Connect with us

Podcasts

PawedCast Episode 256: Philly & NYCFC Rewinds, Pride-Reign, Skinner Out, Atlanta Preview, and More

Published

on

Podcasts Placeholder Feature Image

Orlando City snapped a three-game winless skid on Thursday at home against the Philadelphia Union and then went right back to not winning on Sunday at New York City FC. A triumphant night against a good Eastern Conference opponent left everyone feeling good but those vibes evaporated quickly with an utter beatdown in the Bronx. A lot of that was the lineup that took the field Sunday due to rotation, injuries, and international absences but not all of it can be adequately explained. We broke down both games and selected our Man of the Match for each.

The Orlando Pride had a tumultuous week with the resignation of Marc Skinner as head coach and his departure, followed by a 2-0 loss to OL Reign at home — the team’s fifth non-win in a row — under the also-departing Carl Green. The Pride finally named Becky Burleigh as the interim coach to see out the 2021 season with the team in free fall from first to seventh in the league in just five matches.

Both U.S. national teams were in action this past week. The women bounced back from their Olympic loss to Sweden by destroying New Zealand and then playing a frustratingly conservative 0-0 draw against Australia to get through the group. Alex Morgan scored twice — once in each game — but only one of them counted. The high-powered offense of the Netherlands awaits on Friday morning.

Meanwhile, the men survived a tussle with Jamaica in the Gold Cup quarterfinals and will now face invited nation Qatar in the semifinals. The USMNT hasn’t played its best in this tournament yet but has done enough to survive and advance. Let’s hope Gregg Berhalter gets this young team going and perhaps set up yet another showdown against rival Mexico (or rival Canada).

Plus, Florida Cup is finally underway.

This week’s mailbag wants to know about Orlando City’s fullbacks, the future of Ali Krieger, and more. If there’s anything — and we do mean anything — you want us to address on the next show, just ask by tweeting it to us at @TheManeLand with the hashtag #AskTMLPC.

We close the show with our key match-ups and score predictions for Atlanta United on Friday night.

That’s all for this week.

Stay safe and enjoy the show!


Here’s how No. 256 went down:

0:15 – Orlando City had a mixed bag in its two matches. We enjoyed talking about the first one but not so much the second.

37:00 – The Orlando Pride continue to play their worst soccer of the season, although this week it was understandable. Plus, the USWNT and USMNT are doing enough at the moment, but only just.

1:02:45 – Our mailbag, and prediction time for Orlando City against Atlanta.

Podcasts

PawedCast Episode 391: Orlando City Off-Season Roster Predictions

It’s our annual “stays or goes” episode, where we try to predict which Lions will be back and who will depart.

Published

on

Image courtesy of Orlando City SC

With only MLS Cup remaining, it’s a painful time of the off-season for Orlando City fans. As such, we try to entertain you a little bit by diving into our annual “stays or goes” episode. Quite simply, we go down the Orlando City roster, giving you what contract information we know and trying to predict which players will be back in purple next year and which ones will be moving on to another team. Before the break, we went down the first half of the OCSC roster.

This week’s mailbagbox asked us about Christmas ornaments, obscure Orlando City jerseys we’ve spotted at games, and the first season of MLS on Apple TV+. Remember, if there’s anything — and we do mean anything — you want us to address on the show, just ask us by tweeting it to us at @TheManeLand with the hashtag #AskTMLPC.

Finally, we jumped back into stays/goes with both feet, trying to predict the core of the 2024 Orlando City roster. There may be a bit less guesswork now that we have more reliable contract information, but you never know.


Here’s how No. 391 went down:

0:15 – We tackle the first half of Orlando City’s roster asking each other if that player will stay with the Lions or be playing elsewhere next year.

29:02 – It’s mailbagbox time!

45:05 — We continue our game of stays/goes through the remainder of the OCSC roster.

Continue Reading

Podcasts

PawedCast Episode 390: Columbus Rewind, Orlando City’s Off-Season Priorities, and More

We hate it when a plan doesn’t come together.

Published

on

Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Welp, the season is over. It seemed like this was an Orlando City built to do the darn thing, but you can’t do the darn thing if you don’t score any goals. It’s also difficult to do the darn thing when one of your center backs gets sent off and your team has fewer players than the opposition. These are the things the Lions had to contend with on Saturday and there were still opportunities there to take the game. We discuss all of those chances that went wanting and select our unanimous pick for Man of the Match.

This week’s mailbagbox only had one submission, but 10 (!) questions. Don’t worry, they went quickly, as it was a rapid-fire trivia game for your hosts. We got some right. We got many wrong. Remember, if there’s anything — and we do mean anything — you want us to address on the show, just ask us by tweeting it to us at @TheManeLand with the hashtag #AskTMLPC.

Finally, we broke down Orlando City’s off-season priorities, in order of importance. Obviously there are three key figures who either need to be re-signed or replaced with someone of equal or higher quality — it’s not going to be easy to find someone who fits that description, let alone three someones, so we are hoping for the re-signing thing to happen. There are Designated Player slots to consider, guys who have their loans ending, and others who need to have their options picked up or sign new contracts entirely.


Here’s how No. 390 went down:

0:15 – We open the show with our recap and breakdown of Orlando City’s 2-0 loss to Columbus after extra time. The Lions could have used some goals, quite frankly.

20:24 – We dip into our mailbagbox, only to find out it’s trivia night!

34:29 — Orlando City’s off-season priorities are pretty straightforward.

Continue Reading

Podcasts

SkoPurp Soccer Episode 30: Pride Protected from Expansion Draft, Off-Season Roster Status Updates, and More

The Pride are marked safe from Bay FC and Utah, roster decisions announced, and more.

Published

on

Dan MacDonald, The Mane Land

We’re back for our November monthly episode and so far it’s been a quiet off-season for the Orlando Pride. However, business should be picking up soon and just within the last week there has been plenty of news to chew on.

The Pride made a couple of trades to stay safe during the upcoming NWSL Expansion Draft. We break down what Orlando sent to Bay FC and the Utah Royals, including draft picks and one regular player from the lineup, and it looks like the club is compiling Allocation Money again, which can only be a good thing. The club sent a clear message that management and the coaching staff are confident in the way the roster is shaping up and they don’t want to see anyone plucked away, only to develop for a new team. It will be interesting to see how that pays off.

We had some good questions in our mailbagbox, aksing about the prospects of the Pride’s free agents returning for 2024 as well as the likelihood of whether Orlando will be going after one particular well-known free agent. Remember, you can ask us anything by hitting us up on Twitter at either @TheManeLand or @SkoPurpSoccer and using the hashtag #AskSkoPurp. Or you can visit our show page, scroll down, and fill out the handy form.

Finally, we discussed the Pride’s end-of-season roster announcements to let you know which players are seemingly gone, which have had their options picked up, and more. The club has recently done a good job of locking up players across multiple years, so there was not as much to get done this off-season, but it will be interesting to see which free agend


Here’s how Episode 30 went down:

0:15 – The Orlando Pride won’t have any players plucked from their roster in this year’s NWSL Expansion Draft. Here’s why.

9:30 Mailbagbox time! We answer our listeners’ questions.

19:45 – A look at the Pride’s off-season roster decisions and pending free agents.

Continue Reading

Trending