...... So Now What?

So.... Now what? Union lose at Columbus 4-1 and show what happens when you have problems at the very top of your organization, with Sakiewicz. Someone who I think gravely under qualified to run a sports team. In fact, if Red Bull didn't come in to buy the Metrostars in 2007(I think that was the year), he would not be screwing up our team.

I believe most of you know that I want a change in the FO. But I'll write about how the team can throw some bandages on this team and hopefully get a patch-job until the summer transfer window opens and we can do some actual things. Assuming Sakiewicz realizes that he needs to buy a coupple players this summer. You know, guys that won't blow chunks (aka Carlos Valdes and Rais M'bolhi) and will step up. So this is what you do.

1 - Get a proper starting XI

There has been way too much shuffling around with the Starting XI for us to win. I know guys were/are injured and Pfeffer getting called up the U20s didn't help. But, get a proper starting eleven. And choose youth over experience you're in doubt. This is what I mean, if I have to choose between Pfeffer and Carroll for DM spot, I choose Pfeffer because if I were to see either person mess up, I would be able to justify Pfeffer because he's young, and can/will learn from it. Another example, instead of throwing Fabinho out there last week, I would have rather seen Raymond Lee. Yeah, I know that Lee was a big part in the two late goals vs. SKC, but I would rather have  youth mess rather than my older guys. Especially when you know that youth players are physically gifted.(Lee is the second fastest player on Union behind Gaddis). Also, put Le Toux on the bench. I like the guy, but he has done nothing through 9 games to show that he has deserves to play 84 minutes per game. Put Ayuk in, at the very least, he gives you energy and has given you more offensive production than Le Toux + Wenger. Also, that'll send a message throughout the locker room for all the guys to wake the hell up because you are benching the most successful player in franchise history.

In my opinion, this is what you go with vs Toronto. 4-2-3-1. I know, no real surprises there. (Lee(Gaddis)-Vitoria(White)-Edu-Gaddis(Williams);Lahoud-Pfeffer;Sapong-Maidana-Ayuk;Casey). With the subs, I say you bring on McLaughlin for Ayuk, Nogueira for Lahoud, and Aristeguieta or Catic for Casey). I don't think Nando will be be physically fit enough to go a full 90 after missing the last game.  I've seen which guys are willing to do what it takes to win and put the blood, sweat and tears in. I'm not saying that the others guys don't work hard; all I'm saying is that its time for the guys who look disinterested or aren't performing well to ride the pine.

2 - Raise Hell

Go watch the "MLS 36: Matt Besler and Aurelien Collin" and go to the 19:57 mark where Peter Vermes is addressing the guys at half time. I don't know if Curtin is doing this; I don't think he is because he is a guy who wants to talk things with guys. Raise hell Curtin, call guys out. Get in their face, throw some chairs. Let them know who is boss. It's not your job to be their friend, it's your job to get every drop of success out of the players as you can. I think to an extent, great coaches demand a healthy fear from their players. Do you think Greg Popovich says you know what Tony, You need to do better? No! He gets in his face, goes all drill sergeant on his guys and gets them to get their crap straight. I'm not saying be the next Peter Nowak and deprive your players of water during practice, but your job is not to be their friend, but their coach. Also, show some emotions on the sidelines; every game, the camera points to you and have this stoic look on your face. You're not modeling man, get in fourth officials face, make things happen

This is what I meant by allowing Jim Curtin to grow as a manager in my previous post. He needs to learn these things and I think he will, because if not anything else, I think the man cares for this team and the fans.

3 - Transfers

First things first, clear the cap space by getting of Rais M'bolhi and hope some European team picks up Carlos Valdes from Nacional. I don't know if Nick Sakiewicz knows, but Rais played in a league called MLS, and he stunk it up so bad that he was replaced by a kid in the North American 3rd division.

Union Transfers tweeted the Erik Hurtado is on the trading block, and they could really use a guy like that. He is fast, has a left foot(something Union need really bad right now), and can provide some very much needed depth to the roster, especially in mid-field. Try to get a left-footed LB and a proper Defensive mid-fielder. I would keep Edu at the CB spot and have him continue to learn that position because if he wants a shot back on the USMNT, it will have to be at CB because US is too deep in box-to-box mids. And, without a question, Edu is the best athlete on the roster.

Also, if you can trade/sell either Gaddis or Williams at the end of the season, I would do it. I would keep Gaddis because he has a higher ceiling and I think they are about equally good. Regardless, if you should offload one, simply because you don't want to block up too much of your salary cap with LB/RBs. Maybe look to get a young RB(maybe Generation Adidas player) in the draft.

4 - Patience

I might sound crazy, but I have blind faith in Jim Curtin. I like the guy. Is he perfect? No. But he is a young head coach that still a lot to learn and has probably been thrown into the fire a bit too early. However, I think we as fans should bare the storm(I know I hate saying this). Allow the team to learn to be better. It is just not good for the development of our players to have such inconsistency at the manager position. Do we really want to be the next TFC(not financially, but successfully) of the MLS? Nope! Patience man, give the coach time to right this ship!

The Current State of the Philadelphia Union

If you came here looking for my criticism of the Philadelphia Union's loss to the New England Revolution, you can go ahead read my post from two weeks ago about the loss to SKC and switch out the team names because my feeling is about the same. I do want to write about the state of the Union as a team, and as an organization.

Now it's no surprise that people want Jim Curtin fired because of the team's performance over the last few weeks. The thing I don't understand is.... Why? Let's say that the claim is 100% justified and that Curtin is let go. What do you think the front office will do? Pry Arsene Wenger out of the hands of Arsenal by paying him $8 million vs. the $6.8 he makes right now? Nope. The Union will try to offer the job to anyone who is remotely qualified and is willing work for under $70k(guestimated number). That is a near certainity. After Curtin's strong run last summer, he was able to negotiate his salary up to $104k(read on wikipedia). That is the mantra of Nick Sakiewicz. Since his days at the Metro-Stars, he has been very parsimonious when it comes to expenditures, and I get that the Union are not owned by a big conglomerate and that we're a team that we will have to be the Eibar to the FC Barcelona of the Seattle Sounders and LA Galaxy in MLS. For this to work, Sak must make smart and calculated decisions with personnel, especially players: a thing for which he has no track record. If not, the Union will fall further behind in an increasingly competitive Major League Soccer. Sak has no proper experience in either playing or successfully operating a soccer team. I can count his professional appearances with one hand.(Which is two professional appearances) Do you remember the chant that the Sons of Ben do every time the Red Bulls roll into town "(19) years.... no cup!" Do you know who was in charge of that team up until it was sold to Red Bull? That is right, our best friend Nick Sakiewicz. I'm not saying he's a bad guy, but his best position on the Board of Directors should be deciding which shade of Navy Blue the Union jerseys be.(To which he will choose the cheapest one) We can only pray that Jeffrey Lurie comes banging on the doors of PPL Park with a check for $180 million, which is exactly twice what the Union were worth in 2013 according to Forbes magazine. Or we can hope that Sak comes to his senses and hires a general manager. I would be fine with either to be honest. I think the fan base is right in calling for the Board to hire a General Manager because I haven't seen any real fruits of the Renee Meulensteen experiment.

I would like to make this clear, it's clear that Sackiewicz is a fan of soccer; he has great passion and interest in it. However, his expertise lies more in the business side of the team(marketing, advertising, and making sure the team is avoiding red tape).  His performance indicates that he is not good at the human resource management aspect of the team, aka the numerous failed acquisitions (Valdes, M'bolhi, and Adu). Although, you have to give him credit for bringing Maurice Edu in, who I think has been the best signing for this franchise by far.

Now you are wondering what can you do? Well, not much. Of course you can try to organize a boycott and force the Union FO to make changes, but that is really difficult. I believe that the sleeping giant in this story are our favorite supporters group, the Sons of Ben. I remember hearing the quote "you will really see the Sons of Ben flexing their muscle here and showing what they can do" in an interview once, and I think they could force changes. Either by going straight to the board of directors and demanding changes, or by organizing an ownership group change by asking a bunch of wealthy Philadelphians(just my personal preference) who would be willing to make this team competitive to invest in this club. I know it sounds a little far-fetched, but hey so did an MLS club in Philadelphia ten years ago.

Now, about this whole Jim Curtin issue. I know what everybody is thinking, Curtin clearly looks out of sorts. He doesn't know what he is doing. Well, no freaking crap. Did you expect him to turn around this team in a span of one year and learn how to be a manager? No, that's way to steep of a demand for a guy that has no real experience in being a manager. All I'm saying is that we finally have a no non-sense guy who understands what we go through as fans. Let's not throw this away be demanding a change every two years. Do we really wanna be known as the Toronto FC of the United States? The thing I have to criticize us Philadelphians for is our lack of patience every time we deal with youth and inexperience, we demand results right away. We don't do well with growing pains. We flipped s*** at Todd Bowles because he didn't perform as the Eagles D-Coordinator. What did he do? Go to the Cardinals, perform well in Arizona and now he has a head coaching job. Look, all I'm saying is that you have a guy who knows what Philadelphia fans are about, and understands the trouble of being a fan in this town. Allow him to learn how to do his job, this team won't turn into the next dominant MLS franchise over night, but allow him to do his thing and develop as a manger, let him make mistakes and criticize him at times when he does so just so he knows that we're holding him accountable. Another NFL reference, Mike McCarthy was 8-8 his first season as a head coach in the NFL, but ultimately won the Superbowl, and it took Einstein 10 years to perfect his theory or relatively. And Ben Olson won just three games two years with DC United but took the team to the playoffs last year and to back-to-back Champions League appearances. We have potential, at least as far as the manager position is concerned, let's not allow our patented impatience get in the way of success.

Other than that, I hope the Union can pull off a tie against Columbus this Saturday. DOOP!

Thoughts Philadelphia Union 1 - 1 NYCFC

I'm in the middle of an exam week so I'll have to make this quick. I was just gonna skip, but I wanna make a commitment to doing these after every game.

First off, I wanna make a correction from my last post, I went back and looked at the game from last week, and Ayuk is pretty good at the combination play(as Jim Curtin pointed out during the presser). So, my apologizes for that.

So, here it is. Post match reactions:

The good

-Backline was solid once again. Especially Vitoria and Edu. They still struggle against combination play, but that'll get better with time and continuity.

-Curtin's subs were good for a second game in a row. Maidana, Pfeffer, and Sapong clearly made a difference. Hope Noguiera isn't injured too bad(And now that we're not gonna see them for a few months, I hope the same for David Villa). I mean, I would have been kind of sad if Villa hurt himself really bad. But let's on Saturday he tweaked his hamstring a little would have to be out for a week maximum, I would not have felt too bad for Man City B.... I mean, NYCFC, I don't know why I keep messing up like that.

-Nando continues to impress me with his guts and effort. I wanted one of his long range shots to go in simple because as Philly fans we normally don't see them and it would have a goal nonetheless.

-Ayuk really freaking fun to watch.

-Just because we have seen how bad a team can play without this, I'll put camaraderie on here. It was awesome to see Sheanon Williams push Grabavoy back after that one play. I saw(and I could be wrong) that Grabavoy was mad because Ayuk wrongfully pushed Villa out of bounds(which he didn't, he clearly had the better positioning). 

The bad

-Lack of possession will hurt us(41%-59%). We could have the same back four as AC Milan, but if we continue to lose the possession battle as bad as we do, we're eventually going to get burned.

-Wenger just seems out of sorts. I would like to see Pfeffer start in his spot next game just to light a fire under Wenger's butt. Also, as much running as Le Toux does, I still wanna see him get on the score sheet. I know he's going through a slump right now but Jamison Olave has more goals for Philadelphia than Le Toux does seven games in.

-Teams are going to game plan for Ayuk, and he will need to add layers to his game and continue to develop to be as effective as he has been(which makes sense for a guy that's really young).

Sunday:

-I think the Union will push and press to get a goal, maybe two if they're lucky in the first(maybe 60 minutes) if possible but they will run out of gas because 3 games in 8 days is a very tough ask. In terms of the line-up, I have no idea. We're still not 100% fit, so I can't even predict what will happen.

Post Game Thoughts Philadelphia Union def. NYCFC 2-1

The good:

Overall, the team did not have an awful game. This is good because they walked away with three points while still having a huge room for improvement. The one thing that stood out to me was that Curtin made good substitutions, given that being kind of forced to sub two guys out when they get hurt.(Sapong > Le Toux, Pfeffer > Maidana, Ayuk > Casey). Regardless, the changes that were made had a big impact in the game with Sapong getting behind NYCFC's back line a couple times, Casey with the a few good moments, and Maidana doing Maidana things. Also, it was nice to see the Union getting a win in stoppage time instead of the opposite happening.

The young guys: Pfeffer, McCarthy, and Ayuk all had solid performances. I'm still high on this kid Ayuk, his game is just so raw and so fun to watch, I can't describe it. I think that he might lose his spot when the team is 100% healthy, in that case I would to see him sent to Harrisburg because this kid is way to talented to not get playing time and continue to develop.

The back four of Gaddis-Vitoria-Edu-Williams looked good. Edu confirmed my ideas of playing CB being his best way back onto the national team. I saw him join the attack like he would if he was playing CDM once or twice, and it's okay as long as he is as fast to recover because we can all see that the back line plays much better with Edu back there. Vitoria is beginning to look more and more at home with Edu as a partner, so let's keep that CB combo together.

Michael Lahoud himself a solid game, he did what he should do. Clean up a little in the back, keep his passes simple, and allow the technically more gifted guys to get on with the attack(Nogueira, Pfeffer, Ayuk, Wenger, and Le Toux).

I think a lot of people, including myself, forgot how big of an impact Chaco can have on a game. I'd still like to see Chaco be more consistent with that when he is 100% healthy, but regardless it was good to see him out on the pitch.

The bad:

I know that Curtin preaches that when you intend to play counter attacking soccer, you don't need possession, but I think that even he will admit that losing possession as bad as the Union did on Saturday is just asking for trouble. Also, a couple of the players need to watch their discipline. Pfeffer especially, I know he's young and this is the first time in his career that he's continuously being put on the spot like this, but he made a reckless challenge against NYCFC. I remember Kevin Kinkead also noticing it and posting about it on twitter. I don't care if its clumsiness, the other guy being irritating, or if an asteroid lands behind him and the shock wave flies him into the opposing player. A red card, as he should know, will hurt this a lot, and the manager and captain need to make sure he knows that. Also, having Nando not play not only hurt my fantasy team, but it hurt our chances of holding possession. I'm happy that his absence did not cost this team any points, but it is easy to see why Nando is so important in this line and it's nice to see this team getting healthy again.

Wenger's first touch is so off, I don't know what it is with Wenger, but he needs to relax. He is trying to do way too much, and I feel like this is a common feeling among this fan base. I know his assists were nice and all but early in the second half, I counted at least two or three times where he took a bad first touch and lost possession. I might be being too critical here, because he had two balls which eventually led to a goal, but still. There is room for improvement. Wenger is at his best when he keeps things simple aka the the pass to Le Toux and the game winning cross.

The good thing with all the bad that I've stated is that they are very correctable, and that there is room for improvement and that we know that this team is nowhere near its peak.

Looking forward to NYCFC on Thursday:

I'm assuming Curtin won't mess about with the game plan too much. I think we got lucky that Diskerud got called into the USA vs. Mexico friendly because it means that he probably won't play on Thursday. I think with the whole 3 game in 8 eight days, Curtin must have another strong performance with his subs to keep the field players fresh and ready for Sunday. Philadelphia need to at least get a draw in Yankee Stadium. If the guys can do that, we are right back in the east.

Long term goals:

My views on the long term goals are pretty much the same as they were for my post last week, so check them out if you're interested.

Post-Game Thoughts: SKC def. Union 3-2

Reaction:

I think the Union didn't play a bad game against SKC on Sunday night. In fact, they played great if you don't watch the game from the 85th minute to the end. Think about it, during that great run last year where the Union got back into the playoff race, this is how they played. Strong defense, and quick counters. However, just like last year, last minute goals became the death of this team. But I do see some positives from last night's gut wrenching loss. Overall, the camaraderie was better between the team. It was nice to see; also, watching Ray Gaddis take this step to become a leader on this team is also a big positive. I can't think of anyone that embodies this city more: the guy works his tail off, worked his way to the starting job, and  last year he played more minutes than anyone else in the league. I think a January camp call up is in the works next year if all goes well.

I'm not trying to make excuses for this team, but I think we all saw the effect of having so many players out. There are quite a few fans that criticized subbing Raymond Lee in at LB when Fabinho went down. I personally don't see why. Yes, Lee is inexperienced but McLaughlin and Ethan White do not play LB as their natural position or are left-footed and would have been just as, if not more clueless in defending. So, if you have to choose between inexperience in the league and inexperience in the position, I would have chosen inexperience in the league(Lee) too. Although, I have to say, Lee's marking on the two goals was awful. He gave the runner an inside track to goal instead of forcing the runner out and making him shoot across the goal.

Le Toux should have buried that in the back of the net. Lahoud  had two great options: a) settle the ball and rip or b) lay it off to Nando who had no one within 10 yards of him. I mean, I don't know what else to say other than that. I'm just too demoralized from this loss to get angry.

Anyone else think Ayuk was the greatest thing since sliced bread last night. Yeah, he gave up possession easily a few times; but, this kid is dynamic which is something the Union just haven't had....... ever.

What do we do now:

I think we should still give it more time(until end of game 11), Yes I am jumping on this band wagon. But, I saw something promising yesterday which I didn't against Colorado, RSL, Dallas, or Chicago: an identity. The players finally know what they are doing and with Edu in the back line, the defense will become more and more stout; this will help out with the counter attack, which is what we do best. Also, with Le Toux playing up-top in a 4-4-2, it gives the Union a fast striker which is very important for a team relying on counters. Fernando is great in the box(as we have seen), but he is just not fast enough to threaten teams on the counter by himself. Also, with Pfeffer definitely coming back this weekend, I would have the Union play in a 4-4-2 with the following line-up(I'm also assuming Sheanon Williams comes back). Gaddis-Vitoria-Edu-Williams; Wenger-Lahoud-Noguiera-Pfeffer; Arristeguita-Le Toux. If possible,

The way NYCFC plays, it falls right into our lap. They are a possession team that likes to control the tempo. Which is great, Union can play good defense counter when possible. If the Union can sneak out 4 points with the two games against NYCFC(yes, I realize how big of an ask this is, but it's doable), we are back in business.

What do the Union do long term:

1) Sell M'bolhi, get rid of him, eat the money and terminate his contract, do something, anything to not have him play on this team. Yes he played mindbogglingly well in Brazil, but he has shown that he simply is not the same player or teammate(the more alarming change one of the two) that he was in the World Cup, for whatever reason. As Kevin Kinkead said "The US produces enough keepers to not have to pay one an absurd amount of money and use up an international slot." Also, yes you can chalk away some of the goals to bad defending but where do the excuses stop. For a guy getting paid that much money, he has to be a leader and a good keeper; but he has done neither, the buck has to stop somewhere, and it should end now.

2) We have seen that with Edu playing CB, the Union does need an upgrade at DM(Lahoud is clearly not the long-term answer there). On a side note, does anyone else get why  Okugo is no longer here? He was the DM, keep him there let him develop the kid was on like 24 years old. But yeah, get a better DM.

3) Ayuk, Lee, and Catic need playing time. Loan them out to Harrisburg City( I mean, a proper full time loan not a this whole train with the Union and play for HCI stuff). Let them get the full experience of playing in a professional environment. Let them gel with the players out there and play as a team. Watching the HCI games the last two weeks, I've noticed that there seems to be something off(players not being on the same page, sloppy play, etc.) and training and being the HCI team full time will only help with that. Half-assing this affiliation with only stunt their development. I could wrong, but I think HCI now trains in Chester, this should be fairly easy.

4) Nick Sakiewicz needs to go. I looked this guy up, and he seems to pretty decent at laying out the foundation and infrastructure for a club. He has built to soccer specific stadiums(Red Bull Arena and PPL Park) and worked through the bureaucratic mess whole to get the practice fields, and starting this affiliation to HCI. But he has underachieved: he could have built a stadium in a better location, he could have located the practice fields in a better location(again building PPL Park in a better location), and he could have started(and maybe he has) to buy out HCI so Union get more of a say on the development of their players. So essentially, from a business perspective Sakiewicz isn't a failure. The guy has put in the groundwork to establish this club; in terms of the soccer knowledge, this guy could not be more clueless. I think he needs to go. All of his products have been decent in the sense that he got it done, but his overall performance has been so mediocre it's not even funny.