For the Glory KC is back with the 113th episode of the show and the first one of Season Four!
Sporting Kansas City lead off the show, as is almost always the case. Just like the last episode two weeks ago, there are no signings but there is actually news.
The biggest of the stories broke today with the rumor that Alan Pulido may be departing Sporting KC to head back to Chivas in Liga MX. There are now three separate sources saying Pulido is leaving for Mexico, with the latest pegging the transfer fee (yes, they are paying for him) at $1.5 million. It may seem like a fleecing of SKC, who paid a reported $6 million after the 2019 season, but considering I think most fans just want Pulido's salary off the books, making $1.5m in the process would be wild.
Sheena and I get our hopes up about a potential move and discuss the ramification of him leaving (if it were to happen). What it means for the team's roster flexibility. Where we'd like a new Designated Player to be signed. If Agada can be the starting center forward if Alan isn't around. Plus, a slew of other topics with a random reading of a Remi Walter farewell post snuck into the middle as we scoured the web live during the podcast looking for more Pulido news.
The Pulido conversation nicely transitioned into the title of this week's podcast. Counting Pulido, SKC have just 20 players signed for 2025 of a possible 30. They'll surely leave a few spots open, but they are missing about one-third of their roster. They are down Johnny Russell, Tim Melia, Walter and others and the question has to be asked, "is it time to panic?"
For some context, here are the month and day of several of the higher priced signings over the last few seasons:
- Radoja: 10/26
- Pulido: 12/10
- Walter: 12/22
- Leibold: 1/12
- Ilie: 1/13
- Ndenbe: 1/14
- Voloder: 1/19
- Kinda: 1/23
- Russell: 1/31
- Rosero: 3/2
Contrast that with the season starting earlier than ever, not to mention the Inter Miami CCC game on February 18th, and there is some concern. Pushing back against the concern slightly is the transfer windows in many European and South American countries just opened which could make teams more willing to sell since they can go out and find replacement players.
Beyond the roster discussion, we get into the leaked Sporting KC jersey (images here), SKC moving on from assistant coach Zoran Savic, Andreu Fontas possibly retiring and some choice Russell quotes from a recent podcast appearance.
The KC Current were a bit quieter, which is weird to say, considering they actually made a signing. They brought in 27-year-old Brazilian goalkeeper, Lorena, as we said they would on the last pod. Plus, the NWSL outlined their schedule for 2025, including March 14th as the first league game.
In the Digital Crawl, we touch on a few more topics, including:
- Ilie signs in Austin
- Nicole Barnhart retires
- KC Comets All-Stars
- Ethan Bryant finds a new home
- Denver is the 16th NWSL team
- and more!
Here is a rundown of topics (and approximate start times):
- Is Pulido being sold? - 4:32
- Should we panic about the Sporting KC roster build? - 26:18
- 2025 SKC Jersey Leak - 43:50
- Fontas, Russell, Savic and Preseason Changes - 48:02
- KC Current and NWSL Schedule News - 1:03:52
- Digital Crawl - 1:09:36
As a special gift to For the Glory KC listeners and KC Soccer Journal readers, Backheeled dot com is giving away 30 days of their amazing, independent American soccer coverage for free. If you decide you want to turn that into a paid membership, they'll give you 10 percent off too. Just follow this link!
Big thanks to Splitter Conspiracy (listen to them here) for our theme music made with the permission of the KC Cauldron.
