Episode 5

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Published on:

27th Aug 2025

Ball Banter: Building Better Teams with Jason Longshore

In this episode of PSP, host Nii Wallace-Bruce discusses the upcoming FIFA World Cup and recent Major League Soccer (MLS) activities with guest Jason Longshore, the voice of Atlanta United on 92.9 The Game. They analyze the recent goalless draw between Atlanta United and Toronto FC, and explore the progress and challenges faced by both teams (02:35). Jason shares insights into key players like Miguel Almiron and Bartosz Slisz and their roles (12:41), the impact of international call-ups, and the importance of consistent game play for the US Men’s National Team (20:32).

Later, Nii and Jason explore broader topics such as the evolution of MLS (29:37), the influence of international leagues like the Saudi Pro League (32:52), and potential changes needed to elevate MLS's global standing. The discussion highlights the complex dynamics of player development, team management (35:37), and the financial mechanisms in place (42:12), emphasizing the need for a sustainable yet ambitious growth strategy for American soccer.

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Opening and closing music courtesy of Jeremiah Alves - "Evermore".

Transcript
PSP:

Welcome into another episode of PSP.

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I am your host, Mr.

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Neal Bruce, and we are less than 300

days away from the men's FIFA World

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Cup in North America, hosted by Canada,

Mexico, and of course the United States.

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still much to be decided before

then there's still domestic

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leagues be played before then.

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to take us through recent action,

major League Soccer is the voice of

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Atlanta United on 92 9, the game,

and a friend of the show joining us.

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You can find him on Twitter at Long shoe.

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It is Jason Longshore.

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Jason, how you doing?

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Jason Longshore: I'm doing well.

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Thanks for having me on.

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PSP: It's a pleasure to

have you back on Jason.

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And the last weekend we saw the five

Stripes of Atlanta host Toronto Sea

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at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, one of

the hosts of the Fifth World Cup.

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Nonetheless.

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The game was a goalless draw, which for

many might be seen as boring, What did

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you see in the match on Sunday afternoon?

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Jason Longshore: Yeah, it was two

teams that just struggled to, to find

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breakthroughs in the attacking third, and

that was what it really stood out to me.

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Both teams get a clean sheet and

I wouldn't say that either was

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great defensively on the day.

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Atlanta didn't create any big

chances according to Opta.

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And there, there wasn't anything

that I would quibble with in terms of

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something should have been a big chance.

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Toronto had a couple, but it's

not like Jaden Hibbert had to

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make any massive saves either.

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It's one of those games that I think

it shows you where these two teams

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are right now, and it's a struggle

for two teams and two clubs that

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don't like to be in this situation.

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And they bring in players who aren't

expecting to be in this situation.

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And now you're looking at.

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How many more games you have until

you're eliminated from the postseason.

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And it's a really frustrating place to be.

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And I think you get games like this at

times between teams in a situation where

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Atlanta started well, Toronto started

to take control of it about 30th minute

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or so, and then once Toronto couldn't

find the breakthrough when they had

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control, it just felt like the game

kept drifting away and there wasn't

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that same urgency that you see from

these two teams in the past And from

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other teams in the league right now.

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PSP: Both teams are sitting near

the foot of the Eastern Conference.

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Quite similar.

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In fact, Toronto's only

one point head of Lanter.

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End.

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Both have struggled when it comes to

creating chances, as you said, and the

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defense has been found wanting as well.

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However, in saying that, Jason,

you have a unique position in that

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you, you see a lot of the Eastern

Conference, pretty much every team.

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saw the reverse fixture back in July

where it was a one one draw . What are

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some differences you've seen in the

progression of Toronto Sea since then?

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Jason Longshore: Yeah, I feel like

Robin Frazier's starting to be able to

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put his stamp on this team and a lot

of that was going to be moving on from

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Ncee and Esky and the longer that they

were there, the harder it was, I think

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for Robin to make the team his own.

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Moving on from them and

bringing in Georgie, Mahalo.

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I absolutely love that move.

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Georgie, Mahalo has been one of my

favorite players in the league since

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he walked in the door with Chicago.

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His season in Montreal was brilliant, went

overseas, wasn't the best spot for him.

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He comes back and he's been one of

the best, double kind of guys in the

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league over the past five, six years.

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When you look at goals plus assists,

I think giving him the keys to

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the car is the smartest move

Toronto has made in quite a while.

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I also really loved COSIA in this match.

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I was raving about him on our radio call.

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You can tell that he is a

big fan of Sergio Buske and

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he plays a lot like buske.

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That generation of Spanish sixes

that are gonna, play like Busey.

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He's one of 'em.

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And the way that the game went on for.

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Atlanta and Toronto in the second game.

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I thought Coio was one of the

big differences because I don't

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think he played in the first

game, if I remember correctly.

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And in this one he started to dictate

everything . It's one sequence where

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he hit a big switch from the left

side to the right, which opened the

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whole attacking third up for Toronto.

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He followed the pass, received a pass

around the corner of the 18 on the right

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side and created an opportunity out of it.

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He is a six who can do more.

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And I think when you have that Kojo and

Mahalo kind of combination for Toronto,

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I like what they can be going forward.

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It's not a complete picture yet.

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I think defensively

there's still some issues.

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I think they're probably gonna need

to upgrade sooner rather than later.

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At Centerback you have Richie

Lorea, you have options at fullback

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that I think are good of, I've

always liked Peta in this group.

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Jonathan as Orio is always gonna be a

figure as long as he can stay healthy.

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But when you get that spine in the

midfield portion, at least with

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Mahalo and with Kojo, I like where

things can go with this group.

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I I think the building blocks

are in place for a much better

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season next year for Toronto.

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PSP: Yeah, you can definitely see it.

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As you say, with the buildup playing,

the way the ball's being moved,

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there's a lot more creativity.

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So looking forward to seeing how

Fraser evolves on that front.

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Now, bringing it back close to

home, what's your take on the first

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year of Ronnie dialer at Atlanta?

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Jason Longshore: I really like Ronnie

and getting to know him and talking to

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him about kinda the way he sees the game.

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I like it.

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It is definitely influenced by

styles of play that I enjoy.

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I've always been a pep Guardiola, fan

of what he's wanted the game to be.

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Now we've seen Luis Enrique take that

to a different level and I think Ronnie

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is along those lines in terms of being a

city football group kind of disciple and.

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What I saw from what he wanted from

this team, he hasn't gotten it, but

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from what he wanted from this team

early on, it felt like he wanted

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this team to look as close to PSG in

terms of style as possible, which is,

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get into the attacking half quickly.

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But then you can show patients in the

attacking half, you can keep a lot of

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possession, but get it into the attacking

half when you lose possession, immediately

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win the ball back and fight and counter

pressed like demons, what he's preached.

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I don't think he's been able to

get that outta this group right

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now, and I don't think it's on him.

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I've had a chance to see quite a few

training sessions this year and I've

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been able to see how he's worked

and he has tried so many different

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things to get what he's needed out

of this group, and I feel like.

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In a way it's the group

that has let him down.

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And some of that is down to

players who just maybe weren't

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capable of playing in this manner.

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I think you've seen changes at Center

back and a lot of that to me is

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because you needed more quality, more

pace, and more I think, confidence

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in playing in a higher line.

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And you've had players who maybe weren't

that, and now you do in an a ME High,

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who comes over from the Portuguese

top flight, Albanian International

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and Juan Better Call, who comes over

from Hit Fe on loan a typical Spanish

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centerback who's quality on the ball.

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And Mihai is a grittier

component next to him.

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Both are athletic, both give you that

ability to play high up the fields.

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Dion Gregerson, the Norwegian

finally getting healthy.

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They've missed him most of the season.

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I like the building blocks there.

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I really like the addition of Steven

Alate and being a central midfielder

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who again can get north, south

really quickly sometimes on the ball,

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sometimes with a pass, and he's brave

on the ball and you've needed that.

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Bartow leash has been Atlanta's best

player this season, in my opinion,

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been great in that six role, but he

is needed a consistent running buddy.

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He's needed somebody next to him who

could give him similar things and I

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think Alate can, but the fact that you

had to go into the summer window after

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what this team did in the off season and

get two center backs and get a another

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central midfielder, I think shows you

that the spine of the team was deficient

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for what Ronnie Dialo wants it to be.

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Once you can get that, I hope that you

can get more from latte lot up top, who I

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think is just running on fumes right now.

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Miguel Al Marone is not

that far off of that.

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When you see these guys who come in.

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Preseason for MLS and

they've been in Europe.

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You get to a portion of the schedule.

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Now that is really hard, especially

when you're in Atlanta's case,

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where you don't really have

anything to play for right now.

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You are trying to have these guys

push through fatigue where their

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preseason started in July of 24 and

they didn't have a break in the summer.

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They didn't have a break really,

after the first half of the season.

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In Europe, they come here, so you're going

for, 13 months, 14 months, 15 months.

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By the time you get to the end

of the season, you're seeing

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minor injuries in latte.

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Lot's case, you've seen some fatigue

in Miguel Al Marone's case and neither

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one has been what you expected them

to be, and I think that's hurt.

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Ronnie Diala as well.

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I am excited that it seems like he's

going to get a chance to continue here.

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I think everybody from Garth Lager

way to Chris Henderson have been very

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consistent in saying that he is not going

anywhere And they're gonna give him every

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chance to succeed in terms of getting

him the kinds of players that he needs.

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I'm excited about that.

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This season does put more pressure on next

season being a better year for Atlanta

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United, because as Toronto fans know too,

this is a, these are two clubs that are

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wanting to win trophies every single year.

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And Atlanta United hasn't won one in

a while and they are hungry to be back

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in that conversation for relevance.

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And if they're not, then you're gonna

have to see changes made to get there.

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And that's just where this team will be.

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And I think Ronnie Dialer

signed up for that.

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He knows it and I think

he's energized by it.

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But this season he hasn't been able

to, I think, have a team that has been

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capable of what he's wanted it to be.

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And that's been very frustrating for him.

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PSP: And now given Ronnie Dialer's

resume, having, as you said, one with New

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York City and the MLS locally and also

being successful with Celtic in Scotland

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among other places, do you think you'll

get a bit more of a longer runway like.

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In terms of getting maybe a

couple of transfer windows

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to really build his squad?

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do you think that the patience

of the fans, you talk about the

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frustration of going troph, this

might push management over the edge.

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Jason Longshore: Yeah,

it's a tough balance.

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You can't be dictated by I think

the patience or lack thereof of the

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fan base because that doesn't always

force you into the right decisions.

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But it is there and you can't ignore it.

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And it shows up in things like,

tickets and season ticket renewals

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and those sorts of things.

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And that's a challenge.

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People are more demanding than

ever, I think in sports in general.

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This isn't even an Atlanta thing.

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I think it's just.

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Yeah, there's so many more ways that

we can spend our entertainment dollar,

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so there's more competition for that.

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And it's unfortunate that you get

less time to build because of that.

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I think MLS has tilted more

towards the inpatient side

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of not giving managers time.

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I think he will get it, and I do

think that resume is part of it.

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You know how long he gets, I don't know.

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It's gonna depend on results because

there's always that balancing act.

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That seesaw of, he's won three domestic

trophies in three different leagues.

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That's very difficult to do.

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He's won in this league specifically,

that's gonna get him some time.

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I think the quality of play that

you've seen from those teams is

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gonna get him time, but then when you

don't get results, the seesaw gets

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outta whack and it's a challenge.

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So he, I think this summer he's had.

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At least through what he's wanted and

what he's expressed that he is wanted.

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I think he's had more of an impact

on the acquisitions that have come in

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than maybe he did in the off season.

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I would assume that would continue

in the winter transfer window where.

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You have decisions on players that you

have to make on if you're gonna count

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on them going forward or you're going to

replace you have a decision at goalkeeper.

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You have decision at fullback two players

And Brad Gaza and Brooks Lennon, who have

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been here the longest and played the most

games in club history that are both coming

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into option decisions with the club.

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So what happens with both of them

is something the other fullback side

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on the left has been a challenge

with Pedro Amador struggling

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with injury all season long.

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The left wing has been a

challenge with Saba Loeb Za

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being inconsistent this season.

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He does have seven assists, but he

hasn't found a goal yet in MLS play.

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Luke Brennan emerging as a homegrown

winger, but neither one has locked down

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that position, and that's been an issue.

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Going back to the beginning of the season.

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Honestly, going back to last

year, left wing was an issue.

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So with the additions they've made, I feel

like the spine is in much better shape.

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But the wide side of things, with the

exception of Miguel Amarone on the

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right, I think there's challenges and

that's something that hopefully Ronnie

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Dialo will be able to at least influence

where things go in terms of profiles of

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players, what kinds of players you wanna

see, and then getting all the pieces

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that he needs to work with for 2026.

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PSP: And I guess as part of

that, you mentioned goalkeeper.

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The goalkeeper last game out was won.

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Jaden.

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Hi.

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It is ironic that he did

play in both games against

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Jason Longshore: Yes.

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PSP: I wonder if that was by design,

but we're recording on Tuesday, 26th,

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and Jesse Marsh has called in Jaden

HIIT into his squad for the Canada's

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two internationals in September.

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Jaden HIIT has played an international

for Jamaica in:

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reportedly was in contact with Hibit

and in fact trying to encourage him

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to stay on with the Jamaican setup.

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But Marsh has mentioned in

his media availability that

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HI wants to play for Canada.

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How important is that?

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Not only for him as an individual,

but also for LA United to

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have yet another international

caliber player on the roster.

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Jason Longshore: Yeah, it speaks to the

kind of players that Atlanta United wants

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to have, and I think they projected that

Jaden Hibbert would have this kind of

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rise when he was drafted out of Yukon and

he was a player that was drafted young.

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I remember talking to him on draft night.

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He played two years at Yukon.

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Really didn't play much his freshman

year, and he was pretty clear.

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He hadn't signed a contract at that

point, but he was pretty clear in that

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he didn't wanna go back to school.

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He was ready to start his

professional journey last year was a.

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A kind of a wild ride for him.

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Again, it was the first year

that he played consistently

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for a long period of time.

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That college season is short.

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You come in and you start getting

games almost straight away with

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Atlanta United two last season for

Bert, and it was very up and down.

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I think you saw very quickly that

he is an exceptional shot stopper.

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He is very good with his feet.

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Decision making crosses

those sorts of things.

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That's something that he needs to work on.

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And you could see that from early on.

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What's impressed me is the growth,

the very steady, consistent growth.

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And this year it's been very fast

to go from being up and down.

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Last year he went out on loan to

Birmingham Legion when they were in a

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situation in the USL championship where

it felt like every goalkeeper they had and

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every goalkeeper they brought in got hurt

and they were able to get hi for a month.

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And he played.

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A consistent run of games at

the USL championship level.

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He came back, a different player, came

back, more mature, still made some

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mistakes as the two season went on,

but put himself in a better place.

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Coming into this year and this

year, he's really emerged as

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a capable, steady goalkeeper.

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And the opportunity in Toronto came

from after an injury to Brad Gaza.

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He had a fractured orbital bone and

he wasn't quite ready to go when that

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Toronto game at BMO Field came around

and Hibbert got the opportunity to play

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there, and I thought he played very well.

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The goal that was conceded,

nothing he could do on that.

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He played in the leagues cup and

got a win over Atlas, and then

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he gets his first clean sheet in

the return fixture with Toronto.

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I think what he gives you is a.

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A, a presence.

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I think when we talk about

goalkeepers, a lot of times

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there's a lot of intangibles to it.

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Brad Gaza for example, and this is

great for Jayden to learn from Brad,

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and he's talked about how much he's

learned from Brad, consistently.

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He's praised Brad Gaza so much.

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And Josh Cohen is your other goalkeeper

in the GK Union here in Atlanta, a

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player with Champions League experience

from his time at Maccabi Haifa.

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So Jayden's been able to take that.

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He's not those two guys.

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He's not as vocal as Brad yet.

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Brad's one of the most vocal goalkeepers

I've ever heard in my life in a good way.

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And Jayden is somebody who is,

I think, finding his voice.

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But even when he's not crazy vocal, he

has a presence, he has a confidence,

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he has a, not in a negative way a

cockiness in a good way that you have

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to have as a goalkeeper, but he's

been able to find that balance now.

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And I, I think where you saw.

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The confidence maybe come

out in a negative way.

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Last year was with the ball at

his feet because he's so good

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with the ball at his feet.

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He is such a good passer.

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He's so comfortable in buildup moments

that he would sometimes take too

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many risks and he's dialed that back.

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He's using his distribution

in the right ways.

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He's had, I think every game that I've

seen him play, whether first team or

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second team or leagues cup, over the

past probably three, four months, I feel

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like he has one ball, either a punt or

a ball from the ground or throw that.

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I'm just like, wow, okay.

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He opened everything up with that ball

and that's not an easy one to hit.

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He's got something, he's

got something special.

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And he told us in preseason

that Canada had reached out.

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We did an interview with him

on the SDH network and he told

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us that Canada had reached out.

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He told us that he had the opportunity

to where he could represent, three

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different countries in Jamaica and

Canada and in the United States.

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And he was very interested in

the opportunity with Canada.

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And that was back in February.

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So for Jesse Marsh to continue on and

to bring him in, it's great for Jayden.

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He absolutely deserves it.

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And I think when you look at the

possibility for advancement, I

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think that's the national team

for him, that probably gives him

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the fastest route to potentially

getting a good number of games.

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PSP: And it sounds like he.

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In the right 'cause he's got Ronnie

Dialer who comes from that city slash

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you know, that pet Ola tree of playing

out from the back and poise on the ball.

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So it sounds like he's

definitely the right spot there.

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I have to ask though, as an American,

would you like him to get one more shot in

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the stars and stripes, or do you feel like

that train might have left the station?

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Jason Longshore: I don't know if

they've ever really reached out to him.

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Maybe a little bit of a late bloomer in

Jayden, because I don't remember hearing

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a lot about him before he went to college.

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And then at UConn it was really

that sophomore year that he

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started to get some attention.

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So I don't know if he's ever really been

scouted heavily by the US and yeah, as

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a US soccer fan, I would love to see it

because I do think it is a somewhat open

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competition for the US side of things.

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I think Matt Turner coming back to

the, to major league soccer and playing

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consistently will help him a lot because.

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When you're not playing as a

goalkeeper, I don't care what club

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you're with it doesn't make you better.

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And I think we've seen it with Matt

Turner over these past couple of years.

351

:

So him getting consistent games

with New England, I'm a big fan

352

:

of Patrick Schulte with Columbus.

353

:

I think he's won that.

354

:

If he hadn't been injured the

summer, maybe he got the opportunity.

355

:

Matt Freeze took full advantage of it.

356

:

Now he's in that mix.

357

:

Zach Stefan is still gonna be

in that mix as a shot stopper.

358

:

I think when you look at that crowd,

it's tougher for Bert to maybe see

359

:

where he fits into that right now.

360

:

And can he start to jump people

if he gets consistent games?

361

:

And look, it's a big decision right

now with at Atlanta United because Brad

362

:

Gaza is going into the option decision.

363

:

Jaden Hibbert is young.

364

:

Are you ready to have

Jaden be your number one?

365

:

Are you wanting to continue with

how it's been this year, but maybe

366

:

a little more rotation that Jaden

really takes the number two spot.

367

:

Josh Cohen had an injury in the

middle of the summer and that kind

368

:

of pushed Jaden forward a little bit.

369

:

Does Jayden get antsy and want

to get more games somewhere?

370

:

I don't, it's a very interesting time.

371

:

He's still very young, but yeah, when

you're talking about World Cup, like right

372

:

around the corner and you're now knocking

on at least one of three doors that you

373

:

could open and be playing in that World

Cup, it's a fascinating time for Jayden.

374

:

I'd love to see him with the us but I

actually think Canada is a really good

375

:

fit for him and he is gonna be good

for the program if he stays there.

376

:

PSP: I think so too.

377

:

Yeah.

378

:

We'll see how it goes with not

only this window, but the next

379

:

window in October and the rest of

the lead up to the:

380

:

You are listening to with

myself, Neil Wallace, Bruce,

381

:

and our guest Jason Longshore.

382

:

Make sure you check him out

on social media at Long Shoe.

383

:

You touched on the US Men National

team briefly there, Jason, that

384

:

the squad has been released for

the friendlies against South Korea

385

:

and Japan coming up in September.

386

:

And Tristan Blackman, who was

a potential Canadian call up,

387

:

is going to be in that roster.

388

:

So there you go.

389

:

You get one back.

390

:

Where are we at with the

US Men's national team?

391

:

Because last week it seemed

like there was a Twitter storm.

392

:

Taylor Toman came out and had a bit

to say about the current generation

393

:

of players, and he is a storied

Men's national team alumni himself

394

:

a literal commentator on the sport.

395

:

Where do you see the men's national

team and things wrapped so closely?

396

:

Well Cup next year.

397

:

Jason Longshore: We talked about it

earlier how I think fans have become

398

:

more impatient in general in sports.

399

:

Maybe it's a byproduct of social

media and maybe it's a byproduct

400

:

of having more, ability to be an

influencer or a commentator or

401

:

a podcast host or what have you.

402

:

But I feel like the conversation

around the US men's national

403

:

team is maybe different than the

reality, and it has turned a little

404

:

more tabloid than I would like.

405

:

I think the Christian istic drama that

has been so manufactured outside of

406

:

the program is extremely frustrating.

407

:

Players skip out on tournaments.

408

:

Sometimes it happens.

409

:

And it's not from just a, I want to go on

vacation situation with Christian Pulisic.

410

:

There's been plenty of talk about how many

games he's played for Milan over the past

411

:

couple of years, how big next summer is

us playing in the Gold Cup in:

412

:

Dealing with a chronic hip

issue that has bothered him.

413

:

But playing through it at the club

level there, there's been so much

414

:

conversation about it that has left a

lot of that out that's very frustrating.

415

:

Eunice Musa didn't play in

the Gold Cup this summer.

416

:

You had players who were gonna

miss due to injury that had

417

:

nothing to do with opting out.

418

:

The national team was never gonna

be at full strength in the Gold Cup.

419

:

It wasn't gonna be at full strength

in the two friendlies before the

420

:

tournament that were not good.

421

:

And it didn't make sense for him to try

to play through fatigue and all that.

422

:

Just like we talked about Withs La and

Miguel Amarone, Marone guys need breaks.

423

:

And I would much rather have had

him have a break than to try to play

424

:

through it in a tournament where you're

not gonna have Ergen De or Antony

425

:

Robinson you're gonna miss other guys.

426

:

Tyler Adams was still trying

to come back from injury.

427

:

I would've rather had him miss the

summer and be in a better position to

428

:

be at as close to full strength as he

can be next summer in the World Cup than

429

:

the alternative where maybe you have a

breakdown physically and then maybe he

430

:

is not where he needs to be next summer.

431

:

You know who Christian Pulisic

is, and I don't like all the

432

:

conversation about Christian

Pulisic that emerged this summer.

433

:

I don't like what some former

players have said, and I also don't

434

:

like that when the current players

responded to being criticized.

435

:

Maybe Tim Hua using the word

evil was a little over the top.

436

:

Sure.

437

:

But the gist of what he said, the gist

of what Christian ICS said the gist of

438

:

what Christian ics father said, they

didn't say anything that was incorrect.

439

:

Did they maybe blow up that people

are looking for cliques and looking

440

:

for attention with comments?

441

:

Sure.

442

:

But are you looking for clicks and

attention when you make comments

443

:

like this and then putting them

out On your social media accounts?

444

:

Yeah, you are.

445

:

That's part of the nature of the business.

446

:

But when people, when the current players

came back and defended themselves and I

447

:

thought again, had fair comments with the

exception of maybe using the word evil.

448

:

The reaction from former players

and podcasters was so over the

449

:

top about being criticized that.

450

:

the whole thing has been ridiculous and

it's so frustrating trying to talk about

451

:

the US men's national team in the United

States right now because the fan base

452

:

online, the hashtag usmt is very toxic,

and we saw it with Paxton Aronson's

453

:

transfer back to Major League Soccer.

454

:

He played 14 games for Ein Truck

Frankfurt over 18 plus months.

455

:

He was loaned out and he did well on loan,

But with his club he played 14 games.

456

:

He had an opportunity to come back,

make more money and play more, and

457

:

maybe change where he is seen in the

National Team player pool, which right

458

:

now is on the outside of it, people.

459

:

Started to really criticize him.

460

:

Criticize US Soccer, major League

soccer, the Colorado Rapids, for

461

:

making this acquisition, which is

absolutely categorically absurd.

462

:

Players need to play and players

can play in their domestic league

463

:

and that can make them better.

464

:

There is an anti MLS slant to too much of

the US men's national team conversation,

465

:

which does nothing good for the game.

466

:

It does nothing good for the

individuals involved in it.

467

:

It doesn't grow the league

that you need to grow.

468

:

There is so much criticism in

different ways of the current

469

:

roster that I think gets unfair.

470

:

This is a team and the analogy

that I've used a lot in my shows

471

:

on 92 9, the Game, which is an all

sports station here in Atlanta that.

472

:

As the radio home of the Atlanta Falcons

and the Atlanta Hawks and, we're in the

473

:

heart of the college football scene.

474

:

So I try to, because we have a lot of

all sports listeners who listen to my

475

:

commentary on the station, I'll be talking

about it on Atlanta soccer tonight.

476

:

This is a team in the United States

right now that in terms of talent,

477

:

just the talent of the pool, not the

individual roster or an individual

478

:

lineup, but the overall pool of

talent that you have to work with.

479

:

They're a top 20 team in the world.

480

:

Are they a top 10 team in the world?

481

:

No, they're not.

482

:

They, it's, they just don't have

that kind of talent right now.

483

:

But are they a top 20 team?

484

:

Yeah.

485

:

Where they fall in that 10 to 20,

depends on form, depends on the

486

:

opponent, depends on that current lineup,

depends on lots of different things.

487

:

This is a good team.

488

:

This is not a top 10 team.

489

:

And I think too often the expectation

from the US fan base and a good bit

490

:

of the US soccer media is that this

is a top five team and they're not.

491

:

They're just not at that level.

492

:

That showed to me in the last World Cup

in the loss to the Netherlands, who was

493

:

one of the best teams in the tournament

last time out, and the US was competitive

494

:

with them, but the Netherlands were

better and they won as they should have.

495

:

The US got outta the group as they

should have in this tournament for the

496

:

World Cup next summer, I feel like the

bar should be set at winning a round

497

:

of 32 game, get outta the group, win

a round of 32 game, which is brand

498

:

new for all of us in this tournament.

499

:

The US has only won one knockout

game in World Cup history.

500

:

I think we forget that at times.

501

:

There are steps to this and you've gotta

consistently start to win knockout games.

502

:

Now you have an extra knockout

game you have to advance from.

503

:

Win a knockout game in a World Cup.

504

:

Get to the round of 16.

505

:

And then so much of it depends

on the draw and who you could

506

:

get and who you might see.

507

:

And are they missing somebody due to

a red card and is there an injury?

508

:

And you never know, but you've gotta

give yourself that opportunity to get

509

:

to the best 16 teams in the world.

510

:

And I think this team should be there,

and that should be the expectation.

511

:

If they don't get there, that's a failure.

512

:

If they do, you hope they continue

on further, but you have to give

513

:

them their flowers for getting there.

514

:

And I think that's just

where this team is right now.

515

:

And that's about where they've been

since, I wanna say:

516

:

Maybe a little bit better, maybe a

little more solid now than it's been.

517

:

I think the overall depth of the pool

is better than it's ever been, but

518

:

maybe you don't have that top end

talent that you've had at other times.

519

:

You can never guarantee that every

nation goes through generations

520

:

where you have a lot of talent.

521

:

You have a lot of talent,

certain positions, you have a

522

:

lot of talent spread out or.

523

:

You have a lot of pretty good

players, but maybe not the top end.

524

:

Right now you've got Christian

Palisi who is your best player,

525

:

and I think a world class player.

526

:

You have some others who can be very

good for this team and you can make it

527

:

fit and work and be very competitive.

528

:

But this is a top 20 team in the world

and I want to see them get to the

529

:

Final 16 teams in the next World Cup.

530

:

And if they do that, I will applaud

Maurizio Tino and I will pat them

531

:

on the back for a job well done.

532

:

PSP: As you should and

shout out to the class:

533

:

I vividly remember McBride, Clint Mathis,

Tim Howard, and those guys they went.

534

:

went places we didn't think were

possible in Korea and Japan, but

535

:

they made it to the quarter finals.

536

:

They lost Germany from memory.

537

:

Jason Longshore: The best performance

I've ever seen from a US men's

538

:

national team was that loss to Germany.

539

:

Was the best quality of

performance that I've seen.

540

:

And in that tournament, look, you

got lucky you, you beat Portugal,

541

:

you drew with the host South

Korea, who were really good in That

542

:

tournament, made it to the semis.

543

:

You lost to Poland, but the other result

went your way to get out of the group.

544

:

And then you drew Mexico in the round

of 16, a team that you were not afraid

545

:

of, and you had beaten and you beat

them straight up in an epic match.

546

:

And then you're playing with

House of Money and you were the

547

:

better team against Germany.

548

:

Oliver Kahn stood on his head and Tors

and fringes handled a ball on the gold

549

:

line and didn't get called for it.

550

:

And that's the nature of it.

551

:

But that loss is, in my opinion,

the best performance from a US men's

552

:

national team in a single match ever.

553

:

PSP: Yeah.

554

:

And do wonder if that has shaped some of

the myopia, let's call it, with some of

555

:

these, you know what I'm talking about?

556

:

Some of

557

:

Jason Longshore: Yeah, I agree with you.

558

:

I think it has.

559

:

PSP: talking about expectations of the

World Cup, perhaps because I get it,

560

:

everything you've said makes sense to me.

561

:

We are less than 300 days

away from the World Cup.

562

:

Guys need to get game time.

563

:

'cause Pino is not gonna put you

in the final whatever the number

564

:

is, the final squad on name.

565

:

You need to have

566

:

Jason Longshore: Yeah.

567

:

PSP: you need to have

shown what you've got.

568

:

Otherwise it's gonna

pick voltage over you.

569

:

And yeah, that means you come back

to the MLS, you come back to the

570

:

MLS, get your game time, and then

571

:

Jason Longshore: Yeah.

572

:

PSP: have a good tournament.

573

:

And if you get a new

contract from flowers to you.

574

:

But at the same time, I think over

the last, since the last tournament.

575

:

It in this rising sense

of not expectation.

576

:

'cause everyone has expectation.

577

:

I'm gonna say

578

:

Jason Longshore: It's different.

579

:

Yes.

580

:

That's a perfect word for it.

581

:

PSP: yeah.

582

:

Because everyone has expectation.

583

:

, I grew up in Australia and there's

always expectations that the soft rules

584

:

will get out of the group or you'll

get to the round 16, that's fine.

585

:

But of the US is very much And I can name

names, you know who I'm talking about

586

:

are certain people that expect

the team to make the semifinal.

587

:

Though our con calf team has not

made the semifinal in our lifetime.

588

:

1930 year aside, I know that US made the

World Cup Series in the thirties, but in

589

:

our lifetimes, Jason, it hasn't happened.

590

:

So you get a build towards

that, like you said.

591

:

So we need to dip things

in reality a little bit.

592

:

Jason Longshore: Yeah, I think the anti

MLS sentiment is what maybe frustrates me

593

:

the most because there's this idea that.

594

:

And it's a certain subset of American

soccer fans, but there's an idea that MLS

595

:

has been bad for us soccer and bad for

the game in this part of the world, which

596

:

is one of the most ridiculous feelings

I've ever seen or heard from anybody

597

:

because I think Canada can speak to it.

598

:

MLS has improved the Canadian

National Team pool, without a doubt.

599

:

I think Central American

countries can speak to it.

600

:

Jamaica can speak to it in the Caribbean.

601

:

There, there's a number of countries that

have benefited from it, including the

602

:

United States Men's National Team Pool.

603

:

When you look at the most recent

roster you look at, your best players

604

:

over the past 10, 15 years, at a

minimum, all of them started in

605

:

MLS academies for the most part.

606

:

Very few have been outside of

the MLS poll, and I look at

607

:

somebody like Rodrigo DePaul if

the defending World Cup champions.

608

:

Are completely fine.

609

:

And you're not seeing these comments out

of Argentina, you're not seeing them out

610

:

of Lion Scallon, you're not seeing them

out of anybody and put messy to the side.

611

:

We know he is in a unique situation, but

Rodrigo DePaul comes to MLS this year.

612

:

Nobody's crying complaining

about that from the team that

613

:

won the tournament last time.

614

:

So Young Min comes to MLS South

Korea's not worried about that.

615

:

This is ridiculous.

616

:

And there has to be a greater respect for

what this league has done and is doing.

617

:

And it's just this weird culture

thing that I don't understand

618

:

because I fell in love with the

game because of Diego Maradona in

619

:

Argentina and I follow the Argentine

League and I'm a huge Argentina fan.

620

:

That's always gonna be my second team.

621

:

And.

622

:

There is not the same feeling towards

the domestic game in Argentina

623

:

and many other countries, but in

this hemisphere, yeah, we see most

624

:

of our Best players go to Europe.

625

:

That's fine.

626

:

It doesn't always work out for everybody.

627

:

And for some they come back and

they can be contributors and it

628

:

changes at the level you're at.

629

:

You have, okay, leave

Argentina and Brazil out of it.

630

:

Even though there's a chance domestic

players or players from this hemisphere

631

:

on those national teams in this

upcoming World Cup, but you go down

632

:

to teams that are similar to the US

and Canada and Ecuador, Columbia we'll

633

:

see who else gets out of Argentina

or gets out of South America?

634

:

Otay you're gonna have a

number of domestic players.

635

:

You're gonna have a number of

players who play in this hemisphere

636

:

that are on these national teams.

637

:

And nobody has a problem with it there.

638

:

Of course, they want to see their

players playing at the highest levels

639

:

in the game and the biggest clubs.

640

:

But I also don't want to see MLS

players and us men's national team

641

:

players do what maybe you had to do

10, 15 years ago and go to Scandinavia,

642

:

go to, a lower tier team in Belgium.

643

:

I don't wanna see that because

I don't think that's better

644

:

than what you have right now.

645

:

I think this league is more

competitive than ever before.

646

:

I think you get tested in a different

way and I've seen some revisionist

647

:

history about Michael Bradley and

Josie Alt Door going to Toronto and

648

:

criticizing that and saying That hurt

the US Men's National Team Program.

649

:

No, it did not.

650

:

That's a lie.

651

:

It helped Michael Bradley, especially

going into:

652

:

been in a rotation of five man midfield

rotation for three spots at Roma before

653

:

he came back to Toronto and not just.

654

:

Playing a little bit more, but coming

into Toronto, and again, having to

655

:

deal with expectation and being the

man that makes you a better player.

656

:

And he was gonna be expected to be the

man for the US in Brazil in:

657

:

it served him well.

658

:

Both got older.

659

:

By the time you get to 2018, that

has nothing to do with Toronto.

660

:

That's father time.

661

:

He's undefeated.

662

:

We know this.

663

:

So I think it is important for players

to be in the right situation, for them

664

:

to be able to play their best soccer.

665

:

And Landon Donovan is

a prime example of it.

666

:

He did not play his best soccer for the

national team when he was in Europe.

667

:

It didn't suit his personality.

668

:

It didn't suit the

situations that he was in.

669

:

He played his best soccer when

he was thriving in Major League

670

:

soccer and the league's in a much

different place now than it was then.

671

:

Every person's different.

672

:

These are human beings we're

talking about, and I think.

673

:

This country, the soccer conversation

really needs some perspective on

674

:

where it actually is, where it is

coming from and where it's headed.

675

:

And I don't know if those things

are always in the proper level of

676

:

understanding in a lot of the people who

are making that noise in the ecosystem.

677

:

PSP: Yeah, , I have to cosign that, Jason,

because the best example I can think

678

:

of in recent years has been Miguel, I,

679

:

Who plays on Atlanta nowadays.

680

:

But he came out of the five stripes.

681

:

Initially.

682

:

He went to Newcastle, United,

made a name for himself.

683

:

Across the pond there and then came back.

684

:

I, think , the issues with MLS in,

in the present day are two things.

685

:

One, there's no visibility in

the US because respectfully,

686

:

I'm not getting out for tv.

687

:

I'm lucky that in Canada I

can turn on TS N and I'm good.

688

:

But

689

:

I don't even watch baseball

on Apple tv, so forget it.

690

:

I have an Android phone.

691

:

Why would I sign up for Apple?

692

:

Absolutely not.

693

:

And then the second thing that M has

to deal with is the rise of the Saudis.

694

:

The

695

:

Jason Longshore: Yeah.

696

:

PSP: League has come in, whether you

like it or not they're backed by a

697

:

government, in most cases, so they can

just throw money at whoever they want.

698

:

And there may be an

inferiority complex there.

699

:

When it comes to players

going abroad and whatnot.

700

:

But I do think the visibility is a

big problem in America and that needs

701

:

to be solved in the coming years.

702

:

Jason Longshore: I agree with you.

703

:

It's an interesting spot because

when MLS did the Apple TV deal,

704

:

they were not getting the attention

that they should have gotten from

705

:

their TV partners at that time.

706

:

ESPN and Fox, ESPN was very

dismissive towards the league.

707

:

I can't tell you how many times I'd

be on the road and turn on a game

708

:

and watch the end of the game, and

then it'd go to SportsCenter and then

709

:

the anchors on SportsCenter would

rip what people were just watching.

710

:

That doesn't help the league

grow, and I think it ended up,

711

:

it hurt the league quite a bit.

712

:

I think MLS got out too far ahead

of the curve on the streaming side.

713

:

And they were really the first to

do it in the way that they did.

714

:

Now, major League Baseball is looking

at doing a somewhat similar model.

715

:

Other leagues will too.

716

:

Just because the TV landscape is so

different now than it was three years

717

:

ago, let alone, if you go much further

back, so I'm with you, you gotta find

718

:

a way to increase the visibility.

719

:

I think you've gotta find a way

to increase the storytelling.

720

:

As somebody who does a daily newsletter

from soccer down here called Morning

721

:

Espresso, and there's a podcast with it.

722

:

And I'm always trying to tell

the story of the game everywhere.

723

:

It's, I'm obviously, I'm based in Atlanta.

724

:

I want to talk about

what's happening in MLS.

725

:

There's not a lot of storytelling

coming out to talk about.

726

:

There's more coming from other

leagues in other parts of the world.

727

:

And some of that's media.

728

:

Some of that's culture,

some of that's history.

729

:

Some of that's the leagues

themselves maybe doing a better

730

:

job of telling their own stories.

731

:

It's a struggle at times to have things

to talk about when it comes to MLS.

732

:

That's gotta change and that can, that's

I think, separate from the TV side of it.

733

:

I don't know where the TV side goes.

734

:

I

735

:

do what they've done this year

because I do think they've tried to

736

:

break out of a total apple bubble

and they've put more games on.

737

:

Domestic TV teams are doing more

re airs of games on local tv.

738

:

We've been fortunate that, our club in

Atlanta has really seen the value of

739

:

having local radio and have empowered us.

740

:

And we're on the road for every game and

we travel with the team and we get that

741

:

access and we get to tell that story in a

way that kind of bridges some of that gap.

742

:

But I'm with you.

743

:

The exposure has to increase

the Saudi situation's.

744

:

Fascinating.

745

:

Because, the game in Saudi Arabia is gonna

either, and right now it's in, in between.

746

:

And I don't know where it goes in

the long term, but you think back

747

:

to the Chinese Super League where

there were similarities, you didn't

748

:

have the government influence.

749

:

But in terms of the money being spent,

they tried to jump the, and we talked

750

:

about levels in building a national team,

they tried to jump the line a little bit

751

:

by just spending and bringing in stars.

752

:

They didn't grow the domestic side

and China is still where they were.

753

:

And then the money dried up and the

Chinese Super League isn't what it used

754

:

to be, the Saudi League I think they have

done a better job on the domestic side.

755

:

But the domestic game in Saudi Arabia,

I don't think is at the same level as

756

:

it is in the US and Canada right now.

757

:

In terms of the overall level across the

board I think the teams here are better.

758

:

And I think the national

team pool is better.

759

:

I think the talent level is better.

760

:

They're gonna have to make sure they

do that and not just focus on stars.

761

:

But the competitive nature of it

right now, I think tilts it for a

762

:

lot of players that they would rather

come here where the, where MLS has

763

:

done a great job is the middle tier.

764

:

The guys who Saudi Arabia probably

wouldn't even be necessarily looking

765

:

at, but those guys are coming into MLS.

766

:

The younger guys, like Miguel Amarone,

when he came here from Lanu in Argentina

767

:

in 2017, he saw it as a springboard

and it was for him Jose Fuentes, who

768

:

you know, is now back in the league

with Toronto after being in the league,

769

:

going over to Scotland, coming back,

guys like that, which raises the overall

770

:

level, which supplements the domestic

players getting better and better.

771

:

I think MLS has a good headstart on

Saudi Arabia, but you're right when

772

:

you're talking about that kind of money.

773

:

They can jump levels, they can do it

quickly, but as they have to focus on

774

:

growing the game in Saudi Arabia and

getting young Saudi Arabian players

775

:

playing in higher levels and being

better overall to be able to lift the

776

:

level of the league higher and higher.

777

:

PSP: Yeah, and you, I think you only

need to look at the recent Gold Cup,

778

:

Jason Longshore: Yeah.

779

:

PSP: Arabia.

780

:

They weren't great.

781

:

Let's be honest.

782

:

Herv Bernard is doing his best.

783

:

Jason Longshore: Yeah.

784

:

He's a good coach.

785

:

He's a really good coach.

786

:

, PSP: At the same time, Saudi Arabia

is headed for the a FC playoffs, and

787

:

that's not gonna be easy for them.

788

:

They'll

789

:

Jason Longshore: No.

790

:

PSP: a way through, but

depth is being tested.

791

:

And like you said the pro league out

there is going to be a success if

792

:

young Saudis are coming through that

league and then going on to play at

793

:

large clubs given that experience,

and then it helps the national team.

794

:

I look at the best the gold

standard for this, by the way,

795

:

is Japan, the Jay League, the

796

:

Jason Longshore: Yes.

797

:

PSP: years ago it started.

798

:

You look at where Japanese.

799

:

team is that now all the players

are now playing in Europe, where

800

:

as in 2002 it was Nada, che in

Moto, maybe one or two others.

801

:

They've got that technical Now I look

at Australia and they're probably at the

802

:

other end where players have come through.

803

:

playing at Top leagues, but now

that's come back a little bit.

804

:

Now players are going

off to play in Scotland.

805

:

They're not playing in the top

five leagues, let's put it that

806

:

Jason Longshore: Yeah.

807

:

PSP: And it's not necessarily

disparaging those leagues, it's

808

:

just a commentary on the quality

of Austral men's players are at.

809

:

And it has regressed a little bit.

810

:

The us MLS, it's still growing.

811

:

Teams are being expand.

812

:

I think it's in good shape.

813

:

it's just about keeping

that league sustainable and

814

:

Jason Longshore: Yep.

815

:

PSP: the pathway for youth is a

strong pathway and there's no gaps.

816

:

So they can fall through,

817

:

Jason Longshore: Yeah I feel

like they've made it sustainable,

818

:

which was always the challenge.

819

:

We've never had a domestic league

that has lasted this long to even

820

:

be where we are now from when

Atlanta United started in:

821

:

I've looked at MLSI don't know what

number, like what version number

822

:

we're on right now, but you had to

survive it first, and then he did.

823

:

I think two things really spurred MLS

to a second tier and that was Toronto

824

:

coming into the league and that was

David Beckham coming to the league.

825

:

I think that changed what MLS was

and they got past the, are the

826

:

doors gonna stay open to, alright,

now how do we strategically grow?

827

:

And then I think Atlanta was a big

part of the next tier up because I

828

:

think it gave license to dream bigger.

829

:

And some of that's evolution of going

from how do we keep the doors open to,

830

:

okay, we're gonna be okay with that.

831

:

But now what?

832

:

And I think Arthur Blank said

we can play in a big stadium

833

:

and we're not afraid of that.

834

:

And we'll draw.

835

:

And they put a good product on

the field and they've drawn.

836

:

Now you have an, and everybody

manifests that in a different way.

837

:

You had Miami come in and dare

to dream to sign Leal messy.

838

:

And they did.

839

:

And it captivated a country with it.

840

:

Now, LAFC has come in and they said

we could sign the closest thing that

841

:

we could get in terms of a commercial

impact to Lionel Messi in sun.

842

:

And they have, and it's, I

think now you're in that kind of

843

:

dreamer mode of, Okay, we can do

some big things in this league.

844

:

This is great.

845

:

Now I think the league

is ready to spend more.

846

:

I do think they need a salary cap.

847

:

I think you need those things.

848

:

I think it makes MLS better to have

it than what we see in like Spain,

849

:

for example, where nobody can spend

the same amount as rail madrid.

850

:

They're not allowed to.

851

:

And you'd have some clubs bend themselves

broke, trying to catch up if you didn't

852

:

have the sustainability rules in place.

853

:

I like that we have a cap,

but it's gotta be bigger.

854

:

You've gotta have more ways for teams

to spend more and be bigger and bolder

855

:

because the league's not going anywhere.

856

:

And the more talent you bring in and you,

the more talent you develop alongside

857

:

it, the better this league will be.

858

:

I look in Club World Cup this past

summer and in concacaf you see the top

859

:

end being as good or better In MLS, I

think you see the bottom end being as

860

:

good, the bottom of the game day roster.

861

:

But it's the middle where I think if you

look at League MX teams, for example,

862

:

it's players six through 14, that it

feels like that's where the gap is.

863

:

And look, maybe it's eight through

14 now, it's gotten better, but

864

:

it's that middle of the roster.

865

:

It's those players off the bench that

give you, give those teams something

866

:

that we don't have yet that's gonna come

from spending and development, I think.

867

:

in tandem.

868

:

PSP: So I'll meet you along the way there.

869

:

By the way, shout out to

San Diego fc, which is

870

:

Jason Longshore: Yes.

871

:

PSP: by the right to Dream Academy.

872

:

It shows that you can build

with youth and be successful.

873

:

But I do think the salary cap holds

back the MLSA little bit, not in

874

:

terms of a league in isolation.

875

:

The MLS is a little bit held back

by the solid cap when it comes to

876

:

dealing with the Saudis, the Europe,

877

:

The rest of the world.

878

:

They've gotta find a way to figure

it out in terms of the global lens.

879

:

Jason Longshore: Be bigger.

880

:

Like I, I think I'm okay with

a cap of some sort because I

881

:

do think that MLS benefits from

what San Diego's done this year.

882

:

What other teams who went from like

the worst to first kind of idea.

883

:

I do think.

884

:

More teams having the dreams, starting

the season of being able to win the

885

:

trophy at the end is a good thing.

886

:

I, I think that gives MLS something

special, but you're right to get those

887

:

players that, that I'd like to see and to

get better and better on the top end too.

888

:

Gotta be able to spend more.

889

:

So there, there's gotta be

some mechanisms in the cap.

890

:

The NBA salary cap is one

of the most confusing things

891

:

I've ever seen in my life.

892

:

With all the different exceptions

and things you can do and this and

893

:

that, you have a luxury tax and all.

894

:

It's crazy, but it's all spelled out.

895

:

So we can sit here and break it down and

know what the Raptors or the Hawks can do.

896

:

I want MLS one to be more transparent

with their rules and their cap, and two,

897

:

you've gotta allow teams to spend more.

898

:

And if teams wanna spend more, and maybe

it is a luxury tax kind of idea, I don't

899

:

know, they shouldn't be held back from

that if they can remain sustainable.

900

:

And I think we don't have that issue

here where you're gonna have what,

901

:

Sheffield Wednesday is going through

what, other clubs have gone through,

902

:

where Bordeaux and France, where they

spend themselves broke and outta business.

903

:

I don't think we're gonna

have that here anymore.

904

:

Maybe 30 years ago.

905

:

That was a real fear, and I get

it coming off of the back of the

906

:

North American Soccer League.

907

:

But now you've got real business

people here who want to throw money

908

:

at this thing and make it go to the

fifth, sixth, seventh best league

909

:

in the world, which is absolutely

attainable, but you gotta spend to do it.

910

:

PSP: I, yeah, I think MS

is pretty close to it.

911

:

I think it might already be in top 10.

912

:

Jason Longshore: Yeah I, put it around 10.

913

:

I'm with you there.

914

:

PSP: yeah.

915

:

And the, when it comes to the

ownership I think a s salary, Flo, a

916

:

Jason Longshore: Agree.

917

:

PSP: would be good.

918

:

Encourage the likes of blank and

others who want to be in this league.

919

:

want someone like, gonna

call him out Fletcher.

920

:

Fletcher in, not necessarily

with earthquakes.

921

:

So what he is doing with the athletics

922

:

Jason Longshore: Yep.

923

:

PSP: he did to e essentially

self evict from Oakland.

924

:

don't want that scenario where

someone's gonna own a team and

925

:

not spend it on a dime on a team.

926

:

Jason Longshore: Agree.

927

:

PSP: a salary floor will encourage

teams to spend a particular amount

928

:

to be competitive, and then teams who

want to go above that and be ambitious.

929

:

Be ambitious, but have some

guard rails to prevent a Chinese

930

:

Super League situation, or,

931

:

Jason Longshore: Yep.

932

:

PSP: Shanghai Shuis specifically.

933

:

You can't pay a place.

934

:

We don't want to see that.

935

:

Jason Longshore: Yeah.

936

:

PSP: are the kind of things that and the

powers that be need to work on stuff.

937

:

I don't know what your thoughts

are on it, but the allocation

938

:

money thing, bro, it's painful

939

:

I need someone to explain that to me.

940

:

Jason Longshore: Yeah I understand it

like having went through this and I, I'm

941

:

on the side a historian of the game and

I've studied the North American Soccer

942

:

League and what went wrong with that?

943

:

And I get how you started MLS and when

you started it, you couldn't get enough

944

:

money to get it off the ground and you

couldn't get the investors to do it,

945

:

and you had to pitch them on a very

different idea on what they had just seen.

946

:

About a decade before

when the NASL went under.

947

:

So you had to tell 'em it

was gonna be sustainable.

948

:

You had to find the way to do that.

949

:

You did eventually.

950

:

And then as you started to grow,

you had to come up with mechanisms.

951

:

Once more people paid attention to

allow teams to spend more without

952

:

letting them just spend whatever.

953

:

So you create allocation money.

954

:

And then the targeted allocation

money thing, which initially I think

955

:

actually did a good thing because it

made them spend not at the top end,

956

:

but in that middle of the roster.

957

:

And I think the initial run of

targeted allocation money was a

958

:

really good thing for the league.

959

:

You've outgrown it now.

960

:

Like teams are smarter and

they're gonna spend more.

961

:

And it's not always gonna

be on one designated player

962

:

or two designated players.

963

:

They're gonna go and spend on a

center back, which you're probably

964

:

not gonna spend designated player

money on a center back in this league.

965

:

It just doesn't make sense with where

you are in the league and with a cap.

966

:

But should you spend a million

dollars a year on a center back?

967

:

In a perfect world.

968

:

Yeah.

969

:

'cause you wanna be better.

970

:

That's what you're gonna need.

971

:

So I get where allocation money came from.

972

:

We've outgrown it.

973

:

Just, I think you're probably to a

point and, we could brainstorm this and

974

:

workshop this for weeks on end and I

do give the powers that be credit for

975

:

getting this league to where it is.

976

:

I think it's time to maybe reimagine what

it can be and get out of the structure

977

:

that you're in right now to a degree.

978

:

I do.

979

:

I'm with you.

980

:

I think designated players you could still

have time for and have it make sense,

981

:

but the cap have a floor and have a cap

and give teams the ability to go over

982

:

the cap with their designated players.

983

:

And then maybe to a point, maybe there's

a stretch and maybe you are talking a

984

:

luxury tax kind of situation where you

spend above the cap to a certain point

985

:

and then you have to put that money

into a pool that goes to the teams

986

:

that aren't spending above the cap.

987

:

I don't know, you don't want it to

be like baseball where the, A's for

988

:

example, it's more advantageous for

them not to spend because they're

989

:

gonna make money from everybody else.

990

:

So they don't, and you have basically

some dead teams walking in Major league

991

:

baseball, which you go into that season

every year and that team's not gonna win.

992

:

There's no way they can,

you don't want that.

993

:

You need them to spend on a floor and you

need to incentivize them to spend to win.

994

:

And I think if MLS can thread that needle.

995

:

They can hold off the Saudi League,

which I think they will, because I think

996

:

it's just gonna take so long to catch

up on the domestic side in Saudi Arabia.

997

:

We'll see how, they money can

jump that really fast, but I

998

:

think they can hold them off.

999

:

But to get to where you're talking

about which league is better, league

:

00:50:37,369 --> 00:50:41,339

On or MLS, you need to reimagine what

MLS can be and I hope that they do

:

00:50:41,339 --> 00:50:43,229

on the back of the:

:

00:50:43,229 --> 00:50:48,369

I hope that, when we reconvene in 20

27, 20 28, to talk about where MLS

:

00:50:48,369 --> 00:50:50,919

is, I hope we're talking about it

being in a really different place.

:

00:50:50,919 --> 00:50:51,639

I think it can be.

:

00:50:51,739 --> 00:50:54,739

PSP: Yeah, I've gotta agree with

that and I think that the league

:

00:50:54,739 --> 00:50:56,119

is moving in the right direction.

:

00:50:56,119 --> 00:50:58,919

So looking forward to seeing

how things play out in the

:

00:50:59,219 --> 00:51:01,199

short, medium, and long term.

:

00:51:01,499 --> 00:51:03,719

We'll reconvene at some

point in the future.

:

00:51:03,719 --> 00:51:07,109

Jason, we can find you on

social media at We Long Shoe.

:

00:51:07,349 --> 00:51:11,819

We can also hear you on the account

out, sock it down here where there's,

:

00:51:11,909 --> 00:51:16,079

they cover everything in the Americas,

that's round ball and globally.

:

00:51:16,229 --> 00:51:17,549

Where else can we find your work?

:

00:51:17,549 --> 00:51:18,269

Jason Longshore.

:

00:51:18,369 --> 00:51:19,689

Jason Longshore: Yeah,

I am all over the place.

:

00:51:19,719 --> 00:51:23,889

We have great partnership with 92 9,

the game the leading sports talk station

:

00:51:23,889 --> 00:51:28,539

here in Atlanta and the SDH network

to where a lot of our personalities

:

00:51:28,539 --> 00:51:30,189

are on Atlanta United coverage.

:

00:51:30,519 --> 00:51:34,419

I have a show on Tuesday nights on

92 9, the game at 10 o'clock Atlanta

:

00:51:34,419 --> 00:51:37,809

Soccer tonight, where we do get into

what's happening here locally, and

:

00:51:37,809 --> 00:51:41,149

we go hyperlocal into high school

and college and youth, but we also

:

00:51:41,149 --> 00:51:44,189

talk about what's happening around

the world, and I think that's what

:

00:51:44,189 --> 00:51:46,169

we try to do down here is cover.

:

00:51:46,269 --> 00:51:53,089

Everything from a local perspective,

but also try to explain how the

:

00:51:53,089 --> 00:51:56,809

local perspective is influenced

by the international perspective.

:

00:51:56,809 --> 00:51:59,029

And we try to cover all of that as well.

:

00:51:59,029 --> 00:52:02,479

Soccer down here on your social

media platforms, 9 2 9, the game

:

00:52:02,479 --> 00:52:03,949

on your social media platforms.

:

00:52:03,949 --> 00:52:08,119

And then I am long shoe with the exception

of TikTok, where I couldn't get long shoe.

:

00:52:08,119 --> 00:52:09,229

I'm just Jason Longshore.

:

00:52:09,229 --> 00:52:09,769

on TikTok.

:

00:52:09,869 --> 00:52:10,574

PSP: Oh, okay.

:

00:52:10,664 --> 00:52:11,204

Bloody TikTok.

:

00:52:11,304 --> 00:52:12,294

Jason Longshore: I'm trying to learn it.

:

00:52:12,294 --> 00:52:15,294

We have to at this point,

so I'm playing with it.

:

00:52:15,671 --> 00:52:16,511

PSP: And I'm fiddling.

:

00:52:16,511 --> 00:52:18,401

I'm still trying to learn any tips.

:

00:52:18,461 --> 00:52:19,391

Please send 'em over.

:

00:52:19,721 --> 00:52:20,001

Jason Longshore: Will do.

:

00:52:20,101 --> 00:52:23,581

PSP: In the meantime, while I learn about

the different social media platforms.

:

00:52:23,681 --> 00:52:24,701

This has been another episode.

:

00:52:24,821 --> 00:52:27,611

PSP, I've been your host, Neal Spruce.

:

00:52:27,711 --> 00:52:28,491

Thank you for listening.

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About the Podcast

Pro Sports Podcasters
No Sport Left Behind
The Pro Sports Podcasters is hosted by Nii Wallace-Bruce, and Justen Williams. On this podcast there is no sport too big, or too small for us to cover. You'll learn something every episode!

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