Keeping afloat

Adam is off celebrating the birth of his second child, so you’re stuck with Jason and Ben for this episode. There has been so much soccer in these past six days that the US Open Cup match against Christos FC feels like years ago, and not just a week. We talk about that game, about the class that Lloyd Sam and Ian Harkes brought when they subbed on, and how Julian Buescher’s game looked great on paper, but was different in real life. We also have to talk about United 2-0 loss to Toronto FC, and how Steve Birnbaum had a bad game on both sides of the ball. We talk about this result in the context of the team’s season so far, and what performances can be salvaged out of a loss like this. Finally, we have to talk about the rumors swirling around Alhaji Kamara and Jose Ortiz; and that’s just the first segment! In the second segment we talk about the upcoming game against Atlanta United, and how this team is a very bad matchup for United right now. Their defense can be had, especially with Carlos Carmona out, but United will also have to deal with the fact that Josef Martinez is back. We discuss who each team might rotate in and rotate out, before wondering overall if United can stay close enough in the East to allow midyear signings to help. In the third segment we welcome back Eugene Rupinski of Brotherly Game to talk about the weekend match against the Philadelphia Union. We ask hom about their center backs and their midfield, some United alums in Charlie Davies and Chris Pontius, and some midseason changes Eugene would want to see. Finally, we end with the poor home records of both teams and how Ben Olsen should gameplan against the Union. Give it a listen!