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Staff Roundtable: Kaká Returns in Time for Kreis, Revs; Pride Faces Remach with Boston Breakers
Orlando City SC Captain Kaká is returning right in time for the transition into the Jason Kreis era — can he provide the scoring spark for what may be a defensively oriented tactical shift? How has Hadji Barry performed in his first year as a pro? Can the Lions contain Lee Nguyen and earn three points at home?
The Pride were beaten badly by the Seattle Reign — can they rebound with a win against the Boston Breakers? Jeff Milby, Brent Petkus, and Daniel McGann discuss all this and more in this week's edition of The Mane Land Roundtable.
Kaká came on for 30 minutes against Columbus and completely changed the match. How will his return ease the transition into the Kreis era?
Jeff: Having Kaká healthy and in the lineup is vital to Orlando City’s identity, especially in the early weeks of the Kreis era. Getting your star players to buy in and be a part of the process early is key for a new coach, and when your star is a player the stature of Kaká, having them available to set the tone in the early stages of a coaching tenure is hugely important. The sooner Kaká is a part of the process, the sooner we see what Kreis’ Orlando City will be.
Brent: Kaká is one of the key cogs to the success of Orlando City. We have seen this team play better with him on the field, and he forces defenses to know where he is on the field at all times. He can make passes and create chances unlike anyone in the league. His return will be crucial to Kreis' success as he needs to play within the system and do what he does best in creating dangerous opportunities.
Daniel: If he returns to play consistently then there is no question Kaká will have an impact. The questions are: How much will he be able to play, and how long he can he stay healthy?
Hadji Barry scored in the friendly against Stoke City — on a scale of 1-10, how encouraged are you by the former first-round draft pick’s performances this season?
Brent: I give Hadji Barry an eight. He has made a huge impact on this team in his first year. Most MLS rookies spend most of their time loaned out or on the club's USL team, but Barry's play has been elevated in the last few matches for Orlando City. He's shown that he has a lot of upside and can play at the MLS level. We have to remember Orlando City traded up to take him and that move looks pretty good right now.
Daniel: Seven. That number allows me to account for his physical abilities without over-hyping a player who still needs to find a touch and learn how to make more than just a forward run. The good thing is he has all the physical tools needed to make an impact.
Jeff: I'll give him a six. The 23-year-old rookie has shown flashes of what made him a first-round pick, but he has yet to make a large impact in a regular season game, save for his hockey assist in the opener. His speed makes you turn your head, and it is definitely an asset coming off of the bench where it could potentially turn Barry into a key difference maker late in games against defenders with heavy legs. Overall not bad, but not great.
After the Stoke City match, Kreis mentioned a desire to defend for 45 minutes, then open up the attack in the second half. Do you think this approach will serve the Lions well?
Daniel: I'm not sure he was saying bunker and then attack in the later half. I think Kreis is smart enough to know Orlando has been a strong second half team this year and the point is to not be playing from behind after 45.
Brent: If you don't concede goals you won't lose. That isn't exactly what people want to hear, nor is it a way to play the beautiful game. This was an exhibition and you can use that to work on things like defending, and Orlando City's defensive shape has been poor at best. In games that don't matter, managers tend to use it as a competitive training session. Orlando City sat back and defended and worked on its shape, ensuring the team stayed compact in defense. This team can breakout on the attack, so if we can defend and minimize goals we have a better chance to secure wins.
Jeff: I do like this approach. Defense wins championships in Major League Soccer, so establishing a defense-first mentality in his squad is about the only approach that Kreis should take in the embryonic stages of his reign if he is serious about turning Orlando into a contender. The Lions' goals-against record hasn't been egregious this season (especially when you consider that the team leading the Eastern Conference has given up the most goals in the league by a decent margin), but it hasn't been good either. A solid defensive foundation is key to turning this thing in the direction we all know it can go.
Up next is New England Revolution, which sits three points ahead while having played one more game than Orlando. Do you expect a win when the Lions return to the Campground?
Jeff: A win is certainly more likely here than against lots of other opponents in the league. New England has won just twice this season against teams with a realistic shot at the playoffs (against NYRB and Vancouver), while all four of Orlando's victories this year have come against quality opponents.The Revs are on a good run of form, with two wins and a draw in their last three, but Orlando is a step up in overall quality (if not consistency) compared to Columbus and Chicago. Orlando is undefeated at home so far, so if there is a winner in this one, I'd expect it to be wearing purple. That said, I think a draw is the most likely outcome.
Brent: I think that this team is capable of winning on Sunday. There are so many question marks that surround the game. What will be Jason Kreis’ first-choice lineup? Will Kaká and Cyle Larin be 100% after playing in the MLS All-Star Game Thursday in San Jose? There will be a lot of excitement at Camping World Stadium because of the new coach. If Orlando City can defend well, it will win this game.
Daniel: I always expect a win at home, but as we have seen a draw is more likely. However, a win is needed for this team and this match could be the one to fill that need.
Lee Nguyen was fantastic in May, but has slowed down considerably in recent weeks. Can Orlando City keep him quiet, or will he bounce back against this defense?
Brent: Lee Nguyen is one of the best attacking midfielders in the league. He is going to get his opportunities in the match, what Orlando City has to do is minimize his touches on the ball in dangerous areas. The Lions need to stay compact within the back four and force him to play around the defense instead of through. The worst thing that can happen is him running at the back line with strikers on his side making runs, because he will play the perfect ball that will set up a goal. I will say we will do a good job of minimizing his chances because of Kreis' focus on defending this week.
Daniel: We can keep him quiet. With the current DMs on this roster and the return of Kaká, possession should be in favor of the home team and allow us to keep Nguyen at bay.
Jeff: Regardless of the form he is in, there's no doubt that Nguyen is a major part of Orlando's scouting report. Nguyen scored in the Revs' win over Columbus two games ago. Expect someone to be inside Nguyen's shirt defensively any time he crosses the midfield stripe. Expect Nguyen to have a solid game, though.
PRIDE TIME
The Pride struggled mightily against Seattle Reign, falling 5-2. How does a loss of that stature affect a team during the season?
Jeff: If MLS is any precedent, a devastatingly one-sided loss can sometimes mean very little in the grand scheme of the season (looking at NYCFC's 7-0 loss to NYRB earlier this season). The loss certainly hurt the Pride in the goal differential department, which currently sits at -4, and it doesn't help them in the playoff hunt either. This was by far the biggest loss and biggest scoreline of a Pride game this season, so time will tell if it has longer-lasting effects. As professionals, sometimes it's best to have a short memory.
Daniel: The way this team has settled so far in its inaugural season, not much. The Pride have played their hearts out and I expect them to continue doing so.
Brent: This part of the season is tough for the Orlando Pride because they are missing so many players due to the Olympics. I don’t think a loss affects them any more than any other loss. They know they need points in the next few matches after the Olympic break. Blowout losses can sometimes cause teams to crumble, however, this team has some great leadership and I just don’t think they are going to worry about it and focus their energy on the next game.
It took two late Kristen Edmonds goals to beat the Boston Breakers the last time these two clubs matched up. How can Tom Sermanni better prepare the Pride this time around?
Brent: I think the issue with the Orlando Pride is with so many key internationals out, it's tough to keep a team shape. The defending was not up to the usual quality. Like Orlando City, I believe the focus was on team shape and getting the defense on the same page as many haven't played together in a game situation. If they can minimize shots in dangerous areas, I feel they can come away with a result on the road.
Jeff: Sermanni will certainly know a little better of what to expect against Boston, this being Orlando's second meeting with the Breakers. Combating a slow start on the road will likely be a big focus in the Pride's preparation for this one, so if they can execute in the early portions of the game their chances of a second road victory of the season to go along with a regular season sweep of Boston is more likely.
Daniel: I am not sure if Tom can do more to prepare the Pride, I think the players need to find a spark on the field.
***
And this edition of the roundtable is adjourned. Let your opinions be heard below, and show up at the Campground for Jason Kreis’ league debut.
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Reflecting on Eight Years with The Mane Land
A look back over my time with The Mane Land (so far).
As of last week, I have been a contributor at The Mane Land for eight years. That’s longer than I’ve ever been at any of my actual jobs in my life. There are literally only a couple of people who have been with the site longer, but I’m still amazed at how long it’s been. This is not to say I’m going anywhere, but rather I wanted to take the opportunity to look back at the past eight years, and look ahead to the future.
Unlike some, I didn’t come to be a supporter of Orlando City until it was announced that the club was joining MLS. At the time, I was contemplating picking a club to follow in MLS, but being in Tallahassee, there were no nearby options at that time. I considered FC Dallas and D.C. United, given the two were geographically closer in proximity to me than any others. Fortunately, it was literally while I was considering my options that the announcement was made regarding Orlando City’s jump to MLS. It was an easy decision.
As I do in many aspects of my life, I immediately started researching my new club, which led me to the content being produced by The Mane Land. There was also an article on the site titled “Join The Mane Land Staff.” I had often over the years internally bemoaned that I rarely used my Bachelor’s degree in English, and the desire to write welled up in me so much that I emailed the staff.
In response, one of our former editors, Andrew Marcinko, contacted me and said “I think your voice would be a great fit on TML.” He asked me to submit a Fan Post (those went away with our presence on SBN), and then another piece for review. Following that, our founder and managing editor, Michael Citro, emailed me to welcome me to the staff. I had no idea at the time how big a part of my life this blog would become.
I started out writing Monday’s Lions Links — often one of the more difficult days to write — and a feature piece. It’s been many years gone by now, but there was a time when the feature piece was “Pride Pub,” an ongoing series that paired craft beer and good food based on Orlando City’s opponent. I can tell you that the research for that was very enjoyable, and I still use some of the recipes I found to this day.
Eventually, I started contributing more match coverage and analytical pieces. Staff came and went, but I never thought to leave since I was enjoying myself. Sometime after that, I was promoted to senior columnist, for which I’m grateful. I can without reservation say that I’m a better writer thanks to my time with the site, and from working with such excellent staff.
In November of 2016, Michael asked if I wanted to give co-hosting The Mane Land PawedCast a try. My first recording was for Episode 71. We just recorded Episode 354, and with the exception of maybe two or three episodes, I have been on every single one of 283 episodes over the last six plus years. Michael and I have spent a lot of time talking on and off the podcast over the years, and I’m proud of what we have produced and to call him my friend.
We recently added an Orlando Pride-specific podcast called Skopurp: An Orlando Pride PawedCast. For years we wanted to give the Pride the time and attention the club deserves. Now, it is a reality, but one that I ask you to listen to and share. I’ll even put out that although Michael and I are the current hosts, we merely consider ourselves stewards and are hoping to get others to come onboard and eventually take it to the next level.
When I started with The Mane Land, the site had just made the move from a free WordPress site to the SBNation network. It was a big deal, and for many years it was a good partnership. Of course that all came to an end not too long ago, and our blog went the independent route thanks to the incredibly generous support of our readers and listeners. In fact, if you want to be one of those supporting our efforts, please go to our Buy Me A Coffee site to become a member. The move has allowed a flexibility we didn’t have before, but I really want others to have the same sense of joy and accomplishment that I have as a member of our staff.
At one point we had nearly twice the staff that we do now, and as you know, many hands make light work. The opposite of that is also true. I genuinely believe that there must be others out there with the same passion for Orlando City as I have — with the same desire to have their voice heard, whether through the written word or on a podcast. I promise you there is an opportunity to contribute here with us. Our internal discussions are informative, engaging, and often funny. Please consider joining us, as I did eight years ago. I haven’t regretted it and I know you won’t either.
I want to thank all of those who contributed to The Mane Land over the years. There are many that I am still in touch with, though they are no longer a part of the staff. Of course, the current staff are a pleasure to work with, and I appreciate their dedication to what we are trying to do.
Finally, I want to thank the readers and listeners over the years. From those who regularly comment on our articles, to those that I’ve personally met at matches or even randomly on the street, you are a big reason that we do all of this. You are a big reason why I’ve been doing this for the better part of a decade. it is always a genuine pleasure hearing your thoughts or simply sharing a moment of joy together — U.S. Open Cup final, anyone?
So, thank you. I look forward to many more years of this journey together.
Orlando City
The Mane Land Announces Membership Program
Maximize your Mane Land experience with our new TML membership program while supporting our independent efforts.
Hello, readers of The Mane Land and listeners of our podcasts. Before you start reading this, please note that the most important part of this post is at the end. So, don’t stop until you get to the bottom.
You may recall that when we left SBNation to become independent, we really weren’t sure the best way to go about that. Many of our readers and listeners generously offered to help us make that transition, but we still weren’t sure the best path forward, so we took a poll.
The poll was pretty much split down the middle between those who preferred a one-time, Kickstarter-style campaign (which we did, and those of you who stepped up to help completely blew us away!) and those who favored a Patreon-style, subscription-based membership with extra perks. In fact, the member subscriptions option got a few more votes in our poll.
The folks who took part in our GoFundMe fundraiser were fantastic and are now immortalized on this very site on the “Our Founders” page. But we had always planned to give folks the option to choose whichever method of support they preferred and we tried to communicate that throughout the process. It took a little longer than expected to get up and running, but our membership subscription program is now in place! (You may notice the fancy new banner ad about it on the home page, echoed below.)
Part of that delay was thinking up something that didn’t encroach on the benefits we gave our Founders. Those folks helped us get started and deserve the exclusivity of the perks they got. The other part of the delay is that there just aren’t enough hours in the day. (However, for you guys, I’m willing to be cloned.)
We have utilized the popular Buy Me a Coffee platform to run this program. You can find the basics here. The Mane Land premium membership program includes three tiers of membership, as well as the option to click on the “Support” tab for those who just want to help us out whenever, without joining the program or adding any recurring “appointment-based” payments to their budgets. We love that feature of Buy Me a Coffee (or “Buy Us a Beer” in our case…you drink what you like).
For those who do choose to become members, we hope we have provided value and we are planning to add benefits along the way, in addition to providing special giveaways, events, etc. (more on that below). We have also provided subscription options — with monthly or annual memberships. The annual cost essentially gives you 12 months for the price of 10.
Current Benefits
The current membership benefits depend on which level of support you choose — Homegrown Player, TAM Player, or Designated Player level. Each level includes all benefits from the lower tiers, with additional benefits for each higher level.
Homegrown Player: This is a basic set-it-and-forget-it level of support for The Mane Land, providing a way for our readers and podcast listeners to contribute to the success of TML‘s independence goals. We want to compensate our current volunteers, replace lost income of those who previously received small stipends from being part of the SBNation network, add photographers, attract new writers, and expand our coverage. Additionally, each Homegrown Player Level member will be recognized in a Lion Links column, which is still typically our most widely read post of each day and one of the top daily links columns among soccer sites. Homegrown Player Level members will also be included in any future prize drawings we have or events we host and may be subject to future benefits as they are added.
TAM Player: In addition to Homegrown Player benefits, TAM Players will receive a new weekly e-newsletter in their inbox (unless you opt out…some people hate email). These will be informal missives from myself, other TML writers, or a combination, discussing what’s on our mind regarding Orlando City, the Pride, OCB, or soccer in general. Think of it as an extra post from our site that may cover multiple topics. Additionally, you’ll get a 10% discount from our web shop items that we control (presently, that means everything except our listed MLS Shop items). We will definitely have more benefits coming for this level soon and will look for opportunities to include additional benefits as they become available.
Designated Player: This limited availability level of support includes all perks from the Homegrown and TAM levels, but it goes beyond. Your discount at our webshop (for items we control) will be 15% off. Additionally, we’ll send you Zoom links to watch us “make the doughnuts” whenever we record the podcast. This includes when we interview guests. You’ll see how the sausage is made behind the scenes and everything that we say, some of which will end up on the cutting room floor before the final podcast is sent out. This includes both The Mane Land PawedCast and SkoPurp Soccer: An Orlando Pride PawedCast. And after two months of membership you can commission a bonus episode of either podcast simply by letting us know what topic you want us to cover. Think of this as an extended Ask Us Anything. We’ll do a whole show about your topic and you can even join us to discuss it if you wish.
The DP Level will certainly have additional benefits tacked on as we move forward. It is currently limited to 40 members but could be expanded slightly depending on demand and our Zoom attendance.
Future Benefits / Benefits Under Consideration
While we won’t be able to schedule these due to the random nature of items falling into our hands, there will be periodic prize giveaways in drawings that include all of our members, regardless of level. The catch is that you get one entry per level of support, meaning Homegrown Player Level members will get one entry per prize drawing, TAM Player Level members will get two entries per drawing, and Designated Player Level members get three entries for prize drawings. Some of the kinds of items we have come across in the past include match tickets, trinkets, posters, scarves, and so on.
We are planning to add a message board to our website, well…soon-ish is the word that comes to mind. The plan for the message board is to build our community and further the discussion about the club. As part of this, we’re planning an exclusive, members-only area of that message board that TAM and DP members can access. This will be a place our staff can share informational nuggets we can’t necessarily write stories about for various reasons and interact with our members on a daily basis.
Other things in the works include meet-and-greets/watch parties where you can chat with TML staff members and catch a road match with a bunch of like-minded Orlando City/Pride fans while we all cheer on the team together. There may also be other informal outings with one or more members of the staff, organized fantasy leagues, random Zoom calls for Q&A sessions, and perhaps even some organized group outings for Orlando City / Pride matches, national team games, etc.
The Most Important Part of This Post
Remember at the top of this post, when I said the most important part is at the bottom? Well, that seems like a long time ago, now, so it’s OK if you’ve already forgotten.
The most important part of our membership program is you. We want your feedback so we can make this program something that interests and excites you. We want to know what you like and dislike about this program. We want to know if there are some things we didn’t think of that interest you. If you like what we’re offering, tell us! If you hate what we’re offering, we want to know what you’d prefer instead or in addition. If you want to go drinking with Dave, we can probably arrange that, but it’ll be a unique tier and we’ll have to figure out the cost of that.
No idea is too crazy to suggest, even if it’s too insane for us to actually offer. Let us know what you want from your subscription and we’ll see if that’s something we can do. We’ll make it easy for you by putting the form right here below this post, which is now concluded.
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Welcome Home!
Where do I even start? When we were told in January that SBNation was pulling its support of The Mane Land and other MLS and NHL blogs — and many podcasts — I was devastated. The site had become my new baby in September of 2014 and after eight and a half years, I wasn’t ready to let it go.
I was in a pickle. I couldn’t afford to lose the monthly stipend I had been getting from SBNation to manage the site and provide a steady stream of content. It wasn’t that it was a huge monthly sum, but it mostly covered my car payment. That car was purchased when my salary was higher. The pandemic hit my day job like it did to many, and after a four-month layoff, I got my old job back but not at the same rate. So, imagine taking a pay decrease at work and then, on top of that, losing the amount you spend per month on your car payment. There was simply no way to launch The Mane Land independently, I thought, because I simply couldn’t cover the startup costs. Even with some generous offers from the staff to pitch in, there simply wasn’t a way.
Once we took the news public, there was an outpouring of support on social media. We appreciated both the pledges to help out that we got from the community and the signal boosting that the national media gave blogs like ours. Those national folks rely on local reporting for background.
Encouraged by this outpouring of public support, I met with the TML staff and we threw some ideas around. We polled our Twitter followers to see how our community would prefer to show their support. We got pretty close to a 50/50 split between those who wanted to provide a one-time donation via a Kickstarter or GoFundMe crowdsourcing effort, and those who would prefer some sort of premium subscription add-on service like Patreon or Buy Me a Coffee.
We didn’t get a lot of responses to that poll, but we decided as a group that since the results were so similar, we would offer both and let the public choose one path, the other, or even both. (Stay tuned for news soon-ish on the premium subscription level, but rest assured, everything you’ve been getting for free at TML will remain free!)
I was, admittedly, skeptical that we could raise enough startup money to create a private business, pay for hosting a new site and two podcasts (having long wanted to give the Orlando Pride their own unique show), registering a domain, paying for some design work and consulting, and any unexpected expenses that might come up. However, I thought we’d at least give it a try.
Then the amazing Orlando City, Orlando Pride, and TML community got involved. You guys pushed us past our bare minimum goal in just four and a half hours when our fundraiser went live on March 1. We reset our goal and you met that by midnight. We reset our goal again, to the dream total we discussed on our initial staff Zoom chat and you met that by that first weekend.
Stunned. Humbled. Amazed. Touched. All of these words apply to how that made us feel, but they don’t quite cover it. I think we all felt an enormous responsibility, as well. We felt a mandate to provide you the best site and the best coverage we can.
We got everything we needed to run the site for two years, even if we don’t earn a penny after our launch — and we plan to try, via advertising, a Patreon (or similar) program, an online shop, affiliate links, and anything else we can think of. But we decided to leave the GoFundMe open through the end of March, just in case there were folks who wanted to contribute but needed to wait for payday, or if more people wanted to become founding members of this new site.
Now, here we are. You guys did this. We’re here because of you. And this site isn’t quite what it will become. I’m still learning my way around WordPress, after being away from it for years. There’s more to build, and some of the things you’re seeing on this site now will be improved in the future. We’ll continue to tweak it, add things, and upgrade as we go.
For now, I just want to welcome you to your new online home. On behalf of our entire staff, I thank our founding members, who are now immortalized on this site in our founders section. If you weren’t able to contribute to our transition from SBNation’s network to an autonomous and independent, new version of The Mane Land, you can thank the folks on our founders page, because without them, we wouldn’t be here. And if you still want to help out, we’ve got more things on the way.
Vamos.
Michael Citro
Managing Editor
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