Photo: Earl Gardner
In the latest edition of the KYW Philly Soccer Show, co-hosts Greg Orlandini of KYW and PSP’s Eli Pearlman-Storch are joined by CBS Philly and PSP contributor Kevin Kinkead to discuss the legacy of Union CEO Nick Sakiewicz, whose departure was first reported by Kinkead.
While Sakiewicz, who had a complex relationship with the fan base, was instrumental in bringing an MLS franchise to Philadelphia, many of the team’s questionable personnel decisions seem to lead back to him.
The guys also talk about the Union’s loss in the US Open Cup final.
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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.
Good insight on Sak.
I think you guys were harsh towards Curtin in the Open Cup rundown. Go with the stats, always. The road to the unempoyment line is lined with coaches that trust their gut over the numbers. PKs are weird. Objectively, McCarthy has shown a high propensity towards stopping PKs. There are numbers there to support JM in that situation. There aren’t for Blake. I’m not going to get in a tizzy on the call.
Now who do I blame? If the Captain of this team doesn’t overthink his PK and just buries it, JM for PKs is a genius move and the Union lift the cup. Edu played a pointlessly cocky game and almost cost the team in regulation playing too loose…and then cost them all of the marbles in PKs. Didn’t even mention this in the podcast at all.
That said — if I was Curtin, I would have subbed Vitoria in for Gaddis. A PK specialist for a defender with poor technical skills. Of course, turns out, Gaddis would go on to knock in his PK and Mo Edu/Andy Wenger wound up being the goats. Oh well. Hindsight is 20/20.
Your Spot on Edu that’s how I saw his play. As far as I am concerned he is expendable keep others make room for new talent.
Personally I think it should have been Vitoria for Edu in the 106th minute. Edu was coming off injury and went down at the end of the first overtime. It would have been the perfect time to bring in your PK specialist (besides the one named Seba who was already on the pitch).
while I do not disagree…there is just no way JC removes Maurice Edu in the 106th minute… you either make the move before the end of regulation, considering the game could be destined for PKs, or you ride him out to the end – he chose the latter and left his expensive PK specialist on the bench.
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In hindsight the move was probably Marquez off and Vitoria on then not having Wenger shoot at all…which then makes his substitution into the game more sound knowing he wouldn’t be the 8th shooter.
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The manager “never considered the 8th round of PKs” and I bet that is a mistake he never makes again. Vittoria should have been subbed into game at 106th minute for Richie.
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Armchair manager I am I am.
Great podcast, I love when you guys have a lot of stuff to really sink your teeth into. I’m probably going to listen to it again on my drive home from work
To me, the most questionable decision wasn’t McCarthy for Blake, but Wenger for Sapong. There was less than 10 minutes left in the 2nd OT period, a switch for an offensive player at all is questionable on its own. But when it’s Wenger for your most consistent goal scorer this year, it’s a whole other world of head scratching. I love Wenger as a person, great guy, and I was probably the last fan to give up on his reclamation project as a winger because I wanted to believe that the flashes of brilliance he showed were what he was consistently capable of. But to sub a guy with a long history of self-doubt and lacking any confidence to speak of, cold, into an inevitable PK situation is astounding to me. There was no more ink to be found because it was all already on the wall…
That they had Gaddis go before Wenger in PKs shows you how much confidence they had in Wenger.
didn’t sapong miss the net the last time he tried to kick a penalty?
Most important offseason to date coming up.
Absolutely! This may not be overstated. This off-season could make or break the Union. Maybe not completely on the field. I am more concerned about the fandom. If they can’t make deals that make sense in the improvement of the team or if they make another costly blunder, not only do the Union lose the chance to bring fans home. The Union would see more fans walk away.