Take It or Leave It: getting rid of VAR, closed leagues in Europe, when to fire a manager, and Weston McKennie's next club

On this week's Big Thing episode, the TSS gang previews the 2024 Champions League Final, which sees the underdog Dortmund face the behemoth Real Madrid. If BVB are to pull off a surprise win, what are the keys to their success? Sponsors! Today’s episode is brought to you by… Ibotta! Get $5 just for trying Ibotta by using code "TSS" in the free Ibotta app! Helix Sleep! Helix is offering 20% off all mattress orders AND two free pillows for our listeners! Go to HelixSleep.com/TSS! and use code HELIXPARTNER20. This is their best offer yet and it won’t last long! Mack Weldon! Get 20% off your first order at mackweldon.com by using promo code “TSS”! Shopify! Head to shopify.com/tss for a free trial to help grow your business! JOIN THE TSS+ PATREON! Check out our Patreon, which houses bonus podcasts, access to our exclusive Discord, blog posts, videos, and much more. Become a member today at patreon.com/totalsoccershow! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Your favorite foursome is together again and recording wearing tuxedos to mark the occasion as we hand out some end of season awards, which Ryan has dubbed "The Toties." Categories reviewed include player of the season, breakthrough player of the season, manager of the year, best goal, best signing, best match, funniest moment, and best story from the campaigns that were. Plus, we're each giving our Best XIs of the season for the combined leagues of Europe! Sponsors! Today’s episode is brought to you by… Ibotta! Get $5 just for trying Ibotta by using code "TSS" in the free Ibotta app! Helix Sleep! Helix is offering 20% off all mattress orders AND two free pillows for our listeners! Go to HelixSleep.com/TSS! and use code HELIXPARTNER20. This is their best offer yet and it won’t last long! Mack Weldon! Get 20% off your first order at mackweldon.com by using promo code “TSS”! Shopify! Head to shopify.com/tss for a free trial to help grow your business! JOIN THE TSS+ PATREON! Check out our Patreon, which houses bonus podcasts, access to our exclusive Discord, blog posts, videos, and much more. Become a member today at patreon.com/totalsoccershow! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The whole TSS gang is here to answer your questions! 1) What are the chances we see Mauricio Pochettino or Erik Ten Hag in MLS as their next job? 2) Would MLS work as a split apertura/clausura season? 3) How did managers of the best teams in history get the best out of their players? 4) How far down the Premier League table do you have to go to stop seeing players that would be impactful for MLS teams? 5) Why don’t the final set of Serie A matches all start at the same time? 6) Have any soccer terms entered the lexicon?  Sponsors! Today’s episode is brought to you by… Ibotta! Get $5 just for trying Ibotta by using code "TSS" in the free Ibotta app! Helix Sleep! Helix is offering 20% off all mattress orders AND two free pillows for our listeners! Go to HelixSleep.com/TSS! and use code HELIXPARTNER20. This is their best offer yet and it won’t last long! Mack Weldon! Get 20% off your first order at mackweldon.com by using promo code “TSS”! Shopify! Head to shopify.com/tss for a free trial to help grow your business! JOIN THE TSS+ PATREON! Check out our Patreon, which houses bonus podcasts, access to our exclusive Discord, blog posts, videos, and much more. Become a member today at patreon.com/totalsoccershow! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Taylor and Joe are here to dive into the wide world of MLS via Joe's enthusiasm rankings! Taylor tosses out the topics -- ranging from Riqui Puig's skill to Atlanta United's downward slide -- and Joe ranks their relative intrigue from 1 to 10. There's so much packed into this one! Sponsors! Today’s episode is brought to you by… Ibotta! Get $5 just for trying Ibotta by using code "TSS" in the free Ibotta app! Helix Sleep! Helix is offering 20% off all mattress orders AND two free pillows for our listeners! Go to HelixSleep.com/TSS! and use code HELIXPARTNER20. This is their best offer yet and it won’t last long! Mack Weldon! Get 20% off your first order at mackweldon.com by using promo code “TSS”! Shopify! Head to shopify.com/tss for a free trial to help grow your business! JOIN THE TSS+ PATREON! Check out our Patreon, which houses bonus podcasts, access to our exclusive Discord, blog posts, videos, and much more. Become a member today at patreon.com/totalsoccershow! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The TSS Gang is here with a Memorial Day special to review a very busy weekend of soccer, which saw domestic cup finals all across Europe, the conclusion of several leagues, the Women's Champions League Final, and much more! Sponsors! Today’s episode is brought to you by… Ibotta! Get $5 just for trying Ibotta by using code "TSS" in the free Ibotta app! Helix Sleep! Helix is offering 20% off all mattress orders AND two free pillows for our listeners! Go to HelixSleep.com/TSS! and use code HELIXPARTNER20. This is their best offer yet and it won’t last long! Mack Weldon! Get 20% off your first order at mackweldon.com by using promo code “TSS”! Shopify! Head to shopify.com/tss for a free trial to help grow your business! JOIN THE TSS+ PATREON! Check out our Patreon, which houses bonus podcasts, access to our exclusive Discord, blog posts, videos, and much more. Become a member today at patreon.com/totalsoccershow! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Editor's note: Graham's audio is slightly jumpy in a few places. Please accept our apologies and blame Scotland 🙏 Mauricio Pochettino led Chelsea to a (relatively) strong Premier League finish, with European qualification. Despite this upturn, the Argentine was given his marching orders this week. Taylor, Graham and Ryan are here to discuss the situation at Stamford Bridge - and what comes next. Sponsors! Today’s episode is brought to you by… Ibotta! Get $5 just for trying Ibotta by using code "TSS" in the free Ibotta app! Mack Weldon! Get 20% off your first order at mackweldon.com by using promo code “TSS”! Shopify! Head to shopify.com/tss for a free trial to help grow your business! JOIN THE TSS+ PATREON! Check out our Patreon, which houses bonus podcasts, access to our exclusive Discord, blog posts, videos, and much more. Become a member today at patreon.com/totalsoccershow! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Emma Hayes is finally at the wheel! Meg Linehan of The Athletic and the Full Time with Meg Linehan podcast is back on the show to discuss Hayes' inaugural US roster, including notably omissions, possible player positions, and what the potential cuts ahead of the 2024 Summer Olympics. We also get into what went wrong under Vlatko and what Hayes will be working to change on Day 1, plus a look at the NWSL season so far and the awarding of the 2027 World Cup to Brazil. Sponsors! Today’s episode is brought to you by… Ibotta! Get $5 just for trying Ibotta by using code "TSS" in the free Ibotta app! Mack Weldon! Get 20% off your first order at mackweldon.com by using promo code “TSS”! Shopify! Head to shopify.com/tss for a free trial to help grow your business! JOIN THE TSS+ PATREON! Check out our Patreon, which houses bonus podcasts, access to our exclusive Discord, blog posts, videos, and much more. Become a member today at patreon.com/totalsoccershow! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The whole crew is here to answer your questions! 1) Where does Jurgen Klopp rank among the best Premier League managers ever? 2) Which current European club team would fare best if they had to use early 90s Premier League tactics? 3) How do the financials for mid-table La Liga clubs compare to clubs from other leagues? 4) Is Timo Werner a realistic signing for an MLS club? 5) How did Chelsea make their late push to sixth? 6) Why are Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Armenia in UEFA? Are there any other countries that are in the wrong "geographic" confederation? Sponsors! Today’s episode is brought to you by… Ibotta! Get $5 just for trying Ibotta by using code "TSS" in the free Ibotta app! Mack Weldon! Get 20% off your first order at mackweldon.com by using promo code “TSS”! Shopify! Head to shopify.com/tss for a free trial to help grow your business! JOIN THE TSS+ PATREON! Check out our Patreon, which houses bonus podcasts, access to our exclusive Discord, blog posts, videos, and much more. Become a member today at patreon.com/totalsoccershow! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’ve got a roster for the USMNT’s summer of soccer! The Copa America training camp squad dropped earlier today, so Taylor, Joe, and Jeff Rueter are here to dissect it. We run through the big themes from Gregg Berhalter’s team and then dive into each position group. After two segments of U.S. chat, it was full steam ahead into some of the best games from this past weekend in MLS! Sponsors! Today’s episode is brought to you by… Ibotta! Get $5 just for trying Ibotta by using code "TSS" in the free Ibotta app! Mack Weldon! Get 20% off your first order at mackweldon.com by using promo code “TSS”! Shopify! Head to shopify.com/tss for a free trial to help grow your business! JOIN THE TSS+ PATREON! Check out our Patreon, which houses bonus podcasts, access to our exclusive Discord, blog posts, videos, and much more. Become a member today at patreon.com/totalsoccershow! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The TSS Gang is here to review the final weekend of the Premier League season, in which Manchester City claimed their fourth consecutive title, and Pep Guardiola created some doubt about his future with the club. Meanwhile, Liverpool said goodbye to Jurgen Klopp, Man Utd concluded their worst season ever, and much more! Sponsors! Today’s episode is brought to you by… Mack Weldon! Get 20% off your first order at mackweldon.com by using promo code “TSS”! Shopify! Head to shopify.com/tss for a free trial to help grow your business! JOIN THE TSS+ PATREON! Check out our Patreon, which houses bonus podcasts, access to our exclusive Discord, blog posts, videos, and much more. Become a member today at patreon.com/totalsoccershow! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices