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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His third cap in four Gold Cup games was extra special for Chris Pontius,
right, in Philadelphia Wednesday. (AP)

PHILADELPHIA >> The roar was pronounced as Chris Pontius readied on the sidelines.

The other two U.S. subs Wednesday night in a 2-0 win over El Salvador in the Gold Cup quarterfinals at Lincoln Financial Field were greeted warmly, for sure. But the passion behind the reception for the Philadelphia Union midfielder was something he noticed right away.

“It was great,” Pontius said. “I had some chants going up for me, too, which was nice as well. It was special for me.”

Wednesday’s appearance was a short cameo, Pontius entering in the 87th minute for Darlington Nagbe, the U.S. well on its way to salting away the win and a berth in the semis. But as Pontius has cemented a spot in the rotation under manager Bruce Arena, this appearance brought something special.

Not that Pontius, who scored 12 goals for the Union last year and is second on the team this season with six assists despite still being in search of his first goal, needed reinforcement that he’s arrived in Philly. He played at an all-star caliber level last year, his first with the Union after seven with D.C. United, the last several blighted by recurrent leg injuries. It helped him return to the U.S. fold after six years in the wilderness.

Wednesday’s rousing welcome reinforced the point.

“That was nice,” he said. “It was definitely special for me. Just to have it here in Philly, it was a great. … I think I settled in pretty well last year. I think you saw that in my play last year. I always said it was credit to the staff and credit to the guys around me because they made me feel at home right away and it was my first time in a professional environment moving teams, so it was tough for me. Philly has welcomed me with open arms.”

Pontius has also settled into a role under Arena. He’s made five appearances this year, two in January friendlies after the offseason camp and now three in four Gold Cup games. He might not yet be at first-choice status for World Cup qualifiers, but he’s an important role player in a tournament like this that requires depth and a certain tactical flexibility.

And he’s got reason to believe his role with the team in the competition isn’t done.

“We did what we needed to do, and still we weren’t as clean as we know we needed to be,” he said. “We just need to improve on all the little things. The name of the game in this is win and move on, and we’ve done that.”

UNION (4-2-3-1) 

Blake 

Rosenberry-Onyewu-Marquez-Fabinho 

Jones-Medunjanin 

Ilsinho-Bedoya-Pontius 

Sapong 

Bench: McGuire, Gaddis, Elliott, Herbers, Epps, Alberg, Simpson

Timbers (4-2-3-1) 

Gleeson 

Powell-Olum-Miller-Farfan 

Guzman-Chara 

Blanco-Valeri-Nagbe 

Adi 

Bench: Atinella, Myers, Vytas, Okugo, Barmby, Mattocks, Ebobisse 

Preview 

- Let’s talk pyramids: Jim Curtin picks the same midfield personnel this week, but will it be the same structure? The Union succeeded last week in the second half against D.C. (albeit too little, too late in a 2-1 setback) when they left Haris Medunjanin as the lone shield for the back four with Alejandro Bedoya and Derrick Jones pushing forward (i.e., Jones further forward, Bedoya dropping further back). That formation probably suits the Union’s talent/absence of a true No. 10 better than the straight 4-2-3-1. But you’d better hope the Union have worked out the kinks, since Portland is a much better counter-attacking team than D.C.

- Richie Marquez is healthy, which means he’s back in the lineup. Jack Elliott denied his first MLS start as a result. Marquez’s health will be tested early and often with the physicality of Fanendo Adi.
- Marcus Epps on the bench? That’s, um, interesting, especially ahead of Fafa Picault.
- Few teams have as finely-crafted an identity on the field as the Timbers, so there should be no surprises for Union’s preparation. They have the hold-up play of Adi, the stellar wing skill of Diego Valeri and Darlington Nagbe and the ability to flip from defense to offense to rapidly with the dynamism of Diego Chara and David Guzman in the center of the park. There’s a reason why they lead MLS in goals this season, and it’s not just because they had Minnesota on the schedule already.

- Today marks the return of Amobi Okugo to Talen Energy Stadium. The midfielder/defender played 117 games for the Union through the 2014 season; since, he’s found it tough sledding with 23 games with Orlando City, Sporting Kansas City and now Portland. He has one start this season.

UNION (4-2-3-1)

Sylvestre

Gaddis -Edu-Marquez-Fabinho

Carroll-Nogueira 

Le Toux-Maidana-Wenger

Sapong 

Bench: McCarthy, Williams, White, Fred, Pfeffer, Hoppenot, Casey

Portland Timbers (4-2-3-1)

Weber

Peay-Ridgewell-Borchers-Jeanderson

Jewsbury-Johnson

Valeri-Fernandez-Wallace

Adi

Bench: Gleason, Manning, Thomas, Asprilla, Besler, Fochive, Nanchoff 

Preview

- The first walking wounded to return is Sebastien Le Toux, who reenters the lineup after a few weeks out with an MCL strain. That allows Jim Curtin to tab what is close to his first-choice lineup at this point in time. Andrew Wenger gets a shot at the other wing yet again.

- In the fullback shuffle again, with Ray Gaddis and Fabinho in and Sheanon Williams on the bench. That could be the biggest matchup of the day, with Diego Valeri and Rodney Wallace attacking on the wings.

- There are some big pieces missing for Portland. There’s no Diego Chara, Darlington Nagbe or Adam Kwarasey, all of whom are injured. Alvas Powell is also with Jamaica at the CONCACAF Gold Cup. That doesn't lessen the danger presented by Fanendo Adi and Valeri.

The Union’s big midseason move has been sprung, with Rais M’Bolhi joining arguably the only unit on the team that didn’t require reinforcement. In any event, the Union are getting a clear upgrade at the moment over Zac MacMath, and possibly a shot-stopper who has already surpassed anything MacMath will become, though I’d deem the jury still out on that assertion.

Algeria's Rais M’Bolhi, making a save against Russia's Alexander Samedov
during the World Cup, became the Union's latest goalkeeper of the future
with his signing Wednesday. (AP)

It’ll be a couple of weeks before the MLS Players Association releases its summer salary numbers. We know that the Union regard him as one of the top goalkeepers in MLS, and we’ll have to wait to verify if he’s compensated that way. The Union have already expressed a willingness to buck conventional wisdom to splurge for Carlos Valdes, so you’d expect the same for M’Bolhi.

In my column Thursday, I opined on the conundrum at the heart of this move: That the Union upgraded a position that needed no upgrading, leaving them to find a way to get value out of their goalkeeping glut.

There’s two key parts to that valuation: What the Union are shelling out to M’Bolhi (which we don't know for a while), and what they’ve already used on MacMath and Andre Blake. I’ll ponder the second half of that question first.

Let’s get this out of the way quickly: The Union haven’t the slightest clue how to judge goalkeeping value in the SuperDraft. In the time the Union have been in MLS, they’ve been the only club to draft a goalkeeper in the first round. They’ve done so twice. They have no intention of playing either beyond this weekend.
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Philadelphia Union (8-6-6, 30 points)

MacMath

Gaddis-Parke-Okugo-Williams

Cruz-Carroll-Farfan-Le Toux

Casey-McInerney

Bench: Konopka, Fabinho, Kassel, Fernandes, Kleberson, Wheeler, Hoppenot

Portland Timbers (8-2-9, 33 points)

Ricketts

Harrington-Kah-Jean Baptise-Jewsbury

Chara

Valeri-W.Johnson-Nagbe

R.Johnson-Piquionne

Bench: Kocic, Miller, Zizzo, Alhassan, Zemanski, Valencia, Danso

- If Jack McInerney was fit, he’d be starting, that was the refrain we heard from John Hackworth midweek. He’s apparently fit, since he’s paired with Conor Casey up top. A guy who often plays like he’s got something to prove, a snub in four games with the U.S. national team plus falling behind in the golden boot race may have him primed for a big game.

- This game, quite simply, will be won in the midfield. Brian Carroll will have to negate the efforts of Will Johnson and Darlington Nagbe going forward, while Michael Farfan and company will have to make it uncomfortable for Diego Chara and prevent him from orchestrating from deep in the midfield.

- Portland struggled a bit last week with just Ryan Johnson up top, though they still managed to get the win against the Galaxy. They go for a more attack-minded set up this time with Frederic Piquionne up top as well. Don’t expect a low-scoring affair here.

- The Union have had a lot of success on set pieces and on crosses from the wing. While Donovan Ricketts has had a great season, he’s still prone to perplexing walks off his line for balls played in. Expect that to be a point of emphasis for the Union tonight.

Nobody asked me for my input on the MLS All-Star voting. The league seems to be pretty pleased with its ways, between fan voting slightly slanted toward the host team and the proclivities of online gamers and a bit of input from the All-Star coach. That’s how they arrived at the 18-man roster that was announced Monday, including some fairly obvious selections and some noteworthy exclusions (especially to fans of a Philadelphia bent).

Brazilian Camilo Sanvezzo of Vancouver is a deserving
MLS All-Star selection. But several snubs stand out
among the 18-man roster announced Monday.
(Associated Press)

In the off chance those methods don’t exactly meet your standards – and the Twitter reaction to today’s unveiling of the full matchday roster for the July 30 game against Italian side A.S. Roma indicates that’s the case – here would be my 18-man roster for the event.

Goalkeepers: Raul Fernandez (FC Dallas), Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake).

Defenders: Matt Besler (Sporting Kansas City), Omar Gonzalez (Los Angeles), Tony Beltran (Real Salt Lake), Chris Klute (Colorado), Jose Goncalves (New England), Jamison Olave (New York).

Midfielders: Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake), Will Johnson (Portland), Graham Zusi (Sporting Kansas City), Javier Morales (Real Salt Lake), Patrice Bernier (Montreal), Mike Magee (Chicago).

Forwards: Camilo Sanvezzo (Vancouver), Robbie Keane (Los Angeles), Marco Di Vaio (Montreal), Jack McInerney (Philadelphia).

I’ll start on a positive note: I can’t see many problems with the goalkeepers. Fernandez has been sensational at times for Dallas, and Rimando is as good as it gets perennially in this league. I’d love to see a place for the Revs’ Bobby Shuttleworth on the team, but that’s not really in the cards.
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(Times/ERIC HARTLINE)

Wednesday, Danny Mwanga was traded from the Union to the Portland Timbers, where he'll play in his hometown.

Until he gets set up in Portland, he said he'll have to take up a familiar living arrangement.

"I'll probably be in my old bedroom," Mwanga said. "It'll be strange to go back home, but it'll be good, too."

I caught up with Mwanga, regarding a variety of topics --- like leaving Philly, heading home, playing for Peter Nowak and much more.

Check it out:

On his thoughts on the trade:
"At this moment, I don't think my thoughts matter. (Philadelphia) was a place where I was drafted and I wish I could have been here longer and helped the team and emerge as the top player on the team. I think it is what it is. Now I have the opportunity to play where I grew up. I have to thank the Union front office, the fans and the entire organization for the opportunity. I was happy to be a part of this organization.”

On going back home:
"It's bittersweet. You get the chance to go home and play in front of your friends and family in a town you grew up in. Portland has one of the best fanbases in the league. You're also leaving the only place you've ever known professionally. It's never easy to say goodbye and get adjusted to somewhere else. It's a tough situation. It's a nature of the sport. You've just got to move on and embrace wherever you go.”

On joining Kris Boyd in the Timbers' attack:
"Absolutely. I think Portland has a lot of really talented players. Kris, we all know his resume. He's a talented player. Then there's guys like Darlington Nagbe, another young guy looking to make it work. It'll be good for me to go there. And when we get to know each other, put the work in, it'll be a benefit not just to me but to this team. I think we can do great things together.”

On where the wheels fell off with the Union, in terms of decreased playing time:
"That's a good question. I think that's probably a question I don't have the answer to. I don't know what to tell you. I wish I could. For me personally, it was tough trying to adapt. It takes time to get to know each other on and off the field, as well. Sometimes it takes more than three years. We were trying to get to know each other. Don't get me wrong, I think it was getting there slowly. I've just got to wish the rest of the guys luck. I hope they pull it together and do great things.”

On playing for Peter Nowak:
"Every coach is different, and Peter's a very strict guy and he likes things a certain way. Some guys can handle it, some guys cannot. Sometimes it's a good thing. Just depends how you take it. It was a little bit tough at times, not just about the coaching staff, but for the players as well just trying to get on the same page. Like I said, he's a great coach, gave me an opportunity and I'll never forget that.”

On conversation he had with Nowak in 2010, about choosing MLS over a career in Europe:
"Yes, the conversation did take place. And (Philadelphia) was a great stop for me, so far. Coming here, not only trying to showcase my talent and learning little bit by little bit abaout the professional level and the business side of it, I think Peter's the one who gave me the opportunity and that's one thing I'll always be thankful to him for. It's a learning experience and hopefully I'll try to move forward.”

On whether he's surprised by the Union's personnel moves of late:
"I'm not going to say I'm surprised by it, because I've lived in the States for a while and I watched MLS growing up . I know the business side of it. The coaches have to make decisions as best as they can. As a player, even if you don't agree with the decisions, you have to understand it's for the team's benefit. ... They're doing what they think is best for their team. And you just have to worry about your part. I was never really trying to sit there and question anything.”

On what's waiting for him at home:
"The first thing is being home, getting a home-cooked meal. We have good fans here and the Sons of Ben are some of the best fans in the league. Since Day 1 at the draft, they've always supported me. I'll miss that, but it's a new chapter in my life. I'm moving to Portland and I can't wait to meet the guys. I'm excited to be home with my family and meet some of Timbers Army. I can't wait.”