Photo: Paul Rudderow
Union
The club has loaned forward Cory Burke to Austrian Bundesliga club SKN St. Poelten.
Union II
Union II announce three closed-door friendlies in February.
MLS
MLS and MLSPA agreed on new CBA to run through 2024 season.
It’s been a long journey & could always be better. However, this deal has many significant gains for players & represents a meaningful step forward for growth of the game in North America. Lot of work put into this from those involved. Now let’s get back 2 business & just play!⚽️ https://t.co/Fb2wS1F4zQ
— Alejandro Bedoya (@AleBedoya17) February 6, 2020
According to the players, the new CBA gains make their 2015 sacrifices worthwhile.
Doyle analyzes each team’s most important player for the 2020 season. Philly’s is Sergio Santos.
The top five contenders to break LAFC’s MLS single-season points record.
USA
Jay Berhalter will be stepping down as US Soccer’s COO at the end of the month.
Alexi Lalas has no doubt the USMNT will qualify for the World Cup.
USWNT will play Mexico in an Olympic semifinal match tonight at 10pm.
World
Real Madrid and Barcelona were both eliminated in the Copa del Rey quarterfinals on Thursday.
So would I be wrong in feeling like these transfer spells for Burke are Tanner shopping him around?
I think that right now Burke is a back up for Kacsper, who is injury prone. Tanner probably doesnt respect Jamaican premier league and wants him to get playing time at a higher level
Agreed. Tanner has shown he is not afraid to just cut ties if he doesn’t think a player is in the teams plans.
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My understanding is that Burke may not be completely cleared with his visa issue to reenter the US so they looked for a better loan spot than the Jamaican league, which was more of an emergency solution.
Ok, and I should have said loan spells…
Isn’t this just finding a place for him to get in game shape so when he gets over his visa issues he is ready to contribute?
The press release of Burke’s loan says Tanner is looking for better competition for Burke to play against. So it seems like hes looking for improved play from Burke. It may be safe to assume if that doesn’t happen, he could be out of time with the Union.
What does it say about the Union that two of the players they were happy enough to part ways with are in the list as important players for their new teams ?
It says:
1. The Union had one too many promising young CBs, one of whom was a very unhappy camper; and
2. Cincinnati may well be last in the league in Goals Against yet again.
At least that’s what it says to me.
Agree completely. Can’t keep everyone and the two being referenced were ok by me to go
In re Burke: Two points.
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1. It took him two seasons at Bethlehem to improve his conditioning and prove himself to be a two way player at striker. USL was clearly a step up from Jamaica’s Red Stripe premier league.
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2. Always under Earnie Stewart they had three strikers for one spot, and he is not the only SD/GM to operate with that level of redundancy. Tanner now uses two spots, and until Burke returns has only four players to fill them. Remember, they can bring up Union II strikers for friendlies and during preseason and for the Open Cup, but NOT for regular season league games. Burke is needed depth at striker.
you may have noticed that Tanner puts two types of strikers onto the roster together. All must be two way players, but Wooten Backs up Przybylko as the tall, hold up striker, and Ngalina backs up Santos as the speed merchant jitterbug. Burke can be a ferocious defender when playing up top, can play the big strong hold up role, but is also fast enough to fill in the other type in an emergency.
I don’t remember Burke needing better fitness for the reason for this latest loan. I remember his visa was almost worked out and they wanted him facing better competition than what’s in Jamaica so he can return in mid season fitness able to contribute right away.
The key to Burke’s value there is his versatility. In addition to the above, he has shown-albeit in the past-an ability to play effectively WIDER than the other CF’s.
Meaning: You potentially “could” play him in a battery with KP or Woot-whereas it’s pretty apparent playing both
Germans together is a non-starter at this point.
Given the health concerns of Santos, and the rawness of the Congolese…………….
I am going to commit heresy. The most important story in this roundup has nothing to do with the Union’s preseason.
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Far and away the single most important link that Sara Griswold has found for us is the AP reporting in Sports Illustrated that English football is discussing concussion substitutions quite seriously.
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When the Bethlehem team doctor educated me about concision protocols in June of 2016 after Mark McKenzie suffered his, he emphasized at least ten minutes. My impression is that if the bleeding in the brain is a slow ooze, it will take a while to manifest itself in symptoms.