Photo: Earl Gardner
Philadelphia Union
Good stuff from a new writer/site – Do you have a case of the D.U.M.P.s?
Earnie Stewart has some interesting ideas. How you feel about Earnie will probably influence how you feel about his comments here.
Jack Elliott was excited to make his first MLS start in front of his parents.
The striking difference between the Union and top MLS teams.
Roland Alberg did some good things as a No. 10 this weekend.
Get to know the Montreal Impact.
Local
The praises keep on coming for the Union Academy, as one of their goals was named Team Goal of the GA Cup by TopDrawerSoccer.
Union U-17 forward Chad Letts was named one of the top 5 MLS Academy players at the GA Cup.
Mark McKenzie, of the Union Academy and Bethlehem Steel, got a call-up to the U18 national team.
MLS
A question and answer for each MLS team.
FourFourTwo on how Seattle uses advanced statistics to inform every decision.
Jack Mac has found his way to the LA Galaxy after clearing waivers.
Atlanta’s new stadium will not be ready on time.
MLSSoccer’s Power Rankings. Union are last.
SoccerByIves Power Rankings. Union are last.
Seba Le Toux made his 250th MLS appearance.
Around the globe
The MLS, NWSL, and US Soccer are having a summit on head injuries.
Oceania is supporting the 2026 CONCACAF World Cup bid.
Real Madrid eliminated Bayern Munich in a game that will be held up as proof that we need video referees. Truly a dreadful performance by the refs. Atletico also took care of business to knock out Leicester.
Many players insulted the refs.
Adding injury to insult, Manuel Neuer was injured in extra time.
Highlight of the day
I’m not sure when I last featured a header here, Saul’s long-range effort into the side netting was particularly impressive.
Strongly recommend everyone read those comments from Earnie.
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All personal feelings aside, it is a very good indication on how fans can expect the organization to operate.
Han Solo: How are we doing?
Luke Skywalker: The same as always.
Han Solo: That bad, huh?
I strongly reinforce CPfeif’s recommendation, strongly.
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Embed the concept of Union 2.0 and everything the phrase implies in your consciousness.
I’ve been lucky enough to have a couple of conversations with Earnie since he arrived.
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The one thing that stood out to me is that he is a person who will not just tell you what they think that you want to hear. He’s pretty blunt and candid. Oh and if you say something that he disagrees with, you will know it. He’s not a salesman and is a very serious person.
Having read the piece by Matthew DeGeorge, here are a few questions I would like to ask of Earnie Stewart:
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If the long-term development of the team is your primary focus, what was the point in bringing in a past-his-prime player like Onyewu or giving up a first-round pick on a health-risk like Davies?
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Given the team’s poor performance over the last two months of the 2016 season, why do you consider that season to be a success? What did you see in 2016 that convinced you that a similar approach to player development and game-day coaching was worth repeating in 2017?
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If Jim Curtin had not been the head coach of the Union when you came on board, but had established a similar coaching resume and record with another MLS club, would you have hired him?
Davies and Onyewu could support long-term development, if they thought they would be good role models for the younger players. And tolerant of giving up playing time for younger players.
Good point, but in Davies’ case, I’d rather have that first round pick next year.
I’d rather have Davies on the field.
The D.U.M.P.s article is so spot on. Richiethelimey posts here on occasion and his work tends to be short, erudite and scathing.
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I’ve written at length about the aesthetic of footy and how for me the game is a moving meditation.
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To be honest, music and footy keep me clinically stable. A healthy dose of each nearly every day acts as a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor – keeps the chemicals in the synaptic clefts just a bit longer.
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Being a fan of this Union, not so much though. I don’t need them to win. Winning is always secondary for me. The medicine is what is required. Lovely movement.
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I need them to play well so I can enjoy the jazz of human movement, the likemindedness of human chess, the rhythm of the ocean moving back and forth across the field. For fuck’s sake… the dysthymia is more than I can bare year after year. Just Play Well Pleeeassse.
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…think I’m going to start drinking again.
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For the record, I actually was okay reading the DeGeorge article.
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Vision. Philosophy. Plan. I argued for years for it and now its unfolding whether I like it at the moment or not, agree with it at the moment or not, can see it working at the moment or not.
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Just have to trust and hope this man knows what he is doing. Welcome to Philadelphia, the neurotic city that loves you back. The City forced to embrace mediocre for so long.
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Dear Earnie. Please get this right. Just Play Well.
I’ll take the counter-factual bet. Sign a Lodeiro-esque player and somehow Curtin could still get it wrong, playing him out of position or how some USL chump worked harder in practice.
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A coaching change’s dead cat bounce might actually get them up to 7th or 8th. Chase the dream Earnie!
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Until then, I’ll read with bated breath how the 8th graders are doing while I pay STH money to watch the grown ups.
The chicken or egg theory. I thought Curtin chose the right subs and at appropriate times (relatively speaking) on Friday night but they did nothing to help the cause. Neither did the starters for that matter, and Curtin has refused to make changes outside one player here or there. So I’m struggling with how much effect Curtin has – I don’t think the players collectively are good enough but when he trots out the same XI every week, and usually the same subs at the same times, it’s hard to really evaluate the players beyond the XI who keep crappin’ the bed. So yea, he may mess up a big signing, but a big signing will improve the current roster. Can Earnie make the right decision?
I’m willing to suspend my disbelief and allow Stewart to proclaim this year’s squad better than last year’s despite results. OK. I can also understand his patience with Curtin. OK.
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But this remark doesn’t make sense to me:
Stewart acknowledges that the Union lack players like “the Chelseas and the Man Uniteds where you have players for $100 million or $50 million that can adapt to any style at any moment on any given day.”
“I don’t believe in change (just) to change,” Stewart said. “I don’t believe that. It does not help players.”
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Now part of it is paraphrased and may be ever so slightly out of context, but first of all, you’re not looking to change “just to change.” You’re looking to change so you can start earning results. And second, does a player have to earn Paul Pogba money to understand a few different roles and changes of formation? Really? I know soccering is hard, but these guys are professionals at it, no?
Isn’t that an indictment on the coach, that he can’t get players to understand different styles or roles? Which, for the record, is the biggest complaint from fans I believe.
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Jim keeps telling us the results are important, Earnie says they’re not. Jim says he understands the pressure and calls for his job, Earnie says it’s unfair. I’ve been hearing an awful lot about the “harmony” in the front office, yet the actions & words over the last week or two suggest otherwise and align perfectly with a team mired in mediocrity.
I’m with you, Steve.