** 2023 Sporting Kansas City Thread **
 

Schedule has been released. The St. Louis team is now in the league and we play them 3 times. Lots of attacking power on this team with Agada, Russell, Salloi, and hopefully a healthy Pulido and Kinda.

https://scontent-dfw5-2.xx.fbcdn.net...Zg&oe=63A9E363

Players In

M - Nemanja Radoja (10/26/22 - free transfer)
D - Graham Zusi (12/2/22 - free agent)
D - Andreu Fontas (12/2/22 - free agent)
M - Roger Espinoza (12/2/22 - free agent)
F - Stephen Afrifa (12/21/22 - draft)
D - Chris Rindov (12/21/22 - draft)

Players out

D - Nicolas Isimat-Mirin (11/15/22 - option declined)
D - Kaveh Rad (11/15/22 - option declined)


https://i.ibb.co/JyNQgxJ/sched.jpg

Massive hill to climb in modern MLS for anyone who comes out of the draft to stick but if you are on the team you have a shot.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">With the eighth pick in the <a href="https://twitter.com/MLS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@MLS</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SuperDraft?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SuperDraft</a> 2023, presented by <a href="https://twitter.com/adidasfootball?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@adidasfootball</a>, Sporting Kansas City select Stephen Afrifa from FIU. <a href="https://t.co/0A8IyVtPwW">pic.twitter.com/0A8IyVtPwW</a></p>&mdash; Sporting Kansas City (@SportingKC) <a href="https://twitter.com/SportingKC/status/1605700100260511745?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 21, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">With the 37th pick, Sporting Kansas City select defender Chris Rindov from Maryland.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SportingKC?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SportingKC</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SuperDraft?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SuperDraft</a> by <a href="https://twitter.com/adidasfootball?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@adidasfootball</a> <a href="https://t.co/geBUKRBbgJ">pic.twitter.com/geBUKRBbgJ</a></p>&mdash; Sporting Kansas City (@SportingKC) <a href="https://twitter.com/SportingKC/status/1605730306069336066?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 22, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Let’s do a #roadron fellas

MLS needs to get to a spot where they cap the amount of teams in the league and create a balanced schedule. There is no reason to be playing teams 3 times when there are teams you don’t even play once. It’s a joke. That and the designated player rule need to be fixed if the MLS wants to have long term growth and success.

On one hand I get it but on the other hand the lectures to MLS about growth and success...do they really need to hear them?

MLS has grown leaps and bounds by every metric possible. There has not a single facet that is not better than it was 3 years 5 years 10 years ago.

How does the designated player rule need to be fixed it does what they have wanted it to do. In addition to that every single year they change and tweak has competitive conditions and market conditions change to manage this growth.

The ghosts of the NASL still roam the halls of MLS we are not going to just freely open up all teams to spend whatever they want all the time

I need to have a good sit down with the schedule and figure something out.

Unfortunately it’s a double edged sword as an SKC fan because we are one of the teams that would refuse to spend big if they did eliminate the DP rule. I do think that we are getting to a point in American soccer with the growth and expansion of the MLS and USL that the best path for both leagues would be a merger with promotion and relegation between all leagues and teams. At that point MLS has to completely do away with the salary cap DP nonsense and it must be on your owners to keep up with the rest of the league or get relegated out of it. If there are ever dreams of actually growing past the point they are now it’s really the only way. We have transitioned from buying washed up stars to growing some home grown talent that continues to bring in more and more transfer fee money to the league. If they have dreams of ever becoming bigger than they currently are then the only obvious choice is to open up the checkbooks and get some of those stars before they’re out of their prime.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Multiple <a href="https://twitter.com/MLS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@MLS</a> teams inquired about Ronaldo and his future but 1 team was already at the table: <a href="https://twitter.com/SportingKC?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SportingKC</a> <br>Their offer was so compelling that Ronaldo’s team had multiple meetings w/SKC before taking the Saudi deal. The package (wages/commercial) was said to be “very close”. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MLS?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MLS</a></p>&mdash; Taylor Twellman (@TaylorTwellman) <a href="https://twitter.com/TaylorTwellman/status/1608988566537015297?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 31, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Sources can confirm: Sporting KC were the MLS team that came closest to signing Cristiano Ronaldo. Talks ongoing for weeks, it was a real possibility.<br><br>Package was very good. Plans were being made to make it happen. SKC had his &quot;discovery rights&quot; (i.e. path to sign him). Wild. <a href="https://t.co/MIXxIEPHHY">https://t.co/MIXxIEPHHY</a> <a href="https://t.co/On4bRwasdo">pic.twitter.com/On4bRwasdo</a></p>&mdash; Tom Bogert (@tombogert) <a href="https://twitter.com/tombogert/status/1608990540410023937?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 31, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">SKC had plans set for all the smaller details how a potential Ronaldo arrival would change things. Ownership involved in talks and others. Patrick Mahomes an example of a superstar in a &quot;small market&quot; which Ronaldo&#39;s camp liked.<br><br>Ronaldo officially signed in Saudi Arabia today. <a href="https://t.co/eISas41Zm3">pic.twitter.com/eISas41Zm3</a></p>&mdash; Tom Bogert (@tombogert) <a href="https://twitter.com/tombogert/status/1608992340609478658?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 31, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

I just saw that post from Taylor Twellman retweeted by Rob Heineman. That would have been one of the craziest stories in KC sports history.

ROFL oh cmon like that would have happened

Thankfully that deal fell through. The circus that would have created for the half season we would have gotten out of him would have not been worth it. No way is Ronaldo mentally strong enough to survive the travel and physicality of the MLS. He made the right decision collecting that last big paycheck and fading into obscurity.

This is hard to believe. How much money could SKC realistically offer him? Plus, he would hate playing in flyover country. He's too much of a celebrity.

Owners are billionaires with B. *shrug*

And so we shift our focus to Messi.

“Leo, we set you up with a reservation at Salty Iguana after you sign your contract.”

You’re talking about the Saudi ownership right? I don’t know if I’d consider our ownership group billionaires with a capital B if that’s what you are trying to say. The Patterson family and Cliff Illig are the only real billionaires, but they definitely aren’t anywhere close to being billionaires with a capital B. The team has definitely tightened the wallets since Patterson’s death so it’s definitely not familiar territory to be involved in any major bidding wars. Hopefully it’s a sign that they are more willing to spend big in the transfer market windows now that they are seeing other teams have more and more success with big money acquisitions.

I don't even think it's that. It's probably a pretty calculated number based on the profitability of the team sky rocketing by signing him. The dude has 526 million Instagram followers. Mahomes has literally 100x less followers at 5 million. He's in the top 5 most popular athletes in the world. You couldn't print jerseys fast enough to sell. Every game would be a guaranteed sell out. Concessions and other merchandise would set records. Every revenue stream would go up significantly. Once you factor all that in, I don't think it would be quite as much out of pocket as it might seem. I'd also bet that part of it was sporting rounding up a list of sponsors with a guaranteed amount of money that if he signed there then he has this other huge figure waiting if he wants it. Unfortunately I think he's such an outlier in revenue generation that I don't think spending on him means they are looking to just spend in general, but time will tell I suppose.

I will miss Isi. I liked watching him play. Would rather have seen them keep him and dump Espinoza.

And no need to waste any more $ on Pulido.

Agada, Russel, Salloi and Thommy were great.....roll with that. Kinda can squeeze in there at times too but cut bait with Pulido and spend the $ elsewhere

What about ticket costs? I can't imagine they'd have Ronaldo playing in a smaller stadium when they could sell more tickets at Arrowhead. Then again, I'm assuming they cannot just move to Arrowhead on short notice.

I think they would have had a few select games at Arrowhead but not necessarily played there all the time.

Yes, and they are our owners. Not sure how you are disagreeing?

This ownership has never flashed any kinds of billionaire money into the team like you were trying to insinuate and I’m not sure why you used the capital B reference, but maybe I just misread what you were trying to say. I thought you were insinuating that we have a loaded ownership group that it wouldn’t be much of a surprise seeing spend the kind of money it would have taken to compete with a 75 million contract the Saudi’s offered. Sporting has spent money on 3 transfers in its entire history from what I know. Pulido, Kinda, and Omar Bravo way back in 2011. This ownership group has never shown any signs of competing with the bigger markets in terms of transfer targets so, yes it would be very out of character for this ownership group to somehow make a deal like that out of nowhere. Luckily it didn’t happen, though, because like others have mentioned it would have been a marketing and business decision and would have likely not had the best outcome for the future of this club in terms of the quality of soccer being played.

Signed a CB has a mix of USL and MLS experience could be a piece.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Sporting Kansas City signs center back Robert Castellanos.<br><br>📰 <a href="https://t.co/VoYlinxAha">https://t.co/VoYlinxAha</a><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SportingKC?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SportingKC</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/Shift4?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Shift4</a> <a href="https://t.co/yTG9b2cMnh">pic.twitter.com/yTG9b2cMnh</a></p>&mdash; Sporting Kansas City (@SportingKC) <a href="https://twitter.com/SportingKC/status/1626627840517996555?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 17, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

It is soccer season.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Twice as nice. 💍💍<br><br>Congrats to <a href="https://twitter.com/SportingKC?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SportingKC</a> part-owner <a href="https://twitter.com/PatrickMahomes?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PatrickMahomes</a> on winning his second Super Bowl! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SBLVII?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SBLVII</a> <a href="https://t.co/h4A2x9cBiL">pic.twitter.com/h4A2x9cBiL</a></p>&mdash; Major League Soccer (@MLS) <a href="https://twitter.com/MLS/status/1624970517626101761?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 13, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Ford is out for the season with an achilles which is a bummer. Good kid and very talented wanted to see him grow this year.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Absolutely heart broken…I tore my achilles this past week in a preseason scrimmage. Surgery went well and I’m anxious to get started on rehab! Not much else to say… but just know, I WILL BE BACK! Just want to thank everyone who has reached out… Means more than you know! <a href="https://t.co/vfuxHXzzna">pic.twitter.com/vfuxHXzzna</a></p>&mdash; Kortne Ford (@KortFord) <a href="https://twitter.com/KortFord/status/1624452300684115968?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 11, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Haha. A 24 year old CB from the USL. Our ownership group has become a joke since Patterson died. Hopefully Patrick can just buy all those Cerner douches out eventually and save the direction this team is headed in. What happened to all the money from the Busio transfer?

Season preview.

https://images.mlssoccer.com/image/p...wnxtswelgk.jpg


First game: Feb. 25 - 10:30 pm ET at Portland Timbers
Home opener: March 11 - 8:30 pm ET vs. LA Galaxy


Strength: The front three became absolutely overwhelming once Willy Agada arrived midseason. They went from roadkill to one of the very best teams in the league. All those guys are back, and Alan Pulido’s around to add some depth on top of it.

Weakness: Central defense has been a massive concern since Ike Opara was dealt after the 2018 season. And Kortne Ford’s preseason injury made a thin situation worse.

Key Departures --

Nicolas Isimat-Mirin: Center back Nicolas Isimat-Mirin left the club this winter after two seasons in MLS. He started 26 games in 2022.

Uri Rosell: Uri Rosell’s second stint with SKC didn’t last long, with the veteran midfielder leaving this winter after one season back at the club. He made 13 starts in 2022.

Key Acquisitions --

Nemanja Radoja: Way back in October, before the Audi 2022 MLS Cup Playoffs had finished, SKC made their marquee offseason signing by adding Nemanja Radoja. The Serbian defensive midfielder has made 181 LaLiga appearances throughout his career. He should allow Remi Walter to play further upfield.

Tim Leibold: German left back Tim Leibold spent his entire career in his native country – mostly in the 2. Bundesliga, but also a bit in the Bundesliga as well as 3. Liga – before joining SKC this winter. He’ll mainly compete for minutes alongside Belgian youth international Logan Ndenbe.

Predictions
Charles Boehm: 3rd in West
Tom Bogert: 11th in West
Matt Doyle: 7th in West
David Gass: 5th in West
J. Sam Jones: 7th in West
Sacha Kljestan: 2nd in West
Kaylyn Kyle: 8th in West
Joseph Lowery: 3rd in West
Danielle Slaton: 3rd in West
Andrew Wiebe: 6th in West
Bradley Wright-Phillips: 6th in West

https://images.mlssoccer.com/image/p...ppvzvwh6jg.png

It was gone a few years ago because that happened a few years ago?

We didn’t sign anyone of value in the last few years so my question still stands. What the **** did we use it on?

MLS Season Pass on Apple TV has been great so far. It is a true home for MLS soccer instead of a platform that feels an obligation to carry the games. Shows about the league and the fans...a weekly wrap up show...preview and hosted content for each game as well as access to all the full matches and highlights.

Best of all the quality is so much better than previous broadcasts. Going to be a big step up.

Disagree with your premise. Hey man if you just want to be a bitching fan then that is just fine the internet is full of them.

They need to be sure to take care of the defense in the middle but beyond that this team is really well positioned to have a great year.

Should be a make or break year for Vermes. The rest of the league has been making big splashes in transfers and veteran free agents and leaving us in the dust while Vermes stays adamant to build within. We refused to address what everyone could see was a very weak group of attacking players last year until the summer transfer window. We still somehow re-signed Shelton after that disaster. Now going into this season we once again have a glaring weakness at CB. That’s including when Ford was in the lineup. Honestly his injury could help us so Vermes doesn’t test him on the field again this year. Guy was terrible last season. Fontas is good, but now we’re gonna be lining up a 24 year old USL player next to him? I don’t understand the ownership group refusing to patch holes in what everyone can see are glaring weaknesses in the team. Where is the depth at winger? What happens if Salloi or Russell get hurt? Do we not plan on resting them this season? Haha

First game against the new St Louis at their new place in May.

https://www.hok.com/wp-content/uploa...-1536x1027.jpg

You saying we’re going to miss Ford this season just shows the homer glasses you wear for this team. I love the Leibold and Radoja signings, but the lack of action this season to address the CB issue and the lack of response last year for attacking players is a joke and it’s embarrassing to have an ownership group this out of touch with the teams needs

You should have a serious talk with whoever it is that is making you watch this embarrassing team and tell them you should have the freedom to do what you want.

Ford was absolutely going to be a part of the plans at CB and this idea that players...especially players as young as there are in MLS do not improve year to year and just are what they are is typical of modern sports fans who would rather emote on message boards.

This is not the EPL there are not teams without weaknesses...roster rules limit everybody.

Besides all of that. The forward and midfield play put the CB in terrible positions last year...I don't think they are as bad as some think. They were not put in positions be successful. Having the rest of the team functioning at a higher level immediately puts them out of the lower 3rd in goals against.

To be fair, you are right. Ford might show improvement this season with the Achilles tear. He might be in better position on the bench than he was most of last season when he was actually on the field. LMAO

I noticed you haven’t answered who we have for Winger or CB depth this season and instead just deflect to “your choice to follow the team” logic when obvious criticism is laid out for our ownership group. We just better hope Fontas can stay healthy and play every match for us this season. After that we have literally no depth whatsoever. We have Voloder and this new 24 year old USL product. To not make any moves in the off-season when that is your CB depth is a joke. Did we really think Voloder, Fontas and Ford were enough? Didn’t we see enough of the Ford experiment last season? Are we really just planning on playing Radoja at CB and not having a valuable #6 to run Vermes style of play with?

To your last point, are you agreeing that Vermes is on the hot seat if he can’t figure out how to get his players into positions to be successful again? It’s his system that was leaving the CB’s in those positions and he refuses to adjust to anything outside of his high press system even when it was apparent it wasn’t working with the players he had. We can’t protect him anymore from his shortcomings if we want to actually keep up with the rest of the league growing.

If we didn’t have the money to make off-season acquisitions to get better at winger and CB, then why did you post about us almost getting Ronaldo a couple months ago. Surely we could afford a CB between USL pricing and whatever we were going to waste on Ronaldo right? Where was that money coming from and how did it disappear so fast?

Luckily the KC Current ownership group isn’t as cheap and worthless as SKC’s current group or we might have a long summer ahead of mediocre soccer. Which is unfortunate because it’s really just a couple big holes that SKC has. They just refused to address them again.

Any fan of a team with an ownership group that out of touch with what the team needs should be furious. There aren’t any other local MLS teams to root for here in KC, but believe me most people would hop over if they could at this point. The cauldron and the fans have become extremely stale in recent years. They pretty much just bang drums and sing “this is the song that never ends” nowadays. Have they created any new chants or songs in the last 5 years?

I love Sporting KC, but you’re blind if you can’t see the direction the team is headed in. The excitement of the re-brand and new stadium has worn off by now, unfortunately. They need to make another big signing to bring some excitement back to the club. Something tells me this 24 year old USL scrub isn’t that.

If you don't like SKC anymore that is fine but I think you are going out of your way to not want to like it and ignoring how good the team is good be. The fact that you went this whole time without mentioning Agada...an impact signing that was literally incredible in his instant impact scoring goals at will and also Erik Thommy a skilled professional who has brought a polish and control and bite to the attacking midfield.

All of your gripes are evergreen bullshit that apply to the whole league. Are you really that concerned with attacking depth with this roster? Do you think MLS is structured to have awesome depth at all these different positions? Are you new to this league?

It is fine to ignore the good players there...the good players returning to the team...and the good players that have been recently signed. It is also completely fine to not be into MLS soccer and SKC anymore. It is also fine you seem to only judge signings based on $$ But there is no reason you have to pretend you are having this conversation in good faith. If the shine of the new stadium is what was keeping you then....bye?

Agada only looked amazing because we spent half a season with Khiry ****ing Shelton because our shitty owners refused to address a huge gaping hole that Stevie Wonder could have seen going into the season. Just like the huge gaping hole at CB that we had this offseason they refused to address. I just want SOME depth. When you have 3 CB’s going into a season with a new in season tournament as well now you get forced into cheering for shitty USL scrub players to replace a MLS scrub that “seems like a nice guy” to quote your Tommy Boy philosophy on judging CB talent. Don’t worry Vermes will squeeze another #6 into the CB spot and we’ll blame the midfielders and forwards for “putting them in bad position” again. Take those homer glasses off and admit the failure to address CB was a big problem and we should be worried going into this season with what we have. The Agada signing gives us depth at striker, but Salloi and Russell are really your only starting wingers. Why is Khiry Shelton still even on this team? Where does he fit in?

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Major League Soccer Announces Audi 2023 MLS Cup Playoffs Format and Schedule<a href="https://t.co/HL2MKircFd">https://t.co/HL2MKircFd</a></p>&mdash; MLS Communications (@MLS_PR) <a href="https://twitter.com/MLS_PR/status/1628122738098331648?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 21, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

MLS is adding a best of 3 to the opening round of the playoffs. Why? No one ****ing knows. LMAO What a joke. Just stop trying to be “original” and ****ing everything up MLS.

Besides being a total douchebag, Vermes sucks as a coach. Time to move on.....

Don't love the new playoff format. We will see after an actual post season of it.

it feels like SKC has run out of kit ideas and they're just phoning in the hoop look at this point.

i remember around 2014 when they had the state line, hoops, and black argyle kit all in the rotation. not the most functional from a kit clash perspective, but all 3 of those kits individually were freaking gorgeous. the black argyle kit is one of my favorite kits ever from any club.

It is very strange, single game elimination for wild card, then 3 game playoff, then 1 game playoff to get to championship. I understand that home/away thing always seemed to be a mess, but this seems kludgy.

I liked the format we had last year just fine.

SKC extends Vermes.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">NEWS: Sporting Kansas City sign Manager and Sporting Director Peter Vermes to a contract extension through 2028.<br><br>�� <a href="https://t.co/3fKyfmEnCK">https://t.co/3fKyfmEnCK</a><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SportingKC?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SportingKC</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/Shift4?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Shift4</a> <a href="https://t.co/lmgPhlE4pF">pic.twitter.com/lmgPhlE4pF</a></p>&mdash; Sporting Kansas City (@SportingKC) <a href="https://twitter.com/SportingKC/status/1628530134562078720?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 22, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Peter Vermes is signing a five-year extension with Sporting KC, he confirmed in a sit-down interview with The Star here in Arizona.<br><br>But before he signed on for five more? He turned down a request to interview with the U.S. men&#39;s national team.<br><br>More here:<a href="https://t.co/Ga6bTnADbc">https://t.co/Ga6bTnADbc</a></p>&mdash; Sam McDowell (@SamMcDowell11) <a href="https://twitter.com/SamMcDowell11/status/1628528430269734912?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 22, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">NEWS | Due to severe weather in the Portland area, the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SportingKC?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SportingKC</a> season opener has been moved to 9 PM CT on Monday, February 27. <a href="https://t.co/6weGq4jZlr">https://t.co/6weGq4jZlr</a></p>&mdash; Sporting Kansas City (@SportingKC) <a href="https://twitter.com/SportingKC/status/1628928290860765186?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 24, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Season opener has been moved to Monday night.

Was a good weekend of games. STL actually one their first game in Austin. Though Austin really shit themselves and handed it to them.

Atlanta wins on a final impressive free kick.

Two different matches with over 60k fans and that is after LA v LA at the Rose Bowl was cancelled.

MLS Season Pass is really nice. Apple has done a great job their version of NFL redzone is MLS 360 as the block of Saturday night games is being played. The quality of the broadcasts are a lot better.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">��️ FORMATION<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SportingKC?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SportingKC</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/BlueKC?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@BlueKC</a> <a href="https://t.co/FamgVKHanv">pic.twitter.com/FamgVKHanv</a></p>&mdash; Sporting Kansas City (@SportingKC) <a href="https://twitter.com/SportingKC/status/1630396139760492547?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 28, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

First match of the season and Vermes plan to go into the season with 2 real wingers has us watching Khiry Shelton get the start at RW. :Lin:

Sporting will not be a contender anytime soon. Vermes signed an extension.

He’s terrible, they made a huge mistake.

The game has passed him by.

5 years removed from any hardware and he somehow locks up a 5 year extension. It’s why he’s starting Khiry Shelton in the season opener. None of his terrible decisions will ever have consequences.

When he lost to Portland in the Western Finals I wanted him gone.

Is it me or is the ball incredibly pixelated?

Sent from my SM-S906U1 using Tapatalk

That didn't take long

Sent from my SM-S906U1 using Tapatalk

I got ****ed by not keeping my IPad updated and am having to go through an hour update before I can even watch. It’s kind of annoying having Apple TV as really the only option to watch now. Not very smart from the perspective of trying to gain new fans. Not many casual fans are going to be spending 15 bucks a month for this.

I like Sporting, watched probably half the games last year. But I'm only watching this year cause my wife got a free year with TMobile. If they re up next year I'll do the same.

Sent from my SM-S906U1 using Tapatalk

How does Shelton miss that?

Sent from my SM-S906U1 using Tapatalk

Thommy recognizing they are trigger pressing sweat and making himself available to then turn that into an attack

One bad mistake and we have looked like the better team overall but Portland has made a living winning games just like that over the years. Will see if we can generate more offense in the second half.

Vermes has made a decent living losing games as the “better squad” as well.

The only people who subscribe to apple tv are the "type(hipster westport starbucks dwellers)" who already watch soccer... the people who don't already subscribe will not buy apple tv just to watch B-tier soccer.

Horrible decision for the growth of the sport. I assume even a lot of soccer fans won't subscribe and will just start watching better foreign leagues.

Shelton and Espinoza?

Zusi is still playing?

So when does the season end?

Never

Injuries and new players who are not quite ready to come on. Having said that Zusi has been playing just fine.

Leibold coming on

Was kind of surprised to see Sweat get the start over him. I was really happy with that signing.

Walter has looked great tonight. Really wish we could trade some of our midfield depth for a super sub winger and another CB for depth. I like Fontas and Voloder as the starters, but it’s just so worrisome that they are pretty much all we have.

I understand why Shelton gets playing time in Vermes squad because he is good at high pressure, but he simply can’t cross or finish. It’s why we always win possession and lose games. We have always had a huge issue finishing chances.

Russell being out has hurt us here.

They have done enough to get points its just rolling poorly for them.

Agada almost had it

The center has been out of his depth the whole time. Just terrible.

4th official is literally on the field and a center lets them take one the other way.

Frustrating loss but they played well. Long season.

Get well soon Johnny!

Peter needs to move on.

Note to self: install updates on time.

This team just can’t ****ing finish. Same problem as always. 5 more years of this shit.

Best thing about Apple TV as the only viewing option....
I dont have it and wont pay for it to watch this pile of shit team
with a loser coach that was just extended.....

An embarrassment to Kansas City.

This piece of shit soccer club finished 12th out of 14 Western Conference teams last year. Right on par.