Chicago Fire v Seattle Sounders FC 7/16 5pm P/I/P

Only point I haven't seen brought up yet is missing Frei is huge. Obviously he doesn't score goals for us, but he's made some heroic saves this season (and really his whole career), that Cleveland doesn't make. Tbh I would not feel comfortable handing the reigns to Cleveland - great backup but not a guy I like for a full season.

As to the overall, I mean it's mostly Garth and a little bit our garbage physios. Our best XI didn't win CCL by luck. But that said, our depth is non-existent. The only players I'd be okay starting for a long period that aren't in our best XI are Medranda and Vargas, and that's being generous. On top of that, Morris, Lodeiro and Rusnak are absolutely not playing up to their contracts (I'd argue they're all still good MLS players, but not good use of resources).

So yeah, I guess it's a full teardown or at least close to it. Lodeiro has to take a big paycut or go at this point. Morris the same. I worry it's also going to be true with JP given the injury. Rusnak, whom I actually think I like better than most, can't be more than a tam player; he's a waste as a dp. After than, you're looking at Rui and Frei both getting long in the tooth leaving just CRoldan and an okay backline.

The saddest part is despite all this we're still going to make the playoffs and probably win our first matchup, ergo the narrative that we "won CCL and then came up just a little short" is going to carry us through another underwhelming off-season.

Even Lodeiro is basically saying the team is unmotivated. That is on the players but also the coaching staff (esp Schmetzer). None of these bums could hack it in a top tier league because they are “tired” from a handful of CCL matches and 20-some league matches, well and the much lower talent/skill level would be a barrier—but still.

www.mlssoccer.com/news/seattle-sounders-not-the-same-team-that-won-ccl-says-lodeiro