Home and Away - A Sporting KC Podcast

Drew VanderPloeg and Cody Welton
  • 4.3 (22)
  • Soccer
  • Updated Weekly

A conversation on topics involving the MLS club Sporting Kansas City. Tactical breakdowns of match performances, discussion around personnel and their usage, and previews of upcoming matches. Some additional content around other USMNT and MLS news as appropriate. Want to participate in the discussion? Join us on the Podcast Discord: https://discord.gg/pkg4S85qR2

  1. 8h ago

    Episode 185 - SKC Listener Mailbag, new player rumors(!), and the World Cup is here!

    We are back!  Cody has returned from his sojourn to the North and just in time for us to prepare for some kind of tournament that is being played here this summer?  Cup of the Worlds or something?  Is this like the Intercontinental Challenge Cup or something different?  Jokes aside, we are hours away from the kickoff of the 2026 World Cup and 7 weeks of soccer overstimulation to our senses, so it is good that we are getting together beforehand to discuss this sport that we all love. That said, this is a Sporting KC podcast, and it has been a minute since Cody and I have discussed SKC, so we do have a few mailbag topics to dig into while that team is on hiatus during the World Cup break, including a player rumor! and hopefully as that break continues some news will start to trickle in regarding more potential transfer moves and how the team is preparing for the 2nd half of the season.   Obviously the USMNT is kicking off their home World Cup campaign on Friday, on the heels of a couple decent, let’s call them professional performances vs Senegal and Germany.  Certainly a vast improvement on the last window vs Portugal and Belgium, and there are some interesting tidbits I think that we can take away from how these games went and how personnel performed that could inform the way this team will try to play this summer. There were also a couple supposed soccer games in Brazil for the USWNT, and they served a useful lesson for that team, if not really how to play the beautiful game, but rather how to survive when the opponent will simply not allow it to be beautiful in the first place,

    1h 31m

  2. May 27

    Episode 184 - Daniel Sperry joins the pod to discuss SKC's renaissance, the Current winning at home, and USMNT roster discourse

    We are back after another 2 game hiatus(well one of us is) because school is out Cody decided he needed to have a vacation or whatever, so Drew is joined this week by good friend of the pod regular soccer contributor to the KC Star Daniel Sperry.  While SKC did miss out on an opportunity to head into the World Cup break on an actual winning streak, they have improved greatly over the past several games, with head coach Rapha Wicky finding a personnel grouping and formation that has seemed to finally steady the ship prior to the aforementioned break for World Cup games.  That said, this formation and personnel grouping has come at the expense of Manu Garcia’s inclusion in the starting lineup, which does belie some of the limitations of the roster as it is currently built, as well as how to fit these players together in a cohesive and positive manner. We’ll dig into the tactical nuances of this new setup as well as discuss what we saw in MLS that we liked this week, the KC Current getting back home and back to winning ways, and everyone’s favorite topic, USMNT roster selections.

    1h 31m

  3. May 15

    Episode 183 - SKC love playing the Galaxy, the MLSPA salary dump, and can the vibes continue?

    This episode analyzes Sporting Kansas City's recent performances, focusing on tactical adjustments, player impacts, and coaching decisions. The hosts discuss the significance of Zorhan Bassong's return, the team's defensive struggles, and potential future strategies to improve results. In this episode, Drew and Cody analyze recent MLS matches, team strategies, player performances, and the ongoing challenges faced by Sporting Kansas City. They delve into tactical decisions, roster issues, league comparisons, and the upcoming transfer window, providing insights for dedicated soccer fans. Music by The Spin Wires

    1h 38m

  4. May 7

    Episode 182 - SKC show signs of life, the Current do as well, and why "Save the 'Caps" is so important.

    We decided it was too depressing to discuss the 2nd half capitulation in Chicago a week and a half ago and took a week off hoping for something more positive to discuss regarding the on-field performance of this team and boy are we glad we did.  Sporting was a much more competitive side in a 1-1 draw at home vs. Seattle, even if a bit conservative with its defensive positioning.   There were some other changes from match to match(and more we’d probably like to see going forward) that we will discuss, as well as what we saw in MLS the past two weekends we liked before talking about the Current getting back to winning ways and previewing this weekend’s trip to Portland. Music by The Spin Wires

    1h 44m

  5. Apr 23

    Episode 181 - Another SKC loss, discussing more pragmatic tactics, and the MLS kids are alright.

    Sporting KC headed to Vancouver on Friday evening and if anyone was still holding onto hope they may shake off the match in Colorado Springs on Tuesday and come out with some more competitive edge, most of those hopes were dashed pretty early as Emmanuel Sabbi ran rampant up the makeshift left sided defense of SKC and helped Vancouver to a 3-0 lead before the half hour mark.  In the oft-quoted words of the imitable Denny Green:  “THEY ARE WHO WE THOUGHT THEY WERE!” Thankfully the blood-letting was swift and clinical, so we could settle into our usual level of malaise regarding this club rather quickly.  Whether it was game state, or changes in the 2nd half(probably a little from column a, and a little from column b), the performance did solidify somewhat and while the bar is subterranean at this point, the team did improve on how it played on Tuesday in Colorado Springs as well as from the first to second half Friday night. That said, those moral victories are extremely hard to find, and one has to wonder if we are too close to forest to see trees to see the forest at the moment by highlighting them.  Playing the only game on the slate on a Friday night meant most of the National media saw it, and whoo boy did they have things to say afterward.  Rightfully so, because this team is bad, but it also reminds us of simpler times when SKC were simply ignored by such outlets. All of this does beg an important question though.  Is Rapha Wicky setting this team up for success?  Or at least, for as much success as this roster can achieve?  Because at the current moment it seems like his principles are meant to be followed in spite of his players ability to achieve them, not necessarily because it will enable them.  Is there a more pragmatic way to do things that don’t risk losing the locker room?  Especially when it is full of inexperienced young players that need development?  All things we will cover this week. Finally, we will do a bit of USWNT discussion, chat about what we saw in MLS this week, and do a quick preview of this weekend’s upcoming match in Chicago.

    1h 31m

  6. Apr 16

    Episode 180 - Just when you think it can't get any worse...

    This episode features a candid and detailed analysis of Sporting Kansas City's recent performances, coaching challenges, and player development issues. Drew and Cody dissect the team's tactical struggles, individual player performances, and the broader implications for the season, providing insights into what needs to change for better results. Music by The Spin Wires

    1h 24m

  7. Apr 9

    Episode 179 - SKC Struggle in Salt Lake, Temwa makes everything better, and MLS gets drunk for Saturday brunch.

    Sporting KC returned to action last Saturday afternoon in Salt Lake City and we all hoped it would provide some levity given the rather dour state of affairs it has been to be a soccer fan in this town of late, and it took all of 3 minutes for those hopes to be dashed and replaced with pessimism and anger.  SKC was pretty comprehensively beaten throughout the first half of the match, and while they did improve in the 2nd, it wasn’t near enough to get a result against a candidly superior opponent, both in talent and execution. It led to what was probably the most negative presser after the game that I can remember since Rapha Wicky took charge, and unfortunately was a stark reminder of how far this team has to go.  There are…reasons for this performance and we will get into many of them as well as discuss potential ways to rectify the mistakes that this match were riddled with. Thankfully Temwa Chawinga graced us with her presence on the field for 40 minutes this weekend and it was enough to get an assist and remind us what this team can look like when it starts firing.  The addition seemed to increase the confidence of several players that had not had the best start of the season and as a result the Current came away with their second victory of the year. We’ve got a number of other topics to discuss, including the dismissal of Mike Burns, what we saw that we liked in MLS this weekend as well as a preview of this weekend’s rematch of the season opener against San Jose back in the friendly confines of Sporting Park. Music by The Spin Wires

    1h 35m

  8. Apr 2

    Episode 178 - The USMNT come back to earth, The Current continue to confound, and an RSL preview as SKC get back into action

    The international break brought no reprieve from soccer pain as the USMNT got fairly comprehensively beaten on the scoresheet by both Belgium and Portugal and the KC Current put in one of the more hapless performances we’ve seen from that club in recent memory.  In fact, the last time I remember them looking that listless they were playing home games in a minor league baseball stadium. Needless to say, there was a lack of joy in the soccer department for the proprietors of this podcast, nor most of its listeners.  But we soldier on undeterred!  There were at least noteworthy items in the games played by both teams to evaluate(and likely criticize), as well as a silver lining or two so it isn’t all doom and gloom. We’ll also catch up on a few news items as well as get ready for SKC to get back into action in Salt Lake City as they head on the road to a fairly difficult challenge against an RSL team that is playing quite well of late. Music by The Spin Wires

    1h 33m
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4.3
out of 5
22 Ratings

About

A conversation on topics involving the MLS club Sporting Kansas City. Tactical breakdowns of match performances, discussion around personnel and their usage, and previews of upcoming matches. Some additional content around other USMNT and MLS news as appropriate. Want to participate in the discussion? Join us on the Podcast Discord: https://discord.gg/pkg4S85qR2

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