St. Louis CITY SC Rivals Sack Coach Ahead of Rivalry Matchup

It has been no secret across Major League Soccer that Sporting Kansas City have struggled tremendously since 2024. Our evil neighbors down I-70 have not won a single match since September 18th, 2024, which was 194 days ago--that is, unless you count their pathetic 1-0 victory over collegiate side FIU Panthers in preseason. They currently sit bottom of the entire league with a whopping 1 point behind a 0-5-1 record.

For St. Louis CITY SC fans, watching their downfall has been enjoyable, but for Kansas fans, it has been misery. Public unrest got so bad that The Cauldron, SKC's primary Supporter Group, publicly called for the firing of Peter Vermes this Sunday.

For a Supporter Group to publicly call for the removal of such a historic manager is something MLS has never really seen before. Vermes has been one of the longest tenured coaches in the world, collecting an MLS Cup, 3 U.S. Open Cups, and 203 wins (third most in MLS history) during his SEVENTEEN--yes, you read that right--seasons as the man in charge of Sporting KC.

But, what happened around 9 am this morning was what truly shocked me.

Sporting Kansas City announced a mutually parting of ways with Peter Vermes.

Less than 24 hours after the public statement by The Cauldron, their wish was granted. The Peter Vermes era is over.

So, why should I care? What does this have to do with St. Louis CITY SC? I'm glad you asked.

St. Louis CITY SC will hop on the bus down I-70 this coming weekend for a match at Nebraska Furniture Mart, home of three regular season meetings between the rivals resulting in two draws and a loss for St. Louis.

The "new manager bounce" is a phenomenon known across the soccer world, and MLS is no exception. St. Louis CITY SC have even experienced this themselves after relieving Bradley Carnell of his duties last summer.

With Peter Vermes out and Sporting KC holding a wooden spoon bearing record, the new coach bump will certainly work against CITY this weekend; the question is, will it be enough?

Olof Mellberg has his work cut out for him. The back line will have to deal with Dejan Joveljić, while the attack will need to get going, having only produced four goals through 6 matches thus far.

An away win for St. Louis CITY SC could certainly continue to push Sporting KC into a downward spiral, but more importantly, would be just what the doctor ordered to recalibrate the ship after back to back 0-1 losses at Philadelphia and against Austin.