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Philadelphia Union
Josh Yaro is closer to returning and will see minutes at Bethlehem before he makes his 2017 first team debut.
Rosenberry is hoping to reclaim his starting spot, and Alberg and Pontius are apparently both questionable due to injuries. Kinkead has more information on the injuries to Gaddis, Alberg, and Pontius.
Curtin is happy for Derrick Jones’ call-up and it looks like Trusty will be traveling with the U-20 USMNT World Cup team as an alternate.
Warren Creavalle is working on his designer brand.
Is Earnie Stewart Keyser Söze?
Reasons to watch this weekend’s game at DC United.
Match preview from the league.
Local
The first leg of the Route 3 Derby between NPSL teams West Chester United and Junior Lone Star takes place this weekend and, along with pride and points, the Kildare’s Cup is on the line.
Bethlehem Steel heads to Toronto this weekend.
James Chambers is cementing his Bethlehem Steel legacy.
Chris Wingate’s journey to becoming a Bethlehem starter.
Here’s a nice photo gallery of the Reading United USOC game.
MLS
RSL Soapbox’s weekly Power Rankings roundup.
Matt Doyle’s weekly Twitbag has a lot of good stuff in it this week, including a player who he believes needs to be traded and would be a very good fit for the Union.
Five teams who had the best transfer window. Atlanta United is shockingly not #1.
Four teams who may be turning the corner, including the Union.
How the new-in-2017 Designated Players are faring.
Portland’s plan to expand their stadium is all systems go after earning approval from the city council.
LA Galaxy defender Robbie Rogers is officially out for the season.
Mauro Diaz is back training in full for FC Dallas.
Romain Alessandrini did a Q&A and, while it may not be particularly interesting to Union fans, he made a great point about having no relegation. With bottom-feeder teams not worried about being relegated, they can play to win rather than not to lose, which (in theory) creates more exciting games. Interesting outlook from a relative outsider.
A recap of all Round 1 US Open Cup action.
Around the globe
FIFA
FIFA has officially approved a smaller window to bid for the 2026 World Cup, but it is not an exclusive window.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino has started using language like “alternative facts” and “fake news” to explain his clearly corrupt actions. Welp.
CONMEBOL is looking to turn the 2019 Copa America into an international event.
Europe
Real Madrid and Juventus are set to clash in the Champions League Final.
Ajax held on against Lyon and will face off against Manchester United in the Europa League Final.
USMNT
There is some friction between the USSF and Schalke regarding the release of two players for the U-20 USMNT team.
Eric Lichaj is hoping for a USMNT call-up after being named Player of the Year for Nottingham Forest.
USL/NASL
Orange County is set to join the NASL in 2018.
NASL is suing the Fort Lauderdale Strikers owner in a situation that has gotten quite messy.
How did Didier Drogba end up in Phoenix?
Women’s Soccer
The USSF has gotten involved after Lyon’s owner tweeted to Portland Thorns’ player Allie Long. Long is technically under contract with the USSF, so they are bringing tampering charges.
The USWNT will be hosting a second mini-tournament later this year. This one brings Australia, Brazil, and Japan.
Here’s a weird story (in Spanish): Barcelona is looking to get a team in the NWSL.
Highlight of the day
How about a US Open Cup goal taken from the midfield line?
FIFA gonna FIFA.
and Barca having a team in NWSL would be interesting. I guess it would be like NYCFC and they set up a franchise is an American city.
Looking forward to reading about the Town Hall Meeting. My mind was on that a great bit yesterday and was surprised there was minimal Twitter Talk.
same here, i thought there would be more of a hubbub about the whole thing. i tried to sign up but it was full by the time i got around to it
Did not attend, but from the limited things that I’ve read so far, it sounded like not many interesting things were said by the panelists. Meaning – nothing that we hadn’t already heard before.
Article is coming – and you are right, not much new stuff.
My take from being there last night. I’d estimate about 175 were in attendance.
Bedoya talked about how excited it is to be in Philly and how he intends to help improve the Union on the field and within MLS.
Ernie’s speech was the longest and, by far, the most impressive as he was steadfast in his commitment to his blueprint and vision for the team. He read two passages related to his philosophies of what makes a good soccer team and player. He also stuck to his theme of not making changes for change sake believing that an organization requires consistency to succeed. He openly praised Bedoya multiple times as the player that defines his vision of a Union player. He also shared his vision of developing players through the Academy, Steel and to the Union; how it can result in having good players learning in a consistent system and knowing their roles on the pitch. He emphasized that the development via the academy sets the Union up to have players on the pitch at team friendly rates which will allow for money to be available to sign higher priced designated players or talent with targeted/general allocation funds where needed. He reiterated his time in Denmark and how he fielded a successful team with mainly players developed through the Academy system and his desire to do the same with the Union. Stewart’s passion to his task was very evident and impressive. If he was acting then it was an Academy Award performance. But I believe he spoke honestly, from the heart and makes me want to see the Union become a champion for his sake as much as the fans.
There was some marketing challenges posed by McDermott and how tough it is for the Union to get attention from the media and how his team has to work 10 times harder than the other 4 teams. He also talked about ways to make it easier for fans to come to the games from improving options with SEPTA. I was thinking win more games is the easy answer, but he said his goal is every seat to be filled within a few years.
Curtain showed some slides about the 4-2-3-1 formation. Times
Admittedly there was some Kool-Aid being served in the first hour, but at no time did Curtain, Bedoya or Stewart attempt to brush aside the poor start or frustration of the fans with how the team has performed so far. There were a few had the ball bounced differently and we played well but made a few mistakes mentioned, but they took questions for almost 1.5 hours.
The questions from the fans were very good. I expected mainly softball questions, but fans threw out questions about their concerns ranging from their formation, tactics on set pieces, dwindling attendance/fan interest in the Union due to their play, the future of Andre Blake (and will he be resigned) and a repeat of the Philadelphia Atoms if things don’t turnaround. Ernie, Jim, Tim & Alejandro did not duck the questions or give a bunch of BS answers in my opinion just to please the participants.
The big takeaway from the evening was Ernie asking the fans to trust his process, his vision and past success while recognizing the frustration that many have felt for 7 years, but he is only in the early part of his 2nd year on his vision.
Just to edit the paragraph on Curtain: He showed some slides on the 4-2-3-1 formation, how their conditioning program has reduced injuries; a chart on minutes played per $ spent on players and a few other things. He was working the room last night, saying hello to all and thanking them for their appearance
This is fantastic. Thank you.
.
.
Vision.
Philosophy.
Plan.
I wanted to add this here. It’s a fascinating look at how the Syrian conflict is affecting soccer in the country. It’s a fantastic read.
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http://www.espn.com/espn/feature/story/_/id/19343630/how-syrian-government-brought-soccer-campaign-oppression
Totally Tragic. Unbelievable FIFA does not take a stronger stand.
I’ll be checking out the Philly Derby… Philadelphia Fury and Philadelphia Atoms. Arcadia University 7pm May 13. Second leg of derby.