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Philadelphia Union
Rumor has it that fan favorite Sebastien Le Toux will be signing a one-day contract with Philadelphia in order to retire in Union blue. Unfortunately the Union face Seattle in Seattle this year, so the testimonial game cannot happen with them as the opponent.
As part of MLS’s overall partnership with Southern New Hampshire University, the Union will be working with Tilden Middle School to reward academic achievement at the underserved school.
Well deserved praise for Ray Gaddis.
Matt DeGeorge spoke to Jim Curtin about what was different vs. D.C., and what needs to be different going forward.
But don’t expect a goal-scoring bonanza for the Union or TFC this weekend.
PSP’s Nick Fishman recap of Curtin’s press conference.
Some nice pics from the Union’s training session.
Local
Brendan Burke talks about this weekend’s match against Richmond.
How’s your Sunday looking? The Ocean City Nor’easters are playing the Philadelphia Fury in Glassboro, NJ at Rowan University. Kickoff is at 7 PM.
MLS
Legal salvos continue in the effort to #SaveTheCrew.
The standoff is over, Lee Nguyen is leaving New England for the sunny shores of LAFC.
LAFC have also signed Norwegian forward Adama Diomandé from Hull City of the English Championship.
Also in LAFC news, Marco Urena to undergo surgery for facial fractures. Yikes!
Days after talking about how Seattle can’t spend like Atlanta or Toronto, Garth Lagerwey is talking about spending like Atlanta or Toronto.
At the other end of the Western Conference table, SKC is also looking to splash some cash on a signing, assuming it’s the right player.
Reportedly, Minnesota United acquired Eric Miller from Rapids for Sam Nicholson.
FC Cincinnati on its MLS bid.
US Soccer
Aron Johannsson is injured, again.
Top 100 USMNT players, according to American Soccer Now.
Someone on Reddit has done a great job breaking down the implications of the Bundesliga relegation battle specifically for the futures of Bobby Wood (HSV) and John Brooks (Wolfsburg).
World
The first eight teams of the Canadian Premier League are … pretty much who you’d expect.
A former coach of the El Salvadorian National Team is being suspended by FIFA for facilitating a meeting between his players and a person or persons looking to arrange the results of their game against Canada.
Roma tried, but came up short of besting Liverpool, sending the English team on to the Champions League Final.
The bottom half of the Premier League have won just seven of their last fifty games.
Meanwhile, in Scotland.
Frank Lampard says he’s hardly kicked a ball since retiring. Insert your NYCFC joke here.
Men’s soccer league refuses top Canadian goaltender because she’s a woman.
Moscow, St. Petersburg, Sochi and Volgograd are under the biggest threat of terrorist attacks during the World Cup, analysts say. Speaking of the World Cup, Grant Wahl wrote a few paragraphs about the reaction to Trump’s remarks on the bid.
Highlight of the day
In Australia’s A-League, a backheel volley goal. I wonder if Fabinho ever tried such a trick when playing down under.
I’m a big fan of the PL, but it’s just crazy that most of the bottom half of the table won’t even scratch out 40 points. And those goal differentials!
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If I could put a bet on it, I think Southampton will escape relegation and Huddersfield — which has to play City, Arsenal and Chelsea to close the season — will not be able to get a point and go down with Stoke and West Brom.
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Liverpool / Roma — I don’t even have words.
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Most excited I’ve been all year to go to a Union match is to give Le Toux a proper send off.
Still mad Earnie sold off Le Toux for Charlie Davies. Le Toux was looking like a stud super sub at that point.
This.
It was a calculated risk. I don’t think anyone thought Charlie Davies would fail so badly.
Why not though? He was horrendous in NE and there was no reason to think it would get better. Le Toux had been a better player for a long time. And we gave up a ton for Davies. It was a horrible deal the second it was made.
Yeah, Davies never showed much for the Revs. I love the guy, and would have liked to see him succeed, but I think he was brought in because Bedoya wanted more of his crew on the team.
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Bedoya was the impetus of a few of our signings for awhile. Makes for a good locker room, but didn’t pay out on the field.
I wasn’t a fan of that move either but, in fairness to Davies, it’s hard to impress when you are the designated 89th minute sub.
No JustRob, Davies sucks just like Simpson
I think the Le Toux move was along the lines of a “statement” move by Earnie. Sort of saying, I’m here now and I’m doing things my way so forget about the past.
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You see things like that happen in all sports all over the world when a new GM/manager/etc comes into a team.
Well it was a stupid statement. It’s not like Le Toux was a bad example or something. Dude worked his butt off and everyone loved him. Earnie lost a lot of goodwill with that move, not to mention it was a bad one on the field too.
I think West Brom will escape, which would be incredible but they have all the momentum. Any of the other 9 could go down.
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Should be a fun Champions League final with lots of goals.
If West Brom escaped relegation, it would be the story of the season. They host Spurs and then travel to Palace. That’s all they have left. They need 5 points, meaning two wins just to reach the safety line today. Southampton and Swansea at least have games in hand.
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Hope they make Moore permanent and come back up in a season.
I don’t think West Brom can do it. In addition to needing a win against Spurs Saturday (and at Crystal Palace the following week), they also need Swansea to lose to Bournemouth and draw both Southampton and Stoke. Just seems like too big a parley.
We finally made a signing I can get behind!!
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I say we start him against Toronto.
I’m sure Seba’s still fit enough to run the other 21 players off the field!
Last night, Indy vs. Cincinnati in USL…for Indy, Jack McInerney had a goal, and for Cincy, Corben Bone assisted on a Jimmy McLaughlin goal before scoring a goal later from a Michael Lahoud assist.
Seems they have found their levels.
Meanwhile, the league’s new buzzsaw, LAFC, has, as their starting left back… Jordan Harvey. Sigh.
That USMNT list has 3 Union players: Bedoya #40, Sapong #49, Trusty #98
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Granted rankings are always highly subjective, highest rated goalkeeper is Steffen at #18. I bet 5-10 years ago a same ranking would have had 3 keepers in the top 10 if not the top 5. Times – they are a-changin’.
I noticed the keeper thing too. I wonder if that’s a sign of American field players improving or of American keepers regressing.
Sebastien Le Toux, to me, is the greatest player to ever wear our shirt. But even more so, he represents a different time with this team; like our childhood, when it was new and anything felt possible (even if it really wasn’t). He was the champion we could always count on to find a way. Tireless workrate. Heroic production. Superhuman class. Even when things didn’t go our way, there was the hope (more a fair expectation) that on a different day, things would.
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I look at us all now: beat down, frustrated, and jaded. A decade of ineptitude and mismanagement later, and the few of us remaining here just vent bile after more bile. All in an effort to just to keep on and pretend that things can be fixed in the future. Even though we know, if we are honest with ourselves, that it’s just going to be more of the same: a long barren road to nowhere. It makes me sad to think how it used to be.
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Maybe with Le Toux’s return, we can all take a brief moment and empty a glass to better times. Go Seba!
Agree with this. Le Toux was a joy. Always worked his ass off for the club. In many ways, the team has never been as good without him as they were with him. People like to diminish his accomplishments and say the fact that he’s the best player the club has had is a sign of just how low rent the Union are, but I think that’s remarkably unfair. Anything he lacked in skill he more than made up for with heart.