The Philadelphia Union aren’t often at the forefront of much in MLS. But manager Jim Curtin Wednesday discussed an intriguing technology of which the Union seem to be early adopters: Drones.

That’s not a goalkeeping joke. It’s a factual statement about the Union’s use of drones as an aid to record and analyze practices at the training facility adjacent to PPL Park.

What started as a bit of a novelty has become a low-cost, high-tech way to provide feedback to players and coaches about training techniques and drills. Here’s what Jim Curtin had to say:

“At first, it was just kind of a casual, let’s see what it looks like up high, to view a training session with a drone. And then you get the footage back of it and … first of all the quality is unreal, in terms of HD and you can zoom in and it gives a nice broad picture as well. Obviously the height of it dictates that. We were pretty amazed with the quality and the details it covers. Full-field, transition exercises, you can see all the movements of your back four, you can see the shape of your team, you can see the runs that your attackers are making, what spaces are open. And we’ve started to use it a lot just to break things down in terms of just trying to improve.

You’re looking for every little advantage that you can. We’ve stumbled into it, and it’s become a good little tool, one that, and maybe it’s unique and a little strange to have that thing hovering over you during a practice. But it gives you certainly a view that you can’t replicate with a handheld on the sidelines or even the camera angles from TV. It’s a unique view for sharing and showing what that looks like. It’s pretty impressive though, and it’s something that we’ll bring out there.”

In a sporting context, drones for unmanned aerial recording remain primarily a nuisance, whether they’re sparking soccer riots or disturbing tennis matches and soccer games or spying on paranoid French players. The initial appeal of such affordable, democratized technology would seem to be in an aesthetic, marketing sense, filming from unique viewpoints to package video content to fans as the Union have done.

Coaches using drone video analysis for attacking and defensive movements to goal. pic.twitter.com/1jDZLXQwHE

— Philadelphia Union (@PhilaUnion) September 9, 2015

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Union (4-2-3-1)

MacMath

Fabinho-Edu-White-Gaddis

Carroll-Okugo

Wenger-Fred-Cruz

Ribeiro

Bench: Blake, Le Toux, Nogueira, Maidana, Valdes, Brown, Williams

Red Bulls (4-4-2)

Robles

Duvall-Sekagya-Olave-Armando

Sam-McCarty-Alexander-Luyindula

Cahill-Henry

Bench: Meara, Kimura, Eckersley, Bover, Christianson, Stevenson, Sene

Preview 

- Jim Curtin said pretty bluntly Thursday that he wants players training before a game. When Rais M’Bolhi didn’t arrive back in the states until Friday, the decision was made to go with Zac MacMath for at least one more game. The appearance is MacMath’s 100th in MLS, 99 of them starts.

- Given the conditions and the Open Cup final looming Tuesday, the Union are resting most if not all of their big guns. They have only four regulars out there, not including Carlos Valdes, Sebastien Le Toux, Conor Casey (who doesn’t make the bench), Cristian Maidana or Vincent Nogueira. The conditions are poor, and that might factor in, but the challenge is clear to the reserves to take care of business.

- That said, this isn’t a youth team. Brian Carroll is out there with the sole objective of keeping a clean sheet. Danny Cruz and Fred are well rested. The biggest revelation concerns Pedro Ribeiro, who apparently has supplanted Brian Brown in the forward pecking order.

- The gaping absence for the Red Bulls is MLS leading scorer Bradley Wright-Phillips, who’ll sit the bench with a hamstring injury. In place of his 21 goals this season, Thierry Henry will lead the line, and Tim Cahill gets a start after a sub appearance midweek. Given the glut of games for the Red Bulls (including CONCACAF Champions League Wednesday), not pushing Wright-Phillips makes sense. Saer Sene is also looming on the bench.

Wednesday's edition of the Daily Times, featuring Danny Cruz.

Philadelphia Union (4-2-3-1)

MacMath 

Gaddis -Edu-White-Williams 

Carroll-Nogueira 

Wenger-Maidana-Le Toux 

Casey 

Bench: Blake, Fabinho, Berry, Fred, Wheeler, Brown, Cruz

New York Red Bulls (4-4-2) 

Robles 

Oyongo-Miazga-Olave-Duvall 

Alexander-McCarty-Cahill-Sam 

Henry/Wright-Phillips 

Bench: Meara, Kimura, Sekagya, Lade, Akpan, Convey, Bover.

Game Preview

- Jim Curtin is forced to bring in fresh legs thanks to the red cards to Amobi Okugo and Michael Lahoud in the draw with Colorado Saturday. That means that he gets to delay for a week the question of how Vincent Nogueira and Cristian Maidana coexist in midfield, with Nogueira taking deep-lying role alongside Brian Carroll. It’s Nogueira’s first league appearance since June 7, John Hackworth’s last game in charge.

- There’s a shuffle in the backline, too, with Maurice Edu back from suspension and Ethan White having done enough in a good showing against Colorado to earn a second start. (That means Austin Berry is still looking for his first minutes since the New England loss May 17.) The last time the teams played, a 2-1 win for the Red Bulls in Harrison, right back Ray Gaddis had one of his most difficult games of the season thanks to Peguy Luyindula and Eric Alexander. This time, Fabinho appears to be the weak link, headed to the bench so Gaddis (at the left) and Sheanon Williams can man the flanks. It’s the first time Fabinho hasn’t started since May 3 in Seattle.

- For the Red Bulls, who enter on a five-game unbeaten streak, Dax McCarty makes his return to the starting lineup, pairing with Tim Cahill in the center. That battle for central midfield supremacy is one where the Red Bulls have the edge on paper and Carroll and Nogueira will have to work hard to overturn. Up top, you know what you’re getting with MLS goals leader Bradley Wright-Phillips and assists leader Thierry Henry.
- Apparently the effects of the Shane O’Neill tackle are lingering with Danny Cruz, who is on the bench as Andrew Wenger starts for the first time since May 17. Brian Brown is on the bench yet again looking for his debut.

- The Union get a little bit of a break with Luyindula’s cryptic absence. Philly native Bobby Convey is among those on the bench, which runs pretty thin for the Red Bulls.  

Philadelphia Union (4-1-2-3)

MacMath

Gaddis-Okugo-Wheeler-Fabinho

Edu

Nogueira-Fernandes

Maidana-Wenger-Le Toux

Bench: Blake, Hoppenot, Casey, Lahoud, Berry, Carroll, Williams

New York Red Bulls (4-4-2)

Robles

Kimura-Olave-Sekagya-Miller

Alexander -McCarty-Luyindula-Sam

Wright-Phillips/Henry

Bench: Meara, Bover, Stevenson, Armando, Cahill, Lade, Steele 

- Union manager John Hackworth espoused a desire to rotate his squad this week with three matches in eight days, and he’s done that. The Union introduces three changes from the draw with RSL last week. Aaron Wheeler comes in for Austin Berry, who had a horrible game against RSL. No word on whether that’s pre-planned or performance based. Brian Carroll fails to start for the first available game (without injury or suspension) since May 5, 2012, with Leo Fernandes starting centrally and Cristian Maidana coming in on the wing to move Maurice Edu to a holding midfield position. Fabinho, who didn’t play last week, enters for Sheanon Williams as he and Ray Gaddis flip sides.

- Maurice Edu will wear the captain’s armband for the first time as a member of the union. When in the home opener Carroll was unable to go, that honor went to Amobi Okugo.
- Andre Blake is back after a week out. The bench includes attacking options in Conor Casey and Antoine Hoppenot, but no change-of-pace midfield options.

- For the Red Bulls, Armando gets a place on the bench but isn’t up to start, drafting Ibrahim Sekagya into the side after he played well against the Union as a centerback last year. Tim Cahill earns a seat on the bench, Eric Alexander and Peguy Luyindula the preferred attacking midfield options.

- Okugo faces a third straight game with a rotated defensive partner. Keeping track of Thierry Henry (who burned them last year) and Bradley Wright-Phillips, especially as they interchange with the midfielders, will be a big task for he and Wheeler to sort out.

Philadelphia Union (4-4-2)

MacMath

Fabinho-Parke-Okugo-Williams

Le Toux-Carroll-Daniel-Cruz

McInerney-Casey

Bench: Nikolov, Farfan, Hoppenot, Fernandes, Lahoud, Kleberson, Wheeler

New York Red Bulls (4-4-2)

Robles

Sekagya-Olave-Holgersson-Miller

Alexander-McCarty-Cahill-Steel

Espindola-Henry

Bench: Meara, Sam, Lade, Barklage, Luyindula, Maizga, Obekop

- The thinking once was that the Red Bulls went as did Thierry Henry this season. There's an addendum to that: The Red Bulls are a different team when Henry and Fabian Espindola start. They've started together 16 times this season, and the Red Bulls are 8-4-4 in those games. If you exclude early-season stumbles, they are 8-2-2 in the the last 12 games in which both have started, including a recent 4-1-1 stretch interrupted last week in Columbus when Henry didn't travel. Their working relationship and able to create chances and goal from nothing will severely test Amobi Okugo and Jeff Parke in a way Peguy Luyindula simply couldn't in two starts against the Union this season.

- It's unfair to think of Roy Miller as the liability he has been in the past (though that could service at any time). But it'll be interesting to see how the Union attack the Costa Rican left back. Do they put Danny Cruz up the attacking right? Or do they break up the burgeoning chemistry between Sebastien Le Toux and Fabinho, making his second straight start at left back? I'd expect Cruz to take on the job.

- Still no Kleberson. That samba beat sounds more ghostly by the day. We'll see if Keon Daniel learns from the errors John Hackworth admitted he made last week.

- Interesting that Oka Nikolov makes his first MLS gameday roster in favor of Chris Konopka.

To say that news of Clint Dempsey’s return to Major League Soccer Friday hit the American soccer world like a ton of bricks is not an exaggeration. What went from fun in the form of the hashtag #DempseyWatch Thursday night got very real Friday as the various stages leading to the consummation of his deal with Seattle came to light, little by little.

Whether or not this is the type of game-changing acquisition for MLS as say David Beckham or even Thierry Henry is open to interpretation. But here are four things I know for sure about the Dempsey scenario.

You can bet the ramifications of Clint Dempsey's move to
Seattle Sounders will resonate throughout MLS. (AP)

- This is a big deal. I’m not just talking about the rumored $9 million transfer fee paid to Tottenham Hotspur for his services or the reported salary of $32 million over four years for the 30-year-old Texan. Dempsey is a name recognizable to even the casual soccer fans in the states, those for whom Dempsey’s time with the New England Revolution which culminated in 2006 seems ancient history. He’s the nation’s second-leading scorer all time and he’s taken over as the captain of the team while the Stars and Stripes embarked on a historic winning streak. Dempsey is hardly unambitious: He’s been given the financial and practical incentive to ditch the dreams of playing in the UEFA Champions League that he’s been so vocal about to come back home. It’s not the tale of aging Americans limping back to the shores of America. Dempsey was the third-leading scorer (seven goals) on the fifth-best team in the world’s best league. He’s reached double digits in scoring several time in his previous stint for Fulham. He would’ve been handsomely paid for his services as the feature striker in a bevy of mid-table English squads. But it’s more financially viable and advantageous for his national-team prospects for him to be in the U.S. That says a lot about U.S.
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For a game that started out quite dull, the Union’s 2-1 loss to the Red Bulls Saturday certainly livened up late. Once again that old adage about a goal opening things up proved true, and that’s exactly what Dax McCarty’s opener in the 55th minute did.

So beyond the nuts-and-bolts gamer and some notes, a few stray observations from the game:

One moment of class by New York's Thierry Henry, left,
undid a day's worth of good defending from Sheanon Williams
and his Union teammates Saturday
in a 2-1 loss to the Red Bulls. (Courtesy of Philadelphia Union)

- It was the focal point of the postgame press conference, but I’ll be honest: I didn’t see the foul John Hackworth thought should’ve stopped the build-up to Thierry Henry’s game-winning goal. Neither did anyone else in the press conference, it seemed. And the replay of the goal on mls.com starts with the referee appearing to wave on play after some kind of infraction. Let’s just say it was a physical game all around; one physical collision doesn’t really stand out.

- I take that back: Conor Casey’s physical play stands out. Apparently he has a thing with tall central defenders with shaved heads; he tussled with Sporting Kansas City’s Aurelian Collin in the opener and Jamison Olave today. And then he undercut goalkeeper Luis Robles late to earn a yellow card. Physical.

- Casey also did a bit of scoring, getting the Union’s only goal. His emergence – and return to health, first and foremost – gives the Union another striking option. How to fit him in with Jack McInerney, Sebastien Le Toux and super sub Antoine Hoppenot is a complicated puzzle.
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Official lineups:

New York Red Bulls (0-2-2, 2 points)

Robles

Kimura-Olave-Holgersson-Pearce

Alexander-Juninho-McCarty-Steele

Cahill (c)

Luyindula

Bench: Castano, Miller, Digao, Sam, Bover, Akpan, Henry

 Philadelphia Union (2-1-0, 6 points)

MacMath

Williams-Okugo-Parke-Gaddis

Cruz-Carroll(c)-Lahoud

MFarfan

Le Toux-McInerney

Bench: Konopka, Torres, Fernandes, Daniel, Casey, Hoppenot, Jordan

The talking points:
Not many shocks from the Red Bulls. Fabian Espindola was widely expected to be out, and Thierry Henry's fitness was a serious doubt. He starts from the bench, as does much-maligned defender Roy Miller and newly-acquired striker Andre Akpan. If Peguy Luyindula and Tim Cahill don't produce in attack, expect the hook to be quick. Thomas Holgersson and Jamison Olave get another game to gel in defense. Expect Dax McCarty to do the dirty work in the midfield. Juninho will have to get forward and pull the strings of the the attack.
For the Union, few surprises. The same backline is trotted out again for the fourth time in as many games (fifth if you include the Pumas friendly). Danny Cruz is recovered from his broken nose. It could be a very narrow formation if Michael Farfan sits off the shoulders of the strikers. Sebastien Le Toux and Jack McInerney unsurprisingly pair up top again, with Conor Casey on the bench. Leo Fernandes makes the bench as does Greg Jordan, the only defender on the bench, despite being loaned to Harrisburg earlier this week.

The Union haven't had much success in their history against New York, as detailed here. The numbers aren't pretty: 2-6-0 all-time, 0-4 at Red Bull Arena and 0-3 a season ago.

But times have changed. The Union (2-1-0, 6 points) are riding high and have had two weeks to prepare for their Eastern Conference rivals. The Red Bulls (0-2-2, 4 points) are still looking for the first win in the Mike Petke era.

Former Union player and current New York forward Josue Martinez,
here battling with Montreal captain Davy Arnaud last week,
could find himself starting against the Union this week
thanks to an injury-depleted Red Bulls frontline.

They've had their troubles defensively, allowing six goals in four matches, albeit three of them away from home. Next to Jamison Olave, an acquisition from Real Salt Lake last year, there's been a giant question mark in central defense (though Olave did have an own goal against Portland in the opener). Markus Holgersson, the occasionally disastrous, never boring Roy Miller and natural right back Heath Pearce have all deputized centrally.

But the real opportunity this week for the Union may be in the injuries the Red Bulls are suffering. Theirry Henry suffered an MCL strain March 16 and has only recently returned to training, but leading goalscorer Fabian Espindola missed training Wednesday with a hamstring strain picked up Tuesday and is a doubt for the weekend. Those injuries may leave former Union player Josue Martinez, who played the final 11 minutes in the loss to Montreal over the weekend, among the favorites to feature at forward.

So here's Hackworth's take


On the offseason additions:
"Espindola for me is one of the best forwards in this league. He’s very competitive but he’s got quality. He’s very smart. He finds space on the field. And he’s dangerous, and he proved that with Real Salt Lake. They got Olave from Real Salt Lake too, so they have a top center back. I think they made some very wise acquisition in the offseason to make them a better team. Mike is doing a great job so far, and from an outsider’s prospective, and I know some of the players on that roster, I know they’re feeling good about what they’re doing even if they’re not getting the results."

On Henry's possible absence:
"We prepared the whole time as if he was going to be on the field. If you look at the history of Henry in this league, you would think that he’s going to play in a game of this magnitude that was this important for the club. So we’ve prepared to have him on the field, and if he’s not on the field on Saturday, I think that’s an advantage for us because he’s one of the best players if not the very best player in this league."

It’s been an international transfer window book-ended by attention for MLS.

Days before the window opened, FIFA president Sepp Blatter made headlines by swiping at MLS’ progress, both in the world of soccer and the American mainstream.

“It is a question of time, I thought – we had the World Cup in 1994,” Blatter said Dec. 30. “But it is now 18 years in so it should have been done now. But they are still struggling. … There is no very strong professional league (in the U.S.). They have just the MLS but they have no professional leagues which are recognized by the American society.”

As with most of the hot air emanating from the Swiss exec, Blatter’s withering criticism didn’t make way for facts. The dealings in the transfer window didn’t seem to want to follow Blatter’s paradigm either. So a month on from Blatter’s blithering assertions, MLS has shown itself to be a chic marketplace for big European clubs to do their shopping. Read more »

(Associated Press)

Here's who John Hackworth is going with today against the New York Red Bulls:

GK ... MacMath
DF ... Valdes, Williams, Okugo, G Farfan
MF ... Carroll, Lahoud, M Farfan
FW ... Pajoy, McInerney, Martinez

Bench: Konopka, Daniel, Hoppenot, Torres, Gomez, Albright, Gaddis

A few observations about the lineup:

• No Adu. Hackworth said this week that he expected Michael Farfan and Freddy Adu, who were absent from the midweek friendly against Aston Villa, to be available. Yet only Farfan made the 18. So where's Adu? He wasn't included in Friday's injury report, either. Wonder if Hackworth will lend some logic afterward.
• Lahoud over Gomez. One of the Union's leading scorers, Gabriel Gomez again begins the match on the bench, with Hackworth going in favor of Michael Lahoud. Gomez has taken on a reserve role in recent matches.
• Look who. It's Le Toux. The Red Bulls will start former Union player Sebastien Le Toux in a three-forward formation, along with Thierry Henry and Kenny Cooper. If that trio doesn't account for at least a goal, something's either terribly wrong here in Harrison, N.J. ... or the Union have an underestimated backline within the MLS ranks.