After the loss in D.C. last week, manager Jim Curtin said the belief
from Fabian Herbers and company remains high. (DFM/Mikey Reeves)

Jim Curtin covered a lot of ground in an uncharacteristically voluminous press conference Wednesday. Most of my story in Thursday’s Delco Times will fixate on a conversation with Alejandro Bedoya and the cognitive dissonance surrounding his midfield positioning. That crowds out news and notes, so here’s what else filled Curtin’s 28-minute press address.

- The mood this week, as the Union’s winless streak grows to four games in 2017, 12 overall and 11 in the MLS regular season, seems to bear some hallmarks of past disappointments. But the character of this squad, Curtin and others take pains to point out, is different than last year. Curtin:

“2017 is different than 2016. It’s always tough with carryover. Obviously we know how last year ended. We’re four games in this year; we’ve lost two games in a row. That doesn’t taste good to anybody. We’re not happy with that. But it’s a different group. There’s different players involved. A lot of them don’t even know the feeling from last year. So it’s tough to really pinpoint and say, does it feel exactly the same? It doesn’t, but there is a sense of urgency, though. We are in a bad spot. …

“It’s still, when you talk with all the players individually … there’s a real belief in the group that yes we’ve come on the wrong end of some results, but it’s not as if we’ve been outclassed in games, where we say, ‘man that team is a lot better than us.’ So again, there’s still a feeling of belief that if we continue to execute on the field, some of these breaks will go our way.”

- Jack Elliott got first-team reps with Oguchi Onyewu Wednesday. That pairing finished the D.C. United game and could start Saturday against Portland. Elliott has clearly supplanted Ken Tribbett, and all that remains is whether Richie Marquez graduates concussion protocols in time. Curtin expects Marquez to be cleared, but the coach doesn’t have a long track record of playing guys who don’t train by mid-week. It’s unlikely he’ll rush Marquez back off one or two days of training.

- John McCarthy (concussion) suffered a setback from an injury sustained two weeks ago. The goalie worked out Sunday but suffered symptoms and has been delayed. He didn’t train Wednesday, meaning Jake McGuire is going to be the backup Saturday.

- As speculated last week, Fafa Picault was healthy but found himself the odd man out for the Union’s trip to D.C. Curtin went with three reserve defensive options and three attacking players, Picault landing fourth on the latter list behind Roland Alberg, Fabian Herbers and Jay Simpson. That bench composition would seem to posit that it’s a question of Picault or Warren Creavalle most weeks. Read more »

The question of Roland Alberg's fitness for the Union's full-time No. 10 job
will be tested this preseason. (AP)

The Philadelphia Union’s first full practice of the 2017 season will take place Tuesday morning at the Power Training Complex. And it will ensure an almost unfathomable level of consistency from the last time the Union assembled in the shadow of Talen Energy Stadium.

Of the 18 players in the squad last October for the Union’s first playoff game in five years against Toronto FC, 17 remain with the club. Ten of 11 starters’ jobs are preserved from last season, Tranquillo Barnetta the lone exception. I don’t even have to check past figures; that’s surely unprecedented for a club where roster churn has been the norm.

As I wrote Monday, the Union have the best of both words. They have the prestige and tangential benefit of three players prepping for the season with the U.S. National Team in its January camp, three who are certainly among the 10 given starters. Fewer regulars means more opportunities to see the contestants for the other slots on the depth chart battling it out.

So let’s look at the five positional battles sure to play out in camp this week and in Florida next month:

Roland Alberg vs. Expectations. Lest you think the Union have everything figured out, consider that one battle dictates several others. (I needn’t remind you how many returning starters Columbus had in place before last season, do I?) Parse the roster and the Dutchman is the only player you’d consider a No. 10, lest Alejandro Bedoya moves up into that spot and somewhat out of position. Doing so leaves the current reserve corps at the No. 8 remarkably thin. So getting Alberg to consistently play the 10 in a 4-2-3-1 system that the Union show little taste for changing is vital. Alberg proved last year he can play excel in spurts; if we allow the benefit of the doubt in his acclimation period to MLS, then the hypothesis to be proven is that he can be for the Union what Barnetta was last year.

Fabinho vs. Gilliano Wijnaldum. To dub this Fabinho’s job to lose would disrespect the work the Brazilian did last season. More apt is that it’s Wijnaldum’s job to win. Earnie Stewart put it bluntly: Wijnaldum didn’t come to MLS to sit the bench. And while Fabinho wasn’t necessarily the weak link in a defense that leaked 56 goals in 35 games last year, his left back spot is as logical a place as any to start searching for reinforcements. Read more »

What do the futures of Brian Carroll, center, and Warren Creavalle, right,
with the Union look like? The MLS Expansion Draft could provide hints. (AP)

It’s the first week of November, and the stage is ready to discuss how the Philadelphia Union should guard against losses in an upcoming expansion draft. As some things change, others stay the same.

The Expansion Draft to boost the rosters of incoming Atlanta United and Minnesota United will take place Dec. 13. Unlike the last such draft in 2014 to populate New York City FC and Orlando City’s rosters (aside: Do paired expansion teams have to have identical naming structures?), Atlanta and Minnesota will each pick five players from MLS rosters, as opposed to 10 each last time. That lessens the risk of loss for current clubs. There’s also a limit of one players picked per team, as opposed to two last time.

All the rules briefings are here, and I’m not the first to share thoughts on how the Union should approach the expansion draft.

Here’s the list of who I would protect, in no exact order:

1. Alejandro Bedoya
2. Keegan Rosenberry
3. CJ Sapong
4. Chris Pontius
5. Richie Marquez
6. Ilsinho
7. Roland Alberg
8. Warren Creavalle
9. Ray Gaddis
10. Andre Blake
11. Eric Ayuk

Exempt from protection: Fabian Herbers, Josh Yaro (both Generation Adidas), Auston Trusty, Derrick Jones (Homegrowns)

Not protected: Matt Jones, Anderson, Tranquillo Barnetta, Taylor Washington, Cole Missimo, Maurice Edu, Kevin Kratz, John McCarthy, Ken Tribbett, Walter Restrepo, Leo Fernandes, Brian Carroll, Fabinho, Charlie Davies.

That’s all 29 players on the Union roster. Here’s the logic behind it, with players broken up into categories.
Read more »

UNION (4-2-3-1) 

Blake 

Fabinho -Marquez-Tribbett-Rosenberry 

Creavalle-Bedoya 

Ilsinho-Alberg-Ayuk 

Herbers 

Bench: McCarthy, Gaddis, Trusty, Carroll, Pontius, Sapong, Barnetta 

Red Bulls (4-2-3-1) 

Robles 

Lawrence-Collin-Perrinelle-Duvall 

McCarty-Felipe 

Grella-Kljestan-Muyl 

B.Wright-Phillips 

Bench: Reynish, Zizzo, Zubar, Davis, Damari, Veron, S.Wright-Phillips

Preview 

- Jim Curtin promised changes, and he delivered, at least up top. Eric Ayuk makes his first start of the season after 28 appearances last year. He hasn’t made the bench yet this year for the Union. Ilsinho starts for the first time since Aug. 20. Roland Alberg starts for just the second time since the end of July. A reminder that the Union need to give up fewer than 12 goals, and they have probably the most defense-averse attacking midfield possible. This could get interesting.



- CJ Sapong makes the bench after a concussion. Charlie Davies is the conspicuous absence from the squad.

- The worst news the Union could possibly have also dropped today: Maurice Edu fractured his left fibula in practice Saturday. Reports had surfaced yesterday that he left the field with a non-contact injury, and a Union source confirmed that today. No timetable was offered. Edu has not played in over a year after a sports hernia and a stress fracture in his leg.

- It’s all about the milestones for New York Red Bulls in a full-strength lineup. Bradley Wright-Phillips is in the race for the golden boot with 23 goals. New York City FC’s David Villa can catch him; he’s got 22 goals and starts for NYC at home against Columbus. He can also solidify his record for the best three-year goal-scoring stretch in MLS history (he has 67 since the start of the 2014 season). Sacha Kljestan can get to 20 assists this season, becoming just the second player ever to do that in league history, joining Carlos Valderrama.

Jim Curtin said the Union are taking it "game-by-game"
with Andre Blake in determining when he'll be released
to Jamaica for Copa America. (AP)

It’s a truncated week for the Philadelphia Union, with D.C. United coming to town Friday night for a big Eastern Conference clash. Plenty has been made of MLS’s splashy Rivalry Week exercise in synergistic branding, which includes a look at the DC-Union history, and much will be written this week about Chris Pontius facing the team that drafted him for the first time (check Thursday’s paper for that).

Beyond those obvious items, training was fairly quiet Wednesday (nothing that rhymed with "blatan" was brought up). Here are the high points:

- Ilsinho remains in injury limbo with leg issues, including the quad problem that kept him out last week, that don’t qualify as full-fledged injuries. He didn’t train fully Wednesday, but he did exercises with the group. Jim Curtin said he’s “anxious to get him back involved,” but “it’ll be close for selection this weekend.” Curtin sounded the “we have to be smart about it” bell, so if Ilsinho doesn’t pass fit this week, Curtin has three more games in the next two weeks to aim for.

- Roland Alberg has found playing time hard to come by lately, and we’ve speculated what it would take to get the club’s major international offseason signing back on the field. His absence is partially due to how well Tranquillo Barnetta and Vincent Nogueira have played. But Curtin thinks Alberg is doing what’s needed to stay in the conversation. Said Curtin:

“Roland’s been doing excellent in training. He’s been very good. He’s been making my decision every weekend tough to not put him out there. Again, it’s a team thing where we have to get a little more stable, a little stronger as a group defensively and in attack to where we can get more attack-minded guys on the field, and Roland is an attack-minded player. He wants to get forward. He wants to make assists and make goals. And he’s going to contribute.
“I think with every new player that comes into a team, there’s still that adjustment period. Tranquillo went through that last year. So it doesn’t just click instantly with the group. He’s done well with his minutes. He’s pushing for more.”

- Andre Blake will be in goal Friday for D.C.. Beyond that, Curtin and the Union are playing it game-by-game as to when the goalkeeper joins Jamaica for this summer’s Copa America. The Reggae Boyz open the tournament June 5 in Chicago against Venezuela, and it’s likely that a training camp of about a week will imperil Blake’s chances of playing against Columbus June 1 (though that is still being debated). The Union travel to Orlando May 25 and Colorado May 28. “We’re working with Jamaica now,” Curtin said. “Nothing is concrete. We have a good, open dialogue with them right now as to what’s best for Andre and when the release date will come. … Andre has been very important for us. He’s staying sharp, and it’s a matter of communication and open dialogue with Jamaica and doing what’s best for both parties to keep Andre playing at the level that he’s playing at.”

- Eric Ayuk received a call-up Wednesday to Cameroon’s Under-20 team for a 2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Zimbabwe Sunday, for what could be his international debut. Ayuk departs Friday. The 19-year-old, who played 28 games for the Union last season and set a number of youngest-ever club records, has played consistently with Bethlehem Steel this season, where he leads the team in goals (two) and assists (one). Cameroon starts a two-leg series with Zimbabwe in the second of three rounds of qualification for the tournament to be hosted by Zambia next February.

The second real installment of the Philadelphia Union’s preseason comes Thursday when they meet the Chicago Fire at 4 p.m. in Clearwater, Fla. (Livestream below and available on Union’s YouTube channel.)

As manager Jim Curtin mentioned in a conference call Wednesday, the preseason opener in the rain against Jacksonville Armada last Saturday, a 1-0 loss, turned out to be a glorified training exercise. With trialists new to camp and Roland Alberg having just touched down in the States, the performance was understandably disjointed, not helped by 30-minute shifts of players that prevented anyone getting much of a rhythm.



With a thinner roster this time around, the Union should deploy more cohesive units. So what to look for? Here are five things:

- What does midfield look like sans Alberg? Curtin confirmed that Alberg is unavailable, having returned to the Netherlands to sort out paperwork. Against the Armada, he started in central midfield next to Tranquillo Barnetta in front of Vincent Nogueira. What will that look like today? Does Nogueira slide up with Warren Creavalle or Brian Carroll holding? Or does Leo Fernandes get a chance?

- Another dose of Ilsinho. Even in limited time, the Brazilian proved he can do special things with a soccer ball. An extended runout with the first team or something closer to regulars should bolster the amount of info the club can collect to arrive at a decision.

- In the defense. Curtin Wednesday declared that the battle involves four guys. Having either Anderson Conceicao or Josh Yaro take steps toward developing a rapport with Richie Marquez would be beneficial, but seeing either play alongside Ken Tribbett isn’t damning.

- Separation on the wings. Curtin spoke highly of Chris Pontius Wednesday. We all know what Sebastien Le Toux can do, and then there’s sorting out the contributions of Walter Restrepo and Eric Ayuk before determining if Alberg or Fernandes would be required on the wing.

- A goal against grown-ups. A 5-0 training win over the United States Under-17s was nice this week (and symbolic for spanking the team coached by John Hackwor…I should stop there). But a goal against adults would be nice, and that focuses not just on CJ Sapong but the other attackers. Presuming Curtin rotates in 45-minute shifts (as he progressed in last year’s preseason), the onus is on whomever starts as a forward in the second half, probably Fabian Herbers, unless another trialist emerges.

Jim Curtin, seen in the U.S. Open Cup final Sept. 30,
is already pointing toward the future. (Times Staff/Tom Kelly IV)

As the Philadelphia Union has spent the last two weeks collecting the tattered remnants of a disappointing season, manager Jim Curtin has articulated time and again how vital an offseason this is. That sentiment doesn’t just stem from the fact that the Union, at four consecutive playoff-free seasons, carry the longest active playoff drought in MLS, solidified by Toronto curtailing its seven-year drought Wednesday night.

Part of the logic is rooted in the contract situation for the Union. Perusing the roster, in conversations with players and sources within the organization over the last few weeks, reveals very few players to whom the Union are committed next season. That offers flexibility for the kind of progress that Curtin has professed hope for.

First, a note about MLS contract structures. For all the efforts at transparency in the league (that’s a fun Google search), little has been accomplished in this arena. The MLS Players Union publicizes player salaries, but contract terms remain veiled by the well-worn, institutionalized boilerplate that “per league and club policy, terms were not disclosed.” Union officials are extremely reticent to speak on the record about the matter.

The other thing to remember is that exact contract lengths in MLS are largely illusory, thanks to this line in MLS’ Roster Rules and Regulations under the section titled “Contract Expiration”:

“When a player’s contract expires, the player does not count against the roster or budget of the club in question. Subject to the Re-Entry and Free Agent rules, a club retains the rights to the player indefinitely following the expiration of a contract provided attempts were made to re-sign the player.”

This amounts, essentially, to the reserve clause that caused Major League Baseball’s revolutionary labor upheaval of the 1970s, and there are plenty of sources that excellently expound on that point. What happens after the expiration of the deal is based on age and experience in MLS, and this winter is the first offseason in which free agency is in play for players over the age of 28 with eight or more years of MLS experience.

Most deals are option-laden. They typically include somewhere between one to three guaranteed years followed by one to three options years, varying considerably based on player age, salary, international status, etc. In short, the system is designed to ease the burden of obligation on teams: Options are almost always in the hands of the team, allowing clubs to escape contracts they no longer want or need.

To bring this back to the Union, it means that the club has few long-term guarantees but the potential to pick and choose. The vast majority of the roster is on options for 2016, which allows whoever assumes control of the organization to handpick who returns.

Here’s a partial breakdown of the Union’s contract situation this offseason, cobbled together from media reports and various other sources. Read more »

UNION (4-2-3-1)

McCarthy

Fabinho-White-Edu-Gaddis

Carroll-Nogueira

Le Toux-Maidana-Ayuk

Casey

Bench: Mitchell, Williams, Fred, Pfeffer, McLaughlin, Hoppenot, Aristegieta 

Red Bulls (4-2-3-1)

Robles

Lade-Miazga-Perrinelle-Wallace

McCarty-Felipe

Sam-Kljestan-Abang 

Wright-Phillips 

Bench: Reynish, Miller, Ouimette, Davis, Sanchez, Grella, Zizzo  

Preview

- I’ve written on several occasions about the buffoonery surrounding this tie at 4 on a weekday afternoon. Judging by how dead the environment is, it’s about as bad as I would’ve thought. Solid work, U.S. Soccer.

- Only the Union could keep MLS so engrossed by something so mundane as a backup goalkeeper. After an evening of hints on Twitter, MLS pool goalkeeper Trey Mitchell is on the Union’s bench to backup John McCarthy. He sat on their bench behind Brian Sylvestre in Vancouver two months ago.

- The limit of five internationals in the 18 severely hampers the Union, particularly with three Americans out (CJ Sapong due to suspension, Andrew Wenger and Richie Marquez due to injury). All five start, with Eric Ayuk in for Wenger and Maurice Edu returning from suspension to fill Marquez’s void next to Ethan White. Conor Casey (surprisingly, not Fernando Aristeguieta will fill in in Sapong’s stead.


- Jim Curtin had no qualms about his opposite number Jesse Marsch’s approach to this game, and those are verified by the lineup the Red Bulls coach assembled. The lineup is mostly the same one they used on the weekend, with Bradley Wright-Phillips the danger man up top and all the usual faces (Lloyd Sam, Sacha Kljestan, Dax McCarty) included. The backline is still without Kemar Lawrence and Roy Miller, which leaves some areas to attack.

There’s one significant conundrum on the Union that seems particularly relevant this week.

Actually, it’s a two-part quandary.

Andrew Wenger, seen against Rochester Rhinos in the U.S. Open Cup
last week, is still looking for his first goal of the season.
(Times Staff/TOM KELLY IV)

The first is just what has happened to the prolific Andrew Wenger that bedeviled opposing defenses last season as the Union surged from MLS basement to U.S. Open Cup final. The second installment is just how Wenger has managed to hold down a regular spot in the starting XI for a Union side in obvious need of an offensive boost not named CJ Sapong. The second part of the question is easier to answer: Wenger, while struggling offensively, has been a near-automatic selection for lack of other options, largely due to a bevy of injuries. Eric Ayuk’s defense remains suspect, as is Cristian Maidana’s when deployed on the wing (or centrally, to be fair).

It’s added up to Wenger, who’s somehow magically avoided the Union’s rampant injury bug, being second on the team in minutes played with 1,287, trailing only Maurice Edu (1,530). Wenger has played in all 18 games, the only Union player with that distinction, starting all but one. He hasn’t gone 90 minutes, though, since April 16. He logged 61 in Wednesday’s win over Seattle, drawing a penalty by catching Dylan Remick’s boot in the face.

It’s possible that some of that could change this weekend when the Union take on Wenger’s former team, Montreal. But again, that decision for manager Jim Curtin isn’t so cut and dry.

First and foremost, Curtin understands both sides of the equation as to why Wenger should see his minutes cut and why they haven’t been. Wenger has provided value defensively with his work rate, willingness to track back and his aerial prowess on clearing set pieces. But that’s not enough, not when one of the main facets of an attack not exactly boasting an explosive arsenal can endure half a season without a goal and just two assists (tally in a friendly against Reading not withstanding), especially given that his opposite winger, Sebastien Le Toux, is usually the one lauded for defensive cognizance.

I think I just saw Andrew Wenger score a goal. Waiting to confirm.

— Matthew De George (@sportsdoctormd) June 10, 2015

Read more »

The Philadelphia Union’s season is slated to start in four days. The team running through its drills for the better part of two hours at the Bubble, the University of Penn’s Dunning-Cohen Champions’ Field, Tuesday morning didn’t seem like it was preparing for anything else. There’s uncertainty league wide, with the pall of CBA negotiations hanging over the start of the season. But on the field, there were a few notable points to the Union’s first training session in the Philadelphia in a month.

- First, the absences. Fernando Aristeguieta was in Venezuela tending to visa issues (something Union fans recall all too vividly from last summer.) Technical director Chris Albright said that the club expects Aristeguieta back Thursday at the latest. Also absent was the injured Andre Blake and Eric Bird, who remains with the team. It’s a groin injury on Bird, a problem that dogged him in college. Both of the Union’s MLS Players Union reps, Danny Cruz and Brian Carroll, remained in Washington for CBA negotiations.

- Among those present were trialists Eric Ayuk and draft pick Raymond Lee. It sounds as though the Cameroonian winger and the fullback from Saint Louis may hang around for a while.

- Conor Casey didn’t take part in half-field 7-on-7 drills getting his legs attended to. The striker did start in the final preseason game against

- On the field, Zach Pfeffer continued to look impressive, looking a bit more physical and sporting a beard. Sebastien Le Toux scored several goals on 7-on-7, while Union practice was plenty loud thanks to how vocal new signing Steven Vitoria is, complementing well with Ethan White and Rais M’Bolhi. Manager Jim Curtin was impressed by his team's sharpness after a couple of days off. It was likely one of the more intense practices of the week, with snow threatening Thursday's session.