For Roland Alberg and the Union attack, there hasn't been much
to smile about the last three games. (For DFM/Mikey Reeves)

In their last three games, the latest a 1-0 loss to Columbus Saturday night, the Union have all of four shots on target, including a penalty kick. That is suboptimal; with the club amidst a stretch of winnable games against Eastern Conference opposition, it’s one of the worst times this could occur.

Connecting the dots here isn’t difficult. The Union aren’t creating chances why? Because they lack an elite chance creator in their front four. Specifically, they lack anything approaching a standout No. 10 in a system that demands one.

My position on this matter is on record: The Union should sell out this summer, find their starting No. 10 of the future and cut bait on options whose contracts can be escaped at season’s end. But I think that argument requires a little refinement. So allow me three points to burnish that position:

- The 90-minute fallacy. Roland Alberg is playing the best soccer of his Union tenure. Ilsinho can be one of the league’s premier game-changers. These are positions that manager Jim Curtin has advanced about his existing options in the middle of the pitch.

Both are patently false. And even if there are slivers of truth, they are overridden by a singular verity: Neither is a 90-minute performer in MLS.

This is beyond the realm of speculation; it’s verifiably proven. Alberg has logged the full 90 minutes four times in 41 MLS matches, 18 of them starts. (Yes, through a season and a half, Alberg is averaging 12 starts a season.) The adjustment phase has ended; we’re seeing Roland Alberg for what he is.

Ilsinho has gone 90 minutes just twice in 41 MLS matches, 29 starts. He turns 32 in October. His fitness drastically improving is about as likely as me hitting that elusive growth spurt to get on NBA teams’ radars.

Neither is a 90-minute player. As evidence, I submit that neither has ever been a 90-minute player in MLS.

- Not exactly apple pie. The argument I got plenty of on Twitter Saturday night was what I fear will remain in vogue for a while: The season’s lost, let Adam Najem play. Indeed, the Union have two creative midfield options of the future in Najem and newly signed Homegrown Player Anthony Fontana, whose contract goes into effect in Jan. 2018. That’s solid depth, so why not cultivate it?
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UNION (4-2-3-1)

McCarthy

Fabinho-Edu-Marquez-Gaddis

Lahoud-Nogueira

Le Toux-Maidana-Barnetta

Sapong

Bench: Blake, Vitoria, Carroll, Wenger, Ayuk, Casey, Creavalle

Sporting KC (4-3-3) 

Melia 

Sinovic-Besler-Ellis-Myers 

Feilhaber-Mustivar-Nagamur

Nemeth-Dwyer-Zusi 

Bench: Kempin, Palmer-Brown, Abdul-Salaam, Quintilla, Peterson, Lopez

Preview 

- The question on all the Union fans’ minds was, as always, goalkeeping. And the answer is Andre Blake. The Jamaican’s 10-save performance vs. New England on the weekend was enough to sway Jim Curtin away from John McCarthy, who was in goal for the four games that led to the final. It’s just Blake’s fourth match with the Union this season and seventh consecutive match overall.

- The only other shock in the 18 is the exclusion of Fernando Aristeguieta. Curtin opts for extra defensive options, with Steven Vitoria preferred to Aristeguieta as the fifth international. There’s enough offensive cover with Andrew Wenger back to complement Eric Ayuk and Conor Casey.
- The rest of the Union XI is pretty standard for Curtin’s preferences. The attacking triumvirate of Tranquillo Barnetta, Vincent Nogueira and Cristian Maidana is intact. Michael Lahoud is preferred to Brian Carroll in the center of midfield.

- No surprises from Sporting KC either. Krisztian Nemeth returns to the lineup as a wing forward after three games out. Roger Espinoza’s injury strips some dynamism from the KC midfield, so it’s Paulo Nagamura out there next to Benny Feilhaber. Depriving Feilhaber space and time on the ball to distribute up top to Dom Dwyer, Nemeth and Graham Zusi will be key, and it largely falls to Lahoud to corral that. The bench, however, is fairly thin for SKC, with Jacob Peterson the biggest threat.

I did learn a lot from the Seattle game last year. I thought we were a fresh team going into it, but we did play a lineup that kind of was repeated and played again in the final. So, I won’t have any regrets this year. I’ll play a fresh team, completely fresh team, in the final.

- Jim Curtin, Sept. 16

We’ll find the right balance of lineup to give guys the proper rest and proper confidence going into a final. I’ll tell you there will be no regrets in terms of whether we are fresh or not in terms of the final. We will be fresh for sure.

- Jim Curtin, Sept. 20

Often without much provocation the last two weeks, Philadelphia Union manager Jim Curtin has been forthcoming with his vision for how the final days of September should play out. With the playoffs falling out of view, all of the squad’s efforts have been geared to one solitary date: The Sept. 30 U.S. Open Cup final against Sporting Kansas City.

Curtin is a manager that you can often take at his word. Judging by the above quotes, he’ll dial up massive changes for Saturday’s trip to New England, a game in which the Union’s hope of a result would be remote, regardless.

Here’s what the Union did last season, playing New York Red Bulls at PPL Park Saturday before entertaining Seattle at home Tuesday in the cup final.

Union lineups vs. New York Red Bulls Sept. 13, 2014 in MLS play (left)
and vs. Seattle in the Open Cup final Sept. 16, 2014 (right). (Via MLSsoccer.com)

That’s 6.5/7 changes, depending on how you look at it, with Ray Gaddis and Maurice Edu each changing positions but playing in both games. That’s a fairly fresh team, you’d think. But the result against Seattle, with the Sounders looking far stronger in extra time, may indicate that more rest is required. The term “fresh” is inherently ambiguous, and for some players, getting a half or 90 minutes is preferable to a weekend off in terms of their sharpness, though the three subs limit how many can follow that tack.
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