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Union

Ugh. The Union are now in fourth place. Ugh.

Peter Nowak on the Sheanon Williams handball:

For me it is physically impossible to see, from the angle the referee was running, and how far away he was. It is physically impossible is what I can say. And make a call like that, in a game like that? It is a little bit too much for any kind of standards. That is what I can say…

[W]hy we can’t have a normal game, a normal game where a foul is a foul, a yellow is a yellow, and a penalty is a penalty? And then we walk off this field, off this locker room, off this press conference, with the feeling “okay, we did what we did, and the better team won.” I don’t have this feeling, and I think my guys in the locker room, they have the same feeling as well. I know it is a tough time right now, there is all this talk about officiating and stuff, and how we can improve, but – listen. These boys worked very hard, and Columbus and our team as well.

Hats off to them, but let them play the normal game! Why we cannot have, every week – we have a call here and there in this game, and the next game, and the other game, that is … questionable. If you play the two best teams, let them play, let them fight, let them be on their toes for the 90 minutes, the better team will win, everybody goes home happy.

Veljko Paunovic said, “This is very hard for us. We’re very disappointed that we lost. I think we didn’t deserve to lose this game.”

Sebastien Le Toux said, “It’s not done yet we still have a lot of games to play and we are ready to fight for our place in the playoffs and we just have to be ready for them.”

Match recaps from PSP, the Brotherly Game, Philly Soccer News, Phanatic Magazine, MLSsoccer.com, SBI.

Philly Union Talk says “Hopes that rested on finding the right guy can and should be laid to rest for the year. What we need now is a team.”

Union Dues laments a lackluster lineup and how deserving players are not getting starts or minutes.

Independence

The Independence will play in the WPS Championship final for the second straight year after defeating magicJack 2–0 on Saturday. Match reports from PSP, ESPN, ESPNW, Fox Soccer, The Equalizer, Philly Soccer News (1), Philly Soccer News (2), All White Kit, National Soccer Wire, the Examiner, the Inquirer, The Mercury, The Sports Network, Sacramento Bee.

Despite the win, coach Paul Riley said after the game, “I’m not satisfied with this game and I don’t think any of my players are. It’s almost a muted celebration.”

What does Riley think Saturday’s championship game against WNY Flash will be like? “It’ll be an exciting game with two very attacking teams,” he said. “I don’t think it’s going to be nil-nil. I think there’s going to be a lot of goals in the game.”

All White Kit talks to Player of the Year Veronica Bouquete.

While MLS has no plans to affiliate itself with WPS, here’s a look at the growing number of women’s teams affiliated with MLS clubs.

Local

Neshaminy High School’s soccer field has been named after former coach Hal Heffelfinger. Heffelfinger coached the boys team for 27 years before retiring in 1994.

MLS

The Union are now in fourth place after losing to first place Columbus on Saturday. Sporting Kansas City moved into second place with a 1–0 win over sixth place DC United on Sunday. Houston are in third place after topping RSL 3–2 on Saturday. New York are in fifth place after drawing 2–2 with eight place New England. Chicago moved into seventh place after beating bottom of the table Toronto 2–0 on Sunday to end a ten-game winless streak.

If the playoffs started today, the Union would have the third wild card spot.

Robbie Keane scored for LA in his debut and Juan Pablo Angel scored for Chivas in his debut. How nice.

This guy says it is time for MLS to lift the salary cap.

US

Jozy Altidore scored two for AZ Alkmaar in his first start while DaMarcus Beasley scored his first goal in Mexico the game winner for his new club Puebla.

Elsewhere

Samuel Eto’o is about to become the highest paid soccer player in the world. Russian club Anzhi Makhachkala will pay Inter Milan $38.9 million in transfer fees for Eto’o and will pay him $28.8 million per season over a three-year contract. Cristiano Ronaldo is paid $17.3 million per year, Lionel Messi is paid $15.1 million.

Brazil topped Portugal 3–2 to win the U-20 World Cup. Oscar scored a hat trick for Brazil.

A Real Madrid spokesperson says Jose Mourinho “will not ask for forgiveness” from Barcelona for gouging assistant coach Tito Vilanova’s eye. The spokesperson says Mourinho “firmly believes that he was defending the interests of Real Madrid.”

 

8 Comments

  1. mourinho is a dick.

  2. Argh. I think we can all see that this problem started the moment we brought in Ruiz. Once Nowak saw Ruiz was a lazy poacher who contributed nothing to the run of play, he tried to pull out all these crazy formations with different players every week. 4-2-3-1. 4-1-3-2. 4-4-2 Diamond.
    What needs to happen right now is we go back to the normal 4-4-2 and play people who DESERVE to play.
    Williams – Califf – Valdes – Garfan
    Marfan – Adu – Carrol – Daniel
    Jack Mac – Mwanga

    With Torres and Okugo being the first two subs.

    THIS needs to be our lineup and we need to stick with it for longer than one half!

    • As much as I hate saying it the Old Serb deserves 45 minutes a game for this team, but it MUST be at striker, he can’t play midfield. He’s the only one tough enough to challenge for and consistently win headers.

      Why Adu can’t get a minute in his real position is beyond me. It defies logic.

      • if the old serb was a real striker he would have had that goal when the ball rolled right in front of him in the 88th minute…

    • How on earth can you leave LT9,the Union’s assist leader completely out of the lineup in favor of Jack Mac. Goals are not the be-all end-all of what Seba brings to the team. His work rate and distribution have been critical for this team. We’re all disappointed that Le Toux hasn’t scored from the run of play this season, but we shouldn’t be so foolish to minimize his overall contribution to the team. Where’s Paunstar in your line-up? While we’re at it, please tell me what has Freddy Adu done to “deserve” a spot in the starting XI??? He’s still trying to work up to match fitness and was pretty much invisible vs. Columbus. And why no MacMath in your very young line-up, the Dragon has let in an alarming number of goals of late.

      Seriously people, take your anxiety down a notch. If not for a questionable handball in the box, the Union head back east with a hard earned point. The coaching staff do need to rely on a more consistent line-up vs. the weekly midfield musical chairs method.

      • As far as Adu is concerned, he’s been played out of position in a lineup where no one stays in one place for more than a hot second. Acclimating to the Union style of play must be a real headache.

  3. People are still blaming Ruiz? He’s been gone for nearly a month. I’m not saying Ruiz’s absence is the reason they haven’t won since July 17, but you can’t really blame a guy not on the roster for the team’s current problems.

  4. I said a long time ago that the ties and losses against weak teams would catch up one day…

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