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The Postcard: August 7

August 7, 2020
Ben Wright
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Welcome to the second edition of The Postcard, where I answer your questions on Nashville SC, MLS and whatever else you want to talk about.

As always, thanks for sending in your questions.. Follow me on Twitter @benwright so you can get your questions in for the next round. Let’s keep this going!

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I get the feeling. It’s been 152 days since Nashville lost 1-0 in Portland, and it feels like even longer. Thankfully, though, it looks liek the wait is almost over. I reported earlier this week that Nashville will play FC Dallas next Wednesday and Sunday to make up two of their missed group matches.

Aside from Daniel Ríos, there are a couple players I’m excited to see. Jimmy Medranda looked really good when he came on against Portland, and he’s been one of my favorite players to watch in MLS for a couple years. He’d be an interesting start on the right wing. I’m also really excited to see how Derrick Jones can fit into this side in MLS.

*eye roll dot gif*

They have two open spots on their senior roster and are definitely interested in a couple players. I imagine we’ll see a signing or two, but whether that’s the long hyped DP number nine remains to be seen. They are pursuing options at striker, but also think Ríos has the potential to be the guy up front. Don’t be surprised if they go for a loan move with a purchase option to a) give the player a trial run before dropping a ton of cash on him, and b) to see if Ríos can earn the job.

The type of names you’ve seen linked (Aké Loba, Maxi Romero, Djordje Despotović) are the types of players Nashville are interested in. The club has been pretty open that they think putting a winning product on the field will generate more buzz than signing a big-name player just for the name.

That’s not to say that they’ll never sign a recognizable name from Europe, but it would have to be the right fit. It’s a big ask. They’re more likely to sign a younger player with sell-on potential, and to me, that’s the wiser move.

None yet. Those should be announced soon, likely simultaneously with the official announcement of the matches. That’s just a guess on my part, though.

NSC announced Fox17, MyTV30 and CW58 as their television partners during the coronavirus break. The games will almost certainly be shown locally on one of those. As the first game of the new regular season, MLS could go for a national TV spot. I wouldn’t worry too much about being able to watch.

Yeah, fans in attendance for the Dallas games seems… crazy. I’m not a doctor, but I think we’ve seen from leagues around the world that games in empty stadiums with proper protocols and lots of testing can work. But even those countries, who are in a much better place with the virus than us, aren’t allowing fans, and won’t for several more months at least. I understand that MLS makes a large portion of their revenue from ticket sales. But allowing fans is a big mistake, in my opinion.

Thanks to everyone who sent in questions! This was a lot of fun. Let’s keep doing it. Keep sending your questions in the comments, on Twitter using the hashtag #ThePostcardBroadway, or via email at benwrightsoccer@gmail.com. And be on the lookout for more Nashville SC news coming out soon.

Author: Ben Wrightis the Director of Soccer Content and a Senior MLS Contributor for Broadway Sports covering Nashville SC and the US National Team. Previously Ben was the editor and a founder of Speedway Soccer, where he has covered Nashville SC and their time in USL before journeying to Major League Soccer since 2018. Raised in Louisville, KY Ben grew up playing before a knee injury ended his competitive career. When he is not talking soccer he is probably producing music, drinking coffee or hanging out with his wife and kids. Mastodon
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