For the Glory KC Chad and Sheena Smith

S3E22 - For the Glory KC is back with the 87th episode of the show! And it's a controversial one.

Here is a rundown of topics (and approximate start times):


Media Game - 3:46
Sporting KC Lose Two More Games - 10:54
Is it Time for Peter Vermes to Go? - 41:25
Digital Crawl - 1:35:25

We recently turned on "Listener Support." Don't feel obligated, but if you have a few spare bucks and are a fan of the pod, we'd appreciate your donation.

As a special gift to For the Glory KC listeners and KC Soccer Journal readers, Backheeled dot com is giving away 30 days of their amazing, independent American soccer coverage for free. If you decide you want to turn that into a paid membership, they'll give you 10 percent off too. Just follow this link!

Big thanks to Splitter Conspiracy (listen to them here) for our theme music made with the permission of the KC Cauldron.

Upcoming Schedule:


SKC II @ Minnesota United 2 - Sunday, June 2nd @ 6:00 PM CT
USWNT vs. Korea Republic - Tuesday, June 4th @ 7:00 PM
SKC II vs. Houston Dynamo 2 - Friday, June 7th @ 6:00 PM
Sporting KC vs. Seattle Sounders - Saturday, June 8th @ 7:30 PM 
KC Current vs. Seattle Reign - Sunday, June 9th @ 5:00 PM


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S3E21 - For the Glory KC is back with the 86th episode of the show! 

Sporting Kansas City have extended their losing streak to five games. But before we get to the bad results, they did have a good result this week. They did what a Major League Soccer team should have done and downed FC Tulsa, a second division foe, 4-0 in the US Open Cup. That sets Sporting KC up to play FC Dallas in the quarterfinal where they only need three more wins to lift a trophy in an otherwise abysmal year.

While Sheena sneaks some negativity in that Open Cup conversation, we do eventually switch gears to talk about the 2-1 loss to the Portland Timbers on the road. The "starters" were all back except Remi Walter, who was replaced by the goal scorer Memo Rodriguez. The game went poor from a chance creation perspective, results perspective, and an injury perspective.

Erik Thommy appeared to pull his hamstring and had to sub out early and then Memo Rodriguez picked up a suspension for yellow card accumulation. That led to a conversation of what the midfield could possibly look like against the Vancouver Whitecaps on Wednesday. I think it's time for an SKC II loan over playing someone out of position.

The Kansas City Current did what they often do and kept winning! This time in the first ever meeting against the Utah Royals. Despite the win, it wasn't all good news as Gabby Robinson went down with an injury and we fear the worst.

And of course, we have to talk about the surprise resignation of General Manager Camille Ashton from the KC Current.

In the Digital Crawl, we hit a few topics, including:


Gianluca Busio on the verge of Serie A again
KC Current have so many international call ups
SKC Academy have a couple as well
And a clarification on pay "raises and cuts"

Here is a rundown of topics (and approximate start times):


Sporting KC advance in the Open Cup - 7:23
But lose their 5th straight in MLS play - 24:16
Clarification on a new MLS rule - 53:43
KC Current win! - 55:01
Camille Ashton resigns - 1:02:32
Digital Crawl - 1:06:41

Upcoming Schedule:


Sporting KC vs Vancouver Whitecaps, Wednesday, May 29th @ 7:30 PM CDT
USWNT vs. South Korea, Saturday, June 1st @ 4:00 PM (TNT/Max/Peacock)
Sporting KC at Minnesota United, Saturday, June 1st @ 7:30 PM
SKC II at MNUFC 2, Sunday, June 2nd @ 6:00 PM
The KC Current are off for the international break

We recently turned on "Listener Support." Don't feel obligated, but if you have a few spare bucks and are a fan of the pod, we'd appreciate your donation.

As a special gift to For the Glory KC listeners and KC Soccer Journal readers, Backheeled dot com is giving away 30 days of their amazing, independent American soccer coverage for free. If you decide you want to turn that into a paid membership, they'll give you 10 percent off too. Just follow this link!

Big thanks to Splitter Conspiracy (listen to them here) for our theme music made with the permission of the KC Cauldron.


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Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/fortheglorykc/message
Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/fortheglorykc/support

S3E20 - For the Glory KC is back with the 85th episode of the show!

Sporting Kansas City keep disappointing us. This time, it was a 3-2 loss on the road against Austin FC. Peter Vermes made a big deal about "effort" and "mentality" after last week's loss against the Houston Dynamo, but the changes to the lineup were minimal.

Sheena and I discuss what we thought was going to happen versus what happened and how things played out. Did the new starters play glorious or did the wrong people find their way to the bench? The only changes were Erik Thommy, Robert Castellanos and Zorhan Bassong staring while Willy Agada, Robert Volder and Tim Leibold found themselves benched. Peter thinks the effort is good though.

Then we couldn't avoid our chance to play Fantasy Sporting Director as the salaries for Sporting KC were released and there are a lot of questionable contracts on the list. Sheena managed to limit the amount of blackmail accusations, but we both have strong opinions about who is being paid too much and just a little on who is underpaid. 

The Kansas City Current couldn't lift us out of the doldrums as they gave up a late lead in an extended amount of stoppage time against Racing Louisville. 112 minutes were played in a 90-minute game, so we look at if that time was justified and what could have been done differently to hold on to the lead. But hey, at least the KC Current are still unbeaten! Plus, a ball almost got into the Missouri River.

In the Digital Crawl, we hit a few topics, including:


Nashville SC are the first in MLS to fire a coach
SKC II update
Another Marco Reus rumor
Raquino! 
and what is going on with the Tulsa Athletic

Here is a rundown of topics (and approximate start times):


Sporting KC lose yet again - 6:19
SKC/MLS Salaries Released - 27:51
KC Current draw late - 1:05:09
Digital Crawl - 1:21:21

Upcoming Schedule:


Sporting KC vs FC Tulsa, Tuesday, May 21st @ 7:30 PM CDT
KC Current at Utah Royals, Saturday, May 25th @ 9:30 PM
Sporting KC at Portland, Saturday, May 25th @ 9:30 PM 
SKC II off this week

Spotify took away our ads, so we turned on "Listener Support." Don't feel obligated, but if you have a few spare bucks and are a fan of the pod, we'd appreciate your donation.

Big thanks to Splitter Conspiracy (listen to them here) for our theme music made with the permission of the KC Cauldron.


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Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/fortheglorykc/message
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S3E19 - For the Glory KC is back with the 84th episode of the show!

Sporting Kansas City just keep tumbling. They are down to 12th place in the Western Conference, just a single point ahead of 13th and 14th placed San Jose Earthquakes and the Portland Timbers. They got there with a 2-1 loss to the Houston Dynamo on Saturday night.

Sheena and I set out to try and figure out what is wrong. I have a theory that they actually need to go away from the 4-2-3-1 formation and back to the 4-3-3. Folks get tired of that formation, but the 4-2-3-1 is not working! They haven't won a single game in five tries rolling it out. Let's recap:


We first saw it against the LA Galaxy and blew a 2-0 lead to lose 3-2
Then again against Portland and blew a 3-0 lead to tie 3-3
Lost to Inter Miami in this formation
Tied St. Louis 3-3
Lost to Minnesota United

We talked about the outstanding performances of Memo Rodriguez and a lot of middling performances all around the roster. Peter Vermes agreed in his post-match press conference. There was a lot of discussion around a "change in mentality." Vermes said, "its' not all the guys, it's quite of few of the guys though." He also called the Houston goals "atrocious" and "amateur, at best." And above all else, he said a lot of players lacked effort. There was talk in benching players, suffering and so many other topics in a short seven-minute presser. Daniel Salloi gave some tough interviews in the locker room too. 

We try to figure out who lacked effort and who is going to get benched, and there are a lot of potential candidates. We also discuss briefly the 120-minute win over Union Omaha to advance in the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup to face FC Tulsa in the Round of 16.

Thankfully, we still have the Kansas City Current. While they only mustered out a draw Wednesday on incredibly short rest and travel nightmares against Vlatko's former team, the Seattle Reign, they won again on Sunday against the North Carolina Courage.

In the Digital Crawl, we hit a few topics, including:


Espinoza and Zusi are back... sort of.
SKC are the 41st most valuable franchise in the world
And a bunch of other stuff covered in this story
Bia, Chawinga and DiBernardo earn NWSL honors
Neil McGuinness is the new LAFC Technical Director (but SKC only could find Gavin Wilkinson?)
14-year-old Cavan Sullivan is one to watch

Here is a rundown of topics (and approximate start times):


Northern Lights - 1:38
Sporting KC lost at home again - 5:20
Vermes post-game Presser after Houston - 21:59
SKC (barely) advance in the US Open Cup - 43:37
KC Current have another solid week - 50:11
Digital Crawl - 1:04:01

Upcoming Schedule:


Sporting KC at Austin FC, Saturday, May 18th @ 7:30 PM CST
KC Current vs. Racing Louisville, Saturday, May 18th @ 8:30 PM

Spotify took away our ads, so we turned on "Listener Support." Don't feel obligated, but if you have a few spare bucks and are a fan of the pod, we'd appreciate your donation.

Big thanks to Splitter Conspiracy (listen to them here) for our theme music made with the permission of the KC Cauldron.


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Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/fortheglorykc/message
Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/fortheglorykc/support

S3E18 - For the Glory KC is back with the 83rd episode of the show! 

Sporting Kansas City are now winless in five straight. Heading into the Real Salt Lake game, it never really felt like they were going to win, but they kept it close for a long time. There were six changes to the lineup, as well as four subs used. The offense wasn't clicking but John Pulskamp nearly came through with some hero ball.

Sheena and I weigh in on that lineup choices, all the missing players for illness (Radoja) and injury (Rosero and Walter). Plus, is this the last we'll see of Marinos Tzionis? It felt like he was setup to fail playing out of position with zero minutes in MLS or MLS Next Pro this year.

One of my favorites, Alenis Vargas, has some answering to do for that performance against RSL. I advocate for the 'kids' all the time, but this was a terrible shift from Vargas that might see him relegated back to SKC II or the proverbial Vermes 'doghouse.'

And we absolutely can't avoid talking about this bizarre situation between Daniel Salloi and Brayan Vera.

It wasn't all downer news around Sporting KC though. Jake Davis signed a long-term contract extension, which is a welcome addition. And it seems really likely that Alan Pulido took a pay cut, which is a big deal.

The Kansas City Current nearly lifted our weekend up before a four-hour delay in the game and a fluky second half goal that allowed the Houston Dash to draw level. Despite the Current outshooting the Dash 29-8, including 14-3 with shots on goal, they couldn't pull off a win and find themselves at least temporarily out of first place looking up at the Orlando Pride.

The way the rain delay was handled and the scheduling nightmare it has left the Current in was the ire of Vlatko Andonovski in the post-game press conference. We have thoughts!

Included in the game discussion on the broadcast was the news that Gabby Robinson may be getting a look for the United States Women's National Team. Go Gabby!

In the Digital Crawl, we hit a few topics, including:


Sporting KC II fall short against North Texas, but win awards for April
The 2027 Women's World Cup isn't coming to the US or Mexico
Plus: The Columbus Crew advance in CCC, Kelley O'hara plans to retire and more

Here is a rundown of topics (and approximate start times):


Sporting KC lose to RSL - 4:18
Jake Davis signs a new contract - 41:18
Alan Pulido may have taken a pay cut - 43:59
KC Current vs. the Houston Dash and the weather - 47:57
KC Comets come up just short - 1:16:54
Digital Crawl - 1:23:00

Upcoming Schedule:


Sporting KC at Union Omaha - Wednesday, May 8th @ 7:00 PM CT
KC Current at Seattle Reign - Wednesday, May 8th @ 9:00 PM 
Sporting KC vs. Houston Dynamo - Saturday, May 11th @ 7:30 PM
Sporting KC II vs. Colorado Rapids 2 - Sunday, May 12th @ 2:00 PM
KC Current vs. North Carolina Courage - Sunday, May 12th @ 5:00 PM

Spotify took away our ads, so we turned on "Listener Support." Don't feel obligated, but if you have a few spare bucks and are a fan of the pod, we'd appreciate your donation.

Big thanks to Splitter Conspiracy (listen to them here) for our theme music made with the permission of the KC Cauldron.


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Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/fortheglorykc/message
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S3E17 - For the Glory KC is back with the 82nd episode of the show!

Sporting Kansas City are officially 10 games into their 2024 season and it's a benchmark that Peter Vermes likes to focus on. The team is 2-3-5 (11 points) and sitting in 10th place. It's better than last season, but that's an incredibly low bar to clear.

We asked Peter Vermes how he felt about where the team was, and his answers left something to be desired. My colleague Jimmy Mack Tweeted out the quotes.

Sheena and I weigh in the quotes, the play against Minnesota United FC in the 2-1 loss and the rumor from Taylor Twellman that signings are coming in the summer and where we'd like to see those signings. Oh, and we have to talk about this meme-worthy image and subsequent work from Offside Modeling that confirmed it was onside.

The Kansas City Current thankfully brought us happier things to talk about in their 3-1 come-from-behind win over Angel City FC in Los Angeles on Friday night. Plus, we went to Game One of the KC Comets attempt to win the Ron Newman Cup in the MASL Final on Sunday afternoon. Game two is Tuesday.

In the Digital Crawl, we hit a few topics, including:


The new KC Current development around the stadium
Dom Dwyer signing with the Oakland Roots
The Major of Indianapolis Talking MLS Expansion
Former KC player signings in MLS and the USL Super League

Here is a rundown of topics (and approximate start times):


Our Experience with the MASL Finals and the KC Comets - 2:03
Sporting KC lose to MIN - 8:28
Taylor Twellman says SKC signings are coming - 46:22
The KC Current make a Big Comeback - 53:03
It’s not all good news around the Current - 1:07:57
Errors and Corrections are back - 1:12:20
Digital Crawl - 1:17:19

Upcoming Schedule:


KC Comets at Chihuahua Savage - Tuesday, April 30 @ 9:05 PM CT
Sporting KC at Real Salt Lake - Saturday, May 4th @ 8:30 PM 
KC Current at Houston Dash - Sunday, May 5th @ 12:00 PM 
Sporting KC II host North Texas SC - Sunday, May 5th @ 6:00 PM

Spotify took away our ads, so we turned on "Listener Support." Don't feel obligated, but if you have a few spare bucks and are a fan of the pod, we'd appreciate your donation.

Big thanks to Splitter Conspiracy (listen to them here) for our theme music made with the permission of the KC Cauldron.


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Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/fortheglorykc/message
Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/fortheglorykc/support