Backheel Master Podcast Feed

On today’s podcast, your hosts Josh Guesman and LA GalaxyInsider Adam Serrano are joined by LA Times Soccer Writer, Kevin Baxter. Together, the guys try to pinpoint some of the reasons for Giovani dos Santo’s poor LA Galaxy performance to date. They’ll talk about his injury issues and about happiness. They’ll also dive into Gio’s positioning, his tendencies as a player, and what the LA Galaxy need to do for him as well as what he needs to do for the team. This is a show that’s dedicated to trying to better understand a player who’s gone through 8 teams in 10 years. And it’s also a player who has the future of an organization firmly planted on his shoulders. Whether fans appreciate Giovani dos Santos for what he is – a bridge player – the fact is that he’s supposed to be the single LA Galaxy designated player who’ll be playing down the road. This is not a short term project. What do you expect from Giovani dos Santos? Do you think he could ever be as great for the LA Galaxy as a Landon Donovan? Is that even a fair comparison? And what happens when Robbie Keane gets healthy? Dos Santos is playing in Keane’s position right now. Is it time for Robbie Keane to bow out to the younger player? It’s an insightful show that might just got to prove how difficult a job Bruce Arena is going to have in the coming weeks and months. Player selection, position selection and injuries could very well be the difference between making the playoffs and winning the Supporters Shield.

Seth, Pablo & Thomas discuss DC United, the weekend's Major League Soccer results before being joined by New York Cosmos COO Erik Stover.

Bradley Wright-Phillips breaks through and New York wins for the first time in a month! Eric and Mark discuss the victory and "that call" before speaking with Red Bulls midfielder Mike Grella. Your emails as well!

On this episode of Corner of the Galaxy your hosts Josh Guesman and Wendy Thomas do their best to get you ready for the LA Galaxy game on Saturday. They'll first dive into the 4-1 win over the Houston Dynamo. Giovani dos Santos and Steven Gerrard played some of their best soccer yet for the LA Galaxy, but was it their best performance since joining the team? And will some surprising stats change your mind about Giovani dos Santos and his play with the LA Galaxy? And really, you couldn't talk about the Houston game without talking about the form they're in. Houston is not good. But does that mean that LA isn't as good as last Friday says they are? Next, LA Galaxy Defender Daniel Steres joins CoG. Dan talks with Josh about growing up an LA Galaxy fan, about his partnership with Jelle Van Damme, and about his growing confidence and how "visualization" is the key to his success. They'll also take a quick look ahead to the weekend as Steres tells you what he expects from Kyle Beckerman and the rest of the Real Salt Lake offense. Finally, Josh and Wendy cruise through some LA Galaxy news, Josh gets called "out of shape," they answer some tweets and they preview the Saturday night matchup with Real Salt Lake. You better get to StubHub early, or at least earlier than Wendy (Golfing, BBQ, Soccer) because we expect there to be an "adjustment period" for the new security screening rules that MLS put into effect over all 20 MLS teams and venues. But the Real Salt Lake game looks be the best test yet for this relatively young LA Galaxy season. RSL comes into StubHub Center undefeated (last remaining MLS team to be undefeated) and is looking to put a stop to the LA Galaxy's momentum.

The Red Bulls drop two more matches out west while trying to right the ship. Orlando visits Red Bull Arena this week, and the SR boys preview the match. Homegrown Alex Muyl makes his Seeing Red debut with a frank interview.

Christian Pulisic and Jordan Morris scored their first professional goals. AMERICA IS SAVED! Also, 28 MLS teams in our near future? Geoff and Alex break down the possibilities. Plus all the scores, yammering, and threats of insolence you've come to expect on the latest Straight Red. #WarOnAlex #Tramp100K

On today's show, your hosts Josh Guesman and LA Galaxy Insider, Adam Serrano are joined by Four Four Two's Scott French (@ScottJFrench) to discuss the LA Galaxy's defense. It's an important conversation to understand what this team will have to deal with when and if all their injured players get healthy. Who's your starting backline? Who do you bench? The guys will discuss AJ DeLaGaraza, Daniel Steres, Robbie Rogers, Jelle Van Damme, Ashley Cole and others as they try and figure out who ends up being left out. Bruce Arena has tough decisions to make and that could include benching a player like AJ DeLaGarza. Is AJ's best position in the center of the backline? Or is it out on the right? And if DeLaGarza is playing at right back then where does Robbie Rogers play? Do you bench Daniel Steres if AJ plays at center back? And who plays better in the right back position? Is it AJ or Rogers? There are endless combinations but who gets the start and who gets the bench is up to you! Along the way your hosts will talk about how squad rotation may start to answer some of these questions. After all, this team is filled with players over the age of 30. And maybe you could find a way to move Rogers into midfield? We want to know what you've decided. Hit us up on twitter and lets us know who gets the bench for you starting backline.

What do you do when you get to bed at 1:15AM on Monday morning after an exhausting LA Galaxy game? You do a special live version of Corner of the Galaxy: From the Box, of course! Our hosts, take your calls on the ugly tackle by LA Galaxy Midfielder Nigel De Jong. How much does his reputation play into it? How much does his past play into his punishment? How many games does Nigel De Jong deserve to be suspended? How do you view the LA Galaxy? Is it their fault? Just the simple question of is Nigel De Jong a dirty player? We try and talk this through reasonably and without a slant towards the team. This is about what actually happened and can we separate the emotion from it? This is an in-depth look at the Nigel De Jong tackle taking your calls and your concerns about the situation. It got so heated over the weekend that you had the LA Galaxy twitter account and the Portland Timbers account trading jabs. And with Nigel gone, the LA Galaxy now face the possibility of being severely shorthanded for their Friday match agains the Houston Dynamo. If it's not injuries, it's suspensions. You can read a full recap of the game here and you can catch a transcript of the Josh's interview with Nigel De Jong here. This show is about emotion and what it this sport does to us. It's a really good show and I'm glad you could join us!

Christian Pulisic and Bobby Wood are tearing up Germany while Nigel de Jong deserved a red and a suspension. No argument here. Meanwhile, whether Alex has a good haircut or not is an entirely different matter. And you will only find out for sure in the next Straight Red. Which happens to be this Straight Red. Lucky you. #WarOnAlex #Tramp100K

Seth, Pablo & Thomas discuss DC United, the weekend's Major League Soccer results & Nigel de Jong's tackle on Darlington Nagbe.

Welcome to today's episode of The Best Soccer Show with Jason Davis and Jared DuBois. Jason & Jared kick off today's show discussing controversy surrounding D.C. United, red cards in MLS & 20 years of Major League Soccer.

It's another 60+ minutes of LA Galaxy talk with your hosts Josh Guesman Cory Ritzau. The guys have planned a completely packed show with your calls and your reactions to Vancouver and of course they'll be looking ahead to the MLS's defending Champs coming to town on Sunday. But it's important to start from the beginning. The guys will really get into the mix of feelings and emotions behind the LA Galaxy's road draw against a shorthanded Vancouver Whitecaps. Missing two starters to injury and having to suffer a red card early the first half somehow Vancouver was able to stop the Galaxy from scoring. But was it because of a sub-par lineup? Was it because LA was missing all three of it's designated players? Or was it simply a lineup problem? Cory and Josh continue some of the discussion that was had on this weeks CoG: From the Box about the LA Galaxy's creativity. Corner of the Galaxy: From the Box - With Dave Denholm (Fox Sports) and Taylor Twellman (ESPN) The show will get you updated on LA Galaxy News and LA Galaxy II's come-from-behind win to keep themselves undefeated. In addition you'll be getting the most up to date injury information that we can gather together. MLS Standings are now something to pay attention to and the Cory will tell you who he thinks are the pretenders and who's underachieving. Will Seattle stay in the basement? Will Portland find a way to right the ship? Finally, the boys will turn their to the game against the Timbers on Sunday. With the Champs in town the LA Galaxy should have no trouble finding motivation. If you remember, the 5-2 win over the LA Galaxy was an important part of Portland's MLS Cup run. So will the Galaxy have enough enough fire power to exorcise the demons? It's another great episode of Corner of the Galaxy and we're glad you could join us!

It's a spectacular new episode of Corner of the Galaxy: From the box. Your hosts Josh Guesman and LA Galaxy Insider Adam Serrano tackle the subject of creativity. It's a word that's tossed around by fans, coaches and pundits alike. But its a word we probably don't define as well as we should. What does it mean to be a creative player and do the LA Galaxy lack such a man on the roster? First, Fox Soccer Play-by-play announcer Dave Denholm (@TalkSoccer) calls in to give us his views on the LA Galaxy. Is it less about creating chances and more about the mentality of the players when they get on the road? Did Bruce Arena construct a team that was always playing for the draw in Vancouver? And who is the most creative player on the field for LA? Or perhaps it's more about positioning and players being played out of where they are comfortable? Regardless it's an excellent discussion on what this 2016 may be lacking. After the break, Josh is joined by ESPN Soccer Analyst Taylor Twellman (@TaylorTwellman). Together they tackle some of the same issues that were brought up in the first segment but do it from the standpoint of Taylor's years of MLS play. They discuss the LA Galaxy's "anemic" offense and what factors into that. Is the jury still out on Giovani dos Santos? Or even Gyasi Zardes? And what about the injuries that have plagued the LA Galaxy so early in the season? Taylor will break it down for you and tell what he sees when watching the LA Galaxy and why creativity isn't about being spectacular. It's a great 30 minutes-plus of LA Galaxy talk. We don't pull any punches. You deserve the truth. And this show gives it to you.

The US Women say they should be paid as much as the US Men and, you know what? Yeah, they should. Alex and Geoff rant why. Plus, last week's MLS games, the Revolution/Red Bulls goal controversy, and why Alex thinks the Cincinnati Reds will win the World Series. All that and more in the latest Straight Red.

Red Bulls GM Marc de Grandpre joins Mark & Eric on a special 250th episode of Seeing Red.