PawedCast Episode 394: The Duncan McGuire Saga Continues, Orlando City-Flamengo Rewind, Loans, Signings, and More

With the craziness surrounding the transfer-turned-loan-deal of Duncan McGuire to Blackburn last week, we pushed this show to the beginning of this week so we would have more clarity. That clearly backfired on us, because as of the writing of this post and after the recording of the accompanying episode of The Mane Land PawedCast, we still don’t know for sure where McGuire will play in 2024. Because Blackburn couldn’t handle its procedural business, we entered Tuesday not knowing whether McGuire will return and start the season with the Lions or if the EFL will ratify the loan deal, allowing Blackburn to suit up the second-year pro in its quest to avoid the Championship drop zone.

We unpack as much of the McGuire saga as we can.

The Lions have played a match since we last had a show, and we discuss Orlando City’s 1-1 draw against Flamengo on Jan. 27. It was a good showing by the club and a great introduction for the home fans to new attacking midfielder Nico Lodeiro, who assisted on the Lions’ only goal. Orlando was at least as good as the Brazilian side on the afternoon, and even the reserves and the kids didn’t allow the visitors to escape with a win. We break down some of the key takeaways from the match.

This week’s mailbagbox was back in business, with listeners asking us whether Gaston Gonzalez has played his last match for Orlando City, what we think of players opting to remain in North America rather than signing overseas, and which left-footed player has the best weak foot. 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 wrapped up with a flurry of news, including Gonzalez’s loan to Nacional in Uruguay, the signing of Homegrown defender Tahir Reid-Brown, and two critical signings closing in on becoming a reality.

Here’s how No. 394 went down:

0:15 – The Duncan McGuire-to-Blackburn story should be over but, as of the recording of this episode, it wasn’t. Oh, and Orlando drew Brazilian side Flamengo in a preseason friendly.

32:51 – The mailbagbox has questions about players opting to sign in the U.S. rather than overseas, the Gaston Gonzalez loan, and which left-footed player has the best weaker foot.

41:42 — Gonzalez is loaned to an Uruguayan team, the Lions sign Reid-Brown as a Homegrown, and two much-needed signings are reportedly nearing completion.