You're listening to Raising Anchor on 990 WBOB.
Welcome to the Raising Anchor Soccer Show with
Matt Entrickett and Jason Carey. Your home for
news, analysis, and everything Rhode Island FC.
Each week, they take you inside the locker room,
inside the tactics, and inside the storyline,
Shaking R -I -F -C. Here's Matt and Jason. Rhode
Island FC take on Brooklyn FC for the first time
in club history. Can RISC find their first win
in this month of May or will Brooklyn FC look
to make early expansion history at Centerville
Bank Stadium? First things first though, gotta
check in with the co -host with the most, Mr.
Jason Carey. Jason, how are you doing, my friend?
Doing great, buddy. Looking forward to a exciting
weekend of soccer here Go hitting up two games
this this week, right? That's right Boston legacy
on Friday and then of course, Rhode Island FC
on the Saturday game It should be a slammin time
at Centerville Bank Stadium We got to jump right
into this because as always we've got an action
-packed show So want to start things off with
some of the things that the city of Pawtucket
announced with their summer of soccer events
Big ones that you want to pay attention to, whether
you're a fan of the team or not, is that Cape
Verde is going to be sending off the Blue Sharks
with a meet and greet and farewell good luck
for them as they head off to take their place
in World Cup glory. Interestingly, I didn't,
I mean I knew that Rhode Island was a big community
when it came to these kinds of things Jason,
but the fact that there isn't a single match
nearby... almost a criminal shame. I think it's
Houston and Atlanta is where they're playing.
So kind of unfortunate that the biggest immigration
population of Cape Verdeans is here and they
have to only still say goodbye. But hey, at least
they get to meet them and then send them off.
And then amongst that or even beyond that, of
course, there's going to be a bunch of other
youth soccer participations from academies, camps,
a mini pitch unveil. there's going to be watch
parties that get a little bit more detail coming
up. And I'm still waiting to see, Jay, where
these watch parties all manifest, not just Pawtucket,
but overall within Rhode Island. We've talked
to like our favorite bars. We've talked to our
favorite establishments. I was like surprised
and Eric Gansett said that they weren't going
to be really committing resources to do anything
right there on the riverfront. So it's really
exciting. And then they're going to capstone
all of it with a team Ghana reception and cultural
collaboration. So if you are interested in any
of those things, make sure you check it out.
Any thoughts from Pawtucket organizing and announcing
the stuff? No, I mean, it's just awesome to see
that like there's so many events going on. Kind
of looking forward to doing somewhat of merry
-go -round going, checking out all the different
kind of events and seeing what kind of different
vibes, what kind of different groups are meeting
at different places to watch the teams together.
Just also a quick reminder here, if you're interested
in volunteering for any of the soccer experiences
or programs, head over to GoProvidence .com.
Yeah, so the R .I. Summer of Soccer team from
United Way, they're looking for volunteers. We're
going to have them on the programming in the
week to come to get more information. I found
it today. You can volunteer for just one game.
You can volunteer for one segment of ours. And
it's just about putting the best foot forward
for Rhode Island's representation on the world
stage. You know, getting into it really quick
back to the watch parties and stuff. A lot of
people have been asking us where we're setting
up base camp. I know you just said we're going
to kind of be nomadic. Is there a place that
we're going to plant down roots most or is it
something where we're not sure yet? Do you have
ideas because we haven't really figured that
out? Yeah, I'm not sure. I think it might a lot
of come to like kind of day of vibes, you know,
do I have to just drive somewhere from the office
right after work, you know, kind of kind of what's
open, who's what's calling my name. I'm kind
of, like I said, willing to try a few different
places. Right. Obviously, you know, we love going
to moniker. So I mean, Monica, I want that to
be base camp just because they put on such an
effort in previous World Cups. But then also
if that is kind of the Mecca of places to go
from an establishment perspective, I can't be
calling out sick and then running into other
people who also called out sick. So I guess our
recommendation is, you know, people have asked
us where they can meet us. If you want to pay
our tab, we'll go wherever you are. That's that's
where I'm looking at it. But we got to move on
and. Jason, I don't know why we're talking about
this. It feels diabolical to even bring this
up on the raising anchor soccer show, but I give
you the floor, sir. Yeah, no, I just a quick
open cup roundup. The only reason why it continues
because I think it's important to pay attention
to this competition, even if it unfortunately
does not have any us all championship teams and
we're not go too deep into it. So. just kind
of running through Orlando knocked out Atlanta
here for one pretty big victory for them. St.
Louis knocked out Houston. It's actually St.
Louis's first open cup semi -final appearance
for them. You know, X lower level team. They're
kind of maybe the only one maybe you could still
kind of root for. Columbus beat NYCFC and then
Colorado sent San Jose packing. So Semifinals
are going to take place on September 15th and
16th. Hashtag non and MLS Open Cup show. I hate
to see it happen. I do hope Orlando or St. Louis,
both original USL teams, if there's going to
be one team now to watch, it's probably one of
them. Moving on, we got to talk World Cup here
a little bit more in expansion here. Curacao,
Colorado Springs Switchbacks, and El Paso Locomotive
all have call -ups to the World Stage 4 World
Cup. First with Miami FC, you've got Elroy Room
and Juergen Locadia for Curacao. I've already
seen his cards in the Panini packs we've gotten,
so I took a photo and was like... world's biggest
league right there. For the switchbacks, Duke
Lacroix, you know, he's been an incredible force
for them. And of course then El Paso locomotive,
Carl Saint. So it's exciting to see USL representation.
I hope in the next cycle we see even more players.
I was desperately hoping that maybe Zach Harivow
could get named to the provisional roster and
then see what happened. Obviously, of course,
you know, with Jojana Quisera and Dwayne Atkinson
not making it in. I can't wait to where we see
multiple players on that stage at you know four
eight years maybe 12 years down the road yeah
absolutely there it is kind of funny in a way
that Miami FC team who historically kind of underperforms
i know they're doing okay right now but it remains
to be seen whether or not that will kind of continue
throughout the season also a team who doesn't
particularly have a big following has two players
in the world cup so that's just kind of kind
of funny i'll be curious to see if All of a sudden,
there's like a slight spike in their attendance
when they're like, oh, they're World Cup players.
They go from 50 to 55. Yeah. Or at least maybe
like an additional three followers on Instagram
or something. I don't know. So they have a ton
of followers because when Messi signed with Inter,
people did not know which one. So Miami FC got
a ton. And some of those people just never unsubscribed
from the club. They have an insane following
on their digital online footprint. I actually
wonder how many people have gone to Pitbull Stadium
and then realize the travesty of air, like unintentionally.
I mean, there was a bunch of people there with
messy jerseys when we went there. But that was
just because they were on a budget night, you
know, not everyone can afford at that new stadium
of theirs. And I agree with you, though, it is
interesting to see Miami be in that spot. But
it's also slanderous to talk down to Miami, considering
I'm looking at the table and we'll get to it
in a second. But I feel like I said historically,
I feel like it's an insult to all of the 55 fans
in Miami. But before we get to that, want to
finish things off on a sad note, because you
know, that's how we do things around here. We
don't, we don't climb high to then stay high.
We, we tear you back down. And unfortunately,
another club within the USL family fades away
to nothingness. This time though, it's not the
championship. It's not USL. When it's not even
USL too, Jason, it's the USL super league, our
current only active division one league. And
we see Spokane Zephyr are no more. Lots of things
to talk about on that. Hashtag not in USL super
show, but there are some. There are some ramifications,
some trickle -down effects. One, the USLPA right
on the heels of this starting to talk about the
importance of that there's no CBA in place for
super players, so it's an ongoing problem. I
imagine this quickly escalates into a CBA starting
to get discussed so that they can be brought
into the fold from that perspective. But overall
optics, overall concerns about a team and a very
small founding of the USL Super League already
biting the dust after just two seasons. Yeah,
you, you hate to see it. And like you said, they,
they are very small league. They're, they're
still fairly new. I'm curious to see how they
continue to grow, especially against the, like
the NWSL, which is, you know, seems a lot kind
of bigger, more kind of, I'll say well run, but
like they, they have a little bit more of an
established history. It's the same thing as demolished.
They had this, they had a longer runway. They
had a lot of clubs fail at the beginning too.
It's the same exact thing. They just have 10,
20 years. Not even that. They like 10 years further
ahead than Super does at this point. Yeah. I
hope that this is more of just a similar thing
we're seeing in the championship where it's just
some of the kind of weaker markets maybe are
being weeded out in terms of, did you not set
this up right? Do we not have enough backing?
Was this kind of a paper tiger or something,
if you will. So hopefully we don't see any more.
Well, we shouldn't because the Papadakis family
is out from calling the shots on these kinds
of things So I don't know shade at them But like
sometimes I wonder if we made quick decisions
as a league to get teams in a lot of fans online
of Spokane of the Super League or us all at as
a large We're saying they're on such an island
It's it's like basically trying to start a team
in Hawaii where your travel costs your expansion
like everything is a long distance hall to find
all the other teams and saying that you almost
have to build your league like you're expanding
locally and you just kind of continue to grow
and grow. Manifest destiny, just slowly. Exactly.
So we'll have to see. The question I have for
you, though, before we get to the table standings,
Brett Johnson has told us multiple times he intends
to bring a super team into the fold. Do you think
seeing this volatility puts that idea or that
desire for him to launch it quicker at risk?
Or does he say, hey, you know what? I've got
all the time in the world. I've got the commitment.
I've got the like I've got the region locked
down to start my team until USL says I got to
pull the trigger on this. Do you think he starts
doing a wait and see and just focuses on the
men's game? I don't think there's probably any
rush. I mean, I think it couldn't hurt to wait
and see how they're how the women's game pans
out in regards to the Super League. Like you
said, I think we've got a pretty good representation
here on the East Coast. You mentioned like travel
costs of how far Spokane is. I don't know. Admittedly,
I don't follow the Super League, so I can't tell
if regards to is that very much something where
it's because it's small league, right? They don't
have divisions or anything. Everyone kind of
just plays each other. Correct. So I mean, being
on the East Coast, most of the teams are going
to play also kind of this side of the country,
not going to be kind of eating as much cost there.
So I don't think this affects his decision that
anyway. Agreed. All right. Well, then let's get
into the table standings before we go to break
here and You know for those of you that don't
remember we played prinks tires cup on the weekend
So we're now back into regular league play and
paint a picture for us over there Jason Yeah,
we got our FC here still in tenth feels like
we've been there for quite some time where we
like to live Sitting on a two three and three
record here I'm you know looking at the table
like looking at the full picture here Like also
look we see a lot of parity here, right? No one
is really running away with the league this season
I mean even the the leaders like you look there
at the top Tampa Bay three draws in the last
five games So they're they're still holding on
to being unbeaten But they're not stopping people
the way that normally like historically Louisville
will right? It's just all green. It's just like
four nil five nil three They're they're they're
hanging on there. But like you look at Louisville
there three losses in their last five Sporting
jacks in the basement sporting jacks competing
by a point They are competing with Hartford for
the worst season in the record I think 11 points
is the worst season I've seen so far it was either
them or Miami that got that so sporting jacks
really trying to live up to that legacy Yeah,
we just got a couple more matches here before
we're going to World Cup break. So, you know,
there's still opportunity I'm not gonna say anything
like You know, I still think home playoff is
probably out of the question with where we're
at. But like, string a few wins together, we
can get above that playoff line. Yeah, we shall
see. But we've got to go to break and we will
find out how would INFC can fix their fortunes
all here on the Raising Anchor Soccer Show. Thank
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990 WBOB with Matt Entrickett and Jason Carey.
I always appreciate when I see a smaller live
audience. I always try to figure, have people
finally given up on us? Or is there something
else going on? Completely forgot that the NBA
playoffs are still alive and firing right now.
So thank you to those Copa Libertadores games.
And I was about to say, exactly. So appreciate
everyone still coming along for the journey.
And for those of you listening in your commute
tomorrow, I hope your commute across the Washington
Bridge is extra slow and long. But I digress,
Jason. We got to get into this availability report.
Sometimes you got to take the you got to bite
the hand that feeds. Listen, Rhode Island FC,
there's only one real one to report, and it's
not even a report if people are already panicking
and saying, oh, what is this name doing on there?
I've got Leo Afonso, list is questionable. And
I only have that because of insider information.
We recorded an interview today that we're going
to put during the World Cup break. And you guys
will see on the weekend, Leo Afonso looks like
he was shot in the head because there is a massive
wound and bandage across his forehead. props
for him to come on to the show with video on
and not request audio only. But he reported that
he got kicked in the head while while working
at the office. And when I asked him which name
of the player that did this to him, he said he
couldn't burn one of his friends like that. So
now we just have to figure out which one of these
people he calls friends and we'll know who did
this injury to him. He said he was good to go
for the weekend, so I don't think there's much
to it. But nevertheless, if we don't see him,
it could be because he's got a giant gash on
his forehead. So his girlfriend's going to have
to figure out how to still like him despite the
scar. From Brooklyn FC's side of things, the
head coach, Leon Blanc, he's, or Marion Blanc
has said, on a couple of interviews that there
are several players with knocks and lingering
injuries, which has affected his ability to play
certain players for certain minutes. But the
only official player that's still reported out
at this time is Pierre de Silva. We don't know
his timeline. So for all intent and purpose,
Brooklyn might be at full strength. We just don't
know enough about the team. There's not enough
people reporting on them at this moment. So we
got to get to the head ref. And Jason, you're
about to make a lot of people really, really
mad. Oh what everyone doesn't love head referee
Joshua incarnation um with uh his pals here assistant
referees Josh Pitt and Miklos Hendrix with the
fourth official being Gern Dolgen I had a I had
a friend of the pod and fellow d d 36er asked
who is the worst ref by road infc standards and
it's really hard to say that because like when
you go back and look at some of the missed calls
and some of the mistakes that were made or just
the way they manage the game there's a lot of
refs I think that they could throw their their
hat in the ring for that. But like when we talk
about infamous moments, big moments, and Carl
Nassian's name always ends up finding its way
to the top. So who knows what we're in store
for here on the weekend. Got to move on, though,
and start talking about this Rhode Island FC
preview. They come into the weekend looking to
respond after that frustrating 2 -1 loss away
to the Portland Hearts of Pine in Prink's Tires
Cup action. It was a match where RFC showed up
extremely late, put the fight on, but still ultimately
left Maine feeling like points and opportunities
had slipped away. Yeah, we talked about on the
Monday show, but the team kind of just needing
to hit that reset button. I think the important
thing here is kind of separating the performance
from the result and focusing kind of getting
back into league play right. They eventually
got into gear. And if they kind of remember that
part of the game, maybe kind of forget the early
part and just kind of lock in right away. I think
we should hopefully see a better result here
this weekend. Yeah, a couple of additional mailbag
questions came after we did the scrape for it.
A lot of people suggesting that this was more
performance result driven. The second half surge
was appreciated, but like you said, not enough.
And it was less about actual game management
from Kano Smith. He made the necessary changes.
He wanted to flip the script as much as he could.
I think it really comes down to what I enough
see continuing to get caught off guard in these
big moments And you have to think with no wins
in may so far Is this the turning point in the
month and maybe even the season? I know we're
going to talk about a little later in the in
the final segment, but you got to start asking
yourself When do we get to that like it's now
or never? Yeah, like when when is that moment
when things like truly start to click? Um, you
know, you're probably gonna hear us as well as
the broadcast team on the weekend talk about
being clinical I think that's going to be the
key to this game heading into a matchup against
a pretty inconsistent Brooklyn FC team here.
The challenge from there becomes kind of straightforward.
Can Rhode Island FC clean up the details while
leaning back into the identity that helped them
go unbeaten in four of their last five league
matches before that Portland result? When Rhode
Island has looked the best their season, it's
been because the team has played aggressively,
vertically, and with tempo. being a bit more
direct than what we've used to expect in the
past. They're dangerous when they, they turn
games transitionally. Don't tell Conno that don't
help. Don't you tell Conno that I know it's all
about possession. Um, you know, when they, when
they turn their forwards, they're running downhill
with defenders. They're kind of make making them
run towards their back at goal and being a little
bit more decisive in regards to like, let's not
take too many passes to create this sequence.
Let's Go forward and see what we can create.
And they're especially dangerous when they can
win second balls and immediately attack space
before the kind of opponents have that opportunity
to reset and get their defense back into position.
Yeah, we saw a lot of the the attack from Portland
side winning second balls and immediately transitioning.
It's something Rhode Island likes to do to their
opponent and it'll be interesting to watch. Now,
here's the weird thing I want to ask you. We've
talked at times this season about the tactics,
the style and the formation that Connor chooses
to deploy. We've also talked about a lot of parity
in the league, especially especially formationally,
back three lines very often, single striker systems.
When I think about like mere tactics and like
how these could be very close games, we haven't
really found that match where it's like in the
rock paper scissors course of advantage. I haven't
seen one of those yet. If we look at that transition
ball where we excel at, I don't think we've played
another team that's heavily possession focused
or at least as much as us. This is probably the
first time where I've seen a team like Brooklyn
FC, that want to hold on to a majority of the
ball. And this could be the most well -suited
lineup and matchup for Rhode Island, completely
separate from the narrative of them being a new
team and expansion side. This just stylistically
feels like this is probably one of our biggest
opportunities in the season. Yeah, I think this
is definitely a big opportunity. They are a new
team, but like you said, they do like to kind
of hold on to the ball and we'll kind of break
down them here in the next segment here. Uh,
the focus is on understanding that, you know,
Brooklyn are a pretty possession heavy side.
They want control and they want long stretches
of the ball. They want to push their full backs
high and kind of suffocate their teams territorially.
Uh, you know, that means our favorite words,
maybe not Connors, but well, transition ball,
I think could work pretty well to kind of counter
that. Um, especially if our defense can kind
of sort itself out and get back to the, the,
the strong kind of brick wall that we know that
they can be. Against Portland, there are moments
where Rhode Island won the ball in promising
areas, but didn't make the next pass quickly
enough or lack precision in that kind of final
action. Against Brooklyn, those transition windows
may even be more valuable because Brooklyn commit
numbers for consistently and haven't had a very
strong defense this year. Yeah, there's definitely
been questions left for Brooklyn's back line.
Some of our favorite players amongst that, but
we will talk about that in the next segment.
Right now it's all about focusing on Rhode Island
FC, so I want to break it down. I think we're
just getting back to basics here, right? I don't
think that this should surprise anybody, but
after last weekend's result, I think we gotta
we gotta reset like Koke Vegas said, and I think
that starts with our ever familiar 352 or 4231.
However you want to put that rotating. of side
where it shapes to the attack that comes in.
But I think that's Koke Vegas Annette with a
back three. I'm going back to Frank Nodarse,
Kareefa Yow, and Omidy Jope. that double pivot
in the back of Clay Holstead and Hugo Bachrach
supporting the midfield column. And then you've
got your winger and Joje Kozera back out on the
right with Agustin Rodriguez driving the action
in the center and Aldair Sanchez out to the left.
And then JJ Williams and Leo Afonso reunited
after not playing together last week. This has
to be, normally we joke that we get it wrong.
But barring any health injury or a concussion
protocol for, uh, for Leo, we have to see this
team. Like there's no exceptions if we don't
see this starting 11. Yeah. I was going to say
with the exception of maybe Leo, depending on
what that injury looks like, I think we're going
to go back to what has been basically our strongest
lineup here, getting clay and who go back there
to kind of maybe disrupt the tempo of Brooklyn
and kind of control the game there. We know,
I think that they can. they can be physical and
they can be that dynamic duo when everything's
kind of working out for them being able to kind
of transition back and forth between attack and
defense. Producer Torin wrote in our side of
it you know commenting that the attack was a
little bit stale at least in the conversion of
goals Leo could be the much needed start here
but then he also asked and I kind of want I kind
of think this is a conversation that we need
to consider at some point Is there a moment to
say that there needs to be a start for JJ Williams
and Logan Dorsey? Because we've seen one or the
other in starting opportunities. We've only seen
them play together as the game progresses. At
some point, do we just have to put two bruisers
on the front line and muscle our way to a victory?
I mean, possibly. I think it couldn't hurt, and
maybe this actually could be a good opportunity
to try, especially if Leo is hurt there. Maybe
give him a little bit more time for that cut
there to heal. And especially against a team
who so far this season has been inconsistent
and have somewhat of a leaky defense. All right,
getting into the X factors for the game. Who
do you have as the defining decision maker in
this result? Yeah, I think it's going to be JJ
Williams here. Their defense has not been stellar
this season. So I'm looking for him to cause
some problems there in the back line, especially
maybe against some old friends there maybe want
to kind of rub it in. I say I'm most interested
in the matchup on the right wing and so I'm looking
at Joe J Quasar producer torn also kind of commenting
on that because he'll be going up against a Gabby
Alves whether Gabby is playing a true fullback
role or he's playing in the sometimes they do
play with a back three and Alves converts into
a left center back to get more players upfield
either way containing a player like Quasar who
gets his opportunities and gets shots at net
I think that that's where they're going to have
the hardest time. Torin goes on to say that they
have a hard time dealing with tricky right wingers.
So maybe we got to give a nickname to Joe J as
like tricky quiz or something like that. I don't
know. But I'll be really interested to see how
they attack that that back line at speed to your
point. So you'll have JJ's physicality in the
moments of Ariel Duel's set pieces. But then
at speed, whether it's Afonso, it's Sanchez,
or it's probably going to be Quisera. I think
they're going to be a problem here for Brooklyn
on the night. We've got to go to break and when
we return, we're going to break down the Brooklyn
side of things all here on the Raising Anchor
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Anchor Soccer Show. on 990 WVOB with Matt Entrickett
and Jason Carey. It's always fun to try to build
a head -to -head record and then go. Oh, there
is no such thing Jason We didn't even get to
play a scrimmage against this team in the preseason
due to weather So unlike sporting Club Jacksonville
unlike other teams that have come into the league
We truly have had no new look at this group yet.
It's all tape at this point So Kano's calculations
are as good as what we've seen on our own reviews
and watching of this group But listen, it's still
the first clash in club history. We get to start
that experience at home at Centerville Bank Stadium.
Since there's going to be so many firsts for
these two teams, what do we think those should
look like? What's the scoop on Brooklyn for the
uninitiated fan base that hasn't seen this team
play yet? Yeah, so under their head coach Marlon
LeBlanc, Brooklyn have quickly built an identity
around possession, patience, territorial control,
but they're also a team that wants to play stylistically.
LeBlanc set himself on USL All Access that He
wants his team to play brave soccer, which means
this isn't a team that wants to sit deep in counter
for 90 minutes. They want the ball, they want
rhythm, and they want to dictate the match through
sustained attacking pressure. But being brave,
unfortunately on the other side, has kind of
caused them some problems. Things haven't exactly
gone their way at this season. There have been
moments where you can really try and see what
they're trying to build in Brooklyn. But I think
very much similar to our first season, when we
look back, there's Those moments are like, Oh,
this is, this is where we're trying to go. But
that identity is, is it's clear, but it's not
like defined in a way that the players are really
exemplifying it yet. Yeah, I'd say one of the
things that first jumped off the page statistically
at least when I was trying to understand and
like normally when we do these previews we we
go to FATMA we go to SOFA score we start looking
at like who are the outliers who are the leaders
and in all the categories both from a player
perspective and then a team perspective and one
of the things I noticed right away is just the
insane amount of possession and the rate of that
possession for this Brooklyn of seaside despite
whatever the result is on the night. I mean,
just recently talking about the Hartford match
in Prink's Tires action, they held almost 70
% of the possession for that match, generating
26 shots. You know, Hartford didn't do a lot,
but they did what they needed to do to advance
that game. I mean, Hartford had injuries early
in that match, too. But if you hadn't seen those
goals get converted and scored, you would have
thought that that game was very much in Brooklyn's
destiny. This approach, like you said, it tells
me similar to what Kano's been trying to create.
It's this possess the ball, circulate it, pin
opponents back. You know, put that pressure.
Don't let them escape out of their final third
and then just rinse and rinse and repeat. To
me, that's not exciting football, but like if
it's going to get results, you can't deny it.
I just don't know if the results have shown up
yet for Brooklyn. Yeah, I'm speaking about like
how they they kind of form their tactics. They
they like to build from the back, right? Um,
instead of trying to bypass the midfield kind
of long ball forward, like hit to a big striker,
it's not really their move, uh, center back,
including former RFC defender, Gabby Alves. Uh,
they're encouraged to stay composed and possession
building up combinations with the midfield to
kind of create some passing triangles. There's
a heavy emphasis on progressing through pressure
rather than simply going long early. Except for
when it comes to defendant defending they're
pretty high up there aren't Clarence's so that
that part of their their defense is kind of shaky
and I think maybe that's What has hurting them
stylistically? But for the most part they don't
like to go quickly rather than trying to find
like breakouts to exploit Remind me because I
may have this wrong, but when we used to compare
Koke and Jackson together wasn't Jackson the
better long -range Jackson could hit pretty pretty
good long balls right and like Koke I mean Koke
can also do but I thought Jackson Lee could do
that a little bit better I might have that backwards
it's been a minute now but if I do remember obviously
I remember the Tampa Bay assist to Chico in our
second game ever but Thinking that through if
this is a team that wants to play out the back
I'm curious how that has potentially hampered
Jackson When he can't just bomb a ball to the
midfield and see if they can win a second ball
higher up the pitch I mean that could be tying
into something we'll talk a little bit later
about there There is a bit of a carousel there
in the back. Absolutely, you know getting back
to it though talking about that possession and
talking about the aesthetics of it it's not just
taking possession for the sake of it like they
do have structure. You can see players are getting
themselves in a space and position with it. It's
not just, I tried up the left lane, it didn't
work, I'm reversing it and I'm recycling it out
the right side. You do see some intention behind
LeBlanc's strategy for it. I see a lot of movement
in the midfield, so that should be something
for fans to watch. When Brooklyn has the ball
and even when they don't, there's a lot of motion.
There's a lot of movement. Sometimes I feel like
midfields in the USL can get a little static
and it's wait for the ball to come to them. That's
not something Brooklyn does. They want to overload.
Specifically, they want to try to overload in
the center, less the wings. But it's just that
continued pressure, like you said, that that's
if Rhode Island can weather that and break it,
that should have a field day, whether it's transition
or not, because I feel like once Brooklyn's plan
a breaks, they don't have a good plan B or plan
C. Yeah. And like you said that you'll often
see them kind of probing patiently before suddenly
accelerating some combinations there through
the half space. They want quick one to touch
interplay near the penalty area rather than hopeful
crosses from deep positions Yeah, so let's get
into Brooklyn's projected starting 11 I'm going
off of the last championship non pranks game
that they went through and then looking at where
the majority of starters have come this season
So this is probably more likely guaranteed to
be wrong than anything. We've got on the Rhode
Island's FC side of the camp today Walk us through
what we think this four two three one might look
like. Yeah, so we're thinking old friend of the
team here, Jackson Lee and net with a back line
here of Ryan McLaughlin, uh, Thomas van Kaisel,
uh, book Lutanovic, Gabby Alves with a, uh, holy
midfielders of time. Who and Tommy McNamara with
a Stefan Storanovic, Jayden Savonia and Christopher
only junior as they're kind of attacking midfielders
with Marcus Anderson up top there. Yeah. I mean,
Just getting straight into Anderson so successful
as a Philadelphia lonely to Brooklyn this year,
but it is crazy to me Considering that they have
won Carlos over gone jr. On the bench not starting
a majority of these matches and he was last year's
usl1 golden boots player like What kind of statement
is that if you're to the team, to the league,
that you went and scalped or sniped the best
striker in USL one and he's not even getting
starting minutes for this club? Because he's
fit, like for everything I've seen. He just can't
edge out Marcus Anderson right now. Yeah, it
is kind of surprising to see him in that position.
I mean, he's getting some minutes, but he's not
where you would think he would be. And I mean,
the trajectory that he's gone from, from Charlotte
Independence. Over to Westchester last year,
and now back to the championship in Brooklyn.
I mean, it's pretty impressive what he's done
there. I know we're going to talk about Jackson
Lee in a second here, but I do want to make a
comparison. Do we see Stovanovic or Lee with
the better mustache? I didn't update the graphic
there. It's the only player I forgot to do. But
down in that right winger, who's got the better
stash on the night? I'm gonna have to go with
my boy Lee there. Always. It wasn't even a question.
But talking about Jackson Lee, talking about
Taimi Okyoshi, and of course, Gabby Alves, it's
good to see the boys coming home, but now the
boys aren't playing for us. Thoughts and feelings
on how this might all transpire on the night?
Yeah, we've got a hat trick here of ex -RAFC
players and really don't want to see them score
against us. I mean, especially Jackson Lee, you
would hate to see a keeper score against you.
That's always rough. If you had to make a guess
on who, for the lulls, who would you say is going
to do some damage to this team? I think it would
be Gabby, out of all of them. Timu was a very
tidy player, reminiscent of like Marquee Barra,
right, in that sense. So, you know, if he has
a good game against us, that'll be one of those
ones where... You don't even, you barely even
notice it, right? Cause he's doing the right
things and just kind of recycling possession
and helping his team move forward. I mean, Jackson
Lee can hurt us if he, if he makes some stellar
saves against us, but we know that, uh, Elvis
can, can strike it pretty hard. I mean, he took
some, some pretty wild shots that are against
us. Uh, I mean, against some other teams when,
um, Like he would kind of kind of took the leash
off a little bit there in that first season of
letting push up Never really got to see I think
what a lot of fans wanted to from him So I feel
like if out of any of the players, maybe he would
want to prove himself the most against us So
what you're saying is it's a long ball to Taimou
in the midfield. He wins the second ball, diverts
it out to Gabby for a wonder goal out of the
top left corner of the box. Absolutely not. It's
a nightmare. Perfect. I mean, if every player
gets involved, you can't hate it, I guess, right?
Let's get into Lee speaking specifically to him
on this. Hasn't exactly been the storybook. uh
landing for him that we all kind of thought we
knew at the end of the season Jackson had felt
that he had done everything he could for Rhode
Island was never going to be able to dethrone
Koke Vegas didn't want to waste years you know
waiting for that opportunity and I mean I don't
know how this season would have transpired with
Lee still here considering Vegas has played every
game so far Lee goes on and, you know, wants
to apply his craft to the expansion side in Brooklyn
FC. And then we don't even see him in the starting
match, right? Then when we do see him in some
games, he suddenly is rotated out for former
Providence College player, Portland Timbers,
to player Lucas Burns, so a Rhode Islander over
here. It seems like LeBlanc doesn't know what
he wants yet out of his keeper. You know, we've
seen Lee play some games. and then it's burns.
We see Lee return in Prink's action which historically
that's a secondary keeper tournament regardless
of your championship or a USL one side and then
he rotates again and that's not even to mention
the fact that when we talk about those two keepers
there was originally a third keeper that not
only gets the first win and the clean sheet in
Brooklyn's history But he's not even with the
club anymore. As Kyan Rizvanich goes back to
Minnesota United, too, after just three matches
with Brooklyn, he gets his loan recalled and
now he's back playing with the two. If you're
LeBlanc, if you're Lee, if you're Burns, like
who started? I feel like they got the same problems
we have, at least in Prinks action. But now this
is league play. Who are we seeing in the back
of the down the week? I I want to say it's Lee.
But like you said, it seems like, you know, LeBlanc
there is kind of having. like second thoughts.
The thing, though, like this is not a position
you rotate, right? You pick. I've been told it's
dangerous to rotate keepers because they have
one bad game. It guts their confidence. Yeah,
absolutely. You stick with a keeper and then
you continue with them. I mean, we saw we saw
Arsenal do it a few years ago and it did not
work out for them. We're not talking about Arsenal
this week, buddy. We are not talking about Arsenal.
Hashtag not a Premier League show. So it just
doesn't work no matter what level you play it.
That that keeper needs to build a relationship
with that defense. It's one thing if you're doing
a rotation for open cup matches and things like
that, cause the rest of the team is generally
rotating as well too. And it's expected, but
you, you can't keep going back and forth. So
I think he needs to kind of make that decision
sooner than later, especially with about a third
of the season kind of under a belt here. If they're
going to want to get out of the basement and
kind of build something, they really need to
solidify who's going to be in that for them.
Hear me out, but it's an evil timeline. I hope
Lee doesn't play on the weekend because I want
to score a ton of goals against this team. And
I'd rather him be the bench. And then we put
Lucas Burns, no disrespect to the Providence
College alumni, but I'd rather put him in LeBlanc's
ill will and non -good graces so that Lee can
rise above for the remainder of the season. So
selfishly, I don't want to see Lee there other
than the bench and give him a high five after
the game. But if he isn't that, he's going to
be a formidable force. We got to go to break,
but before we do, I want to ask quickly 30 seconds
or less. Who's Brooklyn's X factor on this match?
I don't know if he's going to play, but one over
gone junior has hurt us in the past. You know,
he's going to get 15 minutes. He doesn't start
every game. I mean, if he channels his, uh, his
time with Charlotte independence, I wouldn't
be surprised if you know, he can sneak one past
us, but you know, he didn't do so well against
us with Westchester last year. So now I went
back and double checked. It was, it was one of
the other guys. Oh, I thought you got the goal
on that. I thought he did too. I think we were
just triggered from from getting smoked by him
and Charlotte. So, you know, I if he gets service,
I think he can be dangerous. Fair enough. I've
got Johnny Klein. They just signed him from Monterey
Bay FC. He's a left winger in a position. I think
they don't have the depth in whether that's the
injuries LeBlanc was referring to. But he's a
former St. Louis MLS player. He had time with
Charleston battery. He just joined the team like
six days ago, so I don't know if that's enough
time to integrate and play, but if they're that
hamstrung on people that can play sizable minutes,
we could see him. And since there's no real conversation
about that, we'll have to wait and see. But when
we return, we've got the biggest storylines for
Saturday showdown. Don't go anywhere. It's the
Raising Anchor Soccer Show. Now let's get back
to the Raising Anchor Soccer Show on 990 WBOB
with Matt Entrickett and Jason Carey. All right,
Jason we are back here on the raising anchor
soccer show getting into the biggest storylines
of the week want to ask you do we think as far
as an opening statement either one of these teams
deserves a win considering how bad a form they
are in right now I RFC are winless in their last
four matches and I think they need to get themselves
kind of back in gear They are a first -year team
like they can they can start a little bit more.
I think Not to, you know, it's at the end of
the day, whoever goes out there and puts out
the performance and, you know, can't argue who
deserves it or more or not. But I think our FC
third year, we have ambition. We're, you know,
a much better team in terms of cohesion. I think
our FC needs these these three points a lot more.
Agree, but I also look at Brooklyn three losses
in a row. That's not something any club wants
to go in through we get like trajectory Those
always make me feel like these are caged animal
situations, right? Like their backs into the
corner if they continue to lose games I mean
Jacksonville at this point is almost mathematically
eliminated from the playoffs despite how tight
the parity is in the table Like I think they
have to get ten points in the next by the end
of July to remain viable for a playoff run. That's
how much the margins can go here. I think if
they stack a fourth loss in a row across all
competitions, that's just something that breaks
certain types of teams, especially expansion
sides. And again, they've had advantages in some
of these matches. They couldn't convert against
Hartford, despite I think they lost like Angelina
or maybe he scored. But they lost two marquee
play like they weren't they weren't alternates
like they're two players that if they're out
for a while that helps us down the road when
we see them again for seven more times this season,
so we have to see getting into Brooklyn itself
though. Not only have they been bad, but they
struggle on the road. They might be the worst
road team in the championship right now. Thoughts
on how this has worked for Brooklyn FC. I mean,
they also really haven't done. done very, you
know, very well at home. I mean, they did get
that first win. Um, but you know, only three
points on the road this season. It it's been
tough for them and that was against New York
cosmos, right? They, they were able to, to kind
of pick up a win there in the Prinks cup action.
And it's not even a road road game because they
just had to go to New Jersey to get it done.
I, you know, history of New York soccer teams,
right? Like NYFC playing on tiny baseball pitches.
I mean, it, it's been difficult for even the
opponents they're having to adjust be playing
on a very narrow field. So they're just especially
considering the way that they want to play. It
requires them to be very tight and precise with
their passing because there's not a lot of room
to spread out there and kind of give yourself
some room for error. Agreed. Getting into the
Rhode Island FC side of things. Is this the Memphis
moment? We talked earlier, but they're winless
in May so far. don't really have a lot of showing,
still not even in a double digit point on the
standings. Is this the Memphis moment or do we
hear the other narrative that we've quietly been
trying to construct that they never play well
against teams that are lower than them on the
opposition table? I mean, I'm really excited
about the Prince Cup now because we're at the
bottom. So by our theory, that means we're going
to blow through the rest of this tournament because
everyone is beneath us. Here at the league table,
Brooklyn's one of the few teams still further
down than us. Survey says... We aren't going
to do well just by that vibe check. Yeah. I was
thinking about kind of bringing up that we've
talked about this once or twice in the last few
weeks about this kind of Memphis moment. Like
at what point does this team realize that they're
a lot better than what they put out on display?
We've seen a few flashes of brilliance from this
team. We've seen them be a little bit more free
scoring that they have in the past, but that
defense all of a sudden, like that pendulum swing,
it's getting kind of creaky at the back. This
is probably the most talented iteration of Kano's
RISC teams, but it just doesn't feel like it
is yet. Like there's still some kind of work
to do or some sort of spark that needs to switch
for them to really get it in gear. I think that
makes sense. Brooklyn getting back to them, rating
them as an expansion club. How do you rate them
so far? I mean, for me, I'm still amazed that
they're a team playing. I mean, they had a delay
last year where they pulled out schedule was
done and they had to rewrite the schedule because
they had to pull out very last minute. And then
even despite that, they didn't like sign a head
coach. the day after that. They waited all the
way until the latest possible minute early into
or late into last season. It felt like the team
wasn't even at 18 players by February. And it's
just like they've been throwing things against
the wall. Here they are now. And despite their
results and standings on the table, you do see
an identity tactically from this group. Like
they have a style that they want to play. They
just haven't gotten that style gelled with the
rest of the team so far. So if you're looking
at this and rating them, how do you rate Brooklyn
as an expansion side, especially comparing them
to the amber and blue? It's tough to like give
them a score per se this early in the season.
They, they haven't exactly been getting results
and stats don't always tell too much, but they
can paint a picture. And if you look at their
underlying stats, they're, they're very poor.
They're towards the bottom. If not one of the
worst teams in the league, I mean, you know,
there's a certain team in Florida that's kind
of outpacing right now. Um, and it's not Miami
for one. Yeah. Funny enough. I, I hope, you know,
I, I want all of these teams to be successful,
but I, I wonder if the New Yorkers are, are going
to get behind them when they're like, New York
city FC has been there for a while now and they're
finally going to get their own stadium. It's,
I think they really need to solve something.
I think they'll get a little bit of a leeway,
but they need to figure something out towards
the end of the season. or I'd be worried for
their future, especially without a clear definition
of like, where do they play? You know what I
noticed? That they don't have the liquid death
sponsorship on the kids anymore. I don't know
if it's on the women's team still, but like that
was a big part of their branding, you know, two
years ago before they ever kicked a ball. And
then with the delay, obviously branding deals
can only last one or two years, but I'm wondering
if that was also something worth... I mean, that's
huge too, especially like, you know... I don't
have the finances to buy that, but that's a funny
thing. Like I would buy a liquid death Brooklyn
shirt. Do you think similar to the Miami things?
The owner thought he was buying into like New
York City FC. And then I was like, wait, this
isn't the New York soccer team. I thought I was
someone in the marketing department. Didn't do
enough research. Wait, what is this? Oh, that
would be, that would be hilarious. All right.
We got to wrap things up though. How does Rhode
Island FC take all three points in this match?
If they, if we find ourselves where Brooklyn
are, are possessing a lot of the ball. Easy enough.
We just need to be a little bit more clinical
on our counter attack, play the style that we
know. My fear is that, you know, if I, I've looked
back at the last four games and we've either
tied or had more of the possession battle. So
I almost wonder too, if just that Brooklyn's
that bad that we actually might win the possession
battle. If we do, we need to make sure that we're
not playing sideways, passing, wasting the ball.
We need to be direct and like, just kind of move
forward with that possession yeah one thing i
didn't see from brooklyn is they don't press
high they they set up in a midfield press so
the way this looks to me is it's this is a defensive
first game which sounds probably anti where we
all want it to be but if we're not i think can
reset on their defensive triggers absorb the
pretz invite brooklyn into the the spider's nest
or into the lion's den with the way they can
then you know They can do a high press on like
a wave, right? They don't have to sustain high
press, but they can just every once in a while
punch out. They're going to disrupt this Brooklyn
team pretty spectacularly. And so if they stay
compact defensively, intercept the ball, they
can, they're off to the races. We've got the
speed, we've got the, we've got the ability.
They just need one or two clinical finishes.
Again, clinicalness, I think is the last piece
missing from the offensive side of things. But
this game is really, to me, going to be more
about the defense. Think if they can get those
things done I think Rhode Islanders may be treated
to a second win at homeville at homeville at
Centerville Bank Stadium on The weekend and we
need it my friend. We need it desperately. We
need it like we need that summer weather Speaking
of summer weather you can catch all the action
this Saturday May 23rd at Centerville Bank Stadium
Jason, it looks like the rain has gone. So whoever
did the anti rain dance, thank you so much, but
we're still going to be dealing with high fifties,
low sixties. So dress accordingly or insulate
as needed. Can't complain about that. Yeah. Looking
a lot better. Uh, M7 tailgate is going to open
at 4 30 PM. Rest of the parking lots at five
30 gates open at six 30 for a seven 30 kickoff.
If you can't make it to the game, you can catch
all the action on CBS Sports Network, ESPN Plus,
and of course, listen to the radio dial with
Tom and Nick on 790 The Score. We'll catch you
guys next time. Anchor's up. Anchor's up. or
wherever you listen by searching for Raising
Anchor. Make sure to check out all of our coverage
over at The Blazing Musket for all your New England
soccer coverage, including RAFC news at theblazingmusket
.com. Fans, we thank you for listening. We ask
you to be kind and courteous to your neighbors
as you leave the show. We thank you for joining
us and look forward to seeing you again. Until
then, I'm your main man, Juju, and on behalf
of the Raising Anchor crew, goodbye for now.
And as always, we are Rhode Island FC.