Photo: Paul Rudderow
Philadelphia Union
Proving that MLS is a joke, Kai Wagner is suspended for tonight’s game against Cincinnati. Should’ve been only a one game suspension.
Cincinnati.com predicts the Union will win tonight, 2-0.
Can Marco Fabián revive the Union’s Latino fanbase? (And here’s the article in Spanish.) LA-based @soccermusings has some strong opinions about it.
Alejandro Bedoya on lack of charter flights: “This is not a Philly issue. This is a league issue.”
Soccer America comments, “How Philadelphia Union put itself in very good spot heading into busy May”.
PSP’s Jim O’Leary thinks “the ‘young’ back line needs to grow up”.
Maurice Edu makes the transition from player to broadcaster.
The Delaware County Daily Times posted a piece on Kacper Przybylko.
ICYMI: a new episode of “It’s Always Soccer in Philadelphia,” featuring PSP’s Peter Andrews as the guest.
Local
East Penn Panther United grew from a club with two teams at the end of the 2017-18 season to one with a multicultural flair and low-cost soccer for all ages.
Bethlehem native and Lehigh product Gina Lewandowski is leaving Bayern Munich at the end of the season. Here’s a 2015 article on her at Philly.com.
MLS
D.C. United is working on a trade with FC Dallas for Marquinhos Pedroso. The deal would address a void at left back due to injuries.
Public Service Announcement: MLS teams have another week for trades and signings. Window will reopen in early July.
In 675 minutes of MLS play, the Red Bulls’ Tim Parker has yet to allow a player to dribble past him. Maybe Jim Curtin was right and Parker is the best center back in the league.
Did Zlatan go too far against RSL’s Onouha? SBI Soccer and Bobby Warshaw weigh on this important question that’s giving MLS fans insomnia.
MLS spends a smaller portion of revenues on player salaries than any other league where there’s available data.
Have patience, Atlanta fans, says Tata Martino.
NWSL
Sky Blue FC is looking better this year on and off the field, according to Philly.com.
U.S. Soccer
The All For XI blog graded the USWNT’s Hulu ads on social media, Hogwarts style.
ICYMI: Here’s the U-17 USWNT roster for the UEFA Women’s International Development Tournament in Portugal.
Around the globe
FIFA rules against solidarity payments over DeAndre Yedlin’s Tottenham transfer.
Black referees are failing to get into the upper reaches of English football because of the way they are assessed, says a campaigner.
Former Napoli midfielder Marek Hamsik admits that he’s struggling to adapt in the Chinese league.
Sorta soccer-related, ESPN is shutting down its flagship print publication, which has been on newsstands since 1998. Last issue is in September.
Starting with 40 players to over 4,000 now – this coach doesn't only want her U19 women's team to qualify for the Asian Champions League, but also her players to become ministers and the president 🧕⚽️💪 pic.twitter.com/VzzGINOWe0
— DW News (@dwnews) April 25, 2019
Highlight of the day
We love this poster 3000.
Stop by our 50/50 kiosks at Wednesday's game to snag yours – proceeds benefit The Philadelphia Union Foundation 👉 https://t.co/zhNYrMdCUw
Guest Artists: @SquaredCo & Phllip Johnson#DOOP pic.twitter.com/2UZGg2jXef
— Philadelphia Union (@PhilaUnion) April 29, 2019
By my math the DiCo announced Fabian’s extra game ~27 hours before the game and now Wagner’s ~25 hours before the game.
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The announcements came 12 and 10 days following the incidents, respectively.
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Calling it “a joke” is to kind.
I wonder if someone has the time to go back and see how many times the Union have been screwed by MLS DisCo compared to other teams. It’s such a joke. The fact that the SKC player who 2 footed Fabian with studs up got nothing and he got an extra game for his “stomp” along with this Wagner B.S. makes it appear that the bigger clubs get a much more favorable rulings.
I guess a red card now equals 2 games! Puts more pressure on players to be “careful” with fouls. And it takes way to long for the ruling to come out. And as for Zlatan. He is good but also a thug. I almost feel like the refs are star struck and let his antics slide. And if he is the face of MSL…we should all be worried.
The 2nd game for Wagner’s suspension is warranted. That was a dangerous tackle that could have broken an ankle or leg. The joke is that the league announced it 24 hours before tonight’s game when the incident occurred a week-and-a-half ago, giving the technical little ability to plan their lineups for 3 games in 8 days. What’s also a joke is that Kaku only got one more game than Wagner for blasting a ball into a fan’s face from point blank range.
Fafa got cleated in the chest intentionally and there wasn’t even a foul. That’s worse than a reckless challenge.
A: I agree about the cleats to Fafa’s chest. Don’t know how that was either missed or dismissed by the VAR AND the DisCo, but it still doesn’t make Wagner’s tackle OK.
Am I missing something? I follow a few other leagues more than casually and I’m struggling to come up with an instance in which a red card issued for a reckless tackle has ever amounted to more than a game. IT tends to be violent contact, a push, a shove, a slap or some spitting, that will get you extra games. This is pretty ridiculous.
Very happy for Edu. He suffered an agonizing and frustrating end to his playing career, I think he’ll be a terrific broadcaster.
Wish him all the best. Met him at a Union event and chatted for close to 20 mins! Really nice guy who had a rough end to his playing days!
We talk empty stands, relevance and big player signings. We can’t generalize the Philly fan base when this happens:
In a year where MLB attendance is predicted to be lower, again, and the next closest teams are only 8% gain, “The Philadelphia Phillies, whose signing of Bryce Harper to a $330 million contract was the centerpiece of a wild off-season, are averaging 37,280 fans – a whopping 44% gain over the average of 25,811 to this point last year.
Perhaps more encouraging, they’ve seen a 55% jump in their worst crowd – from 28,000 to 34,000 – which would indicate a very robust season-ticket base.
Philly’s crowds should further swell as spring gives way to summer, particularly if the ballclub remains atop the NL East. Every team, of course, will draw better once school is out and competition from other sports dissipates.” – USA Today
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On this, I think fans are generally interested in teams that show them a reason to care. Harper is obviously a big signing, but without the 5 others that came before it, his name might have rung hollow. Similarly, Marco Fabian is a big name. However, without Wagner and Monteiro (to say nothing of Santos and Kacper) Fabian likely would have failed here and failed to win fans. If the Union are in 1st place at the end of the month, I think the stadium will start to be full again. Just a hunch.
I am in complete agreement with something Peter Andrews brought up in his chat with Kevin Kinkead on IASIP this week: Bedoya’s petulance and poor body language during games. I generally love Bedoya for his play on the pitch and for his candor off it. But not a game goes by in which our captain doesn’t go completely overboard with protesting the poor play of one of his teammates. It’s always bothered me a bit. It’s a poor look. It’s one thing to dress a player down appropriately but the theatrics Bedoya employs to make it known that a teammate has screwed up is too much.
I guess a red card now equals 2 games! Puts more pressure on players to be “careful” with fouls. And it takes way to long for the ruling to come out. And as for Zlatan. He is good but also a thug. I almost feel like the refs are star struck and let his antics slide. And if he is the face of MSL…we should all be worried.
Stupid to wait until now for the extra game for Wagner.
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Zlatan is a fun clown, and incredibly good fun clown. Take it all in stride.
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The pay article should be exibit 1 at the next CBA negotiation. What could possibly be the reasoning for MLS to be the worst in every case?
Well the article does mention in a few places that MLS is investing in the infrastructure that other older leagues have already done. (stadiums, practice facilities, youth teams, etc) Some truth to this and the rub for the next CBA will be agreeing to what that number is. I think to an extent there have been examples in other leagues of the effect of infrastructure investment does to player expenditures. Or at least is an excuse not to open the purse. Arsenal payroll being on the low side for the last few years as they pay off the debt for Emirates Stadium. Tottenham going through transfer windows with no additions as they move into a new stadium. Wasn’t Liverpool somewhat hamstrung a few years ago paying for the latest expansion of Anfield