PawedCast Episode 503: Ramiro Enrique Transfer, OCB-Miami Preview, and D.C. United Preview

[NOTE: If you hear us talk on this episode about a loss to Montreal that never happened, remember, we’re old, doing things on the fly from memory. The 1-1 home draw vs. Montreal on July 12 only felt like a loss, while our old brains may have been transposing it with the game four days after that (vs. New York City FC), which was a home loss, and also featured a late-game capitulation. Carry on. We’ll hire a real-time fact checker when we get to that level.]

Ramiro Enrique is officially a former Lion. The smallish Argentine striker was sold to a team in the Saudi Arabian top flight and is history. That leaves some depth issues at forward for Orlando City, as Duncan McGuire is still in the process of coming back from his second shoulder surgery in less than a year. The club will need him to get back to his old self sooner rather than later, or it could be costly down the stretch run toward the playoffs. With a tough schedule of opponents ahead, the Lions will need every goal they can find.

We discuss the pros and cons — and the less-than-ideal timing — of the Enrique sale.

This week’s mailbagbox asked about Darwin Ceren, Cryptids, and Mauricio Pochettino. 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, or hitting us up on Bluesky Social with that same hashtag.

OCB will head south to face Inter Miami II in a critical rivalry match with just a few games remaining in the regular season. The Young Lions will enter the weekend clinging to the last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, but they’ll need to add some points to solidify their positioning.

Meanwhile, the senior Lions will head to D.C. to face United. There aren’t many familiar names remaining on the D.C. roster, but wins at Audi Field are still never easy. Orlando City hasn’t won in its last four matches across all competitions. Hopefully, the international break allowed the squad to reset and get ready for the stretch run after a grueling Leagues Cup campaign. We break down the history of the series, present our key matchups for Saturday night, and make our final score predictions.

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Here’s how No. 503 went down:

0:15 – Orlando City sent a likeable and productive backup striker overseas for some cash and opened an MLS U22 Initiative slot in the process.

14:11 – The mailbagbox introduces us to Cryptids and asks us to rank them.

29:26 – OCB and OCSC hit the road in search of points. We preview!