Photo: Michael Reeves
Philadelphia Union
Back in the film room to look at some of the tactical changes the Union have made to help them keep possession and curtail counterattacking opportunities.
The Union are catching a break, as Real Salt Lake will be without Kyle Beckerman this weekend.
C.J. Sapong is playing the best soccer of his career.
The Union’s depth provides them with a good problem to have.
Why to watch the Union play RSL.
Local
Bethlehem fell 1-0 in a Thursday matinee against Charleston. The Steel have been forced to rely on more academy players than normal as the Union have called up some Steel regulars.
Downingtown native Zack Steffen is finding his footing as an MLS starter.
MLS
The weekly power rankings roundup.
Chicago won its 4th straight, beating Dallas 2-1 with all 3 goals scored in the first ten minutes.
MLS teams are undervaluing the prospects right beneath their noses.
Around the globe
The U-20 USMNT beat Senegal 1-0, putting them atop their group. Derrick Jones started for the US.
The USWNT roster for the Scandinavian friendlies next month has been announced, headlined by Carli Lloyd and the returning Sydney Leroux.
Arsenal and Chelsea are set for the FA Cup final.
Highlight of the day
The U-20 USMNT’s Josh Sargent puts a beautiful finish on a beautiful play.
In re Bethlehem, there is also a key injury at a position that has limited depth on their own roster.
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Also, the two Academy players did credible jobs, given everything.
Fodder for today’s imagination.
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If Derrick Jones has a break out World Cup, in light of the roster problem presented with Bedoya as the 8 and Haris as the 6, game in game out for this season and likely next, does Earnie Stewart shop the promising player and turn a profit.
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Have fun with that one.
Would potentially be a bad look for the club to ship its first real homegrown talent, but if the price is right — and the money is used to demonstrably upgrade a position or two on the starting XI — I don’t think the fan base would complain. But I’ve been wrong before trying to predict the emotional responses of Philadelphia sports fans.
You have to imagine that his value would only rise. The earliest he would sell him would be in the offseason. And at that point, you have to ask about the length of Haris’ contract, and is Derrick being groomed to take over his spot starting in 2019, at 1/3 the price?
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I understand that ES looks for profit, but the guy in front of him is an aging vet. If ES has a similar replacement ready to go, sure. Otherwise, I don’t see him selling and leaving a hole in the lineup.
Medunjanin has never stayed with a club for very long and isn’t young. I wouldn’t have him slated to stay for more than 3 year max, probably 2. Also, I don’t think Earnie is looking to sell these academy players as much as he was at his last stop. Their financial difficulties were terrible and he was basically asked to make tons of profit because the club was is so much debt. That isn’t the case here.
Actively shop him? No. If Jones stays here for a year to work on his vision and distribution (learning from #6) to go with his destroyer chops, he could be worth a mint in a couple years.
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But, if someone makes an offer Earnie can’t refuse, he won’t refuse it.
If Ingolstadt or Hertha offered $1.5 I don’t think Earnie walks away.
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If his theory of activity is correct the next Derrick Jones is in the pipeline.
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It is my opinion cache of selling abroad carries as much if not more weight to the business model than fielding first team players.
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Sell players, turn profit, put cash back into infrastructure like scouting.
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This is true, with an asterisk: the players that move abroad have to have a reasonable amount of success, or the shine wears off quickly. If you see 2 or 3 players, and within 2 years that are playing for the Cosmos, no one will be in a rush to buy your players anymore.
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Also, it can’t be just one. It has to be the appearance of a “pipeline to Europe.” If that’s the case, then you can absolutely leverage those transactions.
Interesting piece on USL and NASL players as “untapped potential.” Christian Ramirez, though, seems to be the exception. For every successful NASL import who makes an impact, it seems like there’s a Leo Fernandes — 2015 NASL player of the year who can’t hack it in MLS at all (I suppose it could be argues he wasn’t given a sufficient chance, but I think that’s speculative at best). It’s interesting how large a gulf the quality level appears to be.
Maybe it is also a matter of guidance and careful integration, like Pulisic had in Dortmund. If Pulisic had Novak as a coach, maybe things would have been different and more difficult in terms of developement as a player.
Definitely a possibility. Heath seems to be a good striker’s manager — has had Dwyer and Larin under his wing. Having the right manager helps.
There is always difference in the level of quality between divisions in any sport? The Union have three first round draft picks on the team from last year, is college a better a quality than D2? Development is in the end dependent on the player and opportunity to me. Just look at the fourth round rookie playing in the middle as Yaro recovers from injury.
“The Snake is Awake” is pretty catchy. I always feel like we under-utilize the team’s sweet snake imagery a bit. Small potatoes in the grand scheme of things, but still cool.
Yeah, “The Snake Is Awake” is pretty good. “Iron Curtin”, however, not so much.
Fun question #2 for today:
https://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2017/05/25/stejskal-dempsey-decision-looms-year-newcomer-nikolics-hot-run
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Do you sign Dempsey in the offseason (assuming he wants to be here)? Would you trade for him midseason to at least rent him for the second half? We have CB’s to trade (Marquez?) and Gaddis could be available.
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There would still be the matter of his massive salary, but let’s assume that’s acceptable for the purposes of this discussion.
My money says he stays with Seattle then takes his swansong in Houston or Dallas.
I agree. I wouldn’t be surprised if he signs with one of them next offseason, especially if they fall short of the cup.
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I was just curious if everyone was on board with signing him here, again, assuming it was an actual option. I would imagine that most agree with Pete – always say yes to Dempsey.
I would always say yes to signing Dempsey. The fight in that man could power a whole starting XI.
Found the Steel article rather amusing. The article puts a rather rosy spin on the game. I was at the match…if not for several acrobatic saves by McGuire and some wasted golden opportunities by the Battery (along with a goal disallowed correctly on a very close offside), the match could have been 4-0 or 5-0 easily.