Photo: Earl Gardner
Philadelphia Union
The Union looked good for about twenty minutes on Saturday, then completely collapsed and lost to Dallas 2-0.
More coverage of the game here, here, and here.
Many fans have put the blame for the Union’s performance in this game, this season, and the past several years of disappointment on Jim Curtin. If the Front Office does decide it’s time for a change, there’s no reason for them to go with another inside hire this time. There’s more than a few quality coaches available.
Meanwhile, in Harrisburg.
MLS
All is not lost in Ohio, as MLS officials met with local investors to discuss keeping the Crew in Columbus. #SaveTheCrew
MLS teams wore special Parley x adidas collaboration jerseys this weekend. If adidas really meant the environmental message they’re pushing with these kits, why aren’t they using recycled plastics in all of their jerseys? And if the reason is that they can’t make fibers with the same performance properties using recycled materials then why are they putting players on the field in less-than-ideal apparel? In either case, why were they so lazy with the designs which look essentially the same for every team in the league?
Sporting KC clobbered Vancouver 6-0 on Friday. TWO red cards issued to Vancouver players after a brawl in the 44th minute could have something to do with that.
NYCFC’s Patrick Vieira says he’s “happy here” when asked about replacing Arsene Wenger at Arsenal. But isn’t that exactly what he’d say if he wanted the job?
LAFC have traveled over 14,000 miles already this season, waiting for Banc of California Stadium to open.
Ignacio Piatti scored a hat trick, but the Impact still lost to LAFC 3-5.
Portland beat NYCFC despite logging just 25% possession.
US Soccer
Silver lining of failing to make the 2018 World Cup: TMZ now knows who Bruce Arena is.
Christian Pulisic making fourth place Bayer Leverkusen look lost.
It took six games, but finally and NWSL team was able to not lose to the North Carolina Courage.
Sunderland have been relegated. Again. What this means for Midfielder Lynden Gooch remains to be seen.
Maybe this will finally drag college soccer back into the light. But that would require the NCAA to get something right, so probably not.
World
FIFA Officials will be returning to Morocco this week after being surprised to learn that the facilities there may not be up to the standards required to host a World Cup.
Memphis Depay left stunned after GK Baptiste Reynet breaks his ankles.
Chivas de Guadalajara players are taking to social media to bring attention to the fact that they are owed over $165,000 in unpaid bonuses.
Tottenham Hotspur lost their eighth consecutive FA Cup Semi-Final.
In Turkey, a young fan got to announce the Beşiktaş lineup while the video board displayed his drawings of the players.
In contrast to other European leagues where the winner was decided weeks ago, Napoli’s win over Juventus appears to have set Serie A up for an exciting final four weeks. In addition to the battle for the top; Roma, Lazio, and Inter Milan are separated by just one point as they compete for two available Champions League berths, and Atalanta and AC Milan also have one point between them in a race for Europa League. Full standings here.
Does the front office fully feel the apathy that has set in? Do they realize that even Curtin’s biggest supporters no longer can do so?
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Much is needed to change on this team. There are still some talented players. Someone like CH can still make a difference with a different setup and strategy. Make a change.
Any other league and we’re waking up to news that Curtin’s been fired. He needs to go manage a USL team for a while, prove his chops and come back with more seasoning. I wish him the best, but it’s so far beyond time that he left.
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The situation is really bad right now. Our entire fan base has turned into the angriest corners of Arsenal Fan TV. Every tweet, Facebook post and Instagram photo this team puts out attracts nothing but waves of opprobrium. Fans seem to me to be vastly more angry, frustrated and miserable than the highest peaks of anti-Sak sentiment. I don’t see how this club even has a choice unless it can afford to lose tens of thousands in concession stand revenue and ticket sales every match.
For those of you like me who had never seen the word:
Opprobrium: 1. the disgrace or the reproach incurred by conduct considered outrageously shameful; infamy. 2. a cause or object of such disgrace or reproach.
Sorry. I try not to use $10 words just to use them, but when a word is perfect, it’s perfect. Your def. #1 says it all.
I have been on the “fire Curtin” train since 2016 (I would’ve fired him after the playoffs given they went into them on a losing streak then got crushed) so I am not advocating keeping him on board. I just think that if they haven’t fired him YET, with all the evidence mounting against Curtin, that they will not over-react to 1 match (2 counting Orlando, 3 counting Colorado, 4 counting San Jose). That being said, what are they waiting for, a 4-0 loss? Or perhaps the World Cup break like they did for Hackworth?
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Along those lines, it’s time for C.J. to take some time to enjoy the bench. I mean, I don’t give a flying crap if he holds the ball up, or bodies guys up, or does all the “little” things. His job is to score, or create scoring chances, and the team is not doing that. Saturday was the last straw as he TWICE missed the net from point blank range. In fact, not taking CJ off the field would be enough evidence to convince me that Curtin should be fired because it means he is either not willing to make changes or doesn’t think anything is wrong with your striker not scoring goals.
I’ve been on the “Fire Curtin” train since he took over. He cannot coach at a professional level. He does nothing better in his 5th season than the previous 4 – hell, he might actually be worse.
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They probably won’t can him until USMNT makes a decision on their GM search. So buckle up for more of the same.
So is this the big week then? A home match against quite possibly the worst team in the league? If we can’t beat D.C. at home, then what chance do we have in any other game this season?
i don’t think they should wait till the break like Hack. every point matters. i’d rather lose them by trying something new than doing the same thing. at least somebody tried
A technical detail for roster geeks. As per MLS website roster for the Union.
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Olivier Mbaizo, jersey number 5, has been added to the “senior roster,” 1.e., slots 1-20 that count towards the salary cap.
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He occupies the seventh and last international slot available to the Union this season. They traded the 8th to NYCFC in Late February until Dec 31st of this year.
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So, there is one senior roster slot still available, and one supplemental (21-24). Reserve slots are full (25-28 plus the two extra HGs) and Jake McGuire has been loaned for the season to the USL and in normal circumstances — when the extreme hardship goalkeeper provision is not triggered — is unavailable to the first team.
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They may be saving money by leaving the two available slots unfilled. Or, perhaps, flexibility for other moves remains.
It’s worth noting that International Spots are cheap. Sure, they don’t have an open one right now. But if they needed one, they could get one easily.
Actually, there was an article linked to the other day from Paul Tenorio stating the exact opposite. The price for International spots has gone up considerably. Not to mention that there are not many available for trade with most teams using their allotment on TAM signings.
“The Union looked good for about twenty minutes on Saturday”
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Say what? 20 contiguous minutes?! Or are we saying that because in that 20 minute span Dallas was hanging back and not shredding the defense or just too tired to score?
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Their best 20 minutes was in the slow walk video to the bus.
Napoli’s win was incredible yesterday. So excited that the race for the Scudetto is back on again.
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Will be a fun final four matches not only to decide the title, but also for the Champions League spots. Serie A has been fantastic to watch this year.
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Terrible branding decision by MLS to have every match look exactly the same this weekend with one team in dark blue and the other in white.
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Union = meh.
Forza Napoli! Living for Champions League right now. Liverpool/Roma. There’s nothing else. I watched some FA cup this weekend hoping for a Southampton miracle. I’ll pass on the Chelsea / United final.
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Interesting note on MLS teams looking the same. I think it was Brian Strauss I heard last week saying he thinks that’s a big problem for MLS. The sameness of it all. That when you tune in you can’t tell who’s playing right away. … And then I realized I didn’t watch a single MLS match this weekend. …. The Union is making a Eurosnob of me against my will.
every McDonalds arch is a McDonalds arch… each Popeye’s sign the same.
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that Turkish kid living my youth dream: announce the players i love accompanied by my drawing of them. that was cool.
i just saw the Tribbett name on the main page for this roundup and i missed the bicycle kick attributed to him in the Harrisburg link earlier.
I was at the game in Harrisburg…..I am so used to seeing him score own goals that I was stunned he actually scored for the correct team!