Photo: Paul Rudderow

In the player ratings, I focused on three areas where the Union can improve defensively going forward. Since the ratings pieces are already longer than Brian Carroll’s career, I wanted to look at some of the offensive issues Philly will be looking to address during the final games of the season.

First of all, let’s put this in proper frame. The Union have scored 47 goals, one goal behind New York City FC for the league lead. So even with these issues, things are still pretty groovy going forward.

Against Montreal, Nogueira offered an extra option near the edges so Philly could work out of pressure.

Outside looking in

Vincent Nogueira was a unique player. He was best playing in deeper positions, but he wasn’t a physical holding midfielder and he wasn’t a typical box-to-box player (maybe an almost-box to sorta-kinda-close to the box player?).

Nogueira’s special skill was creating fast, rhythmic ball movement by helping the Union move the ball both out of the back and off the wing. On a team that generally denotes “dirty running” as defensive workrate, Nogueira’s dirtiest work was in the attacking buildup. In his passing chart against Montreal in May, you can see how often Nogueira worked his way out to the deep channels so he could offer a short, easy outlet for the wide players. This outlet has been far more difficult to find since the Frenchman left.

The Union under Jim Curtin have always had a penchant for putting their fullbacks in tight spots. By virtue of how high the fullbacks play and how quickly the Union like to get them the ball, there is always the chance that the defense will rotate before the offense and trap the fullbacks or force a lame ball up the line when the numbers aren’t favorable.

In 2016, Fabinho’s oft-overlooked decision-making improvements and Keegan Rosenberry’s comfort on the ball have meant the Union don’t get caught on the ball quite so often. But without Nogueira to provide a short outlet, the team still tends to find themselves with the ball on the wing and no simple option into the middle. At the very least, they lack a checking run from the center to draw a defender out of shape.

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In the above clip from last weekend, you can see Fabinho collect the ball and move toward the wing. Pontius goes wide as a short option and Barnetta pushes forward, which moves the defense back.

All of this movement pulls five (and nearly six) Chicago defenders — or, over half the non-goalie team — to the Union left, a feat the Union have accomplished with only four players. This is an instance where switching fields quickly should allow Philly to drive the ball forward and create a numerical advantage down their right. But there is no quick way to switch fields beyond a diagonal from Fabinho.

There are two options. First, the Union could pull their central defenders higher so Fabi can lay off a short pass to Marquez who will look to switch play with a quick and accurate long ball. This isn’t Marquez’s specialty, nor is it part of the typical Union system. It’s more like something Kansas City would run through Matt Besler or New England would run through Jose Goncalves. Even Montreal will look to Laurent Ciman to quickly switch fields after drawing a team to the left.

The second option is the one that Nogueira made possible. With a deeper midfielder checking in, Fabinho can lay the ball off centrally to a player who can try a difficult pass through the center or quickly switch fields and follow the play.

That last part is important, because it’s where the dirty running comes in on offense. Switching play forces the opposition to move side to side as a unit, something that sounds simple on paper but is very difficult in practice. Players are tired, this part of the game feels like a good time to reserve energy, and the opposition is sufficiently far from goal that this doesn’t feel like a key moment in the match.

All of those things are signals that this is a key moment for the offense. By switching play, they have laid the groundwork to attack a more disorganized defense. To do it successfully, they need to get numbers to the other side quickly so they can make runs that create the gaps that turn a numerical advantage into a big opportunity. Key to this is getting either a deep-lying central midfielder or a ball playing central defender across the pitch to support the ball short again.

The Union did not do this well against Chicago, but they have looked far better supporting the fullbacks with Alejandro Bedoya on the pitch. This will be a key area to evaluate over the final matches of the season.

Additionally, in Joshua Yaro the Union have a central defender who can pass like a midfielder. Yet, the club has a tendency to ask their center backs to offer a fairly deep option to the fullback instead of striding forward as a square option. One potentially helpful solution to the team’s central access problem is to allow Yaro to push forward when the ball is on the wing so he will be in a position to make a quick, short pass through lines instead of essentially restarting play by sitting so deep that the opposition can recover shape while the Union choose their next foray forward.

Providing a short, square-or-slightly-deep option also opens up the channel for a narrow winger. Below, you can see that when Pontius receives the ball in the left channel, he has space to turn towards the middle because a second defender cannot commit to him with Creavalle close by. If Creavalle hasn’t worked his way toward the channel in support, that defender can easily close on Pontius before he can move the ball across the pitch for a numerical advantage.

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Get their move on

The second area Philly can look at offensively is how the center backs advance up the pitch with the ball. The Union have typically shown a preference for quickly pushing the ball to the fullbacks as they work it across the back instead of asking the center backs to carry it forward. This is a fine strategy because the Union use the fullbacks as point guards at times, allowing them to try risky passes into the center or early crosses deep into the box. In both cases, Philly is banking on their counterpress to create havoc should either of these options result in a loose ball.

There are times, however, that Philly’s center backs pass the ball before they receive pressure. In fact, they move it before a defender commits to them even if the defense is already set. In a sense, this is putting the fullback under pressure against an organized defense and betting that your offensive movement will win out.

OK, that’s a risky proposition, but it’s how the offense is built, so it allows the team to execute patterned movements. However, the Union have center backs that are comfortable on the ball, and it’s surprising that they haven’t emphasized carrying it forward when it’s clear that the defense has time to reset.

Below, you can see Ken Tribbett receive the ball and quickly play it out to Rosenberry before he’s pressured. Complaints about Tribbett abound, but he is a solid passer and a smart player (remember: still a rookie). If Tribbett carries the ball toward Rosenberry — or simply straight ahead — he can force a defender to commit to him, which opens space for one of his teammates. At worst, he forces Alvarez to shade off of Creavalle, which opens a simply square ball and a switch of play. At best, either Herbers or Barnetta gets free and can turn to drive at goal.

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This is not a Tribbett problem. Richie Marquez and Joshua Yaro have shown the same tendency, to the point where it seems like a coaching decision. All the Union center backs tend to play quite deep when the fullbacks have the ball, and tend to play the ball quickly to the fullback when they have it. Again, this is not inherently a problem. But it does mean that a) when the ball is played back to a CB, they are too deep to quickly attack a defense and are forced to reset, and b) the center backs rarely force the defense to make difficult decisions that could open lanes through the center. This is a particularly glaring issue on the road, where both Chicago and Houston (to name just two teams) have settled into deep shapes and frustrated Philly’s attack.

Below, you can see the first two topics in unison. Brian Carroll checks short, moves the ball quickly to Ken Tribbett, and Tribbett finds Barnetta between the lines. A better pass from the Swiss man finds Alberg with a lane to Sapong and a ginormous hole through the middle that an aware Pontius can hit in an instant.

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Stretch Armsapong

The final offensive tactic Philly can incorporate into their offense is stretching teams over the top. Throughout the season, but particularly since New York Red Bulls caught them offsides eight times, the Union have only stretched the field when playing to the corners. Long balls into the corner are a very effective way to get forward, and Chris Pontius has been particularly adept at drawing his defender short to create space in behind.

But on the right side and through the middle, the Union rarely even test the opposition over the top. Fabian Herbers has certainly added a bit more stretch down the right, but CJ Sapong has all but given up pushing the defense deep with early runs through the lines. Instead, Sapong almost exclusively bodies up his defender and looks to create contact.

There is nothing wrong with this. But as Chris Wondolowski brilliantly outlined in his post for the Player’s Tribune, relying on a single tactic makes you predictable. And as a striker who is often in 1v2 situations, the last thing you can be is predictable. Even if CJ Sapong never receives a good ball over the top and never scores a goal by sneaking behind a defense, forcing defenders to think about that ball adds a level of hesitation to their movement. Can they really step up to get on his back? What if he spins and takes off in behind?

Dom Dwyer is a master at this sort of mind game, and it may be that facet of his play that separates him from Sapong. Both show excellent defensive workrates, but Dwyer is constantly poking and prodding a defense with outside runs, narrow vertical runs, checking runs, and movement across the back four. Sapong tends to take a far more consistent post-up approach, even though he has the speed to be a real threat over the top.

Below, you can see Pontius break off a turnover and Sapong hesitate to choose a run. Notice that this allows Chicago’s center backs to coordinate and hold a high line, so that when Pontius eventually drops the ball off, the Fire defense is already organized into a compact shape.

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If Sapong makes a deep run toward the right corner, or simply pushes through the center, he can drag the Fire defensive line toward their own goal, giving the Union more space to work and potentially creating a gap between defense and midfield that he can check back into. Additionally, that deep run stays in the mind of defenders and makes Sapong less predictable in the future.

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Lest you think Sapong never goes deep, above you can see how his direct run against Houston pushes their defense deep into their own box, which leaves acres of space through the center that a late run could have exploited.

Once more, the Union offense is already good. But against Chicago it showed that its weaknesses can become very problematic. Working on these three attacking issues can make the team even more dangerous as the playoffs approach.