← Unfiltered Soccer with Landon Donovan and Tim Howard
Unfiltered Soccer with Landon Donovan and Tim Howard
USMNT vs Venezuela Recap, Everton Shock Spurs, and the Worst Manchester United Team Ever?!
01:18:38
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- [00:00]
Landon Donovan
They didn't play well one step forward, two, three or four steps back.
- [00:05]
Tim Howard
They have no divine right to be anything other than just another team in the Premier League. Unfiltered Soccer with Landon and Tim, presented by Volkswagen. Volkswagen has long been a supporter of soccer in America and has proudly been a partner of U.S. soccer for the past five years.
- [00:21]
Landon Donovan
LD, my man. What's happening? Listen, we're going to start off by talking some. Some travel, because you know what? I think both of us were traveling this week.
- [00:31]
Tim Howard
Yes, we were.
- [00:32]
Landon Donovan
Let me just say for my sins, I was in Orlando, and you'd never get me to Orlando unless my wonderful, amazing daughter was playing soccer, which she was. I was down there watching her ODP games, and, yeah, didn't do a lot. Stayed in my hotel room because Orlando is not my place. So sorry about it.
- [00:52]
Tim Howard
I'm gonna apologize to all of our fans ahead of time. In Orlando and also New Orleans, where I was also not my favorite place. I went to New Orleans one time for the Super Bowl.
- [01:02]
Landon Donovan
Yeah.
- [01:03]
Tim Howard
And I was down there at like 6am the morning after down on Bourbon street. And they had this. This machine, this. This vehicle, and they have this hose, and they go down the street and they literally just hose all the crap that's been sitting there all night into the gutters. And. And I was like, this is so disgusting, dude. It was so gross.
- [01:27]
Landon Donovan
So what were you doing in New Orleans?
- [01:28]
Tim Howard
I had a speaking engagement, actually. I did a really cool. There's a really bizarre. But an insurance company called we the People put on this event every year. And, like, insurance was just boring by nature. Right. But, like, it was so exciting. These people were so into their partying all weekend. So I came in and did a keynote speaking.
- [01:47]
Landon Donovan
Oh, I love it.
- [01:48]
Tim Howard
It was really fun, actually.
- [01:49]
Landon Donovan
There's a recording of this.
- [01:51]
Tim Howard
No, it was fun. All right, guys, welcome back. Good to be here. Make sure you guys subscribe to the show on YouTube. Follow us on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. As always, please leave a comment, like review. It helps people find us. The show's doing really well, and we want to keep making sure people find us. You can also email us at Feedback Soccer. We have our AT&T fan connection that we answer questions every week from you guys. So please keep that coming in. Uh, big news on the weekend, Tim. Saturday we're going to start with us LNT on usmnt. US played Venezuela. I would say overall, solid result. People don't know how difficult it is to be fit and get through 70, 80, 90 minutes after only training for two weeks in preseason. Um, so I thought overall it was a really solid performance by the team. I think Pochettino will be pretty happy. Big standout for me, Jack McGlynn. He's interesting. Here in San Diego, about. God, it must have been six or seven years ago, I went to a US under 17, like, identification camp.
- [02:59]
Landon Donovan
Okay.
- [03:00]
Tim Howard
And I remember seeing Jack, he was one of the names there, and he was the eastern region, whatever guys. And I remember seeing him there, and I was like, God, he's talented, but he seems like he's kind of frail, thin. I don't know if he's gonna make it. Click to the last few years, this kid's been on a pretty meteoric rise. And he capped it with a great performance on Saturday.
- [03:18]
Landon Donovan
Yeah, he's a player caught my eye over the summer. And I just think he's, you know, he's kind of got that X factor. And just because you have, you know, you know this. Just because you have talent doesn't mean, like, you're gonna make it, right? You've gotta. You gotta rise through the ranks. You've gotta take your lumps. But he seems to be doing it in a good way. And every time he features, you know, he leaves you wanting more. He leaves you feeling like, okay, there's growth here, right? And I think that's. That's the biggest. That's the biggest takeaway when you look at young players, it's like, we know young players are going to kind of stumble, and the great performance is going to be few and far between you. You almost give them a little bit of license for that, but you want. You want to see growth. And I. I think I. I think he's got. And a lot of positivity in his game. I like his confidence.
- [04:07]
Tim Howard
Yeah, he's got, like. Like a little brash.
- [04:09]
Landon Donovan
Yeah.
- [04:09]
Tim Howard
Cocky. Like what you need about him.
- [04:11]
Landon Donovan
Yeah, I think you need that. You know, I've often said, you know, I. I label the. The people all shucks. Guys, like, guys who are just kind of like, they don't. They don't make it to an elite level. You've got to have arrogance and brashness to. To go on the field and think that you're the best. Like, that's just. That's the nature of it. But I thought overall, you know, we've talked. We've talked tirelessly about what January camp means, and I think overall, it's. You talked about it. Fitness. Can you. Can you keep your fitness? Try and get through 60, 70, 90 minutes? Put in a good performance, win the game, not take too many injuries, and ultimately you have more time with the manager, and the manager has more time with you. So I think that's right. Three, one great victory, but ultimately success in the game.
- [05:00]
Tim Howard
Yeah. So we said last week. I said last week, there will be two or three guys that you start to recognize in this camp. And if you're a US national team fan, but not really an MLS Die Hard, you would have shown up and said, oh, this Jack mclin's all right.
- [05:14]
Landon Donovan
Yeah.
- [05:15]
Tim Howard
And there will be two or three guys who come out of nowhere and just keep your eye on him. Right. If he maybe gets another opportunity and does well, and then next thing you know, you can end up on a World cup roster. So, speaking of his brashness, there was an interesting moment with the penalty. So Michael Millavich, Miljevic, Milhavich and Milhavic. Yep, there's a penalty in the game, if you didn't see it. So he and Jack McGlynn get into a little tussle over it, and ultimately Jack McGlynn loses out and Milhavich ends up missing the penalty. Right. And I. I gotta tell you, Tim, I absolutely hate when this happens. First of all, I hate, hate, hate this. On. I've always hated it when guys fight over a penalty.
- [06:02]
Landon Donovan
Yeah.
- [06:03]
Tim Howard
Because. And I'll tell you why. What is the ultimate goal of a soccer game? To win the game.
- [06:08]
Landon Donovan
Yeah, of course.
- [06:08]
Tim Howard
Right? To win the game. So I could care less if my grandma or grandpa take the penalty. Just put it in the net and let's win the game. Now, I took penalties a lot, but I couldn't care less. Like, sometimes I gave him to Robbie Keane, sometimes I gave him to Clint Dempsey. It didn't matter. Just, let's just score the goal. And I hate that. And this is why. I hate goal bonuses, too. I hate it because guys are like, oh, I got six grand riding on this. I'm going to steal the ball. I just hate it. And I'll just say, Pochettino's done a great job. He said after the game, we didn't say anything about who would take the penalty in case we had one. But it was good, because I think the argument showed the character. I mean, he was protecting guys, sure. But your job as a coach is to tell someone you're taking the penalty. You have to, because this situation is really ugly. I think it's really ugly. I. I just. I hate it.
- [06:54]
Landon Donovan
Yeah. Well, I. I've. Look, I got strong feelings on this. I. I Think, And I've seen it in my own teams. It's idiotic. It's idiotic. And it's an oversight in the game plan and preparation. Because. Because with all of the set pieces and all of the details in terms of tactics in the best teams and all the teams I've played on, before you go out or in the team talk, it's, you're on penalties, and if you're not on the pitch or if you've taken a knock, that's right, the second person's on penalties. That's it. There's no discussion. And oftentimes when there is a tussle like that, then the manager afterwards, I've had this happen. Then the manager's like, okay, we're setting. We're setting and deciding who our penalty taker is. Like, to me, it's idiotic. You have to have one penalty taker or two. They need to be designated by the manager, and that's it. There is no arguing. I don't think it's character. I think it's absurd. I really, really do. The only time. The only time that I ever. And by the way, you said you were the penalty ticker and you've given the ball to people. That's the person who has a responsibility. They want to give it away. You can give it away. The only time I would ever say that a penalty taker should give the ball away is if his teammate is on a. Is on a hat trick. That's the only time for me. Because hat tricks are so special and so rare, but otherwise, no, like, take the penalty and be done with it. So.
- [08:22]
Tim Howard
So there were cute times. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Young kids. Yeah, go ahead.
- [08:26]
Landon Donovan
No, I'm okay. Yeah, look, young kids, it's. You know, the other side of the argument is they're in the shop window, they want to get the goal. It's their. You know, it'd be their first or one of the first few goals with the national team that won't impress the coach. So I get that side of it. It's not that big of a deal.
- [08:41]
Tim Howard
But I get it during the week. You know what? Go up to the coach and say, I'd really like to take penalties, right? And tell the coach and say, or can we take some penalties and whoever misses first doesn't get to take it.
- [08:50]
Landon Donovan
Sure, Right.
- [08:51]
Tim Howard
Like, don't do it. Don't do it on the field. There were two times, Tim, that I remember off top of my head, giving up penalties. One was we were beating Mexico, 2, 0.
- [08:59]
Landon Donovan
Yeah.
- [09:00]
Tim Howard
Uh, very end of the game. And Clint had had a phenomenal game. And I was like, clint, you want to take it? And of course, Clint was like, hell, yeah, dog. Give me the ball. Don't ask Clint.
- [09:11]
Landon Donovan
Clint will bang that thing.
- [09:13]
Tim Howard
The other time I did, it was at the end of one of the finals in LA. We were up 2:1 against New England, and it was in extra time, and I had hit a long ball from, like, midfield.
- [09:25]
Landon Donovan
Yeah.
- [09:25]
Tim Howard
And some. I think Robbie Keane or somebody went down and got fouled in the box. And I was so tired, dude. I couldn't even to the 18 or the. I was like. I just looked from, like, 40 yards away. I pointed at Robbie and I was like, same thing with Robbie's, like, don't have to tell me twice.
- [09:42]
Landon Donovan
Right, right, right.
- [09:42]
Tim Howard
Anyway. But otherwise, I mean, yeah, I just. I. I didn't like that. It was unnecessary. I would say an unnecessary way to put a little damper on the game. But ultimately, I think great performance. Pochettino clearly had the team ready. They are motivated. And then they got another one again on Wednesday, so.
- [09:59]
Landon Donovan
Yeah. Well. And then also Patrick ajimeng, big credit to him, scored his first goal. Obviously, that's. Yeah, that's special for him, for his family, for everybody. So got to make mention of that as well, and hopefully that will continue into the next game.
- [10:14]
Tim Howard
Yeah, a couple guys left camp. We just want to mention this quickly. So John Tolkien got signed with Holstein Keel in the Bundesliga. He left camp early. My assumption is he left so he could get there, get into preseason, get ready. So I totally understand that Jaylen Neal had a little injury, so he left camp. Understandable. The interesting one was Jesus Ferreira left, and we talked about him a lot last week. The quote was, so that he can return, or so that he can focus on returning to full fitness. So I was trying to dive into this. I spoke to someone at U.S. soccer, and they said that that is actually the truth. You know, they. They wanted him, and he wanted to get up to full fitness ahead of the Sounders season. So it's an interesting one, because I don't know if that means he didn't come in fit or was he carrying an injury. Cause this was a big opportunity for him, Tim.
- [11:07]
Landon Donovan
Yeah, well, I think he's. No, I think there. I know you spoke to some people at U.S. soccer. I think there is. There are moments, particularly with this camp, you have a few more. Few more luxuries in terms of the management. And I've been a part of camps where sometimes a guy maybe Comes in to be a part of the team or be a part of the first week, maybe from the coaching staff to say, hey, you're on our radar type thing, or, hey, we like you and want you to be around the setup and it's an opportunity to come be around the setup. But actually maybe you're not completely fully fit, so we're not going to push you. And look, he's dealt with injuries, right? He's dealt with injuries last season. And so I do think that is important. And having, you know, again, I think that Pochettino is building bridges. We saw a little bit of that, we think, when he sent Christian Pulisic back to AC Milan before the Mexico game. And maybe he's doing that now with Seattle, right? Maybe he's saying, look, new times, new player. We're going to need him at some point and maybe when we need to push him, we're going to need to lean on that. So there's all types of different things that go into these decisions, but we'll just.
- [12:24]
Tim Howard
I don't know who's who, whose decision it was more his, more Pochettino, more Seattle, whatever. But then Ajimang scores and now it's like, okay, you left the door open, right? And this is the way. This is the way that's football. So, yeah, it'd be interesting to see how those two progress throughout the year and what that looks like. Let's move over to Europe. Really, really happy. All of us were. If you're a U.S. men's National Team. Tyler Adams starting to get minutes again. He played really well against Newcastle. I thought he was. He's been very good and he's helped Bournemouth a lot in the last few weeks. So it looks like he is knock on wood getting back to fitness, starting to play well. And if you're a national team fan, this is. This is crucial and this needs to continue for the next 18 months.
- [13:12]
Landon Donovan
You know, the thing, it's hard. I find it difficult. Not that I ever tried, right. But I find it difficult to criticize Tyler Adams because he always delivers. He just always delivers. It's the mentality he has. It's the type of kid he is. The difference is, though, it just. I watched the game and there was something different. There was a sparkle. There was that, you know, I like to say he. He has the bit between his teeth, but he always had. He always has that. There's a. I think when you're fit, and we both know this, when you're fit, fit, not like just getting by or still have a little bit of a niggle or maybe you're fit, but in the back of your mind you're worried. Like that performance to me was Tyler Adams with zero worries, zero concerns, fully fit, fully confident. And again, it's. He oftentimes has that, but. But dealing with the injuries that he's. That he's had you all that creeps into your mind and mentally, oftentimes that can, that can affect your performance. But this just, you know, when, when you talk about, if you've ever seen Tyler Adams at his absolute best, that that was him on the weekend. And so like you're just thinking, well done to himself, the physio staff, Bournemouth getting him fit and really being up to speed because he's a joy to watch and he's, he's a special player. He really truly is. And so as you said, for, for USMNT fans like long may that continue.
- [14:40]
Tim Howard
Yeah, let's just. There's a part of me in the back of my brain's like, you're almost just waiting to just make sure he gets through the next game and gets through the next game that happened. I just. I just hope it can continue. Yeah, there was us derby in Italy, Milan and Juventus. Christian Pulisic didn't play. Konsas House said there's nothing serious. They just didn't want to risk him. He's still, you know, recovering and. But Weston McKinney was fantastic. Tim Waya came off the bench and scored a great goal. Weston played right back, which is interesting. He's got, in my opinion, all the qualities to be a great right back to kind of like Tyler Adams, to be honest. Like, I feel like both of them could do that in a pinch, no problem.
- [15:24]
Landon Donovan
Yeah.
- [15:25]
Tim Howard
The interesting thing for people to understand, so when you play as a central midfielder, you have people behind you that can put out fires too, right. So you have a little more leeway to take risks, take chances, go into tackles that you might not otherwise. When you play as a. Not as a central defender, but when you play as an outside back, it's really interesting because there are certain things that are very similar and very easy. The hardest thing, and you know, I wasn't a defender, but the hardest thing people had to pick up was making sure you were with your line all the time. Right? So the other three defenders or four defenders, depending on what system you're playing, but you have to be watching across the back line all the time knowing where your, in this case, his left winger is defensive, the guy he's playing against where he's at and then making sure you're staying with the line all the time. And that's not an easy thing. That takes, like, lots and lots of time to practice, but he fit in perfectly. They got a shutout and I thought, I thought he was excellent.
- [16:25]
Landon Donovan
Yeah. And by the way, the caveat to that is, if you've never seen how Italian teams defend, it's not normal, right? Like, you know, in certain, in certain countries, you can go, oh, yeah, chuck the guy right back and just stick. No Italians defend like nobody else on the planet. And it's so systematic and it's so drilled. So the fact, you know, again, talk about big credit to Weston, the fact that he can just slot in and play well, right? Like, it's not an easy thing to do in Italian football. But, you know, I also think he's kind of a Swiss army knife. He has, he has so many. He can play so many positions and he plays them well. And I often wonder, is that a blessing or a curse? I think it's a blessing because you get on the pitch, right, and you have the ability to be available to your manager and you're going to see more of the field, which is always the best thing for a player. You know, I think the concern, because what I care about is the U.S. men's National Team is he's so good in that number eight role. If everyone's, if everyone's fit. His energy, his exuberance, his ability to make late runs into the box, his goal scoring prowess like that, to me, I think, is where he's at his best, certainly with the US Men's national team. And so ideally, you'd like for him to be getting as many reps and as many games in that position, but. Okay, the bottom line is he's, he's playing and he's. And he's doing really well. Tim Waya, look, you know what it's like. Goal scorers, can you keep banging it in the back of the net? And the more that he can do that at that level, which he's shown he can do and is doing, I mean, again, brilliant for him, brilliant for the national team. And then obviously, Christian Concisel says it's. It doesn't seem serious, which is obviously a great thing, and the more opportunity he can get to, you know, get himself fit, ready for the next game. For, for me, that's the most important.
- [18:23]
Tim Howard
Thing, you know, with Tim Weah, I think. And, you know, I, I haven't spoken to him, so I don't know this is true after he got that red card in Copa America that ultimately ended up to the US Ultimately getting knocked out and Burhaltz are getting fired. He just seems like a changed player, maybe in person. And again, I'm just saying what I'm seeing from him. But sometimes those moments, Tim, like, those are the best thing that can happen. Totally. I had. In 2002, we had a great World Cup. In 2006, I had a terrible World Cup.
- [19:00]
Landon Donovan
Yeah.
- [19:00]
Tim Howard
And sometimes those down moments, you find out what you're made of and it seems like he's come back. You know, my response in that moment was like, I'm not letting that happen ever again.
- [19:09]
Landon Donovan
Sure.
- [19:09]
Tim Howard
And it seems like he's got that same mentality, like, you know what? That's not good enough. And I'm not going to let that happen again. So he's been on a tear, man. And when he's in this kind of form, you just think about as you're putting together a team, moving into 20, 26 World Cup.
- [19:23]
Landon Donovan
Yeah.
- [19:24]
Tim Howard
If you have he and Christian on either side of whoever, who's playing well, Pepe or whoever.
- [19:28]
Landon Donovan
Totally.
- [19:29]
Tim Howard
You start to get some, like some real quality and you get Weston, Tyler, Adams, whoever, Musa, there's some real quality now in the front part of the field. Starts to look pretty good.
- [19:39]
Landon Donovan
Yeah. I mean, you make, you make a good point about, about Tim Waya. Look, the fact of the matter is, if you play at an elite level, right, in Europe and with your national team, that's an elite level, you're going to fail more times than you succeed. That's just the nature. That's just the nature of the game. Day in and day out, training five times a week, playing once or twice a week for a decade or more, you're going to fail more times than you succeed. And you have to be able in the big moments, right. When you get sent off or miss a sitter or whatever the case is, you have to be able to take the criticism in that moment and learn from it. Not, not tell people to go stuff it. Just understand the criticism, understand what you did wrong, if you feel you've done wrong and change it. And you sense that change. I think other people do as well. And that's, that's a sign of maturity. That's a sign of, of. Look, we're all. None of us are exempt from those tough moments, Right. But it's how you kind of how, how you allow them to kind of shape and form, you know, your, your future experiences and, and how you go about your business and he's doing it in the right way. So I think that was a big moment for him and it's showing.
- [20:52]
Tim Howard
I see this too with college football player. We forget these are their kids. They're 18, 19, 20, 22. Weston McKinney had the same thing in Nashville a couple years ago when he made some bad decisions off the field and got sent home from camp. And we all made those dumb decisions. I did it too. You did too, and you got to learn from it and grow. Just one other quick note on the bad side of things. Malik Tillman suffered an ankle injury, it looks like at psv, and his manager Peter Bush says he's probably going to be out for a while, so wishing him the best and hopefully that doesn't last too long because he's been in good form too. And us men's national team fans definitely.
- [21:32]
Landon Donovan
Want that to continue wishing well.
- [21:34]
Tim Howard
All right, let's take a break. When we come back, we'll take a look back on what was a really big few days in the Premier League League right here on Unfiltered Soccer with Landon and Tim Presented by Volkswagen.
- [21:51]
Landon Donovan
The Unfiltered Soccer podcast is brought to you by Volkswagen, the presenting partner of U.S. soccer.
- [21:56]
Tim Howard
Since 2019, Volkswagen has been on a mission to drive the future of the sport we all love, and VW is committed to making it more diverse, inclusive and accessible for everyone.
- [22:06]
Landon Donovan
They're not just talking about it, they're out there doing it. VW's partnerships, programs and soccer clinics are unlocking opportunities for the next generation of players and fans.
- [22:14]
Tim Howard
As a longtime friend of Volkswagen, I've seen firsthand how VW are connecting with fans and driving the sport forward. From working with them on clinics to being part of their incredible campaigns, it's clear U.S. soccer is truly powered by the people.
- [22:27]
Landon Donovan
Thank you to VW for being our presenting partner. Learn more about how VW are supporting U.S. soccer@vw.com There's a lot in life that feels like it should be guaranteed that just isn't your team winning the championship. The weather being good on game day, your friends remembering who has the tickets. Some days you're just a goal scoring machine.
- [22:46]
Tim Howard
Yeah. And some days the ball just passes you by. Right here on Unfiltered Soccer, we know that no matter how much you love the beautiful game, nothing on the field is guaranteed. Thankfully, AT and T is introducing a brand new guarantee, the AT and T Guarantee.
- [23:00]
Landon Donovan
The AT and T guarantee means connectivity you can depend on, deals you want and service you deserve. Or they'll make it right.
- [23:07]
Tim Howard
Whether you're in the stands, watching with friends or just cheering from home, you can count on the AT&T guarantee.
- [23:12]
Landon Donovan
Learn more at att.com forward/guarantee Terms and conditions apply.
- [23:17]
Tim Howard
AT&T connecting changes everything.
- [23:22]
Landon Donovan
This episode is brought to you by Love Hurts. Kiwi Kwan has had quite a career, from childhood roles in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and the Goonies to a recent Academy Award win for Everything Everywhere all at Once. But now Kee finally stars as a leading man in the film Love Hurts. Love Hurts is the perfect date night movie with its mix of over the top action comedy and a ton of heart. Love Hurts only at theaters February 7th. Okay, LD let's talk Premier League. Oh boy. Manchester United 1 Brighton 3.
- [23:58]
Tim Howard
Yikes.
- [23:59]
Landon Donovan
They didn't play well. It is, it is the classic one step forward, two, three or four steps back for Manchester United. Of course, with Ruben Imran being the coach, all the spotlight is on him. He had some interesting, interesting words to say after the game. Let me read you this quote and then I'm going to let you take, take off with this. He said, I know we can succeed, but we need to survive at this moment. I'm not naive. We need to survive now. We are the worst. Let me read that again. We are the worst team maybe in the history of Manchester United. I know you want headlines, but I'm saying this because we have to acknowledge that and change that. Here you go. That's your headline. Go.
- [24:41]
Tim Howard
All right. So I was watching the Everton game, which we'll get into up the toffees. And I was watching, you know that on NBC they've got in the corner the scores up there. So actually you don't even see that because you're working. But so I saw United one one and then I saw United one, Brighton two, and then it went back to one one. So I figured there was some var or whatever and the next thing I know, I look and it's three one Brighton. And I was like, what is going on? So here's, I've said this over and over, Tim, and I'm going to say it again. They just aren't. They just don't have good enough players. It's, it's like again, I've compared them to the Dallas Cowboys, but the, you just have this idea that they're supposed to be wherever they are and nothing is given in life. They have no divine right to be anything other than just another team in the Premier League. They have no divine right and people have these crazy expectations of why are they this, why are they look at their roster. They're just not good enough. And so I, more than what Reuben Amarin said, the way he looks right now, he looks defeated, dude. Like, when I watched the press conference versus his first press conference and he knew, look, he's not stupid. When he came in, he probably was looking at other rosters and going, yeah, oh boy. But now he's seeing it up close every day. And he probably thinks, in his mind, Tim, he probably thinks he's got like three or four decent players for him. I mean, honestly. And the rest, he's just not good enough.
- [26:15]
Landon Donovan
Totally. Totally. Look, you know, again, I, I, I, I read the comment, you know, let's pick some of this out. He said, we need to survive this moment. You know, as soon as, as soon as you start to mutter the word survive or survival, people are like, oh, boy, relegation. I, I tend to think, and English is the second language. And he speaks very good English. Survive this moment means they're in a really low spot in terms of, of mentally and, and, and the morale of the club. And I think that's, I, I know that's what he's talking about, is survive this moment. This feeling in our season, this feeling, the era of this club. But, you know, I, I, here's why I like him coming out and saying, the worst team maybe in the history of Manchester United, because that's what the facts are saying. And unfortunately, I have watched so many Manchester United managers, particularly the last one, Eric Ten Hag, when, when you are you, me and everyone else is reading this, this script, this script, right? And he'll go, he'll stand up there and tell you, you're not seeing what you're reading here, thinking, wait a minute. You can't keep trying to pull the wool over our eyes, like, tell us what we, what we already know. And so I do like the truth about that, and I do, I think it's clever and here's why. I've been around enough managers, particularly in England. You have to create your own narrative. You have to, this team is good enough. You just said it. It's not good enough, nowhere near good enough to be a Manchester United team to play in the Champions League, to win a title. And he knows that. He also knows that he has a very fundamental system that is completely flawed if he doesn't get the right players in. And he knows that, that, that time is coming. January is probably not the right time to bring in the right players, but the summer and a windfall and getting players out. And I think the more he pushes that, Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Iny Austin, Omar Barada and the powers that be in the hierarchy at Manchester United will listen to that. We'll probably already know that. But I think this continues to push his narrative. And I do, I like him as a manager. And I certainly think you can't judge him as a manager in terms of his style and these players, because these players don't fit. They don't fit his style, they don't fit at Manchester United. And the proof is in the pudding because they haven't for a number of years now. So I like his honesty.
- [28:32]
Tim Howard
There's a, There's a fundamental issue when new managers come into a club that's struggling. Here's the fundamental issue. Generally speaking, you go after a type of manager who has been very. This is what's happened in modern soccer.
- [28:46]
Landon Donovan
Yeah.
- [28:47]
Tim Howard
Very successful, unique, creative in the way they do things, very system oriented or doing the things they like to do. And the challenge is when you drop that, you take that manager and drop him into a team or her into a team that doesn't have the right ingredients to make the meal that you want. Now there's a huge problem because you need to get results now. And so my question for you is, when he first signed this deal, did he go to them and say, this is going to take one year, 18 months, two years, and if you're not okay with that, do not hire me because we're gonna suffer in the, in the inter room because he's not, you know, David Moyes and we'll talk about him is the other end of that spectrum. You can drop him in almost anywhere and he's going to find a way to get results. Now is it creative and new and progressive and everything that, you know, sexy managers are these. No, but he will get results. And so did he say that? Is Manchester United willing to suffer now and take its blows now? And I've, I've said this about other sports. Tim too. I see it a lot. In the NBA you try to. The Galaxy went through this for a long time. You try to plug one hole and then you try to plug the next hole and then you try. The next thing you know, you're playing whack a mole all over as opposed to just blowing the whole thing up and starting over. So do you think he's had those conversations? Are they aware of, I mean, are they willing to wait and suffer?
- [30:16]
Landon Donovan
Yeah, I, I tend to, I tend to think I tend to think that Omar Barata and Sir Jim Ratcliffe, Ineos and the whole crew aren't naive to this. I think they took this club over from the sporting side and I think they saw the holes and the flaws. And I often say with rock bottom, be careful because there's a trapdoor. And I think they understood that. I tend to think, Omar. Oh, my brother, excuse me, Reuben Amram would, Would have had those honest conversations. He seems like it on the surface to say, look, this is the way I play. This is why you've. You've come to get me. You've seen how my sporting teams play. I need, I'm going to need certain players. Yeah, he probably said. I think he probably said, I, you know what, there's eight players in the squad that I think can do a job. And he probably said, I can get. I can get a tune out of them. I think now, having had some time with those players, that eight players, and that's an assumption, is probably. He's probably realizing there's like three, you know, like there's like three players that I would maybe keep around and start. But ultimately. But again, it's difficult because with psr, you can't change this overnight. You can't get rid of this whole team and bring a whole new team in. Right. And so I think a lot of the players we see now come next season will either be out the door or sitting on the bench as, as squad players, good squad players. But I think we're going to see a lot of change. By the way, we don't see a lot of change in the summer. I've got. I've got more questions for another. For another podcast.
- [31:52]
Tim Howard
Well, there has to be. I mean, there has to be. There has to be. Look, if maybe there are three or four that you say could start in the right environment and things going well, maybe it's seven or eight. Right. But right now, everyone looks terrible. They just look terrible. All right, let's move on to the other team in Manchester. Manchester City are back. Well, maybe not absolutely. Battered Ipswich six now. Phil Foden was scintillating. They are unbeaten since Christmas.
- [32:21]
Landon Donovan
Yep.
- [32:22]
Tim Howard
So four wins and two draws look better. It's IP switch. So you're not, you know, you're not getting too crazy about it, but do you feel like maybe, maybe it's turning a bit?
- [32:35]
Landon Donovan
Yeah, I'm looking at the table now like they're 12, 12 points behind Liverpool. Right. Liverpool have the game in hand. We know that's the Merseyside Derby, which I think is rescheduled for the 11th or 12th of February. City can't win the title this year.
- [32:51]
Tim Howard
But, but I was going to say, are they looking at that or they're just looking at Champions League, right?
- [32:54]
Landon Donovan
No, but, but it's, it's Champions League. Like for Forest on 44 points, City on 38, like, there's every chance, right, they overtake Forest for third place and, and push, you know, do, Are they, are they able to push Arsenal a little bit? Probably not. But, like, you know, I, I, I tend to think Forest for. As well as they're doing will start to slowly digress. Not, not, not implode. But yeah, I think City can get back to winning ways. They also have, like, there's a, there's a click and a shift in this mentality, which for. It's been so catastrophic, their fall from grace, right, which has made it. Which is because they've set such high standards, which makes you feel like, oh, my God, like there's getting, they, they're getting some players out of the door. They're making one or two other signings. By the way, Pep Guardiola is still a genius. He didn't lose that right in, in four months. So if someone's asking me to bet against them finding form, Holland banging in goals again, Phil Foden coming to the boil, them getting one or two other midfield replacements or strike, you know, another striker like you asked me to bet against them going on a long unbeaten run. No, I won't, I won't do it. Because I've seen it. I've seen it. So, yeah, I think they're slightly back. I felt, I did a felt for Ipswich on the weekend. I was talking to a buddy of mine who is an investor in the club, and I just thought, like, because I've been on the other end of it, it was like three nil at halftime. And he rang me at halftime and I thought, I thought, like, they gotta keep it at like four because four, four sucks. But like, six is demoralizing. Like, I, I've, I've been there, I've been there. And like three, when I conceded three or four, I'm like, I kind of got a hand to that one. If we would have done this and put ourselves in the right situation, maybe when you get to six, I'm telling you, ld, you go home and look in the mirror. Well, that's a scary sight to look in the mirror after you can see the six and you're like, I'm not really. I'M not really that good, like. And you start like the mentality of the team. So my worry for Ipswich and I know we're going a little bit off kilter here. They have Liverpool next game and then Southampton and then Villa, right? So my hope for them is, you know, in the bottom three, the hope is that you get a performance at Liverpool, don't think you'll win. Then you go into Southampton, the dreaded six pointer. Think you win that game if you're Ipswich and now all of a sudden you're playing Villa, who are a better team. But then you're thinking, look, we've had a good performance against Liverpool. Didn't get the result. We won the game. We're supposed to win against Southampton and now have we gained enough momentum into this Villa team against the Villa side and maybe get a result? But six is tough, but the focus is city in there for me. Really good performance.
- [35:35]
Tim Howard
People don't realize that. To your point, the difference between 3 and 6 is massive psychologically. And fans are like, oh, it's only three nuts. Let's get one back. And then I'm like, no, no, no, no. Just don't get distracted. We had a game actually in Houston. You'll appreciate this. We had a game one year with the Galaxy in Houston. And after like 14 minutes, we were down 3 0.
- [35:56]
Landon Donovan
Yeah.
- [35:56]
Tim Howard
And I was like. And we were, we were not at it.
- [35:59]
Landon Donovan
Like, you can't win. You know, you can't.
- [36:01]
Tim Howard
No chance. Zero. And I remember I was the captain, so I pulled the team in and I just said, guys, I was picking my words carefully, but I was like, have some pride. Basically saying, don't get destroyed. Yeah, but there was no, like, we can still do this. I was like, we're losing today, but let's just make sure this. I think it finished 3 0. But I was like, let's make sure this.
- [36:23]
Landon Donovan
That's incredible insight for our listeners because it's funny you say that. It makes me think of a time I was the opposite. Everton are playing in the Europa League against Sporting Lisbon. It's like Seamus Coleman's like, first European game. Like, he's still, he's still just a young kid. And we had, we had a, a patchwork back for. We're getting beat five nil, bro. Five. No. I'm chasing after the ball on goal kicks. I'm like, rah, rah. Like crazy American guy. We could do this. I'm like, people like my teammates are looking at me like, what are you doing? It's five nil. Like, yeah. And I remember in the dress room afterward, like, Dave, I'm always looking at me going, what was the point of that? Like, And I'm like, I was so heartbroken because I'm like, I don't know, maybe get one back.
- [37:08]
Tim Howard
That's the, that's such a classic American.
- [37:10]
Landon Donovan
Oh, my God.
- [37:11]
Tim Howard
You know, like when I listen to games, when I listen to English commentators, when it's 2 nil and there's like, it's getting into extra time or added time, they're like, oh, win for Manchester City here. And in my mind I'm like, no, no, they could still lose this game. Like, you know, like, Americans are so dumb, but sometimes you do win when you're down two zero and actually, you know, it's just like, no, not five. Yeah, go ahead.
- [37:32]
Landon Donovan
Yeah, I want to talk about Holland because I, I think that's important. He signed a not nine and a half year extension with Sydney. Saw, obviously it's this, you know, this half of the season plus the, the next half and then an extra nine. You know, he's showing a lot of trust in the club. The club's obviously showing a lot of trust in him. According to, according to New York Times, any release clause from his last contract had been removed. That for me is a sticking point. LD because he's the best striker in the world. It's, you know, you hear the rumors, like Real Madrid, he won a couple titles at City and then he's off to Spain. Like all of those claws have been, have been gone, removed. Which means he's not really going anywhere unless something drastic changes.
- [38:13]
Tim Howard
So help people understand. So a lot of times people have relegation clauses, right. Which nobody expects Citi to ever get relegated. They also have. A lot of times players have a release clause, meaning if you pay a certain fee. Fee, the player's free. So it could say, the player can say $100 million release clause. If anybody, my uncle, Real Madrid, my mom gives you a hundred million dollars, I am free. Right, but if all those have been removed, you're right, he's not going anywhere. So that's a, that's an interesting commitment because at some point Pep's going to be done.
- [38:46]
Landon Donovan
Yeah, right.
- [38:47]
Tim Howard
And you don't know who the next manager is.
- [38:49]
Landon Donovan
No, by the way. Relegation. No, you don't know who the next manager is. And Pep.
- [38:52]
Tim Howard
Oh, I didn't think about psr, by the way.
- [38:54]
Landon Donovan
Psr with all the charges, which we should know soon. Could they could. I mean, I think it'd be short lived.
- [39:02]
Tim Howard
But you know, right, I didn't think. Can you imagine Erling Holland making like 600 grand a week playing in that championship?
- [39:08]
Landon Donovan
I wonder. I'll tell you what, I wonder if, I wonder how much it costs right now to get the rights to that documentary. Because I, I reckon I could, I could do a season long documentary with City in the championship.
- [39:20]
Tim Howard
That would be amazing.
- [39:21]
Landon Donovan
Yeah. And that this podcast would be a whole different kettle of fish. But you know, the, the other, I think the other talking point about that, right, is is this keeps him in the Premier League for nine and a half years. You know, Alan, Alan Shear and everyone's talking about the goal rate that, that Holland is on. You know, should Alan Shearer be nervous? I don't think so. Right. Because Alan Shearer is 260 goals. You know, it's crazy. And you, as a goal scorer, if you're saying it's crazy, you must know. I mean, Holland currently has 80 goals, you know, in City's 16 remaining games. Let's say he, let's say he scores seven more goals. We're assuming, right, ends the season with 24 for the year, 87 in, in total for the Premier League. So, yeah, he'd have to.
- [40:07]
Tim Howard
In order to be 174 behind him.
- [40:11]
Landon Donovan
73.
- [40:12]
Tim Howard
73 behind.
- [40:13]
Landon Donovan
Yeah. And he'd have to average 20 goals a season per season and he would any past year in the last season of the contract, which is 2033.
- [40:23]
Tim Howard
I'm not betting on that.
- [40:24]
Landon Donovan
Yeah. I just don't see him at, I don't. Is he talented enough? Yes. I don't see him at the club for, for that long. I know these. It's got Bobby Bonilla written all over it.
- [40:34]
Tim Howard
He's gonna be making money long into retirement. All right, let's move on to our toffees up the toughies. So David Moyes back at Goodison Park. God, it was such a. I mean, imagine, imagine. I, I know how I felt. I can imagine how you felt watching David Moyes at Everton again. It was just such a throwback. Absolutely destroyed spurs in the first half. Yeah, the spurs got back into it a little bit at the end, but Everton won 3, 2. Yeah, I have a lot of thoughts about Everton, but let's start with spurs.
- [41:05]
Landon Donovan
Sure.
- [41:06]
Tim Howard
They've lost 12 of their last 22 league matches as a starting point.
- [41:10]
Landon Donovan
Yeah.
- [41:11]
Tim Howard
Last year they lost 12 games total. I. We just have to ask the, I mean, how much longer are spurs, fans, management, ownership going to deal with this? Right. And Ange seems like Ange postacogo seems like a very likable guy, but at some point, man, they are. I mean, they're down at the bottom of the. I think they're 15. They're only, they're just, just ahead of Everton.
- [41:38]
Landon Donovan
Yeah.
- [41:39]
Tim Howard
How long can they deal with this?
- [41:40]
Landon Donovan
So interestingly enough, a dear friend of mine is from London, is a Spurs season ticket holder and for all his.
- [41:48]
Tim Howard
Sins, for all his sins.
- [41:50]
Landon Donovan
And he and he, we had a conversation and we've had a lot of angels to coggle with Tottenham conversations on NBC in studio because it's like I said about 10 hog. We are see Landon, we're seeing something so richly with Tottenham and Ange comes out every game and tells us we ain't seeing that. And so I have a ton of thoughts on it. And look, our Premier League insider David Ornstein said he's, he's 100% safe, which again, I know the kiss of death is, is when ownership comes out, but it seems as if that's real. What would save him is they have Lester next weekend. So he, that doesn't mean it's a win because the way, the way that they're playing, they're in both Cups still. I don't think they fire a manager who are in both tournaments, FA cup, and I think they're, they're leading in the, in the EFL cup after the first leg. So I don't think, I don't think you sack a manager who's still going good on, on both fronts. The issue for me is every Premier League team, whether you like it or not, goes through an injury crisis. Every Premier League team does. Now theirs is their injury list is long. And you could, you know, you could argue that that injury list is long based on how they play, actually. But you know, he's got defenders running the most high intensity sprints of any defenders in the Premier League. So. Okay, but my issue is if you have an injury list that long, right, you're now put, you're now playing square pegs and round holes. You are, you're getting, you're getting guys to fill in who are the midfield. And now he's playing center back and left back. You're all over the place. The responsibility then lies on the manager to set his team up and say, hey, I know we play a high line. I know we play both of our fullbacks inverted. I know we go for it, but we haven't won in a while and this is a problem. So we're going to go to Everton and I know we've Got a young, patchwork back line. We're going to go 4, 4, 2. We're going to get a result. Yes. Our principle is going to be the same play between lines, look to get forward. When you can overlap on one side, keep. Keep one of the fullbacks home, maybe you both don't go. But the fact of the matter is, he's saying, no, I've got young players, I've got players in the wrong position, and I'm still going to kind of hang them out to dry. And I think that's a massive problem. I think that's on the manager. And if he. If he dissects it any other way, I think it's wrong.
- [44:20]
Tim Howard
It's really hard, Tim, for people. I see this in all walks of life. People who are extremely successful getting to the top have done it a certain way. And then when you get to the top and there's adversity, they don't want to change. And it happens at every level in all types of businesses and professions, and you see it all the time. And the reality is, is in soccer, man, you have to have some ability to adapt.
- [44:49]
Landon Donovan
Yeah.
- [44:50]
Tim Howard
And sometimes, you know, some, man, there's a spectrum, right? So when I was coaching, most of the time, most managers are on the end of the spectrum where it's like every week, they're changing everything about their team based on the opponent. Everything.
- [45:04]
Landon Donovan
Yeah.
- [45:05]
Tim Howard
How they train, everything they do. And over time, players are like, what are we? What are we? We don't know what we are.
- [45:12]
Landon Donovan
Sure.
- [45:12]
Tim Howard
But then there's quite a few managers now in world soccer who are on the other end of the spectrum where it's like, we are doing what we're doing. Amaram is like this now, right. Costa Koga is like this. No matter what. Russell Martin at Southampton, no matter what, we are going to do this. And it feels like now there will be some coming back to the middle because you have to adjust now. Teams are so good when every. When teams try to build out of the back. Teams now have adapted to go after you so hard and so well structured that they can pick you off and score goals. And that's the hardest thing to do in the sport. And you can score goals quickly and create big chances. So, yeah, he's got to adapt, dude, or he's going to be gone.
- [45:53]
Landon Donovan
The other part about that is, and this may be hard, this may be harsh, but fair. Ld, the Premier League is unrelenting. I would probably say the Bundesliga is as well, right? He is. He has coached this style which which in a phone booth is a fun, entertaining style. Right. But he hasn't done it at this level. And yes, fair play, he did it with Celtic. In Scotland. You have. You have two dominant teams that monopolize the best players. That's it. So he hasn't done it at this level where every single game you could get beat. He's not done it. And my worry is that he's being so stubborn that it's worked other places that he has, that he doesn't take that 30,000 foot view because he's so close to it to see that maybe, maybe I need to tweak a few things. So, yeah, interesting.
- [46:44]
Tim Howard
Pride cometh before the fall. Sure does. And yeah, we'll see what happens. All right, let's move into some MLS news and notes. First, on the coaching front. Tim NYCFC announced earlier this month that Pascal Janssen will be their new head coach. I don't know any. Anything about him, but it sounds like you've spoken to some people who are high on him.
- [47:03]
Landon Donovan
Yeah, I mean, some people on the inside that I, that I know seem to really like him. Say he's super buttoned up, dialed in, you know, coached quite a lot in Hungary and Holland, and we know in Holland, tactically and technically, those teams are spot on in the Eredivisie. So if he can bring any of that to New York City, look, they've shown they're willing to go out and back their players, their coaches, in terms of getting the right players through the door to play that style. So I think Pascal Jensen is actually quite a good signing and people on the inside are really, really excited about them. So apparently that hiring process went really well and they got their guy.
- [47:44]
Tim Howard
Okay. Vancouver White Caps announced Jesper Sorensen as their new head coach. He coached at Brndby in the Danish Super Liga. Interestingly, he was. He finished fifth his first season, then he finished second last year, and then they sacked him when he was in fifth this year. So, interestingly, I don't know anything about.
- [48:05]
Landon Donovan
Victim of his own success.
- [48:06]
Tim Howard
Yeah, exactly. Yeah, exactly. I see a big trend in, in MLS where European sporting directors come in and then they want to hire a European coach and for the most part hasn't been crazy successful. But we'll see how both of those go. And then some interesting player news. Sounds like Charlotte FC are in talks with Wilfried Zaha. Yeah, I don't like it. Personally, I don't know how you feel. Not a fan of. I just. It just seems like he's passed it Once he went to Galatasaray, felt like that was the end, but, God, is he talented, man.
- [48:40]
Landon Donovan
Yeah, I mean, I think he. He. His home was at Crystal palace, and it's a good home. You know, went to. Went to United in a tough transition moment after Sir Alex Ferguson, he was flying high. I was a little bit younger. Didn't work out for him, which didn't work out for a bunch of players, me included. And. But he was. He was brilliant at Palace. I can say that he's brilliant at Palace. That was his home. You know what I. I like it for. For Charlotte. What I would say is this. And you've more than anybody in MLS have dealt with this. Right. This is one of those things where it's like Wilf. It gets hot in the summer here. Like, there's going to be a kid at a college that's going to kick you and doesn't care that you're Wilfred Zaha. I like it. But also, if you've ever seen him play, he plays with. He's at his best. He's one of these guys that cheese himself up that he. He could start a fight in an empty house. He's just like anybody who touches him. He just wants to fight and be nasty because I think that gets him at his best. But again, that's going to happen to him every single game, you know, So I just wonder from a mentality standpoint if he's fully prepared for that. But again, talented on the ball. Tricky. I like it. For sure.
- [50:02]
Tim Howard
It'd be fun to watch.
- [50:03]
Landon Donovan
Yeah, for sure.
- [50:04]
Tim Howard
I just. It felt like once he left palace, he was like, all right, totally. I'm on my way out. Yeah, we'll follow that one.
- [50:10]
Landon Donovan
That's what you worry about. Yeah.
- [50:11]
Tim Howard
Oh, we thought for a few weeks here that Neymar might go to Chicago. He has. It sounds like. I don't know if it's confirmed. Confirmed, but instead he's going to go to Santos in Brazil, which means it's time for Carnival. Yes. Holiday. Sounds like he's going home to party.
- [50:29]
Landon Donovan
There's a. I was going to say I'm happy for Chicago this didn't happen, but I think you mentioned that you might have heard something, that Greg Burholter was actually over in Saudi Arabia.
- [50:38]
Tim Howard
I read a report. Yeah. That he was.
- [50:40]
Landon Donovan
He was over in Saudi Arabia.
- [50:41]
Tim Howard
So obviously they're trying to make it happen.
- [50:43]
Landon Donovan
Obviously, Greg wanted it to happen. What I would say is, thank God for unanswered prayers. I don't see. And look, Greg is A good coach and he probably thinks he can get the best out of anyone. That's what a good coach does. But that won't. That won't worry me.
- [51:00]
Tim Howard
Look, that. That had the classic, you know, a few exciting moments, good games.
- [51:05]
Landon Donovan
Yeah.
- [51:06]
Tim Howard
The rest just total disaster. And his Saudi coach even said physically he can't do it anymore. And that's in Saudi. Right. So it's like. Yeah, I mean, I think that was a bullet dodge there. It also sounds like. And it's a little complicated, but it sounds like Atlanta United might be bringing back Miguel Almiron.
- [51:23]
Landon Donovan
Yeah.
- [51:23]
Tim Howard
Who hasn't been playing as much at Newcastle. That. That seems like a good fit. Like he would love to be back there and could be really interesting.
- [51:30]
Landon Donovan
Yeah, that'd be fun. Look, I think, you know, Eddie Howe, who's a fantastic manager at Newcastle, kind of got the best out of Almiron the other year. Maybe not his first season, not Eddie Howell's first season, but in the second season, Miguel Amaron was hit the ground running. He was flying. He was, he was. Assists, goals, he was coming on. He was like drifting onto the inside. He was, he was brilliant. He really wasn't. And again, since then, Jacob Murphy's kind of taken over that, that right hand side, which is fine. But he still has it. He still has it if he's hungry and he's excited to be back in Atlanta, as you just mentioned, that could be a really fun one.
- [52:07]
Tim Howard
Well, he always felt like a guy who, it didn't matter where you were playing, what the stakes, whatever. Like he just came to play. He just feels like he just always comes to play. And so it feels like a good fit there. All right, let's take another break. When we come come back, we'll get into mailbag. Anything but soccer. Right here on Unfiltered Soccer with Landon and Tim. Presented by Volkswagen. This episode is brought to you by Allstate. Some people just know they could save hundreds on car insurance by checking Allstate First. Like, you know, to check the date of the big game first before you accidentally buy tickets on your 20th wedding anniversary and have to spend the next 20 years of your marriage making up for it. Yeah, checking first is smart. So check Allstate first for a quote that could save you hundreds. You're in good hands with Allstate Savings. Vary terms apply. Allstate Fire and Casualty Insurance Company and Affiliates, Northbrook, Illinois.
- [53:07]
Landon Donovan
This episode is brought to you by Unstoppable. Discover the inspiring true story about Anthony Robles, who defied every expectation to become a national wrestling champion and Unstoppable, a new original movie from Amazon MGM Studios and director William Goldenberg. Evoking the excitement and camaraderie of classic sports dramas and thrilling wrestling matches, Unstoppable features an all star ensemble cast including Jerrel Jerome, Jennifer Lopez, Don Cheadle, Michael Pena and Bobby Cannavale. Watch Unstoppable now exclusively on Amazon Prime Video. This episode is brought to you by Amazon. Sometimes the most painful part of getting sick is the getting better part. Waiting on hold for an appointment, sitting in crowded waiting rooms, standing in line at the pharmacy. That's painful. Amazon One Medical and Amazon Pharmacy remove those painful parts of getting better with things like 247 virtual visits and prescriptions delivered to your door. Thanks to Amazon Pharmacy and Amazon One Medical Healthcare just got less painful. It's time for the Fan connection, presented by AT&T. Every week, we invite you, the listener, to connect with us by submitting your questions. The best way to grow the game of soccer in the US is to keep asking questions and keep talking about this sport we all love at, AT and T. Connecting changes everything. And on uslnt, our connections with you will help grow the game. Jordan, get on in here. This is your favorite segment of the week.
- [54:31]
Tim Howard
Oh, new background. Wow. Jordan.
- [54:35]
Landon Donovan
Jordan. I save this. I say this because I have a bone. I have a bone to pick with you. And I knew that would throw you on live podcast. We are unfiltered and I feel like some of the questions you. I see. I've heard from some friends that we've gotten, you know, we've gotten a few. I have gotten a few not so nice comments and we're unfiltered. So I think you need to bring us some heat.
- [54:57]
Tim Howard
What? They're not good. They're not filled. They're too filtered?
- [55:00]
Landon Donovan
No, I just think there's some people out there who maybe disagree with some things I or you have to say. I think we need to give them their just do and stay unfiltered. No cash.
- [55:10]
Tim Howard
Oh, I see. Okay.
- [55:11]
C
How about I make a deal with you? Because I think the two of you know, at this point, I like to be very buttoned up and prepared. So next week we're going to be doing a mailbag episode. And so how about next week I bring a little extra fire, a little thunder.
- [55:28]
Landon Donovan
All right, that's there. Deal.
- [55:31]
C
I think the ones that I picked for this week are still pretty good, though.
- [55:33]
Landon Donovan
Okay, good.
- [55:34]
Tim Howard
All right.
- [55:35]
C
All right. You guys ready?
- [55:36]
Landon Donovan
Ready.
- [55:36]
Tim Howard
We're ready.
- [55:37]
C
Okay, so we're going to start with a question from Vince via email. I just wanted to get your take on if you think the LA Galaxy can repeat as MLS champions this next season. A lot of things went right in order for Galaxy to win the cup this year. And with not having Ricky Pooj for most of this next season, what do you think their odds of repeating are? And Vince also wanted me to let you guys know that he's trying, trying to boost the number of episodes in which we mention Ricky.
- [56:04]
Landon Donovan
And that's as long as Landon's on, it'll be fine.
- [56:07]
Tim Howard
I'm happy, baby. Thank you, Vince. I'll start. As we've talked about many, many times, the the key in MLS is getting into the playoffs and then getting in healthy. And you have to say everybody stays together, most of the team stays together and Ricky Pooj is back at the end of the season. As long as they're in the playoffs, it'd be hard to bet against them. I feel like the Galaxy could go anywhere and win a game, especially with that front four. And so far we haven't dived in a lot yet. Or Dovin dived in Dovin a lot to MLS offseason. We will at a later date as we get closer to the season. But the Galaxy, in my opinion, made a massive upgrade and huge pickup by bringing Shaun Davis over from Nashville. Central midfielder who's just really, really good. And so he's going to help them a lot. He's a classic MLS veteran who just helps you win games. So I wouldn't bet against them. Obviously I'm biased, but I wouldn't bet.
- [57:09]
Landon Donovan
I was going to say. I was going to say no bias there. I mean, naturally I would. I would say they have a good chance, but they have to get through Houston in the west. And that's going to be a problem given given the team that Pat Onstad is putting on the field and Ben Olson is going to lead the charge.
- [57:25]
Tim Howard
So could be tough.
- [57:27]
Landon Donovan
It could be tough for them. But repeating is always hard.
- [57:30]
Tim Howard
I think it's always repeating is extremely. Because there's psychologically just so people understand. It is so hard to be motivated, excited and up for every game for a year. And then when you win, there's a natural. It's just human psychology like, ah, we did it. And to then have that same chip on your shoulder and go after it again when you have a target on your back because now everyone's like, oh, we're playing the champs. Oh, the champs are coming to town. It's really hard yeah, but I, I also.
- [58:00]
Landon Donovan
I also think, well, one, we know how great of a coach Greg Vanny is. I think, think not having their best player is actually going to give him a little fuel for fire. It's going to. He's going to be able to drive those players almost reverse psychology and basically say, don't drop your standards. We know it's going to be tough, but we've done it before, we can do it again. And then, by the way, they get this massive boost at some point in the season. So, yeah, it's hard, though.
- [58:26]
C
Okay, how about a question from YouTube? This one is from Ryan. What venue in the US as a US men's national team player, has been your favorite to play in? And if you were still an active player, what new stadium do you wish you could play in as a U.S. men's National Team player?
- [58:45]
Tim Howard
Great question. Yeah, well, outside of Dignity Health Sports park, because that was. That was home for so many years. For me, I would say Kansas City. Sporting Kansas City. For me, the close confines, the crowd was fantastic. It gets a little, like, dark and shadowy because it's kind of set in a little bit. So I just, I loved playing there. And that would be my answer for when I was playing what new stadium. Nashville's was pretty cool when I went to visit. That'd be a cool stadium to play in. Maybe Cincinnati. And Austin also looks really cool, too.
- [59:28]
Landon Donovan
Yeah, I mean, I don't think you can ever get too far away from Columbus Crew Stadium for everything it meant to me as a player and, you know, my teammates, one being Landon. And, you know, we have never in this country had a national stadium stadium, which hopefully will change in the future, but again, that will also take time. You go to these countries and you play international stadium, and these things were built just from brick and concrete, and they're old and they have. They have character and they have meaning, and we've never had that in America. And based on performances and results and Dos Acero and.
- [60:04]
Tim Howard
Well, we kind of. Yeah, we kind of did have it.
- [60:05]
Landon Donovan
We. We created that in Columbus. And, you know, the. And I say that because the feeling was we're going to. We're going to play Mexico in Columbus. Well, we're going to win. Like, there was just. There was. There was never a sense of anything other than that mentality. And. And it did. It had. It had everything to do with. It was small and metal, and we knew it was going to be cold. And so as a player, you walked off that bus, match day minus one, or you know, or pregame, and you just felt the chill in the air and you thought, we're going to win. And so that for me was, I think Cincinnati, you know, in terms of new stadiums, I just haven't been to a lot of them. But I think Cincinnati seems like they've got a cool thing going. So maybe, maybe I'll get to visit this season. But certainly playing would have been cool.
- [60:50]
C
Okay, last one is from Matthew via email. You talked about the importance of the FA cup and the history of it on last week's episode. How do you feel about the US Open cup and MLS only sending a few clubs while prioritizing leagues Cup?
- [61:07]
Tim Howard
Go ahead, Tim.
- [61:08]
Landon Donovan
No, I'm after you. I'm going backseat in this.
- [61:11]
Tim Howard
All right, here's my. Here's my feelings. This is complicated and we live in a. We live in a society now where everybody wants to take a side. Everyone's black or white or paper or plastic or red or green or whatever. And this is very complicated. So I'm going to give you fans perspective, which I think fans love this tournament. I'm going to give you a player's perspective. Players in mls, until you get to the quarterfinals are like, this is annoying, right? This is just. It's just annoying because we don't have the history. They don't. They don't feel the same way they feel about the FA cup in England. Players from San Diego, loyal when we were in the second division, loved it. The teams we played below them in NPSL or in lower divisions loved it because they had a chance to do something special. MLS owners hate it because they lose money. Now maybe there's some sentimental like, oh, we can grow this and this can be special. MLS as a whole, as an entity, hates it because they lose money. There's not a lot of prestige behind it. There's nobody in the stands until you get to the final. And then it's just fixture, congest congestion where they could fill those dates with something like the league's Cup. So it's a really complicated dynamic. Me personally, I love it and I would like to see actually more money put into it. MLS teams take it more seriously and help it grow together. I understand MLS's side of it, but I think overall the right thing to do would be to invest money in it from US Soccer, mls, and make it bigger and better and more valuable. And then in 30 years, we'll look back and go, thank God we did that. And the last thing we want is for this thing to peter out.
- [63:05]
Landon Donovan
Yeah, well, it's I mean, it's hard to add to that explanation, which was thorough and insightful. I, I, I think that just from the value of the tournament, I like it. I like that, you know, I, when you, when you, there's a dollars and cents aspect to this, so that has to stay on one side of the line. I mean, you can, that, that's a completely different part of the conversation from the, from the player side. Again, I've been, I've been on, on, on teams in MLS where you just think, we're probably not going to win the league here, but this is a really awesome opportunity for us to have a cup run and win a cup. You know, being an owner in Memphis, winning an open cup game, even a one round, beating an MLS team, like it drives your season tickets, it drives excitement in the city. So like that, that, that plays a huge factor. And I know with, with Houston, obviously they won the Open cup of 4 right before I got there, but that's a huge deal for our club, the Houston Dynamo, and for the city. So I think there's, look, there's two parts of the conversation that ultimately have to get married, but I like the tournament.
- [64:17]
C
All right, thanks very much, guys. Don't forget next week we're doing lots of mailbag questions. So let the people know what you want to hear about.
- [64:26]
Landon Donovan
Love that. Also, we need you guys to send in your questions. We're gonna have an episode on February 4th about promotion, relegation.
- [64:37]
Tim Howard
Oh, yeah, and LD promotion, relegation.
- [64:41]
Landon Donovan
I'm excited.
- [64:41]
Tim Howard
He doesn't want to talk about that.
- [64:42]
Landon Donovan
It's awesome.
- [64:43]
Tim Howard
I mean, it's gonna light a few fires.
- [64:45]
Landon Donovan
It's what everybody wants to talk about. I think it's so exciting both, you know, both sides of the argument. So we're gonna have, we'll have a lot to say about that.
- [64:54]
Tim Howard
We need questions. So send in question guys, if even basic, like, what is it? What does it mean? Super important or as complicated as you want so that we can dive into it and talk about it. We're gonna have some guests on and we're gonna do a big thing on it, so should be fun.
- [65:08]
C
Feedbackfiltered soccer.com is how you get your questions on the mailbag.
- [65:12]
Tim Howard
Anyway, you're such a pretty.
- [65:14]
C
That's my job.
- [65:15]
Landon Donovan
That's what I love it. Love it, Jay.
- [65:17]
C
All right, I'm out of here.
- [65:17]
Tim Howard
All right, Jay. Bye, guys.
- [65:18]
Landon Donovan
Appreciate you.
- [65:19]
Tim Howard
All right, Timmy. Anything but soccer abs this week. Couple interesting things. First thing I want to talk about. All right. I love this stuff. All right, so I was watching the NFL games this weekend. K City Chiefs win at home. Patrick Mahomes is. I. I love him.
- [65:42]
Landon Donovan
Yeah.
- [65:42]
Tim Howard
I love everything about him. I know he's very polarizing. And you know why people are so annoyed by him, Tim? Is because he's so good at winning.
- [65:52]
Landon Donovan
Totally.
- [65:52]
Tim Howard
He's good at winning. He's. I mean, he is good.
- [65:55]
Landon Donovan
Yeah.
- [65:55]
Tim Howard
But I love it because I play. When I played, I cared about winning. I cared about winning. Like, I wanted to win. You can have all your goal scoring and all this BS and all that. I wanted championships, right? And like, he doesn't care if he goes 11 for 18 and has a pick, but they win. He couldn't care less. And most people and young players in our society are now like, I want the Instagram photo of me scoring the goal and all. And like, even if we lose 4 1, I scored the goal and here's the highlights and all that. And it's just bs, right? And so he just cares about winning. Now. What comes with that is he's always stretching the line, dude. He's always toeing the line of what's legal, what's not, what's. And so there are a lot of calls that he gets, the Chiefs get, that drive people absolutely crazy. And he puts the refs in tough positions.
- [66:44]
Landon Donovan
If you ain't cheating, you ain't trying. But keep going.
- [66:46]
Tim Howard
It's true. Like, he puts himself in positions where he might get hit a second late, he might just be about to step out of bounds, but then stop for a second, get hit and go flying. He dove this weekend on the sideline, which I don't want to hear anyone tell me that soccer players dive anymore because he dove too. And I don't want to hear it anymore. But I love him. And it was interesting during the podcast because when he got to two, Houston Texan Will Anderson and someone else came together on him to hit him and actually hit each other looks pretty bad. And in, in real life, and the ref flew a flag through a flag. They can't review it in that specific instance. But during the broadcast, Troy Aikman goes, oh, come on, man. And Troy was a quarterback.
- [67:29]
Landon Donovan
Yeah, right.
- [67:29]
Tim Howard
And so, like, he hated it. And it's. It's a part of the game. But what I would say to people who don't like it is then go earn it the way he has in the Chiefs have. Right? Michael Jordan used to get all those fouls too, like these little hand check fouls and whatever. And it's like if you. Then you Go be that guy, Josh Allen. Go into Kansas City this weekend and beat them and win a Super Bowl.
- [67:52]
Landon Donovan
Crazy.
- [67:53]
Tim Howard
And you'll get all those little calls, too.
- [67:54]
Landon Donovan
Yeah, yeah. Look, I. There are a lot of things I hate. Let me start by saying that I hate NFL refereeing. I hate it so much. So I remember getting on this rant and I text my producer at NBC, Pier Musa, the great Pierre Moussa, and he's produced more NFL games than you've ever seen in Premier League games. And I think he was like, why are you calling me? And I was like, hang on a second. Listen. With the Premier League, from being in England, all they do is talk about refereeing. You talk about the game, you talk about refereeing, and then what beer you're going to have in the pub, like, that's all anyone cares about. Right? So referees decisions are huge in the Premier League. Right. And in soccer in general. And I was saying to myself, these guys get let off the hook so often. NFL referees pass interference. That wasn't pass interference. Well, they're just going to be a spot foul, 15 yards, whatever it is, let's get on with it. Yeah, but, yeah, but that put them in field goal position and then they won the game. Like, it's so annoying when you see some of these things. From, from the refereeing standpoint, what I would say about Patrick Mahomes is we must be on the same page because I, before this became headline news, I would think that all the time I'd be like, why don't you. This linebacker is running a million miles an hour at you. Just tiptoe the sideline, step out of bounds and get hit. Because by the way, referee is going to call, what is it, roughing or late hit or whatever it is. Yeah, referee's gonna call it, so you might as well use that to your advantage. Listen, every, every advantage is, is important. And by the way, you're, you're. Your quarterback can do it too, because quarterbacks are protected. So, you know, I, I love, I'm obviously a Giants fan, but I love what, what Patrick Mahomes is doing. It's exciting. Love him or hate him, I tell my daughter all the time, like, if they're hating, if they're hating on you, you're doing something right. So, you know, it's. I don't. I, I think it'd be really hard for them to three peat, but by God, they got every chance to do it. I.
- [69:55]
Tim Howard
We both play with a guy defender. Jeff Agus and Goose was so good at this time, I played with him in San Jose. So long, ball gets hit over the top.
- [70:05]
Landon Donovan
Yeah.
- [70:05]
Tim Howard
And he would be chasing it down and the forward be chasing, and the forward was behind him. So Jeff was. Had the angle on the ball. He would slow down, he would wait till the striker. Barely any contact, and he would just fall straight on the ball.
- [70:18]
Landon Donovan
Yep.
- [70:19]
Tim Howard
And he's running back towards his own goal. And people have to remember, referees are human first. Yes, it's their job, whatever. But there's so much subjectivity that's not black and white. So he would just wait for contact, fall on the ball, grab the ball with his hands, and the ref had no choice. I swear to you, maybe once in four years did that not get called. And he did it five or six times a game.
- [70:39]
Landon Donovan
And now it happens in global football everywhere. You're like, just don't touch the guy because he's gonna go correct.
- [70:43]
Tim Howard
So you wait for the contact, you fall down, and it's like, okay. Is that cheating? No. Is it using the rules to your advantage? Yeah, but it's. I mean, he. Yeah. I mean, so if you don't want. Then don't touch him. Better reference him, right? Yeah. So it's gonna be interesting to see how it plays out. I am actually, incidentally, I just told my son last night I am going to the game this weekend.
- [71:02]
Landon Donovan
Wait, in Kansas City?
- [71:04]
Tim Howard
Is it in Kansas City? Oh, yeah. So is a huge Patrick Mahome fans shout out to the Hunt family, who are the owners of FC Dallas, because they were able to hook us up with tickets. So it's gonna be so fun.
- [71:17]
Landon Donovan
You're a poor son. He's a Galaxy fan. He's a. He's a Kansas City fan. You're setting him up for massive, massive feeling. He's a LeBron fan too, isn't he? Tell me he's not wrong fan.
- [71:26]
Tim Howard
But you know what he said to me? You know what he said to me last night? So I told him last night, and he was like, what, we get to go see Patrick Mahomes play live? I said, yeah. And he said, a couple times we've taken him to New York. Or one time we took him to New York and one time to come to Cabo. And we are not like this. But it just worked out where we. He. We brought him, and he sat in first class with us.
- [71:48]
Landon Donovan
Nice.
- [71:49]
Tim Howard
So he goes, dad, are we gonna. We're gonna sit in one of those seats, right? With the big seats, and they bring us food the whole time. And I was like, you know Town. No, we're flying southwest this time, but we're sitting. He was Davis. He's like, what? I didn't even know people sat back there.
- [72:03]
Landon Donovan
Shout out to Southwest. If you're listening to the podcast, you know, we, We. We take upgrade vouchers.
- [72:09]
Tim Howard
All right, last thing I just want real quick. The Eagles game yesterday. I don't know if you noticed, but A.J. brown, wide receiver for the Eagles, showed up to the game and old school Honda Accord. Yeah. I was just thinking to myself, like, dude, he's just like one of us.
- [72:23]
Landon Donovan
Yeah, good one. Except.
- [72:25]
Tim Howard
Except he ain't. But I love that dude. He showed up in the Honda Accord. I can't imagine. Like, all those kids.
- [72:30]
Landon Donovan
Side note, like, did. Did. Did he get stuck in the snow? Because I'm guessing that Honda Accord.
- [72:33]
Tim Howard
Yeah, I don't have.
- [72:34]
Landon Donovan
Did not get make it out of the parking lot. No chance.
- [72:37]
Tim Howard
Guess he made it. But I just love that dude. Like, I love that guy. And. And look, I mean, you kind of get to a point and you probably deal with this too. Like, it's nice to have great things, whatever, but, like, you just want to be comfortable in which anybody just loves driving the car. So he just drives it, no problem. I had a teammate, Todd Donovan, who drove. I don't even know what it was. Some old car. It had like 300,000 miles, literally, Tim, for 10 years at the Galaxy. And I'm like, todd, you make a couple hundred grand now. Can you just buy something? Like, just something decent? Doesn't have to be, like, nice, but, like, you just did. So I'll give one good story about cars. I think you have one, too.
- [73:13]
Landon Donovan
Yeah, I do. It's. I play with a guy at Everton, Mohamed Bezich, and it was when Roberto Martinez was the manager. My guy comes strolling in in a white Lambo. It's gorgeous. Gorgeous, right? And he whips it into the park, the player's parking lot. Just gets out strolling with his Louis Vuitton washbag. Everything's cool. Like, it was my guy, too. And sure enough, next day, Mo ain't got the Lambo. So we're like, where'd your Lambo go? And he's like. He's like. The gaffer said, I have to get rid of it.
- [73:47]
Tim Howard
What? What?
- [73:49]
Landon Donovan
Roberto Martinez was like, he saw. Because you know where the manager's office. Yeah, on the corner. He said. He said, the seat's too low. Your hamstring, you're gonna have hamstring injuries. And he made him sell it. He made him sell it.
- [74:04]
Tim Howard
Because he thought it was physically bad for him.
- [74:06]
Landon Donovan
Oh, my God.
- [74:06]
Tim Howard
Yeah. God bless him.
- [74:07]
Landon Donovan
And so Mo. And Mo was one of the. One of the best guys I ever played with. He was like, okay. Sold lamb. Poor fella.
- [74:13]
Tim Howard
We had a guy in San Jose. We drafted him. I don't know. I don't. I think he was the first overall pick, maybe, or second overall pick to us. And Chris Carrieri. So he shows up, I know, from.
- [74:26]
Landon Donovan
North Carolina or something, you know. Exactly.
- [74:29]
Tim Howard
So he shows up his first day, and it's like preseason. It's like February, March, top down, this, like, bright red Corvette, right? And, like, for a guy who was making, like, 30 grand, we were like, where the hell do you get all this money? So we were all humble. Like, nobody was making money back then in mls. He shows up in this bright red Corvette, strolling in, and we were. And it was like, dude, you really. That's the first impression you want to make? So we called him Corvetti forever. I think he played in the league for, like, two years.
- [74:57]
Landon Donovan
I remember that.
- [74:58]
Tim Howard
That's absolutely Corvette. All right, guys, it's been fun. Thanks. Thanks again for all the feedback, all the Questions in the AT&T fan Connection. We appreciate all you guys being with us. Remember to subs like, comment on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks again, everyone. Follow us on social media across all the platforms at Unfiltered Soccer for bonus content.
- [75:22]
Landon Donovan
Yeah. Thank you from me, everybody. Thanks to our presenting sponsor, VW, and everything they do. Our Fan Connection sponsor, AT&T. Thank you all. Have an amazing week. Look forward to seeing you next Tuesday with another edition of Unfiltered Soccer. See you soon.