“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Sporting Kansas City can pretend not to have heard.
Bernard Kamungo and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ran Benyamin is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Sporting Kansas City told Calvin Harris something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Or Blorian trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Shapi Suleymanov signs something — a contract at Sporting Kansas City or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Numbers do not stay secret in a dressing room. He is not asking for more than he is worth; he is asking why somebody beside him is worth more, and Sporting Kansas City have no good answer.
Public backing, and the sort that costs a manager something if it turns out to be wrong. Taylor Calheira has been told in front of everybody that the shirt is his.
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Sporting Kansas City is running low.
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” André Luiz commits to Sporting Kansas City for another 4 years.
Squad25 Oct 2027
John Pulskamp falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Or Blorian was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Clubs make promises constantly and the page usually only hears about them when they are broken. This one was honoured, and the dressing room noticed that faster than any supporter did.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Shapi Suleymanov signs something — a contract at Sporting Kansas City or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Nobody at Sporting Kansas City will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
Hamzat Ojediran has done the arithmetic and does not like the answer. Nothing corrodes a squad faster, and no club has ever solved it by explaining the wage structure to a footballer.
Sporting Kansas City have let the market know Taylor Calheira can be had. No price in the advert, but everyone in the trade knows roughly what it says.
In brief
The dugoutJansen Miller knocks on the manager’s door
The words a physio says slowly. 21 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
9 home matches unbeaten. Visiting sides arrive already talking about the atmosphere, which is usually the sign that they have half-lost before kickoff.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and John Pulskamp was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Or Blorian and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Taylor Calheira. 2‑0 against Minnesota United FC, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
There is a particular helplessness in conceding 2 times before the twentieth minute. Minnesota United FC tried to reorganise, Sporting Kansas City did not allow it, and the result was written long before it was confirmed.
A mark of 7.96, and nobody in the ground would argue with it. He was involved in everything that mattered and most of what did not.
The dugout18 Oct 2027
The view from the dugout
“We controlled it. There were spells I did not like and we will look at them, but the group showed me something.” Brandon Dempsey, on a 2‑0 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
29 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Sporting Kansas City lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
John Pulskamp and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Sporting Kansas City know it.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jayden Reid was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Or Blorian trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Sporting Kansas City have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
7 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Sporting Kansas City has to find a result from somewhere.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Andrew Brody and Sporting Kansas City agree another 2 years.
Seattle Sounders left with the points after a 1‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
The dugout4 Oct 2027
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 1‑2 Brandon Dempsey left the room before anybody could ask which.
The manager has re-ordered his thinking and Hakim Karamoko has come out of it lower. He will be told it is temporary, and the players who have heard that before will avoid his eye.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Max Kerkvliet was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
In brief
The dugoutJoe Gyau is still being punished for one mistake
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Sporting Kansas City is running low.
Or Blorian was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad30 Aug 2027
Ran Benyamin falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Sporting Kansas City told Taylor Calheira something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
The words a physio says slowly. 43 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jayden Reid was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
The dugout8 Feb 2027
Or Blorian is still being punished for one mistake
Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.
A year in and the city has not opened up, the language has not come, and lunch is eaten alone more often than anybody at Sporting Kansas City would admit. It shows on Saturdays.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Sporting Kansas City this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Justin Reynolds is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
The dugout11 Jan 2027
The manager has not finished forgetting Or Blorian's mistake
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
John Pulskamp and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad28 Dec 2026
Or Blorian has improved at 26, which nobody expected
Careers are supposed to plateau and then decline, and the players who ignore that are always the ones who were listening on the training ground. 3 points of it, over months, at an age where the direction normally only goes one way.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Justin Reynolds is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Sporting Kansas City, and both men came out saying it was fine.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Emir Karić signs something — a contract at Sporting Kansas City or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Jayden Reid and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout14 Dec 2026
Or Blorian is still being punished for one mistake
Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Sporting Kansas City may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Justin Reynolds was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Emir Karić signs something — a contract at Sporting Kansas City or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Sporting Kansas City, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Emir Karić was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Sporting Kansas City told André Luiz something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
Kwaku Agyabeng was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
It will be explained as a change for the team and it may even be one. Nobody who has worn one believes that, and neither does the man who has just had it taken away.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Emir Karić signs something — a contract at Sporting Kansas City or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 6 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 21 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Or Blorian and Sporting Kansas City agree another 4 years.
A point taken on 89 minutes is worth exactly one point and considerably more than that to a dressing room. This side does not stop, which is a reputation worth more than the result.
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
The dugout19 Oct 2026
The manager has not finished forgetting Or Blorian's mistake
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Sporting Kansas City know it.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Sporting Kansas City this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.
The system has changed and his position has not. A footballer can improve his form; he cannot improve the manager’s formation, and that is the whole of the problem.
Nobody at Sporting Kansas City will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until André Luiz signs something — a contract at Sporting Kansas City or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Sporting Kansas City know it.
John Pulskamp and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
At 38, 3 points below where he was, and a body that has started charging interest. It happens to all of them and it is still the hardest paragraph on this page.
100 times in these colours, in all weathers and under four or five different managers. That kind of service is quietly disappearing from the game.
The dugout5 Oct 2026
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 0‑2 Brandon Dempsey left the room before anybody could ask which.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 9 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Emir Karić and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
A performance of 9.42 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Or Blorian has improved at 26, which nobody expected
Careers are supposed to plateau and then decline, and the players who ignore that are always the ones who were listening on the training ground. 3 points of it, over months, at an age where the direction normally only goes one way.
The goal that put Los Angeles Football Club ahead was still being replayed on the concourse when Sporting Kansas City equalised, 4 minutes later. Leads are only worth what you do with them.
The dugout28 Sep 2026
The view from the dugout
“We controlled it. There were spells I did not like and we will look at them, but the group showed me something.” Brandon Dempsey, on a 3‑1 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
Successful dribbles: 13. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
5 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Sporting Kansas City this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑1, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
He trains hard, says the right things and goes home to an empty flat. Nobody at Sporting Kansas City has done anything wrong, which is exactly what makes it so difficult to fix.
He goes off to be somebody else’s player for a fortnight. Sporting Kansas City lose him for the window and would like him returned in the condition he left.
Nobody at Sporting Kansas City is suggesting he is out of form. The manager simply wanted somebody with a different set of qualities for ninety specific minutes, and there is nothing a player can train to fix that.
In brief
The dugoutJansen Miller asks for a word with the manager
4 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Sporting Kansas City has to find a result from somewhere.
Or Blorian was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Justin Reynolds was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 1‑3, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
Every touch weighed, every quote parsed, every mistake replayed. Some players grow into that; some are quietly finished by it; nobody knows which until afterwards.
A year in and the city has not opened up, the language has not come, and lunch is eaten alone more often than anybody at Sporting Kansas City would admit. It shows on Saturdays.