Sports Radio 810 WHB aired a plethora of Sporting Kansas City programming yesterday and today, welcoming three separate guests to chat about the club while also airing Tuesday night's Fan Forum at No Other Pub.
Sporting KC CEO/President Jake Reid visited The Border Patrol on Tuesday morning, play-by-play announcer Nate Bukaty joined Between The Lines later that afternoon, and captain Matt Besler made his weekly appearance on The Border Patrol earlier today. Coupled with the Fan Forum, all three discussions served as an excellent recap of Sporting KC's first two months of 2018 and an exciting look ahead to the rest of the campaign.
As Major League Soccer continues to raise its level of play with a slew of great players joining high-spending squads from abroad, Reid believes Sporting KC is well positioned to remain a consistent winner in an increasingly competitive environment.
"The bar has been set so high when you look at Atlanta (United FC) and LAFC, and all of that is great," Reid said. "But I would tell you that I have no concerns with us keeping up on the player side of it. We've got the best (manager) in the business in Peter Vermes, and our ownership group isn't afraid to make the investment.
"Where Peter and the technical staff should get a lot of credit is finding the guys like Johnny Russell and Felipe Gutierrez who are high-impact guys but maybe don't come with (high) transfer fees. That's not to say that, if we found a guy with the value and fit of what we are looking for, we wouldn't spend that. The ownership is willing to do it if Peter says 'Hey, this is our guy.' So I don't lose a whole lot of sleep about the arms race with the rest of the league."
Bukaty flipped from interviewer to interviewee in a discussion with Between The Lines host Kevin Kietzman, notably assessing the news that mifielder Felipe Gutierrez will miss the next two to three months after recovering from sports hernia surgery. Gutierrez is tied for the team lead with five goals in his debut MLS campaign.
"If (Gutierrez) can return to play by August, you're still looking at having him for the final two months of the regular season and the playoffs, as well," Bukaty said. "So if Sporting Kansas City can continue to produce, you're essentially looking at a mid-summer signing. Felipe Gutierrez was maybe the best player during the first month of the MLS season, so hopefully he has the feel of a mid-summer acquisition who is fresh and ready to go."
Besler's latest cameo on The Border Patrol included a preview of Saturday's game against the Colorado Rapids, where the first 10,000 fans through the gates will receive their very own Matt Besler bobblehead courtesy of match sponsor Mainstreet Credit Union.
Listen to the entirety of all three podcasts below, and click here for the full audio of Tuesday's Sporting KC Fan Forum at No Other Pub.
Tuesday morning: CEO/President Jake Reid on The Border Patrol
Tuesday afternoon: Nate Bukaty talks SKC on Between the Lines
Wednesday morning: Defender Matt Besler on The Border Patrol
