Most of the Philadelphia Union players were scattered across the country on a weekend off or away on international duty overseas when the club’s playoff hopes officially died Saturday.

That occurred 100 miles to the north, as the New York Red Bulls topped Vancouver, 3-0, to seal the sixth and final playoff berth in MLS’s Eastern Conference with two weeks of the season left. The Red Bulls, on 46 points, are untouchably ahead of the Union and three other teams stuck on 39, which consigns the Union (10-13-9) to a sixth playoff-free season in eight years.

Consolations are few and far between in a season that, after last year’s (probably ahead-of-schedule) playoff berth, can only be read as a disappointment. The Union cannot set the franchise record for losses in a season, which was once a question; more bizarrely, wins in consecutive games – at playoff-bound Chicago, then at home in the finale to Orlando – can tie the franchise mark for most wins in a season.

Regardless of what transpires, the Union for the seventh straight season will finish with between 10 and 12 wins over a 34-game schedule, a mind-numbing level of mediocrity.

With a win and a draw in the next two games, the Union would actually finish with their third-most productive season ever, even surpassing last year’s playoff season. Or to be more realistic, should the Union lose at Chicago and win at home against a similarly eliminated Orlando City side, they would match their record from last season to the game – 11-14-9 for 42 points.

Here’s where perception counts, both descriptive and prescriptive. The 2016 campaign – which featured that rarity of rarities, a first-place Union side, for multiple weeks and had the Union in playoff position nearly wire-to-wire – felt like a playoff campaign, even if it was dimmed by the slide to the finish line. This season, in which the Union never occupied a playoff position, feels like much more of a failure. Separate eight- and six-game winless streak exacerbate that feeling. At the end, though, they look exactly the same in the standings, a damnation by low standards.

The gulf in perception from 2016 to 2017 hits at a key debate that many anticipated. The Union – with the additions of Giliano Wijnaldum, Haris Medunjanin, Jay Simpson, Fafa Picault and a full preseason for Alejandro Bedoya – improved over last year in absolute terms, with more talent from one to 18 on the bench and one to 29 on the roster. The evidence is in the point total: Against a better and deeper East, the Union could yield the same number of points as last year.

But the question entering the season wasn’t, did the Union improve? It was, did the Union grow sufficiently to keep pace with a more competitive Eastern Conference? Did the club take a big enough step forward from scraping into the sixth and final spot last year to lay a convincing claim to a playoff berth this year?

The answer to that is a resounding no, echoed with two weeks still left to play. The lack of recognition of soccer’s version of the proficiency-vs.-growth debate is yet another example of MLS 1.0 thinking (or whatever version the consensus says is outdated) on the Union’s part. And looking ahead, if the Union end up with an identical record as last season, the club’s higher-ups can’t be entombed by the same old lines of thinking, that this result somehow reflects satisfactory improvement.

UNION (4-2-3-1) 

Blake 

Rosenberry-Elliott-Marquez-Fabinho 

Medunjanin-Bedoya 

Pontius-Ilsinho-Epps 

Sapong

Bench: McCarthy, Gaddis, Yaro, Creavalle, Alberg, Simpson, Davies 

New York Red Bulls (3-1-3-3) 

Robles 

Zizzo-Perrinelle-Murrillo 

Felipe 

Lade- Davis-Etienne 

Keita-Veron-Muyl 

Bench: Meara, Long, Escobar, Duka, Adams, Wright-Phillips, Kljestan 

- It’s four changes this week for the Union as they travel to Red Bull Arena. Richie Marquez starts for the first time in MLS since April 29 thanks to Oguchi Onyewu’s suspension and a Josh Yaro knee injury that leaves him on the bench. Fabinho is in for Giliano Wijnaldum, who has started 12 of the last 13 MLS matches. Alejandro Bedoya returns from suspension, and Marcus Epps is in at the wing for Fafa Picault, who misses out with an illness.

- Beyond the changes, it’s more of the same for the Union. Ilsinho gets the nod at the No. 10 for the fifth time in seven games, preferred to Roland Alberg. It’s an attack-minded bench with Alberg, Jay Simpson and Charlie Davies included.

- The Red Bulls opt for rest for some of their top guys, but it’s still a daunting lineup three days in advance of the U.S. Open Cup final Wednesday with Sporting Kansas City. Bradley Wright-Phillips and Sacha Kljestan start on the bench. But Felipe is out there, as are the likes of Sean Davis and Alex Muyl and the omnipresent Luis Robles, with Gonzalo Veron the danger man up top.

Putting the shortcomings of the 2017 Union into context,
it's a complex task. (DFM/Mikey Reeves)

Often the conversation surrounding the Philadelphia Union, particularly among members of the media contingent striving to make sense of the how and why of another playoff-free season, devolves into a declaration of, ‘they’re just not good enough.’

The standings can tell you that, for sure, but that’s unsatisfactory for the scientific part of my brain. And particularly given the last week, where the Union have squandered four points in stoppage time to resolve the mystery of if there’s a last gasp of intrigue remaining, the questions seem more salient.

So if I may, I’ll offer two explanations, one qualitative, one quantitative.

The “too much effort” explanation

This issue reared its ugly head way back in April when Portland came to town: The talent gulf between the Union and most opponents is vast. In terms of pure talent to start the season, I would’ve pegged the Union between eight- and 10th-best in the Eastern Conference. After the summer shopping, and the Union’s lack thereof, drop them a spot or two.

When you’re always at a collective disadvantage, you’re always playing catchup. Since John Hackworth was in charge, the prevailing mantra has always been that the Union can play with anyone. And that’s true, though in a parity-driven league, every MLS team is designed to be able to compete with anyone.

But when you expound so much effort trying to work back to level talent terms, you get these coin-flip games. The Union spend so much energy trying to stay within a goal of Montreal two weeks ago, then a pin prick pops the balloon and the release is a 3-0 loss. They work so hard against San Jose, then the late penalty kick deflates them. The talent gulf deprives them of ever starting at a position of power, which magnifies mistakes and lumps pressure on a young core.

Manager Jim Curtin is correct in saying that the Toronto loss last week is one of the few times they’ve been outclassed. But the Union are so often edged by small margins in a system of discreet point yields that it’s unsustainable over the span of a season. It doesn’t matter that their performance in San Jose was objectively worthy of two points; they get one or three, and the late mistake decided that.

That entails an inescapable conclusion that Curtin now owns but that has been obvious since March.

“I think we do recognize that a difference maker is something we need to add and increase,” Curtin said Wednesday in his off-week press conference. “We have a good group that creates enough chances in most games. We have to finish chances and do a good job of preventing them at the end of games.”

That game of catchup in the squad – of important depth ballast without that big over-the-top player – is mirrored in the way the results happen.

“Just not good enough” in numbers
Read more »

UNION (4-2-3-1) 

McCarthy 

Fabinho-Elliott-Yaro-Rosenberry 

Jones-Medunjanin 

Sapong-Alberg-Picault 

Simpson 

Bench: McGuire, Gaddis, Onyewu, Tribbett, Najem, Pontius, Epps 

New York Red Bulls (4-2-3-1) 

Meara 

Lawrence-Collin-Perrinelle-Long 

Adams-Felipe 

Davis-Kljestan-Zizzo 

Wright-Phillips 

Bench: Robles, Allen, Metzger, Etienne, Lade, Royer, Veron 

Preview 

- Once again, the U.S. Open Cup allows Jim Curtin to use two forwards without abandoning the one-striker formation (shrug emoji). Jay Simpson starts up top, with CJ Sapong on the wing. The ability to spell either of them, with Chris Pontius and Marcus Epps, presents itself on the bench.

- Ilsinho isn’t in the side, which means that Roland Alberg has the No. 10 role all to himself. He’ll have chances to create offense with forwards all around.

- The backline roulette lands on Keegan Rosenberry and Fabinho on the outside. Josh Yaro is in for Oguchi Onyewu. On the whole, no surprises, though a rib injury apparently rules out Andre Blake (or the Union want to get John McCarthy some time since he’ll be the goalie of choice against Sporting Kansas City when Blake is away for the Gold Cup).

- Red Bulls’ lineup is a mishmash, featuring three natural center backs and four natural center mids. I’d opine that Sean Davis becomes a winger opposite the defensive-minded Sal Zizzo and Aaron Long pulls out to the left back role. But we’ll see it in practice.

- These teams have played so often that there are few tactical unknowns. So let’s focus on the psychological ones. How miffed are the Red Bulls at the pointed commentary Haris Medunjanin had for Felipe after last week’s waving away of a red card? How does Derrick Jones rebound for that red 10 days ago? Where is the mind of Sapong after his Gold Cup snub? How are the Red Bulls feeling after the rivalry trouncing by New York City FC last week, motivated or defeated? That’s plenty of subtext.

UNION (4-2-3-1) 

Blake 

Gaddis-Onyewu-Elliott-Fabinho 

D.Jones-Medunjanin 

Pontius-Ilsinho-Picault 

Sapong 

Bench: McCarthy, Yaro, Rosenberry, Creavalle, Alberg, Epps, Simpson 

New York Red Bulls (4-2-3-1) 

Robles 

Murillo-Perrinelle-Collin-Long

Adams-Felipe 

Royer-Kljestan-Muyl 

Wright-Phillips 

Bench: Meara,

Bench: Meara, Zizzo, Davis, Lawrence, Metzger, Veron, Etienne

Preview 

- The Union were strategic in resting veterans in the midweek Open Cup game, which allows some strategic reintroductions. Ray Gaddis regains his place at right back, Fabinho in at the opposite side and Oguchi Onyewu centrally. Chris Pontius and CJ Sapong, who divvied up 90 minutes on the wing against Harrisburg City, are restored to their regular positions, while Fafa Picault is back as the starter on the other wing and Ilsinho is in at the No. 10. It’s perhaps interesting that none of the reserves that performed well Wednesday impressed sufficiently to win starting jobs back (though Marcus Epps is again on the bench).

- When it comes to the holdovers, the central corridor is full of players who logged 90 minutes Wednesday. Jack Elliott (by manager Jim Curtin’s preference) and the central midfield pairing of Derrick Jones and Haris Medunjanin (with no other options) each went the distance against Harrisburg. We’ll see if that workload in the center of park has consequences.

- The Union get a big boost with Warren Creavalle healthy on the bench. Alejandro Bedoya's hamstring injury wasn’t pushed.

- Interesting that Richie Marquez is the odd man out today, not even in the 18. With Josh Yaro having done so much running mid-week, it’ll be interesting to divine what this means for Curtin’s center back pecking order with four healthy options.

- The Red Bulls have tinkered with the idea of deviating from the 4-2-3-1, but they keep returning to the familiar structure. Sacha Kljestan and Bradley Wright-Phillips both went 89 minutes against New York City FC midweek, and Felipe, Aurelien Collin and Alex Muyl went the full 90 (and apparently Aaron Long as an outside back). That could translate into a lot of tired legs, with the heat and high pressure today.

- So much attention was paid to the job that Tyler Adams and Jones did at the U.S. Under-20s. They’ll be going head-to-head today in the engine room of midfield. That’ll be one to watch.

CJ Sapong has had plenty to celebrate this season, including Saturday's hat trick
against the Red Bulls. (For Digital First Media/Mike Reeves)

Once or twice or seven times in the past, I’ve made the argument about a central deficiency of the Philadelphia Union: Never in franchise history has the club had a truly elite goalscorer, a top-10 MLS hit man to lead the line and paper over cracks elsewhere in the side.

They’ve had a lot of other positives – exemplary chance-creators (Sebastien Le Toux, the ultimate luxury player Cristian Maidana and now Haris Medunjanin), top defenders (Jeff Parke and Carlos Valdes, part one), even a goalkeeper of the year, hard as that may be to believe.

But the Union have flailed in vain for nearly a decade trying to find that star to reliably put goals in the back of the net and strike fear into the heart of opponents (pun intended). They’ve tried to go young, go old, draft and loan, literally around the world.

For all that searching, through the first quarter of the 2017 MLS season, CJ Sapong has looked like that elusive striker. Now we’ve heard versions of this story before – ah the halcyon days of #Sapong4USMNT – and it’s well established that Sapong hasn’t yet in his career been a double-digit scorer in MLS.

That reality caused a bit of tension following the Union’s 3-0 win over New York Red Bulls Saturday when that question was put to Union manager Jim Curtin (or at least was attempted; I’ll refer you to Kevin Kinkead’s timeline for further details).

So let’s attempt the query again: What makes 2017 different than the previous six seasons of evidence we have on Sapong? What evidence is there that nine goals isn’t the rigid ceiling it’s appeared to be, one Sapong has hit twice but never broken through (2015 with the Union and 2012 with Sporting Kansas City)?

Curtin’s response was short on details:

“He’s the same. He’s the same player. He’s confident though, and when strikers are confident, they go on runs, just like Bradley Wright-Phillips, when he’s confident, he goes on runs. David Villa, the same thing. It’s not one thing. It’s getting services, it’s a little bit of timing and movement in the box, sometimes a ball just drops to you and you get on a streak. The finish on a PK, he does that. He’s scored goals a lot of different ways, and CJ is again a very good striker who’s in good form right now, and when he’s confident, he’s as dangerous as anybody in our league.”

Since forecasting the future is not exactly my forte, let’s instead look at the present, which will tell you that Sapong is one of MLS’s most efficient forwards in the early going of the season.
Read more »

UNION (4-2-3-1) 

Blake 

Gaddis-Elliott-Onyewu-Fabinho 

Medunjanin-Bedoya 

Pontius-Alberg-Picault 

Sapong 

Bench: McCarthy, Rosenberry, Wijnaldum, Jones, Ilsinho, Herbers, Simpson

Red Bulls (4-2-3-1) 

Robles 

Murillo-Long-Perrinelle-Lawrence 

Adams-Felipe 

Muyl-Kljestan-Royer 

Wright-Phillips 

Bench: Meara, Ndam, Zizzo, Grella, Davis, Veron, Etienne, Gulbrandsen

- All eyes on the backline, where Jim Curtin takes the safe route. A week after keeping a clean sheet in Los Angeles, he preserves the back four as much as in is his power, with Ray Gaddis starting for a third straight game at right back instead of Keegan Rosenberry. It would seem at home that the Union could’ve gone with a more attacking backline, but instead Curtin remains shackled by the result = no change equation. Oguchi Onyewu steps in for Richie Marquez due to illness, the first time Marquez has missed an MLS game since the 2016 opener.

- Injury precludes Ilsinho from taking part for a season straight week, which allows Fafa Picault to keep his spot in the lineup. Still no Fabian Herbers in the lineup, but Picault is being given the chance to show his stuff yet again.

- Giliano Wijnaldum sighting: He’s on the bench, for the first time this season. Baby steps.

- The Red Bulls cobbled together a makeshift lineup in Wednesday’s loss at Kansas City, so the first-team stance returns this week, with many of the rested names restored to the lineup. Felipe went the full 90 Wednesday, so he could be one to exploit in the middle of the pitch, but Bradley Wright-Phillips and Sacha Kljestan are plenty rested.

Midfielder Adam Najem, center, poses with Union sporting director Earnie Stewart,
left, and coach Jim Curtin after signing with the club last week.
(Courtesy of Philadelphia Union)

PHILADELPHIA >> A smile creeps across Adam Najem’s face when a scenario that he has clearly thought plenty about is presented to him.

Someday soon, whether while wearing a Bethlehem Steel or Philadelphia Union jersey, Najem could line up against the club of his youth, the New York Red Bulls (I or II). Opposite him on the field that day could be his older brother, David Najem, a 24-year-old midfielder for Red Bulls II.

“We grew up playing against each other all the time and having little one-v-one battles in our backyard,” Adam Najem said with a smile Monday after Union training under the bubble at Penn’s Dunning-Cohen Champions Field. “We’re always competing with one another. It’ll definitely be fun to see him competing on the other side of the field. I’m just glad he’s getting his opportunity, and hopefully he can make his way up from there.”

The potential of a brotherly matchup is just one oddity of Najem’s move to the City of Brotherly Love, sealed last week when the Red Bulls shipped Najem’s Homegrown rights to the Union for its natural second round in the 2018 SuperDraft pick.

It appears a tidy piece of business to add the 22-year-old attacking midfielder, who spent four seasons at the University of Akron and likely would’ve been a high first round pick had he entered the draft. Instead, with the Red Bulls holding his rights to sign or trade, Najem was excluded, forced to play a different kind of waiting game as his classmates learned their professional futures.

“I know it’s a business and everything around it is going to be complicated,” Najem said. “It was a little unsettling and I didn’t really know what was going on, but I’m sure guys in the draft had the same type of unsettling feeling. Everything happens for a reason. I just took it and was patient and thankful for Philadelphia Union for taking a chance on me.”

Najem surfaced at Union training camp on Day 1 as a “trialist” and drew plaudits from manager Jim Curtin from the start. In the native of Clifton, N.J., Curtin saw the talent that yielded 33 goals and 29 assists in 89 games for the powerhouse Zips, and the diminutive playmaker’s skills translated instantly to the professional practice field. Curtin drew cautious parallels between Najem and FC Dallas’ spritely playmaker, Mauro Diaz, one of the league’s best.

Curtin invokes Mauro Diaz as a comp for Adam Najem, says you should totally get your hopes up for him to be that good.

— Matthew De George (@sportsdoctormd) February 3, 2017

The 5-foot-8, 150-pound Najem enticed the Union as a depth option at the No. 10, where the Union are relatively thin – Alejandro Bedoya is the presumptive starter, with Roland Alberg as a proto-backup/super-sub.
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.

The Philadelphia Union’s regular season draws to a rare, meaningful conclusion Sunday. The club’s playoff inclusion is about as assured as it can be without being official, which sets up some puzzling motivations for this weekend’s visit from the New York Red Bulls.

Among the injuries and the usual spate of mid-week updates, three other thoughts occurred to me Wednesday at Jim Curtin’s press conference.

- The good news: About those playoff chances…

Soccer Power Index projections to make the @MLS playoffs. Four West contenders all in with a win (among other scenarios). pic.twitter.com/TGA7w0VrGi

— Paul Carr (@PCarrESPN) October 18, 2016

I’m not going to dig up the odds of Leicester City winning the Premier League title last year, because no one needs that. But in case there’s any lingering pangs of worry, try this tonic. The only way the Union miss out is if they lose AND New England wins AND the margins of victory/defeat sum to 12 goals. Per MLS's fact book, in 21 seasons, only eight games have ever decided by the six or more goals the Revs need to win by/the Union need to lose by (three seven-goal margins, five six-goal games). Only once (2009) has two such games fallen in the same season, and we’ve already had one monstrous margin, the 7-0 Hudson River Derby, this year. So the Union need a catastrophic set of circumstances to happen to miss the playoffs.

- The bad news: barring that volcano erupting during a hurricane bringing a plague of locusts, the Union’s postseason stay could be brief. Last week’s loss to Orlando City guaranteed the Union won’t host a playoff game, locked into either the fifth or sixth seed.

Road teams in the MLS Cup Playoffs have not traditionally fared well in one-off games. In the five years that MLS has used this formulation, road teams are 2-10.
Read more »

Union (4-2-3-1) 

Blake 

Fabinho-Marquez-Yaro-Rosenberry 

Creavalle-Bedoya 

Pontius-Barnetta-Herbers 

Sapong 

Bench: McCarthy, Tribbett, Gaddis, Carroll, Fernandes, Davies, Alberg. 
 Red Bulls (4-2-3-1) 

Robles 

Lawrence-Collin-Perrinelle-Duvall 

Felipe-McCarty 

Grella-Kljestan-Muyl 

B.Wright-Phillips 

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

Preview & Playoff scenarios 

- Tranquillo Barnetta is back in the lineup for the Union, which moves them away from the double pivot in central midfield that worked last week in Toronto. But the better possession side, with Warren Creavalle as the 6, Alejandro Bedoya as the 8 and Barnetta is the better bet against the Red Bulls’ high pressure.

- It’s intriguing that Maurice Edu isn’t in the 18, but that could be out of necessity rather than an injury setback to the midfielder. With Ilsinho not fit, the Union would’ve had only two attacking options on the bench. Instead of a redundant No. 6 in Edu (with Brian Carroll there), Jim Curtin goes with Leo Fernandes, who’s played all of 93 MLS minutes since April 1.

- On defense, Josh Yaro returns, an interesting decision to swap him in for the Ken Tribbett, who played well last week. Fabian Herbers also keeps his spot in the lineup, and deservedly so.

- Speaking of rookies, Keegan Rosenberry can make history today. If he goes 90 minutes, he’ll tie Michael Parkhurst for the most minutes played by an MLS rookie (SuperDraft or Homegrown) since 2001. He’s on pace to be just one of three rookies since 2002 to play every minute for his team as a rookie.

- The Red Bulls started a mostly reserve side Tuesday in Guatemala for a CONCACAF Champions League title with Antigua GFC. But four starters – Aurelien Collin, Luis Robles, Mike Grella and Felipe – turn around for the start today. Felipe, Collin and Robles played in last week’s win over the Impact. Grella is back in for Daniel Royer, and in addition to the Route 1 threat via that midfield nucleus to Sacha Kljestan to Bradley Wright-Phillips, those wingers off a nuanced. Grella is also a reason to get into your seats quickly for the start of the game.

Per Union coach Jim Curtin, the club is weighing an appeal to the red card
shown to Ilsinho in Sunday's draw with the Red Bulls.
(Digital First Media/Pete Bannan)

The price of national-television exposure Sunday night is a quick turnaround Monday morning – and all week, really – for the Philadelphia Union. Some 10 and a half hours after a contentious encounter with the New York Red Bulls ended in a 2-2 draw, the Union returned to the training pitch, prepping for an Open Cup tie with the New England Revolution Wednesday and a trip to Montreal Saturday.

A few notes from training:

- With time to reflect on Ilsinho’s red card in the 72nd minute, the Union are considering an appeal to MLS, manager Jim Curtin said. The final decision hasn’t yet been made, but as it’s a straight red, there is an avenue to protest. From Curtin:

“We’re just discussing talking about maybe appealing it. I don’t think it’s a straight red. You could see maybe if they give a second yellow in that case, you could maybe understand it. But it’s for me not a straight red, especially with different tackles that were happening in that game. There was a lot far worse than that. You just want the consistency to be there. Again, it’s a hard call for the ref in the heat of the moment; I wish he just maybe took a moment to take a breath, think about it, talk with his fourth official who maybe has a different view. But when you go quickly to the red, once it’s gone, you can’t go back on it.”

Ilsinho wasn’t available to comment Sunday, but Curtin spoke to the Brazilian winger about the incident, which occurred after Ilsinho, carrying a yellow card, was fouled by Red Bulls left back Connor Lade, a tactical infraction for which he was shown a yellow.

“I talked with Ilsinho, and he didn’t even know the whistle was blown,” Curtin said. “He was trying to continue. He had Lade on his back for a while and he was just trying to keep playing and maybe stuck his arm out. I don’t think it was malicious. I think to give a straight red means that it was a malicious act, and it wasn’t for me.”

- Maurice Edu (left tibial stress reaction) trained fully Monday, a third time in four days for the captain who’s been out since the start of the season. His progress continues to please Curtin.
Read more »

UNION (4-2-3-1) 

Blake 

Fabinho-Marquez-Tribbett-Rosenberry 

Carroll-Barnetta 

Pontius-Alberg-Ilsinho 

Sapong 

Bench: McCarthy, Yaro, Gaddis, Creavalle, Fernandes, Le Toux, Herbers

Red Bulls (4-2-3-1) 

Robles 

Lade-Perrinelle-Collin -Zizzo 

McCarty-Felipe 

Grella-Kljestan-Muyl 

B.Wright-Phillips 

Bench: Reynish, Zubar, Bilyeu, Zubar, Duvall, Davis, Veron, Etienne 

Preview 

- Jim Curtin isn’t one to change after a clean sheet. So coming off last week’s blanking of D.C. United, he sticks with Ken Tribbett even though Josh Yaro is back from suspension. Tribbett’s physicality will be helpful against Bradley Wright-Phillips, though he has to be careful to limit his penchant for stepping into midfield rashly, since the Red Bulls’ creativity can punish the slightest of openings. Tribbett’s passing also gives him an edge; it was when the Union made a concerted effort to split the center backs wide, get fullbacks forward and drop the central midfielder deep to receive possession that they started making progress against the Red Bulls in the Open Cup win two weeks ago. 

- Without injury restrictions, the Union go with their prized front five, naming an unchanged XI from last week. The danger of Dax McCarty as a late runner in the box and as a deep-lying connector for 1-2s puts a big responsibility on Roland Alberg and Tranquillo Barnetta to be vigilant tracking back.

- The Red Bulls are playing a third game in seven days, so the lineup is a mashup of the last two. Damien Perrinelle makes his first start of the season after knee surgery last October. He pairs with Aurelien Collin, alleviating the need for Ronald Zubar to start a third game in seven days. Alex Muyl gets the start as Gonzalo Veron has failed again to prove he’s worthy of playing every game.

You can't tell from this tantrum in a June 29th Open Cup game,
but Red Bulls manager Jesse Marsch, right, and Union boss Jim Curtin remain
close friends from their playing days. (Digital First Media/Pete Bannan)

Jim Curtin can scarcely get through a press conference relating to the New York Red Bulls without mentioning his personal connection and professional admiration for the team’s manager, Jesse Marsch.

The two go way back, teammates with the Chicago Fire from 2001-05 and again in wrapping up their careers with Chivas USA from 2008-09. They were both part of the 2003 Chicago Fire team that came within a win of the American soccer treble, finishing as MLS Cup runner-up to complement capturing the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup and the Supporters’ Shield. The Fire lost in the Open Cup final again the next year.

Curtin and Marsch now find themselves on opposite sides of a burgeoning MLS rivalry, which pens another installment Sunday when the Red Bulls visit the Philadelphia Union.

Marsch this week spoke glowingly to reporters in New York about his former teammate and mentee (Curtin is five years Marsch’s junior). The remarks come midway through the video:



Marsch recognized coaching aptitude and interest in Curtin from a young age, and his description of a young Curtin coaching in the youth ranks early in his days with the Fire tracks with Curtin’s ascent to the Union top job via success in the Generation Adidas Cup in 2012.

Read more »

Union (4-2-3-1) 

Blake 

Fabinho-Marquez-Yaro-Rosenberry 

Creavalle-Barnetta

Pontius-Alberg-Ilsinho 

Le Toux 

Bench: McCarthy, Gaddis, Tribbett, Carroll, Missimo, Fernandes, Restrepo

Red Bulls (4-2-3-1) 

Meara 

Zizzo-Collin-Zubar-Lade 

McCarty-Davis 

Grella-Kljestan-Sam 

Wright-Phillips 

Bench: Robles, Bilyeu, Duvall, Felipe, Veron, Allen, Muyl

 - Fabian Herbers misses out with an undisclosed injury, so an already thin frontline looks even thinner. (CJ Sapong is still out with an ankle injury.) Sebastien Le Toux is drafted in to start, and there are no options behind him on the bench. Chris Pontius could conceivably start up there, but that’s not a great option.

- Besides that, changes are minimal. Warren Creavalle is in for Brian Carroll. Josh Yaro holds his spot in central defense. And red-hot Roland Alberg is still there looking to add on to his seven games in four games.

- The Red Bulls name a pretty solid team, save for Luis Robles getting a night off. Bradley Wright-Phillips is up top, and the bench still looks strong with Gonzalo Veron and Felipe on the bench. Mike Grella and Sasha Kljestan are in the center of midfield to create chances.

Jim Curtin doesn't have to look too far down the road to understand
how vital a series of upcoming home games are to his team. (AP)

The MLS schedule is a bizarre thing to study, for its unusual topology and inexplicable oddities. In careful dosages, though, it’s useful to examine.

Jim Curtin introduced the schedule dynamics to the conversation Monday at his weekly press conference ahead of Wednesday’s visit from the Chicago Fire. The Union embark on a stretch of five out of six games at home, including the fifth-round U.S. Open Cup clash. Between now and the end of July, the Union leave Talen Energy Stadium twice (three times if they advance to the Open Cup quarterfinals).

In addition to Chicago, the Union welcome in Vancouver Saturday, D.C. United July 9, New York Red Bulls July 17 and Real Salt Lake July 31.

That’s five home games in six weeks. After that, the Union have just five home games the rest of the season, through August, September and October.

It may seem early to look ahead, but with the Union near the halfway point of a long season, it’s prime time for the team to start preparing tough stretches ahead.

If you parse the season into smaller segments as the coaching staff does, the eight-game run that started with Saturday’s loss to New York City FC is a logical subdivision. Their other road tests in there are a winnable trip to sweltering Houston July 2 and to Montreal July 23.

It appears to be a stretch of the season where the Union can really assert themselves as a top team in the East and go a long way toward accumulating the points needed to achieve their primary goal, ending a four-year playoff drought. But juxtaposing this run against the challenges that follow imbues it with even more importance.

August provides a stretch of four road games at Eastern opposition in six games – at DC Aug. 6, New England Aug. 13, Columbus Aug. 24 and Chicago Sept. 3. Their two home dates are Toronto Aug. 20 and Sporting KC Aug. 27, sandwiched around the Columbus trip.

The final six-game run starts with Montreal in Chester Sept. 10, and it ends with home dates against Orlando City and Red Bulls in the final two weeks. But there’s a stretch of 36 days where the Union don’t play at home, voyaging to Portland, Toronto and Red Bull Arena, with the international break in the middle.

That schedule means the Union won’t be in a position to make up ground late in the season. With a 5-0-2 mark at home and a solid track record of getting results in their building, the Union need to bank points now, especially against five teams with a combined seven road wins this season.

MLS finally revealed its much delayed schedule Thursday, and the prospects for national exposure are fairly glum for the Union. They have just three national TV dates, two in UniMas Friday night affairs with Orlando City April 8 and D.C. United May 20. They are slated to be on FS1 July 17 vs. New York Red Bulls. They aren’t listed for any ESPN dates. By contrasted, the Union were scheduled for eight national TV dates last year.

Other dates of interest:

- Check the backlog in May that features six games in 22 days. There’s also three straight road trips to Portland, Toronto and Red Bulls in September and October, plus an October bye week that hampers the Union’s hopes of playing catchup late in the season. They also play Red Bulls twice in the last three games.

- This year’s western road trips include Seattle, Union East (Houston), MLS Cup holders Portland, Colorado and FC Dallas in the opener.

- Sporting KC returns to Talen Energy Park for the first time since the U.S. Open Cup final Aug. 27.

Full list is below.Here's the link to the schedule on MLS' site.

March 6: at FC Dallas, 3
March 12: at Columbus, TBD
March 20: New England, 2
April 2: at Chicago, 5
April 8: Orlando City, 7 (UniMas)
April 16: at Seattle, 10
April 23: NYCFC, TBD
April 30: San Jose, TBD
May 11: L.A. Galaxy, TBD
May 14: at Montreal, TBD
May 20: D.C. United, 7 (UniMas)
May 25: at Orlando City, 7:30
May 28: at Colorado, 9
June 1: Columbus, TBD
June 18: at NYCFC, TBD
June 22: Chicago, TBD
June 25: Vancouver, TBD
July 2: at Houston, TBD
July 9: D.C. United, TBD
July 17: Red Bulls, 7 (FS1)
July 23: at Montreal, TBD
July 31: Real Salt Lake, TBD
Aug. 6: at D.C. United, 7
Aug. 13: at New England, 7:30
Aug. 20: Toronto, TBD
Aug. 24: at Columbus, 7:30
Aug. 27: Sporting KC, TBD
Sept. 3: at Chicago, 8:30
Sept. 10: Montreal, TBD
Sept. 17: at Portland, 6
Sept. 24: at Toronto, TBD
Oct. 1: at Red Bulls, 7
Oct. 16: Orlando City, 5
Oct. 23: Red Bulls, 4

UNION (4-2-3-1) 

Blake

Fabinho-Vitoria-Marquez-Wenger

Lahoud-Nogueira

Le Toux-Maidana-Barnetta

Sapong

Bench: McCarthy, Gaddis, White, Creavalle, Ayuk, Aristeguieta, Casey

Red Bulls (4-2-3-1)

Robles

Lawrence-Perinnelle-Zubar-Zizzo

McCarty-Felipe

Grella-Kljestan-Sam

B.Wright-Phillips

Bench: Reynish, Oiumette, Lade, Davis, Wallace, Peron, S.Wright-Phillips

- It’s evaluation time for the Union, and the questions for next year are myriad. Today, Jim Curtin hopes to get more information to answer some of them. Andre Blake can help solidify his hold on the starting goalkeeping job. Andrew Wenger could present himself as a viable option at fullback. Time is running out for Steven Vitoria and Fernando Aristeguieta (though the latter doesn’t start) to state their cases for extended loan stays. Against a team contending for the Supporters’ Shield, this is an opportunity to get quality intel toward those quandaries.

- The Red Bulls (54 points) are in need of a win to continue their Supporters’ Shield chase after FC Dallas (57) won Saturday night. They require any kind of result (or a D.C. United draw or loss) to wrap up home-field advantage through the Eastern Conference playoffs.

- Despite the importance of the game, the Red Bulls are shorthanded, missing defender Matt Miazga and Roy Miller. That leaves the less adept pairing of Ronald Zubar and Damien Perrinelle with deputized fullback Sal Zizzo. This is a good chance for CJ Sapong and company to attack, and there are likely going to be openings in teat backline that can be exploited on the counterattack.

Could John McCarthy be headed to the bench for Andre Blake?
Jim Curtin didn't rule it out Thursday. (Times Staff/TOM KELLY IV)

It should shock no one to state that the Philadelphia Union have an ignominious goalkeeping history. So it’s not surprising that the Union are on the verge of another inglorious distinction between the posts, potentially this weekend.

Jim Curtin strongly hinted Thursday at his weekly press conference that Andre Blake could be in line for his season debut Saturday against Montreal. The timing would seem to be right: Blake is recovered from surgeries on both knees in January, then May. He’ll leave for international duty with Jamaica for a two-leg tie with Nicaragua in the third round of CONCACAF World Cup qualifying Sept. 4 and 8.

Here’s what Curtin had to say:

“We’re thinking about it. We’ll make a decision. Andre’s been called in to Jamaica three weeks from now, so there’s a possibility that it makes sense to give him a game or two.”

If Curtin plays the same loyalty card he did last year with Zac MacMath, it may be that he’s deemed John McCarthy as having earned the start in the Sept. 30 Open Cup final. That would position McCarthy to play a couple of games in late September to stay sharp.

In the meantime, Brian Sylvestre is on the shelf until his oft-reaggravated hand injury is fully healed. When the subject was broached two weeks ago, Curtin declared McCarthy the starter in Orlando. There was no such openness this week. Curtin also failed to conceal his disappointment with McCarthy in Sunday’s 3-3 draw with Chicago.

“Well, the game, not happy with how we executed at that 2-1, we had a lot of chances to get the third goal,” was how Curtin started his postgame press address. “Sean Johnson obviously had a very good night. He had a lot of key saves, a lot of big saves to keep them in it. I think we gave up four shots on goal and three goals. So, again, you know, you work so hard, you finally break through and get a goal.”
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UNION (4-2-3-1)

McCarthy

Fabinho-Edu-White-Gaddis

Carroll-Pfeffer

Le Toux-Maidana-Ayuk

Sapong

Bench: Blake, Marquez, Vitoria, Barnetta, Fred, Casey, Aristeguieta

New York Red Bulls (4-2-3-1) 

Robles 

Wallace-Miazaga-Perrinelle-Lade 

McCarty-Felipe 

Grella-Kljestan-Sam 

B.Wright-Phillips 

Bench: Reynish, McLaws, Ouimette, Davis, Abang, Zizzo, S.Wright-Phillips

Preview

- All eyes are on one name on the bench: Tranquillo Barnetta. The Swiss player – maybe the Union’s biggest ever acquisition who was unveiled Friday – makes the bench as anticipated. He required a week of intercontinental transit to seal his move to Philadelphia, so he’s not 90-minutes fit, but he could play some role in this contest.

- Brian Sylvestre’s hand laceration wasn’t the subject of much discussion this week, and it didn’t preclude him from training. But he’s out of the 18 today, with John McCarthy getting the nod in goal. McCarthy was stellar last week against the Red Bulls.

- Among the starting XI, emphasis will be placed on the Union’s central midfield pivot that will be without Vincent Nogueira for the majority of August. It’s Zach Pfeffer’s time to shine: He was hit-or-miss last week against D.C. United, with some good moments and some bad, and with as outstanding as Nogueira has been, especially going forward, the onus is on Pfeffer to step up big time. 

- Ray Gaddis makes his 100th start today, a remarkable accolade for the hard-working fullback. Here’s what he had to say on the matter earlier in the week. He’s just the second member of the 2012 SuperDraft class to hit 100 MLS starts. 

- For the Red Bulls, no shocks in the starting lineup. Kemar Lawrence has the week off to recover from the Gold Cup. Shaun Wright-Phillips makes the matchday 18 after being signed midweek. One oddity is that Dax McCarty, like Pfeffer, had a midweek flight to Colorado for All-Star festivities (Pfeffer in the Homegrown Game).