Goals by Ken Tribbett and Leo Fernandes carried the Philadelphia Union to their first win of the preseason, toppling the Suncoast Invitational Tournament hosts Tampa Bay Rowdies by a final of 2-0.
Philadelphia started a slightly patchwork lineup, giving the likes of Andre Blake, Tranquillo Barnetta, and Roland Alberg the night off. Matt Jones started in net, while Brian Carroll partnered with Vincent Nogueira in central midfield and Ilsinho took the reins from Barnetta in the no. 10 role.
The Union controlled the first half of the game with relative ease, causing Jim Curtin to comment at halftime that it was “our strongest 45 minutes, start to finish” so far in the preseason. The first goal came off a set piece, as the trialist Ilsinho whipped a tasty ball into the box and Tribbett was there to feast, smashing the ball into the back of the net.
Ken Tribbett puts Union ahead vs. @TampaBayRowdies. 1-0 pic.twitter.com/Zv9KpLu2pX
— Philadelphia Union (@PhilaUnion) February 21, 2016
Just twelve minutes later, the Union doubled their edge through a nice passage of play — and once again Ilsinho was at the heart of it. Working a give and go with Vincent Nogueira on the right flank, Ilsinho cut into the box with ease and fizzed a pass along the six-yard box. A grateful Fernandes made no mistake in pounding home the cross.
.@Leo_Fernandes22 makes the score 2-0 ⚽️⚽️ pic.twitter.com/drDEAarXhj
— Philadelphia Union (@PhilaUnion) February 21, 2016
Philadelphia controlled the game through the first half, pinning Tampa Bay back in their own half. A steady performance from the back four, plus the ceaseless running of Nogueira and the ageless Brian Carroll, gave the Union a platform to keep the hosts under pressure for the full 45. The Rowdies made wholesale changes to start the second half, and though they performed better in the second half the NASL side were unable to wrest control of the game from the Union, who saw out the game with relative ease.
Brief Observations
- Ilsinho continues to impress, notching assists on both goals, and in my mind he’s done enough to earn a contract. Tasked to play in the No. 10 role tonight, the Brazilian was all over the pitch as he played provider for the attacking trio of Sapong, Pontius, and Fernandes. Ilsinho impressed me with his confidence on the ball, creative passing, and willingness to put in work defending back up the pitch. His set pieces were solid, a useful piece of the puzzle now that Chaco Maidana is no longer with the club. Yes, there are questions about his salary, whether he’d accept a reserve role, and how he fits onto a roster that’s maxed out on international spots. But you can never have enough quality on your team, and Ilsinho is quality.
- Ray Gaddis hasn’t seen the field since he played 30 minutes against Jacksonville Armada. Though it’s possible he’s been injured in some way, the continued solid play of Keegan Rosenberry doesn’t bode well for the veteran right back. (Ray’s postgame comments on Twitter certainly suggest that his absence isn’t injury-based.) Rosenberry impressed once more against the Rowdies, offering a stable defensive performance and some solid moments pushing into the attack. I wouldn’t be surprised if Rosenberry starts the season in the regular backline.
- Anderson was hit-or-miss tonight. An unknown quantity at center back, he showed some nice shades to his game. He’s smooth on the ball and has good vision, capable of starting the attack with a sharp ground pass. But he also had a couple bad moments, including an ill-placed foul and a bizarre moment where he nearly scored a beautiful own-goal. The battle between Anderson and Yaro to start the season next to Marquez is one to watch in the remaining preseason contests.
- It is by now a cliche that the Union will need a massive season from C.J. Sapong if they want to make some noise. Tonight’s game was a reminder that this might be a frustrating journey. Though Sapong had some wonderful touches and bits of hold-up play, and worked himself into good positions, the finishing was just not there. He seemed a touch slow to shoot, which gave the defenders a chance to cut in and block his shots. Sapong can be forgiven for not being in midseason rhythm, but he’s going to have to be a more aggressive and consistent finisher once the games that matter start.
- As for the opponent, I wasn’t impressed. The Rowdies offered little going forward and seemed lost in defense. Still, it was a good sign to see the Union largely dominating a game against inferior opposition, something they have struggled mightily with in the past. Former Union man Freddy Adu showed up to briefly remind us all why he doesn’t play for the Union anymore.
Philadelphia Union
Matt Jones; Fabinho, Anderson (Richie Marquez 72′), Ken Tribbett, Keegan Rosenberry; Brian Carroll, Vincent Nogueira; Chris Pontius (Walter Restrepo 62′), Ilsinho (Sebastien Le Toux 72′), Leo Fernandes; C.J. Sapong (Fabian Herbers 72′)
Tampa Bay Rowdies
Michael Langer (Chris Glodack HT); Jeremy Hall, Frankie Sanfilippo, Stefan Antonijevic, Ben Sweat, Juan Guerra; Verneri Välimaa, Junior Burgos © (Jeff Michaud HT), Kalif Alhassan (Freddy Adu 61’), Tommy Heinemann (Danny Mwanga HT), Darwin Espinal
Scoring Summary
PHI — Ken Tribbett (Ilsinho) 17′
PHI — Leo Fernandes (Ilsinho) 29′
Disciplinary Summary
TBR — Ben Sweat (Yellow) 1′
PHI — Anderson (Yellow) 58′
PHI — Walter Restrepo (Yellow) 79′
Officials
Jorge Gonzalez (referee)
Kermit Quisenberry (assistant)
Steven Richardson (assistant)
Trent Vanhaitsma (fourth)
See what Vincent Nogueira can do when he has someone who knows how to make a run in towards the box. Amazing Sign IIsinho NOW!!!!
Noguiera must be thrilled he doesn’t have to do nearly the same amount of directing teammates while trying to play keep away from 2 defenders to buy time.
Sorry to hear Gaddis may be unhappy, but I see why Union wanted Rosenberry. He’s already looked better on the ball than Gaddis ever has.
Totally agree. He’s smooth and confident.
Sign Ilsinho. That is all.
+ 24
Totally agree, but if we do sign him, what does the midfield depth chart look like?
Worry about that later. The guy can play. Get him in here.
I agree with Peter Andrews that it was nice to see the Union meet expectations when playing a side that is supposedly inferior to it.
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Ilsinho should show well against an NASL team, and he did. Can he stand out in the same way against Red Bulls and Toronto? I mention again that the world of soccer has had an opportunity to secure his services since last July and has not chosen to do so, so his bargaining position may not be as strong as his historical resume might suggest. I would doubt anything will happen until preseason is over, and evEn then the international slot issue must be resolved. Mobility between BSFC and the first team may well influence that.
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Ken Tribett has performed acceptably as a center back, this time on the right. If he plays and does well against Red Bulls and Toronto, I doubt he remains with BSFC. I am beginning to wonder if he is going to start.
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In his halftime on field interview Jim Curtin mentioned that the team had practiced twice on Friday and suggested that several players had heavy legs as a result.
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Next week will,be important as match fitness is being attained by all teams and the first real game approaches.
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Tribbett has done well. My only quibble with him so far is that he seems to get a burr in his saddle and just takes off dribbling- rather recklessly- straight upfield. It’s almost Edu-ian.
Edu-ian.
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This needs to be added to my newly coined Hope-ium.
Okugo was good as a CB in the role of #2, next to Valdes and next to Parke. Okugo was probably good for the MLS into which he was drafted in 2010 as a DCM, but could not convince Nowak to give him a shot. Okugo was good as a DCM in a simple, straightforward counter-attacking scheme.
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Okugo does not have the twinkle toes to play keep away from two pressing opponents while he waits for an opportunity to develop upfield. Okugo does not have the kaleidoscopic, prismatic, Lynx-eyed vision to see the flash of opportunity behind his back 75 yards away in the opposite channel and the feet to get open to deliver the inch perfect ball. Jim Curtin wants three of those in the midfield in the central channel. [What coach doesn’t.] Chaco had the vision and the feet, but refused to stay central and in spite of his genuine best efforts lacked the chops defensively.
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The technical staff that knew Okugo best did not see him growing into the Nogueira, Alberg, Barnetta class of player; he was a less experienced, more athletic Brian Carroll. That judgment has been confirmed by technical staffs of Adrian Heath at Orlando, and Peter Vermes at SKC.
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Never lose sight of the fact that the quality of play of MLS has been improving aggressively, explosively and dramatically since 2010. The slope of the curve has been strongly positive. Anecdotally, how many times has a player left MLS, tried elsewhere, returned, and been unable to secure playing time.
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Maurice Edu will be given every reasonable chance to prove he belongs on the field as a DCM. I am confident of that because of his coach’s loyalty to his players, his commitment to being fair with them, and Edu’s curriculum vitae. It will be interesting to see if he can hold his place. If not, Edu next to Anderson Conceicao would be a formidable tandem of center backs, and Josh Yaro would go get minutes growth opportunities at BSFC.
+10
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Coaches know talent, and who can perform at this level. Spot on observation of “Fan Favorite” Okugo. Who, btw, is currently without a team.
Lots of folks vilify Fabinho, even though he’s one of the better LB’s in MLS. Sure he isn’t a Jordi Alba or Marcelo, but he’s a solid MLS LB.
Sign Ilsinho, and loan Ayuk to either BSFC or an NASL side.
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The Union might actually have some quality depth this season. Pontius has also looked good thus far in pre-season.
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The real question is: have the Union improved enough to snag sixth place?
Is your “Hope-ium” grown in Patna and Benares under contract to the British East India company, packed into chests in a gelatinous concentration of 10-12% active ingredient called “chandu” and sailed across the Bay of Bengal and the South China Sea to the Chinese port of Guangzhou [aka Canton]? 🙂
smuggled then seeded inside my attic. I’ve learned never to use your own supply.
I do like the fact that when Tribbett is pressured when in possession, he doesn’t retreat and steps forward into space. That’s a sign of confidence from a young player trying to establish himself at a higher level.
This play from Noguiera echoes my comment from last week… I don’t think any of us have seen what Noguiera is capable of… dude has lynx eye vision… prismatic vision as my favorite color man Ray Hudson says of the Pale Faced Assassin…. and many others. Kaleidoscopic vision!
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Ummm is anybody here surprised with Ray Gaddis not playing? I’m not. If the SD wants his OBs so far up the pitch which demands technical savvy and offensive brioche~ I just haven’t seen it from Ray… There is more to OB than being quality in the 1v1 battles… In four weeks I think it is safe to say Keegan Rosenberry is 2x the player already and will likely be the opening day starter….So interesting to me some who trumpeted Ray Gaddis in the name of finding anything good with this club often were less than impressed by Okugo.
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Yeah well… to each his own.
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An about time expected result from this team. Well done. Next.
+1. Rosenberry looks like the real deal so far. I never really liked Gaddis just cuz he offers nothing going forward. With the speed he has he should be much more of a complete OB. I never liked the Williams trade, and I’m happy to see Rosenberry really challenging for the starting spot.
Where is Okugo? Did he get released? He might be a good ‘low cost’ depth option for us at d-mid.
If he hasn’t been released yet, he will be soon. But the reason for this is that his salary is in the $300,000 range. Not even LA, NYCFC or Seattle would pay this much for a depth player. He’d have to agree to half his current salary for any team to pick him up.
Okugo was good as a CB in the role of #2, next to Valdes and next to Parke. Okugo was probably good for the MLS into which he was drafted in 2010 as a DCM, but could not convince Nowak to give him a shot. Okugo was good as a DCM in a simple, straightforward counter-attacking scheme.
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Okugo does not have the twinkle toes to play keep away from two pressing opponents while he waits for an opportunity to develop upfield. Okugo does not have the kaleidoscopic, prismatic, Lynx-eyed vision to see the flash of opportunity behind his back 75 yards away in the opposite channel and the feet to get open to deliver the inch perfect ball. Jim Curtin wants three of those in the midfield in the central channel. [What coach doesn’t.] Chaco had the vision and the feet, but refused to stay central and in spite of his genuine best efforts lacked the chops defensively.
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The technical staff that knew Okugo best did not see him growing into the Nogueira, Alberg, Barnetta class of player; he was a less experienced, more athletic Brian Carroll. That judgment has been confirmed by technical staffs of Adrian Heath at Orlando, and Peter Vermes at SKC.
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Never lose sight of the fact that the quality of play of MLS has been improving aggressively, explosively and dramatically since 2010. The slope of the curve has been strongly positive. Anecdotally, how many times has a player left MLS, tried elsewhere, returned, and been unable to secure playing time.
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Maurice Edu will be given every reasonable chance to prove he belongs on the field as a DCM. I am confident of that because of his coach’s loyalty to his players, his commitment to being fair with them, and Edu’s curriculum vitae. It will be interesting to see if he can hold his place. If not, Edu next to Anderson Conceicao would be a formidable tandem of center backs, and Josh Yaro would go get minutes growth opportunities at BSFC.
Not surprised about Rosenberry outperforming Gaddis. I have never seen Gaddis switch fields with a pass like Rosenberry has done several times this preseason. He’s just vastly better in maintaining possession and getting forward than Gaddis.
Yup.
I wonder if the Union had this in mind last year when they traded Williams, to be honest. Given various events and such, they could very well have expected to be able to sign Rosenberry as a home grown player. Trading Williams allowed them to get some value for the player at the time. (It can be argued, of course, whether or not they actually got that value.)
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At the time, the talk was Gaddis vs. Williams. But maybe the decision the technical staff made was actually Rosenberry vs. Williams, with Gaddis just keeping the seat warm in the interim.
I wondered that too. I would personally rather have a Williams-Rosenberry tandem tho.It was probably cheaper to keep Gaddis. Plus the international spot they could really use right now to sign Ilsinho. They should try and loan Ayuk regardless, just don’t know if it would be to BSFC.I heard they have all of their international spots filled and the limit is 5. Anyone shed some light?
Yes, great point.
The battle for Marquez’s partner may not be won by Yaro or Anderson if Tribbett keeps playing at such a high level.
Gaddis should never have been given the RB position. The players knew it, the fans knew it, and the journalists knew it. He simply is not talented enough. I’m glad that Curtin is moving on.
Agreed. Not impressed with either Anderson or Yaro. I can’t wait for Edu to get repurposed into a centerback again. Has Earnie realized that right now – with Edu not playing – the team has NO D-MID?!?!
Do not ignore the possibility that Anderson Conceicao and Ken Tribett are the starting center backs. Richie Marquez does not have Maurice Edu next to him this season. Instead he has to be Maurice Edu. There’s a difference in roles there.
They have Brian Carroll if he still counts…
Marquez has not looked very sharp this preseason. Sophomore slump? I hope not!
I would add that Ilsinho looks like 100x better player than Barnetta. From his very first foul giving a penalty kick, I’ve been less than impressed with Barnetta. Especially compared to Maidana. Not a secret that Curtin never rated Maidana, and Barnetta was his hand-picked 10. But Curtin and Albright not good judges of players and Barnetta is slow and not that creatiyve. Plus Barnetta’s lazy – see his giveaway in the Chicago friendly last week and non-attempt to get back and cover. Anyway, I’d say let Ilsinho or Alberg start and Barnetta can be the backup/depth.
That won’t happen. I saw the team function quite differently with The Calm in the middle of the pitch last season… Not saying he is a stud but the guy is a good player for this league and I imagine his quality is going to improve as the weeks where on.
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It is preseason and some players are notable slow starters. … hell how many years did we watch Ryan Howard come out of April with four home runs then hit 12 bombs in four weeks… to lead the league. Tranquillo will be fine.
how many years … ago …? the dangers inherent in any pro sports contract are: (1) is it before or after the age related fall off? (2) does the player have the dedication and a support system to keep the fall of line in front of him? (3) do we have to give him the contract now? (4) is the price low enough to risk it? For Howard, it was right at or after the fall off, no, no and no. Now compare to Ilsinho, age 30, out of contract with Shaktar since last July 1st. Certainly has talent, but that’s not really the issue.
I’m just generally speaking about some players are not at peak prowess right out of the gate… take a bit to get up to form.
Barnetta gets back into the defensive center mid slot with a credibility that Maidana did not, does not and likely never will have. Ilsinho is working hard to try to play defense; that is not the same think as actually playing defense effectively against a top flight MLS side. And with all the willingness in the world in his heart, his legs were gone by the time he came off, when he was walking, he was walking slowly. I have liked the combination of Alberg, Barnetta and Nogueira down the central spine of the midfield so far. It has produced moments of very nice precise, close triangle passing to penetrate the attacking third and find some threatening passes. Ilsinho has not yet found those Maidana-like critical passes against top flight MLS opposition. If he starts and shows well against Red Bulls and or Toronto, then it is time to take action.
Ilsinho looks better against lower competition. Most of his minutes have been against reserves and the Rowdies. Barnetta has also been played out of position. He had one match as the #10 and two as the #6/#8. It’s not his strong suit. I agree with OSC that the best grouping so far has been Alberg/Nogs/Barnetta.
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Comparing Barnetta to Maidana is like apples and oranges. Barnetta is the hub on a wheel allowing the spokes around him to rotate to effect. He’s got vision and ability to play the smart pass, though not the spectacular like Maidana. Where Maidana would go wandering off the reservation. Seeing things only his eyes can see, he used his cultured left foot to try and make spectacular passes. But when those passes didn’t work out, he’d leave a gaping hole in the middle, leaving the team defensively vulnerable. The team didn’t have the talent to cover for this. Reliable vs. Unreliable. Easy choice to make.
As I watch Leo Fernandes play, clearly belonging on the pitch with other obvious first teamers, I am beginning to wonder whether individual major league soccer “offices” aka franchises should enter wholly owned subsidiary sides in the NASL. Playing for the Cosmos certainly helped Leo, a lot. Full credit to that decision-maker last season.
Round of applause.
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I remember him have moments of pure quality his first time through but maybe wasn’t quite ready… he was the class of the team in NY last season and he was the class in the very small window I saw him at YSC and he seems confident and is positioning to be a difference maker.
Ayuk likely spends this year primarily with BSFC. If we’re still logjammed on the wings next year, I’d love to see him loaned to the Cosmos.
Agreed, the difference in his play is very noticeable this year. Speed of thought and movement has been much sharper.
Glad we got the win. It was fun seeing Freddy and Danny Mwanga. Weird that Ray-Ray is apparently in the doghouse but we do have better options right now. Still suprised he’s gotten no minutes….in-league trade for an int’l roster spot? I’m sure somebody out there remembers how good (and fast) Ray Gaddis looked 2 years ago.
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We have a ton of attacking midfielders. A ton! And I like most of them. Not sure how they all get minutes.
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Seriously where is Amobi Okugo? Is he in Europe?
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I really like our team. As long as they don’t SSM it will be fun to root for them. And perhaps if all goes well we’ll get a Christmas in July DP striker to carry us into the playoffs. Yes…..I’m guzzling the cool aid. It’s grape and has a strange after taste.
The after taste is strychnine.
Amobi is not in Europe…. he’s in US Soccers doghouse.
About to be released by SKC…
Why? Attitude or lack of quality? Strange.
Salary hit.
I agree it was fun watching what the Union used to be made of vs. what the are starting to make them selves. Mwanga and Adu looked same ‘ol same ‘ol.
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I love the options that the over-loaded midfield represents. At the very least one or two injuries won’t destroy the hopes of the team this year.
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Please stop with Okugo. He’s not good enough. He wasn’t good enough. He will not be good enough. He’s not Carmen Sandiego, there’s no need to find him.
Dude you just gave us your tell… Carmen San Diego.
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Good one.
Never seen the show actually. Just have 27 odd younger cousins. Even if my brain is on cruise control I pick up some things. It is the home of useless information.
Maybe you haven’t giving your tell then..cause Carmen San Diego to me was a video game in middle school on an old Texas Instrument computer… circa ’86-87.
Line 10 run
Line 20 (insert whatever)
Line 30 stop
Dos programming…
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Ah the good old days.
I don’t remember the Carmen Sandiego (it’s one word btw) game. But The Oregon trail and Sopwith camel are still vaguely there. Along with some King’s Quest and Leisure Suit Larry.
nice. I studied Lotus and DOS in computer science freshman year of college and 4 months later Bill Gates released this thing called Windows and voila.
It looks like Yaro could be starting the season with Steel. Tribbet looks like he may be fighting for a starting spot rather than a roster spot with the first team.
Watching all of that one and two touch passing was fun.
Fabihno has looked great in preseason he is really starting to develop a connection with Pontius.
I am waiting for the games next week before I pass any serious judgments. We need to see what the first eleven actually looks like right now and we also need to see them compete against tough competition.
If by July Fabinho continues to round and posses a threat going forward and plays solid defense…. I said it last year and I’ll say it again, we’ll owe an apology cause they all saw something and kudos for trusting their vision.
Unless Restrepo finds his other foot he will be keeping the bench nice and warm this summer.
I have been disappointed in his play so far. I would have thought he offered more than he has. There’s still time. I hope he can start turning heads soon.
I know we were expecting a little more from him, but this highlights the importance of BSFC. He can spend the first half of the season there getting minutes, while practicing with the big club (as all of BSFC will do).
Ayuk, Restrepo, and Yaro will be 3 main beneficiaries of the new team.
I’m gonna try to stay positive, but realistic. It is nice to see this team keep the ball on the ground, and make passes, instead of just running to the corner and blindly crossing it to no one in the box. To me, that has been the biggest change. They seem to play with a purpose and a plan. There are a lot more give and go passes being played. I hope they play the game they played last night against NYRB on Wednesday.
I got nothing to add to the game summary, but I was at the game last night just a few rows behind our bench and a few things caught my attention. First, old Mo Edu was wearing a walking boot, which is weird for a guy recovering from sports hernia surgery. Haven’t heard anything about a foot problem this spring. Second, Gaddis was warming up/working out with a Union trainer away from the rest of the team in one corner of the field, joined only briefly by Barnetta doing a few sprints. The best part of the night however was that Earnie and Albright ended up seating a few seats to my right and I could occasionally hear their reactions to the play of the field. Albright laughed mercilessly at many of Adu’s errant passes and free kicks, which I found pretty funny. A few oohs and aahs from them on some of Fernandez’s tricky touches and passes. They also loved Tribbet’s diving chest pass in the 2nd half. Their reactions were fairly muted to Ilsinho’s collection of nice passes and sharp play on the ball. Seeing Ilsinho up close, he looks rather paunchy, at least more than I noticed watching previous matches. The best interaction of the night was Ben Olsen, who watched from the stands with some of his staff, left after our 2nd goal and sarcastically shouted to Earnie and Albright “you guys are gonna win the cup” as he exited. It was quite the experience getting to take in the game in close proximity to the sporting and technical directors.
@Mouch17 Awesome post. Great stuff right there…!!!
It’s nice to know that they can laugh at the ineptitude of Freddy Adu just as much as us keyboard people.
Screw you Olsen… HA!
Awesome post.
Great stuff, Mouch. I thought that Ilsinho looked heavy, but figured that it was the all white kits. Interesting news about Edu.
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I know that Olsen is very close friends with Albright so that exchange doesn’t shock me.
Are you sure it wasn’t Joel Embiid in the walking boot . . . I’ll have to sprint over to Liberty Ballers for an exclusive!! 😉
Embiid is in Qatar… at the moment.
Much obliged for the information, much!
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Great story about Olsen and Albright.
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Clearly we are all having fun smoking El Pachyderm’s “Hope-ium”!
3-4 months ago you could NEVER have convinced me this is our Union!!! Yes it’s preseason and yes it was against TBR, but the 110% turnaround from the combination of players and actual play being performed in this short of a turnaround is completely “UN-F#%&ingBELIEVABLE”… Let’s give credit where it is due, great job JC, even a better hats off to ES & all bells & whistles go to Mr Sugarman for having the cahoneys to do what he did to take our team to the next level!!! VISION, PLAN & APPLICATION… EXCELLENT, ATTABOYS AROUND TO ALL!!! I am chomping at the bit to be sitting in my sec 127 seat for home opener. Hold on to the saddle horn, let open the gate, and let’s go make 8… UNION-UNION-UNION-UNION-UNION !!!
I’m still holding back a bit to see what they have to offer against NYRB. It is exciting. It has been something different. You can see they really are trying to implement a new system. But I still find it necessary to stay reserved in my judgement.
Guarded optimism is the message of the day.
Typical New York fans. I was sitting in my favorite watering hole watching the Union/Rowdies match on my computer and 5 buffoonish New Jersey Pink Cow fans(2 of which also strut around in NYCFC kits) started ragging on me for supporting my team. I would really like to see the Union start to have the Pink Cows number. It would drive them nuts. The Bartender reminded them that they were in a Philly sports bar(Wogies) and to tread lightly. Great place to watch all Philly sports in NYC! Go Flyers and Gostishehere!
http://wogies.com/
My brother moved down to the financial district and they opened a Wogie’s right across from his place on Greenwich. He pretty much lives there now. haha.
BTW, it’s sort of irresponsible to infer anything from Ray Gaddis’ Twitter when 80% of his tweets are of a similar “inspirational calendar” variety since he started it.
It will be very interesting to see the next two games or the FO be pressed or questioned about his abscense…. these are the days when the media having some more access to the team would be great… this Ray Gaddis thing is an easily answered question.
Part of me wonders if it’s just that he’s a known quantity. You know what you are going to get from Ray. If his lack of playing time continues, then it really might be spelling his end. Otherwise, at this point, it seems to be designed to find out what the draftees have to offer.
Unless he raises hell if/when Rosenberry takes his spot, there are worse things to have than a speedy, defense first cover option at RB and LB. Ray as option 3 or 4 seems like a good situation if Rosenberry keeps up the good start.
far too many “definitives” for a pre-season game. Learned my lesson a year ago. Those complaining about Sapong, for example, must have forgotten the absolute dreck he was in the camp before this one. Some of these guys just use this exercise to get ready for the year at their own pace.
The Brazilian had his moments, but the consideration of impact vs contract is a valid one in these quarters. Perhaps less so if the money that was previously earmarked for the position……wasn’t…….
For me : send Yaro down before Marquez.
Tribett continues to grow in stature. Overall; he, Rose-N-berry and Herbers have been the most consistently impressive of the newcomers. Great to see Leo finding his feet. Showed me he had a future worth waiting for 2 years ago.
Jones displays a calming confidence when called upon. Underrated pick-up.
We civilians have trouble evaluating “send down” well when we have no idea of the rules governing it!
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If it is easily and flexibly done, that’s one thing. But if “sending down” means a year long loan, that’s another thing entirely.
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Dan Walsh has said he will work on finding out and let us know.
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The USL season doesn’t start until late March, I believe, so such decisions still have time, whatever the flexibility of their consequences.
The rules governing the interaction between an MLS squad and its USL affiliate aren’t known because Bruce Arena hasn’t told the league what he wants from Los Dos yet.
Damn…I hate when the cynics are right.
I’m guessing there are MLS “lobbyists” made up of representatives from LA, SEA, NYCFC, and Toronto, and they write the laws for the Commish to sign.
Certainly happy with what I have seen so far, but I do have to keep in mind the pace of pre season and regular season is different.
Based on last pre-season we all thought Ferando was going to go for 10 goals plus and M’Bolhi had put 2014 behind him. So wait and see for sure.
But there does indeed seem to be a plan and a purpose.
This is the only place in the internet world where I look forward to reading the comments. Got to any other sport, and the majority of the comments are “this guy sucks” “that guy sucks” “the last commenter sucks” “we’re doomed”, etc. I learn more from this than from any of the articles. (I know, I’m now setting myself up for comments about how this post sucked :-))
You just validated why we come here…no digs at all about your comment!
This post didn’t suck. Articles are great, and I definitely revisit them several times to catch up on the latest comments. You nailed it.