Hartel Is Gone, San Jose Is Waiting, and CITY’s Podcast Got Power-Outaged

City SC Posse was supposed to have a midweek episode this week, but apparently the soccer gods saw Marcel Hartel leave town and decided Kev’s electricity should leave too.

We had a plan. A real plan. Kev and I were going to record Tuesday night after the Hartel transfer news dropped, preview the San Jose match, then bring in Duds from NFNPPOD for a little Real Salt Lake crossover segment after he came with me to the game. It was going to be smooth. Organized. Professional-ish. Then about four or five minutes into recording, Kev lost power, came back on his phone, the setup got weird, the recording vanished into whatever haunted server stores failed podcast episodes, and now here we are. Blog time.

So instead of pretending this week’s podcast exists, let’s talk about what we were going to talk about: Hartel leaving, San Jose coming, and the RSL draw that still feels like two points left sitting on a wet seat at Energizer Park. CITY is still seventh in the West. CITY is still in the playoff mix. CITY still has momentum. But now CITY has to prove something much bigger: that this run was not just Marcel Hartel dragging the attack up the table while everyone else held onto his ankles.

The Hartel transfer is official, and even though we all knew it was probably coming, it still feels like opening the fridge and realizing someone drank the last beer. St. Louis CITY SC announced Tuesday, August 11, that Marcel Hartel has been transferred to Hannover 96 in Germany’s 2. Bundesliga. The club said Hartel requested to return to Germany for personal reasons, and both Corey Wray and Hartel framed it as a difficult decision centered around family and personal circumstances. That matters. These are real people with real lives, not just lineup magnets on a tactics board.

But understanding the human side does not make the soccer side any less painful.
Hartel was CITY’s best player. Not one of the best. The best. He was the most consistent, the most fit, and the player most responsible for turning possession into actual danger. For most of this season, if CITY created a chance, there was a very good chance Hartel had his fingerprints somewhere on the crime scene.

The numbers make this even harder to stomach. Hartel leaves St. Louis with 24 goals and 18 assists in 67 appearances across all competitions. In 2024, after signing as a free agent in the summer window, he produced 12 goal contributions in 13 matches. In 2025, he followed that with 17 goal contributions in 35 appearances. This season, before leaving, he had 6 goals and 4 assists in 16 MLS matches. That is not replaceable with vibes, flexibility, and a really confident press release.

And yes, the reported fee is what makes fans want to start yelling into the Arch. The club did not disclose terms, but reports had the deal around or under €1 million. That is a brutal number if true. Hartel’s reported value has been closer to €4 million, and CITY also had to pay Columbus for his discovery rights when they brought him in. So no, this does not feel like some tidy piece of business where CITY flipped an asset and smiled all the way to the roster-budget spreadsheet. It feels like CITY lost its engine and got handed a coupon.

Kev and I said this on a recent episode: the only way this transfer made sense was if Hartel wanted out. And that appears to be exactly what happened. If he needed to go home, fine. If his family situation required it, fine. You do not want to be the club that ignores players’ lives and treats everyone like a contract with cleats. There is real value in being known as a front office that works with players and respects personal circumstances.

But being player-friendly cannot mean letting your best player dictate the exit while the club eats the damage. That is where the frustration lives. You can respect the player and still expect the buying club to pay serious money. You can do right by Hartel and still protect St. Louis CITY SC. You can be compassionate without accidentally walking into the transfer market wearing a “please lowball us” sticker.

The silver lining is obvious, but it better be real. Hartel’s departure frees up a Designated Player spot. That is huge. CITY now has roster flexibility, and Wray said the club is pursuing attacking quality to build on the recent success. Great. Wonderful. Love that sentence. Now please attach a goal-scoring No. 9 to it before the fanbase starts checking LinkedIn for striker scouts.

Because without Hartel, the midfield dream changes overnight. A midfield with Hartel, Löwen, Holse, Mățan, and some combination of Durkin and Edelman looked legitimately dangerous. That was the fun version. Hartel as the engine. Löwen as the set-piece hammer. Holse as the new DP attacking piece. Mățan as the chaos spark. Durkin and Edelman doing the dirty work. That group could have been a nightmare.

Now the question is whether Holse and Mățan can replace enough of what Hartel gave this team. Mățan looked great against Real Salt Lake. Quick feet. Real pace. Aggressive. Creative. He looked like someone who can change the tempo of a match, which is exactly what CITY needed when RSL started making the game annoying. Holse should also be a major piece once fully integrated. But replacing Hartel is not just replacing goals and assists. It is replacing the guy who made the whole attack make sense.

That brings us to San Jose, which is a delightful little test to take immediately after losing your best player. CITY travels to PayPal Park on Saturday, August 15, for a 9:30 p.m. St. Louis kick. The win probability from the match preview has San Jose at 47%, the draw at 24%, and CITY at 29%. That feels about right. It is on the road. San Jose is third in the West. CITY is seventh. And CITY is walking into it without Hartel.

The table says this is a big one. San Jose sits third with 33 points, a 10-3-5 record, 37 goals scored, 24 allowed, and a plus-13 goal differential. CITY sits seventh with 26 points, a 7-5-6 record, 24 goals scored, 24 allowed, and an even goal differential. That is the difference right now. CITY has stabilized. San Jose has been more dangerous.

The matchup stats tell the same story: CITY can possess, but San Jose can punch. CITY has the edge in possession, 50.4% to 47.6%. CITY also averages more passes, 489.3 to 409.4, and has better passing accuracy, 85.7% to 81.6%. That fits what we have seen lately. CITY can control the ball. CITY can dictate stretches. CITY can look like the better team for long periods.

But San Jose is more dangerous in the places that make scoreboards rude. San Jose averages 5.6 shots on goal compared to CITY’s 4.8. Their expected goals number is significantly higher, 41.1 to CITY’s 28.2. They have scored 37 goals while CITY has scored 24. That is the concern. CITY may have more of the ball, but San Jose has been better at turning attacks into actual damage. Possession is nice. Goals are nicer. This concludes my TED Talk.

So the San Jose plan has to be simple: limit their high-quality chances and do not waste possession pretending sideways passing is a personality. CITY can absolutely get something from this match. They have been in strong form, they have defended better, and they have generally had good moments against San Jose over the last few seasons. But on the road, against a top-three team, without Hartel, CITY has to be cleaner. No lazy giveaways. No endless recycling with no bite. No crosses launched into the witness protection program.

The starting XI will be fascinating, especially because Hartel is no longer there to solve everyone’s problems. Becher probably starts up top because he is the option. Löwen should be involved. Sang-Bin needs to bounce back from a rough RSL performance. Mățan deserves real minutes after the spark he brought. Holse, if ready, needs to start becoming part of the attacking picture immediately. And then there is the weekly spiritual test known as Conrad Wallem.

Yes, we have to talk about Wallem again, and yes, I am tired too. Against RSL, Wallem had another low-rated performance. To be fair, several attacking players were rough. Sang-Bin was actually the lowest-rated starter. Becher was not great. Löwen was not great. This was not one guy single-handedly ruining a masterpiece. But the Wallem pattern is getting hard to ignore: backward passes, bad crosses, limited final-third quality, and enough frustration that even Duds noticed it live.

Wallem feels like a bench piece right now, not a player who should keep getting written into the starting XI in permanent marker. If Mățan is ready, let him cook. If Holse is ready, let him cook. If Sang-Bin is on the field, let him run at people. CITY just lost Hartel. They do not have the luxury of starting attackers who do not consistently create danger. The attack needs teeth. Not polite possession. Teeth.

A draw at San Jose would be perfectly acceptable. Take the point, get back on the plane, and move on. A road point against the third-place team in the West after losing Hartel would be solid business. A win would be massive. A loss would not be the end of the world, but it would make the next match at Kansas City feel much more important than anyone wants it to feel.

The next four-match stretch is where CITY’s season gets very real. First San Jose away. Then Kansas City away. Then Houston and Dallas at home. That is a huge run of games. San Jose is above CITY. Houston and Dallas are above CITY. Kansas City is still Kansas City, and yes, they are low in the table, but rivalry games exist mostly to make normal logic useless. If CITY can pull 3-4 points from the next two road matches, they will be in good shape heading into those home games.

Now let’s rewind quickly to Real Salt Lake, because that game still feels like a missed opportunity wearing a respectable-result costume. CITY drew RSL 1-1 at Energizer Park. A point against a strong team is fine. Keeping the unbeaten streak alive is fine. But CITY had 21 shots, 7 on target, 68% possession, 608 passes, 90% pass accuracy, and 9 corners. RSL had 7 shots, 2 on target, and 32% possession. CITY dominated the game and still needed Hartel to rescue the point. That is both encouraging and deeply annoying.

The first half against RSL was basically CITY holding the ball hostage and forgetting to demand a goal as ransom. I brought Duds from NFNPPOD, and we started the night properly: beers at The Pitch, out of the rain, over to Energizer Park, another drink, Olive & Oak burgers, and then a first-half standing spot on the second level near the supporters section. It was opposite my usual seats, and honestly, the angle was great. We watched CITY attack right in front of us for most of the half.

CITY controlled everything early, but the final product was missing. The possession had to be somewhere in the 70% range in the first half. RSL could barely get out. CITY had pressure, territory, and energy. But the chances turned into broken plays, bad crosses, offside calls, or shots right at the keeper. That is how you let a road team survive. And if you let a good road team survive, they eventually find a way to make you regret it.

Sure enough, RSL had one good spell and scored first. That was the most annoying part of the night. CITY controlled the match, but RSL had a 5-10 minute stretch, found the goal through Sergio Solans in the 60th minute, and suddenly the team with all the possession was chasing. Soccer is cruel like that. It lets you dominate for an hour and then slaps you with one clean moment.

Then Hartel and Mățan came on, and the match immediately felt different. Mățan brought pace and energy. Hartel brought control and anticipation. The attack looked more dangerous. The corners started piling up. The crowd woke back up. And in the 72nd minute, Hartel did what Hartel does: read the bad goalkeeper pass, pounce, and finish. That is not luck. That is a player thinking one step ahead and then actually burying the chance.

That goal may have been Hartel’s final gift to St. Louis. He saved the point. He kept the unbeaten streak alive. He reminded everyone exactly why losing him hurts. And yes, it is painful that the final image may be Hartel coming off the bench to rescue a match right before leaving for Germany. That is poetic, but in the annoying way, like a movie ending where your favorite character moves away and everyone pretends they are fine.

CITY had time to find a winner and never did. After the equalizer, it felt like the second goal was coming. The pressure was there. The corners were there. The belief was there. But the finish was not. And that is the theme that keeps following this team around: they can dominate, they can press, they can possess, but they still need someone who lives to score goals.

That is why the true No. 9 conversation is not going away. It is louder now. Hartel is gone. The DP slot is open. CITY has creators. CITY has midfield pieces. CITY has energy. CITY has new attacking talent. But they still need a striker who changes games by finishing chances, not almost finishing chances, not creating pressure, not making smart runs that become moral victories. Goals. Real goals. First-half goals. Road goals. Ugly goals. The kind of goals that make possession actually matter.

So yes, losing Hartel stings, but the season is not dead. That is the weird part. CITY is still seventh. CITY still has momentum. Mățan looks exciting. Holse is here. Löwen is still capable of being a major piece. Durkin and Edelman can still anchor things. Sang-Bin can still be dangerous. Becher can still contribute. The team is not empty. But the margin for error just got thinner.

San Jose is the first test of the post-Hartel version of CITY. Not the final answer. Not the whole season. But the first real test. Can CITY go on the road against a top-three Western Conference team and still look dangerous without the guy who drove the offense? Can Mățan and Holse begin to fill the gap? Can Damet find the right lineup? Can the attack stop politely knocking and start kicking doors open?

We were supposed to say all this on the podcast, but Kev’s power went out, the recording disappeared, and now I am writing it down like a soccer blogger with trust issues. We will try to regroup next week. Hopefully we are talking about a CITY result in San Jose, a strong performance from the new guys, and maybe, just maybe, actual No. 9 news. Until then, CITY heads west, Hartel heads home, and the rest of us are left staring at the table doing math.

The run is still alive. The questions just got bigger.

Posse out.