August 22, 2025 • 19 mins
The voice of FC Cincinnati stops by as he does on a Friday to talk all things Orange and Blue. Including their big win over Portland and the moves the club have made at the deadline.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is Penn Station eastco Subs since e three to
sixty about Cincinnati from Cincinnati, countered in part by Pennstation
East co Subs. Handcrafted hot grilled subs, fresh cut fries
and lemonade. It's all about good taste. Penn Station East
Coast Subs order online today. This is ESPN fifteen thirty
(00:20):
Cincinnati Sports Station.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
All right, welcome in our number three thanks to Penn Station.
Thanks for listening on ESPN fifteen thirty, Cincinnati's sports station.
Each Friday, in this time slot, we get to talk
to the voice of FC Cincinnati, uh leading leading the
calls for the Orange and Blue. His name is Tom
Gallader and he joins us right now. Tommy, Tommy, Tommy,
(00:45):
what's going on on this slow, non busy Friday.
Speaker 3 (00:50):
It's not even you know, just kind of been all
social media and not not tracking much, just hanging out,
you know, preparing for another match against New York City.
Still trying to events that playoff loss from last year,
and that'll probably be all the focus of all the
media attention, you know, for the next thirty hours leading
up to kickoff.
Speaker 2 (01:08):
Yeah, you know, we had the game against the Timbers
where FC Cincinnati was able to get ahead by three goals.
Now Portland did make it close three to two, but
they get the win. Let's discuss that win before everything else,
because not only did they get the win, but those
three points pushed them ahead of Philadelphia in the standings
as well. So as we talked today, coming off a
(01:30):
win and now sitting atop the standings in the East
is FC Cincinnati.
Speaker 3 (01:35):
Yeah, we can't ignore that, right. Obviously, a very busy
week and we'll get to all that excitement here at
some point, but really important result out west. I thought
an easy trip, you know, obviously one of the longer
trips of the year. The next one will be right
up there, going to Los Angeles, but you know, going
to Portland to a place where most of those guys
haven't played in that building, you know, certainly was my
(01:57):
first trip there. And you know, great you great city,
all of these things. But s Ccinnati took care of
business and a little bit more heart stopping than anybody
might have would have liked. But he listened to one
goal games. That's what SINCINNTY does. Sixteen one goal games
this year with only seven left to go. But they're
thirteen and three in those one goal games. Didn't look
(02:17):
like it was going to be a one goal game. Look,
it was a blowout and man Kevin Denka back into
the starting lineup. He left his mark. Evander gets a goal.
You know what a moment that was in front of
the whole supporter section there with his handcuffed to his
ear and listening to them. I mean, the reception was
really I think, I mean it was received for sure.
(02:41):
You know, Kevin and I had this perch high above.
It's similar if you could think about the Knippers Stadium
elevation from the field where we were when we did
the games there where where Dan and Jim r for
Bearcats games. I mean, that's elevation. You're really high. But
we were in this little perch and the team came
in and we were watching them come down the ramp
(03:01):
and the Vander turns his way into the pitch and
it was bubblehead nights, so they opened the gates especially
early in most scenarios, and this is the case at
Equocum and I think pretty much I can't think of
a place where gates are opened when the team arrives
because normally the road team arrives about an hour and
a half before kickoff, and that's right about the time
(03:24):
gates are opening. So if there's anybody in the stands,
it's not much. But there was quite a few folks
in the supporter section by this point, and they had
very choice words, one of which I can't use, you know,
over the air for Vander and you know, he definitely
heard it, and he let him know when he scored
(03:44):
that he heard it. And you know, in this case,
I guess actually spoke louder than words, right Unfortunately, after that,
and look, I was impressed by a sports the team.
I thought they were very good. You know, the Timbers
fought their way back in the game, and Kevin Kelsey
talk about trying to prove a point. You know, Kevin
Kelsey remembers a guy that f C Cincinnati decided not
(04:04):
to pick up the purchase option on they had just
purchased Kevin Dnka. You know, another what six or seven
million dollars on top of the sixteen age spender Kevin
would have probably Kevin Dentkay that is would have been
a bit much for Kevin Kelsey. So they passed, and
then Portland comes in and decides to bring him on board,
and man Kevin Kelsey with a brace. It certainly felt
(04:24):
like he was trying to send a little bit of
a message as well.
Speaker 2 (04:27):
So it leads to based on everything else that happens
in the MLS, slave FC Cincinnati moving into first place
in the East, and we've talked about this race and
how tight things are, which then makes what we've seen
over the last twenty four hours or so even more
impressive for me, because here we have a team and
an organization who was sitting atop the standings, playing good,
(04:48):
good soccer, competing for an MLS Cup, and yet they
go and send shock waves throughout the league because of
the aggressive nature in which they handled the last day
or so. Can you can you just highlight starting with
obviously the move of you move on from DeAndre Yedlin,
but the additions that this team has now made and
(05:09):
how you believe they will help them going forward.
Speaker 3 (05:13):
Yeah, listen there. First of all, let's start with there
were obvious error or air areas I should say, where
the club wanted to improve. Certainly attacking somebody to play
alongside Kevin Dankat regularly was a target. They had already
added one player in Ayu Jabari, who the reports and
(05:33):
Pat indicated he should be here this weekend. So great
to hear that he's coming on. You know, a young striker,
you know, with some international experience over in Europe, and
we'll be coming to join the mix. So but in
the competitions I was having, it felt like that wasn't
the only move, that there would be another. And Kevin
and I sitting up on our booth, you know, kind
(05:54):
of preparing, and I said, you know, the deadlines Thursday.
I remember sitting there on Saturday night, So the deadline's
coming up on Thursday. I don't think they're done in
the attack either, you know. And I had started to
hear some whispers, you know, from from folks outside of
the club, none none to do the club that that
you know, DeAndre might be going to Salt Lake on
Saturday night. And I was like, huh, Now, DeAndre was up,
(06:16):
his contract was up after this year. And and you know,
Perk Pat noon press conference today, he said, look, the
club very much wanted to keep him. I think DeAndre also,
like every professional athlete, wanted some long term stability and
you know, a contract that in the you know, his
opinion and his UH agent opinion was fair market value
and apparently he got that from Salt Lake to to
(06:39):
sign on to a long term deal and f since
Sandy countered and it wasn't enough to keep DeAndre around.
So I think they did right by him in sending
him out there. And of course he's from Seattle, began
his career in Major League soccer out there. That gets
him a little bit closer to home. But it's sad
to see him go, Like what a great guy he
was in the room, on the pitch, all around this team.
(07:04):
You know, DeAndrea was class personified and so I think
he'll be missed in that way. But so you know
what happens when when those room as starting on ice tart
getting text messages like what this doesn't make much sense?
What's going on? What's Chris working on? And I'm like, listen, people,
I don't know. Chris doesn't invite me into these meetings.
Speaker 2 (07:25):
Acquisitions.
Speaker 3 (07:27):
No. I love that that people think they ask my opinion.
I mean, if I ever gave him one, they would
probably left me out of the room, you know, but
you know it, I was like, yeah, I appreciate that
you all think I have that kind of influence, but uh,
you all know probably on social media before I know
on social media as these things come out. And I
just said, let let Chris do what he does because
(07:48):
he tends to have a very high hit rate and
does well in improving his team. But he had to
move some things around because he didn't have a whole
lot of ross for flexibility. So obviously the departure of
Theon gives them some roster flexibility. You know, already we've
seen announced today and the rumors came out last night.
But in a separate move with salt Lake, the young
(08:11):
polishman Dominique mark Zuke is brought on and he's a
guy I think with very high upside. Made his debut
with the post national team last year. You know, obviously
he's looking for more minutes. He wasn't really getting them
in Salt Lake. He was playing out a position at times,
and we'll be looking to come to the Mexican play
at that right wing back position. I was Pole can
play at the right wing back position and Retchinika can
(08:32):
play at the right wing back position, so they have
a lot of bodies. Luke Orson I don't can play
over there, you know, they have a lot of people
who could play at right wing back and fill that
role right now. And then it, you know, again gives
Chris alright flexibility to continue to improve the team and
to find ways to bring in more techning pieces, which
(08:53):
you know is the hottest rumor right now when we're
just waiting for our email to ding with the official
press release. But yeah, no, I think it was a
very exciting and you know, they've they've addressed the needs
now and that's you know, still we're talking about bringing
in Ayu Jabari, who will be in this week and
probably be in the mix with the team. They'll see
how his fitness is and you know, if he's available
(09:13):
to be involved in Philadelphia next week. And then they
await Samuel g d you know, the midfielder who provides
depth there and that was another one that they talked about,
or the pat you mentioned today. That's still a little
bit further down the road. And here's arrival because they
got to work out his visa. But now I think, uh,
you know, Chris Albright put it on at of work
this summer to improve this team and and you know,
(09:33):
send a very clear message to the city, to Major
League soccer. You know, the entire league actually can say
he's going for it and has every intention of putting
together a group they canna win MLS.
Speaker 2 (09:44):
Go, how do you come up with the the numbers?
We were asking this yesterday, the real salt Lake for
DeAndre Yedlin three hundred and four thousand, seven hundred. What
do we do with that extra seven hundred dollars?
Speaker 3 (09:55):
You know, sometimes I sometimes I'd like to believe that
Chris is just messing with everybody. You know, Yeah, He's like,
he's on the phone with the Salt Lake GM and
he's like, listen, man, let's just messle with everybody and
have them all speculate why we're doing seven hundred dollars here.
My understanding of it is that it had something to
do with the pro rated portion of Deandre's salary. So
(10:21):
I don't know if it's twenty seven divided about thirty four,
whatever that percentage would be at this point in the season,
you know, times Deandrea's salary or if there's another formula,
but whatever the pro rated portion of his salary is
at this point, that that's how they got to this number.
I know there was a move. I'm trying to think
who it was for a couple of years ago where
there was another number like that that Chris made an
(10:43):
acquisition of allocation money, and it was because of the
pending move that was going to follow it needed that
exact number to fit the salary cap. So that was
why he you know, sold a international spot or whatever
it might have been, you know, to get that number
in return to make the corresponding a move. But now
(11:05):
I believe in that case had something to do with
Deandre's salary and the pro rate, a portion that you
know was still on the table for twenty twenty five,
and so that's that's how it got figured out. But
he is doing I mean, there is some advanced mass
by Chris and his staff right now to figure it out.
Because of the roster spots and because of the salary cap.
You know, like I said at the beginning's conversation, there's
(11:26):
not a lot of wiggle room. And I think they've
done a really masterful job of cooking up a recipe
that you know, makes it all fit.
Speaker 2 (11:35):
When you start talking about the acquisition that they made
from Real Salt Lake and then Brenner, you know, coming
back to this team, how long do you think it
takes in the MLS world to get those guys up
and running and ready to contribute, Because in any sport
we talked about this in football all the time. If
you go sign a free agent today, how long does
it take before they're comfortable getting in there and being
(11:57):
able to contribute? How long does that does that look like?
In your opinion?
Speaker 3 (12:02):
Well, I think it's a different scenario, you know, for
guys who have been in the league and guys who
have not. So you bring in Ayub Jabbari, he's never
played in Major League Soccer, he's never lived in Cincinnati.
Is going to be a little bit more of an
acclimization period, right when when Samuel Gedi gets here. Same story.
(12:24):
You know for a guy like Dominic Mark Dukes, sert
youngster going to be coming, you know, to Cincinnati to
live for the first time, but he's been playing in
Major League Soccer, so he knows what to expect. You know,
his team played against f C Cincinnati. Now, but a
month ago. You bring in guys who have played in
Major League Soccer and you know in in you know
the situation of brenn are coming back, and you know
(12:46):
that rumored one. It's not official official yet, I guess
at this point. But there's a guy who played in
Cincinnati who also was a green cars. You're not waiting
on any visa, you know, they their way they were,
they were waiting on Jabbari's, you know, there waiting on gd's.
This is something that you know, and you get to
know the administrative staff who manages these things. You know
(13:07):
those guys. I give all the credit in the world
to the admins because they work their tail off to
get all the paperwork done to make them eligible to
play here in the United States. If you can bring
in a player that's already played in Major League Soccer
and has a green card, so they don't have to
worry about, you know, waiting out a visa going home
to pick up the paperwork, that saves day a lot
(13:28):
of travel, but be a lot of time. And you know,
I would imagine that that guys who already have them
lost experience coming into the team are going to be
a lot easier to throw right into the mix than
guys who have not.
Speaker 2 (13:42):
How how big is this message that it not only
sends to the locker room, but the rest of the
MLS of what FC Cincinnata was able to do over
the last day or so.
Speaker 3 (13:49):
No, I think it's huge. I think it's you know, listen,
she sad. It's the top dog right now in the
Eastern Conference. And you know they're tied with San Diego,
albeit quite behind on the gold differential, which is the
first tie breaker. But there's there's games that we played
seven for both these teams. So will they end up
in the same amount of points? Maybe not. Will season
Sidy catch San Diego as they trail them by eleven
(14:11):
goals and go differential at the moment, you know, probably
not because what I say at the beginning of the season,
times loves these one goal games, right But hey, maybe
with the more offensive fire firepower coming and they can
push that number. But listen, right now, the key is
controlling your destiny the East. That sets your pass up.
You know, to be in a really good place, in
(14:33):
a really safe situation. So we know what you're playing.
A TQL study of all but one game, which will
be game two of the first round, which is the
best of three. So I think that, yeah, I know,
it sends a message that that they want to win.
Carl Lennard wants to win. His ownership group wants to win.
You know that Chris allbody wants to win, and that Chris,
(14:54):
you know, Carl and the ownership group is giving Chris
all the tools and more importantly, all the re sources
and the money to go get the guys to make
this a championship club. And right now they have opportunity
to win to Tophis and they are going for them both.
And that let us give you like goosebumps and chills
and have fired you up on a Friday afternoon, and
(15:14):
then you need to go get your pulse checked or something,
because like that's awesome and I don't think, you know,
as a fan base, you can ask for anymore.
Speaker 2 (15:23):
Tommy, to wrap up, you mentioned the matchup with New
York City tomorrow and you know, getting some revenge on
what happened last year with New York City. Also, we
talked earlier about, you know, kind of getting some of
these home games back late in the season. Not only
is it New York, I already got my eyes to
next weekend as well because the Philadelphia Union, who have
kind of been back and forth at the top of
the East. It's a big two game stretch here for
(15:45):
FC Cincinnati to hold Serve tomorrow at home and then
welcome in a very good team in Philly the following weekend.
Speaker 3 (15:52):
Correct, And you know it's the thing, you feel like
you win these two at home, like you're in the
driver's seat, say your first Why you're in the driver's seat.
You're only a point ahead of Philadelphia, you know, five
points ahead of Ashville. A lot of results last weekend
went in favor of SC Cincinnati. You know, Miami is
still lingering there, and that's with three games in hand.
(16:13):
But now they've advanced the leaf Cups, so they got
two more games, so their schedules congested. You know, Massey
Jordie albo are not traveling for the match this weekend.
Uh So Infatie Sincanti win this weekend and Miami dropped points,
then they wander to Blue be far enough ahead that
they would truly control their own destiny the rest of
the way if they were to win, went out, And
I don't think that's crazy to say, you know, with
six seven games remaining in the regular season, because they
(16:36):
went out, absolutely if they went out, where they win
the league? Yeah, I think so? You know, so right now,
you know they said, across the top of the Eastern Conference.
And if you win this one, all right, now you
have maybe get a little bit of breathing room. Phutofis
goalkeep Rodderie Blake is hurt. What would that mean? You know?
And then then Philadelphia's here the following week which then
(16:56):
gives you potentially, you know, even if we even at
Phildelphia and they both win this weekend, if you beat
the Union the following weekend, now you've got that four
point cushion, which gives you one game of breathing room,
which is huge. You know, is it crazy to think
they win the rest of them? Sure, maybe a little bit,
But is that out of the question. I don't think so. Albeit,
it's gonna be a tough stress. They have a lot
(17:17):
of teams that are in the playoff on ahead of them.
But they've been very good at home. Five of seven
will be played at Tiquos Ediom, and you know, you
got to take care of business there. They're also the
best road team in Major League Soccer, albeit just with
two road games remaining. But it's certainly exciting. And you think,
you know to the last two seasons, Tony, and you know,
(17:39):
at this point two years ago, we could see that
ability to win a supporter shield was pretty real and
there was work to be done, and it wasn't a
certain thing, you know, sitting there in August twenty second
that was gonna happen. But man, that ship was rolling
in sync, all together in the right direction as we
sat here last year. That team was good. But I
(18:00):
don't think that we sat there on a Friday in
August or September and really had this conversation and really
felt that the team was all on sync and rolling
in the right direction and that they had all the
pieces they needed. I think that Fat Newton has all
the pieces he needs now to win MLS Cup. And
that's not forget. He's gonna get Woboo back at some point.
I saw him today he was working outside and asked
(18:22):
yest feelings. Said, he's doing great rehabs going, well, you know,
you're gonna get him back hopefully as long as he
stays on track sometime in October. That's almost like a
cheat code that you're gonna get. Imagine ob playing a
couple of games in October and then being fully fit
into the playoffs. And it was one of the best
defriends of midfitters in the league that you're gonna throw
it back into the mix, you know, for your starting eleven.
(18:43):
So no, I think all the pieces are there and
people should have, you know, a lot of really good
feelings and excitement around the club at this moment.
Speaker 2 (18:51):
I think that's the word, the excitement, not only what
this club is doing on the pitch, but what they're
doing off the pitch to make themselves as formidable as
possible to winning them least championship and bring that right
here to Cincinnati. That is Tom Galetter. He's the voice
of FC Cincinnati. You can hear him on the call
tomorrow night at TQL Stadium. Tommy, as always, man, appreciate
the time, and I look forward to talking again next week.
(19:13):
We'll talk about Philadelphia coming in, we'll talk about three
points for FC Cincinnati, and we'll talk about you see
it coming off a win against Nebraska.
Speaker 3 (19:21):
Yeah, I appreciate you. I can't wait. I can't wait
to talk about all of that. So it will be Uh,
it's gonna be a great week and a great day tomorrow.
And that's fire up this college football season and awfo,
Gil Brother.
Speaker 2 (19:33):
Ready to go. Tommy thanks so much for you for
your time. Enjoy the call tomorrow.
Speaker 3 (19:37):
We'll talk next week, Tony, Tony A pleasure.
Speaker 2 (19:40):
Yes, Tom Galetter, the voice of FC Cincinnati. We got
a break, We'll come back. Plenty more to go. Our
number three next Cincy three to sixty thanks to Penn Station.
Thank you for listening on ESPN fifteen thirty Cincinnati Sports Station.
Speaker 3 (19:53):
Crapload. That's
This is Penn Station eastco Subs since e three to
sixty about Cincinnati from Cincinnati, countered in part by Pennstation
East co Subs. Handcrafted hot grilled subs, fresh cut fries
and lemonade. It's all about good taste. Penn Station East
Coast Subs order online today. This is ESPN fifteen thirty
(00:20):
Cincinnati Sports Station.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
All right, welcome in our number three thanks to Penn Station.
Thanks for listening on ESPN fifteen thirty, Cincinnati's sports station.
Each Friday, in this time slot, we get to talk
to the voice of FC Cincinnati, uh leading leading the
calls for the Orange and Blue. His name is Tom
Gallader and he joins us right now. Tommy, Tommy, Tommy,
(00:45):
what's going on on this slow, non busy Friday.
Speaker 3 (00:50):
It's not even you know, just kind of been all
social media and not not tracking much, just hanging out,
you know, preparing for another match against New York City.
Still trying to events that playoff loss from last year,
and that'll probably be all the focus of all the
media attention, you know, for the next thirty hours leading
up to kickoff.
Speaker 2 (01:08):
Yeah, you know, we had the game against the Timbers
where FC Cincinnati was able to get ahead by three goals.
Now Portland did make it close three to two, but
they get the win. Let's discuss that win before everything else,
because not only did they get the win, but those
three points pushed them ahead of Philadelphia in the standings
as well. So as we talked today, coming off a
(01:30):
win and now sitting atop the standings in the East
is FC Cincinnati.
Speaker 3 (01:35):
Yeah, we can't ignore that, right. Obviously, a very busy
week and we'll get to all that excitement here at
some point, but really important result out west. I thought
an easy trip, you know, obviously one of the longer
trips of the year. The next one will be right
up there, going to Los Angeles, but you know, going
to Portland to a place where most of those guys
haven't played in that building, you know, certainly was my
(01:57):
first trip there. And you know, great you great city,
all of these things. But s Ccinnati took care of
business and a little bit more heart stopping than anybody
might have would have liked. But he listened to one
goal games. That's what SINCINNTY does. Sixteen one goal games
this year with only seven left to go. But they're
thirteen and three in those one goal games. Didn't look
(02:17):
like it was going to be a one goal game. Look,
it was a blowout and man Kevin Denka back into
the starting lineup. He left his mark. Evander gets a goal.
You know what a moment that was in front of
the whole supporter section there with his handcuffed to his
ear and listening to them. I mean, the reception was
really I think, I mean it was received for sure.
(02:41):
You know, Kevin and I had this perch high above.
It's similar if you could think about the Knippers Stadium
elevation from the field where we were when we did
the games there where where Dan and Jim r for
Bearcats games. I mean, that's elevation. You're really high. But
we were in this little perch and the team came
in and we were watching them come down the ramp
(03:01):
and the Vander turns his way into the pitch and
it was bubblehead nights, so they opened the gates especially
early in most scenarios, and this is the case at
Equocum and I think pretty much I can't think of
a place where gates are opened when the team arrives
because normally the road team arrives about an hour and
a half before kickoff, and that's right about the time
(03:24):
gates are opening. So if there's anybody in the stands,
it's not much. But there was quite a few folks
in the supporter section by this point, and they had
very choice words, one of which I can't use, you know,
over the air for Vander and you know, he definitely
heard it, and he let him know when he scored
(03:44):
that he heard it. And you know, in this case,
I guess actually spoke louder than words, right Unfortunately, after that,
and look, I was impressed by a sports the team.
I thought they were very good. You know, the Timbers
fought their way back in the game, and Kevin Kelsey
talk about trying to prove a point. You know, Kevin
Kelsey remembers a guy that f C Cincinnati decided not
(04:04):
to pick up the purchase option on they had just
purchased Kevin Dnka. You know, another what six or seven
million dollars on top of the sixteen age spender Kevin
would have probably Kevin Dentkay that is would have been
a bit much for Kevin Kelsey. So they passed, and
then Portland comes in and decides to bring him on board,
and man Kevin Kelsey with a brace. It certainly felt
(04:24):
like he was trying to send a little bit of
a message as well.
Speaker 2 (04:27):
So it leads to based on everything else that happens
in the MLS, slave FC Cincinnati moving into first place
in the East, and we've talked about this race and
how tight things are, which then makes what we've seen
over the last twenty four hours or so even more
impressive for me, because here we have a team and
an organization who was sitting atop the standings, playing good,
(04:48):
good soccer, competing for an MLS Cup, and yet they
go and send shock waves throughout the league because of
the aggressive nature in which they handled the last day
or so. Can you can you just highlight starting with
obviously the move of you move on from DeAndre Yedlin,
but the additions that this team has now made and
(05:09):
how you believe they will help them going forward.
Speaker 3 (05:13):
Yeah, listen there. First of all, let's start with there
were obvious error or air areas I should say, where
the club wanted to improve. Certainly attacking somebody to play
alongside Kevin Dankat regularly was a target. They had already
added one player in Ayu Jabari, who the reports and
(05:33):
Pat indicated he should be here this weekend. So great
to hear that he's coming on. You know, a young striker,
you know, with some international experience over in Europe, and
we'll be coming to join the mix. So but in
the competitions I was having, it felt like that wasn't
the only move, that there would be another. And Kevin
and I sitting up on our booth, you know, kind
(05:54):
of preparing, and I said, you know, the deadlines Thursday.
I remember sitting there on Saturday night, So the deadline's
coming up on Thursday. I don't think they're done in
the attack either, you know. And I had started to
hear some whispers, you know, from from folks outside of
the club, none none to do the club that that
you know, DeAndre might be going to Salt Lake on
Saturday night. And I was like, huh, Now, DeAndre was up,
(06:16):
his contract was up after this year. And and you know,
Perk Pat noon press conference today, he said, look, the
club very much wanted to keep him. I think DeAndre also,
like every professional athlete, wanted some long term stability and
you know, a contract that in the you know, his
opinion and his UH agent opinion was fair market value
and apparently he got that from Salt Lake to to
(06:39):
sign on to a long term deal and f since
Sandy countered and it wasn't enough to keep DeAndre around.
So I think they did right by him in sending
him out there. And of course he's from Seattle, began
his career in Major League soccer out there. That gets
him a little bit closer to home. But it's sad
to see him go, Like what a great guy he
was in the room, on the pitch, all around this team.
(07:04):
You know, DeAndrea was class personified and so I think
he'll be missed in that way. But so you know
what happens when when those room as starting on ice tart
getting text messages like what this doesn't make much sense?
What's going on? What's Chris working on? And I'm like, listen, people,
I don't know. Chris doesn't invite me into these meetings.
Speaker 2 (07:25):
Acquisitions.
Speaker 3 (07:27):
No. I love that that people think they ask my opinion.
I mean, if I ever gave him one, they would
probably left me out of the room, you know, but
you know it, I was like, yeah, I appreciate that
you all think I have that kind of influence, but uh,
you all know probably on social media before I know
on social media as these things come out. And I
just said, let let Chris do what he does because
(07:48):
he tends to have a very high hit rate and
does well in improving his team. But he had to
move some things around because he didn't have a whole
lot of ross for flexibility. So obviously the departure of
Theon gives them some roster flexibility. You know, already we've
seen announced today and the rumors came out last night.
But in a separate move with salt Lake, the young
(08:11):
polishman Dominique mark Zuke is brought on and he's a
guy I think with very high upside. Made his debut
with the post national team last year. You know, obviously
he's looking for more minutes. He wasn't really getting them
in Salt Lake. He was playing out a position at times,
and we'll be looking to come to the Mexican play
at that right wing back position. I was Pole can
play at the right wing back position and Retchinika can
(08:32):
play at the right wing back position, so they have
a lot of bodies. Luke Orson I don't can play
over there, you know, they have a lot of people
who could play at right wing back and fill that
role right now. And then it, you know, again gives
Chris alright flexibility to continue to improve the team and
to find ways to bring in more techning pieces, which
(08:53):
you know is the hottest rumor right now when we're
just waiting for our email to ding with the official
press release. But yeah, no, I think it was a
very exciting and you know, they've they've addressed the needs
now and that's you know, still we're talking about bringing
in Ayu Jabari, who will be in this week and
probably be in the mix with the team. They'll see
how his fitness is and you know, if he's available
(09:13):
to be involved in Philadelphia next week. And then they
await Samuel g d you know, the midfielder who provides
depth there and that was another one that they talked about,
or the pat you mentioned today. That's still a little
bit further down the road. And here's arrival because they
got to work out his visa. But now I think, uh,
you know, Chris Albright put it on at of work
this summer to improve this team and and you know,
(09:33):
send a very clear message to the city, to Major
League soccer. You know, the entire league actually can say
he's going for it and has every intention of putting
together a group they canna win MLS.
Speaker 2 (09:44):
Go, how do you come up with the the numbers?
We were asking this yesterday, the real salt Lake for
DeAndre Yedlin three hundred and four thousand, seven hundred. What
do we do with that extra seven hundred dollars?
Speaker 3 (09:55):
You know, sometimes I sometimes I'd like to believe that
Chris is just messing with everybody. You know, Yeah, He's like,
he's on the phone with the Salt Lake GM and
he's like, listen, man, let's just messle with everybody and
have them all speculate why we're doing seven hundred dollars here.
My understanding of it is that it had something to
do with the pro rated portion of Deandre's salary. So
(10:21):
I don't know if it's twenty seven divided about thirty four,
whatever that percentage would be at this point in the season,
you know, times Deandrea's salary or if there's another formula,
but whatever the pro rated portion of his salary is
at this point, that that's how they got to this number.
I know there was a move. I'm trying to think
who it was for a couple of years ago where
there was another number like that that Chris made an
(10:43):
acquisition of allocation money, and it was because of the
pending move that was going to follow it needed that
exact number to fit the salary cap. So that was
why he you know, sold a international spot or whatever
it might have been, you know, to get that number
in return to make the corresponding a move. But now
(11:05):
I believe in that case had something to do with
Deandre's salary and the pro rate, a portion that you
know was still on the table for twenty twenty five,
and so that's that's how it got figured out. But
he is doing I mean, there is some advanced mass
by Chris and his staff right now to figure it out.
Because of the roster spots and because of the salary cap.
You know, like I said at the beginning's conversation, there's
(11:26):
not a lot of wiggle room. And I think they've
done a really masterful job of cooking up a recipe
that you know, makes it all fit.
Speaker 2 (11:35):
When you start talking about the acquisition that they made
from Real Salt Lake and then Brenner, you know, coming
back to this team, how long do you think it
takes in the MLS world to get those guys up
and running and ready to contribute, Because in any sport
we talked about this in football all the time. If
you go sign a free agent today, how long does
it take before they're comfortable getting in there and being
(11:57):
able to contribute? How long does that does that look like?
In your opinion?
Speaker 3 (12:02):
Well, I think it's a different scenario, you know, for
guys who have been in the league and guys who
have not. So you bring in Ayub Jabbari, he's never
played in Major League Soccer, he's never lived in Cincinnati.
Is going to be a little bit more of an
acclimization period, right when when Samuel Gedi gets here. Same story.
(12:24):
You know for a guy like Dominic Mark Dukes, sert
youngster going to be coming, you know, to Cincinnati to
live for the first time, but he's been playing in
Major League Soccer, so he knows what to expect. You know,
his team played against f C Cincinnati. Now, but a
month ago. You bring in guys who have played in
Major League Soccer and you know in in you know
the situation of brenn are coming back, and you know
(12:46):
that rumored one. It's not official official yet, I guess
at this point. But there's a guy who played in
Cincinnati who also was a green cars. You're not waiting
on any visa, you know, they their way they were,
they were waiting on Jabbari's, you know, there waiting on gd's.
This is something that you know, and you get to
know the administrative staff who manages these things. You know
(13:07):
those guys. I give all the credit in the world
to the admins because they work their tail off to
get all the paperwork done to make them eligible to
play here in the United States. If you can bring
in a player that's already played in Major League Soccer
and has a green card, so they don't have to
worry about, you know, waiting out a visa going home
to pick up the paperwork, that saves day a lot
(13:28):
of travel, but be a lot of time. And you know,
I would imagine that that guys who already have them
lost experience coming into the team are going to be
a lot easier to throw right into the mix than
guys who have not.
Speaker 2 (13:42):
How how big is this message that it not only
sends to the locker room, but the rest of the
MLS of what FC Cincinnata was able to do over
the last day or so.
Speaker 3 (13:49):
No, I think it's huge. I think it's you know, listen,
she sad. It's the top dog right now in the
Eastern Conference. And you know they're tied with San Diego,
albeit quite behind on the gold differential, which is the
first tie breaker. But there's there's games that we played
seven for both these teams. So will they end up
in the same amount of points? Maybe not. Will season
Sidy catch San Diego as they trail them by eleven
(14:11):
goals and go differential at the moment, you know, probably
not because what I say at the beginning of the season,
times loves these one goal games, right But hey, maybe
with the more offensive fire firepower coming and they can
push that number. But listen, right now, the key is
controlling your destiny the East. That sets your pass up.
You know, to be in a really good place, in
(14:33):
a really safe situation. So we know what you're playing.
A TQL study of all but one game, which will
be game two of the first round, which is the
best of three. So I think that, yeah, I know,
it sends a message that that they want to win.
Carl Lennard wants to win. His ownership group wants to win.
You know that Chris allbody wants to win, and that Chris,
(14:54):
you know, Carl and the ownership group is giving Chris
all the tools and more importantly, all the re sources
and the money to go get the guys to make
this a championship club. And right now they have opportunity
to win to Tophis and they are going for them both.
And that let us give you like goosebumps and chills
and have fired you up on a Friday afternoon, and
(15:14):
then you need to go get your pulse checked or something,
because like that's awesome and I don't think, you know,
as a fan base, you can ask for anymore.
Speaker 2 (15:23):
Tommy, to wrap up, you mentioned the matchup with New
York City tomorrow and you know, getting some revenge on
what happened last year with New York City. Also, we
talked earlier about, you know, kind of getting some of
these home games back late in the season. Not only
is it New York, I already got my eyes to
next weekend as well because the Philadelphia Union, who have
kind of been back and forth at the top of
the East. It's a big two game stretch here for
(15:45):
FC Cincinnati to hold Serve tomorrow at home and then
welcome in a very good team in Philly the following weekend.
Speaker 3 (15:52):
Correct, And you know it's the thing, you feel like
you win these two at home, like you're in the
driver's seat, say your first Why you're in the driver's seat.
You're only a point ahead of Philadelphia, you know, five
points ahead of Ashville. A lot of results last weekend
went in favor of SC Cincinnati. You know, Miami is
still lingering there, and that's with three games in hand.
(16:13):
But now they've advanced the leaf Cups, so they got
two more games, so their schedules congested. You know, Massey
Jordie albo are not traveling for the match this weekend.
Uh So Infatie Sincanti win this weekend and Miami dropped points,
then they wander to Blue be far enough ahead that
they would truly control their own destiny the rest of
the way if they were to win, went out, And
I don't think that's crazy to say, you know, with
six seven games remaining in the regular season, because they
(16:36):
went out, absolutely if they went out, where they win
the league? Yeah, I think so? You know, so right now,
you know they said, across the top of the Eastern Conference.
And if you win this one, all right, now you
have maybe get a little bit of breathing room. Phutofis
goalkeep Rodderie Blake is hurt. What would that mean? You know?
And then then Philadelphia's here the following week which then
(16:56):
gives you potentially, you know, even if we even at
Phildelphia and they both win this weekend, if you beat
the Union the following weekend, now you've got that four
point cushion, which gives you one game of breathing room,
which is huge. You know, is it crazy to think
they win the rest of them? Sure, maybe a little bit,
But is that out of the question. I don't think so. Albeit,
it's gonna be a tough stress. They have a lot
(17:17):
of teams that are in the playoff on ahead of them.
But they've been very good at home. Five of seven
will be played at Tiquos Ediom, and you know, you
got to take care of business there. They're also the
best road team in Major League Soccer, albeit just with
two road games remaining. But it's certainly exciting. And you think,
you know to the last two seasons, Tony, and you know,
(17:39):
at this point two years ago, we could see that
ability to win a supporter shield was pretty real and
there was work to be done, and it wasn't a
certain thing, you know, sitting there in August twenty second
that was gonna happen. But man, that ship was rolling
in sync, all together in the right direction as we
sat here last year. That team was good. But I
(18:00):
don't think that we sat there on a Friday in
August or September and really had this conversation and really
felt that the team was all on sync and rolling
in the right direction and that they had all the
pieces they needed. I think that Fat Newton has all
the pieces he needs now to win MLS Cup. And
that's not forget. He's gonna get Woboo back at some point.
I saw him today he was working outside and asked
(18:22):
yest feelings. Said, he's doing great rehabs going, well, you know,
you're gonna get him back hopefully as long as he
stays on track sometime in October. That's almost like a
cheat code that you're gonna get. Imagine ob playing a
couple of games in October and then being fully fit
into the playoffs. And it was one of the best
defriends of midfitters in the league that you're gonna throw
it back into the mix, you know, for your starting eleven.
(18:43):
So no, I think all the pieces are there and
people should have, you know, a lot of really good
feelings and excitement around the club at this moment.
Speaker 2 (18:51):
I think that's the word, the excitement, not only what
this club is doing on the pitch, but what they're
doing off the pitch to make themselves as formidable as
possible to winning them least championship and bring that right
here to Cincinnati. That is Tom Galetter. He's the voice
of FC Cincinnati. You can hear him on the call
tomorrow night at TQL Stadium. Tommy, as always, man, appreciate
the time, and I look forward to talking again next week.
(19:13):
We'll talk about Philadelphia coming in, we'll talk about three
points for FC Cincinnati, and we'll talk about you see
it coming off a win against Nebraska.
Speaker 3 (19:21):
Yeah, I appreciate you. I can't wait. I can't wait
to talk about all of that. So it will be Uh,
it's gonna be a great week and a great day tomorrow.
And that's fire up this college football season and awfo,
Gil Brother.
Speaker 2 (19:33):
Ready to go. Tommy thanks so much for you for
your time. Enjoy the call tomorrow.
Speaker 3 (19:37):
We'll talk next week, Tony, Tony A pleasure.
Speaker 2 (19:40):
Yes, Tom Galetter, the voice of FC Cincinnati. We got
a break, We'll come back. Plenty more to go. Our
number three next Cincy three to sixty thanks to Penn Station.
Thank you for listening on ESPN fifteen thirty Cincinnati Sports Station.
Speaker 3 (19:53):
Crapload. That's
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