big market team... makes sense. I’m 4 minutes into the lates Philly Soccer Show pod... they have a Union guy giving his shpeal on how great the new jersey and I think I have already rolled my eyes 1000 times.
A few thoughts/comments from the Meet the Team event last night (in no particular order): There were far more people at the event than in past years. It was spread into two rooms for the first time. Lines were longer but it was less claustrophobic. The event was relatively well organized. Fabian is a superstar and will bring in Mexican fans. There were many fans just to see him. He is extremely friendly and his English is excellent. Ilsinho is starting on Saturday against Toronto. Jones and Creavalle expect Curtin to take a more offensive approach to most home games and a more defensive approach to away games. Both Jones and Creavalle expect to play at SKC the second game. Medunjanin sees his responsibility in the new formation largely the same as it was in last year's formation. I still can't get over how huge Jones is in person and how slight and physically immature Aaronson is in person. Santos trained in full yesterday. He and Mbaizo are the only players who speak very little English. I had no problem conversing in English with Wagner or Przybylko. McKenzie trained in full yesterday and is good to go for Saturday. It's unclear who will start at outside back. Nobody seemed to have a clear answer. Based on what I was told, it looks like Wagner has the inside track on the left. I was told that Mbaizo will "factor into" the game on Saturday but I still think that Gaddis will start. Fafa said he likes the new formation and it is his "natural position." He likes that he will do less running this season and far less "running backwards." Real expects to go to the World Cup, McKenzine still is unsure whether the team will allow him to go and Fontana is unsure whether he will make the team. Curtin got his hair cut. Last week he had long curls. Last night his hair was clipped very short on the sides. JP Dellacamera was there. He walked in wearing a Union scarf under his coat. He spent most of his time speaking with the front office staff.
Well, obviously. The real question is whether he will do this while: A. Attempting a stepover B. Attempting a nutmeg C. Attempting an elastico D. All of the above
Not too surprising... thinking we'll see two very different Union teams this year... the defensive "away game" team and the aggressive "home game" team. Thanks for the report!
I hate the "defensive" away setups. Unless our defense is ready to be top tier, then there's a good chance you lose on the road anyway, so I'd rather them try to be exciting and play aggressively. Losing 1-3 on the road when we were actually trying to do something with the ball just seems vastly more palatable to me than a 0-1 loss where spent the game blocking & clearing, blocking & clearing.
One of their strong suits last year was their performance away from home...6 wins and 3 draws, good for 21 points. You'd think they'd try to build on that and continue playing for wins rather than bunkering for draws on the road again this year.
It just occurred to me that part of the thinking behind the Collin signing may have been to have native French-speaking veteran defender on the senior team for Mbaizo to lean on. Hope Collin doesn't give him any acting lessons!
It's a Union requirement to keep a French connection on the team every year. It's our alternate crest:
Negatives thus far: Striker position is still lacking Midfield of misfit toys Transition to new system is taking time (shocker) 0-0-2 to start the season, and the rest of March isn't looking good Extended Curtin a year Allowed Harris to be extended (Prior to Ernst being hired, but knowing Stewart was leaving) Positives thus far: IF the poor start continues a large portion of the fan base will rejoice, as certainly Ernst will close the Curtin sooner than later. Steel is 1-0, and played a ton of young players. That bodes well for the future Flipped Sapong for a decent amount of $$$ Flipped Draft picks that likely wouldn't have made Steel's roster for $$$ Flipped Herbers (!?!?!?!?!) for $$$ Academy is rapidly improving Signed Marco Fabian to a Club Friendly DP deal (BS/Controversial RC aside) Academy has a ton of talent and is rapidly improving Despite the scoreline yesterday, there was a noticeable improvement on the field from the TFC game. I say this as someone who watched the game after knowing the result and reading all of the negative comments prior. That game was way closer to being a 0-0 or 1-1 game than most fans would care to admit. SKC is a serious League contender and the Union played them even yesterday. That's at least encouraging.
I don't think this one was discussed and may have fallen through the cracks, but apparently there is finally some business development near the stadium. That's right next to the highway on-ramp there off of 2nd Street next to Evonik. Growing medicinal marijuana in such a heavily polluted area should be interesting. Hopefully they will bring in their own soil.
Never forget this organization is a joke. Looking for "volunteers" to manage their bus service. https://www.philadelphiaunion.com/fans/u-ride-bus-program/faq-u-ride-bus-captain Q: What are the job responsibilities of a U-Ride Bus Captain? A: Some of the expected game day duties of the bus captain include: Arrive at least 20 mins prior to departure from city to check-in passengers. Check-in all riders using the list provided via email. Give the go-ahead to the bus driver approximately 2 hours prior to kick-off to ensure the bus arrives 90 mins prior to kick-off. Do a post-game check-in and give the go-ahead to the bus driver to leave 20 mins after the final whistle. Provide assistance and answer questions for bus riders, including available pre-match festivities, ticket will-call location, and post-match bus departure procedures Clean up bus after everyone exits.