Looking forward to Red Bull

I know we all rejoiced when Pfeffer netted that goal, but I kinda didn't want to win. The #SackSak movement was picking up steam, and all of a sudden, no one is talking about it. Partially though, I think it's because a lot of fans, myself included, don't see a light at the end of the tunnel. Sakiewicz is a partial owner which means rooting him from his spot on the board of directors is going to be EXTREMELY difficult. I don't know about the rest of you Union fans, but I took all of the statements that Sakiewicz released on Sunday and Monday as him saying "f*** you Union fans, there is nothing you can do." I only say this because he said the same crap as he has said over and over again, and it felt more like an effort to appease the national media, local media, and the fan base than anything else.

Alright so... the task at hand, PHI @ NYRB

NYRB remind me a lot of Sporting KC in terms of how they go about business: it's high pressure, quasi-SKC when from two years ago. Obviously, I think SKC was a more complete team than NYRB is, but I think we should expect the Union to try to play defense, give up most of the possession, and rely on the counter.

Suggested starting line up (4-2-3-1): Williams(Lee or Fabinho)-Marquez-White-Gaddis(Williams); Nogueira-Pfeffer;Fabinho(Wenger)-Maidana-Le Toux;Casey

Primary starter(secondary starter depending how injuries play out). 

So now, let me justify my line up:

Marquez & White because.... well, whose else can you have out there? Mo is suspended, Vitoria is injured.

Nogueira & Pfeffer because Curtin wants offensive production out of this position. Meanwhile, Nogueira prefers to sit deeper, and with Pfeffer being more of an attacking mid-fielder can provide production without sacrificing defensive cover.

Casey because he has generally played well against NYRB, and neither Sapong nor Aristeguieta has been in training extensively this week. Although, I would expect him to be subbed sometime between halftime to the 60th minute mark.

Fabinho(Wenger)-Maidana-Le Toux: We all know that Fabinho does better when he doesn't have to play defense. Maidana so he can Maidana things. Le Toux because he tends to stay more on the wing when Casey is on the field, and because he is about to turn a corner, in terms of form(that's what my gut says). However, I think Curtin will put Wenger a LW simply because he believes that Wenger can break his slump and start being effective. (Don't get me wrong, if Wenger does break this slump, it will take Union to a new level because at least offensively, Union are doing 11 men's work with 10).

The LB and RB sport: If you can start Williams at LB, and Gaddis at RB because Gaddis can give it a go, do it! However, if Gaddis can't go, move Williams to RB, and move Lee to the LB spot. My reasoning for putting Lee out there over Fabinho is because if I wanna see someone get burned, I would rather see a young kid out there who has room to improve vs. Fabinho who really does not). Again, I don't think Curtin shares this sentiment.

I personally would satisfied with a draw at NYRB(expecting based on merit that is being optimistic, but if you don't have hope, who do you have?).

Status of Continental Club Soccer in North America

Like millions of other soccer fans, I am a big fan of the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Europa League.The passion3, the buzz, and the quality of play is so much fun to watch that it is hard for me not be mesmerized. Which beckons the question, why is the CONCACAF Champions League(CCL) not only not on the same level but light years behind its European cousin?

First off, like most things in the real world, where is the money? From my latest reading, there is no significant prize money. You get prize money for qualifying for the FIFA Club World Cup, which is about $0.5 million from my readings, but there is no direct prize money from CONCACAF for winning the tournament. So, to make CONCACAF Champions League competitive, there needs to be some form of incentive for the teams to put forth their best effort. Just to clarify, by best effort, I mean best players playing, adding more depth, and making CCL a priority. The only CONCACAF can do this is through successful branding. And the good thing is that there is certainly potential for it. I believe I read @thegoalkeeper on twitter say that more than 500k tuned into the first leg of the CONCACAF Champions League final for the first leg on Unimas; I'm not sure about the second leg, that fell during my finals week, so I was completely unaware of anything that happened(outside of the result). In addition, you have to look at the gate sales for both the legs of the CONCACAF Champions league, both at Estadio Azteca and Stadium Olympic. Both of which were sold out with a total sum of more than 160k+ in attendance. If done properly, the CCL could become the premier spectacle of North American club soccer.

Secondly, when you think of CONCACAF in general, a lot of bad things come to mind. Bad officiating, racist fans, body fluids being thrown at players, and etc. CONCACAF needs to a better job of eliminating these incidents from the CCL. I know that it will be a difficult to eradicate completely, but the measures that CONCACAF has taken is definitely not up to par. For CCL to take a step up in the food chain of continental soccer, it needs to get rid of the unnecessary idiotic-ness in the competition.

A lot of soccer fans can recall Montreal's latest run to the CCL finals, and everybody began talking about how this would make a statement for the league and how far it has come. I mean, how far has it come really? Outside of the emergence of big-market, deep-pocketed teams like LA, Seattle, NYC, and Toronto, most owners are still very parsimonious with their acquisitions, and most marque-players coming over still past 32 years of age(what I consider to be the last year of their physical prime). I was rooting for Montreal like all MLS fans were, but I was heartbroken on cheering for them because of one key issue. And I'll break it down to three key parts:

a) Montreal wins the CCL, and all the other MLS teams snub it,and say something like, "look, this competition is so diluted that the team that was at the bottom of the table last year in MLS became continental champions." And they conti

b)  Montreal wins the CCL and all other MLS teams become envious of the shiny new trophies in their cabinet and begin putting in resources to winning CCL in addition to their ongoing pursuits.

c) Montreal loses the CCL final. This once again shows the gap, a growing one if I may add, between MLS to Liga MX. MLS clubs decide to actively close this gap, and more money is put into improving the quality of play. Salary Cap is dramatically increased for the 2015 season up to about $5 million, and the salary cap increases aggressively with respect to 2015 cap.

d) MLS continues this slow and painful rise as a trot out players that say the same crap over and over again of it being a 'growing league' in which 'the quality improves every year.' Meanwhile, the league continues to bring in guys that are well past their prime, many of whom cannot take the physical tolls of league play, domestic cups, and CCL. I am not talking about the mid-tier DPs like Nigel Reo-Coker, but the high-end DPs such as Thierry Henry, Robbie Keane, and David Beckham. Guys who either by their choice or the choice of their coach, did not play in the CCL.

An Open Letter to Jay Sugarman

Mr. Sugarman,

After last weekend's game, I saw a photo of a Union fan who was at the Toronto FC at Philadelphia Union game who had painted a phrase that said something like "It's either Nick Sakiewicz or the fans.... Your Pick Sugarman." That is a super bold statement, and one that I frankly agree with. Think about the successful companies not only in sports, but in the world. When have you ever heard of a company where the consumers want their CEO gone? How come we don't see Tesla Motors customers asking for Elon Musk to be fired? Why don't we see people asking for Tim Cook to go? Why aren't Philadelphians asking for Don Smolenski to be fired? The answer is simple. Those CEO have not under performed nearly as much as the CEO of the Philadelphia Union.

Allow me to use my two semesters of Economics to describe my frustration in a manner that I hope will resonate with you. You can talk about wanting soccer to grow as much as you want; however, as a businessman, you brought an MLS team to Philadelphia because you saw the demand for it. You realized that this was an opportunity for you to make a good profit. However, I don't know how you aren't fed up with the underwhelming performance of your CEO. The last time there was any real buzz around this team was 4 years ago, in 2011, and that is simply unsatisfying, especially in the results-driven, what-have-you-done-for-me recently industry of sports. Now, let's back track to the economics of you bringing this team to Philadelphia. Everyone knew of the potential success this team could have. You had a rapidly growing supporters group in the Sons of Ben, you were in the 4th largest media market in the United States, and soccer is a fast growing sport in this country; you had the formula for success before you made the announcement at City Hall. Now, more than five years after the first ball was kicked, Philadelphia Union is not one of the most competitive teams in the league. Instead, your CEO has driven fan morale in the ground, and has people threatening to boycott games instead of you having sellouts game in and game out. If you think that the reason for the team's poor performance is because of the manager, I would like you to think about whose job it was to hire this manager, the failed manager before that, and the failed one before that. Just to wrap things up, you had a demand ready-made and you had the supply. All you needed your CEO to do was not mess up the supply on the field so much that your demand erodes; the fact that you have let Mr. Nick Sakiewicz mess it up this much is way beyond my levels of understanding and comprehension.

Don't misunderstand me here, Mr. Sugarman, I don't expect this team go out and spend millions like Toronto, Seattle, Los Angeles, and Orlando City do. However, with more and more money being put into this league, if you realistically expect your team to be competitive, your organization needs to run like a well oiled machine that is firing on all cylinders; not a rusty old Buick that has as shredded timing belt. So far, I have spoken to two people who have interned at professional sports teams, and I have heard of two varying responses. One of them, who worked at a minor league baseball team, could not have been happier with the organization and how it was run; on the other hand, I had a friend who interned for Union, and he was shocked by the disarray and the poor management of the organization. You are getting outclassed by a minor league team here Mr. Sugarman. The best advice my father ever game was "You are as good as the standard you hold yourself to; if things aren't going well, hold yourself to a higher standard." So, with my final remark, I ask you Mr. Sugarman, when will you start to hold yourself and your CEO to a higher standard?

Very Respectfully,
Rutvij K. Dave