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Philadelphia Union
C.J. Sapong has always had the potential – can he do it all year and even make the USMNT Gold Cup roster? If he has support and rest, Sapong should shatter personal records this season.
More love for C.J. and his unlikely rise to the top of the Golden Boot standings.
He also makes an appearance alongside Andre Blake in the league’s Team of the Week.
But don’t get too excited! Jonathan Tannenwald chimes in with a solid take on how this weekend actually shows how far the Union still lag behind.
Catching up with long lost Union homegrown signing – and now member of FC Cincinnati – Jimmy McLaughlin.
Major League Soccer
It was a very quiet and boring transfer deadline day.
However, it was a pretty exciting and unexpected weekend in MLS. Some would even say “Peak MLS.”
Soccer America’s power rankings see the Union make the top-20!!
The top-10 coaching moves of the week.
Bastian Schweinsteiger walks the tight rope and discusses the difference between MLS and Europe.
Five Africans making their mark in the league.
NWSL
Jessica McDonald became the league’s all-time leading scorer with a true poacher’s goal for North Carolina Courage.
USL
11 things from the weekend and Eastern Conference power rankings.
The league is eager to expand to Baltimore.
MLS makes an official visit to Phoenix.
U.S. Soccer
The USMNT’s final World Cup Qualifier versus Panama will be (deservedly) held in Orlando City’s new stadium on October 6th.
How the national teamers fared in NWSL this week.
John Brooks and Christian Pulisic (!) are both up for Bundesliga Team of the Season.
The relegation problem for American soccer players in Europe.
“C.J. Sapong has always had the potential…”
“More love for C.J. and his unlikely rise…”
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Hmmmm
slow clap.
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MLS. America. This need to- IDK….. be grandiose sometimes. IF CJ Sapong scores 15 that would be fantastic and the equivalent of a small star exploding in some distant distant galaxy.
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The idea even of an American Messi I’ve read along the way as it pertains to US Player Development is so laughable. How about a few Christian Pulisic’s…first, then a Mueller, then maybe a Dybala then…
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Funny stuff.
Just struck me odd, he’s always had the potential but it was unlikely he’d realize it?
Let’s keep the CJ hype-train in the train shed. I really want him to knock in 15+ goals but the Philly sports fan in me can’t help but be certain all this praise can’t possibly end well. I don’t want to hear talk about USMNT or Gold Cup rosters. Just give the man a break sometimes and make sure he has the midfield support he needs so you can take advantage of his form.
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I will say this: he has definitely played better so far than I’ve seen him since putting on a Union jersey. He’s a bit quicker, far more likely to be at the point of intersection with a cross or a pass and has been able to make space for himself with the ball at his feet. I’m rooting for him.
National Team callups are where Union players form goes to die. Lets keep everyone away! (only partly kidding).
McInerney, Pontius, Rosenberg all fit. Who else.
The only reason to want the hype train out of the shed for me is to maybe convince some refs to show some respect for CJ. I cringe at least three times a game at a poor CJ touch or a mistimed CJ run in the box. But I have to give him props for amount of punishment he endures game in and game out. (See Ciman’s midfield clothes lining on CJ without a card for one example) If the hype train can get him a few more calls every game then let it steam away.
Yeah, that was a personal foul in the NFL.
in other news…. I brought this over from yesterday Steve and Adam- no intention to step on toes. Think you do a damn fine job here. Thank you.
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https://www.fourfourtwo.com/us/features/mls-parity-increased-spending-haves-have-nots-targetted-allocation-designated-players?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_m_medium=t
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and this from the Department of Continuing Human Disappointment.
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http://edition.cnn.com/2017/05/08/football/sulley-muntari-racism-italy-serie-a/index.html
Are others able to see these links, as on the computer says, comments still awaiting moderation.
As much as I loved singing Doop 6 times in the last 2 home games, my enthusiasm is solidly curbed by facts. Both the away tie at Vancouver and the W vs Pink Cows came vs teams coming off mid-week games. The tie vs LAG was against a certifiably poor side. And 3-3 vs Montreal shows we can still blow a 3 goal home lead vs. a bottom tier team.
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So Tannenwald has even more reason not to be too excited about Saturday’s triumph.
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Reason for hope. Just as much reason for concern. The U have a lot to prove.
If you have interest in USL expansion generally, not just concerning Baltimore, Steven Goff wrote the article and it updates you generally on the topic, in addition to focusing on the Balto-Wash area.
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of particular interest is the statement that USSF will review the provisional division 2 statuses of USL and NASL in August. I would assume the key question will be how much progress NASL is making towards finding its own expansion candidates.
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NASL has to find ownership for Jacksonville and four more new sides if I remember rightly, by 2018.
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It will be interesting to see how it all unfolds.
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Something else to keep in mind is the recent story that there will be a Canadian Premier League. The Canadian MLS franchises will stay in MLS the author claimed, but FC Edmonton and Ottawa Fury were under discussion for a future CPL.