Ownership: Peter Vermes is Not Getting Fired

For the Glory KC is back with the 88th episode of the show!

Sporting Kansas City ended the streak! For the second straight season (let’s not make it three, please) Sporting KC put a stop to their 10-game winless run with a victory over the Seattle Sounders. This time, it was seven straight losses, so a win was a massive relief!

The question is, can Sporting KC sustain this success? They got the game winning goal against a 10-man Seattle side and their expected goals (xG) was actually lower than the Sounders. Then again, confidence can do wonders. The release of emotions from the players both on and off the field showed how much it meant to all of them.

The victory comes on the same day that Sam McDowell put out a fantastic story in the KC Star about a sit-down interview with managing owner Mike Illig. Mike, son of Cliff Illig, told Sam that he had no plans to fire Peter Vermes and wanted him to run a rebuild over the next three transfer windows (through the summer of 2025).

Infamously, Peter Vermes signed a five-year contract extension after missing the playoffs in 2022 that just kicked in this year. He’s signed through the 2028 season, and it always sort of felt like they wouldn’t pay him for four-and-a-half years of nothing, plus pay another coach.

Sheena and I weigh in on the story, Peter handling the rebuild, a Sporting Director still needing to be hired, the targeted positions of center back and winger (no midfielders?) this summer. Andreu Fontas and Johnny Russell are probably approaching the end of their SKC careers, so replacing them makes sense. Ignoring the midfield is concerning though.

Before listening, I encourage you to read the whole story over at the Star.

We also address the rumor that Robert Castellanos has interest from Chivas (Liga MX).

I went looking for the source of said rumor, b/c Castellanos was asked about the rumored interest. #SportingKC https://t.co/5A0MFAUk48

— Mike (@downthebyline) June 10, 2024

And the Kansas City Current just keep winning! This time 5-2 at home over the Seattle Reign to climb back to the top of the NWSL standings. There were new starters, new goal scorers, a testing of the team’s depth and the return of orchestrated celebrations by captain Lo LaBonta.

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

• SKC II keep winning
• Important moments for Pulskamp and Russell
• Gianluca Busio gets promoted
• Two more coaches are fired in MLS
• and an NWSL attendance record

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

• Sporting KC defeated the Sounders(again) – 7:21
• Vermes’ job is safe – 25:16
• Robert Castellanos Transfer Rumor – 47:47
• KC Current crush the Reign – 55:43
• Digital Crawl – 1:09:53

Upcoming Schedule:

• USA U-23s vs. Japan, Tuesday, June 11th @ 7:00 PM CT
  • No Busio, injured in the Venezia game
• USMNT vs. Brazil, Wednesday, June 12th @ 6:00 PM
• Sporting KC II at Real Monarchs, Wednesday, June 12th @ 6:00 PM
• Euros 2024 Starts Friday at 2:00 PM – Germany vs. Scotland
• KC Current vs. Chicago Red Stars, Friday, June 14th @ 7:00 PM
• Sporting KC at LA Galaxy, Saturday, June 15th @ 9:30 PM

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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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