Talkin' Touches — Sporting Kc & Mls

BONUS CONTENT! Ashley Scoby (ProSoccerUSA.com) joins Andy all the way from Paris to talk about the U.S. women's national team's journey (so far) at the 2019 Women's World Cup, VAR controversy, the ways in which we frame discussions about women's sports, and (oh, yeah) preview THE BIG ONE: USA vs. France in Friday's quarterfinal. Support Talkin' Touches by subscribing to the Patreon. www.patreon.com/talkintouches

Contract figures were released by the MLS Players Union last week, and Andy and Gooch break down what it means for Sporting KC. The bright side are the deals for Medranda, Busio, Lindsey and Barath (16:02). How long will the core stay together (49:08)? Are the Fontas and Croizet contracts bad or not (1:00:08)? Don't miss a Charles Gooch rant for the ages sandwiched in the middle (35:33). Support Talkin' Touches by subscribing to the Patreon. www.patreon.com/talkintouches    

Producer Sean pulled his best SKC backline and forgot to do his job. Listen to the breakdown of Sporting's loss to Minnesota in the US Open Cup. Maybe it's not as bad a week later. Support Talkin' Touches by subscribing to the Patreon. www.patreon.com/talkintouches  

It's first of the month and we take stock of the MLS Live Power Rankings. Carlos Vela and Bob Bradley are running away with the MVP and COY respectively, so we give our picks for the second place in each award. Portland reopened their stadium and it looks really good.  Support Talkin' Touches by subscribing to the Patreon. www.patreon.com/talkintouches   

Sporting KC got one shot on goal in Houston, but what a shot it was. Andy and Charles break down the lineup changes from SKC's 1-1 draw over the weekend. Croizet showed the good side of the Yohan Croizet experience. Then they look ahead to the match in Toronto. Both teams will be shorthanded. Finally, Mateus Manuel is out, and we speculate why. Support Talkin' Touches by subscribing to the Patreon. www.patreon.com/talkintouches 

Ashley Scoby from ProSoccerUSA.com joins Andy to preview the upcoming World Cup. They preview the USWNT. Try and get to the bottom of Jill Ellis' strategy. Can Alex Morgan lead a team to a World Cup trophy? Should Christen Press start? Should Carli Lloyd? Finally, Ashley previews the other top teams in the tournament. Support Talkin' Touches by subscribing to the Patreon. www.patreon.com/talkintouches  

Tate Steinlage was inserted into our starting lineup, and unlike Sporting KC we didn't fade in the second half. The show starts off with a discussion of Zlatan, and quickly moves to how a fatigued SKC couldn't keep building on three solid halves of soccer. Andreu Fontas returned to the lineup in unspectacular fashion. Filipe Gutierrez missed chance after chance, and the Croizet Experience was in full effect.  Patrons are able to listen to postgame shows live. Subscribe at www.patreon.com/talkintouches  

The winless streak is over. Johnathon F. Russell put the team on his back and put three past the Sounders in SKC's 3-2 win. Gooch is out, so Andy and Producer Sean break down the match. Croizet starts and... is good. Jimmy Medranda returns. Everything came up Milhouse. You could have listened to this episode live if you would subscribe to the Patreon. www.patreon.com/talkintouches  

It's a feel good episode in the MLS segment this week. First, we look back at the career of DaMarcus Beasley who announced his retirement at the end of the season (:38). Chris Wondolowski finally set the MLS scoring record after his four goal performance (11:12). Last and certainly least Colorado picked up their first win of the season against the LA Galaxy (21:29).  Support Talkin' Touches by subscribing to the Patreon. www.patreon.com/talkintouches  

With Krisztián Németh suspended for the upcoming match versus Seattle, who will start at forward (4:21)? Andy and Charles give their guesses at possibilities. Slowly but surely players are working back from injuries. Will SKC have a full bench (29:21)?  Support the show by subscribing to Patreon. www.patreon.com/talkintouches  

Sporting KC draws 1-1 with Vancouver, and Andy and Charles breakdown all the storylines from an eventful game. Besler is back from injury and that helps (8:00). Benny had a second good performance since rejoining the team (15:42). Kelyn Rowe had his best game of the year (20:00). The show finishes with a discussion of Yohan Croizet and the red card to Nemeth. Listen to post game episodes live by subscribing to the Patreon. www.patreon.com/talkintouches 

Welcome back to MLS Bruce Arena. New England Revolution signed Arena to be their new head coach and sporting director. Elsewhere in MLS, Atlanta have won five straight on five clean sheets. Frank de Boer is actually good?  Support Talkin' Touches by subscribing to the Patreon. www.patreon.com/talkintouches

It's an all midfield episode of Talkin' Touches. Andy and Charles breakdown Ilie's return to the starting lineup against DC United (2:53). Benny slipped back into the team like he never left (18:12). In a Talkin' Touches first, the game versus Vancouver is a must win (32:00). Support Talkin' Touches by subscribing to the Patreon. www.patreon.com/talkintouches

Sporting KC made a move to re-acquire old friend Benny Feilhaber. Andy sat down with Benny after his press conference. Then, he and Gooch break down what the trade means for the team moving forward.  Listen to Andy's conversation with SKC assistant coach Kerry Zavagnin by signing up for the Patreon. www.patreon.com/talkintouches

SKC were soundly beaten by Atlanta United, 3-0. Peter Vermes did make some tactical changes in this match, Andy and Charles kick off the show discussing them (2:47) Sporting seemed slow all night, were they tired or are they just slow (10:20)?  Patreon subscribers can listen to the postgame shows live on Discord. www.patreon.com/talkintouches

As we turn the page on April we give the MLS Live Power Rankings. Who is leading the MVP race? Is it even close? The city of Los Angeles has a monopoly on Coach of the Year Candidates. Colorado is the first team to fire their coach. You will never believe who they hired. Support the show by subscribing to the Patreon. www.patreon.com/talkintouches

Sporting have been bad for nearly a month. Charles has some reasons why (6:00). What is the best way to maximize Filipe Gutierrez (26:42). Finally, we look ahead to the match up with Atlanta United. Support the show by subscribing to the Patreon. www.patreon.com/talkintouches 

LAFC are running away with the Supporters' Shield (1:00). Pozuelo is making Toronto forget about Giovinco (11:25). Defenders in MLS are bad, and Andy and Charles get to the bottom of why (21:00). Support Talkin' Touches by subscribing to the Patreon. www.patreon.com/talkintouches

Andy and Charles reluctantly break down Sporting KC's thrashing at the hands of San Jose (4:20). A rash of injuries have left SKC scrambling. Who will be the replacements (26:10)? MLS handed out its suspension to Kaku. We had some thoughts (45:00).   Support Talkin' Touches by subscribing to the Patreon. www.patreon.com/talkintouches

Unlike Sporting we didn't run out of gas on this marathon show. Andy and Charles start off discussing SKC's draw with New York Red Bull (3:34). What more is there to say about Gianluca Busio (22:53)? You will have to listen to find out. Kaku is a dirtbag (41:44). Finally, we look ahead to the the match versus San Jose (56:00). Support the podcast by subscribing to the Patreon. www.patreon.com/talkintouches