Headlines
You guys think Peter Nowak was a bad coach? You ain’t seen nothin’!
The Union will welcome Stoke City FC and new manager Mark Hughes to PPL Park on July 30 at 7:30pm EST. Stoke has been a very US-friendly club, picking up Brek Shea and Geoff Cameron in recent transfer windows. Of course, Mark Hughes will very soon gripe about how he needs to bring in all new players, sign a ton of former England internationals for more than they are worth, and loan out Shea and Cameron all while crossing his arms in the most professional-coachy-manner he can think of. Man, that dude is just not good at managing. But it should be a fun game to see live.
From the press release: “We are pleased to continue the tradition of top international competition at PPL Park with the match with Stoke City,” said Philadelphia Union CEO & Operating Partner Nick Sakiewicz. “We look forward to welcoming them and their fans to Philadelphia next month.”
A lot has been made of Jack McInerney’s early season form, but the striker himself has been quiet and humble about his successful run. Which makes this quote so much more awesome: “I would say most of my goals come from seeing things and knowing where to be at. I can see where people who don’t watch the game regularly might not get excited, because most of my goals look fairly simple. But if really were that simple, I guess I’d ask why don’t 20 other guys across the league have 10 goals right now.” McInerney proceeded to set down the mic and surf away on a hoverboard like Marty McFly.
In other awesome news, Amobi Okugo will be chatting in a Google+ hangout at 12:30pm EST. If you haven’t met Amobi before, stop by to talk with one of the better dudes you’ll ever meet.
Ray Gaddis is one yellow card away from a suspension, so it’s nice to see John Hackworth finally talking about defensive cover to the DelCo Times’ Matthew De George. “Clearly we need to add some depth in the defense, because we’re thin there,” Hackworth said.
“We also have some issues if you will, but again I’m not as concerned about that. And then I think we’re always looking to be a better offensive team too, so a spot in the midfield, we’re looking there as well,” the Union head coach added. Well since you mentioned it, yes I will. What exactly are these issues you see? I mean, I know the interviewer could have followed up but… um…
I don’t know if it’s a good or bad thing that the Union have yet another story on their website reminding us that Zac MacMath is still the starter. All the same quotes from yesterday are there, but if you’ve forgotten: Zac is still the starter. Does it say a lot that the team thinks it has to drive this point home so hard? *Shrugs and winks*
More Union
Kevin Kinkead uses some simple stats to drive home the ideas that the Union are flying high offensively, need to shore up the defense, but are in a good position overall.
Michael Lahoud is still a few weeks away from returning following sports hernia surgery. “My body has done some crazy things before,” he said. “So from the outside looking in, it’s probably a few more weeks. But it could be less than that. I’m definitely upbeat about it.”
Over at The Union Dues, the opposition report is pretty interesting. Inconsistent wing play, big mistakes, and major disappointments top the list of issues the Red Bulls have had this season. Heath Pearce doesn’t appear to instill ultimate confidence as a center back.
Props to Mark Jenkinson, who brought home the People’s Choice Award at the AIGA (American Institute of Graphic Arts) Philadelphia Design Awards. Jenkinson and his company were in charge of the 2012 River Cup design.
If the Union can come through this weekend, they could be in a very good spot in the standings. Red hot Chicago is taking on Columbus and KC is battling Dallas, meaning there is ample opportunity for the team to close the gap on KC and put some cushion over the Crew.
Wambach
Abby Wambach did not just break Mia Hamm’s international scoring record, she broke it with a four goal performance in only 61 minutes. That is stellar.
Wambach and the US women trounced Korea 5-0, with Lauren Cheney closing out the scoring after Wambach left the game to bask in being incredible.
International
After Tahiti was bludgeoned 10-0 by Spain, you knew some commentator was going to be a jerk about it and say the team should take the match more seriously. Honestly, if watching Tahiti fearlessly go out there and play ninety minutes as if the score was always 0-0 doesn’t make you happy to be a soccer fan, then I’m not sure we can be friends today.
The U-20 World Cup is coming, so get your list of “guys you knew about before they were stars” ready. Here is a good starting point.
Really excited to see Stoke at PPL on 7/20.
/sarcasm
so maybe the only teams to ever play games should be man u and real madrid…i’m happy to see any team that wants to come to philly from anywhere in the world and it ain’t exactly like the union can bill itself as one of the premier clubs in the world(or maybe even the usa).
Not saying that, I actually hate all of these friendlies (even Madrid and United).
I voted for the US Open Cup match as our bonus game.
that’s fair. sorry to direct my annoyance at the “our opponent hasn’t won enough champions league trophies” crowd at you
No worries, Nick.
Fat fingered the date, it’s 7/30.
so maybe the only teams to ever play games should be man u and real madrid…
i’m happy to see any team that wants to come to philly for a friendly from anywhere in the world and it ain’t exactly like the union can bill itself as one of the premier clubs in the world(or maybe even the usa). hell the more varied the teams that come the better in my book.
I like it. Looking forward to see the 2 Americans and many others. Roster is here: http://sports.yahoo.com/fbgb/teams/sto/roster
And will be interesting to see what Mark Hughes can do with this team. Nice picture of our stadium at their website:
http://www.stokecityfc.com/news/article/philadelphia-875946.aspx
It was nice to watch Tahiti play yesterday; you could tell they never gave up or got too frustrated or disheartened. A nice moment was when their keeper celebrated the missed PK even though they were down by eight at that point
That was a better 90 minute effort then I see from some MLS teams on a regular basis.
I wonder if anyone is going to ask Amobi about his little vacation…
Jack MAc is a boss.
Hahah man, earlier this season after a particularly ass-ugly match I joked about how we were playing like Stoke, and well, here we are. The progression of friendlies is telling: Man U, Real Madrid, Chivas, Celtic, Everton, Schalke, and now…Stoke.
Supporters of the other Premier League clubs regularly hate on them. They have a couple yanks on the roster. They have nice old-timey kits. Why not bring them to Chester for a friendly match?
Another friendly, yea great I’m ………..to easy.
Wow … judging from Wheelers tweet they really ARE serious with him at CB. Says he is going 90 at CB.
Im so mad I dont even know what to do.
It’s a short-term thing probably, until they bring in some more depth. I wouldn’t get too wound up about it. On the other hand, Clarence Goodson used to be a forward, if I recall correctly. He’s now a national team center back. Maybe not a great one, but it’s an example of how such moves can work out.
i don’t think people would mind as much if it didn’t seem like everyone was played out of position.
Nick in related news Hackworth called I will now be sitting in the family section and you will be sitting in the luxury boxes until they draft suitable fans to replace us.
I’m not thrilled about it either, but when I coached youth teams the adage was that good forwards and backs are interchangeable in terms of skills, physical gifts and attitude. I like it better than the Okugo and Garfan deployments.
Yeah, because Garfan at LB was supposed to be a temporary thing to. Just saying.
I’d say the most annoying thing about it is that Wheeler was playing very well up top. Casey is great and all, but he’s an elder fella and finding a young, big body to spend some time banging with defenders and causing havoc on set pieces would not be a bad thing.
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