KYW Philly Soccer Show

KYW Philly Soccer Show: Preseason roundtable with Kevin Kinkead and Dave Zeitlin

Photo: Courtesy of Philadelphia Union

With the Philadelphia Union preseason in full swing, KYW’s Greg Orlandini and PSP’s Eli Pearlman-Storch are joined by CBS3’s Kevin Kinkead and Dave Zeitlin, mlssoccer.com’s Union beat writer, for a roundtable discussion in the latest edition of the KYW Philly Soccer Show.

Among the topics are the team’s latest acquisition, Canadian-born defender Steven Vitoria. The 6′-5″ Vitoria joins the Union on loan Portuguese club Benfica, and looks to fill the spot opened by the departure of Carlos Valdes, who joined Uruguayan club Nacional on loan last week.

Greg, Eli, Kevin, and Dave discuss how Vitoria’s arrival could allow Maurice Edu to play in his preferred midfield position instead of in defense. Also discussed are some of the Union’s other needs, including depth at forward and at left back.

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To listen to the pod, click on the player above or visit the Philly Soccer Show iTunes page. Follow the pod on Twitter at @KYWPhillySoccer.

23 Comments

  1. old soccer coach says:

    Sapong will replace Le Toux over time.

    • if thats the case………..I don’t get it. Unless they are seeing things that we obviously are not in preseason. Le Toux has been our most consistent player for the past few years. He’s the hardest working, fittest, and most productive player we have had……….by all means, make him a reserve. Just more things that make you go…………….hmmmmmm? If Sapong doesn’t loose anything in the air, as Jim stated, why not a target striker? I am more than happy if he starts there over Casey.

    • Eli Pearlman-Storch says:

      I don’t necessarily agree with that. I believe Sapong was brought in to replace Casey’s production. As a young player, Sapong played his best soccer as a no. 9/target forward. He lost his way when he was shunted out to the wing in Vermes’ system. While CJ has been very quick to say that he will play anywhere he is asked, Curtin has been relatively adamant that he sees Sapong as a center forward. If he comes good, that’s great. But, I do not believe they see him as an immediate starter. In an ideal world, Sapong can back up a DP center striker.

      • The Black Hand says:

        Agreed. Sapong could make quite an impact as our #9…as long as he is not deployed as our loan striker. In my opinion, he would be best suited as a CF…playing off of a target (Casey/Catic…when ready). This would allow for another link between midfield and the goal. Hopefully, that will give us a little more effect in the final third.

      • Agreed Eli………unless you know something we don’t about a DP striker, every inclination I have tells me he will be our target man in March.

    • Jimmy McLaughlin says:

      Ahem, what about me?

  2. As Kevin mentioned on the podcast, the current CBA negotiations have the potential to push certain owners into the red, forcing them to sell. Since Sugarman’s press conference, I’ve wondered what price he would sell the club, allowing someone with deeper pockets to take over. Anyone think Comcast wants to own another sports team? If not, I’m playing Powerball tonight and I’m pretty sure the payout would cover Sugarman’s asking price, plus a little extra for Sack to go on vacation.

  3. Wow, NYCFC making big waves around the country………they are forming their own academy league, outside of the USSDA. They are not putting teams in the DA…..they are making their own New York regional DA! 11 clubs in all…..with some right in NYRB’s backyard. They’re screwed! All clubs will come under the direction of the City Football Group. They have the money, the power, the footy knowledge, and the stones to dance right around US soccer……….this will get interesting! Look at topdrawersoccer.com

    • Is this something that should make the Union Academy nervous, since we’re right next to NYRB’s backyard?

      • I would think so…………you know a couple of our more talented local kids will probably go up there to see if the grass is greener. We already have a few local kids at NYRB and PDA. It will also probably force the hand of the MLS or DA to have stricter boundaries in the academy. The article suggests it was NYCFC’s way of pushing NYRB out of the equation…..if they don’t have teams registered in the DA….they don’t have to worry about boundaries and can set up shop right in NYRB’s face! Just hypothesizing here………

    • I read that topdrawersoccer article differently. They did not form their own DA. They formed their own 11-team league for kids younger than DA age.

      • Jim……what do you think is going to come next? They are going opposite…….starting at the younger age groups and I bet they work their way up to 14’s, 16’s, and 18’s. The other MLS clubs went the opposite…..started at 18’s and worked their way down. The City model makes 10x’s more sense for developing kids, IMHO. Once they get going and have success………they again, have the resources to thumb their nose at the DA and NYRB. Lastly, I said I was just hypothesizing here on what could come down the road…………..while the DA is changing the landscape for the better……it still has flaws and has rubbed some longtime footy people the wrong way, makes things interesting……especially for the anti-academy crowd.

      • As was pointed out in the comments section of that article, there are other MLS teams, such as FC Dallas, that run extensive programs for younger kids. NYCFC is just taking that to the next level. I don’t think it’s really very controversial.

        I see no chance that they won’t participate in the DA. The DA offers them a chance to test their players against other MLS youth programs so they won’t pass that up. I do think we’ll see them or another MLS team create two or even three DA teams in every age group instead of one. For example, the Union could have one DA program run out of YSC in Wayne and another run out of a location near Bensalem or in South Philly and also Lehigh Valley. That way you can utilize the full depth of talent in your area and tag more players who might end up pros.

      • like Columbus, Chicago, and Scott Ghallager……gotcha. I didn’t look at the comments section for the article……we shall see, like I said…..makes things interesting.

      • It seemed to me the article was hinting that they had such a big talent pool to pull from in the NY metro area and North Jersey….they didn’t really care about the DA.

      • With Continental FC around…..a second academy doesn’t make much sense. Any good player from up in Bucks county like Bensalem…..goes to Jersey to play for PDA or NYRB. The talent pool would be way too watered down…..

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