RootsPod: Recent Episodes
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Opinions on how many conclusions to draw from Roots’ 0-1 loss to Colorado Springs range from “none” to “some, who knows how many”. The conversation quickly turns to more entertaining forms of media, and plumbing.
With Luis De Guzman. We discuss some news surrounding the World Cup and some other news surrounding the Coliseum deal. (Some of our speculation is, incredibly, potentially already out of date, but that’s not about to stop us.) We also praise the Roots’ performance against Orange County, and ask what is needed for the record … More RootsPod Episode 114: A Fiduciary Obligation to Their Shareholders
6 minutes of Shambolic Defense, a welcome red card, and Tucker Freaking Lepley. The El Paso match had it all.* We discuss, plus muse about the appropriate approach to the USL Cup, and ponder the musical guest for small business night.
Meh? A 2-2 draw on the east coast has us in a holding pattern, still encouraged by the quality of the play, but wary of the quality of results. Peter expresses some concern about the Oak-ness Monster tie-in. Jon drinks Decoy.
Luis De Guzman makes his pod debut! We talk about Peter Wilson, back line depth, and exactly how one should deploy Neveal Hackshaw, if at all. Peter teaches us about obselete characters in the English language.
We are joined by special guest Q from Hooligan Soccer, who offers his insights on the Roots season so far, and provides a referee’s perspective on the Spiegel Incident. Broad optimism about the direction of the team is tempered somewhat by a growing injury list. Onways and upwards, regardless.
The topic du jour is, of course, Raphael Spiegel’s moment of madness, a truly glorious addition to Roots soccer lore. We also talk formations, CBA negotiations, and the World Cup, and stray further into geopolitics than we normally do. Aaron calls him “Brian Jacquesson” instead of “Bertin Jacquesson”.
With special guest Dan Poulter. An unusually philosophical episode. Things are still good, but its only natural to focus on the 20 minutes during which the Roots lost their unblemished season. But things still look really good for the Roots. Maybe not so much for the world, though.
Jack joins the Pod to give us some insight into USL CBA negotiations from the players’ side. And we discuss who we’d like to see back, and whether we have any rooting interest in the conference finals and USL championship.
There aren’t many words to describe this season that aren’t synonyms of “disappointing” or “frustrating,” but we nevertheless find about an hour’s worth of them.
We’re saving discussion of the product on the field for our season recap. This episode is all about our listeners. To celebrate our 100th full episode, Jon went and talked to many fans about their love of Oakland Roots SC. Enjoy.
Embracing our fate, we all agree there’s no reason to be anything other than optimistic. Why be hurt in advance?
It’s hard to plan for the future, when you don’t really know what’s in the immediate present.
Despite Aaron’s valiant attempts to talk about the recent two matches, Peter and Jon immediately turn their focus to the run-in and next year(?!). Doubts about the quality of the Western Conference are aired. (We do not discuss a certain player’s social media posts because the episode was recorded before we were aware of them.)
La Union causes Tower Bridge Batallion to crumble from the inside. Roots get less than they deserved for their performance against Sacramento. National Republicans develop an odd sense of pride in how scared they are of other people.
Peter and Jon make sure to reference their recent vacations within the first 10 minutes. A recent cup loss is mostly ignored. We talk about where we’d like to see improvement, or a potential change to the roster, and agree it is either in attack or defense. But all agree things are looking up.
Things look good! Maybe its an illusion! Who cares?! Also, we discuss Romanian soccer and Alabaman ska.
We talk about what differences we’re seeing in the Roots under Benny Feilhaber, and whether we expect anything from the cup tie with Monterey Bay.
Optimism over some steps in the right direction for the Roots. Anger over some leaps in the wrong direction for the country.
Well, we talk about it. Soccer has happened, but who cares? We’ve got a new coach. We wonder why this move happened, and how we’re measuring success going forward. Then we complain about penalty kicks.
Was the North Carolina result a step back, or consistent with Roots’ recent performances? How is it that every team seems to score bangers against Oakland? How long has Peter had a Reddit account? We discuss.
Jon and Peter talk through their feelings about the Roots before eventually realizing things are ok right now. Peter makes another good Jagermeister Cup joke, but we can’t use all of them as episode titles. Concerts are discussed.
Things are decidedly better than they were two weeks ago! We discuss the shifts in formation and overall strategy, contemplate where improvement can still be had, marvel at the geography of League One, and compare notes on the ways in which we usually spend our Sundays.
It’s getting pretty bleak out there, friends. Also the Roots haven’t been playing very good soccer! We discuss.
No answers were provided to the burning questions raised last episode, but the general consensus is that the Las Vegas match was still a step in the right direction.
The Bloggers are 4 this week, as Ivan joins the Pod. Concerns are raised about the direction of the attack. Somehow, fewer concerns are raised about the defense. Based exclusively on Peter’s narration of the highlights of Las Vegas’s last loss, we convince ourselves that Vegas is shaky at the back, and there is an … More RootsPod 84: I’ve Seen A Lot of Similar Movies in My Time
Peter and Jon are joined by Jack to talk over Oakland Roots’ loss at Monterey, USL implementing promotion/relegation, and the home opener at the Oakland Coliseum.
A rundown of the questions still to be answered about this year’s Oakland Roots side. Peter gets briefly existential.
Jon and Peter have THOUGHTS about Roots’ 5-0 loss in the regular season finale. And we all agree that Roots’ best chance against Colorado Springs is to keep it a tight, low-scoring affair. Ya gotta believe.
Sandwiched around a truly unexpected detour regarding the New York Jets, we discuss whether there is any reason for optimism left this season (views differ), and whether we’ve seen enough to start thinking about what changes should be made next season, even if the Roots make the ‘yoffs (views do not differ).
Aaron, Jack, Jon, and Schrodinger’s Bloom ask where its all gone wrong, what needs to be fixed, and discuss reasons to be optimistic about the end of the season.
We lament the recent loss of defensive stability, and wonder why the Roots refuse to just hoof-and-hope, but also sing the praises of new man Sinisterra. Peter pods in hushed tones so as not to wake his new born.
Yet another episode goes by in which, inexplicably, no one mentions Justin Rasmussen’s new hair. Peter also gracefully restrains from subjecting us to a minutes-long rant about Declan Rice’s second yellow against Brighton. Instead, we discuss whether the schedule provides the Roots a reasonable opportunity to take second, and lament the death of cool team … More RootsPod Episode 74: A Deserved 40th
Once again, Glinton zigs when we expect him to zag. We talk about the revolutionary 9 defender lineup, Roots’ new addition, and what new wrinkles we might see in upcoming matches. We suspiciously do not talk about Justin Rasmussen’s new hairdo.
We consider the effect of cross-country travel on the Roots’ recent results, and ponder what the most significant tactical shift is that we’ve seen from Roots’ last two wins.
After a week off, the gents are back in the studio* to discuss whether a 2-1 win over Miami (not that Miami) assuages the concerns raised by the previous two matches, the impact of Jeciel Cedeno’s move to Detroit City, and what the rest of the season looks like.
The major world events will continue until the performances improve. Differing prescriptions are offered to fix what ails the midfield. Prayers for a Dom Dwyer-ssaince are uttered.
We discuss whether our expectations for the season really have changed, and try not to tempt the sports gods when talking about Pittsburgh. Jon demonstrates how to be a frustrating deponent.
We talk about what’s on many minds these days: Should Gregg Berhalter keep his job? After concluding that, no, he should not, we get back to business, and discuss Roots’ continued rise, the challenge posed by upcoming opponent Louisville City, and the Soul’s huge playoff clash with FC Olympia.
We give our midseason MVP awards. Jon admits that you shouldn’t listen to anything he has to say. Peter teaches us a new word.
We discuss Jon’s vendetta against the USL W League, the emergence of Trayvone Reid, the appearance of Dom Dwyer, and the best way to get to Monterey.
A winning streak! A palpable winning streak! We discuss the Roots’ newfound formula for success with special guest Juan of Los Roots. Is it ugly? Who cares! Winning is better than losing.
The Soul provide a breath of fresh air, but we’re not ready to hit the panic button on Roots’ season just yet. There is some disagreement about whether we’ll see Dom Dwyer any time soon, though.
We discuss the managerial change, whether any other personnel changes might be in the offing, and the current reasons for real optimism (the Dom Dwyer signing, and positive momentum on the Malibu Lot). Peter mispronounces “maelstrom.”
The Bloggers welcome very special guest Camden Riley, center back for your Oakland Roots, to the Pod! We talk about Camden’s soccer journey from Dallas to Oakland, the state of soccer in the U.S., and Camden’s outlook for the team this year. Camden also mispronounces Emre Can’s name in an unlikely way.
Who has impressed? Who still needs to play themselves into form? What new questions do we have about the Oakland Roots after 2 matches? The Bloggers tackle these difficult questions in this episode.
The Bloggers take a peek at some of the big stories swirling around the upcoming USL season, and discuss their predictions for the Western Conference. Peter surprised us with a creditable preview of Indy Eleven, while Jon challenges himself to see how far away from his mic he can sit and still record the pod.
The Bloggers go through the Roots’ 2024 roster, introducing the newcomers and guessing at how the roster will fit together. Jon bravely predicts that the Roots will do well if they prevent goals while also scoring goals.
We reminisce about the good times before tackling the biggest question hanging over the team headed into 2024
In part one of the RootsPod season review, the crew (joined by three (!) special guests) try to contextualize Roots’ late-season collapse and ultimate 10th-place finish.
An important 3-match stretch ends with a bang–a last minute equalizer rescues a draw from the jaws of defeat–but overall Roots’ form (1 point from the last 15) is more whimper-like. We express some of our concerns, and hope the Roots can turn it around. We suggest letting Danny Barbir do whatever it is he … More RootsPod Episode 54: Just Let Barbir Do Everything
Jon and Peter show why they are two of the wisest trees in the Peabody-eligible section of the Roots fanbase, waxing poetic about the recent contributions of Memo Diaz and Danny Barbir, trashing Sacramento (the city), and pondering the recent demise of San Diego Loyal. Aaron is also there.
The Bloggers briefly discuss the win over Charleston before looking ahead to the stretch run.
Aaron does his best not to look on the bright side, while Peter is much more optimistic.
The Bloggers are encouraged by the Roots’ 3-1 win over Monterey, but Aaron wonders if the star of the show wasn’t really just Monterey Bay’s horrible defense.
Despite some positive signs during Roots’ draw with Memphis, Jon and Peter insist that Roots’ recent offensive woes have no been solved by the return of Tamacas and Hackshaw from international duty.
The Bloggers find things to complain about, including the scheduling of the Soul’s first playoff match, the lack of detail in the Roots’ community investment plan, and the Roots’ recent form.
The Bloggers distract themselves from a ho-hum 0-0 draw with Pittsburgh by discussing movement on the temporary-stadium front and the Roots’ limited potential lineup permutations.
Joined by special guest Steve, filling in this week for Peter, the Bloggers nurse old grudges, ponder Steve’s cough drop consumption, and worry about how the roster survives the Gold Cup.
Was Johnny’s 12th minute winner against Colorado Springs come against the run of play? Views differ!
One Blogger has Covid and another is jet lagged, so this episode is more of a fever dream than a constructive discussion of the Oakland Roots. Praise is heaped on Johnny Rodriguez and Paul Blanchette nonetheless.
The Bloggers recap a successful two weeks for Oakland Roots SC, as both the men and women notched 2 impressive wins.
The Bloggers look for the positives in the Roots’ previous stretch of matches (making for a very short segment), discuss the use of Thunder Sticks in the stands, preview the Soul’s upcoming match with Stockton Cargo, and ask whether a road fixture against East leading Birmingham Legion is the right matchup to get back on … More RootsPod Episode 40: Fun with Thunder Sticks
There’s doom (loss to Hartford Athletic), gloom (next opponent Loudoun United looks really good, especially in transition), and things go boom (Open Cup match with Sac Republic is next week) in the RootsPod lab! Also, Jon gives us his charcuterie recs.
Aaron and Jon are joined by special guests Steve from Homegrown Hooligans and Juan from Los Roots. The crew waxes poetic about Roots’ 3-0 win over Indy XI, finds the silver lining in Roots’ temporary Hayward home, and gratuitously brings up old grudges.
The Bloggers discuss the Roots’ wins over New Mexico United and El Farolito SC, and get unreasonably excited about Roots’ potential this season. Jon is unable to determine where the watch party is this weekend.
The Bloggers review Oakland’s Week 2 draw with RGVFC, and look ahead to Oakland’s home opener against Memphis 901 FC.
With special guests Steve and Wayne, a podcast that will make you wonder if we started observing St. Patrick’s Day a little early
Jon, Aaron, and Steve of the Homegrown Hooligans discuss the roster and the beginning of the upcoming season. Hot takes abound.
The Bloggers catch up on the biggest news of the offseason so far, including an extended discussion of the issues surrounding finding a location for the Roots to play while they search for a permanent home away from the friendly confines of Laney College.
The Bloggers discuss their takeaways from Oakland’s 2022 campaign, the player of the season, and the match of the season.
Aaron and Jon recap Roots’ win over San Diego and preview the next round matchup against San Antonio
The Bloggers look at the matches around the league in the last week of the regular season, and discuss what results Roots fans should be rooting for.
The Bloggers celebrate Oakland’s win over Birmingham Legion, worry about Hartford Athletic’s recent form, and marvel at the number of Western Conference teams who appear to be stumbling towards the end of the season.
The Bloggers fret about Roots’ suddenly anemic attack, posit ways in which Roots might defeat Legion’s high press, take a quick peek at the playoff picture, and discuss a non-footy story with some local ties.
The Bloggers celebrate a win, and speculate whether there are tweaks to be made to the Oakland setup that could help them secure a playoff berth.
The Bloggers question whether there are any lessons to be taken from the loss to SAFC, and then turn their attention towards the stretch run and the circumstances under which fans of the Pod can get Peter’s money.
The Bloggers talk to Harry of the S.A. Soccer Roundtable about Roots’ upcoming match against San Antonio FC, discuss their preferred Wendy’s orders, and ruminate on the news about Roots’ search for a new stadium.
The Bloggers (minus the still-at-large Jon) lament the missed opportunity against Las Vegas Lights, and then turn their attention to Phoenix Rising. Aaron speaks to Niall of the Phoenix Rising Fan Experience pod to get the lowdown on Rising.
With Jon on the lam, Peter and Aaron get together to review Oakland’s 4-0 win over Lokomotiv El Paso, preview Roots’ upcoming fixtures against Las Vegas and Phoenix, and take an updated look at the playoff picture.
The Bloggers look at the good and bad from Oakland’s 3-3 draw with Sac Republic, and look ahead to the El Paso match and the developing playoff picture.
The Bloggers refuse to dwell on an uninspired performance in Carson, and then discuss how annoying the upcoming draw with Sac Republic will be.
The Bloggers indeed are talkin’ ’bout playoffs! We also consider creative ways to see Roots upcoming match against LA Galaxy 2 for free, and consider potential unorthodox strategies for defending.
The Bloggers muse about recent Roots roster moves, look back at an underwhelming week of results, briefly look ahead to this weekend’s ATL2 match, and take stock of Oakland’s season at the halfway point.
Peter joins the Bloggers from an undisclosed location as RootsBlog’s tussle with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service continues. The Bloggers revel in a successful 7-point week for the Roots, while discussing some of the tweaks to the system the squad has unveiled in recent games. Jacob Young from Down in the Valley joins for … More RootsPod Episode 14: Toros Preview, Part 2
The Bloggers discuss whether Peter’s issues are more directly traceable to his legal education or his Arsenal fandom, get hyped for Oakland’s second clean sheet of the season, and look forward to an opportunity to establish some Golden State supremacy.
The Bloggers recap the Roots’ recent 2-2 draw to OCSC, discuss the changes in attack made with the introduction of new lad Mikael Johnsen, review, at the behest of a loyal listener, the Roots’ inexplicable loss to MBFC Union of Seaside, Calif., look at the keeper situation, and muse on changes they’d like to see … More RootsPod Episode 12: Set Pieces, Goalies, and Playoffs
The Bloggers briefly lament the pending fall of Roe v. Wade, if not all of substantive due process, discuss whether the current project has shown enough promise thus far this year, and try to find reasons for optimism.
The Bloggers discuss Roots’ draw away to El Paso Locomotive, tie up some loose ends regarding pronunciation, and discuss the upcoming run of games that is likely to be critical to Roots’ playoff hopes.
The Bloggers discuss multiple examples of teams named “United” that are not up to par and the proper pronunciation of the name “Edgardo Rito” while reviewing a successful week on the pitch at Laney College Football Field.
Non-Blog life has intruded this week so the Bloggers only have time for a short pod, meaning you get only abbreviated takes about Greenville Triumph, San Diego Loyal, and Loudoun United.