You're listening to Raising Anchor on 990 WBOB.
Welcome to the Raising Anchor Soccer Show with
Matt Entrigan 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
shaping RIFC. Here's Matt and Jason. Rhode Island
FC hit the road to take on the Indy 11 in the
weekend with their first collision of the season.
Will RFC be able to find fourth gear and pass
this team to find victory lane or will Sean McCauley
and company have other plans in store? for the
amber and blue. John Morrissey of USL Tactics,
the USL show, backheels this league. Probably
everything that is connected to USL in an official
or unofficial capacity joins us here on the show.
John, it's so great when you get to come on and
talk soccer with us. No, it's always a pleasure
when you guys have me on. So excited to be here.
You know, I gave you all the flowers a second
ago. I'm sure there's 17 things I didn't even
list. Do you still have your substack or is it
all backheeled now? Is there something I'm missing
that needs to be rectified here? Yeah, I've moved
the substack to ghost, which is kind of a nothing
in terms of what the newsletter is. I have added
like new tools. So if you've ever seen me post
like a player graphic card with stats, anybody
can go look that up now. So I would encourage
people to check that out. It's like free and
everything. Do we need to find a new title to
bestow upon you at some point? Is it official
USL insider? Is it USL analyst supreme? Like,
have we workshopped that for you? I like analyst
supreme of the options here. I think Devin Kerr
might get angry that you're encroaching on his
space neighbor. Needless to say, and of course
I'd be remiss if I didn't also introduce the
co -host with the most in one, Mr. Jason Carey.
Jason, how is it going and how are you holding
down the Ford in Rhode Island? Doing great, you
know living the the New England dream, you know,
I'm not not in Hawaii But you know weather is
starting to get good except for the weekends.
The weekends are terrible during the week It's
great, you know, but the weekends are just like
58 raining. So, you know is what it is I mean
it rains every day here but it's only for five
seconds and then it's beautiful weather so I
will not brag I will not make you feel any less
now I know both of you on the east coast not
living the best life possible listen this is
going to be a fun show of course just not because
we have john on but we get to preview the india
11 they're always a scrappy team when these two
meet and then we've got tons of content especially
a very expansive mailbag. John, a lot of people
want to know a lot of things about you, so I
hope you're ready to give the tell -all VH1 unplugged
as we jump into this. Preparing for it. Awesome.
Well, then let's jump straight into it. Let's
get where we need to get. And that, of course,
is starting with the head -to -head record. Jason,
John, these are two teams that you wouldn't know
it because of the record in regular season play.
And then, of course, some postseason shenanigans.
These might be one of the most even keel setups
when we talk about. who's taken points from who
and where they've taken those points. Jason,
do you want to just give us the rundown on exactly
what that looks like when we talk about these
breakouts and in terms of the history of these
two teams? Yeah, so looking at the record here,
two wins, two losses and a draw between the two
teams. Last season it was split to one nil victories
for each side. You know that they've kind of
traded blows back and back. with the exception
there of that emphatic 3 -2 win in the playoffs
there. It's kind of been a bit back and forth
between these two teams here. Yeah, of course
we see, you know, the last match ending 1 -0
to Rhode Island. It was a scrappy game. Ima Mabika,
RIP, sent off in the 80th minute for a red card.
Amusa Ongo, only the thing that keeps these two
sides separate on the night. John, we bring you
in for this particular show because we know you're
an Indy 11 homer. We know how much you love these.
I'm disappointed you're not wearing the corn
cob kit tonight. I know that you have one. Walk
us through, as you've watched these matches in
particular, what you've seen between these two
sides when they go head -to -head. I think the
interesting thing, at least on the Indy side
of things, is you can kind of track the tactical
development or lack thereof for this team. It
really was that kind of mid -2024 point where
Indy is in the middle of a successful run in
the U .S. Open Cup, and they're still somewhat
possessive. They're very counterattack -minded.
And since then, it's the progression, getting
more direct, leaning into the long ball, becoming
as physical as you can get, which I think sets
the table for a really interesting matchup as
Indy has gotten younger and faster. And maybe
he's going to try to bring something a little
bit more refined to this iteration of the game.
Yeah, you know, I think about the, there's a
fact here ahead because it's one of t these two
coaches now, t say tied for second in t championship.
Ben Peerman front after the Lew city Cruz, Sean
McCauley gets t even argue that Kano actua most
tenured coach becaus signed in 2023 ahead of
t these two coaches now ha lifeline or span of
life in the championship. When we talk about
the evolution of their games, and I know we'll
break down each one here in a second, but when
you look at these two sides coming together,
this has to be kind of the old guards when it
comes to tactical strategy and flexibility at
this point. Do we think we're going to see something
different or is this more of two sides forcing
their way on each other in a battle of both wits
and physicality on the night? It feels like both
organizations. have followed the same broad arc
of where they're trying to go tactically. No,
I'm not going to sit here and tell you what we
saw from Rhode Island on opening day two years
ago is the same exact system you're getting now.
But in broad strokes, you're growing, you're
learning, you're adapting to the talent and where
the league itself has gone. And I would say the
same thing about Indy. I think Sean McCauley
is a very pragmatic manager, and he's leaned
deeper and deeper into the idea of pragmatism,
of verticality. So it's it's similar, but grown
over the same period of time that we've seen
Macaulay and Smith go at it. Jason, I've told
you at length that the three three draw on July
5th for our first ever. It was our fireworks
celebration for the 4th of July, but it was the
first time these show these two teams ever showed
up for each other. It was a stoppage time at
the death equalizer. I think it was Harvo tapping
it in. This game had. I think this game kind
of set the table for not only the experiences
we'd see against India in the future, but also
kind of that was that July spark. That was where
we were post the Lew City 5 -2 in the initial
season. We were trying to find out where we wanted
to be when we grew up. In those regards, when
we look at Indy and you just think about it from
an eyeball test, like don't talk about the stats.
How does Indy rank when you think about the teams
that Rhode Island FCS to show up for on game
day? I mean, yeah, I. I remember that game being
being kind of during that summer run. But then
I've also if you look a little bit ahead a month
later, right, we had that midweek stretch where
we played them on a Wednesday, I think it was
and Connor rotated the team very heavily. I think
we ended up losing. And there was also we were
sandwiched between Hartford and Detroit. So it
was a pretty tough week there for us. So they've
been a team that's We've kind of traded blows
back and forth. Like I mentioned there earlier,
it's it's always a team that I look forward to
seeing us play, but never really confident it's
going to how it's going to go one way or the
other until I actually get to see the match.
Yeah, I think that's right. They're not quite
the boogeyman of Loudon or Pittsburgh just yet,
but they also don't stand out as a team that
we can just breeze through. You know, after the
conversation with coach Agarte after last week's
game, I don't think there's a single team in
the Eastern Conference right now. that we could
say we could breeze through. Maybe the rest of
the Eastern Conference could say it out of Sporting
Club Jacksonville, but we certainly can't say
that on the Eastern side of things. So it will
be interesting to see how these two teams line
up. And to get there, we got to talk about the
availability report here for a second because
I want to make sure that we know. Who's going
into that for this game? And of course, I did
not put the right slide up. So I'm just going
to hide that. We're going to talk normal shop
here. But it looks like from a Rhode Island FC
side of things, it looks like it's going to be
CJ Williams still questionable from that day
to day. I obviously didn't get to see him in
training this week as I'm on Oahu. But it looks
like CJ Williams is the only player right now.
We thought Leo Alfonso might be in some sort
of concussion protocol, but we saw him on the
night. And then from the Indy side of things,
John, I'm going to lean on you. I know the two.
that are on season ending injury list situations
in Hayden White and Pat Hogan. Is there anyone
else that McCauley can't get to right now because
of a knock or a lingering type of injury that
they're not going to see on the starting 11 or
the 18 man roster? Those are the big two. Charlie
Sharp, you wouldn't say he's injured, but he's
somebody who started a lot of games early, got
injured and really hasn't reclaimed his place.
But yeah, other than that, we've kind of got
the whole picture there for Indy. Alright, and
then from the ref reporting side of things, I
feel like this is something Jason we have to
keep saying each week because we talked about
the impact of Encarnacion. Now we got it. I think
this is the this is a staple of the show moving
forward is that we're going to talk about these
friends and we're going to talk about the impact
that they have had when it comes to Rhode Island
FC historically. Yeah, looking at the ref assignment
for this match, head referees going to be Thomas
Snyder assistant referees. You're going to be
Josh Lemkins and Adam Soleil. and the fourth
official being Salvador Flores. Snyder, historically
one of the highest carding refs in the championship.
So fun for a team like Rhode Island and a team
like Indy that seems to show up for these types
of battles. He averages over six cards a game
in the last two seasons. It's calmed down a bit
in this current season. His claim to fame for
us, if we go back into the way back machine,
is that ever, ever popular nil -nil. against
Loudon back in 2 that suspicious handball made
the save that night ball don't lie gentlemen.
S a nil nil when it came t in that regard. Yeah,
tha penalty from Zach Ryan. H was kind of just
juggling for uh hit the ability to felt like
a bit of taunting John, how do you not insert
the narrative of the referee performance and
the impact that they have on games when you're
writing the 17 million words you put out a week?
It very much is game to game. I'm sympathetic
to the fact that this is a hard job for these
guys who aren't paid very much, are jetting everywhere
across the country in the same way a team might.
There are certainly matches where a referee makes
their presence felt whether it's a big penalty
call a bad penalty call perhaps ascending off
For the most part I try to keep it as focused
on the pitch as I can Unless the referee is really
making themselves the main character So when
you were watching the game last week for Rhode
Island Did you ever feel at one point Encarnacion
impacted that game beyond? I mean, we were happy
with a 4 -1. Brooklyn, probably not so much,
both as players and fans, but if you ask the
staff, if you ask the players, if you ask the
fans after that game, it was like an asterisk
that, yes, we got the win, but also that ref
should never be welcomed back to Centerville
Bank Stadium. Do you see that as you build your
case about analyzing these teams? I tend to focus
on it more in the postseason, where I feel like
the referees are bringing a new approach to the
table. I tend to think things in the regular
season kind of wash out over the course of 30,
34 games. When you get to the playoff atmosphere,
and I think about Pittsburgh in particular, when
they went on their title run, they wanted to
be direct, they wanted to be physical. That's
a style that invites cards. So if you get a referee
who wants to be a disciplinarian, that has a
huge impact in the highest leverage moment. Something
like the Brooklyn game, I tend to be a little
bit more forgiving unless it's pretty flagrant.
It sounds like we may see then at the end of
the season the potential for a ref power ranking
at the end of the season. Before we go to break,
do you have a favorite ref? Jason and I are homers
for a particular one, but I'm curious, is there
a ref that stands out above all others for you?
I will say the, I can't remember what the name
of the referee union is. They invited me to give
an hour long talk about tactics in the USL last
off season. So credit to the referees. They know
ball clearly. I don't know if I have a favorite.
Elton Garcia is just a guy who I'm like, I'm
always clocking in when he's calling a game.
Like he's up to something some of the time and
he stands out for me. Jason, do you want to tell
him who we're the biggest homers of? Yeah, whenever
we have Natalie Simon wheels fell that she she
refs games very fairly kind of let some flow
So it's always we know it's gonna be a good game
That's a really good shout. Yeah and I mean,
she hasn't re championship this this time like
she's starting to g into the NWSL and the M.
L Pro rel in the league and y be talking about
that by t Maybe we've seen her last on to bigger
divisions, but break and when we return, down
the Rhode Island F. Thank you for listening to
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that's sproutcoworking .com. Now let's get back
to the raising anchor soccer ship on 990 WBOB
with Matt Entrickett and Jason Carey. back here
on the raising And if you missed the tab haven't
used an internet w covered that on monday or
show. So go back and list in ninth place. It
feels some really important win But because of
that, I want to look back on these last five
games across all comps. And of course, the championship,
because I think that's the picture that we have
to separate and paint differently when you look
at how this team has been in form. Jason, you
know, I don't know if you're going to paint glass
half full here or half empty. So you're in control,
my friend. Walk listeners through how you want
to set this table. I mean, you know, 4K no los
dos, maybe a little bit of column A, a little
bit of column B. So like if we. Put all competitions
into it Doesn't look particularly great. We've
got one win two losses and two draws technically,
you can argue the hartford is a draw because
of the way the Um pranks cup brought to you by
jaeger meister. It happens, but like I I don't
really count the it's a draw If it was if it
was westchester if it was if it was if it was
hearts If it was cosmos i'd count it but because
it's hartford it can never be end of story But
if we're looking at just the league Actually
three one and one which is the last time not
too bad And it's funny if we take a look at the
parallel to our opponents this week in Indy They
also have the same record in the last five matches
three one and one and the funny thing here is
Looking at those two the one loss and the one
draw They're actually absolute. They're completely
flipped. So we drew with Tampa Indy lost to Tampa.
We lost to Birmingham. They drew with Birmingham
I don't know if that says anything at all about
these matchups, or just explains the insane parody
that is the Eastern Conference this season. John,
how do you subscribe to that? And obviously,
Kano lost to Jay Heaps. He did not lose to Birmingham
on the night. There was insider trading going
on there. But John, when you look at these two
teams from the head -to -head perspective, are
they in form, as you would call it? Are they
out of form? Where do they fit on the momentum
test for you? I would argue that Indy is in pretty
good form. You can look at games like Tampa Bay
or the loss to Omaha in the USL Cup and maybe
fight against that interpretation. But I think
Indy is doing what they want to do, executing
on their principles in the games where they've
got a good shot, i .e. not counting Tampa Bay
because they're curb stomping everybody. On the
Rhode Island side of things, I probably land
similarly. The Portland one really stands out
as a major blip for me, but I still have the
Charleston win fresh in my mind, the performance
against Brooklyn that you're just coming off
of. There are these moments where it really all
comes together, and in this part of the season
that is still somewhat early, the fact that you
can string along decent performances and then
really show what you're made of, that's promising
in my mind. agreed and in that promis in ninth
place a win thi else goes our way. And be championship
because it's it probably won't, but a high as
fifth place for t on the outside of a play first
half of the season be the match that we've b
testing the medal of Rho all season have been
argu from an optics perspective continues to
match the oppo speaking from their table they
wake up and don't res they're further down and
t at least 10 points on the I don't know if you
subscri no players just gonna say But there's
something to it where Rhode Island seems to be
asleep at the wheel when there are, quote unquote,
lesser table standings when it comes to the opponents.
Thoughts on that? I think that is a very fair
theory. I think it's something you see across
the league quite often. But you think about that
Tampa Bay game in particular for Rhode Island
FC, where the defensive approach is really locked
in. I thought the midfield performance was about
as good as you can get against this rowdy's team.
You think about the way that Connorsmith changes
up the tactics late in that match to ultimately
earn a draw. Everything felt sharp from the Rhode
Island side and then you go and it's Portland
and it's a major letdown. Like that, those two
games paired together really proves the theory
of what you're saying. It is a focus thing. It's
something that you have to wrap your arms around
in the changing room. I think Rhode Island probably
has the mentality to get over the hump and stop
it from being a major problem but Hey, that's
something you got to focus on as a group. Agreed.
And how that will come together this weekend
in Indy will look something like what we think
Kano did this last weekend. Although he's a tinkerer,
he may have found success in this formula after
putting four goals against Brooklyn. Jason, walk
listeners through who we think might be the starting
11 guaranteed to be wrong out of Rhode Island's
camp. Yeah, so we think he's gonna go with essentially
the same lineup here. He put out this last weekend
with Coque Vegas and net here a back line of
Nick Scardina, Kareefa Yao, Omni, Jope and Aldair
Sanchez there in the back Clay and Hugo as you're
holding midfielders with Joe Jaya, Amos Shapiro
Thompson, Leo Alfonso and JJ Williams up top
there. I Think when I look at the this line up
here though, I can also kind of see a swap between
Ames Shapiro Thompson and Bitti Rodriguez. We
talked about how maybe that position could be
interchangeable for this team going forward,
depending upon the tactics. When it comes to
Nick, I think that he'll probably get another
shout, but no Darcey is also a good option there
too. It's very much kind of dependent upon how
Kano sees the match. See, I've got a back three
of Nodar say in this game and not Nick because
and we'll talk about it on the Indy side. Indy
does not. They have not yet managed to keep a
clean sheet in any of their games, with the exception
of some U .S. Open Cup, U .S .L .2 action. And
so for me, that tells me that we don't need to
rely as conservatively on a defensive back foot.
While Scardino offers a great range, and Giorgiaia
said it himself in last week's post game, that
it kind of untethers him and he doesn't have
to play as defensively. I think there's something
to be said about when we have a back three, we
can focus a little bit more on quicker transition.
and have more bodies for the risk of the transition
side of things, when I s mostly is aerial. And
so t in the lineup instead of we're going to
need as ma we've got in the team when defense
and just crosses o I'm not saying Scardina doesn't
have it, and I wouldn't be surprised because
we know Kano rewards players that do well. And
when you get team of the week honors, that could
be a good case to say, hey, you are not getting
removed from this this team, at least from a
starting 11 perspective. So I can see the tactical
line up more on the Frank Nodarse side, but I
could also see the reward coming for Nick Scardina
and all of his accomplishments. I guess, John,
you get to be the tiebreaker here. You don't
get held to any real quote here on this. We won't
use this against you later in a clip, I promise.
But which way would you lean if you were setting
this up as Kano Smith? So if I'm Kano Smith,
I want to come into this game and be on the front
foot as much as I can. And knowing what you know
about Indy, it's kind of a 4 -3 -3. They really
want those wingers to push high upfield. And
if that's the case and Indy loses possession
of the ball, that means you've got a lot of room
to attack them in the wide spaces. you're going
to get more from Skardina than you are from No
Darse. If you're looking to counter, get the
right back up field. Now, there is a world where
maybe Rhode Island looks at this game and says,
great, we actually want the defensive medal.
And then we're just going to trust Quasera on
that wing to be the lone wolf who's doing it
all on the counter. So I would start at Skardina
because I think that if I'm Rhode Island, I'm
good enough to go and take control of Indy. But
I could see either route. Once again, I've proven
to myself that I'm the least ball -knowing person
on this show. Thank you, John. I appreciate that
so much. Then let's get into the X -Factors here.
Who do we think from Rhode Island's camp is going
to be the X -Factor on the night? John, as the
guest of honor so that we don't steal your takes,
we'll let you start. Yeah, it's Clay Holstad
for me, if only because of the way Indy wants
to play. It's long goal kicks, constantly hoofing
it upfield. You need somebody who can sit in
the midfield, win those second balls, make sure
that Indy can't get the territory that they want
and sit in the final third. I'm kind of trusting
that Hugo Becker is going to do that job on his
own. But if he can double up, get that effort
from Holstad, quickly break through in these
lines after recovering, he's going to be the
X factor if he gets that done. Jason, I'll let
you have second honors. Yeah, I think it's going
to be JJ. He's been somewhat of a menace for
defenders this season. He's been able to knock
on wood so far, stay healthy. And I think if
it continues, he's gonna probably have one of
the best seasons of his career if he can keep
it going. No, JJ also notoriously shows up in
a big way when it comes to playing away at Indy.
So that's probably a good take. I think Kareem
Fayao is going to have either the night of his
life or he's going to be in some sort of danger
all night. He's going to be tested again from
that aerial situation because there's not a lot
of times where I've seen, at least in the games
I've watched from Indy, where they're catching
in a explosive transition unless they've intercepted
something higher up in the opponent's final third.
They're not going to break through R as carve
and then probably in. So it's going to be set
defensively and have aerial duels are going to
of set pieces where you c you can bring JJ into
as the tallest guy on that be tested probably
more th John, the last question I have for you
is, stylistically, tactically, we've now seen
three iterations of Kano's teams. We're a long
way from what we've identified as Kano Ball,
which is a mutated version of Lily Ball. Where
do you take this team, and how have you seen
those? You've watched and written about them
so far in 2026. It almost feels like a synthesis
of some of the ideas we've seen over the last
handful of years, right? there have been moments
of kind of defending in the back three and then
breaking forward and having the right back kind
of change where they're playing from phase to
phase. There is some element of the long ball
to this team, like trying to seek out the space
in the channels, but there's also a willingness
to be patient. It just feels very balanced in
a way that has always been the idea for KonoSmith,
but feels like it maybe is meeting a logical
end more than I've seen in years past, and especially
When you think about 2025, some of those struggles
in the middle of the season and the dry spells,
I feel like things are just more aligned of we
understand the shape. We understand the principles.
We're going to be a pressing team. We're going
to be able to break out of our block when we
need to. But we want to be on the front foot.
I've enjoyed watching this team play because
of that. It's been fun to see so far. Still not
sure if the goals will remain consistent through
the entirety of the season. And of course, do
we see a little bit more of a defensive compromise
as we've definitely let in more goals. Even though
we have a positive goal differential so far early
in, it will be one of those talking points I
think that we have to watch for the rest of the
season. We've got to go to our second break,
but when we return, John and I mean, John by
himself is going to break down the entirety of
India Levin's role to play here on this weekend.
Don't go anywhere. It is the raising anchor soccer
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page. Now let's get back to the Racing Anchor
Soccer Show on 990 WBOB with Matt Entrickett
and Jason Carey. Here with John Morrissey of
USL Tactics getting into this in the 11 side.
John, 16 players out at the end of 2025 for McCauley,
13 new additions. We said earlier, he's one of
the most tenured coaches at this point in the
championship with just three seasons under his
belt. That's a wild thing to have to say, considering,
you know, other coaches either get three months,
it feels like, or they get 30 years. Want to
talk about the level of this momentum and movement
in the roster transitions here. What does this
say about McCauley's style of football that he's
trying to play here in 2026? Is this a change
in tactics? Is this an evolution of the game
as he sees it? Or was this a case of players
last season not reaching the heights that McCauley
needed to take them and now he has to retool?
I think McCauley was very confident in what he
was trying to do tactically. and he didn't trust
the the core of the roster because of performances
but also a lack of explosiveness a little bit
up there in years and so the approach this offseason
and i'm glad you kind of mentioned the magnitude
of what indy did they kept a a core around but
they really tried to build some new depth to
supplement what they had so you think about some
of the returning players jack blake is one of
the best creative midfielders you've got in this
league You could say the same thing about Aiden
Quinn, but he's really converted to become a
full -time left back. And even then, as a left
back, Quinn is going to underlap play inside.
And that's really the defining relationship on
that side of the field. So you're bringing back
Bruno Rendon on the right, and he's a different
sort of player. He's all speed, all physicality.
And those are the two poles that Indy wants to
build around. So you think about the new faces.
It's Paco Craig and Anthony Herbert, just two
really physical center backs. not going to get
anything past them in a one -on -one battle.
You think about up top, where they added a ton
of new options. And a lot of the year, they've
just decided, we're taking Noble Lakello, who
was a defensive midfielder for Phoenix last season,
and he's just going to be the big target guy
up top. So it's this mix of, we know what the
core of a D11 is going to be, and we're really
happy to experiment around that, see what sticks.
and ultimately just try to out -physical whoever
we can and trust that the talent is going to
carry us from there. I would ask then, we know
some of the big signings, Ocala, which still
incredible that he's now a more targeted forward
midfielder. He was a bruiser, a world beater
on the back line of Phoenix last year. Of course,
you ask, how do you lose a goalkeeper like Hunter
Solt? Will you upgrade in MVP and playoff or
USL final winner, Eric Dick? Who were the players
that you were surprised that did not get retained
versus maybe the players that Macaulay upgraded
for? Yeah, I mean, it is an interesting question.
And one of them that I really think about is
Brian Schaefer, who was on loan for Indy at the
end of last season and looked terrific. So much
so that actually Tampa Bay just went and got
him instead. And he's probably been an all league
player. In the midfield, James Murphy was a real
block for this team. And he's gone and done a
good job for Loudon. So I think clearly people
around the USL respected what he was doing. I'm
trying to think who else. James Moussa in the
back line, spent a year or two in Indy, a full
New Zealand international on his day. And he
really is representative Moussa of maybe the
change in aspect of what they wanted to do defensively.
Moussa is good with the ball at his feet. He's
a little bit rangier in the ground he covers.
When you replace him with a Herbert, with someone
like a Paco Craig who's deep into his 30s at
this point. you are getting away from the idea
of playing it around the back and really going
for just defensive integrity, grit, the things
that a high school football coach would talk
about, in other words, for characteristics. But
hey, it's working for Indy in terms of the system
they want to run. Getting into the Indy's form
here, obviously higher on the table, you could
look at this in one of two directions, similar
to the same way we talked about Rhode Island's
form. in their last five, two wins, two losses,
and a draw. Championship wise, they're 3 -1 -1
in league play. But I'm looking more, I'm focusing
in, and maybe this is wrong of me to do so, but
I'm looking at some of those drop points in there
across all competitions form. a loss against
Union Omaha and a draw against Fort Wayne and
Prinks Tires Cup action. It makes me feel like
even if there's rotation, even if you're trying
different things, it feels like they're almost
getting in their way when we talk about building
that momentum. Where do you take in the 11 right
now and how they're trying to be informed as
the season progresses? I think they're going
to be really heartened by the Lexington game,
even though they played almost the entire 90
minutes up man. Does that count? Jason and I
talked about that. Does that count when you have
a red card three minutes in? We had a red card
against Detroit last year, six minutes in, and
we just said, hey, at this point, we're going
to just enjoy it and maybe not focus as analysts,
because this is all going to be downhill. Well,
to tell you the truth, when I'm writing my column
and that happens, no, it doesn't count. I'm very
much phoning it in. If you're in the 11 and that
game ends up being close for, what, 75 minutes,
the fact that you can get over the line late
make some key substitutions and tactical changes
to make it happen, it feels like a game that's
a momentum builder for them. And the odd thing
with Indie and the way they've managed the schedule,
they feel like they've just not cared about a
lot of these Cup games. And that's not even to
say that they've hugely rotated the squad because
there have been starters, but it feels like a
little bit of a less intense approach from the
11 when they're taking on the Fort Waynes and
taking on the Omahas. So that makes the form
a little bit difficult to gauge. I ultimately
think Sean McCauley is happy with where things
have gone, if only because he's found solutions
at Stryker. He keeps evolving how he wants to
use Quinn. Like, there's been good progress of
the chemistry of this team along the way. I still
think, and Jason, agree or disagree, that that
was Indy 11 versus Aaron Malloy, and you can't
tell me otherwise. Yeah, maybe. I that red card
was like so like you punch someone in the face
and you're confused. You're getting sent off.
Come on. At least at least when JJ did it, he
knew better. He just walked off the pitch. Be
fair to Fort Wayne. I watched a good amount of
that game that I knew nothing about them. They
were surprisingly fun. Like in here attacking
talent. So fun. Yeah. Hey, hey, hashtag not a
USL one podcast. All right. Lock it in. Alright,
well, let's get into the starting 11 projected
for this Indy side and I'm basically going off
of what they played in their championship route
last weekend. Of course, Eric Dick in net with
and you know, the league wants to tell you this
is a 4231. John, I'm so glad that you said, you
know. the ball of knowledge that you have that
this is a 4 -3 -3 in everything, but maybe the
lineup sheet. You've got Logan Niedlinger on
that right side with Paco Craig and Anthony Herbert
as your paired center backs. And then you've
got Aiden Quinn, the converted left midfielder,
left winger as his age has beleaguered him. He
continues to see, I call up the Graham Zussi
effect out on that left back side. You've got
your double pivot of Cam Lindley. and Josh O
'Brien, and then a midfield three looking like
Loic Mesvani, Mesonavi, excuse me, Jack Blake
and Bruno Rendon, and then Edward Kizza, the
lone striker in this team. John, first question
is how much of this looks like what we should
expect out of a starting 11 here on the game
this weekend? I would be surprised if there are
any changes from that lineup. Once Macaulay kind
of finds his guys, he's pretty happy to keep
running them out. The only switch we've seen
over the past couple of weeks is Kizza getting
the minutes instead of Ikello at the nine spot,
which makes sense because Kizza is the only striker
Indy brought back from the 2025 season. He's
never going to be the golden boot winner, but
if he gets to 10 goals, it's not going to be
a shock. So maybe there's a switch at the striker
spot, but other than that, feels pretty set in
stone for now. Looking at this lineup here, where
would you say that Indy is the most dangerous,
but then on the opposite side, like what is maybe
the most vulnerable part of this lineup here?
Yeah, kind of flip sides of the same coin with
both of those questions, and it's how you're
using the wing players. Misanvi and Bruno Rendon,
they're going to push high. They want to be attacking
minded. And if they really overextend and then
Aiden Quinn does the same thing, Suddenly you've
got two physical slow center backs that don't
have much protection. So Indy wants to use that
as a weapon to bully opponents, score goals,
lump passes into the box. If that doesn't work
for them, it could be trouble. And I think that's
what we saw, if you think about the Fort Wayne
game in particular. Fort Wayne came in understanding
we have a lottery of to work within the channels
and they exploited it again and again. talking
about Indy's X factor for them. We're going to
make you go last since you know more about this
team. I've got Jack Blake. I'm cheating because
he's coming in hot off of Team of the Week honors.
I wanted to say, O 'Kello, but he doesn't seem
to be getting a starting role as much now as
McCauley has maybe gotten some of those, again,
quote unquote, lock -ons. You could also say
Quinn because he just does incredible things
as a journeyman in this league. Jason, I stole
three right there. Your talent pool is getting
more limited by the second. Who do you have as
an X factor from Indy side of things that you're
watching on this game? I mean, probably like
Cam Lindley here, leading appearance at 127th
in his five seasons. Probably shows how important
he is as like the kind of glue that keeps this
team together season by season. John, the floor
is yours. Well, I will shout out Lindley. I did
like one quarter of the way through team of the
year and had him in there. He is the kind of
guy who's maybe not showing up on the stat sheet
all the time, but it's the positioning, the knowledge
of the game. I will go elsewhere in the midfield
and point to Josh O 'Brien. In a group where
Lindley is going to be the protector, Blake is
going to rove and try to be this creative presence.
Josh O 'Brien has become a really strong threat
making these late arriving runs into the box.
where he's just good at wreaking havoc. Once
upon a time, he was considered to be a centerback
for this team, and he's another player that's
kind of moved up and up the lineup as McCauley
keeps tinkering. To me, he's been one of the
most improved players of the season. I mentioned
Clay Holstead on the other side of this question.
The midfield battle involving those two feels
like it'll be really consequential. He reminds
me of the same treatment we've been giving you
go back Iraq starting as a center back for us
and Moving his way provincially up the midfield,
you know You said something and I'm gonna I'm
gonna I'm gonna tease your tease your opinions
here for a second You're already working on your
you know team of the year contenders Is there
a Rhode Island FC player that is at least giving
you a reason to every you know much keep attention
to them I mean JJ and quiz they're doing what
they do. And maybe that's recency bias with what
I saw out of the Brooklyn game, certainly. But
I think they've been great. There will be a midfielder
from Rhode Island in the discussion for me mentally.
I need to look 20 games from now and see who
that is. But I think those would be the buckets
I'm looking at from this team so far. Well, let
us know how we can influence that in any way,
shape or form. But when we return, we got to
go to break and we're going to break down the
biggest storylines ahead of Saturday's showdown.
It's all here on 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, here into the storylines and
the mailbag for the extended edition, there's
an international break. starting on june 1st
in the privilege of two call up with Uganda and
Anthony He and Tobago, the 2018 jerks Qasera
getting the call up if that's official yet, but
breaking that news, I guess expectations or or
like b these players as they get Obviously, it's
not World Cup related, but do we see them making
a lesser impact in this game in terms of minutes
managed? John, I'll start with you. I think not.
I think the players are used to, and especially
the internationals, are kind of used to the burden
of trying to balance the effort they're giving
with the understanding of that honor of representing
their country. Now, if you're a Miami FC who's
got two Curacao internationals, maybe it's a
different story as they prep for the World Cup.
But I think in this game, it's kind of no holds
barred. Yeah, I would think that like, you know,
Georgia told us he only has to travel 12 hours
instead of 25 this time He'll probably be he'll
probably be fine. You know, they're professionals
they can deal with it But John here as part of
our homework, you know Sometimes we like to listen
to other clubs podcasts and the guys from cue
the smoke seemed to indicate the fans are frustrated
With Indy's lack of progress after not making
the playoffs last season And now a probable early
exit from the Prinks Cup unless, you know, things
maybe go their way and they kind of get for him
there. Only one month win in the month of April.
They felt as if McCauley might be in the hot
seat at Indy. Do you think there's any truth
to any of this as, you know, he's one of USL's
most tenured championship coaches? I will say
I thought he might get the axe over the off season,
like if there was a time to do it for Indy. it
felt like a very clean and natural breaking off
point. Given the way that Indy have started this
year, at least in terms of points earned in the
USL Championship, he's probably coached his way
off of the hot seat. And I've been impressed
with the clarity of the style, the way the new
signings have integrated. So I am very sympathetic
to the take from the Key of the Smoke folks.
They are boots on the ground in a way that I
unfortunately am not able to be at this point.
But I think for now, at least, he's probably
got himself in a decent territory. They wear
the corn cob kits with pride is the boots on
the ground we need. So John, I want to again
step into your analytical brain here for a second.
Fop Mob has indeed rated as the second highest
team currently in the championship. Does that
vibe with what you're seeing in your own analytics
or is there something you'd like to go and talk
to the analysts behind Fop Mob? I think what
India is very good at is stopping the opposition
from getting high quality chances. And if you
look at something like the expected goal difference
that they've put up, they're top five in the
league. Now watching them play and just the extremity
of the long balls and the physicality, mentally
I probably am just biased against that because
it's maybe not the prettiest soccer. I have them
more in the 6 to 12 range, like top half of the
league, not a contender contender. But hey, the
data says what it says, and I'm allowed to disagree
with that. All of a sudden, I think we're now
in the top 10 and probably just after that Brooklyn.
So it's really just an aggregate of stats, which
sometimes can tell maybe where the team's going.
But it's a long season. Hey, the man's a legend.
Yeah. Nicholas Murray still has his power ranked
as 14th. So I live and die, but with Murray,
right? So, uh, but you know, kind of maybe tying
into that, you know, is the verdict even out
on indie 11 yet? With the exception of the Detroit
city FC game there, most of the wins are against
teams in the bottom half of the table, uh, with
one of them, a third minute red card, which we
just kind of talked about in their favor. So
like Is this team still need more time or do
we think we know who they are yet? We know who
they are stylistically. I think there's just
something about the way Indie plays where it
is so to the point and so unglamorous that yeah
you're going to get wins against teams like Jacksonville
and it's not going to be pretty along the way
but it is going to be effective. When you come
up against the better sides in the USL that have
more arrows in the quiver and can break out different
styles, that's more challenging for Indy. And
that's probably why I have them lower down in
my mental power ranking of where they're going
to slot in. Could they break up and show me something
different and maybe push towards contention?
I think it's possible, but I feel pretty confident
in understanding where they're at in that kind
of upper mid tier for now. I'm sorry. I'm confused.
You're supposed to win against Sporting Club
Jacksonville. I don't think we got those notes
at the beginning of the season. I don't think
San Antonio did either, though. Crazy, crazy.
Jason, I'm going to flip this question. You tried
to catch John out of sorts. I'm going to try
to catch you out of sorts. Same question back
to you with our team in Rhode Island and Kano
Smith. Is the verdict in on us yet? No, absolutely
not. I mean, we've seen It's the same old song
and dance, right? We were starting a little bit
better than we did in the last two seasons, but
we know that this team tends to kind of peak
later on in the season. Once the like the winter
kind of finally thaws off, you know, it takes
a while here in New England. It lingers on for
a long time. So our team does the same thing.
They just take a little while longer to get going.
So I'm not going to make any judgments until
like July or August. So. Um, looking at this
indie team, um, you know, we, we first got into
league 2024, Hunter salt was phenomenal over
time. It kind of felt like he kind of fell off
at some point. And so he's gone, go out and get
Eric Dick. He's always been huge for Pittsburgh
against us. They're one of those teams. We tend
not to do well against you. If we somehow get
past their defense, he stops whatever, you know,
so How has he been performing and kind of integrating
into this defense for Indy so far this season?
It has not been the Pittsburgh level of performance
from Eric Dick. He's been good, slightly above
average by the advanced metrics, even the traditional
stuff like a save percentage or goals against.
I'm not going to say he's been spectacular, but
I think a lot of what the value that Eric Dick
brings you is that ability to manage the box
on set pieces. catch -crosses, understand maybe
when to speed the tempo up in terms of taking
a quick kick, restarting in that manner. So some
of it is just hard to quantify. I think Indy
probably wants him to elevate and be that guy
who could maybe, I mean, do what he did for Pittsburgh,
right, which is elevate them into a contender
that can win a championship without scoring a
goal in the playoffs. Now, can he repeat that?
That's going to be very hard, but Indy probably
wants a bit more from him. Speaking of Indy 11
and what they want, they're unbeaten at home
in their last eight matches, seven wins in a
draw. We've only seen one win against Indy at
their home in playoffs and that put everything
on the line. Does that set the barometer for
how we should expect these things to go? Is it
more for Rhode Island? Could a smash and grab
of one point be what all teams would be happy
with? Or is there a real testament here to a
statement to say we can go and upset what this
level of streak has been for Indy 11? You know,
this caught me by surprise because I don't tend
to think of Indy as having much of a home field
advantage. That maybe there's just something
about the pitch at Carroll Stadium that that
goes their way and it's kind of harder to play
on for teams that. want to be more conventional
in the way they're approaching possession. It
is going to be difficult. They understand the
confines. They know what they're trying to execute.
I don't think it's going to be more difficult
than your average away game if we're just grading
on that curve. But innately, Indy is just a tough
matchup overall. Both of these teams here, RFC
and Indy, are just of five teams here that have
a positive goal differential. These matchups,
though, between us tend to be tight fairs, often
ending 1 -0 or become somewhat slugfests. With
at least five goals scored from both teams, what
kind of scoreline are you expecting that we should
be seeing on the weekend here? This feels like
a game where it's going to be 1 -0, 1 -1, 2 -1,
like an under three goals kind of territory.
Indianately, they're going to slow the game down.
In terms of the time the ball will be in play
out of the 90 minutes, it's going to be closer
to 40 -45. In other words, there's just not going
to be as many opportunities to be putting goals
on the board. So I would expect it to be a little
bit punchy in that way. And I think that's right,
too, because Eric Dick is the difference maker
in that. And how many goals have we scored in
our lifetime against him at Pittsburgh? Whether
it's the same team or not, you can't deny it.
He's just a giant and net, so it's going to make
it more difficult. I think that's the right one.
Well, then, guys, let's end this with how do
each of these teams take three points from this
match? John, we're going to put you in the middle
of the sandwich so we can get that indie take.
You know, we can get Rhode Island on each side
of that. So, Jason, start things off here. I
mean, yeah, they really talked about momentum.
And I think that's really important for our FC
to kind of, you know, take that momentum into
this next match. The one thing I'm curious here
is India has the lowest average possession in
the league. So that means it's probably more
likely that our FC is going to see the lion's
share of the ball. So they're going to need to
to not revert back to last season where we just
passed it around sideways. I think they're going
to need to play a bit more direct. we saw even
earlier when they tried to just give the ball
to Hartford and say, here, you do something with
it. I don't know if they could trick Indy into
having some possession there. But I think if
they can continue to be direct, carry that momentum
forward, I think RFC can walk away, at least
with a point. John, how about from Indy's side
of things? What do they need to get done? Yeah,
it's winning the second ball battles, making
sure that you are Recovering possession when
Rhode Island tries to play over you, it's having
stability in your rest defense. So when you've
committed a bunch of bodies forward, is Cam Lindley
low and in position? Is maybe Logan Neidlinger
on the weak side? Staying aware, preventing Rhode
Island from getting a quasar on the break or
finding JJ Williams as a transition connector.
And you add in the set piece component. If he
makes mistakes, loses focus in that phase of
the game. it really undercuts everything that
they're trying to do. So it is just intentionality
and focus in every sense of the defensive phase.
Yeah, I've got winning the midfield transition
as well. I really am interested in the in the
spark between each of the double pivots I think
that's gonna be one of the most interesting Not
duels because obviously for them to see each
other something's gone terribly wrong and in
terms of final opposition penetration But I do
think the midfield battle is where it's at and
I think that also comes from the way Rhode Island
will press Indy, you know, I talked earlier about
how they've conceded goals. A lot of it has come
from quick recoveries where Indy is scrambling
back to their net. So I think that that's going
to be the thing to watch. But it's got to come,
if I'm being honest, from a goal where Rhode
Island takes the lead early. They don't. they
have not yet shown t to claw back and succesf
they may have equalized, a second half team.
And i into the second half to e that's going
to be somet to see an adjustment from out on
the front foot. U a nil nil game and it ge all
the way to the 80th be surprised there honest
the key thing for me is w night. Whichever team
win ahead goal and the go ahead three points.
You know, kudos to Indy. They're leading in set
piece goals right now. They're leading in a lot
of aerial dual categories. They love crossing.
They love lobs into the box. So I think that's
going to be Rhode Island's big piece. I wouldn't
say we've had bad set piece defending. It's considerably
improved from last year, but I'm not sure that
this may be the biggest test so far of our defenders
when it comes to that aerial battle. So that's
what I've got there. We got to transition now
into the most fun part of this particular show.
It's why there's like 100 people in here waiting,
desperately needing to know all things John Morrissey.
So John, this is essentially mostly the John
show now, and we're going to get right into this.
Jake F writes in. Where do you rank our IFC in
terms of physicality? Probably top five borderline
borderline, like in the 10 to five range. I look
at a team like Indy, a Hartford, a Brooklyn,
maybe a Jacksonville, they all are clearing Rhode
Island. So then you kind of get into the second
bucket, maybe at a Louisville, Detroit, somewhat
comparable, Pittsburgh, in the middle of their
own stylistic change of trying to be a little
bit classier. So I think Rhode Island is maybe
top five, but probably in kind of a second tier
relative to some of the real bruisers in the
USL. I don't love that you put Hartford above
us in anything, but I feel like you did that
with intention. No intention. There's something
about Hartford that is also a little bit ugly
to watch that informs the way I'm answering with
them. I know where Dispy stands in his rankings,
Defender of the Year. I know. OK, I don't like
to acknowledge it, but I understand. Liz R here
says, is RFC a home playoff team in your opinion?
They should be. The East is so wide open this
year. Like it's Tampa Bay and anybody could go
and do the thing. On talent, on tactical organization,
Rhode Island really could be the two seed if
everything goes right for them. Will they? I
think they should be top four. I can't see the
future. I don't have the crystal ball, but the
way things are coming together for Louisville
and Charleston. not connecting Miami feels like
they're hot at the wrong time. I think there's
a way Rhode Island goes and does it. I don't
know by your words. We hope we pray Frank B writes
in who's been the biggest surprise drop off so
far this season in your mind either by player
or by team and and John before you answer, I
feel like I want to try to think if I know ball
here, I'm going to put a contender in for sporting
Lexington, but I don't know how you I just want
to throw that one out there before you say it
so people know I'm as smart as you. No, you're
absolutely right. I thought they were just going
to come out and be the best team in the USL.
And maybe drop -off is the wrong framing with
them, if only because they didn't make the playoffs
last season. But drop -off relative to expectations,
where they're the first team to ever pay a $100
,000 transfer fee for a USL player within the
league. And then they become the second team
to do that within the span of the same offseason.
And then they're second to last in the West right
now. They feel like the only answer for this
question. And I think as an extension of that,
Philip Goodrum as a player, he's just not scoring
in the way that they thought he would when they
signed him from Louisville City. All right. Hard
-hitting question here from soccer with Brian.
How did you get so smart? Well, shout out to
Brian, a fellow indie fan. How did I get so smart?
Well, one. thank you that is too kind, actually.
It's watching too much soccer, reading as much
tactical analysis stuff, statistical analysis
stuff as I can, and then like doing the dang
thing. There's no better way to improve your
understanding of soccer and anything than by
writing about it, trying to analyze it. Practice
makes perfect in that regard. And what I'm, geez,
six years into at least having the Twitter account
onward. So I've got plenty of reps in in terms
of trying to understand the USL and how the game
is played. So no falling into a vat of chemicals
is what I'm hearing. Yeah, I took the super soldier
serum and that's how it happened. Love it. Brad
L writes in with all the goals so far for Rhode
Island FC this season. What number of players
do we think will hit double digit goal contributions?
Looking back, and I don't know if I was doing
the math right, so caveat, I think it's only
happened, what, three, four times for this team
previously? Yeah, it was three. Yeah, Williams,
Chico, and Fusan are the only ones. Okay. I think
Williams is easily going to get there. I think
Quasera is going to get there just based on the
way he's looked this season, the goals and the
assists, the like coming for him. Is there a
chance that the international duty kind of knocks
him off course? There is a possibility. So I'm
banking on two. Could there be a third guy? Could
Afonso hit the right form and start scoring some
of these shots? It's possible, but two feels
like the safe answer. My favorite question here
from Rachel M. Talking mascots, who is on your
USL Mount Rushmore? So I'm tempted to say it's
Monterey Bay's Kelpie four times over. I think
it is. I think he's God's gift to the idea of
the mascot. Look him up if you don't know him.
He's kind of just like a mess of coral, but there
are like Finding Nemo -style fish coming out
of him. There's a fishtail coming out of the
bottom of his kit. He wears a weird hat. Everything
out about him is kind of beautiful. In seriousness,
it's Kelpie. It's Gnarly from Orange County SC.
He's kind of like a post -gritty, just orange
-bois the guy, but something about him is very
winning. He's gritty. Teemu Gritty is what it
is. You went to go buy it. Yeah. Yeah. I think
the George Washington of Mount Rushmore is Kickaroo
for the Richmond Kickers. Been around the block.
Who doesn't love a kangaroo, by the way? Fourth
spot, Friendly the Bear. whose Detroit city's
kind of on -again -off -again mascot. Listen.
Listen. You gotta go for someone who just looks
like Derpy and kind of under -designed at a certain
point. I find that very attractive in a mascot.
In a world where Kelpie is so excessive, Friendly
the Bear is kind of the opposite whole. You know
the story of Friendly the Bear, right? Remind
me. So that mascot was found in the trash can,
and they just washed it and revitalized it and
made it the mascot. Like they literally found
that costume in a dumpster. I think that's beautiful.
Do you think there's a mod for Five Nights at
Freddy's where it's just all the USL mascots?
I play it. All right, well then, since you did
the five or the four that you, I should remember
how Mount Rushmore works here, since you did
the four, I'm gonna do the four worst in my opinion.
And I'm gonna say it is snaggy, even though he's
officially not. He's more like the Meow Wolf
one. That is the stuff of nightmares. It was
Tiki Mon for the Harrisburg Islanders. That one
was scary. I did not like that one whatsoever.
I like him. Oh, no, no, no, no. It's Dylan because
I will show Hartford hate on my own show. And
then I'm in it. We're just going to do this for
both. It's friendly because there's just not
enough effort there. So, you know, you can have
it each way. Jason, you get to be the tiebreaker.
I would say a shout out to for for bad as I really
don't like cash the rocker or whatever. Oh, I'm
not a big fan of like, like anamorphic people
like it's got to be like an animal or monster
or something. It's just like it's just a dude.
I think I would lose in a fight against Hoot
from Union Omaha. I think if we scrapped, I would
lose a fight. But anyways, we're getting way
off track here. What's the next question? Phil
W writes in, if you had to guess, how much time
do you consume, excuse me, how much time a week
do you consume all things USL? What's the shot
clock for you in getting all of this out the
door? So on the average weekend, it's probably
10 to 12 hours, and that might be conservative.
That's across both days? That's across both days.
During the week, I've obviously got two podcasts
that I'm doing. So that's two and a half up to
three hours a week minimum. There are midweek
games. The beauty of working from home is that
it can kind of be USL time at any point if I
need it to be. All of that put together, it's
easily 20 hours a week. And that probably feels
like a low ball estimate. They need to start
paying you my friend. They need to start paying
you Should I have to back you on for getting
part of the way there? All right next one here
from Eric and are we rushing pro rel or is it
the right time parentheses drink I Mean I Put
aside the idea of is it gonna work or not? Is
it the right time? And I think the answer is
probably yes. When you think about the World's
Cup, and maybe it isn't going to be the big moment
that everyone kind of hoped it is, but it is
kind of this line in the sand of the USL wants
it to be this spark for growth. So you've got
that win behind your back on one hand. In terms
of implementing ProRail, do you need it so that
the tiers of the leagues aren't that far apart?
And right now, League One, especially at the
top end, in the bottom end of the championship,
both in terms of salary, front office build out,
quality of play, all of that is fairly similar,
where ProRail isn't going to be a financial burden
for a team that goes down to a great extent,
or too much of a ramp up for the teams that are
coming up. Maybe if we wait 10, 15 years, it's
a different story. So if you just institutionalize
that, implemented at this point in time, it probably
makes more sense. Again, I don't know if it's
gonna work, but I very much think strike while
the iron's hot and get this thing done is the
right move. I mean, for all of us in this, you
know, hobby for us, somewhat paid job for you,
we need this to work, so... Yeah, it's kind of
work. You could say that again. Yeah. Kyle K
in this fashion to opposite side of the coin
here writes in how many more teams do you think
we might see shut down by 2030? Or do you think
we've seen the last of it from the USL championship
and up? So I guess Kyle has no faith in Super
Women's or USL one at this point. Thank God we're
not talking about the Super League, because they
would have a very negative answer to that question.
We can. You can add it. It's your show right
now. It's the John Show. Do what you want. I'm
not going to name specific teams, because that
feels very rude for people whose livelihoods
are at stake. But I think there are probably
three of the remaining eight teams in the Super
League that are on thin ice. So watch that space.
In the championship... Never say never, because
I don't think people saw Memphis coming, for
instance. But I think you could probably look
at two or three teams that are even a question
mark for 2030. And maybe, say, Premier doesn't
work, ProRail doesn't have the impact people
think. That could change very quickly. But I
don't think we're going to lose more than two
of the existing clubs by that point in time.
I'm going to add an addendum to this then, since
we're going to run long here anyways. Does Santa
Barbara sky ever actually take flight and does
North Carolina ever get back into the league?
Oh, boy, of the two, I think North Carolina joining
USL Premier is likelier. Santa Barbara is just
another one of those very weird expansion things
where they keep pushing and they keep pushing.
They're like changing stadiums. They've got investors,
but no real money behind the thing. I'd be surprised
to see them play. Yeah. All right. Next one here,
Greg H says you can have dinner with five soccer
legends. Who and why are you picking them? Before
you answer this, Greg, why five? Like and John,
if that's too difficult, just do two or three
and Greg can be happy with that answer. No, I
like it. I've got. I've got at least three that
I feel good about. So first and foremost, as
someone who got into this sport really as a top
of hot spur fan, I would like to have a meal
with Harry Kane. Also because of the fact that
he's very much like a mouth breather kind of
guy. And I think there would be something vaguely
comedic about just hanging out with him. We're
giving him some credit there. Second up, Peter
Wilt, who is really at the core of Indy Levin's
founding, kind of a Johnny Appleseed figure starting
clubs all over the Midwest. Say what you will
about him. I think he would be a fascinating
person to talk to. Just about like the state
of the game in this country because he's been
there at the ground level. Clint Dempsey up there
for me because he seems like a really good hang,
first and foremost. So I'm stopping at three
to rein this in but those are like three that
I feel like would be an interesting set at the
dinner table for me Jason you want to take a
shot at this? Have you put any thought into this?
I mean, I also would I I really admire Clint
Dempsey. I I think he could be a good dang He
seems like a good dude, too. He's got a good
story there about how we wait You can't steal
John's answers. There are thousands and thousands
of soccer players out there. I'll swap it out
for Landon Donovan then. Landon would be boring.
Talk to him about the hair plugs. Just have a
hospital dinner conversation. I don't know. Wardiola
might be interesting. He might be really crazy
and too intense the entire time. That could be
fun, like if you get them off on some tangent.
I don't know, Henri maybe, you know. Ask him
about his feelings on Kate. I appreciate that.
I got, I have three. I'll just, I'll go really
quick. I think it would be fantastic to have
dinner with. First and foremost, I'm going to
go, I'm going to go Wilfrid Nancy. I think that
the way he has seen the game, especially in his
current situation, love to ask him, like, you
know, reflecting back. But and I've seen that
I've heard him talk and he seems like a very
inspirational person, despite maybe a little
bit of conservation at times. And plus just trying
to get through dinner with with an accent. You
know, that could be fun in and of itself. I'm
also going to go Nate Miller. But I'm only going
to ask Nate Miller questions related to Kano
Smith so that Kano and I can become better friends
because apparently Nate and Kano are like the
best of buddies because Kano and I just we are
like oil and water and I got to figure a way
on how to penetrate and pierce that that man's
cold heart towards me. So I'm going I'm going
Nate Miller. I might even go Tommy Stone. I'm
just gonna do three coaches here and that's that's
my whole that's my whole schtick. But then player
wise and I'm going to go to the time Ibrahimovic
because I want to know if he is always like that
when the cameras aren't on. I don't think he
is. But if he is, I want to find out firsthand
and report back. And then the other one, Stephen
Gerard, I just want to know what it's like to
be a living legend that, you know, put an entire
city on his back and took them to heights that
they had never seen. So that's my five, at least.
and I'd go from there, but we are running so
long, so we gotta move straight to the next one.
Travis I or Travis L, I'm not sure if that was
lowercase, predictions for the first year a USL
team wins the US Open Cup. When's it gonna happen,
John? My gut reaction was never. I was kind of
thinking the same thing. It needs to happen soon.
Not only because like. Is the USL going to exist
15 years from now? Who can say? But also the
speed with which MLS has grown, it's only going
to get more difficult. So maybe MLS, maybe MLS
just pulls out of the cup and this becomes kind
of a cheat of a question. But yeah, never was
the gut feeling. Jacob here saying, how many
stadiums in the USL have you been to and what's
your favorite in -person experience? Apologies
if I forget anybody, but I think it's seven,
and it's Westchester, Indy, Brooklyn, Phoenix,
Tulsa, Oakland, and Portland. And of those, it's
clearly Portland. Like that fan base is rabid.
The attentiveness to the game and the understanding
of what's happening on the pitch kind of unmatched.
So I had an absolute ball up there. Sam R here
saying, can you please explain your Twitter banner?
So I will say, I saw some of these questions
beforehand and then I got onto the dock live
on the show and realized, oh, there's more. And
this one is taking me out. So it is a screenshot
from the movie Miami Vice directed by Michael
Mann. You are seeing Colin Farrell and he has
just delivered the line, I am a fiend for mojitos.
And I think that really speaks to me in a way
where I kind of have to represent it. Do you
drink mojitos? Is that your spirit animal of
a drink? It's more Colin Farrell as my spirit
animal. Would you have a mojito with Colin Farrell?
I would have a mojito anytime to be clear, but
especially in that scenario. Alex writes in who's
your projected winner for the World Cup? Who's
your dark horse? And are you going to any games?
John did the USL to the US Soccer Federation?
Did someone roll out the red carpet so that you
could attend these games and analyze them with
your own eyeballs? No, and I'm also like not
made of money, so I'm not going to be attending
any games. Unfortunately, is it because you spent
$300 ,000 on Nick's tickets? Man, I wait. I'm
not like I'm a Pacers fan. That's my thing, but
I wish I could be going to a Knicks game. That
atmosphere right now seems unreal. In terms of
some of the picks, I claim no deep knowledge
of international soccer. I'm too into the USL
rabbit hole at this point. I like France a lot,
something about that team, good mix of veterans
and guys on the come up. In terms of a dark horse,
and this is just pure vibes of reading athletic
articles, go for Columbia. hum as writing off
into the sunset. Jason, after doing nothing,
absolutely nothing for Minnesota United. I mean,
that hilarious. Do we have a dark? Do we have
a dark horse yet? Do we have I don't know if
we've even talked picks yet. Do you got your
Belgium still the dark horse, right? They're
they have been now for like the last four World
Cups. Lukaku is going to score 17 goals in this
World Cup. I swear it's gonna happen. Alright,
getting into this, Ramiz, I don't know, I'm not
gonna say this right. This is embarrassing considering
I covered this league. Ramiz Hamouda? Just signed.
Nailed it to Werner Bremen. Who are the next
three most likely players to make the jump out
of USL Championship? The next one we will see
is almost certainly Jamir Johnson. He was really
highly vaunted in a couple of MLS academies.
He's doing the Orange County thing, so he's already
got one foot out the door. I'm liking what I
see out of Colton Swan for the Charleston Battery.
U .S. youth national team prospect. Had a year
in college soccer. He was quite good, but still
kind of that 20 -20 range where he feels like
he's still in prospect mode. I'm holding stock
in Abdel Latif Abakora, reigning Young Player
of the Year from Loudon United. Hasn't played
yet this season because of an injury, but there
was some real smoke there that there was interest
in him. So he's going to be my third guy where
I'm trusting the process with him. Follow up
to that. Anyone on RAFC that should be eyeing
MLS? It's an interesting question. because it's
so hard to predict what MLS is looking for when
they sign a player out of the USL. For a second
there, I kind of thought Frank Nodarse was going
to be the guy who could maybe make a jump. Looking
at this team, I think maybe Hugo Bekarek is the
guy who has the profile in terms of the skill
set and the versatility where that projects the
best at a higher level for me. I'm going to jump
in because I actually know something for once
here. I think it I think the two players that
we should be watching are it does Quisera make
the return back in if he has a breakout season
I could see and he has connections back to a
team like Montreal who basically they don't even
pay players they like make barter trades with
like whatever objects are in the front office
and then cash them in at a pawn shop to get players
signed like I could genuinely see a Quisera resurgence
with Montreal and the other one that I'm watching
I don't think he could ever be a starter in an
MLS squad, but I absolutely think he could be
an impact substitute role for one of the teams
on a tighter budget or teams looking to find
value and don't want to go out and take a chance.
I do think that those three players. possibly.
But I think you' it's back Iraq that's at the
he wants to get back to United before he really
g because he only left Uni that that was it.
Otherw to take a chance on two m have waived
him and sent him I agree with you john that got
the biggest ceiling a USL premier players signing
in the league or have we already seen it because
the way some of these player contracts are written,
we just don't know it yet since teams haven't
been announced. Basically saying, we've signed
a player maybe to a three year deal starting
this season, so they will already be a premier
player. They don't know it. Do we think we're
there yet or do we think there's going to be
a massive reconstruction effort when we get to
the premier side of things? So. Pending who gets
admitted to the league, there are already six
guys who I think are set in stone for it. One
of them, well, two of them from Louisville, Taylor
Davila and Josh Jones, where they're just announced
on contracts through 2028. And maybe there's
a chance Jones especially goes to MLS, but those
guys feel locked in. Molloy and Goodrum both
on three -year deals. Now Lexington, just because
of the market size and the attendance they draw
is more of an edge case. and then Sacramento
just announced multi -year extensions for Freddy
Klee and Jack Kerr. They'll be the defensive
core of that team and unless Sacramento just
ends up in MLS, Sacramento is going to be in
USL Premier. So those are the guys who they feel
like they're already set to make that jump up.
All right, final question then here. Thoughts
on Pep Guardiola here and ranking his overall
impact on football as a whole? I don't think
you can overstate how impactful he's been. And
it's easy to think about the early era, the tiki
-taka, introducing this real focus on possession.
But I think there's something to be said for
the analytical approach, the way that you can
break down the pitch and understand valuing certain
areas of it, that constant willingness to experiment
and try something new. Yes, he was influential
in terms of spreading ideas, but there was a
way he went about it that made PEP and continues
to make PEP special and influential. So, yeah,
he's an enormous figure in the development of
the game over the last 20 years. Now it's up
to Kano to find a new person to change the way
he plays the game and he won't be able to deploy
Guardiola tactics every week. John, it's been
so fun doing these mail bags. We gotta keep doing
these in the future. Gotta get back to the regular
show for the radio side of things. They missed
all of this. So if you're just tuning back in
and you're like, this transition is so awkward,
it's because you missed 30 minutes of Colin Farrell
worship. And I encourage you to go back to either
the podcast side or the YouTube channel where
you can catch all the raw, unedited footage.
getting into this watch i Defiant 16 36 will
be ho party this weekend at the for that 7 p
.m. Kick off also don't forget to bring because
Jason is going to Yeah, Jason's going to be there
and start trading duplicates. We have a mission
to fill all of the Cape Verdean rosters so that
we can get those signed at their send off. So
if you've got Cape Verdean cards to give us,
we're close. OK, in fact, I'm going to open one
as we do the send off here. But, you know, John,
I'm going to ask you real fast. Are you a panini
sicko like us? So the giveaway here is I read
that sentence in the agenda and thought you meant
the sandwich initially. It was lunchtime, so
maybe that was influencing me. But yes, yes to
the sandwich, not really with the cards. I wish
I was because I think it's very cool, but it
was just never a thing I got into. We'll make
sure we give you all of our duplicates so we
can get you around for the next one. If you are
not going to the watch party, make sure to catch
all the action on Nesson Plus, ESPN Plus, or
of course tune in to Tom and Nick on 790 The
Score on your radio dial. John, it's been so
great having you on the program. Always a pleasure.
What are the final shout outs? How can people,
I mean these people all know where you are. They
know where you live probably, but how are they
finding you on the social worlds to follow all
your incredible work? Yeah, at USL Tactics on
Twitter and Blue Sky. I have a newsletter, I'm
on many podcasts, so listen to this league and
the USL show. Moreover, subscribe to Back Yield.
If only because I'm writing like 14 ,000 words
about the USL a week, but also we're doing awesome
stuff if you think about the World Cup and want
to follow the US national team. there's not going
to be a better place to do it. So general plug
for that, because that's really the core of what
I'm doing. And I think we're really driving discussion
of all things. U .S. soccer. No P .O. box for
fan letters to come set your way about Diego
Luna snubs. Just slide into the DMS on that one,
fellas. Oh, man. Thanks again, Josh. Always,
always a great time hanging out with you. Can't
wait till they have you on next time. Thanks
everyone else for joining us. We'll catch you
next time. Anchors up. Anchors up. You've been
listening to the Raising Anchor Soccer Show.
You can follow the show on Twitter, Reds, Blue
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.com. Fans, we thank you for listening. We ask
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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!