March 28, 2025 • 8 mins
Apple TV's Tony Husband will call Saturday's FC Cincinnati/ Nashville tilt on MLS Season Pass.
He joined us on ESPN1530.
Podcasts of The Mo Egger Radio Show are a service of Longnecks Sports Grill.
Listen to the show live weekday afternoons 3:00 - 6:00 on ESPN1530.
Listen Live: ESPN1530.com/listen
Get more: https://linktr.ee/MoEgger
Follow on X: @MoEgger
Instagram too: @MoEgger
He joined us on ESPN1530.
Podcasts of The Mo Egger Radio Show are a service of Longnecks Sports Grill.
Listen to the show live weekday afternoons 3:00 - 6:00 on ESPN1530.
Listen Live: ESPN1530.com/listen
Get more: https://linktr.ee/MoEgger
Follow on X: @MoEgger
Instagram too: @MoEgger
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
The League Soccer Right now, it's eleven away from four o'clock.
FC Cincinnati's schedule has slowed down. They did pick up
a point at home last week with a two two
draw against Atlanta. They're on the road tomorrow for a
matchup against a Nashville team that's off to a really,
really good start. They have their most amount of points,
most goal scored, and their best goal differential to the
(00:22):
first five matches of a season in that franchise's history,
So a tough test for the Orange and Blue. Tomorrow,
eight thirty is when it starts. You could see it
on MLS Season Pass, on Apple TV, and on the
call tomorrow. Is the great Tony husband who's kind enough
to give us a few minutes this afternoon. Tony, It's
good to have you. How are you.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
Very good? Thank you? Bo Yeah, great to talk to you,
and looking forward to this game. I think it should
be a good one, should be a good one.
Speaker 1 (00:45):
This is a Nashville organization that you know, well. This
team is off to a really good start down there.
Let's start with them. Why have they been so good?
Speaker 2 (00:55):
I think they've had the right injection of fresh talent
and almost fresh legs. To be honest, I mean that
almost literally with this team. They've got some younger bodies
in midfield in particular where you're seeing the biggest change.
They're still very much built on the foundation of the
team that came into MLS back in twenty twenty, and
that FC Cincinnati fans will know well with the likes
(01:16):
of Joe Willis, Walker, Zimmerman, Dan Lovis, jack Meyer, defenders
like that, and of course they still had Hanei Mukta,
but they've had some quality in midfield, in particular. Eddie Tagseeth,
the Norwegian midfielder, has come in started his career at
Liverpool and then was playing in the Norwegian league. He's
done really well and Arned Cassim as well has come
in also from the Scandinavian leagues and has made a
(01:38):
really good impression. In two starts he scored two goals.
Missed out last weekend in the home win against Montreal
because of a stomach bug, but you would expect him
to be fitting ready tomorrow.
Speaker 1 (01:49):
It's been a weird start to the season for FC Cincinnati,
weird preseason. Lucho Acosta moves on, they bring in a
vander They've played a lot of games because of the
Conka CAF Champions Cup. Offensively, they've kind of been stuck
in the MUDs. I think six goals and five games
in MLS played. They've had players leave to go play
for the respective national teams. Although I think Kevin denk
(02:10):
is going to be available tomorrow. How can Pat Noonan's
team generate a little bit more offense?
Speaker 2 (02:16):
Yeah, I think everything you said there. It's so important
to factor that in. I was talking to some Cincinnati
fans earlier in the week, and you know, some of
them a little concerned even at this point, just about
the direction the way things are going in early in
the campaign. I just don't think you can underestimate the
significance of having these CONCACAFT Champions Cup games and being
on the road early. I mean, this Cincinnati team was
(02:39):
playing in Mottagua before the MLS season even really began.
It's a really tough hit on your schedule if you're
playing concer CAP. I mean, it's a reward for the
progress of a team if you're playing in continental competition,
but it sure is disruptive. And then you throw in
the international break that comes in quite early in the
season and that MLS plays through, and then if you're
(03:00):
trying to get some rhythm together and you've got some
new parts that you want to fit into the team,
this really does make it challenging. So I wouldn't have
too many, you know, concerns right now. I think once
Pat Newton has a chance to settle with this team
and work with them and have some free it's just
Saturday to Saturday games, so they've got a full week
of training, that will make a difference, and then they'll
(03:22):
be able to get a more stable lineup and you
can get these new players combining together and getting to
understand them a little bit better. I mean, if Vander
is one of the best talents in this league, maybe
outside Messi, he's perhaps the best individual player in terms
of talent in MLS right now, but he's got to
fit in and get to understand the players around him,
like Denk who's come with a huge price tag, you know,
(03:44):
and Orishano who's going to be playing far more advanced.
It looks like this year. You know, it takes some time,
and it takes time on the training field, and to
be honest, they haven't had much of that.
Speaker 1 (03:53):
Yeah, you know, the game. The match last week against
Atlanta kind of reminded me of of what FC Cincinnati
was dealing with about a year ago, and I even wondered,
are they asking Luco Acosta do a little bit too much? Right?
And then you know, obviously he's not here anymore. Evander is.
He provides all the offense in that match against Atlanta,
and the good news as you have a player of
his caliber that can help you get a point in
(04:14):
a game like that when you're still trying to figure
out some stuff and you're playing a little bit shorthanded.
But I do wonder if, if, maybe until they get
things figured out and get a little bit more consistency
just in terms of players they have available, if they're
gonna be asking Evander to take on a little bit
too much. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (04:33):
I mean the thing with Evander and I've watched him
a lot, as all of us have, you know, in
MLS the last couple of years. You know, he did
it at Portland as well. You know, he is a
player who he is so talented that when he is
on song and at his best, he has a huge
influence on the game and therefore so much creatively and
(04:54):
offensively goes through him. So I think if you want
to see Evander at his best, you're often going to
see the game run through him in much the same
way in fairness that we saw with a Costa as well.
You know, when since he were at their best, Luco
was at his best. So you know, you want to
see these players on the ball. You want to see
them creating and scoring and that will bring the best
(05:17):
out of them. But sometimes, yeah, it appears like they
maybe are carrying too much of the load and you
want the pieces around them to try and help out
a bit more. And in den K I fully expect
he will be racking up goals before too long in MLS,
So you know, I mean it's much the same with Nashville.
You look at Hannie Muktar's influence in all of their
era in MLS. You know, some people say, well, there
was too much put on him, too much offense was
(05:39):
expected of him. But you know, when the guy was
absolutely on fire, what do you want to do? Not
give him the ball? You wanted to give him the ball.
You know he was scoring the goals, so you know,
give the guy the ball.
Speaker 1 (05:50):
Yeah, it's it's it's a nice it's a nice problem
to have that option, right, give a give a player
that caliber. The ball Tony Husband MLS season pass Apple TV.
A year ago, it felt like the Eastern Conference. All
year long, we talked about the Big Three and FC
Cincinnati was one of them, along with Columbus and Inner Miami.
We got to the playoffs and it turned out to
be a different story. It feels like the Eastern Conference
(06:11):
is at least a little bit more wide open this year.
Speaker 2 (06:13):
Would you agree, Yes, I would, And I think also,
you know this is something we're going to see an
increase over the next few years because you know, teams
are starting to spend more money. There's a higher caliber
of player coming into this league. Then some teams are
going to go down that route and spend money. And
you absolutely have seen that in Cincinnati, where there is
(06:35):
an ambition to bring in the best possible players and
not to be afraid of going into the transfer market,
whether it's this new kind of internal market with the
purchase of Evander or going out into the market with Denk,
who you know was a record at the time of
purchase for Cincinnati, and you know that's only going to
increase the competition. It's only going to make, you know,
(06:57):
the conferences stronger and the team stronger. What you might
also see, though, is you might see some of the
teams who aren't spending as much maybe starting to struggle.
You know, look at Montreal struggles. They don't have a
designated player really. The only guy they've got they've carried
over his contract from his previous club and he's injured anyway,
and they haven't been traditionally big spenders. And look at
where their situation lies right now. They just fired a
(07:18):
coach and they haven't won again. You know, So the time,
you know that things are changing and things are evolving
in this league, and the ambitious will be rewarded with
better results on the field, but it's going to involve
a bigger outlayer as well of money. That is the
way that the game is known all around the world,
and that is the way that MLS is moving in
(07:41):
a positive direction as well, because all we're seeing is
and I can say so from the five years I've
been here now and covering this league week in, you know,
year on year, this league is getting a lot stronger
and he's moving very quickly.
Speaker 1 (07:55):
Good stuff. Have a great call tomorrow, hopefully, we can
do it again. I appreciate the time, Tony.
Speaker 2 (08:00):
I'll look forward to it and I hope everyone enjoy.
Speaker 1 (08:02):
It same here. Thank you so much. We lost Tony
there at the end. Tony Husband MLS Season pass Apple
TV eight thirty tomorrow, and of course you could listen
to the match with Tommy g on ESPN fifteen thirty
coming up on four o'clock on ESPN fifteen thirty Cincinnati
Sports Station
The League Soccer Right now, it's eleven away from four o'clock.
FC Cincinnati's schedule has slowed down. They did pick up
a point at home last week with a two two
draw against Atlanta. They're on the road tomorrow for a
matchup against a Nashville team that's off to a really,
really good start. They have their most amount of points,
most goal scored, and their best goal differential to the
(00:22):
first five matches of a season in that franchise's history,
So a tough test for the Orange and Blue. Tomorrow,
eight thirty is when it starts. You could see it
on MLS Season Pass, on Apple TV, and on the
call tomorrow. Is the great Tony husband who's kind enough
to give us a few minutes this afternoon. Tony, It's
good to have you. How are you.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
Very good? Thank you? Bo Yeah, great to talk to you,
and looking forward to this game. I think it should
be a good one, should be a good one.
Speaker 1 (00:45):
This is a Nashville organization that you know, well. This
team is off to a really good start down there.
Let's start with them. Why have they been so good?
Speaker 2 (00:55):
I think they've had the right injection of fresh talent
and almost fresh legs. To be honest, I mean that
almost literally with this team. They've got some younger bodies
in midfield in particular where you're seeing the biggest change.
They're still very much built on the foundation of the
team that came into MLS back in twenty twenty, and
that FC Cincinnati fans will know well with the likes
(01:16):
of Joe Willis, Walker, Zimmerman, Dan Lovis, jack Meyer, defenders
like that, and of course they still had Hanei Mukta,
but they've had some quality in midfield, in particular. Eddie Tagseeth,
the Norwegian midfielder, has come in started his career at
Liverpool and then was playing in the Norwegian league. He's
done really well and Arned Cassim as well has come
in also from the Scandinavian leagues and has made a
(01:38):
really good impression. In two starts he scored two goals.
Missed out last weekend in the home win against Montreal
because of a stomach bug, but you would expect him
to be fitting ready tomorrow.
Speaker 1 (01:49):
It's been a weird start to the season for FC Cincinnati,
weird preseason. Lucho Acosta moves on, they bring in a
vander They've played a lot of games because of the
Conka CAF Champions Cup. Offensively, they've kind of been stuck
in the MUDs. I think six goals and five games
in MLS played. They've had players leave to go play
for the respective national teams. Although I think Kevin denk
(02:10):
is going to be available tomorrow. How can Pat Noonan's
team generate a little bit more offense?
Speaker 2 (02:16):
Yeah, I think everything you said there. It's so important
to factor that in. I was talking to some Cincinnati
fans earlier in the week, and you know, some of
them a little concerned even at this point, just about
the direction the way things are going in early in
the campaign. I just don't think you can underestimate the
significance of having these CONCACAFT Champions Cup games and being
on the road early. I mean, this Cincinnati team was
(02:39):
playing in Mottagua before the MLS season even really began.
It's a really tough hit on your schedule if you're
playing concer CAP. I mean, it's a reward for the
progress of a team if you're playing in continental competition,
but it sure is disruptive. And then you throw in
the international break that comes in quite early in the
season and that MLS plays through, and then if you're
(03:00):
trying to get some rhythm together and you've got some
new parts that you want to fit into the team,
this really does make it challenging. So I wouldn't have
too many, you know, concerns right now. I think once
Pat Newton has a chance to settle with this team
and work with them and have some free it's just
Saturday to Saturday games, so they've got a full week
of training, that will make a difference, and then they'll
(03:22):
be able to get a more stable lineup and you
can get these new players combining together and getting to
understand them a little bit better. I mean, if Vander
is one of the best talents in this league, maybe
outside Messi, he's perhaps the best individual player in terms
of talent in MLS right now, but he's got to
fit in and get to understand the players around him,
like Denk who's come with a huge price tag, you know,
(03:44):
and Orishano who's going to be playing far more advanced.
It looks like this year. You know, it takes some time,
and it takes time on the training field, and to
be honest, they haven't had much of that.
Speaker 1 (03:53):
Yeah, you know, the game. The match last week against
Atlanta kind of reminded me of of what FC Cincinnati
was dealing with about a year ago, and I even wondered,
are they asking Luco Acosta do a little bit too much? Right?
And then you know, obviously he's not here anymore. Evander is.
He provides all the offense in that match against Atlanta,
and the good news as you have a player of
his caliber that can help you get a point in
(04:14):
a game like that when you're still trying to figure
out some stuff and you're playing a little bit shorthanded.
But I do wonder if, if, maybe until they get
things figured out and get a little bit more consistency
just in terms of players they have available, if they're
gonna be asking Evander to take on a little bit
too much. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (04:33):
I mean the thing with Evander and I've watched him
a lot, as all of us have, you know, in
MLS the last couple of years. You know, he did
it at Portland as well. You know, he is a
player who he is so talented that when he is
on song and at his best, he has a huge
influence on the game and therefore so much creatively and
(04:54):
offensively goes through him. So I think if you want
to see Evander at his best, you're often going to
see the game run through him in much the same
way in fairness that we saw with a Costa as well.
You know, when since he were at their best, Luco
was at his best. So you know, you want to
see these players on the ball. You want to see
them creating and scoring and that will bring the best
(05:17):
out of them. But sometimes, yeah, it appears like they
maybe are carrying too much of the load and you
want the pieces around them to try and help out
a bit more. And in den K I fully expect
he will be racking up goals before too long in MLS,
So you know, I mean it's much the same with Nashville.
You look at Hannie Muktar's influence in all of their
era in MLS. You know, some people say, well, there
was too much put on him, too much offense was
(05:39):
expected of him. But you know, when the guy was
absolutely on fire, what do you want to do? Not
give him the ball? You wanted to give him the ball.
You know he was scoring the goals, so you know,
give the guy the ball.
Speaker 1 (05:50):
Yeah, it's it's it's a nice it's a nice problem
to have that option, right, give a give a player
that caliber. The ball Tony Husband MLS season pass Apple TV.
A year ago, it felt like the Eastern Conference. All
year long, we talked about the Big Three and FC
Cincinnati was one of them, along with Columbus and Inner Miami.
We got to the playoffs and it turned out to
be a different story. It feels like the Eastern Conference
(06:11):
is at least a little bit more wide open this year.
Speaker 2 (06:13):
Would you agree, Yes, I would, And I think also,
you know this is something we're going to see an
increase over the next few years because you know, teams
are starting to spend more money. There's a higher caliber
of player coming into this league. Then some teams are
going to go down that route and spend money. And
you absolutely have seen that in Cincinnati, where there is
(06:35):
an ambition to bring in the best possible players and
not to be afraid of going into the transfer market,
whether it's this new kind of internal market with the
purchase of Evander or going out into the market with Denk,
who you know was a record at the time of
purchase for Cincinnati, and you know that's only going to
increase the competition. It's only going to make, you know,
(06:57):
the conferences stronger and the team stronger. What you might
also see, though, is you might see some of the
teams who aren't spending as much maybe starting to struggle.
You know, look at Montreal struggles. They don't have a
designated player really. The only guy they've got they've carried
over his contract from his previous club and he's injured anyway,
and they haven't been traditionally big spenders. And look at
where their situation lies right now. They just fired a
(07:18):
coach and they haven't won again. You know, So the time,
you know that things are changing and things are evolving
in this league, and the ambitious will be rewarded with
better results on the field, but it's going to involve
a bigger outlayer as well of money. That is the
way that the game is known all around the world,
and that is the way that MLS is moving in
(07:41):
a positive direction as well, because all we're seeing is
and I can say so from the five years I've
been here now and covering this league week in, you know,
year on year, this league is getting a lot stronger
and he's moving very quickly.
Speaker 1 (07:55):
Good stuff. Have a great call tomorrow, hopefully, we can
do it again. I appreciate the time, Tony.
Speaker 2 (08:00):
I'll look forward to it and I hope everyone enjoy.
Speaker 1 (08:02):
It same here. Thank you so much. We lost Tony
there at the end. Tony Husband MLS Season pass Apple
TV eight thirty tomorrow, and of course you could listen
to the match with Tommy g on ESPN fifteen thirty
coming up on four o'clock on ESPN fifteen thirty Cincinnati
Sports Station
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