teams they're playing. Every game looks different. Tactics change every game. That's a high ask for players they don't necessarily have high accused to get guys to do it, which I think is why he's so reliant on Yaramindi legit. Why it's so important that guys like Paxton can play when he's healthy. Why he's more interested in a 32 year old Ibiaga than he is in a 23 year old Corsa. It's all part of it. This ain't the Premier League. He doesn't have that kind of player, mentally speaking, or physically for that matter. He's making his own bed. He's earned the right to try this formation again. I was talking to somebody today, and we were joking about. I do wonder if you went into the technical director's office and they have their hidden board behind the thing, that they close it up so nobody can see it, but this big, huge depth chart on the wall of all the assets they've gone and gotten. What formation is on the wall in the technical director's office? Is it a three, four three? And we were joking that it probably isn't. It's probably the four three three still. And that's sort of the disconnect we see in this roster. And that's the biggest question we wonder about is like, at what point does he realize, I just don't have the guys for know, do you start making trades for know, what do you sacrifice? [00:43:09] Speaker A: Yeah, I mean, look, you could get pretty cynical about this because there's a version of this story where you could look at this and you could ask yourself, what is Nico's agenda behind playing this particular formation? Is this a resume pattern? Like, I went to MLS and instituted this cutting edge modern formation that only the biggest and most advanced clubs in the world play? Or I saw what the MLS cup winner the previous season was winning with. So I decided to institute that into my team and force it upon them. And that's a really cynical way of thinking about it. But there's also part of me that thinks it's completely legitimate to wonder why this is going on. [00:43:57] Speaker B: Well, I feel like from the guy that I know, the coach that I know, the Nico Estevez, that he's not doing it to show off, but he truly believes in watching, talking to, going over and studying, training and trying to emulate the best teams in the world, he believes in that. So, yes, he's playing partially playing this formation because he sees a lot of the really good teams using it to affect against certain kinds of know part of why he's choosing it is because he thinks a lot of teams in MLS play a certain way and that this system will let him play against them better over the course of the season. Like very specifically today, when I asked him about this tactical change, he very clearly laid out for me how Vancouver plays and why this tactical change he's considering would, in his opinion, work against them. Where the holes are going to be, how they shift, what their flow looks like when they go defense to offense, what it means for his team in terms of countering that. There's a very, very clear idea here in his head. And when you talk to him about it, you're like, yeah, that all makes total sense. I totally buy everything you just sold me. The formation that he's looking at is one that I particularly like, so that helps, too. Of course, I don't really like a back three because the wingback is so hard to play, but I also understand what he's trying to, he's trying to get this team to play at a very high level and it thinks it'll benefit his team emulating some of the best teams in the world, trying to be on the cutting edge of tactics. He's tried to do the flex position thing. There was a game last year where Paxton was playing two positions. He was flexing from. I think it was sort of a right mid into like an attacking mid kind of spot in the game. He only did it for one game, and there have been games where one time he flipped two players in the central midfield, flip their position, and I asked him, why the world you do that for that one game? He said, well, it's because the way Paxton strikes the ball, the ball will die right behind the defenders instead of releasing and running towards the keeper. So that team runs a bigger gap between their center back and their keeper. So he's got all these ideas and I applaud the attempts to execute them. That's why I say that, tactically speaking, I think he's actually a really good coach. He knows all these high level ideas about the game. My concern is that does that match with the caliber of player in this league and the caliber of player you have on your team at your disposal? He may be too ambitious for what he has, and that worries me a little bit. [00:46:44] Speaker A: All right, so going from a very cloudy, kind of uncomfortable conversation about the coach, let's go to the real bummer conversation, which is the injury update report brought to you by soccer 90. [00:47:01] Speaker B: Right. So the one we're most concerned about, of course, other than the two long terms of Alaska and Giovanni. Jesus. Which, of course, still layout. So Paxton, there's not a decision yet. He said that in the next day or two, by which I took him to mean Friday, he said they will have a 100% verdict and an announced plan for what they're going to do with Paxton. So I think that means Friday. Press release. Yeah. But when you add those things together, in my mind that says, prepare yourself for bad, because if it was, oh, it's no big deal, he's fine. He would have been out there today, jogging around. Coach would have been like, yeah, no, fine. He'll be back this week. That's not what happened. We're still waiting to get the final verdict. Okay. That makes me terrified. So I'm preparing myself, without any real evidence, I'm preparing myself for this to be pretty bad news. So we'll see the fact that he's been out for like a week now, all in this process, or a week and a half even, all as part of this process of getting another diagnosis. To me, that's an alarm bell. [00:48:11] Speaker A: I think also it's not unfair for us to communicate to the curious that all of the winds have been blowing, that we're about to get bad news. And by that, it's just word on the street kind of thing is, and again, you can't go by that. And I don't want to overreport anything, but at this point, I'm going to be surprised if they come back with anything other than kind of the worst possible news. I'll feel relieved if they say, yeah, he'll be back in three months or something like that. [00:48:41] Speaker B: Yeah, we're not reporting Jack, but I'm telling you that you and I both are anticipating bad news here, certainly not back next week, so prepare yourself for that. Once we know more, we'll talk more about taxing, I'm sure. Okay, so here's the good news. Yarmini will not be around this weekend, but he'll be back after the break. So he's basically all but cleared. So one more game out and he'll be good to go after the international break. [00:49:08] Speaker A: So this was an injury and not just a pre planned resting. [00:49:11] Speaker B: Yeah, it's something with the abductor, I believe. I'm pretty sure this is not a big deal. Coach today was very adamant that he'll be fine. He's going to sit out this one more, and then there'll be plenty of time to get him ready to go for the game. [00:49:27] Speaker A: We're going to play two more games yeah, hopefully more another game and a half or whatever it was. [00:49:32] Speaker B: Yeah, hopefully. I mean, look, the dude's 34, so you're going to have to mitigate this no matter what, but no concern here. It doesn't sound like he won't be here for vancouver, but he'll be here for the game after that. Corcha, Farfan, ibiaga, all back in training, 100% fine, good to go. Available for selection. So you're down to the only people out are Velasco and Giovanni, Jesus, maybe Paxton. Those long term three, possibly. And then here are many of you back in a week. So that's all actually relatively good news in terms of where we were a week and a half ago. So other than obviously, we're terrified about what's going to be deal with Paxton, but other than that, it's all moving in the right direction and relatively positive considering that, like last week, there were like seven players out. Jesus should be past his minute restriction. That should be good to go. Really. Your entire defense is now available to you for the first time this year. Plenty of options that way. So if you go three, four three, you actually have other people you can use on wingback other than Dante Sealy, for example. So there's choices to be made at any of these positions. Emo Tumasi doesn't play center back again, so that's nice. [00:50:47] Speaker A: That would be nice, yes. So Vancouver Saturday night come into the game undefeated, but they're also one of only two teams in the west, or no, three teams that have only played two games, and that was a win over San Jose and a draw against Charlotte to open the season. [00:51:07] Speaker B: Okay, let's talk a little bit about Vancouver. They play a three, four three. So that's the formation that Dallas, a lot of people in this league are now playing. So if Dallas plays a three, four three, let's talk about that, because that's the formation they've been using all year. Then it becomes very simple. Right patter. Moose is up top. Jesus is up there, probably Bernie with him, and then underneath pair until somebody comes along and outplays Bernie in that position, it'll be Bernie, even though he's only been kind of like a top spinning around with no idea what to do. Dante, Celia, left wing back, possible Marco Farfan there. So that spot is in contention for choice. I don't know if Marco will walk in and take that job away, but potentially possible legit. After legit's game, I think he's a lock. The position next to him in the double pivot will either be Delgado or Fraser. And I think there's a legit chance it's Delgado. I think he's played really well. Patrickson, as you might, as you like to call legit. I think there's a legit name on. [00:52:06] Speaker A: His shirt, by the way. [00:52:07] Speaker B: Yeah, that's like, well, his name's Patrickson because he's the son of know. And apparently that's actually really true. And I think he likes it in a brazilian style, even though, funny enough, if you listen to the audio clip of him saying his name, they're like, okay, say your name. And he says, Patrickson. And that's it. And you clearly hear them say to him and your last name, and he goes, oh, Delgado. So he wants to be the singular Patrickson. So we'll call him Patrickson. I think there's a chance, maybe even 60 40, that he's in there with legit over Fraser, because it's a home game. Maybe give him an opportunity. Fraser started three straight, so that's possible. Right wing back will be Paul again. And then your back three is back to the normal junka, nakosi, safari, and ibiaga with pazmahine. So that's your formation. If your group, if you go three, four, three with really only, sealy versus Farfan probably is your only. Oh, and then, sorry, Patrick's and Fraser, those are your two spots that are really up for contention. Everything else is pretty set. Now, I'm not going to say what the other tactical formation was they used, but it'll be based off of some similar personnel. You wouldn't see a radical variation from that personnel. You might see one or two changes to work out different tactics, but I'm not going to go into what they are until we get closer to game time. [00:53:29] Speaker A: All right, we get it. You have ethics and morals. [00:53:32] Speaker B: I've disclaimed it enough. I think that I feel comfortable with where we're at. [00:53:35] Speaker A: Yeah, I got it. [00:53:36] Speaker B: Okay, maybe in the discord we'll get into it, because then that's a place we won't have spies. [00:53:41] Speaker A: Yeah, plus you get paid for the discord incentive to give buzz $5. I also want to make a comment that relates back to a discussion we've had multiple times about the new primary kit this season. Have you seen the photo that's floating around? I think it's from the Red Bull game of them kind of walking back up the field. And Sealy's back is to the camera with the red part of the jersey. But everybody else on the team is walking forward. Have you seen this photo? [00:54:16] Speaker B: No, I don't think so. [00:54:18] Speaker A: I'll have to send it to you, and maybe you can make it the chapter art or something. [00:54:23] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:54:24] Speaker A: And I don't know when this photo was taken. What shirt did they. I can't remember what they wore in New York. [00:54:31] Speaker B: The white one. [00:54:32] Speaker A: The white one, yes. Right. So I don't know when this was taken, but the reason why I'm bringing this up is this photo captures and epitomizes everything that's driving me nuts about this new kit. Because the overriding image of all of the players, minus Dante Seeley, whose back is to the camera, is that this kit is predominantly navy blue. Like, a dark navy blue and purple. It's not red. And it doesn't look like a Dallas shirt. [00:55:04] Speaker B: Yeah, that's what we've said all along. It would be opening day because that's the only game they've worn that maybe. [00:55:09] Speaker A: That'S when it's from. It's an artfully done photo. It's actually a really cool picture. And again, I think the kit unto itself looks good. It just doesn't look like a Dallas kit. And that drives me nuts. [00:55:20] Speaker B: Totally agree. Yeah. There's a picture of Paul where he's clapping to the audience, and it's wearing a purple jersey. And I'm like, okay, cute. Purple is not the unofficial color of Dallas. I mean, maybe it is, and I just don't know. [00:55:33] Speaker A: Well, I'm looking forward to this weekend. This is a big weekend for me because our friend Lars Siverston is in town. He's officially here. We took him to go get Cadillac barbecue today, by the way. [00:55:45] Speaker B: Never taken me to get Cadillac barbecue. [00:55:48] Speaker A: But here's the deal. So we're doing our live show on Saturday out at soccer Spectrum from new to four. All the curious are welcome to come meet Lars in person. Buzz is going to be there to do a Dallas segment. So you get to hang out, see Buzz, and eat pizza and drink beer. And then Lars, myself, Buzz, and the good Amy are all going to the Dallas game together, hand in hand as a forsome. [00:56:14] Speaker B: If people don't know who Amy is, that's my wife. [00:56:16] Speaker A: Oh, right. [00:56:17] Speaker B: I don't usually say her name so much. Snake. [00:56:20] Speaker A: It's Buzz's tinder date. [00:56:22] Speaker B: My better half. [00:56:23] Speaker A: Yes. And so we're all getting to go sit in good seats at the game. [00:56:28] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:56:29] Speaker A: I'm looking forward to this. This will be a lot of fun. Hopefully, the team will play well and get a win. [00:56:33] Speaker B: I've never met Lars, that'll be fun. [00:56:35] Speaker A: Well, I only just met him less than 24 hours ago for the first time in person. Despite the fact that he and I have been conversing and everything. I went back and looked at the very first time I traded a communication with him. It was October of 2019. [00:56:51] Speaker B: Wow. [00:56:51] Speaker A: And the tie is FC Dallas related. It was because I was listening to a podcast he was on and he made a reference to the fact that Andresnik had gotten a call up to the czech national team because of his good play for FCD Dallas and MLS. And I sent him a note and said, it's funny you mentioned this because the guy has had a giant bag of nothing all season until this very late run where he actually started coming good and good enough that he got an international call up and that is what struck up the friendship between he and I and it went on from there. [00:57:26] Speaker B: There you go. [00:57:27] Speaker A: FC Dallas bringing people together. [00:57:30] Speaker B: Yes. [00:57:31] Speaker A: For 29 years, making lifelong friends all over the world. [00:57:37] Speaker B: Yeah. I've known you half my life because of this stupid club. [00:57:40] Speaker A: I know. It's great. It is fantastic. So if you're out at the stadium and you see us, please come over and say hello. Introduce yourself. If we have never met, or if we have met, come say hello. Don't ever be afraid to come say howdy to everybody on the crew. Buzz, I missed Dan today and I feel very bad for him because I don't know if you're aware, while we were recording this, Luton was up three nothing at halftime and blew it. Lost to Bournemouth, four to three. [00:58:10] Speaker B: Well, I believe they're going with the highly coveted brand new cutting edge tactical concept of playing three centerbacks without having three center backs. I believe that's their taking a page out of the FCD outs playbook. Luton is. So it's working well for them as well. [00:58:27] Speaker A: No, they lost four three. But Tyler Adams got on the field today. He came on in the 71st minutes. [00:58:33] Speaker B: That's good. [00:58:34] Speaker A: If we're looking for any kind of sunshine, I know Dan will not consider that. I will at least say, I know many of us are Hatters fans and rooting for them and to blow a three goal lead. Oh no. Is a bad thing. At least we saw Tyler Adams back on the field. So there you go. [00:58:51] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:58:51] Speaker A: All right, Buzz. Look forward to Saturday and seeing you and Amy and hanging out at the game. [00:58:58] Speaker B: Yeah. And I know you won't care, but one tiny thing is that North Texas soccer club starts play on Friday and I'll be out there so people could come say hello. As long as they don't hang out the whole game. Because I do want to watch it. But if you care about the deeper dive into this team and its future, then you want to watch North Texas soccer club play soccer. So that's important. [00:59:19] Speaker A: Okay. You keep telling me that. [00:59:21] Speaker B: I know. And you never go. It's just fine. It doesn't have to be your jam. But it's my jam. I love it. [00:59:27] Speaker A: I get it. Hey, look, if they end up building a stadium over there at Hobby park for a women's team at some point, you know what? I'll probably buy season tickets and go to those things on the regular because it's five minutes from my house. [00:59:38] Speaker B: Is that thing. That's the thing in Garland. [00:59:40] Speaker A: Yeah. That died. Oh, did it? [00:59:43] Speaker B: Yeah. I thought I told you. Yeah. One of the investors turned out to have an issue, and I don't want to speak out of turn because I don't want to get in trouble, but that fell apart instead. [00:59:55] Speaker A: Oh, that sucked. Because I thought that was a really cool idea to use that giant piece of land for something like that. That would have been a really cool. [01:00:02] Speaker B: Well, there still is a women's team coming. Yes, I know that. I don't know if that was them or whether they're going to play somewhere else. I have no idea. But that's happening. The team in Texoma is coming. If you're up in that neck of the woods, up way up there, driving. [01:00:16] Speaker A: To Frisco is a pain in the ass. [01:00:18] Speaker B: Oh, man. I went to their brand thing. It took me forever to get there. Obviously North Texas is building a stadium down in Mansfield, which is worse for me, but whatever. Somebody still owns the, you know, Austin bold USL championship rights are still floating around there somewhere around town. As far as I know. Donnie keeps paying the fee to keep those things renewing, which is not a small piece of money, by the way. I think he's crazy at this point, but he's still doing it. So we'll see. They're still developing properties in and around Dallas in terms of soccer. And also, of course, Dallas cup starts next weekend. Not this weekend, but next weekend. So get hyped for that because that'll be fun. [01:00:59] Speaker A: All right, Buzz. See you on Saturday, my friend. [01:01:02] Speaker B: Yeah, looking forward to it. It'll be fun. [01:01:04] Speaker A: Yep. Literally. [01:01:05] Speaker B: The podcast has been brought to you by Soccer 90. Com. Make sure to explore the brand new Dallas burn collection from Mitchell and Ness. It's fantastic stuff. Vintage hoodies, tees, jackets. They're going fast, limited stock. So if you want one, you better move quick. Remember that as a listener of this podcast, you get 20% off with code. Third degree at checkout, both in store and online code. Third degree 20% off socceride.com. Some exclusions may apply. Third Degree the podcast has also been brought to you by the Lindstrom law firm for Wills Trust, probates and business law. Cough 469-515-2559 469-515-2559 or visit thelinstromlawfirm.com for a free consultation. [01:01:42] Speaker A: Thank you, and thank you to the very faithful FC Dallas curious fan. We will speak to you next week. Oh, by the way, maybe Lars will participate in the next episode of Third Degree the podcast. [01:01:56] Speaker B: Wow. [01:01:56] Speaker A: What? Lars has asked if he could participate in next week's episode because he will have attended the game and would love to express his experience and talk about what he saw. Would you like that? [01:02:11] Speaker B: Yeah. Glad we talked about that in advance. [01:02:14] Speaker A: You can edit it out. [01:02:16] Speaker B: Sure. It'd be fun. Let's do it. [01:02:17] Speaker A: All right. We will talk to you guys next week, one way or the other, on another episode of third degree the podcast. [01:02:24] Speaker B: Get well, Paxton. [01:02:25] Speaker A: Third degree the third degree never podcast. Third degree never cared. I'm.