The Sounders’ DP discourse has come so far since March

I generally think Craig has done well with little support, but at this point I hope he gets voted out. If you ghost through the team’s worst run in at least a decade with all the urgency and candor of a dead snail, you’ve earned your firing.

If I have to hear “we don’t want to panic” and “it’s hard for me to ask for more talent with what this group has done” one more time

Old players $500 New players $0 Rent $800 Barge $3,000,000 Real Estate $500,000,000 Staff $300 someone who is good at the economy please help me budget this. my soccer team is dying

Forward wouldn’t be my top position to target unless they can move Morris or Moose, but it’s nice to see them at least thinking about an international TAM-level signing. In ~1500 minutes in Serie A in the ‘24-‘25 season, his numbers don’t pop, but 🤷‍♂️

Jeremiah Oshan@jeremiah.sounderatheart.com · 7d ago

Nice to at least see a name associated with Casper Tengstedt. His Per 90 numbers look a lot better than raw stats. Nice work by @elrolonw.bsky.social

Robbie Keane after scoring a goal:

The craziest part about this is the Sounders had been REALLY good at adding high-quality foreign talent. There’s no competitive reason why it makes sense to just quit doing that. It’s not as if their hit rate on domestic additions has been better.

Jeremiah Oshan@jeremiah.sounderatheart.com · last wk.

There are a lot of stats you can point to that illustrate the Sounders’ struggles. To me, the most glaring is that all 16 players they used on Saturday were developed through Defiance or came to them through MLS. They’ve effectively abandoned foreign signings. www.sounderatheart.com/2026/07/post...

The reason that “spending doesn’t correlate to wins” has always been a fatuous statement for the Sounders is that while it is true for MLS in general, it’s never been true for the Sounders. This team’s success has always been built on significant, targeted spending from Dempsey to Lodeiro to Raul.

It’s not Waibel’s style, but he should think about publicly shaming ownership for lack of resources like Garth did back in 2018 to get Adrian to pony up some money to buy Ruidiaz. Maybe Adrian fires him. But if you’re going to get fired by the fans in a few months anyway, why not?

🚨🚨 Jesus Ferreira Took A Shot 🚨🚨 (don’t ask how it went)

Checking in on our DP 10 at half

This lineup has very “US Open Cup Round of 16” vibes to it, but outside of Ferreira (who the fitness staff seemingly doesn’t trust to play a 3-game week) there aren’t many options. Also, Nouhou being captain is bizarre.

Sounders FC@soundersfc.com · 2w ago

Our Delta Starting XI in Philly! 🫡 #PHIvSEA | 📰: sndrs.com/123h2squ

Maybe the issue with the Sounders’ trajectory is that they no longer have a clear organizational goal. For years it was “win our first MLS Cup.” Then “win CCL and be the best team in North America.” Now the only articulable goal seems to be “run a productive enough academy to be competitive.”

Part of the reality of how far the Sounders have fallen down the rankings of MLS teams to pay attention to since ~2022, is that this roster is on a real slide and in danger of going to a very dark place and I don’t think any national pundits are even noticing yet.

Nouhou captaining a 3-1 collapse after captaining the worst 5-1 collapse in the 50 year history of the Sounders-Timbers rivalry has many people asking- is it time to rethink Nouhou as captain?

Mark Kastner@mkstnr.bsky.social · 2w ago

It's not the most important thing but it is embarrassing that Nouhou has the armband.

I hope this stretch isn’t the end for Schmetzer, because while he’s had his struggles, I think this is mostly on an aging and neglected roster.

Sounders in 2017 added two core pieces to their roster in Svensson and Kim as the CSL was melting down. There could be similar opportunities to add from the Saudi league in the near future… if the FO is willing to shop internationally anymore.

Tutul Rahman@tutul.bsky.social · 3w ago

Two (unlikely) leagues MLS to look for to get players, perhaps below market value: Brazil Serie A & Saudi Pro. Brazil has two things that would incent clubs to sell more: 1) Less revenue from betting sponsors. That increase in betting dollars has spurred the recent upswing, theres been a pullback

The Sounders completely waving the white flag on scouting and signing international players isn’t talked about enough. That looks to be their last 2 international slots traded away this morning to Philly and Atlanta.

Sporting Kansas City@sportingkc.com · 3w ago

We've acquired two international roster slots in a pair of trades from the Philadelphia Union and the Seattle Sounders. Details 📰: https://skcsoccer.co/4gDoYTU

Man’s about to go chew out Tino Lopez and Snyder Brunell for not playing up to their $90k salaries.

Jeremy Peterman𓅪@jeremypeterman.bsky.social · 3w ago

Here is very angry Adrian Hanauer marching his way towards the tunnel. Meanwhile, "Freed From Desire" is blaring from the Timbers' locker room. #RCTID

If the Sounders 10 years ago had that performance, there would be big, public consequences. If that game was 5 years ago, there would still be changes and club statements. Today? I don’t know if ownership will do anything of note. And that’s why I don’t have confidence in this ownership anymore.

The Timbers’ U22s really tore through the Sounders that half. If only someone had told them that U22s are a bad investment, we wouldn’t be having this problem SMH

Well done, @weareecs.bsky.social

It’s crazy how the Balogun red card situation being the cause of the USMNT crumbling vs Belgium has become gospel to a lot of folks despite the team saying the opposite. And there’s a much more likely, but less convenient, reason.

The Athletic@theathletic.com · 4w ago

After a whirlwind of controversy regarding his red card suspension, Folarin Balogun's on-field impact was minimal in the USMNT's loss to Belgium. nyti.ms/4y3lalf

If they could find a way to capture Portland’s inferiority complex and refine it into fuel, I’m pretty sure they could power the entire west coast of the US.

Jeremy Peterman𓅪@jeremypeterman.bsky.social · 4w ago

You could blame Trump for this. However, this is also what happens when the city of Seattle is allowed to gain too much confidence. You made them believe in their own mythology. Now Lumen is the site of a national humiliation. Congratulations to Seattle. Fortress, my ass.

Perfect crowd, all the stars available, every home field advantage, even a hand up from FIFA. An egg laying of epic proportions.

Mexico is out of ideas

The good news about the Balogun reversal is that it happened the day before so we can speedrun the worst of the discourse. "Watch out, now Belgium have a chip on their shoulder" yeah I'm sure the players were really struggling to find some motivation for a World Cup knockout match before this.

My dog as 10,000 explosions shake the ground last night- totally unfazed, napping peacefully, requesting belly rubs. My dog this afternoon as a fly buzzes around him as he naps: totally shook, shaking in the corner, fight or flight.

The USMNT suddenly turned into one of the most complete team in international soccer as soon as we divided the game into four quarters. You connect the dots.

Look at these drone shots. Look at this atmosphere. You’re telling me you want to leave it for Renton?!? GTFO.