State of MLS: Inter Miami are winning the Supporters shield? | MLS Q&A

what what [Music] [Music] [Music] hello everyone welcome to mess moves please make sure you like this video down below and subscribe to the channel if you are new got a lot to talk about tonight um gonna start this weekly series talking about the MLS standings talk about just like where the race is for the standings the top teams uh talk about some of the races as far as like the Golden Boot the assist leader uh coach of the year you know just just talk a little bit about what's going on especially with there being for a lot of teams like less than 10 games left um so should be an interesting interesting remainder of the uh of the season um I'm going to have a couple guests come on tonight to talk about the race talk a little bit about their teams see what their thoughts are about the about the season so far or the remainder of the season and then talk about maybe some teams who uh are on the on the the fence or you know close to making the playoffs but might miss the playoffs hovering around that eight to n spot should be pretty interesting to see uh down the stretch which teams will be able to Prevail and end up making the MLS Cup playoffs and there there'll probably be some bad teams just because of how many how many um how many teams make the playoffs you know there's there's 18 out of 29 teams make the playoffs well there's a playin game so technically there's only 16 but there's act 18 teams have the potential to make the playoffs um so we're going to talk a little bit a little bit about that race talk about the supporter Shield um talk about who I think is going to win it talk about who's in contention for it got a couple comments Tommy says hello how's it going Tommy Brandon Burman says I need to win a jersey hey I think we all need to win a jersey honestly uh Elon Don says let's go my friend of the show mo football says my guy appreciate it Mo Mr Mister big fan of the show he says hey Will how's it going Mis Mister thanks for tuning in my biggest fan from England I think right you said you're cross the pond um Manuel V Lobos a actual member of the channel says let's go yeah I'm excited to talk about this so so so far we just get right into it inter Miami is currently in the driver seat for the supporter Shield they have 56 points through 26 matches and the next closest team as far as points would be the LA Galaxy they had 52 and they played one more game then enter Miami now lafc probably has the second best odds of passing or or catching inter Miami for the supporter Shield just because they have two games in hand they've played two less games than lafc I'm sorry than inter Miami there's they are what are they nine points behind so lafc probably of all teams has the best opportunity of in Miami and excuse me uh also too it's going to be interesting to see when Messi comes back uh from his injury that's obviously going to um have a lot of uh I think that's going to impact the race as well even though inter Miami has done well without him I think it's gonna be interesting to see when he comes back it's gonna be interesting to see how he impacts the team uh so that's something to follow uh so we got a guest favy rankle good friend of the show Good Friend real life uh I'm going to go ahead andak him in he's on a time crunch we're GNA get his thoughts on this um so let me bring him in Bobby what's up man what's up guys how's it going yeah we're just talking about the the supporter Shield race uh as it stands right now how inter Miami is in the driver seat they have 56 points 26 games played the only team that I would say has a realistic chance of catching them would be LFC just because they have those two games in hand and they're nine points behind now it's obviously going to be an uphill battle it's not going to be EAS right uh no Columbus is actually 13 points behind well they got three games in hand but they're 13 points behind so it's going to be a little tricky to to make that deficit because even if they win out they're still going to be you know there they're still going to be a little bit you know behind um oh look we got another guest in here we got we got Eric of the voices of black and gold go ahead and bring him in as well let me just make sure I get this the right way hold on one sec oh that's not right what's up guys what's up Eric trying to get this hey how's it going faan I wore this hat for you oh look at that look at that I wore this jersey for you I can't see it I'll see you in a second ho Porco I guess we're gonna have to do it like this for now oh there we go here we go good wanted to be able to show every by the standings as I got this though that's that's a nice one that's a nice one yeah the Pisa boys one that's a cool one oh the Pisa boy is the best although if we start getting to lafc like like this LFC dude oh sorry no you're good you're good uh so let me let me read a couple of these comments uh Sky said Ivan Flores says new sub great content will appreciate it Ivan thank you for subscribing menwell says inter schedule has two tough games on the road they play at the crew and at New York City FC uh uh so this is what we were talking about Eric I don't know if you were watching before but we were essentially just talking about the supporter Shield race we were talking about inter Miami being in the driver's seat they' got 56 points 26 games they' played the only realistic team coincidentally is your lafc who probably has a chance of actually catching them just because they have two games in hand and they have 47 points so even if they do win their next two games and they're both at that 26 games played Mark they're still going to be three points behind in Miami but you know with each team Having Eight Games left after that they could easily one of them could slip up and then they're right there neck and neck uh for the supporter Shield so I would say realistically that's the only team that has a chance of catching them uh and even that's going to be kind of difficult yeah I agree with that I mean it's it's Miami's race to lose the only way Miami at this point doesn't get it is if they they beat themselves and they slip up on some games that they shouldn't slip up which which we see the time in sports but you know getting down that stretch of the playoff race if there's one thing you hate as a sports fan it's not controlling your own your own destiny as a team and Miami is the only team that really controls their Destiny at this point anymore I think in the shields race Fai so do you realistically think that lafc obvious lafc had a tough game on uh Sunday night really tough game and stuff like that can either make or break a team because that kind of lays in the back of your mind a lot of people are talking about their finals losses and I think they hear this so do you think that this is going do you think LFC is going to Prevail and really make this a race or do you think that they're going to kind of slip up and with everything going on I like how you asked me the LFC question you have Eric right here right um I'll follow up on it um I think LFC I don't know I just don't know if the supporter Shield is is Theirs to win um I think they're going to be focused on the US open cup which they should be um I mean that's kind of a cakewalk if they take care of business against Seattle um but I just think the west coast is is more worried about itself than chasing the East um the west coast is so weird because you get the Quakes just beating RSL you get you get these random kind of spoilers out of nowhere in the west where I don't think you get as much of that in the East to be honest and I think uh Miami just has everybody's number in the East when Messi's playing and I think Messi's just going to come back and play against like the crew and things like that and it's going to be back to normal for Miami yeah you know I I agree I think I think the East is better on the top end and worse on the bottom end and I think the west from top to bottom is way more evenly matched like we we can see some as he said San Jose spoilers we can see St Louis and SKC pulling some upsets as well we have Minnesota on the outside looking in and they're a good you know they're a good team when they get it together uh so yeah as far as as far as us lafc we're we're playing the sound I think the game against the Sounders tomorrow is gonna mo more decide Our Fate in the open cup than anything else I think if we get past the Sounders we're gonna have a second to breathe from last Sunday and I think we'll be reorganized but I think coming off like an emotional loss like that on Sunday on very short turnaround and I'm still unclear whether the team flew directly to Seattle from Columbus I I hope that they did you know otherwise they're flying back here and then it's another three and a half hour flight up to Seattle basically with two days arest so there was no availability so I think that kind of tells you that maybe they weren't back home yeah yeah no I think that's that's the right move and I think also if the team kind of sticks together and they stay together as a group from that emotional loss hopefully it'll help them regroup but I think this game against Seattle or in in Tacoma at the smaller stadium is this is really the game that's going to decide whether lafc goes through to the open cup I think uh on on short rest which to be fair Seattle was just in Minnesota but that was on Saturday and they're home now so if we can get through this game I'm not so worried about the the last one if we lose this one in Seattle I think I think the the blow to morale and the blow to confidence is going to be really big we have a double header following this in Houston and Houston is is a pretty good team they're on the cusp uh the we play Saturday in LA and I and I believe the next week we play in Houston and I think I think that's going to be a tough six points to pick up the three at home shouldn't be that bad but the three on the road should be it's always we always have a hard time playing in Houston well I want to I want to uh read a comment uh from it looks like footpool America do you think the LA Galaxy have a chance so the Galaxy have played the most games in the league outside of Toronto and Sporting Kansas City and they're at 52 points so they're four points behind inter Miami they um have played one more game than inter Miami I think it's gonna be an uphill battle but it's going to be interesting to see if lafc can't catch inter Miami it's going to be a real battle between the Galaxy and LFC for that number one spot in the Western Conference and there is one more El Classico match I think it's in September if I'm not mistaken there's one more match so that's gonna decide the fate of lafc's supporter Shield hopes it's going to decide their fate of being the the number one SE in the Western Conference and it'll be interesting to see we're not going to focus too much lafc tonight but if if you know with with Chelo's um you know obviously there there's his seats getting warmer and warmer if he loses an El Classico that that's just you know adding fire wait can we stop calling it a Classico can we just keep its name El trafico like yeah El I'm sorry did I call it did I call it a Classico I'm sorry I meant call my bad that's my El traffico my bad a photographer texted me today he was like hey can I get a a credential for a Classico I was like what barcel and Real Madrid are playing yeah that's my bad that's that's insulting I iy I'm going to time out for that honestly I I don't know why I call that but El traffico excuse me El traffico I feel like this is a must-win for shundo he's got to beat his rival it's just going to be adding fuel to the fire of people wanting him out and I think the Tide's turning on that I se post a video earlier today about shundel if it's his fault and there was a lot of fans who are actually starting to to Trend that direction Eric thinking it is his fault that they're like yeah I think the riding's on the wall I think you got to start putting a lot of this blame on um on shundo um so we'll we'll see what happens I I think it's going to be interesting that's that's why uh this is going to be a uh interesting last couple weeks of MLS there are six teams that I would consider to be legitimate um MLS Cup contending teams it's ENT Miami it's FC Cincinnati the Columbus Crew lafc LA Galaxy and RSL are my six teams I consider legitimate contenders for the cup I'm not saying that there can't be a team that's a spoiler and and you know possibly upset one of these big teams but that's the teams that I'm expecting one of those teams to act to win the MLS Cup in 20124 so it'll be interesting to see what happens there's there's definitely going to be some upsets that's what MLS you know that's what they're known for is all these upset teams um so it's going to be an interesting last couple weeks guys um it'll be curious to see what happens RSL is not a contender I'm going tell you that right now especially with chich arango being injured now I wouldn't be surprised if they dropped to a no home G or if it was like a regular MLS playoff it would be a no home game type of position for them but I think they're G to drop actually maybe even lower than Portland if Cho arango's gone for for for a while how long is he out for though um I don't know he came off in in the first half so that's never a good sign but we'll see I haven't seen anything actually recently let me check I'm G look it up myself uh well Chicho so he's got a right hamstring injury I mean that's that's just something that can linger for maybe a couple weeks I think he'll be fine by the time the playoffs come around now the one loss that they are that they do have that could be significant could be Andres Gomez who just recently got sold to a French team yeah that could be something you know that could hurt them but they did sign a couple players to replace him I still think that they're like I'm not saying that they're the top of that list but I would say if all the teams in the west they're the third they have the third best chance is winning the cup and they've been a very good team this year and chicha Rango has when he was healthy was playing out of his mind he scored 17 goals which I think is a career high for him uh in mls in the season I don't think he I think his the most he had scored with LFC was like what was it Eric like maybe 171 18 in that 2022 season yeah it was it was somewhere around there yeah something like that so he's on he was on Pace to break his record that he had previously set at lafc uh so I think that they're a team you have keep on RSL give them some love I consider them the Western Conference version of the Columbus Crew a team that a lot of people count out they don't have the biggest names they got those Colombian number nines that everybody's always counting out that balls out in scores um so why I just read about Chicho it's gonna be a couple of weeks no matter what so he's gonna be missing well luckily they had an international break right now but two games two games out of how many games nine right nine games and then you have seven games left I don't know maybe they might drop out of their position and they drop into a spot where the playoffs aren't so favorable hamstring injuries can be tough I mean I always think rule of thumb like worst the worst best case scenario is a six week injury and it's only because of how much running they do if if a hamstring doesn't get properly healed and I've seen it a lot uh in NFL I can think of a few players that like it's it's a common with wide receivers where they'll get a hamstring injury and they'll come back like three or four weeks into it before it's done and they'll reag aggravate it and then they'll be out again so hamstrings are one of the most dangerous injuries to like try to come back early from sometimes it works but if they if they don't like it resets the clock to zero uh I also looking at the the Western the Western schedule I mean you know with with with the Galaxy they they have a they have a pretty nice schedule going forward with not much congestion uh but you know Colorado has been surging on Salt Lake I can I can see Colorado moving up they ran pretty hot through the leagues cup and they feel like they're really finding form Austin is another team that's yeah I was going to say Austin they've been surging the last the last probably three four weeks maybe even like the last six weeks and so they seem to have found a winning stride again and I could see them surging up the table as well yeah Seattle too Seattle's the team that in the MLS play normal MLS play they surge at the end of the season every single year so I could easily see real Salt Lake dropping into a sixth or even seventh spot without Chango yeah the only thing about Seattle is they can't stay healthy and a lot of the players they rely on are just too up and down they show spurts where they're really good and they look like they could compete with the best of the best but then there's other games where they completely embarrass themselves they don't score goals and they look they look like a team that is at the bottom half of the league and their big signing Pedro DEA has been not a disappointment because we haven't got to see him play he just has been injured could have been a Difference Maker and maybe that guy who uh replaced niiko the legend at Seattle who helped them win their first MLS Cup but he hasn't been healthy enough to really know what kind of a Difference Maker he is and they're having to rely on a lot of the old heads and Morris and ruie Diaz and you know rusnack well rack's really an old head but he's getting up there he's like in his 30s now but uh Christian Ron so Stephen Fry I mean I don't even is he even starting anymore I think Thomas was starting in his place Le cup yeah fry came in for leag cup and got absolutely shelled and US Open cup it's it's Thomas as well Thomas okay yeah so I knew that that transition was happening but it just feels like that the Sounders have kind of held on to certain players a little too long you know youve heard of the old saying it's better to get rid of a player to a year too early than a year too late feels like the the Sounders have gotten kept on to players three years too late you know like they should have got rid of a lot of these guys so I I'm not really a believe in the Sounders now one team a lot of people I saw mention were like are believers in is the Rapids and I think the Rapids are competitive I just don't think that they're I think that they would be have they'd have to punch above their weight I don't see them as being a team that's going to go on a run and beat the Galaxy and beat lafc and just go on the Run The Gauntlet right they seem like a team that could possibly Favi beat one good team but it's just hard for the quality they have I don't see them beating several good teams to make that run yeah so their their Striker Navajo excuse me if I'm saying this Navajo naaj he's a palis guy too yeah Navajo he had the highest expected goals in Le's cup and he didn't have that many goals so if he can find a way to get some of those in the back of the net he becomes a superstar for them they can get hot um I think they do have a solid Squad armas at the helm I think I think they can upset some teams I mean Stephan's on some crazy form right now um especially in the playoffs if if you go to a penalty shootout I don't I don't want to be facing the Colorado Rapids that's for sure they you know they they also have a lot of really solid MLS veterans uh you know guys whove been playing in the league for 10 years like I can't even think of too many other teams in the league that have more on in their starting 11 than Colorado has now and there's a lot to stay with that with the stability that guys like that bring you know the they're not the most glamorous sexy guys but I mean we we've you've seen time and time again with a club it's like you get that 10year veteran in and they really they really just put like a calmness to the team and and they make everybody play better like Kean Rosenberry is another one that yeah that's one that was I think it's good especially from the national team standpoint to see Stefan reemerge because he looked like he was going to be the air apparent to guzan a couple years ago then he takes the move he makes the move to Man City he goes all these loone stints it really doesn't pan out for him ends up back in MLS he's only 29 years old so he's obviously got some time goalkeepers obviously have a uh the longevity of a goalkeeper normally longer than a striker or any other position on the pitch so I think he he has a chance to really go into the second phase of his career and reestablish himself and I think that if he plays as well as he as he has been he he might even be in contention to be the US MNT number one again I mean that's there's obviously a hole there uh so that will be interesting to see uh now guys let's talk about some of these teams that are on the Fring or or Fringe playoff teams right some of these eight to n seeds which you know I I've said this numerous times I hate that there is this many that the playoffs is like kind of oversaturated there's too many it's watered down with all these extra teams I wish it was a little bit more prestigious that way it didn't feel like anybody and everybody just makes it but Toronto and Atlanta two teams that have really struggled in the Eastern Conference this year inconsistently Toronto was a good team at the beginning of the year and then they just completely nose dived right they lost like four or five in a row and then Atlanta United went on a a fire cell selling all their players uh literally felt like all their good players were just hey you want them they're up for sale but here they are they're in contention to make the playoffs out of those two teams which one do you think is more likely and less likely to end up making it in the final spots let me let me get this so I can head on out after this but um I think Toronto is in good hands if they avoid Miami or Columbus in the first round I think if Toronto can find a way to play Cincy the New York Red Bulls or New York City I think they have a second round entrance for the playoffs and that's because when Insignia and berdeski are playing for some sort of thing when they are motivated they can be a very good team and then they have Prince auu as well who can score goals tall kind of very lengthy Striker so it's a problem for some backlines but I think if they avoid Miami and if they avoid the Columbus Crew um I think they have a good chance of kind of being that dark horse that everyone wants always in in the playoffs and and I truly think they have all the talent in the world to lift an MLS Cup I just think they need to kind of hone it in and when they play Miami they just look defeated from the start I mean I you saw in League's cup you saw right before leagues cup when they played Miami it just was a different team on the field that's for sure did did you just say Toronto had a chance to win MLS Cup this year I think so I think so I really think they have all the talent in the world if they avoid Miami and Columbus Robby were you doing anything recreational before you the stream or hey it's California baby that's a Dark Horse Dark Horse P that that's I mean he's he's leaving with a banger and he said hey man I'm shooting for the stars I was listen that question I was even framing it like do you even think they're gonna make the playoffs because I could see and we'll get Eric to jump in here in a second but I see Philadelphia finding their way into the to the MLS Playoffs because they have two games in hand especially when it comes to Toronto so if they end up winning the next two games let's say they'll jump Toronto for the eighth spot because of goal difference they're at a plus three and and Toronto's at a minus 12 goal difference which is kind of crazy to think about uh I actually think that Toronto and Atlanta um might end up I I think one of them will make the playoffs but the the union are gonna take the other spot and I think toron will the union take the other spot I think so yeah I do think they will because Atlanta United is just they they've they folded it up it's it's over like they they're moving they're not even they haven't even hired coach they're rolling with the interm guy name name a better uh Wing back than beresi right now in m i I think he's I think he's back to playing Winger now oh okay so we'll see right that that teams such a question mark uh because he was playing a wing back long time no he was he he was the be he was the best DP Wing back in the history of MLS right6 million salary he better be uh Eric what do you think who do you think that uh you think Toronto and Atlanta will all right guys I got here all right see you buddy um me let me move this back to okay so do you think that uh Toronto and Atlanta will hold their spots or do you think that the union or another team will end up take knocking them off uh out of out of this lower table I think Toronto is the most in Jeopardy of dropping off the table uh I I think Atlanta I I just have a feeling with them with their interim coach I you know I feel like they played a pretty good game against uh Galaxy their last one and that's you know we didn't get too into it but I Marco Roy really really took that game over and if he takes it over they're going to be a really frightening team uh but but leading up to that game I felt like Atlanta had kind of stopped the bleeding and even with their outgoing guys had started to kind of like stabilize it a bit so I can see I can see Atlanta picking up some points here on the home stretch and I think Philadelphia definitely is going to pick up points in the home stretch uh Toronto just you never I I can never really tell which Toronto is going to show up and uh they they have it in them to compete with any team but they also have it in them to bottle it up against any team so I you know it's hard to it's hard to Hitch a wagon on that horse well here's another crazy thing and let me add our names up here I I when I record my solo episodes I normally take them off let me just add this on there so people can see who we are um so here's the crazy thing too Eric look at this at the bottom I don't know if you can see this I know it might be a little small but look look at here at the bottom 26 26 26 26 the top the bottom four teams all have 26 points 10 11 have 27 ninth spot has 28 so there are so many teams in that in that range who are just right there at the cusp of making the playoffs with that you know they're just within two points right of getting that final spot and and even the even the revs I mean they've got two games in hand in there at that 26 points now the revs were you know their start was catastrophic right they were Terri in the beginning of the season but they've made a lot of of additions and and signings where they're they're starting to compete down the stretch we'll see if it makes any impact but this is going to be like this is definitely going to be a tight race down the stretch for that final spot in the Eastern Conference and uh especially with eight games it could really go either way yeah I you know and then you know preface this that I'm much more familiar with the West than I am with the East but all four of those teams at the bottom they they they just don't I just don't see a lot of threat out of any of them you know I I feel like I feel like Nashville kind of they kind of need to blow that team up and and start over Chicago has kind of just been a mess like for as long as as long as I can remember DC same thing um and and New England May maybe they're the one team that can that can kind of get out of there but uh you know and and then Charlotte as well Charlotte had a lot of Swing misses this transfer window it seems like they really wanted to try to make something happen but I don't think they really did make much happen so they're another one I I I my feeling is is that the bottom of this table at the end of the season is still going to be the same bottom of the table and I think uh you know there's there's a handful of teams that are out outside looking in that have a chance to move up and I but I think most of them are are are going to stay out and like not to mention the top half of the East is a really is really tough so these teams have have some pretty tough games ahead of them as well so I wanted to bring this up too this is one of the points I want to make on the show that just to compare and contrast right this is the 2022 Ms St MLS standings right regular season standings so they there used to be seven teams per conference that made the playoffs and they would do the single elimination games right and then the one seed obviously got a buy in the first round which I liked I thought that rewarded the best team in the league uh that's gone now um now all now the first technically the eth and nth seed have you know they have to play the extra game everybody else plays the same amount of games now look at this Eric this is interesting the seventh the seventh seed in the 2022 MLS Cup uh or MLS season standings had 48 points Orlando city had 48 points Columbus Crew missed the playoffs with 46 points in the Western Conference RSL was a seventh seed with 47 points and then Portland had 46 points okay now let's go to the 2023 because it's a full season and let's look at the let's look at the point system that as far as that goes so uh Charlotte made the playoffs with 43 points okay not too bad you know that's kind of close it's not like drastically different from what Orlando city had the year before like you don't have a 30-point team making the playoffs right it's it's pretty close in the Western Conference San Jose had 44 points making the playoffs pretty similar right well so let's go to 2024 and you just look at the trajectory of you know only 28 points right now making the with eight games left it looks like there's going to be the for the first time ever that there's going to be possibly an MLS team making the playoffs with 30 points 30 points it looks like that's going to happen for the first time ever a team making the playoffs with 30 points that is just I mean that's embarrassing honestly that's I mean that just shows that the how how watered down this thing is to have a team that will probably end up with 30 points making the playoffs yeah no I I agree the playoffs is a little bit it's a little bit too much and uh we haven't even talked about the opening round of the the three games which the three yeah I you know I'm I'm I'm not gonna I'm not gonna say what I really think about it on on this show because I I already dropped one curse word but uh it's you know on the one hand playoffs are really EXC the Etta if I say what I think I'll be suspended for six months yeah if I say what I think Will's not having me on a show for six months but um yeah it's it it's really watered down uh I mean they're they're fun I I can't say that I really really hate the expanded format I really only hate the first round of uh best of three uh I do think that as far as the league because you know this inevitably says well what's the point of the league then if if you know 60 64% of the teams make the postseason and the the seaing does matter you know and especially when you start getting towards the end in the the semifinals and the finals where being that home team is is a huge Advantage so I do think with the league like the seating is really really important but um but yeah otherwise uh you know the last show we did the um the the fell on there you know he was saying like he Tunes in for the playoff soccer like the league stuff he doesn't really get into it but like with most sports in the playoffs everybody kicks it up a notch and you start getting really really exciting game so if they're going to give us a little more of that energy like I can't hate it too much so no 100% And bro quick guys if you're in the show please make sure you share with a friend we're trying to grow the audience as much as we can I say I'll probably go at least another 30 minutes uh and also make sure you like this video down below helps with the algorithm Subs subscribe to the channel if you haven't already and hit that little bell notification so you never miss any of my uh any of my videos uh yeah so Eric uh let's talk real quick before I know you have to go here in a second let's talk a little bit about the Golden Boot race okay just just a little fun right I I'll get back more to the standings in in a minute so Denny banga is in third place technically uh because Chicho and Christian bente is tied for first place with the Golden Boot race do you see what daru um obviously he's going to have some opportunities and probably score some goals in the final stretch of the Season at least that's the goal right if he doesn't there's a big issue do you think that Denny will be able to win the Golden Boot for the second year in a row or do you think that he'll probably end up losing probably closely this year man I I I don't even know how to answer this question and uh I I some some of it I think right if if you look at any attacking group and how how they gel together Jud is just a much different player than than has been in the nine position with banga you know it's been Bou who he's naturally a bit more of a 10 and he'd play a false nine or you have Kai kamaro who's more like a Target at nine but does a lot of the high pressing a lot of the Dirty Work meanwhile Jude he he seems to be most effective playing with his back to the goal and he's an excellent distributor of the ball or he's in on the set pieces so I think Jude's not really going to take too many goals off of Denny's plate but the question for me is does Jude fit into the system in a way that Denny can keep scoring the same goals he has been which typically come on Transitions and fast breaks you know that's that's how Denny gets his goals so does gerud slow down the front three enough that we start losing these transition breaks and does our pressing diminish enough that we stop forcing these turnovers Midfield to create these breaks so for him to get the Golden Boot that's my big question is how does this front three gel and can he stay productive with that being the case you know and uh if if he feasts the whole team's going to feast and if he struggles the whole team's going to struggle like we've been it's lafc has been banga FC at times chichu arango the injury really really throws a lot of it into doubt I think so we'll we'll see on that it's fully capable but it really just depends how long he's back from a hamstring injury and how serious that injury is yeah I would say that he probably won't I I don't think Denny's gonna win it I think he's gonna come up short honestly just because of uh opportunities and and you know I mean look at Maddie he's got 13 goals this year so he's obviously had a lot of chances and I think there's just too many mouths to feed uh for what they have uh so I think that he'll probably come up short it's gonna be interesting race um and to see what happens I my prediction is I think Luis Suarez is gonna end up winning the the Golden Boot I think now that he's back I think he's gonna have a strong uh finish to the season um and when you step out or when you eventually leave I'm gonna move on to the MVP award I'm gonna give my prediction on that because that that kind of ties into it because that's gonna be a Hot Topic to see who they think is you know gonna win the MVP uh it's kind of a tight race right now it could really go either way I was gonna say Messi would probably win it but he's obviously been out for so long I mean he's only he's only played 12 out of 26 games this year 12 goals 13 assists really good contribution just hasn't played enough to um you know make a difference uh at least from an award standpoint now if they gave him the MVP Award with his you know missing half the season I think a lot of people will definitely start feeling or or you know uh talking about the the rigged narrative right the whole thing is rigged yeah would you be surprised though it just depends if he comes back um it depends if he comes back uh you know before the the season he plays a couple games if he plays like at least 20 games oh man I don't think I don't think there's any chance I think that would be really bad for the league to have a guy Miss half the year and win the MVP I think I think Suarez take the Golden Boot is a pretty a pretty good pick you know if we were if we were in Vegas and I and uh and that was up there with with a decent line like I think that's a that's a that's smart money uh I also think that if Suarez does win the Golden Boot he should pretty much be a lock for MVP because with Messi gone he's really carried a lot of the production on that team I mean that's been a good team effort but if he gets the Golden Boot they're finishing first in the supporter Shield race and you know typically typically winning supporter Shield more often than not is going to be where the MVP is found 100% 100% yeah man I I it's going to be interesing to see how it how it uh plays out and who ends up winning it uh Eric Hey listen man I appreciate you for hopping on always do uh make sure you give Eric a follow his what is your exact tanel isn't it Eric forv OBG on Twitter it is it is yeah and you can also find me at the voices of black and gold podcast which is voices of black and gold best lafc podcast there is make sure guys subscribe and give them a listen I appreciate it Eric have a good night man we'll talk soon thanks will have a good one you too so talking that was a good friend of mine Eric we we were talking about the MVP race I'd like to get you guys involved who do you think is in the the lead right now for the uh MVP in in MLS like who do you think is in the drive it's kind of a interesting year because so many of the good players have missed a lot of games with International Duty with injury uh there's been a lot of mistime by some of these players that would have probably been in the driver's seat to win this award um I would say that I agree uh I think Luis Suarez has to probably be the favorite to to win it uh by the way these statistics are just completely off Luis Suarez is 59 159 pounds I don't think so there's no way uh I think he's like 61 or six 62 and he's like you know 210 pounds I who I don't know who the hell updated this but hey whatever um I think Luis Suarez has to be the leader for the MVP I'd say um love to see know what you guys think about that he's got 14 goals 14 goals five assists uh he's only played he's played 19 he's only started 15 he's gonna play in eight more games I he's only three goals behind the Golden Boot race uh lead Chicho Rango is obviously injured right now um so that helps him out Christian bente is an interesting one I think he probably is the second uh person in contention for the Golden Boot but Christian bente is unfortunately doesn't have the service that Luis Suarez does so it's a little more difficult for I think it's going to be more difficult for him to hold on onto this this tie for the lead um it'll be interesting Grace to see let's see uh Adam says could LA Galaxy get to the Western Conference Final I think they could I think this team is very very capable of winning the uh making a run their defense concerns me jayen Neil is obviously a very talented Center back it'll be interesting to see how he plays down the stretch Yoshida is 36 so he concerns me uh you know Mickey yman and and Audi are good fullbacks but just a little inconsistent Marco Roy looked really good the other night against Atlanta United um I think he'll be the ex factor for the LA Galaxy um it just depends if he's going to start is he going to come off the bench and be a Super Sub I mean there's a lot of uncertainty with that so far um but yes I believe LA Galaxy are very much in the there's a very good chance that they could make it to the uh the the Western Conference Final I think they might even be able to make it to the hims cup but you know we we'll have to see I want to see a little bit more uh I need a bigger sample size than one match with Marco Roy to really see how that plays out I says will the revs get their stadium and do you think Chicago could get one in the future I think that the revs will finally get their Stadium I don't know when it's going to be built I haven't uh really let's see haven't really um followed up too closely of when they're expecting to have that built um let's see I think that they will get it done um I I don't know when though so the revs fans should be happy that they'll actually have a stadium closer to Boston than than driving out to Foxboro and and having to watch the games at Gillette Stadium so yeah I I do think that is g to happen and as far as Chicago I I have Chicago has just got its own issues it's got a lot it's got a lot of them honestly um I don't really know what's going on with Chicago they're about to make a coaching change um you guys have seen me hinted that on Twitter um or X I'm so used to calling it Twitter um but I made a hint on that on X um we'll see what happens to them it's going to be I think that we're probably at least a decade away from really getting into um discussions about about Chicago having their own soccer specific Stadium I think they're going to be at Soldier Field for for a while it's wonga's Golden Boot H I don't know I think there's just too many de feat honestly Mr Mister says I'll tell you is I sawu at at Arsenal although he can get the odd goal his biggest strength is holdup play in distributing the ball if him and bonga get an understanding they will be lethal yeah jerud is kind of like yeah he he's great at Hold Up play he's more like of a playmaker Striker right he's not very he's very selfless he's not going to just you know Cristiano Ronaldo it where he's taking every shot he possibly can he's willing to make the extra pass um that's one thing I like a lot lot about his game and I think that makes him these one of these players that can play for a long time because of his style uh so maybe he is a very selfless player for LFC but if you notice in the game against Columbus banga was really trying to feed him to get him his goal so I think that there's just I still think there's just too many mouths to feed I do think bonga will benefit from him but I don't know if Bango will be able to hold on to or win the Golden Boot race this year I wouldn't roll out cooo for MVP in the end if he can keep his League's cup form yeah the only thing with with cooo though is he's he's got 13 goals and eight assists which is good but they would have to they would have to win the Eastern Conference and he would have to have great stats I think that's what really helps Luis Suarez is that normally the the player with the best uh just crazy statistics or their team's number one in the in the um in the league wins a supporter Shield wins MVP if you notice in 2023 Lucho Costa won MVP he didn't have the most goals he only had he had three less goals than Denny bonga but he had 14 assists so he had 31 goal contributions and his team was he was playing the best team in the league last year so that's why he won the uh MVP um in 2023 so I think that it's probably going to be an in Miami player and if not in in Miami player it will be whoever finishes first in the Western Conference their best player will win MVP Chicago is not making a coaching change are you asking me if they are are you saying that they're not Frank Clos is their coach yeah I know but he's gone he's not going to last they're going to hire someone else his days are numbered they're very close to hiring another manager I don't think he I don't think he'll make it um I mean they've been they've been talking with Greg berhalter I think Greg berhalter is going to be the next manager of the Chicago Fire which is crazy to think that he's getting another job I think he's terrible but hey here we are he's he's looking like he is going to um be the next manager of um the Chicago Fire did you see today that the LA Galaxy now this is crazy too the LA Galaxy uh traded rumors they traded away the discovery rights for this player today uh the guy that played for Houston let me see or who was it who was it that they traded him for oh Cincinnati that's who it was Cincinnati so they traded the so the galxy acquired a first round pick in 2025 and conditional 50k in general allocation from Cincinnati to have the rights to this guy uh his name is is his name not on here oh uh Teenage uh hadie I think is his name uh he played for Houston in 2021 to 2023 the craziest part is is that this man has played in Major League Soccer okay he played Major League Soccer for three years he has never played for the LA Galaxy he was sold I want to say that he went to the Turkish League or maybe a Saudi League team uh nonetheless he left the league he left MLS we'll look it up and he has never stepped he has never played for the LA Galaxy yet he they have his Discovery rights how that just blows my mind that a team that he never played for has his Discovery rights and he's been in MLS it's not like the you know typical like hey this guy they have his Discovery rights you know if he comes them less they get the sign him this guy did play an MLs he played 51 games for Houston from 2021 to 2023 and the Cincinnati had to get his Discovery rights because they got rid of the um allocation order which used to be a thing for domestic players or or usmnt internation or usmnt players and it used to be for players that were sold uh from MLS to another League you had to use that the first you had to have the first pick or the team right of refusal to be able to sign a player that met that criteria but this discovery rights list thing is just so do you really think the Galaxy we're GNA sign this guy like I it just blows my mind that we're we're still doing these clown rules that nobody understands and makes no sense but nonetheless Cincinnati had a trade 50k and a first round pick in the 2025 mls superdraft in order to sign him because they needed some Center back depth pretty pretty desperate or pretty you know they were desperate for some Center back death depth um so that's just crazy I just can't believe these rules are still um still like this but I I expect Cincinnati to um make a serious Run for the playoffs I think once Lucho aosta get settled back in from injury like once he starts getting back in form I think that they will uh be a contender again now people say that they don't have a striker but I thought Kevin Kelce was really good when he played I think he had like six goals or or five goals in his appearances I mean Lucho has more assists this year than he did last year he's got 11 goals 18 assists he's he's having a great season if he can get back to his form I think that they will be fine um that they will be a serious Contender for the MLS Cup uh let's see what Kelsey has Kevin Kelce I'm just curious how he's what his actual statistics are the Venezuelan Striker let's see what he actually did 6'4 just crazy crazy size really good so five goals so he's played so he's played 16 he started 11 he has five goals he slowed down a little bit but I still think he's got potential he's only what is he he's 20 years old I mean he's got he's got all the potential in the world he could still be very good I mean he's kind of hit like a little bit of a a wall but that happens you know it can it can easily just go right back to him you know banging goals so I wouldn't worry too much about that I think that they'll be fine I think that they're going to be a series Contender for the I think they are a team that you consider to be an MS cup contending uh Squad Michael P says I would have I would rather have had the top three teams get the Buy in the next six play the play in round with expanding nine teams yeah but I don't even like that I mean I missed the old format when it was just um when it was just the seven teams let's go let's go to 2022 that was the last year so seven teams made the playoffs half the half of each conference which is still a lot but I would rather have that than 18 of 29 teams making it so seven of 14 teams make it okay and then the first seed team in each conference gets a buy that's that was perfect for me that rewards each team in each conference with a uh you know some rest from for making it uh so they would obviously have the the first the first round bu it was a single elimination game which I like too rewards the um the the higher seed with the home match Advantage uh and if people didn't like that I mean back in 2019 or 2018 there used to be the the two legs let me make sure Cup playoffs I'm okay with a two- leg format as well once you start getting into like the um further down the stretch in the game if you want your team to play in the playoffs it's just that wow it wasn't even 2019 either they still had the single elimination then too when was that was it 2018 the last year see okay yeah so the first round the first round was a single elimination so that I like that format pretty well that way it gave the um other like once you started F you know advancing in the playoffs it gave each team the opportunity to play at home so that was okay I mean if they have to have that format that's fine with me but just the best of three just doesn't make any sense in MLS it makes no sense at all no other no no soccer league does that in the world I mean no soccer league really has a playoff format Like Us in general but nobody really has a playoff format like this best of three makes no sense let's see and and here's the crazy part look at this so last year I I I I'm starting to remember this a little bit now so last year the only series that went to game three was real was RSL and Houston houon that was the only game that went to three actually that's not true let's see actually there's two so Seattle and Dallas did I guess I guess there was a couple never mind there was three so three so three of the eight my bad so three of the eight so the the Seattle Sounders the Dallas game or series went three the Houston RSL series went three and then the Columbus Atlanta series went to three just too many games just way too many games way way too many games instead of a coach what they need are currently working on is finding a sporting director since Greg has stepped down due to person oh George yes George yeah but here's the thing Greg is going to be the sporting director too he is going to they're going to have someone in place for him but Greg's gonna be calling all the shots this this director is going to be doing all the grunt work they're just Greg is going to make all all the final decisions but they need somebody who can do all the heavy lifting for him and then he has to sign off on all the moves they make I would be absolutely shocked if Greg Balter was not the manager the next manager of the Chicago Fire I'd be absolutely shocked if he wasn't soccer production says not nah stick to the current playoffs we get a feel of both atmospheres and more teams make it yeah but but the thing is is the playoffs are supposed to be prestigious you there needs to be a balance of how many teams I I could get I think that seven is fine I'm okay with that in an Ideal World I would have five teams make the playoffs each conference so seven or not seven's fine with me I just don't like the best of three I don't really like the play play in game that much uh the best of three makes no sense why can't you just go back to the two legs that way each team does get that um we there's nine though there's a playing game there's there's nine teams make the playoffs so you've added four more teams in total and the best team in the league doesn't get a the best team each conference doesn't get a buy anymore so you could do I mean it's still nine is just a play in spot yeah but it's technically still the playf it's still a playoff spot like you still made the playoffs is Columbus a top two Contender for the cup 100% yeah 100% I would say that um I would say that Columbus is probably the favorite to win the MLS Cup right now I would say uh because Wilfred Na's the goat of MLS coaches he's the goat I mean he's his record is insane I I was always wondering what he would do if he got a team that could at least just give him more than what Montreal has given him and he was able to win an MLS Cup in his first year with a brand new team so yeah I think that they definitely are in contention and hell they would have won the Champions League champions cup too if it weren't for diarrhea gate right if they hadn't gotten sick in and Mexico so yeah I think that um I do think that uh the the crew are def they're probably the favorite right now I mean you see how good they're playing right now cooo Hernandez is playing out of his mind um they got three games in hand so they could I think that they will probably end up being the number two seed in the in the Eastern Conference and then we will see them face Miami probably in the Eastern Conference Final which would be great content at least right um it'll be interesting to see how they if they can say healthy it be interesting to see what their is but yes I would say that Columbus is probably uh the hottest hottest team right now that there is it's why the best team gets two home games instead in the first round if it's forced to three yeah but would you rather have two games or would you have a buy in the old format you got a buy the first week and then you also got a one home game and it was single elimination like that was way better for them if crew wins Champions Cup next year are they one of the best alltime MLS teams and is Nancy coach and Nancy is coach too here's the thing though good question Michael by the way if if the crew win the MLS Cup this year I think that there is less than a 10% chance that that that Nazi's even back I think he's going to Europe if if they win MLS Cup again this year I think he's gone I think he'll go to I think he's gonna go to uh to Europe I think he's gonna get a a call um and a chance to coach over there because of how good he is over here this League's too easy for him he would have won MLS Cup back to back in um 2023 and 2024 he won the leagues cup which you know we can argue about the prestigiousness of that tournament you know we won't get into that but he was the runner up in the cocky CA Champions Cup uh 2024 final so he is very I mean he he's a really good coach he's the best coach I think in MLS history I look at look at what he had to do he had to beat they at am I missing them at Columbus Columbus okay so they Advanced so they beat Houston you know not nothing crazy then they beat T Grace and then they beat Monteray and they obviously lost to puka in the final but they had a pretty tough schedule to get to the final really they very good team one of the best teams I've seen um I wouldn't say they're the most talented but but they're the best balance of well coached and talent there is in MLS I feel like the New York Red Bulls will give Miami a hard game especially if forsburg is back yeah the only thing is with with the Red Bulls is I don't think they added enough in the uh off I thought they were gonna do more this summer than what they did so they might be a little bit of a thorn maybe forsberg Lewis Morgan finds his form again possibly I just don't think they're good enough to really knock off a giant at this moment I think they they're going to be competitive but I think they've really slowed down since they since the hot start they had at the beginning of the year I'm gonna go five more minutes so if you guys have any final questions I got five more minutes uh ask away then we're gonna end the stream it's a very good stream tonight uh soccer production says is the only realistic chance of being a top five league if we win the club World Cup before 2026 no there's no chance we're going to be a top five League uh by 2026 that ship has sailed not going to happen ship has sailed easily see non managing in a top four League I wouldn't now this might be a little little bit of a hot take but I could see him Coach in the Premier League I don't think he has any interest in coaching in Fr France or uh Germany I think he has his eyes on the Premier League and he doesn't really have um there's not really any urgency to leave like he can stay in Columbus as long as he wants if he wins like this he doesn't have to take any job he could he could be perfectly content with just building his um career in in Columbus and not really worrying about anything else I mean he is 47 uh so he's not necessarily young he's not necessarily old he's kind of like in the middle um and he could just be content with living in Columbus and and just winning championships you know so he can be picky he can be selective about what wants to do next maybe that's what he'll do which team could upset a big team in the playoffs ah so my Eastern Conference team that I think could upset a big team would be H I think Orlando city is a team that's very inconsistent but if they H they have the talent to be a to be competitive I think that if Orlando City played a Cincinnati in the second round or maybe even to Miami in the second round somehow I think they could they could be a spoiler in that sense Orlando city in the East or in the Western Conference I think Colorado is technically the fourth place team right but I mean they could easily slip down to like six seven or eight I don't I think Colorado is they're not going to they're not going to win MLS Cup but they can punch above their weight and they could get an upset win if that's what I think that they could do um it'll be interesting to see if they especially if Stefan plays well interesting to see how they do perform in the playoffs they obviously had a good League's cup run but that's not really the test that I value we want to see what they do in the rest of this regular season and see what they do in the MLS Cup playoffs even if we win the club World Cup with the Premier League and La Liga teams that's competing in it yeah I mean what is I mean how would that make us a top I don't understand how that would make us a top four or top five League by 2026 we win it though I mean we uh I mean that would be nice but that's just that doesn't really prove anything like the body of work it doesn't really prove anything Charlotte is so good defensively yeah Charlotte listen Charlotte's a very good very ambitious team especially for the market size they're not they're not in La New York City and Miami they're more like in that Columbus range but they're willing to spend which you love to see so if Charlotte comes up short this year I think next year they're going to be a real Contender and they're going to be like in that Columbus range so it'll be interesting to see interesting to see how things play out and and what happens and um this should be an interesting playoffs I hope hope you guys like this first stream I'm going to try to do this every week just to kind of update the standings talk about the Golden Boot race and any questions you guys have appreciate you guys tuning in as always make sure you like this video subscribe to the channel if you haven't already hit that little bell notification so you never miss a video and until next time guys I will see you all soon