Messi & Miami Out, Bruce Arena In, MLS Playoff Recap, USMNT vs Jamaica Preview

Summary

Unfiltered Soccer with Landon Donovan and Tim Howard
Episode: Messi & Miami Out, Bruce Arena In, MLS Playoff Recap, USMNT vs Jamaica Preview
Date Released: [Insert Release Date]

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Introduction

In the latest episode of Unfiltered Soccer, hosts Landon Donovan and Tim Howard dive deep into the tumultuous events surrounding Major League Soccer (MLS), the United States Men's National Team (USMNT), and notable happenings in the global soccer landscape. With their characteristic candor and insider perspectives, Landon and Tim navigate through recent playoff upsets, managerial changes, and upcoming national team challenges, all while engaging with listener questions and off-topic discussions.

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MLS Playoff Recap: Inter Miami's Shock Exit

The episode kicks off with a comprehensive recap of the MLS playoffs, highlighting several unexpected outcomes. Inter Miami's stunning elimination, despite the presence of superstar Lionel Messi, takes center stage. Landon expresses empathy for both Messi and Don Garber, MLS Commissioner, noting the emotional toll of the playoff loss:

[02:43] Landon Donovan: "I think the only person who was more upset than Messi was Don Garber probably."

Atlanta United emerges as the deserving victors, with Brad Guzan playing a pivotal role. Landon emphasizes Atlanta's merit in securing the win over Miami:

[03:29] Landon Donovan: "Atlanta deserved it. This was not some fluke. They knew their weapons. The goalkeeper was spectacular and good."

Tim concurs, defending Atlanta's victory and critiquing Inter Miami's contentious play:

[04:03] Tim Howard: "Atlanta won this fair and square. I thought it was great. It had everything had spice."

The hosts discuss controversial moments, such as Thomas Avilles' actions during the Miami vs. Atlanta series, debating the implications of potential head injuries and game management decisions.

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Managerial Moves: Bruce Arena Takes the Helm

Transitioning from playoff highlights, Landon and Tim address Bruce Arena's appointment as the MLS coach and General Manager of the San Jose Earthquakes. Landon defends Arena amidst his past controversies, emphasizing Arena's professional capabilities and personal growth:

[12:18] Landon Donovan: "There are a lot of people in MLS who probably shouldn't be there, but he is not one of them."

Tim praises Arena's resilience and his positive impact on MLS, advocating for second chances within the league:

[12:44] Tim Howard: "I'm glad he's getting a second chance, that he hasn't been completely ostracized because the league is going to be a better league with a coach like Bruce Arena in it."

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USMNT vs Jamaica: Preparing for the Quarterfinals

The conversation shifts to the US Men's National Team's upcoming quarterfinal against Jamaica in the CONCACAF Nations League. Both hosts express confidence in the USMNT's ability to secure a convincing victory:

[16:47] Landon Donovan: "This should not be a contest. We need to win convincingly and move on. It's simple as that."

They delve into roster concerns, highlighting issues in goalkeeping, midfield depth, and attacking options:

[19:02] Landon Donovan: "Goalkeeping to me is a massive concern... Our midfield is the strongest part of our team outside of Christian in the attack."

Tim adds insights on team cohesion and the importance of consistent performance:

[20:02] Tim Howard: "I didn't see our best players on the field consistently enough together. That's where you build trust and team camaraderie."

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Premier League Spotlight: Manchester City's Challenges

Landon and Tim turn their attention to the Premier League, specifically addressing Manchester City's unexpected four-game losing streak:

[25:20] Landon Donovan: "Pep has never lost four games in a row. This guy is a genius, but teams now are not fearing them."

Tim analyzes the impact of Rodri's absence due to injury, emphasizing the critical role he plays in City's strategy:

[28:35] Tim Howard: "Rodri is essentially Pep Guardiola incarnated on the pitch. He's vital to that team."

They also commend Liverpool's resurgence under new manager Jürgen Klopp, contrasting their stability with City's current struggles:

[29:05] Tim Howard: "Klopp has changed the tune for Liverpool with unbelievable performances individually and collectively."

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Manchester United and Alejandro Garnacho

The discussion shifts to Manchester United, focusing on young talent Alejandro Garnacho. Landon voices concerns over Garnacho's lack of celebration post-goal, questioning the club's cultural environment:

[30:30] Landon Donovan: "Alejandro Garnacho scored an incredible goal but refused to celebrate. This is bad, man."

Tim reflects on team dynamics and leadership, stressing the need for a cohesive culture post management changes:

[37:10] Tim Howard: "There's been no culture since Sir Alex Ferguson left. It's a big job for Rúben Amorim, but I think you can get it done."

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Mailbag Segment: Listener Questions

In the Mailbag segment, Landon and Tim engage with listener-submitted questions, providing thoughtful and entertaining responses:

1. Inserting a Retired USMNT Player into the Current Roster:

   • Landon: Focuses on enhancing the goalkeeping position, highlighting the team's need for reliable shot-stoppers.
   • Tim: Playfully suggests that both he and Landon should be the go-to goalkeepers, underscoring their competitive spirit.

2. Freaky Friday Scenario – Landon as a Keeper vs. Tim as a Forward:

   • Both hosts humorously debate their hypothetical positions on the field, ultimately agreeing that their strengths lie in their respective roles.

3. Underrated Roles in Soccer:

   • Tim: Advocates for the recognition of Directors of Sports Science, emphasizing their impact on player fitness and team performance.
   • Landon: Highlights the Recruitment Department's pivotal role in maintaining team consistency and strategic player acquisitions.

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Anything But Soccer: Off-Field Stories

Wrapping up the episode, Landon and Tim venture into non-soccer topics, sharing anecdotes and opinions:

1. LeBron James and Bronny's G League Move:

   • Tim: Critiques the decision as a scripted move, questioning its timing and impact.
   • Landon: Praises Bronny's talent while expressing skepticism about the long-term benefits of such arrangements.

2. NFL Drama: Debo Samuel vs. Jake Moody Incident:

   • The hosts recount a heated exchange between Debo Samuel, Jake Moody, and Tabor Pepper, discussing the balance between performance pressure and player camaraderie.

3. Historical NFL Anecdotes:

   • Landon shares stories about former NFL kickers, underscoring the unique challenges and contracts associated with the position.

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Notable Quotes

• Landon Donovan on Inter Miami's Playoff Exit:

  "[02:43] I think the only person who was more upset than Messi was Don Garber probably."

• Tim Howard on Bruce Arena's Return:

  "[12:44] I'm glad he's getting a second chance, that he hasn't been completely ostracized because the league is going to be a better league with a coach like Bruce Arena in it."

• Landon Donovan on USMNT's Competitiveness:

  "[16:47] This should not be a contest. We need to win convincingly and move on. It's simple as that."

• Tim Howard on Manchester City's Resilience:

  "[28:35] Rodri is essentially Pep Guardiola incarnated on the pitch. He's vital to that team."

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Conclusion

In this episode of Unfiltered Soccer, Landon Donovan and Tim Howard offer an unvarnished look at the current state of soccer in the U.S. and abroad. From playoff disappointments and managerial shake-ups to national team prospects and Premier League upheavals, the hosts provide insightful analysis backed by their extensive experience. Engaging with listeners through the Mailbag and venturing into off-field narratives, Landon and Tim ensure a well-rounded and captivating discussion for soccer enthusiasts everywhere.

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Transcript

[Landon Donovan]

Hey, guys, and welcome to today's show. We're talking Inter Miami's stunning elimination from the MLS cup playoffs, the insane fact that Manchester City has four losses in a row, and what staffing change I absolutely hate. It's all coming up on Unfiltered Soccer.

[Tim Howard]

Welcome in everybody to Unfiltered Soccer with Landon and Tim, presented by Volkswagen ld. We got the dream team back together after all these years.

[Landon Donovan]

How about that, Timmy? What's up, man? Good to be with you. Excited for this. First of all, love the picture behind you. Well done there. Right on, Brand.

[Tim Howard]

Showing you some love and you're showing me some love.

[Landon Donovan]

Celebrate. Is that Algeria?

[Tim Howard]

Of course it is.

[Landon Donovan]

Okay, sure. All right, you're on Brand. Look, we, we got together a few weeks back and said there's a lot of podcasts, soccer podcast. We have a lot to say and we're both at a point in our lives where we can be unfiltered. We can talk about the game honestly, openly, with insight that I don't think anyone else in our country can do totally or is willing to do. And so we're going to have fun with this. We want to be. It's in the title. We want to be unfiltered, but we want this to be about you guys, too. So we want you to send comments, questions, let's make this conversational and we want to hear what you guys want to hear from.

[Tim Howard]

Yeah, listen, this is going to be the hard hitting podcast, we hope. And from our standpoint, there's nothing we haven't seen in this game, both here and abroad. So love the interaction that we have trying to create that community with you, all the listeners, with each other. But most importantly, it's about the listeners. It's about being unfiltered. Too many people today, I think ld dance around issues. That's not something that you or I have really ever done. So make sure you follow us on social media. Unfiltered soccer. Subscribe to the show on YouTube. Make sure you follow us on Apple podcasts and Spotify. If you like what we're doing, which we're pretty sure you will, even if you hate it, send us your comments.

[Landon Donovan]

And they might hate it. Yeah, they might.

[Tim Howard]

Which is okay, by the way. At least send us your comments, questions, concerns. You can email us at feedback@unfiltered soccer.com and we're going to jump right into this episode with mls. The playoffs are heating up. There's been some incredible results, some great series. LAFC beat Vancouver nyc FC upset Cincinnati I was surprised at that one. Orlando City just advance past Charlotte. But the one everyone's talking about, the one everyone's talking about is one with Lionel Messi and Inter Miami going down in three games to Atlanta United. Wow.

[Landon Donovan]

Yeah. What I mean first of all, from MLS's standpoint, they have to be ecstatic about the way the, the playoff format has gone. But I'm guessing there were a lot of, a lot of tissues and tears cried at the league offices after Messi went out the other night. I think the only person who was more upset than Messi was Don Garber probably. And I can imagine it's. It's sad for the league to see him go, but Atlanta deserved it. Our boy Brad Guzan was the hero. I think he was the star of the show. Do you see the video of him and Arthur Blank after Arthur Blank, the Atlanta United owner, he of Home Depot stardom. They're hugging together, drinking beers together and Brad, that's Brad. Brad's pumping him on the back and saying great job, Artie.

[Tim Howard]

You know, like anybody who's been pawed on the back by Brad Guzan knows that's not a nice feeling.

[Landon Donovan]

That's going to leave a mark.

[Tim Howard]

It's. But listen, I mean it was that series had everything. It's always fun I guess if you're neutral to watch the underdog when it's. It's such an interesting concept when you look at Messi and what they've done. Supporter shield chasing the points total all time points total them winning without Messi at times during the season. I mean it's been, it's been one heck of a sideshow but unfortunately they lost and that happens.

[Landon Donovan]

And you know the Atlanta. First of all, Atlanta deserved it. This was not like some. If you would do it over three games, you deserve it. This is not some fluke. Right. The somewhat controversial. I don't know how you feel but like somewhat controversial play. Thomas. Thomas Aviles for Inter Miami. Miami just tied the game. Messing with a header to tie the game. He's trying to will his team back. So it's 2:2. Atlanta are attacking and Avila Inter Miami player goes down in his own penalty area while the play is developing and seemingly he's either cramping or injured. Somebody goes down in the inner Miami players. Some of them kind of stop playing.

[Tim Howard]

Wow.

[Landon Donovan]

And Atlanta United have the ball and serve it into the box and great header score to make it 3:2 and end up winning the game. And Miami were sort of aggrieved by it. But I mean, you're not. You don't have to kick the ball out. The rules say you do not have to kick. It's the referee's discretion, players discretion. You don't have to kick it out.

[Tim Howard]

Look, you'll never convince me otherwise. If there's a head injury and it's an apparent head injury, the referee has an obligation to stop the game. We all know that. The fact of the matter is, and you and I have been on, on both sides of this, you don't have to kick the ball out if a player is injured. The rule states you do not have to kick the ball. It's at the discretion of the team in possession. By the way, keep playing. If you want to stop the game because you're so worried about your player being down, go hack somebody down. Yeah, go take a foul, take a yellow car, whatever the case is, but don't stop playing. And then pretend you're going to argue. That's not even, that's not even in question. So for me that's, that's null and void. Atlanta won this fair and square. I thought it was great. It had, everything had spice. I mean even so much so that the inter Miami players after the game didn't want to shake hands. For me, that's brilliant. I think it's great. I mean, good for them.

[Landon Donovan]

Well, I mean, I don't, I don't like that. I think just shake their hand, right?

[Tim Howard]

Yes.

[Landon Donovan]

Say Sports Machine. For sure. I mean I saw Messi walked right off the field and you know, maybe in the locker room they all came out and said congrats and whatever, but they were. And by the way, your fans are out there too, right? So at least congratulate them on a great season and thank them for all the support they've had. And yeah, you know, just getting back to this by going down in the box thing. This. I was coaching in NWSL the last part of this year and I saw this in almost every NWSL game. Literally like clockwork. 10, 15, 20 minutes into the game, goalkeepers on the ground saying she's injured, ref calls out the trainer, every player comes over to the sideline and the coaches like change everything about their whole game plan that they had. Right. Well, my first comment is, well, if your game plan is always changing that much, what are you about? Do you have any identity or you're just always changing to the opponent? Second, it just became such a joke. Everybody knows what's going on. It's just such a joke. And so what I think, you know What I'm waiting to happen. And I bet you this does happen because anytime there's new rules put into anywhere in life, people take advantage of it, right? Any walk of life, there's a new rule, people take advantage of it. There's a new tax code put in. Everybody's taking advantage of it, Right. So the caveat is, if you go down with a head injury in your own penalty area, the referee has to blow the whistle, stop the play, and guess what happens after the play resumes? It goes to the team that was defending, Right. So if, if, if Carlos Bocanegra is defending, your penalty area goes down with a head injury.

[Tim Howard]

Yeah.

[Landon Donovan]

The ref blows the whistle, the other team could be on a breakaway. Totally blows the whistle, you get the ball back. Yeah, right. You, as the defending team, get the ball back. And so I'm wondering. Yeah, I'm wondering what, like, if he had gone down with a head injury, the ref might have blown it and they would have got the ball, they would have stopped the attack. Well, at some point I'm waiting for this because it's becoming a bit of a joke. So I'm waiting for it to happen.

[Tim Howard]

I tend to agree with that. Look, when I talk about sportsmanship aspect, I do like a little bit of house. When you can get under the skin of another team, should they have shaking hands? Of course. Of course. I even hated myself when I walked off the field sometimes because I was angry. It's good to shake hands and give people their flowers. Listen, we know you all have comments and opinions on Messi. Send them to us at Unfiltered Soccer. We'd love to hear what you have to say. Some tasty matchups. The second round, there's going to be some single elimination games. You've got the Hudson River Derby, New York City, FC Red Bull. You got LAFC versus the Sounders. You've got the Dirty South, Darby, which you named it that. Orlando, Dirty South, Orlando City and Atlanta, and then LA Galaxy, Minnesota. So, I mean, these are going to be some spicy, tasty matchups. Really looking forward to them.

[Landon Donovan]

Yeah, it's going to be fun. It's going to be a good, good few, few weeks, few games coming up. As Ricky Pooch said for the Galaxy, I think he said, we have 22 game, 22 days, so can you please, can you please be better? And I think he and the Galaxy were happy with the format. One who was not happy with the format was Jordi Alba from Miami. He said, it's clear to me that it's been Done this way for years. But if you ask me, and if it were up to me, I'd have the champion of the conference against the champion of the other to make it as fair as possible. I don't know where he came up with that. I do repeat congrats to the rival team. He wouldn't even say their name. Probably doesn't even know their name. I keep. I think they competed very well against us. They knew their weapons. The goalkeeper was spectacular and good. I think that is clearly what marked the difference. But he's not happy with this form. You know, about the format going in. Don't complain about it now, bro.

[Tim Howard]

You know what? This, this. This feels like a welcome to America moment. We love a playoff. We low and upset. Like, I get it. Most people aren't on the fence either love the single table or they love the playoffs. I'm. I kind of get it. I've played in both systems. You know, in America, we love. We just. We love a playoff. We love. We love an underdog. And that's just kind of how things are scripted for us. So there's always next year for Jordi Alba and. And Inter Miami, but this is the format and this is how you got to do it.

[Landon Donovan]

Well, also coming next year, a good friend of ours back on the sidelines, Bruce named MLS coach and general manager of the San Jose Earthquake. I just want to say real quick, the important part there is that he's the general manager.

[Tim Howard]

Correct.

[Landon Donovan]

The way they've built that roster over the last five years or so has been a total disaster.

[Tim Howard]

Just.

[Landon Donovan]

It's just a total mess. And Bruce has a lot of house cleaning to do. I remember he would always say this when he first came to the Galaxy in 09, from 09 then to 2010 or maybe 08 to 2009, I think he only kept four players on the roster and he just did a full house cleaning.

[Tim Howard]

I would expect him to do the same thing. I mean, San Jose was worst team in MLS in 2024, and again, he has autonomy from having the role of gm. And what I would say is, you look at people like Bruce Arena, Bob Bradley is another name. Greg Burhalter. These are guys in the game who are going to. Going to have those titles. They're going to go into an interview and look at the club holistically and say, I have to have more than just being the coach because I have ideas, I have thoughts, and they have the power to do it. So hats off to Bruce.

[Landon Donovan]

Well, he wouldn't have done it otherwise, I mean, everywhere he's gone, he's done that and that's how he's successful. And so just to address real quick what happened in New England, because I think it's important for people to hear. So he went to New England, did a great job turning around the club to some of his backroom staff, made some what he would agree are inappropriate comments. Those comments were, in my opinion, disgustingly then used against him as opposed to just saying, hey, Bruce, please don't say that. He has said that he made mistakes. He was suspended by the league and only in December was he able to be reinstated after doing a lot of work and working on himself and being contrite. Those of us who know Bruce, and I've known him Since I was 16, he's like a father to me. He is a very good human being who says a lot of bad things at times. And we're in 2024 now, Tim. There's things you cannot say and that are not appropriate. And he's aware of that and I'm sure he will change for the better for it. But this is not a bad human being. There are. There are a lot of people in MLS who probably shouldn't be there, but he is not one of them.

[Tim Howard]

I agree with you. And look, we are. We are in a new day and age. And it's not just about telling someone to not say it. It's about helping to educate them and they can better themselves. Bruce arena has done that. He's been very apologetic. And ultimately, America is the land of second chances. We know that from top to bottom. And so I'm glad he's getting a second chance, that he hasn't been completely ostracized because the league is going to be a better league with a coach like Bruce arena in it. So happy to see him back.

[Landon Donovan]

Yeah, agreed. And one guy we also hope to see back at some point is Jim Curtin, who was let go by the Philadelphia Union. I hate this. I cannot tell you how much I hate this. This guy. Sports are about expectations. Philadelphia Union, when Jim Curtin took over were an afterthought. Nobody thought about him. They were exciting, new club, whatever, but nobody thought about him in the same way since he's been there. This is the first time this year that they've missed the playoffs since 2017. Okay, two time MLS coach of the year. They won the supporters shield in 2020. They lost the MLS cup final to LAFC three times. They've been the Open cup runner up twice. They've Been to the semis of the CONCACAF Champions Cup. I mean, what else can this guy do? And by the way, according to capology.com they had the second lowest payroll of any team in MLS this year.

[Tim Howard]

Yeah.

[Landon Donovan]

And now you're firing because he has one bad year. And look, we don't have all the context what's gone on behind the scenes, but he's a great human being.

[Tim Howard]

Yep.

[Landon Donovan]

Jim's a great. Everybody loves him. And this is just a joke to me. It's just a joke.

[Tim Howard]

I think the good news is that somebody soon is going to get a very, very good coach. And look, the expectations aside, and you'll never convince me otherwise, so don't try. Even though you can send us your comments. Winning is everything to me. Like, if you have a guy who's a winner and you happen to have a down year, so be it. Forget all the outside vitriol and all the noise. You've got a really, really good to great in this league, in the MLS head coach. You've had one bad season. Certainly his resume and his history dictates that he gets another chance. Right. And what he's done on a low budget at a club that sells young players, the fact that he's had that success, it's difficult. It's difficult to see that and, and for him to be let go. But as I said, someone is going to get a very, very good head coach.

[Landon Donovan]

But Tim, what Like the grass is very rarely greener and people just don't understand this in sports. Like what is, what else is. Could he possibly have done with that team given the roster he had every year? They're not if imagine they spent like Inter Miami or the Galaxy or Sounders or whoever lafc. They don't. And they get to this point, it's a miracle. It's literally a miracle that they do as well as they do. And now, I mean, just be careful what you wish for, man, because it's going to be hard to find Jim Curtin again.

[Tim Howard]

Yeah. Somewhat short sighted.

[Landon Donovan]

Yeah. Anyway, let's take a break. We will be back on the other side talking. Lot of us men's national team, we'll get to the Premier League this weekend as well. Lots to chat about. We'll be right back.

[C]

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[Tim Howard]

This is a segment we like to call us LNT on US mnt. It is international break we all love. It's the best time, best time of year. US Will face Jamaica in the quarterfinals of the CONCACAF Nations League. Big game for you. Talk to me. What do you think?

[Landon Donovan]

No, I mean, what. Where have we gotten where people are worried, slash and talking a lot about a quarterfinal against Jamaica. I mean, this should be, this should not be a contest. Right? So I understand all of the challenges with travel and, you know, are the players fully, fully up for it, whatever. But it's Jamaica, man. Like, we beat Panama a few weeks ago and everyone was going crazy and then we go to Mexico and look, look terrible and. Yeah, so this is a two leg series that, that we need to win and we need to win convincingly and move on. It's simple as that.

[Tim Howard]

I mean, listen, it's. Without being disrespectful, it should be a lap. Right. In terms of a talent standpoint, the US should take care of business, hopefully. You know, I think the ideal situation would be take care of business in the first leg. Right. And then be able to kind of chop and change a little bit for Pochettino to see some players. We'll. We'll see what happens. I'm not, you know, I tend to think like you. The US should take care of business and it shouldn't be that big of a deal. I think the bigger questions, the roster and the, you know, the audit of the roster and how we feel about it. Of course, Pochettino is looking at new faces. You have any concerns in any particular areas with this roster?

[Landon Donovan]

Well, yeah, I do. And I'll just, I'm just going to go through positionally and I want to hear your thoughts, too. But I. My bigger thing is we expect now probably unrealistically, what this roster should look like and how this team should play when I just objectively and obviously I'm a huge as you are national team fan, men's and women's. Right. If you just objectively look at the roster, where our guys play and what kind of impact they're having, you have to then be realistic about where this team is. Right. And I've said this before, but when you look at France's roster or Brazil's roster or Spain's roster, I mean they have world class players all over the field. That doesn't mean we can't compete with these teams. It doesn't mean we can't compete with them. But let's not go into these games saying we should be, you know, we should be on par with these. No, we shouldn't. I mean we went to Mexico and got our kicked three weeks ago. Right. Like that's, that's the reality of where the roster is now. The best players make us way better. And I spoke to someone inside US Soccer a couple days ago who's very, very close to that team and, and he said, look, when our best players are on the field, we can compete and when they're not, we're just not that good. We're not. And so here, you know, I'll just run through it so you know, I'm going to hear your thoughts on this for sure. Goalkeeping to me is a massive concern. I mean we don't have anybody playing at a high level consistently right now that I would say has absolutely just said this is my spot wide with Serginho and Jedi solid. But centrally there are a lot of question marks. There are, they're just question marks. Our midfield is I think strongest part of our team outside of Christian in the attack. Tim Weah now playing well, hopefully that continues as always. Number nine is going to be a problem depending on where flow's at at any given time. And then our depth is just a huge, huge problem. I mean the depth is a huge problem.

[Tim Howard]

Yeah, I mean look, I, I, I echo some of those thoughts. The fact of the matter is one of my biggest gripes going into the 2022 World cup was I just don't see our best players in the lead up and the lead up can be a year. We didn't get our best players on the field consistently enough together. Right. So then at the World cup they were together, but they hadn't been in the trenches, they hadn't been through the difficult moments together. That's where you build trust. That's where you build Team camaraderie. That's where you build this ability to get through big moments. And so we go back a few weeks to Mexico and Christian police the captain left to go home. That's fine, that's fine. People have an opinion on it. But going down to Mexico with your full squad in a, in a game, that's going to be tough away from home and nasty builds character. Like you can, you can lean on that in two years time and every time you miss an opportunity like that, it's tough.

[Landon Donovan]

Well, don't forget, we don't have qualifying, right? So, like these other tournaments are great and Gold Cup's great and. But it's. Qualifying is when you're really up against the wall and you know it. And I'm like, I'm getting goosebumps talking about it. There's games where you go in and you're like, if we lose, we're not going to the World Cup 100%. And those guys lived it in 2018, right? We're not going to the World cup, bro. And you have to feel that. So when you go to Mexico, it's like, okay, it's a friendly, whatever, but you're in that stadium, you're like, this is real.

[Tim Howard]

I mean, what you don't. Right, what you don't get. And I worry about the not, not having to qualify. You and I have been on that bus on down that long desolate road heading to San Pedro Sula in Honduras, and it's two hours before kickoff and there's people, streams of people walking down a country road. And you pull into the stadium and it is packed, people are dancing, music. I mean, there is, there's not a seat to be had. And you're like, oh, oh, we're in something right now. And you don't get that when you don't have qualifying, simply put. So, yeah, look, I worry about the makeup of the team. Again. A lot of our goalkeepers currently aren't getting, aren't getting top minutes. I think a couple of them are getting overlooked defensively under Greg Bruh. This. These defenders were asked to play expansive and probably to me it seemed like square pegs and round holes. Is there enough to have a solid back four that don't go too far, that defend? Yeah, maybe the midfield for me is where, as you mentioned, our best players are, simply put. And if we can get a collection of them together, you know, you look at Giorena, you look at Moussa.

[Landon Donovan]

Yeah, Tyler's back playing.

[Tim Howard]

Tyler's back, yeah. Which is Great that Tyler is back fit. Can he stay fit? Like, that's, that's going to be where games are won and loss for us. And then up front, big question mark. We haven't had a number nine in a long time. You know, a reliable number nine like a Josie Altidore, that's going to get you goals on a regular basis. And don't forget, the last generation had Josie Altoor, who was, who was the goal getter, but they also had you and Clint Dempsey, who are, you know, us soccer's leading goal scorers. Right. So when the number nine couldn't carry the weight, you, you guys jumped in. So we don't necessarily have that with this team. It's going to have to happen fast.

[Landon Donovan]

Yeah, well, what, what happens, Tim? The, the reason why that's valuable, having people adding in goals and, and putting fear in players is you cannot then just focus on Christian. Right? So, like, if Weston is getting forward and consistently scoring, if Tim Way is consistently scoring, Flow's playing well. Now you go, okay, well, you want to hone in on Christian and try to take him out, fine. Other people score and that everybody else was a benefit. I was a beneficiary of Clint being on the field.

[Tim Howard]

Correct.

[Landon Donovan]

Right. When Clint and Josie were on the field, I could sometimes float and hide and show up in the right spot and they'd forgotten about me. Bang, it's in the net. Right. And right now we don't have enough of that. So hopefully Tim Waya keeps going and we can, we can find that. I'd be curious from our listeners. Leave us a comment on unfiltered soccer YouTube page. Let us know what you think is the best team right now. Walk through with us what we just talked through. Concerned, feel good about all the different facets, goalkeeping, defending our midfield, our attack and our depth. We'll find out on the coach, right. Over time, but there's not a whole lot Pochettino can do and in a short period of time. So it's going to be, it's going to be an interesting break. I hope, I hope, Tim, I could be wrong. Hope we skate through it easily. And I also similarly hope everyone doesn't go crazy if we do and say we're the best team in the world because we still have a long way to go. But this is, this is now where it really starts to matter for Argentina.

[Tim Howard]

It does matter. And by the way, if we don't skate through this, not saying the games are hard, then we've, we've. We've Got a whole lot more to dig into on. On the next few episodes of this podcast because there's a problem if we don't. Simply put.

[Landon Donovan]

All right, we'll take a break. When we come back, some Premier League. We'll get into some other stuff. Some mailbag questions from you guys and some. Anything but soccer. One of our favorite segments. We'll be right back.

[Tim Howard]

Okay, LD let's get into some Premier League action. Man City fans don't hate me or do. I've dealt with it before, but what is they lost. City lost 21 to Brighton on the weekend, making it the fourth straight loss for Manchester City. All competitions. What's going on there? Talk to me.

[Landon Donovan]

Sports are all about expectations, right? If you're not expected to be in the top six in the Premier League and you finish fifth, you're the best team in the. Everyone's. If you're Man City and you lose four in a row, you know, people are like, what's going. Can we just take a moment? Pep has never lost four games in a row.

[Tim Howard]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Landon Donovan]

Okay. Now that's a phenomenal record. I don't care what great teams you've played at, city haven't lost four in a row since 06.

[Tim Howard]

Yep.

[Landon Donovan]

So this is. This guy is a genius. But I will say. I will say teams now are not fearing them.

[Tim Howard]

Yeah.

[Landon Donovan]

And that is the biggest thing. And we've been in those shoes where you're like, when. This is national team parallel, too. When we would go to Jamaica, they were like, we're playing the national team now. They're probably like, I don't know. There's a chance sign off. Right. And I remember the first time, Tim, the first time Panama beat us at home. And. And you could see in their eyes, they were like, oh, my God, this is possible. Right now with City, Brighton's like, hey, we can win this game.

[Tim Howard]

Totally.

[Landon Donovan]

They. And they believed it. I mean, they really believed it.

[Tim Howard]

Well, you could see it as well. I mean, the City. This is what happens when you're at the top and you set a standard. City is. Is the best team in the world. And for all the obvious reasons and the fact that the matter is you. You end up losing four in a row. And it's like a boxer, right? A boxer has never been knocked out before. As soon as he gets knocked out, that chin is a little bit wobbly. Right? And team and. And. And fighters don't fear you as much. That's what's happening with City at the moment. Teams feel like they have A chance. And look, the stats are telling you they're conceding early goals. That's never been the case before. Normally they score a goal and then they go on and score three or four. Teams think, hey, if we stick at this long enough, if we stay in the game, City are going to concede because the stats are telling us they've been conceding at a rate that hasn't. Hasn't really happened under Pep Cordial. What I would say is, am I concerned a little bit if I'm City. But here's the other thing. I have nothing to back that up with. Every time under Pep Guardiola there's been a problem, they've bounced back. They've figured out some way to hit some form, win 10, 12, 20 games in a row and go on a run. So my expectation is, while there's cause for concern, do I think City will go on a run that matches something they've done in the past? Yes, I do. I do think that. Which then for me, puts the onus on Liverpool. I think City are going to make a run. That much I know. The question now is, with Liverpool being at the top of the table, playing brilliant under the new manager, Arne slot, can they handle the onslaught and the pressure of being on top? That's the question for me.

[Landon Donovan]

Well, I know if I was Rodri's agent right now I'd be on the phone with City saying, hey, guys, there's a coincidence here. But I don't think it's a coincidence. Right when he got injured, this is when this happened and he is. You always find out how valuable a player is when they're not on the field. Not when they're on the field. Because when they're on the field, you get used to it. And everyone thinks it's just normal and natural. Goes off the field and you go, oh, damn. And so he's so vital to that team and does so much for that and for Spain, by the way. And it just makes you realize how good that guy is.

[Tim Howard]

Yeah. And by, by the way, knows. Pep knows that too, right? Like, he can kind of play with a false 9 if Holland's not there. Even though Holland's the best striker in the world, Kevin de Bruy, people can fill his boots. Even though he's brilliant. Pep knows there ain't nobody filling Roger's boots. And so he's.

[Landon Donovan]

Why is it always like. Why is it always that position that's so bad? Like, I remember with early days with the national team, like when Chris Armis was on the field, it was just like we were just different. When Claudio was at his best, when Pablo and Michael Bradley was at his best, you just be like, that's the guy who can't come off the field.

[Tim Howard]

Sure.

[Landon Donovan]

You know, I don't know what it is, just that position.

[Tim Howard]

I think it's the heartbeat. I think. I think it's the. Their ability to drop into the back four, protect the back four, be good on set pieces, create tempo, be unselfish in terms of like, hey, I'm going to break things up, give you the ball, you go forward. I mean, it happened on our teams, right sixes, Michael Bradley, particularly in our era, he would break things up, give the facilitate, give the ball to you, give the ball to Clint and watch it go. And then there's a leadership element to it that, you know, when I look at a Rodri, Roger's basically Pep Guardiola incarnated on the pitch. Right. And. And not everybody can do that or be that. So interesting.

[Landon Donovan]

He's the. He's the Dax McCarty of Man City.

[Tim Howard]

That's. That's big praise.

[Landon Donovan]

You're welcome, Dax.

[Tim Howard]

It's a big shout out.

[Landon Donovan]

Big praise for Roger.

[Tim Howard]

I wasn't, I wasn't expecting you to go there. You know, we talked about City struggles and how Liverpool are essentially the beneficiaries of that, although they're. They're playing really, really well. And yes, City are stumbling, but they're playing, they're playing fantastic. Probably ahead of schedule from everybody. I don't think anybody could have seen this coming. I know Klopp left a really solid squad, which is why people were like, well, Klopp, why are you leaving? But the fact of the matter is Slot has come in and done brilliantly for them. He's changed the tune. He's gone away from that heavy metal football, pressing counter, pressing to kind of sitting back a little bit, creating tempo in the right moments. And the team has responded with unbelievable performances individually and collectively. So, yeah, hats off to them.

[Landon Donovan]

Yeah, he's been. He's now the blueprint in how you come in after a legend. Most fail, but he hasn't. He's been brilliant. Speaking of Liverpool, this is an interesting story. Premier League referee David Coot has been suspended. This just came up this morning following the release of a video of him making some interesting comments about Jurgen Klopp. He had some not safe for Internet or work comments about Jurgen Klopp. Said he is a C word. He said Liverpool are and went on to disparage him quite a bit. I'm guessing he's never reffing again in the Premier League, I mean.

[Tim Howard]

Oh, I can't see it. I can't see it. I think it's a big problem. Look, let's dig into this a little bit. What I saw in the video was his eyes were telling a different story than his mouth was. So that's a starting point, right? And I can't make any accusations of what was ingested before that, but I don't have this, like, massive problem with what he's saying. Hear me out. I abused referees. I said, I said things I should have never said. Most of the time I was very apologetic afterward. Or I went home, looked myself in the mirror and thought, Tim, you shouldn't have said that, right? But the fact of the matter is that referee also went home because he's human. And I'm. I would be shocked if he didn't go, oh, that Tim Howard, what a lovely guy. He probably said, you know what, he's a beep, beep, beep, right? Like he has an opinion and he's a human being and he's supposed to be neutral. Of course he is. But the fact of the matter is, if you abuse somebody, don't expect them to have something nice to say about you. And that's what happened in the case with David Kut and Jurgen Klopp. And so the big mistake he made was not having an opinion on how he felt about somebody because he's human. The problem is he allowed himself to be video recorded. And look, let me speak on this. I've had teammates get in big, big trouble because their mates or somebody from home had a recording of them and they wanted to sensationalize it. And you know this because you and I played at Everton together. Football players in England and around the world are God like figures. Even your schoolmates, even your family want a piece of the pie. So what happens is, Is it like malicious and blackmail? No, but what this guy did, I guarantee it was like, hey, my mate, he's a Premier League ref. You'll never guess what he said about Liverpool. Boom. He sends it to somebody else, then spider webs and then the game of telephone happens and someone ends up with the tape they shouldn't end up with. And it's a sad state of affairs, man. Again, I don't have a problem with what he said simply because that's his opinion of a situation that he's been in that wasn't really nice. An interaction with a manager that wasn't really nice. You gotta be careful once you say it and it's out of the bag. The PJMOL is gonna have to suspend him. They're gonna fine him.

[Landon Donovan]

Yeah, well, he can't. I mean, he can't.

[C]

Ref.

[Tim Howard]

Again, I don't think so.

[Landon Donovan]

I mean, that you just. So here was. This was an issue when I went to Everton and you, I think you were more used to it because you'd been in the Premier League for so long at that point. So we played a game away at Wigan and just before halftime, I, like, got into a tackle, I fell on the ground and I don't remember who it was, but he kicked the ball and I thought he kicked it hard. So I'm laying on the ground, he kicks it at me and I look at the ref and I said, just kick the ball me. What's going on here? And he looked at me and he goes, get up. My grandma can kick harder than that. Right? And so in the moment, I was shocked because I had never heard a referee speak to me that way ever. And in some ways, like when I hear people like you and other players in England talk about it, it's funny because it's banter, whatever. But then I was thinking to myself, like, you can't be speaking to players like that. You shouldn't. And they do. And there's like this culture in England where, like, it's funny and they can banter and like, no, just shut up and do your job. Right? Like, if I berate you and go after you book me, fine. Don't be trying to, like, be cute and make all this banter and stuff. Get out of here, dude.

[Tim Howard]

It's hard. It's hard.

[Landon Donovan]

And that's where the line gets crossed, right? Because he's like, oh, whatever, Klopp's this. And it's like, okay, well, you're going to suffer for that.

[Tim Howard]

Yeah. Yeah. That's kind of why you just have to walk the line. Even though he has an opinion moral of the story, just don't let people videotape you. It never. It never ends well in any walk of life. Speaking of more controversy, Manchester United, who are under the two tutelage at the moment of rude Van Esteroy, before Amarant comes in from Sporting Lisbon to take over. This week, actually, they beat Leicester pretty handily, 3 nil. Alejandro Garnacho, player who I really like, young player, starlet on the wing, scored an incredible goal, an incredible goal, but refused to celebrate. It was at Old Trafford. He's been taking some stick the team's been taking some stick. My. My issue with it is this. Going back to not videotaping yourself. His brother, by the way, he's got a lot to say on social media as well, like, sort your family out, tell them to come to the games and clap and then go home. Never mind being on social media. And here's the other thing. I know he's a young kid and I don't think Manchester United have a lot of leadership, because if you do, you can kind of grab him and say, look, this is how it works. The team's stunk, they got your manager fired. Like, the fans have a right to boo and to be upset. And like, this whole concept of you're not going to celebrate, like, that's only on and he's a young player. It's only going to heat more pressure on the kid. Because the fact of the matter is, you know this. I've only scored one goal for those listening. I was there, you were there, you scored and you celebrated with me. But you, you scored a lot of goals. And like, that's actually a time to kind of let out your anger and your frustration and your emotion. Like, there's no need to keep it in because it's going to backfire.

[Landon Donovan]

Well, if he let it out, he might have, you know, done something stupid.

[Tim Howard]

Which is fine. Which is fine. I don't mind that.

[Landon Donovan]

Right, well, look, Amaron starts. Starts today. Started today. So this is one of his first big tasks. Not just Garnacho, but can you get them to believe in the club again and love the club? Because players go. I mean, he right now does not. He doesn't like the club.

[Tim Howard]

Right?

[Landon Donovan]

He doesn't. He doesn't like the fans, he doesn't like his experience. He doesn't like how it's going. So they need somebody who will help them. But forget about the on the field and winning and all that. That's a byproduct. Can you love the club? Can you be connected to the club in a meaningful way? And that's Amaram's, I think his number one. That's his number one priority early. Of course he wants to win. They have to win. But they're not going anywhere this year, right? So mid table, top of the table is fin finish is fine, but you need to start to build a new culture because this is. This is the low of the low when you players aren't even celebrating at home. And I mean, that's bad, man.

[Tim Howard]

That's the problem. There hasn't been culture since Sir Alex Ferguson left. It's been 11 years, so big job for Ruben Amaran, but I think you can get it done. I like him.

[Landon Donovan]

We'll find out. I think so. I mean, he. He. By the way, his first real Darby. With him beating City last week was crazy. That was pretty special.

[Tim Howard]

Football's. The football gods are real. It's a real thing happen.

[Landon Donovan]

It's. It's amazing how that happens. Well, you guys let us know your thoughts. I'm. I'm curious. Are you okay with. Are you okay with Garnacho doing that? Are you not. Let us know. I. You know, you're probably more fine with it than I am. I'm not. I'm not a huge. I can understand why you're frustrated if you're him, but they do need leadership. By the way, Tim Some. If I had done that, you would have grabbed me by the throat and said, hey, what are you doing? Enough of that so they don't have it. All right, let's get into some mailbag. Jordan. Jordan, get in. Come on in.

[Tim Howard]

Hello, Jordan. One of our. One of our producers is our mailbag expert. She takes all of your questions and feeds them to us. So hard hitting ones, please.

[E]

Okay, let's start with if you could insert 1 retired US Men's National Team player into the current lineup.

[Landon Donovan]

Oh, just one. That's a great question, by the way. Okay, give me a sec.

[Tim Howard]

Tim Howard.

[Landon Donovan]

This is.

[Tim Howard]

There's no comparison. Who else?

[Landon Donovan]

To be honest. All right, to be honest, right now, given the goalkeeping situation, I think I would. I think I would. I think that's what this team needs more, probably more than anything right now.

[Tim Howard]

Yeah.

[Landon Donovan]

So. Well, that's a terrible question, by the way, to stroke his ego.

[Tim Howard]

Listen, it's the answer. The answer is simple. You. You and Clint. I can't pick one. I mean, you guys, between you, there's goals, there's hunger. One of the two.

[Landon Donovan]

Yeah, but we can't keep the bottom of the net, pal.

[Tim Howard]

No.

[Landon Donovan]

No.

[Tim Howard]

Tough job.

[Landon Donovan]

All right, what's next?

[Tim Howard]

Next?

[E]

How about a. A fake scenario in a Freaky Friday situation where you. Do you think Landon is a better keeper than Tim is a forward or vice versa?

[Tim Howard]

I'm.

[Landon Donovan]

That's a great question, actually.

[Tim Howard]

Give me your opinion. There's only one answer.

[Landon Donovan]

No, no, no, there's not. Actually. Let me tell you this. So when I came to Loyal, or. Sorry, when I was at Loyal, we had. I would go to goalkeeper. So I was out coaching. I would walk over to the goalkeepers, okay? And you know like in warmup, where the goalkeeper coach holds the ball, like, drops it and volleys it at you and you catch it.

[Tim Howard]

Yeah.

[Landon Donovan]

It's like every goalkeeper in the world. Sure. What?

[Tim Howard]

Sure.

[Landon Donovan]

So this is like 10 yards away. Sometimes the goalie would drop the ball right when it comes to him. And I said to our goalkeeper coach, Matt Hall, I said, matt, I'm. I played sports my whole life. If you gave me gloves and you kicked a thousand balls at me from 10 yards, I would never drop one ever. I would never drop the ball ever. And I'm like, how is this? No, it's not a lie.

[Tim Howard]

It's a lot.

[Landon Donovan]

Just like, hand, eye court, and it's easy. You could. I could do it all day, but I'm like, how can these guys not catch a soccer ball every time it comes them. Now, look, there's other parts of goalkeeping that matter, and I would be terrible because I'm a chicken and scared, but I just don't understand how they can't. You can't catch a ball that's kicked you from 10 yards. How is that possible?

[Tim Howard]

You bring up a good point. Let me ask you. Let me. Let me counter that by saying.

[Landon Donovan]

Wait, can you just answer. How is that possible?

[Tim Howard]

I'm going to answer it in the form of a question. How is it then that your first touch sometimes got away from you, and then you get yourself into a tackle.

[Landon Donovan]

No, that's different. That's. In a game with other things going on. I'm saying you and me standing 10 yards apart, you kick and you're not. I'm not saying blast it. I'm just saying the way you guys kick it and warm up.

[Tim Howard]

Yeah, yeah.

[Landon Donovan]

You know, like at my hands. I will never drop the ball.

[Tim Howard]

I honestly, I can't. I can't speak to that.

[Landon Donovan]

Especially the gloves. The gloves. The ball just sticks to the gloves.

[Tim Howard]

I didn't either. You had a bad goalkeeper. That's it. I don't know what else to say. I would be a better outfield player than Landon Goalkeeper.

[Landon Donovan]

I saw it at Wave. I saw it at Loyal. I'm just.

[Tim Howard]

I know you answer the question directly. You'd be a better goalkeeper than me, than. I would be an outfield player.

[Landon Donovan]

I think physically just better. So, like, that's why if I was, like, 4 inches taller, I probably went, fair enough.

[Tim Howard]

So I win. Keep going.

[E]

Okay, one more for you. Um. So whether things are going great or everything has gone wrong, fans are always talking about four groups of people in soccer. The players, the managers, the owners, and the referees. What is a role in soccer that you think doesn't get enough credit or doesn't get held accountable enough?

[Tim Howard]

Yeah, I. In my opinion, your director of sports science is one of the most important people at the club. Because we know that when you miss game time, you drop points. Right. The more games missed by, by your best players, it correlates to a lack of. A lack of points. So keeping players fit and healthy, Sports science and being innovative in that, in that field, that deserves more credit.

[Landon Donovan]

Yeah. And I would say, actually, I think the recruitment department. So it's. Whether it's your director of football or whoever, whoever handles that, general manager, whatever, there's a huge problem. You saw it with Chelsea over the last few years, See it with United. When a new manager comes in, it's like everything thrown out the window. Eight players gone, eight new players brought in, and there's no consistency about what the club wants to do and what they want to be. And then oftentimes you have a GM signing players without the coach agreeing to it. And then it's a big disaster because if there's no alignment there, if you're going to play a certain way, let's use Man City as an example. Man City would struggle mightily to play without Kyle Walker on the field, without a kanji, without guys who can run and defend half the field by themselves because they always. In the opponent's end, they're always attacking. So on the counter, you can't have a slow center back who's really, really good on the ball. You'll just get destroyed. So if you don't have alignment there, you're in big trouble.

[Tim Howard]

Yeah. And to answer that even further, what Brighton are doing at the moment in terms of how they create their recruitment model, they've got their next three head coaches lined up. They know exactly where they're going to find their next players. So it used to be just. You have to find players and figure out the rest. They know who. They know who's going to come in from a scouting point if. If Herzler leaves, like Deserbe left, like Potter left, they know exactly who's coming in. They're never going to left be left hamstrung. So I think that's the new model.

[Landon Donovan]

Yeah. Agreed. All right, Jordan.

[E]

Awesome.

[Landon Donovan]

Thank you.

[Tim Howard]

Thanks, Jordan.

[E]

Well, thank you for answering my questions. But as your producer, can you tell the people where they can submit their questions so I don't have to hang.

[Landon Donovan]

Up with them on brand? Go ahead, Tim.

[Tim Howard]

Well, at Unfiltered Soccer hit us on YouTube, any of your social channels. Like I said, hard hitting questions are the best.

[Landon Donovan]

All right, let's move into abs. We've been looking forward to this. Anything. Anything but soccer.

[Tim Howard]

Love it.

[Landon Donovan]

First one, Tim.

[Tim Howard]

Yep.

[Landon Donovan]

I want your thoughts. Bronnie James already heading to the G League?

[Tim Howard]

Yes, it was. That's completely scripted. I'm here for it.

[Landon Donovan]

Scripted? You. They had this planned.

[Tim Howard]

100%. 100%? What do you mean? No?

[Landon Donovan]

Why would they even have him on the roster? Why didn't they start him there?

[Tim Howard]

Okay, so LeBron James. Deservedly so, by the way, whether I agree with this or not, and I don't want it as part of his legacy to play with his son. That's amazing. You think of, like, Ken Griffey. Ken Griffey Jr. Like, it doesn't happen very often, and it speaks tremendously to his longevity and also to the talent that Bronnie James has. The fact of the matter is, when you go into NBA circles, Bronnie James is not a NBA rotational player. He simply isn't. That's not me making it up from New York City. That's right. So. So when you look at players of his caliber who have been drafted, where he's been drafted, they're in a G League, they're not in an NBA rotation. He was in the NBA rotation at the start of the season to get that golden moment, which I believe LeBron deserves to have scripted. He was.

[Landon Donovan]

Tim. Tim. They had it like the first game. So why didn't he just go after that? Like, why they keep him around for another 10 games?

[Tim Howard]

Well, because I don't. I. I honestly don't think the number matters. It just happened to be in the first part of the season. He was going to go, like, I don't think it was going to be. Play the first game, sub in at the 23 minute mark, and then, okay, off you go. Like, it wasn't. It was never going to be one and done, but I think he's in the right place now. And by the way, LeBron James makes all the decisions at the Lakers. Don't kid yourself.

[Landon Donovan]

I was just going to say, was he in on this?

[Tim Howard]

Yeah. Oh, definitely.

[Landon Donovan]

So he was saying, send my son down to the G League?

[Tim Howard]

No, I don't think that. I think the conversations happen at the board level and like, hey, we're going to do this. We're going to appease your wishes. But also understand that we're not going to use a roster spot on him for the full season and that he I think there was definitely those conversations. Like, nobody's surprised by this. He will have had to sign off on that 100%.

[Landon Donovan]

Okay, well, by. By the way, by all accounts, and I don't have any inside info, but everything I read and see is that he's a phenomenal kid, like a really good young man. And so, yeah, let's hope it goes well for him. Totally. All right. One other. So in the Niners Bucks game, I was watching because I had Baker Mayfield as my fantasy qb and it's not, not the best choice, but he's been phenomenal. Niners kicker Jake Moody missed his third field goal of the game. He's been really good, by the way. And then was greeted on the sidelines by Debo Samuel, who voiced his frustrated frustration with Moody and his long snapper. And the long snapper, Tabor Pepper came to Moody's defense and kind of got into it with Debo Samuel. So just, I. Debo Samuel, when you watch him play, he's kind of old school. And I like this about him. He's like, if I don't like what's going on, I'm going to tell you. And so you have to remember, man, this is these guys livelihoods.

[Tim Howard]

Yeah.

[Landon Donovan]

And old school. It was like everybody on the roster and the kicker. Yeah, right. Like everyone hanging out, whatever. And then there's the kicker. Right. And so like they all hated them now. It's all kind of changed a little bit. And there's more camaraderie around that. Whatever. But it was, it was a pretty spicy moment. And honestly, I don't have a problem with any of that. I don't have a problem with Debo doing it. I don't have a problem with Moody saying, hey man, I'm trying my best best. I don't have a problem with the long snapper coming in and protecting Moody. And in the end, Moody kicked a game winning field goal. So maybe it worked. I mean, people have this idea and we saw this a little bit with Burhalter and the national team where everything has to be nice and friendly and we love him and we're having. It's like, no, no, no. You need to get elite performance out of people.

[Tim Howard]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Landon Donovan]

And sometimes do that. You got to ruffle feathers.

[Tim Howard]

Yeah, I got, I'm with you. I got no issue. I mean, football in general, by the way, I'm a big NFL fan. It's. It's a little bit over aggressive. In, in. You know, you get coaches fighting with players and put. Yeah. So every Time a coach speaks, he's yelling. Like, it's just there's a. There's a lot going on there. And kickers have always been outcasts. And they're like goalkeepers. Totally. Except we. We touch the ball way more than kickers do. Like, kickers get like one moment, you know, and you have to be amazing. That's why the greatest kickers are so clutch. And lights out. This happens all the time. Got no real issue with it.

[Landon Donovan]

Yeah, I mean, I feel for kickers because, like, most of them used to be soccer players. Right. So I want to do, you know the best story I heard about a kicker? Actually, do you remember a guy named Morton Anderson? Yeah, I think he kicked for the Titans.

[Tim Howard]

Titans, Saints. He had a one bar helmet.

[Landon Donovan]

Yeah, that's right. So he. I remember someone telling me in his contract, I can't verify this, but I'm just going to pretend it's true for sure. He had in his contract, he was like 40 years old, and the Titans wanted him to kick. And he said, all right, I'll kick on Sunday. Monday through Friday, I'm flying back home. I think he was in New York or somewhere. I'm flying home all week. I'll come Saturday, do some practice, and I'll play on Sunday. And they were like, no problem. He made like a million plus bucks.

[Tim Howard]

Yeah, it's like him. And what was the other guy? Sebastian Genachowski, the guy from Florida State. He was a unit as well.

[Landon Donovan]

He was.

[Tim Howard]

Happy days.

[Landon Donovan]

All right, Timmy. Episode one is now in the books, presented by Volkswagen. Thank you for being a great partner of ours. We appreciate all of you for being here with us today. Remember to subscribe on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcast, and also follow us across all social media at unfiltered soccer.