In three weeks or so, the tenor of the Union’s position on summer reinforcements for the forward line has gone from no to maybe to specifics on who and what they’re looking for, a shift which constitutes warp speed for the club.

Kenny Miller might be too pricy an option
at forward for the Union. (AP)

It’s becoming blatantly obvious that something has to change quickly. The Union’s center forwards have five goals this season, four (excluding Jack McInerney’s one) from players still on the roster, and two of those were from the penalty spot. The club endured a stretch where no Union player scored from open play in five matches, a major contributing factor to the club’s franchise-record nine-game winless streak.

Those aren’t even the bleakest stats. Consider this: Conor Casey has two shots on goal this season in eight appearances (300 minutes). Antione Hoppenot has two shots, none on target, in 10 short yet increasingly futile substitute appearances.

The answer to the Union’s offensive woes must come from somewhere, and last Tuesday prior to the trip to Kansas City, manager John Hackworth had plenty to say about what he’s looking for.

Among the critical points from Hackworth are that:

- The club is looking within MLS and abroad.
- The club can’t afford to bring home another national teamer via allocation.
- The club is looking for someone to make an impact.

The push and pull of looking domestically or abroad is obvious. Hackworth admitted that the Union are unlikely to be able to pry a player of the quality they want away from their current MLS club, while eliciting international help would mean that reinforcements would be delayed until July 15, six games down the road.

This Wednesday, Hackworth added a new wrinkle to the discussion in broaching the topic of where the money and roster room would come from.
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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.