For the Glory KC is back with the 160th episode of the show and the first of 2026!
Sporting Kansas City officially had a relatively quiet week. Unofficially, they have a coach they are set to announce on Monday. Tom Bogert is reporting it, and the team was already teasing an announcement before he broke the story. It looks like it's long rumored Raphael Wicky, who we learned about over a month ago. We give our initial reactions to the news.
While that's unofficial, the team did make one official move this week. Sporting KC traded with the Chicago Fire for 21-year-old right back Justin Reynolds. Couple that with the rumored transfer for Cesar Inga and suddenly Sporting KC nearly have enough defenders to actually play a soccer match.
Sheena and I weigh in on all the news with preseason set to start next weekend. We recap the offseason and the state of the roster, coaching staff and all things Sporting KC headed into the 2026 season. There is still a lot of work to be done and hopefully it's a very busy week of announcements and press conferences to come.
The KC Current got only bad news this week with the announcement that Mary Long tore her ACL. It makes the departure of Alex Pfeiffer even more stunning since the forward depth is nonexistent for the Current. That said, Bia Zaneratto remains available to sign according to her agent. Plus, we talk about happy news for several players who got married or engaged recently.
In the Digital Crawl, we hit on a few more topics, including:
Here is a rundown of topics and start times:
As a special gift to For the Glory KC listeners and KC Soccer Journal readers, Backheeled dot com is giving away 30 days of their amazing, independent American soccer coverage for free. If you decide you want to turn that into a paid membership, they'll give you 10 percent off too. Just follow this link!
Big thanks to Splitter Conspiracy (listen to them here) for our theme music made with the permission of the KC Cauldron.
For the Glory KC is back with the 159th episode of the show and the final episode of season four unless we need an emergency new coach podcast this week!
Sporting Kansas City had another quiet week. We try not to rehash the silence (though it's unavoidable to a certain extent) but instead focus on the one rumor that trickled out. Sporting KC were tied to Albanian midfielder Juljan Shehu. If you want some complaining about the lack of a coach or player signings, check out last week's episode since nothing changed. Something has to happen this week, right? Preseason is in 13 days.
The KC Current got most of the attention for the week and a lot of it for some bad reasons. First, the Current are hiring Chris Armas as their next coach. Sheena and I are underwhelmed. Maybe he'll prove everyone wrong.
The other Kansas City Current news is around the stunning departure of 18-year-old Alex Pfeiffer. We get into our feelings about it, her teammate's feelings, her comments and her family's comments. And a bit of conspiracy theory corner as well.
In more positive news, the KC Current proved teams can work during the week of Christmas as they added two more players in Meila Brewer and Gianna Paul.
In the Digital Crawl, we hit on a few more topics, including:
Here is a rundown of topics and start times:
As a special gift to For the Glory KC listeners and KC Soccer Journal readers, Backheeled dot com is giving away 30 days of their amazing, independent American soccer coverage for free. If you decide you want to turn that into a paid membership, they'll give you 10 percent off too. Just follow this link!
Big thanks to Splitter Conspiracy (listen to them here) for our theme music made with the permission of the KC Cauldron.
For the Glory KC is back with the 158th episode of the show!
Sporting Kansas City made a little noise this week with their four selections in the MLS SuperDraft, including Kwaku Agyebeng, who was signed a contract as a part of his selection. But the biggest question of the week is, are Sporting KC taking too long to hire a coach and build a roster?
Sheena and I debate it, and it is a subject that really got her fired up! Sporting KC remain one of just two teams without a head coach. The Columbus Crew recently announced the departure of Wilfried Nancy to Celtic in Scotland (and he's already on thin ice there, which did leave me wondering if he got fired if he could get the SKC job). But with St. Louis City filling their vacancy this week, it's just Sporting KC and the Crew trying to firm up plans for 2026.
And it's not just the lack of the coach, but it's also the roster. Sporting KC sent most of the team packing and entered the offseason with 13 players. They've since added a Homegrown signing (Cielo Tschantret), traded for a career backup goalkeeper (Stefan Cleveland) and added the aforementioned Agyebeng in the draft. There is a ton of work to do all over the roster and not a ton of time to do it before preseason.
Speaking of preseason, Sporting KC unveiled all six of their games which start in January. They will play five MLS teams and one game against a college (FIU) that is intended as a warm-up. It's a preseason trip that could be worth making as the Kansas City Current play the same weekend as the last SKC game. (Sheena and I are going if you happen to be there!)
Also, in the SKC round-up, we cover the rumored five divisions that will come to MLS when the calendar flips in the 2027-28 season.
The KC Current didn't sit idly by this week as they made two more signings. They added CB Kolo Suliafu and RB Laney Rouse. We also talked through the state of the roster and the impact of the NWSLPA shooting down the proposed High Impact Player rule. The KC Current also announced the newly rebranded "Current Landing" and release some cool renderings of the ongoing construction.
In the Digital Crawl, we hit on a few more topics, including:
Here is a rundown of topics and start times:
As a special gift to For the Glory KC listeners and KC Soccer Journal readers, Backheeled dot com is giving away 30 days of their amazing, independent American soccer coverage for free. If you decide you want to turn that into a paid membership, they'll give you 10 percent off too. Just follow this link!
Big thanks to Splitter Conspiracy (listen to them here) for our theme music made with the permission of the KC Cauldron.
For the Glory KC is back with the 157th episode of the show!
Sporting Kansas City and the KC Current didn't have a ton going on this week, so instead we did a mailbag episode of the podcast. Apologies to those who asked questions we didn't get to, weren't equipped to answer or who we took so long to answer news has come out on your questions.
For a decent junk of the mailbag, we played a game from listener Spencer. He asked us to go back to the end of 2024 and revisit our roster decisions. Knowing what we know now, would we change our mind on players or even regarding Peter Vermes. There was a surprising amount of disagreement!
We also took questions about the active coaching search underway by David Lee, if we should have a For the Glory KC watch party, what the new stadium sponsor should be for Sporting KC, along with some KC Current (and NWSL wages) and World Cup questions.
In the SKC roundup we talked about the Stefan Cleveland trade, the lack of signings this week, the new Saint Luke's sponsorship and the announced preseason dates and schedule. For the KC Current's roundup, we covered their trade and the re-signing of Rocky Rodriguez.
In the Digital Crawl, we hit on a few more topics, including:
Here is a rundown of topics and start times:
As a special gift to For the Glory KC listeners and KC Soccer Journal readers, Backheeled dot com is giving away 30 days of their amazing, independent American soccer coverage for free. If you decide you want to turn that into a paid membership, they'll give you 10 percent off too. Just follow this link!
Big thanks to Splitter Conspiracy (listen to them here) for our theme music made with the permission of the KC Cauldron.
For the Glory KC is back with the 156th episode of the show!
The headline for Kansas City soccer this week is the World Cup! The FIFA World Cup draw went down last Friday with games announced on Saturday. Kansas City get six games in the 2026 World Cup, and the first four matchups are now known:
KC also host a July 3rd round of 32 game and a July 11th quarterfinal, that could feature Messi vs. Ronaldo. If Argentina and Portugal win their groups and their first two knockout games then the biggest game in the world (before the final) will be in Kansas City. That's all assuming Messi even plays. And that they are both healthy. It's a long-shot, but it could happen!
The United States Men's National team also found out their group, and it's quite winnable. They start off against Paraguay and also play Australia and the winner of the UEFA playoff between Turkiye, Slovakia, Romania and Kosovo. The USMNT could even play in Kansas City if everything falls the right way, but part of that is them ending up third in their group, which would be a disappointment.
Sporting Kansas City are still top of mind with a few big moments this week. First, Kerry Zavagnin officially parted ways with the club after 26 years. Sheena and I give our thoughts and then we share the rumor of two potential replacement coaching candidates. Raphael Wicky, who is a rumored finalist, is who we know the most about after this time with the Chicago Fire.
In other Sporting KC news, they have a rumored goalkeeper trade. It'll be the team's fourth keeper if Stefan Cleveland officially arrives from Austin FC. He's never been a long-term starter, but at 31-years-old he can push John Pulskamp and share what he's learned behind some of the best keepers in the league while playing for the Seattle Sounders and Austin FC.
In KC Current news, the team signed new two-year contracts with Mary Long and Katie Scott, officially said goodbye to goalkeeper Laurel Ivory and saw their former star defender, Hailie Mace, sign with the Orlando Pride.
They also had a less than stellar showing in the World Sevens Football competition over the weekend.
In the Digital Crawl, we hit on a few more topics, including:
Here is a rundown of topics and start times:
Upcoming Game
As a special gift to For the Glory KC listeners and KC Soccer Journal readers, Backheeled dot com is giving away 30 days of their amazing, independent American soccer coverage for free. If you decide you want to turn that into a paid membership, they'll give you 10 percent off too. Just follow this link!
Big thanks to Splitter Conspiracy (listen to them here) for our theme music made with the permission of the KC Cauldron.
For the Glory KC is back with the 155th episode of the show!
Sporting Kansas City and the KC Current did literally nothing this week, so we are filling in with offseason content!
Sheena and I did our first ever "For the Glory KC Awards" and gave out many fake prizes to players on both teams. From MVP to Newcomer of the year to strange categories like best hair and best personality. There are the awards you'd expect and everything in between.
We also asked the question, which is more shocking? Peter Vermes getting fired with nearly four years left on his contract or Vlatko Andonovski stepping down unexpectedly after the greatest regular season in NWSL history?
Speaking of Vermes, he was reported to be up for the Atlanta United job that ultimately went to Tata Martino. Which left the question, where should Peter land if he stays in MLS? There are only a few jobs left open and the New York Red Bulls one looks like it's going to Michael Bradley (according to Tom Bogert of the Athletic). So that only left open the Colorado Rapids, Columbus Crew (soon enough), St. Louis City and of course Sporting KC.
In addition to picking Vermes' landing spot, we ponder the question of how nervous should we be that Sporting KC still only have 14 signed players and no coach with preseason set to start in just over five weeks on January 10th?
We also cover the news about Kansas City and the 2031 Women's World Cup, Bia Zaneratto possibly heading to Brazil and a lot of USWNT news for the full team, U-23s and U-20s.
In the Digital Crawl, we hit on a few more topics, including:
Here is a rundown of topics and start times:
Upcoming Games
As a special gift to For the Glory KC listeners and KC Soccer Journal readers, Backheeled dot com is giving away 30 days of their amazing, independent American soccer coverage for free. If you decide you want to turn that into a paid membership, they'll give you 10 percent off too. Just follow this link!
Big thanks to Splitter Conspiracy (listen to them here) for our theme music made with the permission of the KC Cauldron.
For the Glory KC is back with the 154th episode of the show!
Sporting Kansas City were back in the news with the earliest schedule release in recent memory. And it's a compressed schedule with the 2026 World Cup causing a nearly two-month break. Sheena and I give our thoughts on the all the midweek games, particularly the two St. Louis City SC games being midweek.
We also try to figure out the best road trips for us and for everyone else. It's the last full year of the schedule under the current system, before the sprint season in 2027 and the full schedule change for the 2027-28 season. We have some concerns based on how this one was built.
The KC Current didn't make quite as much news (but there was some). Before that though, we pretend to be the Sporting Director and try to decide on just eight roster moves. Move aside Vlatko (j/k). Most of the team is back in 2026 and the team should be quite good. The standouts we have to decide on are Bia and Elizabeth Ball since Hailie Mace already announced her departure. Everyone else is further down the depth chart or a young player looking to break through.
In other Kansas City Current news, we talk about their first game of 2026 (it's before Sporting KC's), the wins and snubs at the NWSL awards and about a bunch of international call-ups.
Perhaps the biggest story of the week is that of the Kansas Astras, formerly the KC Astras. Due to a decision either by the KC Comets or the MASLW, they will not be allowed to play in KC or use "Kansas City" in their name. We give all the details we know about the unfolding situation.
Finally, Sheena introduces a new, as of yet untitled segment on women's sports, even beyond soccer (though there is plenty of soccer). It'll probably exist outside this podcast in the future, but in what form is unclear. We're open to your suggestions!
In the Digital Crawl, we hit on a few more topics, including:
Here is a rundown of topics and start times:
Upcoming Games
As a special gift to For the Glory KC listeners and KC Soccer Journal readers, Backheeled dot com is giving away 30 days of their amazing, independent American soccer coverage for free. If you decide you want to turn that into a paid membership, they'll give you 10 percent off too. Just follow this link!
Big thanks to Splitter Conspiracy (listen to them here) for our theme music made with the permission of the KC Cauldron.
For the Glory KC is back with the 153rd episode of the show!
Before you do anything else, can you take our Sporting KC and MLS fan survey? Thanks!
The main event, for the second straight week, are the KC Current who shook up the soccer world. First, Vlatko Andonovski is out as the coach but is promoted? It felt weird to us as well. Sheena and I talk through the sudden change and shed some light on the move and all the other front office changes around the Kansas City Current.
Then we can't avoid the pain of discussing the premature end to the season for KC, as NJ/NY Gotham bounced them from the playoffs unexpectedly late in extra time. We break down the injuries, the decisions that led to those, the games highs and lows and everything in between.
And before the sadness ends, we have to discuss the departure of Hailie Mace from the Current. And another KC Current player is on the move too. Plus, the KC Current are up for nearly all the awards.
Sporting Kansas City were less in the news, but Major League Soccer on the whole made massive waves this week. First, they announced a schedule change to a "winter" schedule in 2027. In between there will be one more "regular" season, then a mini season they are calling a "sprint" to start 2027 before the full switch to the summer to spring move in July of 2027. We break down our feelings on the moves and try to capture each side of the equation (for more depth, check out my Op-Ed on the subject).
The league also confirmed big changes with the Apple TV deal, including the end of MLS Season Pass.
Beyond that, there are rumors of more changes, including the elimination of conferences and a new five division MLS setup. Sheena was very upset at my proposed divisions from nearly a year ago! And of course, MLS may change their playoffs again too.
Before we depart, Ike Opara and Sporting KC II made news too, and SKC even signed a player, Cielo Tschantret. If only every week of the offseason was as busy as this one! It's a long episode, but maybe there won't be anything that happens this week?
In the Digital Crawl, we hit on a few more topics, including:
Here is a rundown of topics and start times:
Upcoming Games
As a special gift to For the Glory KC listeners and KC Soccer Journal readers, Backheeled dot com is giving away 30 days of their amazing, independent American soccer coverage for free. If you decide you want to turn that into a paid membership, they'll give you 10 percent off too. Just follow this link!
Big thanks to Splitter Conspiracy (listen to them here) for our theme music made with the permission of the KC Cauldron.
For the Glory KC is back with the 152nd episode of the show!
Sporting Kansas City's 2025 MLS season is over and we're in that news lull where it's unclear if anything major is going to happen anytime soon. That said, we have a ton of tiny Sporting KC stories that could easily fall through the cracks if you aren't on social media.
Before we get to that, if you haven't yet, please take our survey on the Sporting KC 2025 MLS season! Thanks!
On today's episode, Sheena and I discuss the rumored opening day of the 2026 MLS season, rumors around Santiago Munoz staying in Kansas City, new salary information, Ryan Schewe re-signing, an analysis of SKC, Benny Feilhaber news, another coach moving on and Zorhan Bassong getting another call-up.
The real main even though is the KC Current who bounced back from their first loss in 17 games to earn a come from behind victory, without Temwa Chawinga, over the San Diego Wave. They also basically did it without Bia, who went down injured as well. We have updates on both of those injuries and a preview of the opening playoff series with Gotham FC.
Beyond that, we look back at the Kansas City Current's remarkable season, talk about Temwa lifting another Golden Boot trophy, share out thoughts on Lo LaBonta re-signing with the team and her time with the USWNT and much more.
It's an episode of many, many tiny stories about SKC and the Current. We also briefly talk about a lovely bio of KC Current owners Chris and Angie Long that you should go read in the Kansas City Star.
In the Digital Crawl, we hit on a few more topics, including:
Here is a rundown of topics and start times:
Upcoming Games
As a special gift to For the Glory KC listeners and KC Soccer Journal readers, Backheeled dot com is giving away 30 days of their amazing, independent American soccer coverage for free. If you decide you want to turn that into a paid membership, they'll give you 10 percent off too. Just follow this link!
Big thanks to Splitter Conspiracy (listen to them here) for our theme music made with the permission of the KC Cauldron.
For the Glory KC is back with the 151st episode of the show!
Sporting Kansas City's 2025 MLS season has mercifully come to an end. On a points per game basis, it was the worst season in team history. This past week brought about the biggest series of offseason changes in recent memory. Of the 17 players David Lee and his staff had to decide on, only four are guaranteed to be back in 2026 (with ongoing negotiations with two more). As things stand today, there are just 12 players on the roster.
Sheena and I work our way through all of the Sporting KC players whose options were declined, whose loans were not picked up and who are simply out of contract and not in negotiations to return. There were some names, like Erik Thommy and Logan Ndenbe, that fans took harder than others. All of this should lead to a busy offseason since Lee has room to add up to 18 players to the roster.
Beyond the roster moves and subsequent press conference, Sporting KC made other news around the US Open Cup, the MLS SuperDraft, coaching moves and an international call-up. We even spend a few minutes on the Decision Day snoozer between SKC and the Houston Dynamo and the upcoming MLS offseason schedule.
The KC Current had a pretty terrible week too, primarily because of the injury to Temwa Chawinga. They also happened to lose a meaningless game to the Houston Dash, but that paled in comparison to the injury news. There was some positive news around the Current with numerous international call-ups and the expansion of their Academy setup.
In the Digital Crawl, we hit on a few more topics, including:
Here is a rundown of topics and start times:
Upcoming Games
As a special gift to For the Glory KC listeners and KC Soccer Journal readers, Backheeled dot com is giving away 30 days of their amazing, independent American soccer coverage for free. If you decide you want to turn that into a paid membership, they'll give you 10 percent off too. Just follow this link!
Big thanks to Splitter Conspiracy (listen to them here) for our theme music made with the permission of the KC Cauldron.
For the Glory KC is back with the 150th episode of the show!
Sporting Kansas City didn't play, so they can't break our hearts this week. In fact, it's pretty optimistic with Wednesday's press conference with new President of Soccer Operations, David Lee. He introduced himself to the fanbase and media and made a strong first impression. For a deeper dive on that press conference, we've got that in article form, but we'll take you through the big notes.
Even though Sporting KC have a CSO hired, it won't stop Sheena and I from thinking we know best and deciding the fate of the 17 players who are out of contract, on options years or have loans that include a purchase option. If you prefer nearly 6,000 written words instead of listening to us talk, I joined six other KCSJ colleagues in the written word earlier this week. Sheena did call this "some of her best work," so you should probably listen. It was fun!
As a bonus, even though there are only eight guys on guaranteed contracts, Sheena and I discuss who of those we'd actually like to keep too, with Daniel Salloi and Shapi Suleymanov getting the most attention.
In the Sporting KC round-up we spread that good word that SKC cannot win the Wooden Spoon, Mike Burns is sticking around and vent a little about that silly SKC/Minnesota United game we never talked about.
The KC Current just keep winning. A record-breaking number of wins in fact! And points. And shutouts. They've vanquished a quality Gotham FC squad and Angel City FC since we last spoke, so we catch up on all things Kansas City Current.
In the Digital Crawl, we hit on a few more topics, including:
Here is a rundown of topics and start times:
Upcoming Games
As a special gift to For the Glory KC listeners and KC Soccer Journal readers, Backheeled dot com is giving away 30 days of their amazing, independent American soccer coverage for free. If you decide you want to turn that into a paid membership, they'll give you 10 percent off too. Just follow this link!
Big thanks to Splitter Conspiracy (listen to them here) for our theme music made with the permission of the KC Cauldron.
For the Glory KC is back with the 149th episode of the show!
Sporting Kansas City did what we've been asking for and hired a new President of Soccer Operations. David Lee is in charge of all things soccer over at Sporting KC, and he'll report directly to ownership. That's actually the first (serious) subject on the pod. CSO? PoSO? General Manager? Sporting Director? Technical Director? To quote the former King of the Seven Kingdoms, Robert Baratheon, "titles, titles, titles."
On today's, not quite an emergency podcast, we learn about David Lee's professional past, his time with NYCFC and his track record of success.
He also comes out of the City Football Group (CFG) empire, so we tell you what the heck that means and what impact that likely had on the resources he had at his disposal and how it could both be benefiting him and limiting him at other times.
Sheena and I also weigh in on Lee's history of youth development and a knack for signing young talent. A lot of that is CFG related, but it also could be the direction he decides to take with Sporting KC. There is so much to talk about with Lee, you should probably just download the episode already!
As a tease, here are some of the quotes from the media we'll cite around the excitement of the David Lee hire:
In the Digital Crawl, we hit on a few more topics, including:
Here is a rundown of topics and start times:
Upcoming Games
As a special gift to For the Glory KC listeners and KC Soccer Journal readers, Backheeled dot com is giving away 30 days of their amazing, independent American soccer coverage for free. If you decide you want to turn that into a paid membership, they'll give you 10 percent off too. Just follow this link!
Big thanks to Splitter Conspiracy (listen to them here) for our theme music made with the permission of the KC Cauldron.
For the Glory KC is back with the 148th episode of the show!
Sporting Kansas City put up one of the worst performances in recent memory when they went on the road and lost 4-1 to the LA Galaxy. The dead-last-in-all-of-MLS Galaxy. They gave up a hattrick in the first half to Designated Player, Joseph Paintsil, and he frankly could have scored four or five goals on the night. It's a worrying trend with how they start games and how they end the first half of games.
Despite it being bad, and it was very bad, it wasn't all bad. Dejan Joveljic scored again, this time against his former team leaving him 4th in the Golden Boot standings. There were positive moments for new starters Memo Rodriguez and Stephen Afrifa (and bad ones but let us have this). Robert Voloder came off the bench and made his case to still be on this roster.
Sheena and I also discuss all the follies and how much of the blame should be heaped onto John Pulskamp (spoiler: not much in my eyes). And we have to discuss that Shapi Suleymanov red card.
Unfortunately, we also have to update the "race to the bottom" by Sporting KC. They are dangerously closer to 'winning' the Wooden Spoon for the first time in club history. The only hope may be that other teams also play bad, which D.C. United and St. Louis City did their part this weekend.
In the SKC Round-up we also cover how much General Allocation Money the new Chief Soccer Officer (CSO) is going to have to work with and some good and bad moments from the final SKC II home game.
The KC Current lifted us up a bit on Friday though, with their dominant 4-1 win with a heavily rotated lineup. There were brilliant moments, debuts, firsts and more. And we have to talk about how Temwa Chawinga was placed ridiculously low on the Ballon d'Or voting.
In the Digital Crawl, we hit on a few more topics, including:
Here is a rundown of topics and start times:
Upcoming Games
As a special gift to For the Glory KC listeners and KC Soccer Journal readers, Backheeled dot com is giving away 30 days of their amazing, independent American soccer coverage for free. If you decide you want to turn that into a paid membership, they'll give you 10 percent off too. Just follow this link!
Big thanks to Splitter Conspiracy (listen to them here) for our theme music made with the permission of the KC Cauldron.
For the Glory KC is back with the 147th episode of the show!
The KC Current are the headliners this week, and probably should be each week, because they had themselves a marvelous weekend! After the Washington Spirit dropped points to Angel City FC on Thursday night, that opened the door for the Kansas City Current to lift the shield on Saturday night. All they had to do was win.
And of course they did! They defeated the Seattle Reign 2-0, lifted the NWSL Shield as the best record in the league, with five games remaining. It's the fastest ever shield win in league history, breaking the previous record set by the 2014 Seattle Reign.
But that Reign team ultimately didn't win the NWSL Championship. They lost the final to FC Kansas City, coached by Vlatko Andonovski. Sheena and I work through all the emotions and moments from the night and how the KC Current can't let that happen to them.
Across town, things were much worse for Sporting Kansas City. They lost, yet again, this time to the Vancouver Whitecaps. And it was a depleted Whitecaps side who were missing most of their stars. It didn't matter as SKC fell behind just over a minute into the game and never recovered.
Then again, they did play some kids and try some different things for next year. So, I supposed we sort of got what we were asking for last week. But losing sucks. And St. Louis City won, so Sporting KC are closer to the Wooden Spoon (for the worst record in MLS) than anything else and now behind their cross-state rivals.
On one night, the KC Current proclaim themselves one of the best teams in the world and Sporting KC get eliminated from playoff contention. What a weird night for Kansas City soccer.
In the Digital Crawl, we hit on a few more topics, including:
Here is a rundown of topics and start times:
Upcoming Games
As a special gift to For the Glory KC listeners and KC Soccer Journal readers, Backheeled dot com is giving away 30 days of their amazing, independent American soccer coverage for free. If you decide you want to turn that into a paid membership, they'll give you 10 percent off too. Just follow this link!
Big thanks to Splitter Conspiracy (listen to them here) for our theme music made with the permission of the KC Cauldron.
For the Glory KC is back with the 146th episode of the show!
Sporting Kansas City really wasted our time this weekend. Sure, the game was close, only losing 2-1 to Real Salt Lake. But any idiot could see this lineup wasn't going to work. A midfield three of Nemanja Radoja, Jacob Bartlett and Jake Davis. Where is the offense coming from? Why is Radoja playing the 8? He has a single position, being a defensive midfielder in a single pivot. A role he's spent almost no time playing in 2025. Which is fine, let Barlett get those minutes. Or even better, let Davis and Zorhan Bassong play in a double pivot (Bassong was suspended for this game).
And why is Joaquin Fernandez playing any minutes for this team? He has shown he hasn't done enough to earn a new contract. His deal runs out at the end of 2025 and his exorbitant salary has not been earned. Ian James picked up a concussion, so he wasn't available. But new loanee Alan Montes is. See if he has enough talent to keep around beyond the expiration of his loan this season. They have a purchase option. I have a dream formation he'd fit right into.
Worst of all, the game was so conservative, and Kerry Zavagnin didn't go offensive until the team was down 2-0. It felt like a wasted game. We'll get into that, and other thoughts from the RSL game before moving on to other topics like the KC Cauldron "Hot Seat," an injury update for SKC and England possibly coming to KC for the World Cup.
Finally, the KC Current couldn't pull off yet another win. They played to a 0-0 draw with the Washington Spirit without the injured Temwa Chawinga. Temwa should be fine according to Vlatko Andonovski.
The game was another hot one, featured a red card and the Spirit showed why they are the 2nd place team in the NWSL.
In the Digital Crawl, we hit on a few more topics, including:
Here is a rundown of topics and start times:
Upcoming Games
As a special gift to For the Glory KC listeners and KC Soccer Journal readers, Backheeled dot com is giving away 30 days of their amazing, independent American soccer coverage for free. If you decide you want to turn that into a paid membership, they'll give you 10 percent off too. Just follow this link!
Big thanks to Splitter Conspiracy (listen to them here) for our theme music made with the permission of the KC Cauldron.
For the Glory KC is back with the 145th episode of the show!
Sporting Kansas City failed once again to do what they haven't been able to do all season. String together back-to-back wins. That leaves them all but eliminated from the 2025 playoffs, simply seeking to avoid a slide that puts them at the bottom of the table. We spend just a little time on the Austin FC game (but we still had a few thoughts) and move to more pressing matters.
Both of our next conversations were triggered by a simple tweet from Andrew Weibe.
First, we talk through that Chief Soccer Officer (CSO) search update, including that it'll happen before the season is over, they are in final interviews, and the move will come from outside the organization (so no Mike Burns as CSO).
Then the last paragraph sparked a bit of a discussion online.
"CSO could make wholesale changes. Seventeen players out of contract. Two of three DP spots could be opened, all three U22."
First, the two DPs Sporting KC have, cannot be bought down. So, the implication is that Dejan Joveljic or Manu Garcia could be sold, and Weibe went on to confirm that's what he meant. So, should Joveljic be sold? If so, how much will that cost a team to pry him away? He's just 26-years-old. He's at 17 goals and counting this year. Sheena and I get into the discussion and the fan reaction around that idea. I try to break down why it might financially make some sense, but also assess the risk involved in such a move.
Finally, the KC Current continued their winning ways with their 12th straight game without a loss, including only a single draw. The game was their 9th road win of the season, an NWSL record. With the Washington Spirit also winning, they remain only 14 points clear of second place. That won't allow next weekend to end in them winning the shield, but if they beat the Spirit, it'll all but lock up the trophy.
In the Digital Crawl, we hit on a few more topics, including:
Here is a rundown of topics and start times:
Upcoming Games
As a special gift to For the Glory KC listeners and KC Soccer Journal readers, Backheeled dot com is giving away 30 days of their amazing, independent American soccer coverage for free. If you decide you want to turn that into a paid membership, they'll give you 10 percent off too. Just follow this link!
Big thanks to Splitter Conspiracy (listen to them here) for our theme music made with the permission of the KC Cauldron.
For the Glory KC is back with the 144th episode of the show!
Sporting Kansas City broke a nearly two-month winless streak on Saturday night against the Colorado Rapids. The streak went back to their last win, also against the Rapids, on July 4th in Commerce City. And while "winless" is technically right, it was worse than that. Between victories over Colorado, Sporting KC were 0-5-1, with just a single draw against NYCFC.
The defense was still flawed, and defense often starts further up the field, so there is blame to go around. Colorado should have scored far more than the two goals they put in, if not for outstanding individual efforts from John Pulskamp, Robert Voloder and Ian James. But it was something else that stood out on Saturday.
With Manu Garcia still unavailable due to injury, Kerry Zavagnin finally used Santiago Munoz as a straight up #10. You could call it a second striker, but he was floating all over creating opportunities. He was involved in so many attacking sequences and seemed to unlock Sporting KC's creativity. Not every sequence ended with a shot, but there was so much promise.
Another move I've been asking for is not starting all three strikers together. It leaves no impact subs on the bench to play forward. With Mason Toye starting on the bench, it was a combination of him subbing on and Santi unlocking the midfield that led to the game winning goal. Munoz played a perfect ball to Toye to finished with precision to push SKC over the line for their seventh win of the season.
Of course, Sheena and I talked about a lot more Sporting KC happenings in this episode, including:
The KC Current did what we basically expect them to do at this point. Just keep winning. They've won twice since our last podcast and clinched a playoff spot. They aren't that far away from locking up the NWSL Shield. But ultimately, the season will be defined by what they do in the playoffs. Before we get there though, we talk through the victories over the Portland Thorns and North Carolina Courage.
In the Digital Crawl, we hit on a few more topics, including:
Here is a rundown of topics and start times:
Upcoming Games
As a special gift to For the Glory KC listeners and KC Soccer Journal readers, Backheeled dot com is giving away 30 days of their amazing, independent American soccer coverage for free. If you decide you want to turn that into a paid membership, they'll give you 10 percent off too. Just follow this link!
Big thanks to Splitter Conspiracy (listen to them here) for our theme music made with the permission of the KC Cauldron.
For the Glory KC is back with the 143rd episode of the show!
Weather was top of mind in the two Kansas City versus Orlando matches as both games experienced three plus hour delays.
Sporting Kansas City initially looked like they were going to keep some of the positive vibes from the San Diego game going when they had a solid first half against Orlando City. Then the second half happened. While the lightning delayed the game, the second half absolutely lacked electricity for Sporting KC.
Personally, I think the tactical changes were all wrong and a lot of it went down to the substitution patterns and decisions. Maybe it was because all three center forwards started the game, so there were none to bring off the bench. However, it felt like it all centered around team captain Zorhan Bassong.
As soon as Bassong was forced to move to left back for a fatigued Tim Leibold, everything fell apart. Sporting KC interim manager Kerry Zavagnin switched to a very conservative midfield by bringing on Nemanja Radoja and Jacob Bartlett and flipping into the 4-3-3 out of the team's second attempt at a 4-4-2. If the team wanted to push for a win, a back three likely shores up the defensive weaknesses and keeps Bassong and Jake Davis in the midfield together. It may not have worked, and hindsight is 20/20, but the decisions made were a disaster. Or maybe it was just the players inability to execute.
If instead it was a back three of Jansen Miller, Alan Montes and Robert Voloder, the team could have gone much more attacking with the wingbacks and not ruined the defensive chemistry of that Bassong/Davis double pivot. Sheena and I weigh in on that, and a lot more from the 3-1 loss to Orlando.
In the SKC round-up we have stories on Gianluca Busio, Latif Blessing, SKC II and a lot more.
The KC Current had weather issues of their own on Saturday. As many pointed out when the schedule came out, a 3:00PM start time in August for the Orlando Pride match-up was never going to work. The league should have realized it wouldn't work far before they left fans sitting in the stadium for hours with updates every 15-minutes before a larger delay was announced.
When the game was finally played, the product on the field suffered and KC broke their eight-game winning streak and earned their first draw of 2025. All while failing to score for the first time ever in CPKC Stadium. It's hard to maintain your homefield advantage when so many fans had left due to the heat.
In the Digital Crawl, we hit on a few more topics, including:
Here is a rundown of topics and start times:
Upcoming Games
As a special gift to For the Glory KC listeners and KC Soccer Journal readers, Backheeled dot com is giving away 30 days of their amazing, independent American soccer coverage for free. If you decide you want to turn that into a paid membership, they'll give you 10 percent off too. Just follow this link!
Big thanks to Splitter Conspiracy (listen to them here) for our theme music made with the permission of the KC Cauldron.
For the Glory KC is back with the 142nd episode of the show!
Sporting Kansas City didn't get the much-needed win against San Diego FC. It's not unexpected when a team well below the playoff line plays the best team in the conference it may not work out. Sure, they lost 2-0, but I'm here to tell you they actually executed their gameplan exceptionally well. Their chances just didn't go in. The dominated the expected goal (xG) battle, but the only number most will care about is the final score.
However, there are positives that can be taken away from the loss and things to look forward to in the final nine games of the MLS season. Sheena and I will get into more detail in the episode, but those things are:
As a bonus category, we look closer at the 4-4-2 and decide if it should be that, or another formation for the rest of the year.
Beyond those keys, we also discuss the flopping of San Diego FC, the poorly officiated game from Pierre-Luc Lauziere (which may have literally led to injuries), updates on other injuries (Erik Thommy in particular) and a bunch of other topics from the game.
In the SKC Round-Up, we covered the newest Sporting KC signing (Alan Montes) and his brief debut, the departure of Dany Rosero, some Mike Burns transfer window quotes and the news my colleague Thad Bell broke that the $500k in GAM from the William Agada trade does not expire.
The KC Current played twice since our last episode, both of which were wins. First, they beat Racing Louisville then they took down the Utah Royals. Both were victories on the road. But there was a ton of other KC Current news:
In the Digital Crawl, we kept it brief on a few more topics, including:
Here is a rundown of topics and start times:
Upcoming Games
As a special gift to For the Glory KC listeners and KC Soccer Journal readers, Backheeled dot com is giving away 30 days of their amazing, independent American soccer coverage for free. If you decide you want to turn that into a paid membership, they'll give you 10 percent off too. Just follow this link!
Big thanks to Splitter Conspiracy (listen to them here) for our theme music made with the permission of the KC Cauldron.
For the Glory KC is back with the 141st episode of the show!
Sporting Kansas City are slipping. Both in results and down the table. Their latest loss, a 3-0 shelling at the hands of the Vancouver Whitecaps, leaves them back in 13th place in the Western Conference and six points out of the final playoff spot with just 10 games to go.
In fact, the team has won just three times in their last 13 attempts. The team is 3-5-5 in that stretch having picked up just one point in the last three games. Sheena and I try to figure out what is wrong. The team has started slow and the midgame adjustments from Kerry Zavagnin are strong, but is he making bad starting lineup choices? (More Jake Davis please! And perhaps a Santi Munoz start?)
Maybe it's finally time for a different starting formation since the team is quick to switch to a back three in games, but they have yet to start a game in one. Or is it all an illusion and they just look good in the second half because of game state? When you are chasing the game and throwing numbers forward, of course you are going to create more chances, and your opponent is going to sit back a bit.
We also discuss the transfer window, which opened this past week. Sporting KC made a trade for a third open international roster spot which may mean they are going to be busy. We look at what positions they should target.
The KC Current made a bunch of news despite not playing any official games. They filmed some of Ted Lasso season four at CPKC Stadium this past week. Jason Sudeikis and friends have been all over KC, including Swope Park, the Plaza, maybe your neighborhood and this week they'll be at the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum.
In actual soccer news, the KC Current played a scrimmage in very poor weather against Chris and Angie Long's other team, HB Koge, and won 5-1. The team also officially announced their 2,000-seat stadium in Riverside, MO, where KC Current II, the Academy and other regional events will be played. It includes an additional performance center and four more fields (bringing the total to 12).
In the Digital Crawl, go deeper than usual on a few more topics, including:
Here is a rundown of topics and start times:
Upcoming Games
As a special gift to For the Glory KC listeners and KC Soccer Journal readers, Backheeled dot com is giving away 30 days of their amazing, independent American soccer coverage for free. If you decide you want to turn that into a paid membership, they'll give you 10 percent off too. Just follow this link!
Big thanks to Splitter Conspiracy (listen to them here) for our theme music made with the permission of the KC Cauldron.