Jeff Carlisle on Futbol Americas (ESPN): "I think what will happen is that Messi will get a hefty fine, which will be...

Early morning on a Manhattan sidewalk, a shooting caught on surveillance video. It was an assassination style killing, and everybody saw it. A new podcast series from ABC Audio in 2020 goes inside this captivating case. I'm ABC News legal analyst Brian Buckmeyer. Listen to burden of proof Luigi Mangione, wherever you get your podcasts. Hello, hello, everyone. Welcome, welcome to a fresh edition of Football America. I'm Alexis Eunice alongside the one and only Shaka. Hey, South, we've also got our Jeff Carlisle standing by because we've got plenty to talk about today from MLS action to the Premier League. It was the eve before the start of the Premier League season. And lots of US men's national team players have a thing or two to prove. Plus some bad news for one big man up front. We will be talking about that and the US team is heading over to join Chris Richards at Crystal Palace. An exciting time for the youngster will be looking at that later on. But first, like I said, a lot's been going on in MLS. And what's going on with Inter Miami? We've got to start there and talk about them because they went in action against Philadelphia Union recently. But this was their record heading into it. A three game losing streak and conceding nine goals. What is going on there? Well, let's see how they did against Philly Union because Philly Union, of course, have had their fair share of troubles. But when you got that man that we just saw Lionel Messi maybe into Miami would find things in their favor. 11 minutes in though, it's Philly Union that take the lead. It's fast at level, they finish as much as you had Lionel Messi. You can't defend. I have no idea where the Inter Miami defense was. Nice finish, nice cross. That's going to be something we're going to be talking about. But 21st minute, they find an equalizer. Yeah, and this is Lionel Messi. They've clipped ball into Lewis Suarez. Very good header back across the face of goal. Tapping for Pinter. Tapping for Pinter indeed. 26 minute things finally go into Miami's way. And of course, it's that man Lionel Messi and good to see a smile back on his face. Really is. Just drifted inside. Doesn't need much room to operate. Just wait for the fitness to commit. Finds it back and do that. Well, Inter Miami enjoyed that lead up until this moment. Nice free kick here from Pierre. It's Pierre with the diving header who goes in where it will hurt. Good header, good goal. Good header, good goal. 61st minute now, a free kick into the box. The header is saved, but a rebound is scored. However, VAR would get involved and rule out the goal for off-site, Shaka. Should it? Well, I can only assume it's much earlier than they play. And that replay would suggest. Because otherwise, that will look on side all the way. If you're a Philly Union fan, you're absolutely seething at that 69th minute. Messi with a through ball to Pinter, but he can't find the finish. It's excellent goalkeeping. But what's about to pass from the other Messi? 78th minute, Philadelphia on the break. Here, the ball gets played to Kevin Sullivan, but he puts it wide. And he knows he blew up very vital chance there. He's stuck the ball running across his body. She has a little bit too much. And here's where things start to get ugly in injury time. As a big scuffle erupts between Kevin Sullivan and Yannick Bright. And it eventually leads to both of them, Shaka being shown red. And it actually started with Kevin's brother, Quinn, who was involved in the Teta Teta as well with Messi. But then, that was a pretty nice take down though. We don't applaud this behavior, Shaka, but you know what? Some good form there. All right. Well, eventually both of them saw red and inter Miami blowing yet another lead and a lot of questions to be asked about them in this one. So this brings us to our calm or alarm. For Miami now, win less in force straight across all competitions. Jeff, let me start with you first. What is going on with the defending MLS Cup champions? Well, I mean, you look at their goals foreign goals against and the goals against jump out at you. I mean, 38 so far that's 12 out of 15 teams in the Eastern Conference. But I think if you look deeper, you realize that the inter Miami has had a lot of injury problems. You know, they're missing Mikael in the back. They just got Sergio Reggi on back in the lineup, you know, in the last game. But they're missing Bertorame, Silvetti, A Yende. So I mean, that's a lot of talent that they're being forced to do without. And obviously, Messi's been gone for, you know, as he came back from the World Cup. So listen, I'm still calm when it comes to inter Miami. There's a lot of time left. There's a lot of games left. You'll see, you know, how well they do, you know, down the stretch. But I think if they can get healthy, if they can get some of these guys back and find a little bit of consistency in terms of the lineup in the back. I mean, they've been chopping and changing. And then there's the lack of clarity and goal. You've got Rocco Rios-Novo. And then, you know, Dan St. Clair. I mean, who is it? I mean, I just think that at some point you've got to decide on one guy who's going to be, you know, the goalkeeper that you start with and then build from there. So I think Miami are lacking a little bit of stability right now. A little bit of consistency. But I think there's still time to get that back. Check out Is there a time to get that back? What would you say to kind of steady that shift right now, especially with what Jeff is saying? Of course, when you're into Miami has always looked good in the attack. But defensively now, that is letting them down. And you see that play out in front of your eyes in real time. To Jeff's point, a lot of injuries for them to deal with. And you hope they come back before the playoff start in earnest. Right now, and I think the little message just continues to get better. After he woke up, after the family disruptions, he's back and settled and looking good yet again. We know how good a player he is. That is not at all up for question. As far as caramel alarm goes, I'm still on the calmside. But with each week, with each game of conceding multiple goals, it just started starts to edge towards that alarm. But I'm not pressing the panic button just yet. Well, as we said, Jeff, it has been a bit of a summer of heartbreaks for Leonel Messi, both personally and on the pitch for looking at the World Cup final. Now that he's back, of course, he's assisting again. He's scoring again. You expect him to do that, especially at this level. But how does Messi look to you? Does he look back to 100 percent? I think he's still working his way back. Not just physically, but mentally. Obviously, this is a guy who's been through a lot of late, losing his father. That's just extremely difficult to cope with for anybody. Much less, guys expect it to perform week in, week out. I think there's time. I think he's gradually working his way back. Obviously, he's still able to weave his magic on the field. But again, I think even before the passing of his father, the World Cup takes a lot out of players. It's a huge moment in their careers. It's something that they've been planning for all their lives. Even if a guy like Messi has won it before, it's still a huge, huge part of his career and something that he's been planning for. So I think there's still time for him to kind of not only get back physically, but kind of get back emotionally and get a little more centered as the lead heads into a lot of stages. Yeah, of course. You know, Messi definitely a vital part of this Inter Miami team. And pretty much everything that they are trying to accomplish yet again. But let's talk about what we saw, the ugly scenes that we saw towards the end of the game now, that little kerfuffle we should save. And though we were plotting the takedown, it was a pretty nice one. But this is what it actually stemmed from. Because it wasn't incident prior to what we saw in the highlights where Messi had a bit of this heated exchange with Quinn Sullivan, the brother of Kevin Sullivan, he's now at the center of this controversial incident because you can see hands were put in places they probably should not have been put. And now we are hearing that the MLS disciplinary committee is considering possible punishment for the Argentine before we do get to that. Though, Shaka, your thoughts on what we saw there, because that eventually led to what we saw between Yannick Bright and Kevin Sullivan, who probably was just defending his brother. Yeah, I know it's not. It was a whole credit to come Sullivan for steaming as he did in support of his own brother. But then that is not necessarily just a brother thing. That's about teammates, starting off each other into Miami, do it as well as anybody. I will say this. On the face of it, I didn't make an awful lot of Messi's kind of extending of the arm. I can freeze it a whole lot worse than that. Or indeed, his reaction. Maybe it's kind of reflective of the times that I come from, but I think at best those two things, those two are yellow card each and probably no more. I will also add, which we didn't see far gone, and a couple of occasions during the course of this game. His reactions on the end of a couple of heavy challenges. I thought we're as exaggerated as you could hope to see. Now, had Quinn Sullivan done as Falcon had done on those couple of occasions, we could be having a very different conversation about Leon and Messi. If Sullivan sells it in a similar way, because then the defense is, well, there was a hand to the face, and there was a reaction. And now you have a very different conversation. But as it played out, Sullivan stayed up, kind of approached Leon and Messi, and it just kind of peed it out, in my opinion. Peed it out from there. I'd best a yellow card for both, and let's just keep playing. Jeff, what do you think? You think just yellow card for both are keep playing, or do you think Messi probably should face any more disciplinary action? Well, listen, I've seen red cards handed out for less. And any time you've got hands to the face, you are tempting the refereeing fates, if you will. Obviously, in this situation, the referee opted not to sanction either player. I think what will happen is that Messi will get a hefty fine, which will be no bother to him at all because it will be a rounding error. I was about to ask, can you afford it? You know, I think it's unseemly. I mean, the world's greatest player does not need to be doing that. And he's getting away with it because he probably knows that he can. But I would not be opposed to him getting a suspension, but I think what will end up happening is he'll get a hefty fine, and then they'll move on. Yeah, what we saw that was pretty much the catalyst to what was the eventual scuffle that we saw at the end, which did lead to two sending offs there. But let's hear now from the union's interim manager, Ran Richter, on what he thought of the whole situation. Yeah, I thought the action that kicked off that whole situation in scrum was the real lack of respect from Frey. When he comes over on top of Quinn, goes out as a way to do this, and you can look at the action for yourself. But so Quinn's reaction is totally normal of what you would do in that situation. But it's a real lack of respect, and things like that happen when people behave like that on the field. Well, when I look at it, I didn't see Kevin's reaction as a red card. He grabs a guy's shirt and gets punched in the head twice. But when we're on the field, we have to stand up for each other. We have to, you know, it's funny when it's brother standing up for each other. I'm sure their dad is the one that told him you never let something like this go. But as a team, we have to always stand up for each other. And yeah, not go across the line where it's, you know, you're getting suspended for games and you're getting red cards. But that wasn't the case in this one. So hopefully we can review that and, you know, get what I think is the fair outcome from it. Now Ryan Richter calling out Jamaican International in Frey there. We're very peaceful people. Let me just say that. Shaka, you would know that first hand. But Shaka, would you make a vote? Ryan Richter had to say about that one. It is actually Kevin Sullivan's first career red card. And when you look at the footage, was it deserving of it? Often times you see the reaction be punished in any way that it is. It's kind of given how everything, everything played out. And how many players then got involved. You felt at some point, won't you see that many players in that he did an exchange in that close proximity. Somebody's going to get sent off. And Kevin Sullivan, because he kind of runs into the crowd. And then this exchange. And I think the coach is right. He gets the worst of it. He grabs the shit. He's polished a couple of times. So there's no question about that red card. But from the time Kevin Sullivan comes running in, from a distance of the way he did, you felt he would be the union player who would be punished. Yeah, and he just saw things continue to get a little heated there in the tunnel. Jeff, what did you make of what Ryan Rick to have to say on, of course, or Shaka just had to say? Well, I think Ryan Richter has not been head coach for very long. But I thought he was very adept in the way that he approached that situation in the post game press conference. You know, he stood up for his guys. He walked right up to the line, I think, of, you know, inflaming things a little bit, but then he backed off. So, you know, I thought that was, you know, pretty astute. Post game press conference giving by Ryan Richter. You know, obviously, things have turned around for Philly. You know, he deserves a lot of credit. And we'll see, you know, what steps these guys, or this team is able to make as they head down into the home stretch here. Yeah, Jeff, let me stick with you because you just hit the nail on the head too. As I said, Philadelphia Union definitely have had their fair share of troubles as well. And one of the best headlines for them has been everything that Kevin Sullivan has been doing for them. He has been absolutely thriving there this season. So, it leads me to ask you now just how close is he to being ready to be on Mauricio Pochettino's radar, especially with the international window coming up in September and October? Well, I think he's definitely on Pochettino's radar. I still feel like it's a little early to call him up, you know, for this upcoming window. Listen, I think Sullivan has taken some, some fantastic strides this season. Obviously, there's a tremendous amount of hype around him, you know, signing pro contract at the age that he did. He's still only 16. He's pegged to go to Man City. A lot of expectations. And I think he's taken some really good steps in this campaign to prove that he deserves those accolades. I just like to see him do it for a little bit longer period. And then, you know, go full bore and bring him into the full national team. I think the thing that he has going in his favor is that this next window is going to have four games. So, I doubt that Pochettino is going to use, you know, the same lineup or the same core of players for every single match. I think he's going to chop and change. It wouldn't surprise me to see him have like an expanded roster of more than 26 players. Just to give some new guys a chance to get a look at them up close, maybe see what they can do in a game and then take it from there. So, I like what I've seen from Calvin Sullivan. I still want to see a little bit more. Just for a little bit longer period of time. And then, given that call up. Marty, see Pochettino with extended rosters, chopping and changing. What? Never. But let me go to another level senior head here on football America. Shaka, we're talking about a youngster, 16 years old. Of course, a lot of now, a lot is now expected of him, especially with that contract with Manchester City, that he said to go when he's 18. But when you see him playing like this and having him turn things around for Philadelphia Union, you're tempted to just throw him in the deep end now. Do you want to see him get that chance? Absolutely. Yeah. If I were Moorish Pochettino or I were advising Moorish Pochettino, I'd have Calvin Sullivan with squad. I think with all questions. And it's less a key self. Is Calvin Sullivan the player right now to come into my starting 11 and make that impact immediately if we have a significant international or tournament to play next month? You don't. I think right now you are thinking, as the men's national team coach, you have to think for your cycles. Who will be in that squad? Who do you expect to be in that squad come 2030? I don't think there's any question that Calvin Sullivan will be in the US squad, come 2030. So why not have him in no? Even in a window like this, as Jeff says, multiple friendlies that you have to manage, you will be using a deeper squad than you normally would for most international windows. This is a perfect opportunity for soft launch, but with Calvin Sullivan. And again, it's less about what happens in September as opposed to what happens in June and July. 2030. 2030. You know how old he'll be turning 20 years old. How old will we be? How old will you be, Shaq? I will be 20. Oh my days to have youth on their side. It is a beautiful thing. But despite all our ages, we're still charting out multiple shows here at ESPN, just a reminder that ESPNMC, a fresh episode, dropped today. Shaq and his suppos on it, giving his very early, primarily predictions, make sure to catch it all the time, seven days a week. Let's talk some Christian, a policy showy. Look at him. All smiles in D because he has returned to training at AC Milan for the first time since his World Cup injury. You remember that his World Cup was pretty much marked by injuries. It definitely limited his time in some events. Let's talk some Christian, a policy showy. Look at him. All smiles in D because he has returned to training at AC Milan for the first time since his World Cup injury. You remember that his World Cup was pretty much marked by injuries. It definitely limited his time in some important games. He came off in the second half of what was the game that they lost to Belgium after he picked up yet another knock. But it's August 20th now, and he's only just returning to training with the season opener just around the corner. So something, nothing or everything. Should I sound some alarm bells, Shaq? Nothing in my opinion. Okay. I mean, dramatic, as usual. Well, yep. I'm not sure how they responded that, but for me, nothing in that, it's a World Cup year. Just come to the World Cup, and while the U.S. got knocked out because of the final stages, they've been offered some time. There are many teams, there are many players who are yet to clear a ball, even in their season openers. Right here on ESPN, we covered our political Madrid. Yesterday, a number of their players are able to start because Spain got to the World Cup final and the agreement between FIFA and the players unions meant that they were still on holiday. So in much the same way, I do not panic over those players, not yet being able to feature in their first team squads. I'm not panicked about Christian Policic, and only just coming back into training. I think that's kind of expected attempts. Jeff, what about you? Something, nothing or everything. The fact that he is just coming back to training. And the fact that also AC Milan have had a couple of new signings as well that could provide extra competition for him this season. Yeah, for me, it's nothing as well. I think Policics recovery from the injury that he sustained against Belgium. It's in the timeline that I think was projected in terms of his recovery. So again, if you had had a setback, if he had still not able to train, then maybe you start to worry a little bit. But you're talking about a player who has done the business for AC Milan for a few years now. And so these respected, they know what they're going to get. He's established. So I think it's just a matter of time before he gets back into the lineup. You know, Diego Marrera is now in the team. You know, they got him, I think for 70 million. But again, I think, you know, Policics has, you know, they know what they're going to get from him. And he's been an important player for them in the past. So if it takes a little bit longer to get him into the lineup this year, so be it. But again, I think given the World Cup, given that he was injured quite a bit during the World Cup. And especially at the end, I think this is all part of the normal process. It won't be long until we see him back in the Milan lineup. What do you want to see from Christian Policic this season? Of course, later on, we're going to be talking about US players in the Premier League and how much they need to prove. What about Christian Policic now in the city? I'd like to see him regain the form that we saw over a couple of seasons ago. Where I think Christian Policic not only established himself as AC Milan's most valuable asset, but one of Syria's most valuable assets. And it just feels like such a long time ago because of AC Milan struggles as a team. Because of Christian Policic struggles as a player in that team. And while a lot of the focus was on the workup and the injuries and so much of all of last year, Christian Policic would prefer, or all of the last 12 months, Christian Policic would prefer to forget missing of the Copa America to rest up, to an injury-plague season, to 2026, that did he score in the second half of the season? Those are things that Christian Policic need to put behind him, rediscover who he was when he first arrived in Syria, those first two seasons, where he was simply outstanding. That's the Christian Policic. I think everybody wants to see not just for the US men's national team, but particularly for the red half of Milan. Jeff, can you still do it? Yeah, he can still do it. But what I want to see from Christian Policic is health. Yeah. You know, he got off to that fantastic start at the start of the last campaign in Syria. And everything looked great, and then he got hurt on international duty, and things kind of unraveled from there. But I think if he can stay healthy, and that's a big if, admittedly, then I think we will see the best of Christian Policic. But he's got to be available to play. And unfortunately, I think the injuries, but then also the team around him towards the back half of the season did not do him any favors either. So hopefully with Gonzalo Ramos and Diego Morera, I mentioned, hopefully having those two additions will give the manager some more options in attack, and a little bit more diversity in attack, so that teams can't just clamp down on Emerson Liao or Christian Policic. So yeah, I think health is going to be the key for him. 100%. All right, well, this is just time to remind you guys that there's plenty more football coming your way over on our network specifically. In end of U.S.L. action in Washington, spirit up against your Lando pride that Sunday 4 p.m. Eastern time and you can find that game on ESPN 2. Right, well, as I said, it's an exciting time for this young man. 19-year-old Xavier Goso has officially completed his five-year move to Crystal Palace from Real Salt Lake worth $15 million now. He managed to do this all while despite not making the U.S. men's national team World Cup roster. Exciting time for the 19-year-olds, so let's hear from him now. How excited, how happy are you to be here? Yeah, I'm really excited, I think, to play in the Premier League is a dream of any footballer, so yeah, extremely excited. What makes Crystal Palace the right club for you this moment in your career? I think just the people and the project they have going here and I really am interested in what they can do for me and how they can develop me and obviously get where I want to be and obviously just the people and the club environment is top, so. Three trophies in 13 months, how much from afar have you seen of that and how excited does it make you to be sitting here today? Obviously, I have a little bit more of a magnified look at Crystal Palace because Chris is here and obviously in the U.S. There's so much news about that and so yeah, I've seen a lot of it and then obviously that's what excites me about this club as well. It's just a success recently that we've had, so. How would you describe yourself to the supporters? I would describe myself as a dynamic player, I'd like to run in behind, I'd like to, you know, run with the ball and dribble and shoot and score goals. All right, well like I said, exciting times indeed for Xavier Ghost. So here's a look at his bio blast because yet another American they're going to join up with Chris Richards. But Jeff, just the overall deal and how significant this is for MLS. Yeah, this is a real proof of concept for MLS because Xavier Gozo was was brought into the Real Salt Lake Academy. You know, he did his apprenticeship with the second team, Real Monarchs. And so, you know, and then he obviously was able to break into the first team and really excel and really show what he could do. And along the way, he's obviously excelling for the US U-20 national team at the U-20 World Cup, scoring against France. So, you know, this is, this is what MLS has been trying to tout about the league all along, that they are able to find players, develop them, and then move them on to bigger and more prominent leagues. I mean, obviously, you know, the league wants to hang on to some of those players, they don't want them all to go. But I think in Gozo's case, you know, he's over-talented, really going to be exciting going forward. I mean, the only thing that I worry about is if Palace struggle is, you know, how much playing time is he actually going to get? Because the impulse of just about any manager on the planet is going to be to go with wise old heads veteran guys who have been through the battles and can, you know, help the team get through a relegation dogfight. They tend not to rely on young players, but I think overall for Gozo, it's a great move. And I think for MLS, it really shows, you know, teams around the world, but also within the league itself, how it can be done, and how the academy system can pay off. Yeah, exactly, Jeff, because as we were saying, it feels like a bit of an unstable time for Christophe Palace, because a lot of the success that we saw for them came under Oliver Glazner, came while they still had players like Eberice Eze, Mark Gahey. Of course, he does have Chris Richards there and that he spoke about can give him that stability. But what kind of trajectory do you see for him at Palace? Well, I mean, I think initially it's going to be a little bit of an acclimatization process. I mean, he's going to be living in a foreign country, granted English to spoken. But, you know, culturally it's going to be very different. He's going to be under a microscope. Maybe not as much of one if he were at one of the bigger clubs, but obviously, Crystal Palace has made a name for itself over the last 13 months. And so a lot more is going to be expected of him. But I think if he's given time to develop and to grow and to get used to the soccer culture over in England and in the Premier League, I think he can really shine. But it's, you know, it's progress is definitely going to not be linear. It's going to be of the sawtooth variety. So I think some patients is needed to see, you know, how he adjusts not only to to living abroad, but also to playing in an extremely competitive league. I love how Jeff said, at least he's in England where English is spoken until you go up to Mersey side or Jordy's and hear them talking. So, are you thinking the same English? I'm speaking to Shaka. You know that very, very well. All right. But speaking about this youngster now at Shaka, like I said, it's an exciting time indeed for him. But Crystal Palace now have gone through a lot of changes. They're competing on different fronts right now. The domestic competitions will now. They're also in the European League after winning the conference league as well. So how does he deal with this pressure, especially the pressure of that price tag? Well, first of all, the price tag isn't that high. At 15 million euros. Not his doing. So he doesn't have to live up to any kind of expectation. 15 million in today's game or today's prices is a calculated gamble. I think this is a really good gamble by Crystal Palace. Sydney at that price, the upside to Tazavi Egozo. If he does well, if they bring him on, they'll see an exponential return on that. So I don't have any issue with that at all. But I'm with Jeff on this. I think this is a longer-term project as far as Crystal Palace are concerned. So realistic minutes, not right now or maybe in the league. No, no, no. Not at all necessarily right now. Okay. Maybe even look at setting up a loan to a club at a lower division, something we saw just to acclimatize to the expectations around English football, to understand the footballing culture in England, and then look at long-term returns. So often you see younger players. That's where they start, where it's signing with bigger clubs, going out and loan, getting those minutes, and then coming back and contributing meaningfully. I like this signing for both Crystal Palace and Zavi Egozo equally. Jeff, what do you think about that? Do you think possibly maybe a loan deal in his near future would be good or how many minutes do you realistically see him getting? At least this season for Palace, they do have a lot of competitions, or do you mainly see him in the domestic ones like the league cup as well as FA Cup? Yeah, I think it's the latter. I mean, but we'll have to see what kind of situation Palace finds themselves in. I mean, I think a loan in the right environment would do well. But we've seen plenty of instances where those loans can go sideways, where the manager wasn't consulted, or the fit is just all wrong. So I think when it comes to a loan, you have to be careful about where you end up sending a player like Zavi Egozo. But I think the league cup, FA Cup, I mean, I think those are perfect opportunities. If he stays with Palace, it's again, get some minutes, get his feel for the club, for his teammates, and the league at large. So, you know, I think there's lots of directions that this could go. But again, I think those cup competitions are an ideal proving ground for him. Jack wants to see him go on loan somewhere in the championship and on a little scrap or two. Kevin Sullivan's ready for a scrap? Look at that. Well, the question time is a good fit for both of them. Oh, Shankar. No, we won't do that for this. He just signed for a Premier League team. All right. Let's try to see. Check out Gone Are the Glory Days of Wisdom. Let it go. Let it go. It's fine. All right. Well, just to remind you, one of our other shows has dropped another episode. Today, the Gabb and Jules Show, make sure to check it out wherever you get your podcasts. Don't quite get there, but Chris Richards bailed him out. Good defensive positioning awareness from Chris Richards there. Brendan Aronson with a chance. And he scored again. American Aronson. You have stayed. You have stayed. Robinson scores as cool as you like. Adji Wright strikes again. Well, plenty of Americans have graced a Premier League and we were looking forward to seeing this man. Adji Wright of Coventry City playing in the Premier League. But now they have been dealt a big blow as Frank Lampard has confirmed that Adji Wright could be out for up to 12 weeks with a quad injury. Now, this is the eve before the Premier League starts and Frank Lampard confirmed that he will have no part to play in what will be Coventry's first match in the top flight in 25 years against the defending champions Arsenal. So worrying stuff there for Adji Wright, because now it means he's already behind the eight ball. Shaka, he's going to have a lot of catching up to do and probably a lot to prove, especially to a certain Mauricio Pochettino if he wants to be the big man there up front. And just on that same vein, I want to know, Shaka, which other U.S. men's national team players in the Premier League have a lot to prove. I want you to rank them from who you feel has the least amount to prove in the Premier League this season straight to who has the most to prove. You got seven positions here, seven players, let me know what you think. Starting with who you think has the least to prove. Number seven is quite easy for me. Gozo, only 19 years old, just joined Crystal Palace. This is just a betting in season at best for him as he gets used to. Life in Europe, I think this is a longer term project. This season, nothing to prove at all. In a number six, I will deem in downs, not sure he can make this great. And wow, he may want to take this season to prove himself, to Southampton, to European football. I don't think there's much expected of him. And as a result, I don't think he has an awful lot to prove in that regard. In a number five, the reason being, I go to Tyler Adams. Okay. I think because he has proven all he needs to, not honesty. Despite the injuries, I think we know exactly how good of Tyler Adams is. That is not for any kind of question. So as a result, I don't see this as him having to prove anything at this point. He's proved all he can, all he has to. If he can just get those injuries under control, I think a bigger move is on the cards. That for me, again, in no real doubt. Similarly, for Switchers. Yep. For all the same reasons. It's proven all he needs to, for Crystal Palace, in the U.S. men's national team shoot. We know how good a defender he is. And as a result, I don't think there's anything to prove or disprove for Crystal Jones at this point. Now we're into the top three. Now we're into the top three. Where there's a lot of pressure. There is. There is. There is a whole lot more pressure on these three. There's a big gap between three and four. Yes. Far bigger than there is between four and seven. End of number three. I got you right. Okay. Newly promoted Coventry City. A big ask for Coventry. A big ask for Haji Wright. Hassan himself behind Flo Balagan. Rightly show for the U.S. men's national team. Yeah. A big season in the Premier League for Coventry. I think puts him back in the reckoning. I think very least. But big season for Haji Wright. Number two. Jedi Robinson. Yay. No. I've at his best. I felt Jedi was one of the best ringbacks in European football. Slash. World football. Bad injury. Struggled to come back from it. Has not regained his pre-injury form. I would love to see him be back there and be spoken about again. Rightly show. A lot of big clubs wanted him to. A lot of big clubs. A lot of big clubs. Manchester United. And rightly show. A big amount of Manchester United. Right, Jack? I'm not sure how we got there. Yeah. Both. I'll listen. Again. Pre-injury. Yeah. I absolutely loved everything about Anthony Robinson. I would love to see him back there. This is a big season. For him to show that those injuries are beyond him. He's either back to or very close to being back to his best. And that is a darn good wingback. Number one. For the most pressure now. The most to prove in the Premier League. Brendan Aronson. Underforker. Regular starter. Last season for Leeds. They survived. Sophomore season. So to speak for Leeds in the Premier League. I want to see him establish himself as that alternate midfielder. That Mauritius Pochettino. I'm counting in much of the same with Daniel Fowler. I'm counting on him all of last season and almost certainly will. This season. Look at Brendan Aronson. Part of Mauritius Pochettino squad. Only featured against Turkey in the World Cup. Four years ago, albeit coming off the bench. I think I'm right to say he came off the bench in four games in 2022. That's a regression if you ask me. And so as a player playing for Leeds in the Premier League. I think this is a big season for him to be seen more regularly as a starter. As opposed to a rotation player for Mauritius Pochettino. Heavy is the head who wears a crown. And Brendan Aronson is the man that will be wearing the crown according to Shaka Hislop of who has the most to prove in the Premier League this season. Now we're going to bring in Jeff Karla. Quickly before we do. You know I got a lot of love for my boy Chris Richards. Someone told that we forgot to let her in his name Chris. Don't take it badly. We love you. We know it's not Chris Richards. This is Chris Richards. All right. But either way, Chris Richards is definitely not that much to prove in the Premier League this season. As Shaka said, Jeff. But let me start with what you think of his choice of Brendan Aronson in being the U.S. Men's national team player with the most to prove this season. Yeah, I would disagree. I would have two or three guys ahead of Brendan Aronson in terms of having the most to prove. I think if we were having this conversation a year ago. Then I would have Brendan Aronson much higher up on this list. But I think he had a solid season. I think he proved his worth to lead United. Certainly he wants to build on that performance. He wants to build on that campaign. But I would have him probably fourth. In terms of who I would have top. I think I would have Haji Wright. I mean, this is a guy who's been doing the business and the championship. But the Premier League is a completely different animal as we've all seen. And so, you know, I think he had to prove or needed to prove that he is a Premier League player. That he can excel at that level. I mean, I think it's one thing to get the goals in the championship. But it's another thing to do it in the Premier League. And then for number two, I would have Chris Richards actually. Now, this isn't to say that Richards is improving. He's definitely a proven Premier League player. But I think the responsibilities on Richards this season are going to be a lot greater. You look at the players that Crystal Palace has lost. Massons Laquois, Marc Guihi. You know, Chris Richards is going to be counted on to really lend a lot of experience to that back line. And be the guy that they rely on. And, you know, I'm seeing some predictions where Crystal Palace is being pegged to be at a relegation battle. And so, again, I think they're going to rely on Chris Richards very heavily to kind of steer them through this campaign. And as they try to retrench and get used to some of the players that they lost. And then also, I would agree that that Anthony Robinson deserves to be, I would say, in the top three. It just seemed like last campaign, you know, Foam never quite saw the best of him. Again, he was dealing with a serious knee injury. You know, there were ups and downs on the recovery and his rehabilitation. You know, he was eventually able to make it back. But, you know, he was never quite the pegged in starter last year that he had been prior. So, obviously, he's got tremendous skill, can get up and down the flank, delivers some really solid crosses. You know, I think one or two years ago, he was, you know, had the most assists of any defender, I think, in the Premier League. So, you know, he's got the talent. He's got the ability. Again, it's will his body kind of let him be that player that he was, you know, a couple of years back. All right. Well, Shaq, did you like that? Do you like how Jeff went after your list? Yeah. Well, don't worry, because we're going to give you a chance now to go after one of Jeff's list. Jeff's list, because this Friday, over on ESPN.com, our Jeff Carlell has been ranking the U.S. men's national team players who have had the best Premier League careers. There have been quite a few of them, and we're going to have a look at the list right now, starting with number one to number five. And Jeff, I think Shaq, I may like this, though, that you have Brad Friedel as number one. Yeah, I mean, you look at Friedel's career, 310 consecutive starts in the Premier League. That span lasted eight years. That speaks to just an incredible amount of durability, longevity, and being able to compete at the highest level. It's staggering to think that he lasted that long. You know, he was able to lead Blackburn Rovers to a trophy, you know, the lead cup. And so, you just look at the clubs that he played for. You look at the highs that he was able to achieve in the game. And just be able to stay at that top level for so long. It's just massive. And it's really incredible when he was able to do. Certainly, I think he helped himself by retiring from the U.S. men's national team when he did. You know, after the 2002 World Cup, I think that allowed him to stay and focus on his club performances. And that, I think, extended his career, but just an amazing performance by him. And then you've got Clint Dempsey, who I think definitely wears a crown for the most successful American outfield player. You know, he was able to really just prove himself again and again and again. You know, he always seemed like whenever a full him got a new manager, he was the first guy to be sent to the bench. And then he would fight his way back, claw his way back and get back on the field and really deliver the good for full him. You know, one year he was, you know, he had the fourth most goals in the Premier League with 17. He helped him get to the Europa League final one season. You know, and he really, I think, set a standard for American players, you know, going overseas, fighting their way through, not just giving up at the first obstacle. And just a fantastic player for full him and for the U.S. men's national team as well. I love how Jeff said Clint Dempsey, of course, no matter if he would drop to the bench, he would almost just claw his way back. It's almost like he's got that dog in him, you know. I just had, I had to get that in. But one thing I do have to bring up, of course, though, because this is football America's Jeff. And you know, we're all friends on this show. We're friends with our boy, Casey Keller. But we see that you have ranked Tim Howard over him. Explain yourself because Casey's on the show on Monday, and we're going to show him this, Jeff. I think Tim Howard did it for longer, you know, in the Premier League. I mean, I'm really focusing on Premier League performances in Premier League 10 years. I think Casey had, you know, 200 or so Premier League appearances during his time with the likes of Lester, with Fullham, with Tottenham. And Tim Howard was able to do it for longer. You know, obviously he started out with Manchester United. But then he had a really amazing tenure with Everton. He was just a constant presence. And I think he had well over 300 appearances, you know, with Everton. And so he was able to just kind of stick it out in the Premier League for longer than Casey Keller did. Now, obviously Casey took some side trips to the Bundesliga to La Liga. Yep. So I wasn't like he was sitting on the beach doing nothing. But if we're just focusing on the Premier League, I have to give Tim Howard the nod. Casey loved those side trips. He's basically half German, half Spanish now as well. All right. Well, let's have a look now at the rest of that list, Jeff. You can walk us through who you've got at 6-11 now. Yeah. I mean, at number six, I've got Chris Richards. I'm sure people are wondering where is Christian Policic on this list. He's seven. But again, I'm just focusing on the Premier League. And I think that Richards has been a more consistent presence. He's done more to establish himself in his club. Listen, Policic had some amazing moments. Obviously, when you're winning the Champions League with Chelsea was one of those. But it just felt like every time he got some momentum in his career with Chelsea, he would get injured. Or he would be sideline or they'd prefer somebody else. You know, he had, I think, 98 appearances in the Premier League. 58 of those were starts. I mean, he was coming off the bench quite a bit. And I just think that Chris Richards, you know, has been a more consistent presence. And he's been able to win trophies with Crystal Palace as well. You know, three of them, which are the first trophies in Crystal Palace's history. So I think to be able to do that with the more modest club than Chelsea, you know, that's why I have Chris Richards a little bit further ahead. All right. Now we can let in our Shaka Hislop to have a go at that list. But Shaka, from one to five, I don't know if you're going to have an issue there, because Jeff included not one, not even two, but three goalkeepers, especially over Clint Demsie, has honestly a cult hero as well for the USA in terms of the Premier League. So I've got no argument about the three goalkeepers sitting there being the top five. Yes. I think I can make an argument for Tim Howard to be ahead of Clint Demsie. Really? So goalkeeper one and two. It's Tim Howard's consistency in an evidence sheet is not to be discontent. And I think as much as you applaud, you applaud Clint Demsie for cloning his way and keeping cloning his way back into, say, any full-arm reckoning, Tim Howard was an absolute constant for Everton. That was never in doubt. And I reward that consistency a little bit more. From a brand-free perspective, no question about number one. Not just for that ridiculously long run that he had, which I think is still a record in terms of consecutive games. Let's remember, it was Brad Friedle who was supposed to be number one when they signed Hewlett-Lorries. And Hewlett-Lorries could not get in. I had a Brad Friedle for an awfully long time. That spoke to, again, Brad's consistency, his talent, even at the latter stages of his career. And for these two quickly. Yeah. Chris Richards of a Christian Policic? Yeah. I gave Chris Richards of a Christian Policic as a Champions League title. I gave Chris Richards of a Christian Policic. Okay. I want to point to my boy, John Hawksow. Oh, I knew you were going to go there, though. I forgot to point to me. Chris Richards, be a role. So talk about why you prefer Chris Richards of a Christian Policic. Despite Policic having that Champions League. Again, I think Chris Richards in Policic inconsistent for Chelsea. And it was, it just never seemed settled in his defense. I've never got a decent run to really show his qualities in the Premier League. For Chris Richards, though, establishments of a Christian Policist goes on this historic run where Chris Richards went first at a server where in their history, going in when a European trophy, first time in their history. And Chris Richards was not just a part of that. He was a very important pillar to those successes. So I gave Chris Richards over, over, over Christian Policic. No, no, no question for me around that. John Hawks, Chevy Wednesday and West Ham. Oh, where West Ham now, Jacques? When we talking about John Hawks' West Ham. Carry on, the floor is yours. That's the issue. Playing for smaller clubs, I think. It's easy to forget how good, how groundbreaking John Hawks was. In so many ways, being, I want to say, well, certainly one of the early Americans to make any kind of a significant splash in the Premier League, but my boy, John, much further. I'll have John Hawks up at eight. That's eight. I'll have him up at eight. Who, by the way, I'll have another friend of the show. There you go. All right. John Hawks, justice for John Hawks. Well, everybody can have a look at this full list. It drops tomorrow over on ESPN.com. With more details as to why Jeff picked them. How we picked them, Jeff Carlyle. Thank you so much. I'm sure Jacques wasn't too harsh on your list, but he does say justice for John Hawks. Uh-huh. Well, watch that, bias. All right. Well, don't forget La Liga is back on. And the big boys are in action. This weekend, Real Madrid, in their first game under Jose Mourinho of this new season against Espanyol. And then Elcha will be hosting the Champions Barcelona. Both games at 3.30pm Eastern time. And you can catch it on ABC and ESPN. The port this. Deca-strophic. Delogged. Royale. Witches. And castle. Oh, well, you know he's the big man on campus when it's a new season. And Shaka has his own segment. Look at that face. That man knows what it's like to let in some Shaka-strophic howlers. And it's backed by popular demand. We have yet another segment and yet another bunch of Shaka-strophic howlers. And we have a repeat offender. No one goes man from Tigres Shaka. Have a look at this. He gets a hand to it. He gets a hand to it. But oh, no, no, no. No, no, no. He doesn't just get a hand to it. He gets two very good, very comfortable hands to it. And still. Boy. Oh, that is as basic an error as you will ever see. Just a very hand-high slide stretch should be comfortable with everything for you. Hey, here's tells a bit Shaka-strophic too. Sorry, sorry. You know what it was, man. Anyways, Rocco de yours novel from Inter Miami, as we said into Miami, you have been having quite the difficult time, especially conceding a lot of goals. And when you go keep us doing this, Shaka. Yes, the first novel. I'm not sure how to even begin explaining this. Oh, no. Reasy. Reasy, kick out up from the other end. Why are you there? Reasonably well. I know you're reasy. And then just freezes. I don't get it. Take a cold one. All right, let's go to this one now from Nowel, Lozada. Why the party ball out did back like that? That was always. Oh, no. Everyone wants to have a happy day. We see these every single week and still teams won't to keep but to play the ball out under pressure, threatening the eye of a needle with a ball from the edge of a zone six yard box. That's what's going to happen. How about this one now from Olympia? This is Edrik Menkivar. Yeah. With. Yeah. With one of these. Yeah. Yeah. And nothing near post. Oh, sir. Fight themselves scrambling. Just hit them and goes in. Yeah. Now, that comes under poor position to start with. Still. But we have to dig all the way to the third division in Argentina for this one for Santiago Calvo. Is he Calvo? I'll talk about that. Oh. No, no. I got that. This one is a misunderstanding between defended goalkeeper. Gokeeper is coming. He wants to play the ball. Defender heads it. Sonar was certainly keeper. Is all of his box. Ain't no man's land. Trying to play some kind of a volley. Something. That's just a general basic misunderstanding. Share blame. Share blame. All of those though. Shackest traffic. As our good Ale Moreno would say. But there can only be one. One. Shackest traffic. And now that Shackest no longer playing on the pitch. Shackest, who is it? We've had some repeater fenders. We've had some. Why are you trying to play from the back like that? But who is it? I'm going to give a theory of snow. Oh. Listen, and there were some beauties in that five. But this one, I just don't understand. He just seems to freeze, which I don't understand. The board comes a long way. He sees it all the way, reads it, gets in a great position. And then just drops. Stars a backtrack. And falls over and backtracking. I don't know why he was even backtracking to start with. It's just. It's just confused. 11-day lights out to me. Think about this week. He's the Shackest traffic king this week. Yeah. The trophy that nobody wants. The trophy that nobody wants. Yeah. But Shack is awarding. Because he was awarded a couple of times in his career. He's well been there. We've all been there. Except me. All right. Well, the Shackest traffic hollars are the gift that keeps on giving. But the true gift that keeps on giving is Brazilian football. And we are going for this one. Is it AI? Or is it just Brazilian football? Because anything. And I mean, anything and everything happens there. Nobody is safe. Not the players, not the fans. Not even. Don't want to talk about her. Look at this lady. Unfortunately, she gets absolutely taken out. Look at that. And we even have her. Oh, boy. Of the camera. Oh, man. Oh, that is rough. Right in the face, right in the noggin. Shack, are you ever got hit that hard? No. Oh, never been a photographer that. No, but I mean, people are pelting balls at you in gold. Oh, yeah. But you know how to defend yourself. Well, I know how to get told to the way. That's what it is. You see. I love to get told to the way. Being a social media person or a photographer, because I always have my phone in my hand, it's such a dangerous job sometimes. You've got to look at the pitch. The problem is you look at the screen and then that's what happens. That's happened to me once or twice. I've gotten hit with a couple of balls, especially in La Liga. All right. Those will be our next week. That's going to be our next week. That's going to be our next week. Shack, are you taking my job away? I want to see that. That's it for this edition of football. I want to see. I want to see. I want to see. I want to see. I want to see. I want to see. I want to see. I want to see. I want to see. I want to see. I want to see. I want to see. I want to see. I want to see. I want to see. I want to see. I want to see. I want to see. I want to see. I want to see. I want to see. I want to see. I want to see. I want to see. I want to see. I want to see. I want to see. I want to see. I want to see. I want to see. I want to see. I want to see. I want to see.