Matchday 28 Agenda Check: Checking in on the national pundits

Welcome to the Matchday 28 installment of the written version of the Lobbing Scorchers Agenda Check, where each week we take a look at the status of various agendas that we either would like to push ourselves or notice permeating among the fan base surrounding particular Sounders players.

Let’s dive in.

Seattle Only Beats Bad Teams

Agenda status: Strengthened, unfortunately

On a couple of recent episodes of MLS Season Pass, analyst Bradley Wright-Phillips has alluded to a narrative I’ve seen pushed by several other national pundits as well: Specifically, that Seattle’s recent hot streak has been more an example of a team capitalizing on a soft part of their schedule rather than evidence of a pronounced turnaround or the Sounders staking their claim among the league’s trophy contenders. 

After this one-sided defeat to LAFC, it unfortunately appears as though BWP might actually have had a point. It isn’t just about this one game. Like it or not, the pundits have a leg to stand on when they point to numbers like this, as well as the relative weakness of the opposition Seattle had faced leading up to this defeat.

The good news is that the criteria for disproving this agenda is very simple. There are going to be more games against good teams during Leagues Cup, the stretch run of the regular season and into the playoffs, should Seattle make it there. If they win some of those games and compete for trophies, the pundits will be left scrambling to retract and adjust their narratives.

RBW should start at left back over Nouhou

Agenda status: Intriguing

Nouhou is equal parts fan-favorite and one of the most polarizing players on the team. Many still love the Cameroonian for his services as a defensive specialist and entertaining if sometimes reckless playstyle. Others have grown tired of the antics and would cite several individual errors this year that point to a defender that’s not as effective on that side of the ball as you might think. For whatever he brings defensively, Nouhou is also undeniably a liability in attack, which is not an ideal attribute for a modern fullback.

With the emergence of RBW to the first team this year, is it time to give the homegrown product a chance to start some games at left back? At first I wasn’t all that sold on the idea, but after peaking at each players’ advanced numbers, I think this agenda has more legs than I initially thought. RBW’s defensive metrics are quite good and his skillset certainly offers more attacking upside. It’s admittedly a small sample size of minutes, but RBW has shown enough – both in terms of how he’s graded out and by the eye test – that his argument for more run is a decently strong one.

Cristian Roldan should be the starting right back

Agenda status: Not strengthened, but still intriguing

I’ve gone through a range of thoughts regarding this agenda. On one hand, putting Cristian at right back feels like playing one of your most talented players out of their best position. On the other hand, his skillset actually matches up quite well for what you want in a wide defender.

Going forward, I’ve actually come to the conclusion that this agenda fully taking hold is the best way to set up a first-choice XI, with the infusion of Pedro de la Vega creating a bit of a logjam in attack and Obed Vargas fully entrenching himself as a starter in the double-pivot. 

The one thing I will say is that there will be a bit of a learning curve as Cristian adapts to a role he hasn’t played all that much in his career. I thought that was evident on LAFC’s first goal on Saturday, where it looked like he took a faulty angle when trying to cut out the attacker that sent in the fateful cross before Nouhou (famously) swan-dived on the ball with his hand and conceded the penalty.