Since they weren't going to travel with the team this weekend and there is no reserve match, I'm glad they will get some game action.
Photos 11 and 12 of 26 show Hoffman in action with Harrisburg. There are also numerous photos in the gallery featuring Noone, Langley, and Tom Brandt. Against the Eagles Hoppenot played 83 minutes and Hoffman played 27. Then in the Hammerheads match Hoffman played 79 and Hoppenot 28.
http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/...oll-compares-to-other-local-sports-teams.html ESPN is reporting that the Union ranks 6th overall in MLS with a $4.542M payroll. Our current estimate in this thread has total payroll (including Off-Budget players) at $3.369M using last year salaries and existing MLS player comps for new players and new contract $ for existing players (i.e. Williams). Even if those $ are grown by 5% for standard salary escalation, there is still a $1M gap which means that there are several players likely making a decent amount more than our current estimated $ even with a 5% increase for returning players - the likely candidates are: Returning Players * Adu (I recall that his deal has annual increases which jump quite a bit) * Mwanga (his deal escalates to $500K in 2014 per Ives so he may be in the $300K range now) Daniel and G. Farfan deserve more $ than they make but given that there was no news of new deals - they are likely stuck with their current $ through this season. New Players * Pajoy (estimated $225K but could see him around $300K coming off a season as the Colombian League leading scorer despite inconsistent strike rates in prior seasons) * Gomez (estimated $175K based on other higher-level established CONCACAF MLS players but he could easily be in the $250K range) * Martinez (estimated $125K as a younger CONCACAF player with upside - he could be higher but likely not more than $150K - $175K) * Herdling (estimated $100K based on mid-level European League MLS players - could be higher [but can not see more than $200K] if he is viewed as more of a Hoffenheim player than a Hoffenheim reserve player) * Lopez (estimated $100K based on other mid-level CONCACAF MLS players but he might be in the $150K range at most - regardless, he is clearly the Juan Diego Gonzalez salary cap waste of this season) * Hernandez (could have gotten one of the better HG contracts given his Academy accolades but it would still be under $100K) The draft picks are more or less at the minimum entry level contracts so I doubt that our estimates are off much with them - not sure that McLaughlin's deal would be very high. The reserve goalie salaries are also not likely off the estimate based on other MLS back-ups of equivalent experience.
take those three on the high end and you could have paid LeToux and still kept everyone as is it now. Lopez clearly being the biggest ?. I was trying to find info about this guy and landed on a CR newspaper website and people were posting thier feedback of the Costa Rica v Honduras friendly from a couple of weeks back and no one had anything nice to say about Lopez. One questioned in particularly why he kept getting called back to the national team calling hime the worse player in that game. I still think Pajoy is getting a disservice from the coaching staff because they have him as a sole striker with no help.
Vito's take on the Union's payroll ranking within MLS - http://uniontally.blogspot.com/2012/05/espn-report-union-own-fifth-highest.html - brings up this nugget which hasn't really been stated by anyone other than the player himself:
I read that article and was floored by it - 5th highest payroll in MLS? To quote Ricky Waters - "For WHo? For What?".
WOW that is truly shocking! I'm not sure what is more amazing though - that we're getting this little production for a top-half payroll or that teams can actually play exciting soccer without breaking the bank. Look at DC United for example. What a young, exciting, well put together roster. Sure they don't have any defensive depth, but do we? No sir. DeRo, Pontius, Santos, Cruz, Najar (on the bench), and a young player that actually produces in De Leon. Color me jealous. (I'd bring up SKC as well but don't want to punch something.)
It's difficult to have defensive depth on a team when you only have five defenders if you dont count Lopez (I don't) or Garfan (who nobody expected to play on the back line when the season started).
Hoppenot sure made the most of his time on loan this weekend with Harrisburg. He was great all night (even with a crazy hour and 20 minute rain/lightning delay). He played all 90, had pace, was creative, worked well with Touray and netted the Isles goal.
It just goes to show that in a league where parity between the teams is pretty much a given because of the draft system that it comes down to coaching. Consider the 2011 PCNJ team. They spent the most money on their payroll other than LA, and they barely made playoffs (and we let them sneak in). The reason they performed so poorly is because Backe is a stubborn fool who is married to a system instead of building a system that works to the players' strengths. He is also pretty poor at evaluating talent. This is the reason why DeRo has been much more effective under Olsen than Backe. I'd take just about any coach in the league over Nowak at this point. Olsen took over DC in 2010 with basically no coaching experience and is now fielding one of the top squads in the league. Yallop's off-season tinkering with the Quakes has now thrust him into first place in the league. Kreis won a Cup and has kept RSL competitive every year since, in addition to the nice CCL run. Verme's 7 game winning streak was almost the best ever for a MLS side. Arena's side is in poor form now but he was able to win both the SS and Cup last year and never lost a league game at home.
It would be nice to see Hoppenot play and see if he can create anything more then our super signing of this year Pajoy.
I just want them to start with the same group of 11 for more then 1 game, and the same subs depending on the situation of the game. Let's go 4-5 games straight were we see the same lineup (which does not include Pajoy), same formation, and the same subs game in and game out! To be honest, we see so many different lineups, players, formations, ideas; that I have no clue who can actually play and who are frauds. Let's see the same back 4 (Garfan, Valdez, Califf, Williams), the same midfield (Daniel, Carroll, Gomez, Herdling/Marfan), and same forward pairing (Mwanga/JackMac, Adu/Herdling). Play a simple 4-4-1-1 with Carrol as our deep lying midfielder, Adu as our withdrawn forward, and either JackMac or Mwanga up top. But instead we'll keep playing Pajoy up top, Adu out in no man's land, and constant rotation of midfielders/defenders that can't do anything but give up goals while scoring none!
You are being so unfair to the back four its not even funny. When the ball is in their end the entire game you tend to let in a few goals here and there.
Let's not forget Heaps. He's done a decent enough job so far with the Revs this season, considering the hand he was dealt.
“The term shuffling is an overhaul of the lineup from week-to-week and that’s different than what we’re doing. You try to find the way that will inject life and enthusiasm into the lineup instead of just knowing the first 11. That’s not the way we work and how we find out about these youngsters. The core, we know. But with the rest, we like to see who can be there, that’s why we give them a chance. You get the chance, you step in – this is your chance. If not, we’ll wait…What if we say, ‘OK, let’s take five games.’ If another player is better in training three-days later, are you going to stick with the original route or give that player a chance?” Pajoy must be killing it in training every week.
After tonight's game I got to say I have a lot of confidence that our younger players will really be stars for this league in a couple years ago. Pfeffer, Hoppenot, Hoffman, Hernandez, and Martinez each showed brilliance today.
Union player salaries, courtesy of the MLS Players Union, finely reformatted by TBG... http://www.brotherlygame.com/2012/5...ry-cap-mls-players-union-releases-2012-salary
WOW! I'd be pissed to be the farfans, Keon, etc...Lopez gets twice your salary his first year and has started a total of what 2 games?! smh...
with the 1st overall pick the 2013 MLS Draft, The Philadelphia Union select....... Who/what positions should we target? CB or Attacking MF?