"When I say historically bad, there’s no hyperbole. Sporting’s -28.15 xGD in 2025 is the worst in American Soccer Analysis’ database, going back to 2013. Worse than 2019 FC Cincinnati. Worse than 2013 Chivas USA. The worst! In the wake of that, how does SKC’s 2026 look?" Who's excited about playing an MLS match next Saturday?
"While other teams are dealing with where players fit on the depth chart, SKC’s major roster question is more fundamental: who is even on the depth chart? What is a depth chart? Why is a depth chart?"
And this year it ends. SKC with Atlanta are the two most commonly overrated clubs in MLS since 2019. Worth a read, or at least a look at the graphs.For those who can't be bothered to click, the SKC bit: " on the other end there are no teams who are more consistently overrated than Atlanta United and Sporting Kansas City. This is presumably because of different causes;... Sporting Kansas City is MLS royalty whose attractive style made them exciting, and the time period covered here coincides with an unfortunate fall from grace. SKC also benefits from Andrew Wiebe’s hometown infatuation with the team, who he rated on average 10 spots above their finish over 3 seasons. Life advice: find somebody who loves you with the same reckless abandon that Andrew Wiebe loves SKC."
The MLS writers predictions have the bottom of the western conference looking like this: "FC Dallas Real Salt Lake San Jose Earthquakes St. Louis CITY SC Colorado Rapids Sporting Kansas City" .
There's never been a SKC/Wiz season where the sense of dread and impending doom was anywhere near that of preseason 2026. Maybe Wiki pulls a fast one, but absent a water into wine like miracle, its hard to see SKC finish anywhere but bottom 2 or 3 in the West. From $14 opening day tickets in the Cauldron, to being listed as last in nearly every MLS preview, to other fan basses poking fun at the roster, to our fanbase having retreated online, its obvious we all know what's coming. For the wheels to fall off, they would have to have been on. SKC 2026 is like a car on blocks.
I don't know that I'd use dread or impending doom, inevitability is what I'd use. I haven't gotten a call from my rep yet, which is slightly surprising b/c I've moved from the Cauldron to more expensive seats (unrelated to on the field more to do with the fact that everyone I hung out with is gone). I've been almost anticipating their response when I say "no" after they ask me if I'm ready for the season.
So, I'm setting the over/under on players who start the season in our first 11 and finish in the first 11 (excluding injury necessitated moves) at 5.5.
The Guardian's MLS writer's team adds three votes to the SKC for the Spoon movement. For those who don't want to read, because it's painfully dead on, here are a couple quotes from it: "Do they even have a team to field? " "issue isn’t just that they lack enough players to field a full squad; it’s that they lack the top-end talent needed to compete in MLS these days." "There are a couple decent players in that group, but not nearly enough."
Basically, we're asking a coach who failed in MLS with a subpar roster to see what he can do with an historically poor one.
Interesting fact in a KCSJ piece by someone who probably won't link his own piece on here: "For the first time in club history, Sporting played a game without a single player over the age of 30. ... Six players (Wyatt Meyer, Jayden Reid, Justin Reynolds, Calvin Harris, Kwaku Aygabeng, and Taylor Calheira) made their debut for Sporting KC last night. That’s the most in a single game in the club’s history, not counting their very first game." It's not a long piece, but worthwhile to click and read.