Half Baked Transfer Idea #1: Ashley Cole to the Union

Disclaimer: Ashley Cole is not actually linked to the Union in any way shape or form. Their is no truth to this post, it just came up during various conversations with friends. Hence the name Half Baked Transfer. These post are for people to inspire peoples imagination and to just be a fun read.

Ashley Cole is an aging defender who still has an abundance of quality. In his prime he was one of the best Left Backs in the world. The 32 year old Englishman signed a one year contract extension that keeps him at Stamford Bridge till the end of the 2013/2014 campaign. The recent contract extension has Ashley making 200,000 Euros a week.   Realistically his next contract will not be as lucrative and could possible be signed for somewhere in the 3.mill range.

Chelsea going through a managerial change and bringing back Jose Mourinho aka the Special one aka the one aka the happy one. Mourinho said he will be making changes and will meet face to face with each player before making those changes. Chelsea already have Ivanovic who has solitified himself as a starter and Azpilicueta who is fighting for more time and  proving to be solid player. Also do not forget that Mourinho is a tinkerer, he likes to tinker. Wouldn’t be surprised to see him bring in a Portugese defender and maybe move David Luiz outside while bringing back Essien and playing him out wide. Mourinho played Essien at left back for a number of  big games down the stretch at Real Madrid.

The Philadelphia Union are a team that is in desperate need of a left back upgrade and defensive depth. Current starter for the Union Ray Gaddis could be better serving the club as a sub. The Union have ample cap space but if they were signing Cole they would make him a DP and pay him a salary of around 5.5-6.5 mill over 3 years. Ray Gaddis would be relegated to the bench and the Union would hire Chris Albright as coach of some kind.

How it would play out: (3 scenarios)

1. Union sigh Ashley Cole, he comes is unveiled Tir Na Nog to a hoard drunken Bens and Union fans. He throws out first pitch a Phillies v Nationals game. On the pitch he is a solid player, under preforms to his standards but still better then Gaddis. Union make playoffs and everyone is happy.

2. Cole comes to Philly. Hackworth benches him for a few games because he has to earn his spot. Around a month and a half into his tenure in Philly Gaddis gets a red card and Cole gets his opportunity. Cole plays well, Hack tells us that Ashley is making progress but still has to earn his spot. Gaddis comes back the Union lose and the next game Ashley Cole takes over as permanent starter.

3. Cole signs with Philly and starts right off the bat. He does not take the league seriously gains a good amount of weight and loses fitness. The Union eat his contract and trade him TFC.

USMNT Missing Olympics the Best Thing for the Union

With the soccer tournaments winding down in London, and the US women marching on with grace and style to what could be a gold medal,  it’s hard not to feel a sense of frustration that the men did not qualify. Especially with the build-up that this US team had, with such talents as Fabian Johnson, Danny Williams, Joe Corona, Brek Shea and Terrance Boyd. The Olympics would also be a chance for the Union to show off some of their youth products with Sheannon Williams, Freddy Adu, Zach MacMath, Jack McInerney, Amobi Okugo and maybe even a Farfan or two being considered for the team. With the way the Farfan’s have been playing it’s not out of the realm of possibilities that they coul have gotten a call up.  The Olympics would have been a great showcase for the Union to show off some talent and for the youngsters to gain experience. Even for the Farfans, Williams and MacMath who likely wouldn’t have started, the international stage would have given them a great chance to grow as players.

 Going into the MLS season it was expcted that the US  team would qualify for the Olympics, and many Union fans were excited at the chance to see players like Okugo and McInerney who had, at the time, seen limited minutes for the club over the last two seasons. Of course the US didn’t qualify and the Union imploded. Piotr Nowak imploded, the team got rid of many players, and they were almost entirely eliminated from any hope of the playoffs before Nowak left. If the US qualified it would have been the worst thing for the Union hands down. This run they are going on, which may be saving the season, would likely never have happened. With Okugo and Williams (and possibly others) gone the Union would have to resort to playing Albright, Jordan, Gaddis, or even Lopez (ugh). It would be ugly, not saying Gaddis wouldnt do a great job but Williams is starting for a reason. Who would be in net? I love Chase Harrison, but he is not Zac and more importantly has never held down a starting job. Plus  it would not help to play the second string goalie with an alreaedy weakend defense. There is of course the arguement that the Union have Soumare to help out on defense, but he would have been barely coming into fitness while Okugo was in camp tuning up fro the Olympics. Hack would have had to rush him back to fitness, which he hasn’t shown any intrest in doing with Okugo available. Now lets look up top. With Adu and Mac gone who would fill in? Hoppenot is great off the bench but asking him to carry a team is a very different thing. Pajoy would have to step up along with Perlaza, Martinez or Hoffman or whoever Hack might have had to bring in. Lots of inexperience. Adu would be replaced by the injured Roger Torres who has looked less than impressive in his brief moments since getting back to fitness.

 

The US missing the Olympics has saved the Union for the short term, but also the long term. WIth players like Okugo getting minutes in the Olympics it wouldn’t be surprising if a European club made him an offer he couldnt refuse. He is no high-roller here in Philly and a lower division European club could pay him more then he would make here. The same could be applied to any youth player. Of course whether or not the Union would sell, or what they would get back would make it very interesting.

So to really think about it, I along with many Union fans were excited about potentially seeing some Union players represent the US. I got what I wished for, in the sense that I am now watching players who were not getting alot of minutes, just not for the US. Do not get me wrong, as a Union fan and a US fan I would love nothing more then to see Union players contribute to the national team at any level. But for now its in the best interest of the club that the US missed the Olympics. It is crazy how the world works. This is not the ideal scenario. The season has been a dissapointment. The ideal scenario would have included Nowak keeping Le Toux, Mwanga, Califf et al. and putting together a winning season. Ideally the Union would be in contention for the top spot and the some Union players would be thriving in the olympics. Ideally we would have our cake and eat it too, but we dont.

In short, the Olympic woes of the men’s national soccer team benefits the Union and keeps a slim sliver of playoff hope alive. To quench your US soccer thirst, watch the women they are playing amazing football right now as usual.

 

Valdes Picked for All Star Team

On July 25th thousands of MLS fans will file into PPL park to watch as the MLS All Stars take on Chelsea FC. For Union fans, it was questionable if they would be able to watch one of their own play against the London giant but this question was answered on Sunday as the Commissioner’s two picks for the All Star team were release. Don Garber choose two defenders: Ramiro Corrales of the San Jose Earthquakes and our very own Carlos Valdes.

Valdes is coming of an amazing game against the Montreal Impact where he not only put in a stellar defensive performance but also went on to score the winning goal in extra time off a Sheanon Williams long throw. As of now it is still unknown if the Philadelphia Union captain will be starting as he will have to beat out other talented defenders like New York’s Heath Pearce and Whitecap’s Jay DeMerit.

I believe there is a good possibility of Valdes getting on the starting eleven for the MLS All Stars. He is a talented center back with the ability to communicate well and also hold good positions. He has been extremely consistent all season and has come up huge when called upon by the Union. If put on the pitch, Carlos Valdez will be tested against players like Fernando Torres and newly signed Eden Hazard.

A Look Into the Past: A Comparison of Old and New Union Players

There have been many changes this season to our beloved Philadelphia Union with the loss and gaining of numerous players. As of late, the Union have arguably been playing the best soccer of any MLS team. So how does this new team compare to that of previous seasons? To investigate this we will take a look at how the starting line up the Union used this past Sunday against Toronto FC compares to ex-Union players that still currently play in the MLS.

Union Starting XI vs Toronto FC:

Macmath; G. Farfan, Valdez, Okugo, Williams; Gomez, Carrol, M. Farfan; Adu, McInerney, Pajoy

Ex Union Players Still in MLS starting XI:

Seitz; Harvey, Califf, Thomas; Mapp, Salinas, Nakazawa, Jacobson; Le Toux, Mwanga, Moreno

Goalkeepers:

Before I start, I want to state that I have respect for FC Dallas goalkeeper Chris Seitz. Despite the anger that was aimed in his direction by Philadelphia fans for his questionable playing in 2010 he has always been respectable toward Union supporters and Front Office. This season Seitz has made four starts ending with a record of 0-2-2 and allowing five goals. It is hard for me to even make an argument on how this can be better than Zac Macmath’s stellar performance so far this season. With 14 starts so far, Zac has allowed 16 goals and posted 5 shut outs. Macmath can thank the back four in front of him for making this season easy for him so far. Zac has only had to make 37 saves in league play this season compared to current save leader Matt Perkins’ 70. The 20 year old goalkeeper has also come up huge when the game called for it by making amazing saves particularly at point blank range. The Union’s starting keeper has only had one noticeably bad game and that was the season opener loss to Portland where the wet conditions, turf field, and nerves may have hindered his ability to perform at his potential.

When it comes down to it, it is a no brainer on who is having the better season in 2012. Chris Seitz simply has not played enough this season to even raise an argument against Zac Macmath. The fact that he did not walk away with a win from any of his starts does not help either.

Winner: Zac Macmath

The Back Line:

I cannot say enough good things about the Union defence this season especially Carlos Valdez. They have consistently locked down in front of goal and also made great desperation plays when necessary (i.e. those few goal line saves against LA last week). Defensive midfielder turned center back Amobi Okugo has fit in nicely alongside Valdez after the departure of Danny Califf while Sheanon Williams has been phenomenal like usual. Losing ex-union captain Califf was a blow to the team this season but after trying a few differently back lines the team has started playing the same great defence they have been known for.

The Philadelphia Union have lost three defenders that still play in the MLS: Jordan Harvey (Vancouver Whitecaps), Danny Califf (Chivas USA), and Shavar Thomas (Montreal Impact). These are three strong defenders with the weakest one, in my opinion, being Thomas. Both Thomas and Harvey find themselves just beginning to become regular starters for their respective teams. Thomas has taken over for injured Matteo Ferrari in the last four games for the Montreal Impact who came away with one win and three losses in those games. Those games included a 3-0 loss to Toronto FC at home. Although the 11 goals scored against the Impact in those four games cannot be fully blamed on Thomas, he is partially the involved. Harvey has recently earned a starting position again for the Vancouver Whitecaps and it appears he will stay there for bit. Jordan started on July 4th against Colorado due to the suspension of first string left back Jun Davidson. His performance that game led Whitecaps coach Martin Rennie to say it was “… the best he’s played since I’ve come to the club”. Harvey played well enough against the Rapids to earn his spot in the starting eleven again this past weekend where he put in another worthy performance even though Davidson was available. Lastly we have Danny Califf. The former Union captain was only just sent to the west coast team but has been doing some solid defending alongside Rauwshan McKenzie. Califf has always been a consistent defender and that trend has continued in LA. Chivas may not be putting up big numbers on the scoreboard but there defense has been making sure their opponents don’t either, for the most part at least.

Maybe it is my bias but I feel that Philadelphia’s defense wins this over the past Union players. Posting three shut outs in their past five league games, the Zolos have been making it tough for every offense they go up against. This is especially amazing when you consider that half of the back line is not even listed as a defender.

Winner: Current starters

The Midfield:

The midfield is where the comparisons between current and ex Union players start to get interesting. While our current midfield has been incredibly creative and does more then it’s fair share while attacking with the ball, defensively they have been mediocre, even laughable at times. Opponents have been able to easily work their way through the middle of the field forcing our defense to work harder than they should. We saw this multiple times in last week’s game against the Galaxy. I understand our midfield tends to be more offensively minded, but this is not an excuse for shabby defending. Offensively the midfield has been amazing. They have been making it easy for Jack Mac and Antoine Hoppenot while also being able to keep possession and pass the ball around when needed.

Of the four former Union midfielders still in the league only two have been consistently getting time on the pitch: Justin Mapp of the Montreal Impact and Andrew Jacobson of FC Dallas. Justin Mapp has been proving to be a force in the midfield, exploiting space given to him and helping to create chances. Unfortunately, Mapp has the same problem he had while playing with the Union last season (other than only using one foot); he seems to show up and disappear too often. There has been multiple times while watching the Impact this season that I have 100% forgot Mapp was on the field. Despite this, Justin Mapp has been playing well enough to consistently make it into the Impact’s starting lineup. Andrew Jacobson is part of a team that has not won a game since April 14^th. With a winless streak that long, it is not just one person’s fault; it comes down to the whole team.

Although all the ex-Union midfielders are talented players, it is hard for me to talk up a midfield whose top player is Justin Mapp. It also does not help the former players’ cause that the current squad has been playing great soccer lately.

Winner: Current Union

The Forwards:

This comparison is probably the hardest to decide between. The current Philadelphia offense has been putting on a clinic, scoring fifteen goals in their last five games. The scary part is that this offensive onslaught is only a recent development and I am still a little hesitant to say that the form the players are in is here to stay. Of the three starters up top against Toronto FC, Jack McIerney has been the most consistent, scoring 3 goals in his past 3 league games. Freddy Adu has looked better than he did earlier in the season and had an amazing game this weekend causing many iffy moments for the Toronto defense. Still the weak part of our current starting lineup appears to be Lionard Pajoy. Pajoy has been more involved lately but still has major weakness that lead to missed chances. The most noticeable of these weaknesses is his first touch on the ball. For a striker, if your first touch is not near perfect every time scoring will be a rarity.

Chivas USA may not be playing the best soccer lately but one thing is consistent for them, Alejandro Moreno. Moreno played for the Union in 2010 before being sent to Chivas. While at Chivas, Moreno has played very well, creating chances for his team and holds the number two score of all Chiva’s players on MLS’s Castrol Index. In spite of only having two goals so far this season, I still feel he is a necessary force to have on the field. Playing only 300 minutes for his new team, the Portland Timbers, Danny Mwanga is one of the most recent Union departures. Other than scoring a magnificent goal last week, Danny is having the same problem he had when he played in Philly; he cannot seem to gel properly with the team that is playing around him. His lack of shots and goal scoring opportunities makes him a minimal threat to most defenses. Lastly, we look at a player that holds a special place in most Philadelphia Union fans’ hearts, Sébastien Le Toux. While wearing the blue and gold Seba was a goal scoring machine while also being an all-around good guy. Since joining the Whitecaps, Le Toux has played nearly every possible minute but has not found the back of the net nearly as often as he did when he was in Philadelphia, scoring only 4 goals in his 2012 campaign.

Choosing between these two line ups is tough for me. If I chose off of the form players held while they still played for the Union, I would go with the former players in a heartbeat, but if I was going off of how players are currently playing I would go with our current lineup. When it comes down to it, and if I was forced to choose, I would go with what we have now. Our offense is scoring multiple goals per game but the horror of our early season performance still hangs in the back of my mind.

Winner: Current Union

The moral of the story is that things could be much worst. We have a great team that is scoring consistently and is defending beautifully. Although some of the above could stream from my personal love for this club, I still feel that most of what I stated holds true. My only hope, and I’m sure it is the same hope that all Union fans have, is that our team continues to play the same game they have been playing for the past few weeks.

 

Guess Who’s Back?

Sunday’s match against Toronto FC saw an event which many Philadelphia Union fans have waited months for; the return of fan favorite and Colombian midfielder Roger Torres. Torres has not seen the field for a league match since March 24, 2012 due to a knee injury. Coming in Sunday in the 83^rdminute to an enthusiastic crowd chanting his name, Roger’s first touch was less than decent, directly to a Toronto player, but he quickly recovered by feeding a beautiful through ball to a darting Antoine Hoppenot which was unfortunately snubbed out by the Toronto defense. Playing only seven minutes, Torres did not get many opportunities to show off the ball control skills Union fans have grown to love over the time he has spent here, but the fact that Torres did not play noticeably poor during his short time on the field should give Philadelphia fans hope that this major injury won’t be career changing for the midfielder. Although it will likely be a few more months until we see Roger starting, especially with the competition ahead of him, I would expect to see him regularly used as a late sub for Michael Farfan or Freddy Adu.

Roger’s absence in the midfield has allowed players like Marfan and Adu to step up and become a creative force on the field. It will be interesting to see how Coach John Hackworth organizes his midfield as Torres becomes closer to match fit.

Personally, I never really liked Torres as a starter and think he does better coming on early in the second half, where he can use his creative ball-handling on tired defenders to open up passing lanes or to get shots off. Also, the way Marfan has played as of late proves that he is needed on the field. This is the problem with a team that has so much depth; you see many talented players that would likely start at other teams benched. Torres will be joining a bench which already holds many other skilled young players like right back Raymon Gaddis and likely defensive midfielder turned center back Amobi Okugo due to the recent signing of Bakary Soumare.

When all is said and done, I am excited to see what the return of the Roger Torres era has in store. He is a player that is not scared to shoot which has been a major problem for Philadelphia Union until very recently. As Torres is slowly reintroduced to the midfield, Union fans will be watching to see if he is still the creative, offensive minded player that he was before the injury. We saw small glimpses of it against Toronto allowing the Union faithful to hold   the hope that one of their favorites will make a triumphant return to the pitch later this season.

Why You Should Go To The Cup

 

Ahead of the Union’s cup match I decided to compile a list of reasons why people should actually attend. This list is in direct response to the poor turn out of fans at the last game. It was a quarter-final and the Union couldn’t bring in over 5,000 people. The sports watching public of Philly are missing out on a great chance to see some high quality football.

1. It is a semi final: Lets  be honest the Union are the only Philly team that could be in a semi-final game for a while at least till the Flyers start-up. The enormity of the game is self-explanatory; win and the Union are in the final.

2. Biggest game in franchise history: It is exciting going into a game knowing that it will be the biggest game in a franchises history and years from now you can look back at it.

3. The Union are playing well: Why wouldn’t you want to see a team playing the beautiful game in a beautiful style. They are playing a style that is easy on the eyes and exciting.

4. Philly has a surprisingly Rich Soccer History: For those sports historians this is just the  beginning of a long line of Philly/PA success in this tournament. Bethlehem Steele (5x winners), Philly Ukrainians (4x Winners), Harmaville Hurricanes ( 2x Winners),  Gallatin SC, Morgan Strasser and Uhrik Truckers/ Philadelphia Americans. This is just an opportunity to look at a new team continue success of the entire area.

5. It is Cheap: The game itself will cost you only about $25-$30. Not a bad seat in the house great bang for your buck.

6. It is Dollar Dog Night/Free parking/Free Mini Cup: Cheap ticket plus dollar hot dogs and free parking. Get your ticket and enjoy the game! As a give away the Union are handing out a free mini cup. I am so excited.

7. You have nothing better to do: It’s a Wednesday night  the Phillies are slumping, No big concerts are going on that day. It is the perfect time to treat yourself to a good soccer match. Its better than staying inside all night.

8. SKC are a good team and it will be a great match: Last time around the Union embarrassed SKC.that will most likely not happen again. It will be an intense match. SKC are still second in the East and have a good shot at hosting the final they will come to play.

9. Roger Torres: The Colombian playmaker got 7 minutes against Toronto and there is a good chance he will get more time against SKC. That makes the Union that much more exciting and dangerous.

10. The Phillies, Eagles and Flyers all want you to go: If you have paid attention the Phillies, Eagles, and Flyers have been promoting the game and having special offers. We all know it’s basically Comcast telling the organizations to do so but still.

11. Escape the depressing sports news around you: The Phillies are awful, the Flyers are having a rough offseason and not landing any big names, and the Sixers aren’t going to sign anyone either. Being a Philly sports fan these days is depressing. The Union still have a mountain to climb to reach the playoffs. So escape this depressing rut and enjoy a semi-final.

12. The game is not on TV: You can watch it on a stream or you can go to the game. Can you really handle watching another game with Rigby ? Not to mention the stream quality is straight out of the 70′s, it is not good for your eyes.

13.”We want the cup” Chant:  Who doesn’t love a chant promoting Parliament-Funkadelic chant. Sure to have everyone grooving.

14. It wont be god awful hot: Forecast for an amazing night on Wednesday. Partially cloudy, slight showers and 84 degrees. That sounds a lot better than the heat wave we have been on.

15. Prospect of Extra Time and PK’s: The drama of a cup semi-final is that it could go to extra time or even Penalty kicks. Does that need anymore explanation? What would be better/more heart wrenching than going a full 120 and winning on PKs to get to the final. I think half of the fans would have a heart attack.

I can go on for days and days and days and days, and come up with a million reasons why you should go to the game. So just go, enjoy yourself.

Get Tickets Here

Apparently Someone Wrote An Entire Article On Doop

A sure sign that any professional sports training camp is going on is in the half-baked half-related articles that turn up in the Sports section of newspapers and blogs. Phillies Spring Training is full of stories about Chooch donating ice cream to the local grade-school. Eagles mini-camps are full of tales of how many farm animals Mike Patterson can eat in one sitting. This is that story for the Union. Jeff Gammage at Philly.com wrote an entire article on the marketing strategy behind the word doop, how the song became a part of Union games, how the word became a part of Sons Of Ben culture in a single year, and why it is now the center of the Union marketing strategy. People are excited for this team to get on the field and writers are noticing that.There may not be much of a supply but there is definitely a demand to read something with the Union name on it. That is this article. I’m by no means saying its a bad article; it’s a well-researched, interesting look at something that is barely related to the play on the field. Of course there is a demand for soccer in this city now and thats starting to be filled.

http://articles.philly.com/2011-02-26/news/28632492_1_sons-of-ben-supporters-ceo-nick-sakiewicz-ads/2

DOOP!

Philadelphia Union just released a new commercial. DOOP!

Apparently WordPress won’t let you embed twitter video’s so click through the link its totally worth it.