Hasn't done anything since the World Cup. Wanna say his name was Ben Harreld or something like that -- the website was halfspaces. @bharreld or something like that?
https://twitter.com/blharreld https://halfspaces.com Still does stuff but hasn't posted +/- since the World Cup. He has a Patreon so maybe it's there, but I doubt it since there's only 2 patrons.
ISWT quickly became essential for me, and many others, I suspect. Its demise leaves a huge void, one I won't be filling with any Golazo network crap. Charlie turned into hot-take Harry after he started working for them.
He was the weak link on the podcast for sure between Heath and Jimmie. But on TV he's kind of the goofy guy that does some funny stuff. He kind of fills a schtick that they want I guess. Sucks Jimmie and Heath not together though
Because he has personality. Heath is very good, but his personality is just different than those of Jimmy and Charlie. Just listen to him on MLS broadcasts. Which he's good on, however, he doesn't have the same level of energy/enthusiasm(?) that say a Danny Higginbotham or Devon Kerr has. Charlie has also been in the broadcast biz for a while now. He's been on Extra Time Radio, SiriusXM FC's Counterattack, and was the Revs game analyst as well.
So apparently Heath was just crowded out. Maybe it is because he's not a CBS employee, who they favored. But apparently there were no contractual impediments. Welp… This a nice warm piece of humble pie, BUT I do look forward to catching this new podcast soon. After 300 + hits/ episodes across greater CBS networks, I’ve been, for the time being cut from the squad.I am, however, grateful for the amazing shows, opportunities + staff https://t.co/89djJtpC7R— Heath Pearce (@heathpearce) November 29, 2023 I might watch this sometimes, but it's not going to be the same with Marsch. Heath says he does hope to get back in the game soon. His partner would be the key. Take 'em down, Hollywood!
For all the talk Conrad had about being upset with coaches who didn't handle cutting guys very well, this certainly seems to oddly come as a surprise to Heath. I'll lose a lot of respect for Jimmy if he didn't have the balls to call him himself. There's several things Heath had going against him. He's not high profile, he's not under contract with CBS ("Synergies!") and he's not much of a hot take artist. The reasonable, thoughtful commentator is one I really enjoy and respect, but CBS is much more ESPN in its thinking and it's looking for viral clips and arguments. I don't mind Charlie's takes so much as the fact that he often can't articulate more than "you can see so and so is better; he's just better" and the pure stubbornness he has where he won't even engage on a counter argument. He's like a child sometimes, but I'm sure CBS loves the outrage in it all. Marsch will be interesting, because while most coaches in his situation would be very boring, Jesse doesn't seem to understand that political angle very well. And even though he seems like a very positive guy, most of the commentary I've seen has come across as this sort of passive-aggressive, almost arrogant criticism -- think what seemed like a relative innocuous and universally agreed upon comment around Bielsa's overtraining and how much blow back he got. There's just something about the way he communicates that sort of thing that goes over like a lead zeppelin. I can see CBS just loving anything harsh. A section of the fanbase will probaby love him for any crticism of US Soccer, but I also imagine there's a good chance he will bury himself pretty deep if he ever wants the job. And not because there's criticism, but he just doesn't seem to deliver it very well.
It's a bummer and something I've learned with podcasts. There are podcasts of convenience, limited series types (like Force Five or whatever) and long termers, and a lot of these athlete ones are short termers. Soccer Soup became The Crack and guys were constantly rotated out over two years. Not sure if its even still going but during covid, it was a fantastic podcast because they were getting great interviews that threw all sorts of insights over era's in soccer whether it was Arena's UVA, or the '08 Olympic teams travails under Nowak. loads and loads of info. I learned on there that, was it Ike Opara? I can't remember who, but one of them had played with Adams when he was a youth level dude, and he referenced like 15-17 year old Adams as captain material even at that age. All sorts of insights, but those guys really go in and out of participation on anything like that, so its never surprising when it fades away.
Doesn't matter if Jimmy made the decision; he should be the one to tell Heath; Heath shouldn't be finding out via twitter.
First, I don’t think we have any reason to believe that Heath heard it first on Twitter. That’s a major assumption. Second, since Jimmy isn’t the decision-maker, why would he tell Heath? CBS would be the party to let him know he didn’t get the job. You seem to view Jimmy as a CBS vice president of soccer programming. But he ain’t.
If I had a friend who was working with me, and then someone else basically fired him and hired someone else ... I'd want to be the one to tell him. That's what friends would do. Or anyone with any integrity whatsoever.
You need to work in a grocery store to have integrity? Character and integrity are things you have, regardless of where you work. If you don't have it, you don't have it.
To be fair, just based on your second post in this thread a couple months ago, it doesn't sound like Heath found out via twitter, unless you're referring to something other than his tweet two days. Maybe he learned the specifics of the new format and Marsch's involvement at that time? But, again just based on your earlier post, the fact that he was leaving the show and they were continuing on without him appears to have been announced much earlier.
I agree if no one told Health before he found out on Twitter that's some crap and deserving of criticism. But, I'm not sure that's what that post specifically says. He may well have known and used that post about the new show as his way of letting the public know. Weird that Marsch is taking a pundit role rather than seeking another coaching gig. Wonder if he's not getting decent offers out there or maybe he overvalues his status in the job market. I think he'll be good as a pundit, but it is odd to see him taking that job.
This is why so much of life is an individual, personal journey. Choices must be made, and they’re not always easy. We don’t know exactly what went on here, nor the timing, but Jimmy and Heath certainly logged enough hours together (as colleagues, at least, perhaps friends) for Jimmy to reach out. If Jimmy was in a meeting with CBS and heard, “We’d like you and CD to stay on, but we’re thinking of switching in someone livelier than HP, maybe JM,” I would like to think that JC would go to bat for HP, at least initially. “I think the contrast in styles we have works pretty well, HP is solid and adds balance to the team.” I don’t think integrity requires JC to resign in protest (when HP gets cut), simply to be truthful when he reaches out to HP and says, “Sorry, buddy, I tried (to save you).” Maybe he tried, maybe he didn’t; maybe he reached out, maybe he didn’t. A definition that I use to help myself remember (the person I’m trying to be): Wisdom is knowing what you should do; integrity is doing it. Doing what we know we should do isn’t always easy, and we all fall short of the mark sometimes. Each of us probably has somewhat different standards, but the important thing is to have them and try to live up to them. Now, can we get back on topic? Edit: Wait, sorry, this is the topic.
I have no idea if Jimmy did something wrong or not ... I'm just saying, particularly after he's complained about how he was cut, that if he didn't personally deliver the news to Heath, that'd be crappy.
Marsch's next coaching role is a tricky one for him. I think he's trying to hold onto his status as a Top 5 League coach, but I'm not sure the market agrees. Any sane ownership also knows that he's a Red Bull guy, so you've got to be going down that road. It limits his options. On the flip, if he does get a high level job, he's got to succeed this time. He doesn't have the benefit of being English or whatever; his one contact and tie is Red Bull and that will only go so far. He knows he needs a specific situation and not a small amount of patience. That's just a tough mix. I think there's a decent chance he will have to take a step down and rebuild stock. But I think he will wait it out and who knows?
The person with the strong obligations to reach out to Heath is the person in charge of hiring. If Jimmy knew, it would be awfully nice to give Heath a heads-up, but he is not the person with the obligation. All this commentary rests on a bed of speculation thar Heath didn't know until the tweet came out. I think that is quite unlikely, but I can't prove that either.
To be fair to Marsch, waiting and seeing is absolutely the smart play. Once he drops down, the perception of him will completely reset, and the pay drop is commensurate. So playing with a the media for a year to see if there's a Red Bull-team floating out there isn't a terrible move. Financially, it is probably better to not be working still, so now it's a matter of being away from work he probably enjoys.
Jesse is still getting paid by Leeds at a EPL contract level through summer of 2025 or they agreed on a buyout which was rumored at >$9M. In either case he is obviously not pressed.