Welcome to what I dubbed "The Constant Disappointment to Us All Derby" on Tuesday morning's Soccer Down Here. Like the Spider-Man pointing at Spider-Man GIF, Atlanta United and Austin FC have a few things in common this year — shiny new expensive attackers acquired over the offseason, a new coach with MLS experience hired right after the end of a season barely breaking the 40-point mark (though, in the East, that was good enough to get Atlanta to the playoffs and to a richly hilarious first-round win over Miami), and a 2025 that's been less successful than expected so far.
But certainly, there's more to the Atlanta United story than that, right?
To find out, we turned to the person we love turning to on matters ATL (and matters MLS weirdness, when we can) — J. Sam Jones of Five Stripe Final. Here's how he delivered.
Like Austin, Atlanta signed a talented striker for a lot of money in the offseason. What's the early verdict on Emmanuel Latte Lath, and why isn't he scoring more (for my best ball fantasy team, as well as for the Five Stripes)?
It’s clear he’s a tremendous talent. The pace, the on-ball ability, the understanding of space inside the 18, it’s all there. What’s not there is a game model and a supporting cast that will allow him to be the Golden Boot contender he seemed destined to be on arrival. There are only so many Brooks Lennon crosses that can sail over his head before you start to feel genuinely bad for the guy.
What’s truly remarkable is that Atlanta’s front office made their two biggest offseason moves—Latte Lath and Miguel Almirón—with pace and Alexey Miranchuk in mind. They envisioned a world where Latte Lath, Almirón and Saba Lobjandize were sprinting in behind back lines to get on the end of pinpoint passes from their Russian No. 10. Instead, per FBref, Atlanta United is dead last in MLS in throughballs.
They don’t have any ideas on how to capitalize on an elite talent in MLS other than to send lazy crosses his way and pray he beats four defenders to the ball. It’s happened a few times. But it’s no way to live.
Like Austin, Atlanta seems to be lacking defensive cohesion so far this season. Can you point to any reasons (or any players) why, or is it just a baffling mystery?
After months of extensive research, I’ve come to the conclusion that Atlanta’s defense isn’t any good because Atlanta’s defenders aren’t any good. They’re ineffective in midfield and somehow getting slower by the week thanks to Ronny Deila’s decision to start a geriatric double-pivot of Miranchuk and Mateusz Klich. Luis Abram is a TAM center back who plays like a below-average defender at best. Derrick Williams is a great third-choice center back who starts regularly. Stian Gregersen is always hurt. Right back Brooks Lennon’s sole goal in life is to be angry that no one jumped 40 feet to head one of his 15 crosses per game into the net and he has no time for defense. Left back Pedro Amador — he’s pretty good actually; none of this is his fault.
All of that manifests in a team that gives up hilarious goals. I mean, just some of the funniest things you’ve ever seen on a pitch. They come up with new clips every week. The latest came when they failed to clear the ball roughly 10 times and finally just watched as Miranchuk played volleyball inside his own 18 and hand-delivered a penalty to Chicago 14 minutes into what would be a 2-1 loss.
Have I mentioned yet that this is the worst Atlanta United team ever by every available metric?
Like Austin, Atlanta hired a coach at the start of the offseason with prior MLS experience who appears to be leaving the fan base underwhelmed. What, pray tell, is going on with Ronny Delia, and how soon do they swap him out for Stone Mountain's own Josh Wolff? (That's my podcast partner's working theory, at least)
To be blunt: Not a whole lot that’s new. That Deila-led, ultra-talented NYCFC team that won MLS Cup in 2021 only earned 51 points (their lowest total since their expansion season) and then were God-gifted a path to a title. To recap, they beat: A mediocre Atlanta United side that fired their original manager 13 games into the season, a Revs side that waited 23 days to play a game (NYCFC won on penalties), a Union side missing 11 players due to COVID, and a Timbers side that wasn’t all that good (on penalties).
Sometimes you catch a few breaks and have Taty Castellanos. Other times, you catch no breaks and rely on crosses and make personnel decisions that seem to be compounding multiple problems. Deila has a track record of short tenures at multiple clubs and of leaving fans unhappy by the ends of those tenures. Is this all his fault? No. Does he seem to be making things better? Also, no.
That being said, the most likely outcome here is that Atlanta United will be frustratingly patient with Garth Lagerwey’s first-ever coaching hire. But external patience is already very thin in the fanbase. This kind of form can only keep going so long before Atlanta is forced to make a decision and bring in Wolff to save the team, a thing that’s definitely going to happen.
Verde All Day is a reader-supported online publication covering Austin FC. Additional support is provided by Austin Telco Federal Credit Union. You can comment here if you’re a subscriber, or reach out via Bluesky.
Welcome to what I dubbed "The Constant Disappointment to Us All Derby" on Tuesday morning's Soccer Down Here. Like the Spider-Man pointing at Spider-Man GIF, Atlanta United and Austin FC have a few things in common this year — shiny new expensive attackers acquired over the offseason, a new coach with MLS experience hired right after the end of a season barely breaking the 40-point mark (though, in the East, that was good enough to get Atlanta to the playoffs and to a richly hilarious first-round win over Miami), and a 2025 that's been less successful than expected so far.
But certainly, there's more to the Atlanta United story than that, right?
To find out, we turned to the person we love turning to on matters ATL (and matters MLS weirdness, when we can) — J. Sam Jones of Five Stripe Final. Here's how he delivered.
Like Austin, Atlanta signed a talented striker for a lot of money in the offseason. What's the early verdict on Emmanuel Latte Lath, and why isn't he scoring more (for my best ball fantasy team, as well as for the Five Stripes)?
It’s clear he’s a tremendous talent. The pace, the on-ball ability, the understanding of space inside the 18, it’s all there. What’s not there is a game model and a supporting cast that will allow him to be the Golden Boot contender he seemed destined to be on arrival. There are only so many Brooks Lennon crosses that can sail over his head before you start to feel genuinely bad for the guy.
What’s truly remarkable is that Atlanta’s front office made their two biggest offseason moves—Latte Lath and Miguel Almirón—with pace and Alexey Miranchuk in mind. They envisioned a world where Latte Lath, Almirón and Saba Lobjandize were sprinting in behind back lines to get on the end of pinpoint passes from their Russian No. 10. Instead, per FBref, Atlanta United is dead last in MLS in throughballs.
They don’t have any ideas on how to capitalize on an elite talent in MLS other than to send lazy crosses his way and pray he beats four defenders to the ball. It’s happened a few times. But it’s no way to live.
Like Austin, Atlanta seems to be lacking defensive cohesion so far this season. Can you point to any reasons (or any players) why, or is it just a baffling mystery?
After months of extensive research, I’ve come to the conclusion that Atlanta’s defense isn’t any good because Atlanta’s defenders aren’t any good. They’re ineffective in midfield and somehow getting slower by the week thanks to Ronny Deila’s decision to start a geriatric double-pivot of Miranchuk and Mateusz Klich. Luis Abram is a TAM center back who plays like a below-average defender at best. Derrick Williams is a great third-choice center back who starts regularly. Stian Gregersen is always hurt. Right back Brooks Lennon’s sole goal in life is to be angry that no one jumped 40 feet to head one of his 15 crosses per game into the net and he has no time for defense. Left back Pedro Amador — he’s pretty good actually; none of this is his fault.
All of that manifests in a team that gives up hilarious goals. I mean, just some of the funniest things you’ve ever seen on a pitch. They come up with new clips every week. The latest came when they failed to clear the ball roughly 10 times and finally just watched as Miranchuk played volleyball inside his own 18 and hand-delivered a penalty to Chicago 14 minutes into what would be a 2-1 loss.
Have I mentioned yet that this is the worst Atlanta United team ever by every available metric?
Like Austin, Atlanta hired a coach at the start of the offseason with prior MLS experience who appears to be leaving the fan base underwhelmed. What, pray tell, is going on with Ronny Delia, and how soon do they swap him out for Stone Mountain's own Josh Wolff? (That's my podcast partner's working theory, at least)
To be blunt: Not a whole lot that’s new. That Deila-led, ultra-talented NYCFC team that won MLS Cup in 2021 only earned 51 points (their lowest total since their expansion season) and then were God-gifted a path to a title. To recap, they beat: A mediocre Atlanta United side that fired their original manager 13 games into the season, a Revs side that waited 23 days to play a game (NYCFC won on penalties), a Union side missing 11 players due to COVID, and a Timbers side that wasn’t all that good (on penalties).
Sometimes you catch a few breaks and have Taty Castellanos. Other times, you catch no breaks and rely on crosses and make personnel decisions that seem to be compounding multiple problems. Deila has a track record of short tenures at multiple clubs and of leaving fans unhappy by the ends of those tenures. Is this all his fault? No. Does he seem to be making things better? Also, no.
That being said, the most likely outcome here is that Atlanta United will be frustratingly patient with Garth Lagerwey’s first-ever coaching hire. But external patience is already very thin in the fanbase. This kind of form can only keep going so long before Atlanta is forced to make a decision and bring in Wolff to save the team, a thing that’s definitely going to happen.
Verde All Day is a reader-supported online publication covering Austin FC. Additional support is provided by Austin Telco Federal Credit Union. You can comment here if you’re a subscriber, or reach out via Bluesky.
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