I'm still waiting to see the young players get minutes. McGlynn has, although recently not as much. I don't know how that happened after he was playing well. The other three haven't. Very likely both Sullivan and Aaronson play less minutes than last season. I know they missed a few weeks due to U-20 WCQ, but it shouldn't be less. Thats ridiculous. Craig also has gotten one game for a few minutes. Someone will come in here angry that I asked why a winning team isn't playing young players. They are a good team. I'm not arguing against that. I don't care though about their results. I'm not one of their fans and my interest isn't to see them win games. I also don't think these players would hurt their ability to win games. McGlynn started a stretch of 5 in 7, and they won every game. The last two he hasn't started. They could win with these players. They are choosing not to.
As we've said.............................its the same issue FCD had in ~2017 with 16-18 versions of Pomykal, Ferreira, Cannon, Reynolds, etc. To me there are a lot of parallels there. Pareja ended up paying the price. Its one thing to talk about being committed to youth; its another to actually do it.
Weird situation for sure. That starting 11 is absolutely humming right now, and they are in the thick of a supporters shield race with LAFC. But like you said, it’s not like giving these kids a longer run out would hurt the team. I mean, they’re winning games by 3,4,5 goals …. A halftime sub of Aaronson for Gazdag wouldn’t be the end of the world. I hope they do win some silverware this year. Think it would make it easier to fully integrate the HG’s one the team has reached the summit. The “big 3” need big minutes next year.
Its hard, right? They've closed the gap on LAFC, and are now tied for the Supporter's Shield. If you want to win the Supporter's Shield, you can't afford to take days off. If you believe your best chance to win a game each week is with this group of veterans, then that's who you play. Could you also win with the young guys? Yeah, I guess so. But you KNOW you're smushing people with the current lineup. I think I saw that they tied the record for most MLS wins by 4 or more goals. When people were crushing FCD in 2017 for not playing the teenage Pomykal, Ferreira, Cannon, etc.....................the team had taken a downturn from the trophy-winning peak of 2016. They weren't doing what Philly is right now under Curtin.
For me, it's not about starts. It's about whether Curtain is going to wear out his team before the playoffs. Four of Philly's last five games have been wins, and in those wins, there's been two 4-1s and two 6-0s. The last match was 3-1 at 67', but Gazdag stayed on the whole game and Paxten came on at 90' for a striker. Why? The prior was 3-0 at 30' and Sullivan came on for Gazdag at 85'. Prior 4-0 at 47' and Aaronson for Gazdag at 75'. Prior to that, 3-1 at 53' and Gazdag off for Paxten at 86'. None of these were close. He's played Gazdag for something close to an extra game. Forget even Aaronson's development -- there was zero chance of losing points here, and if Philly has sluggish legs in a playoff game and loses, or if Gazdag or someone gets hurt in the 85' of a 6-0 blowout, it'll cost Philly big. It's somewhat inexplicable to me -- this last one was a Wednesday game!
Right, but my point was that he could've pulled guys earlier and never come close to losing a game. He's got his stars playing 85' in a 6-0 game! What did he think would happen if he pulled him earlier?!?!
I‘m usually on Curtains side here, However, giving an extra 10-15 or so in decided matches shouldn‘t be that hard. Doesn‘t have to be all of them either to be clear. No need for mass subs. McGlynn or Pax for ten more or so> Cab be done. Still, what that team is doing is impressive. It really is.
I'm absolutely convinced part of the team's success this year is due to the young guys pushing the starters. All the hype the kids are getting would motivate any pro not become complacent for a second. I can't blame Curtain at all for his lineups but when you're up 3-0, give the kids 20 meaningful minutes.
Coincidentally Curtin had a comment on this kinda in his presser today, it is about sports science but touches on rotation and why he doesn't: Jim Curtin gave a huge shoutout to the sports science & sports performance departments during his presser today. "The importance of sports science and sports performance in this league is maybe more important than what a coach can do on the field." Full quote on that: pic.twitter.com/oVvtq9hQA4— Joe Tansey (@JTansey90) September 2, 2022
This is a tight ship. When you look at what has happened with guys like Reynolds and Che it‘s hard to be too critical of these guys. I don‘t count Pepi because how do you turn that cash down? Seriously. Look at how well adjusted BA is. McKenzie had issues at Genk, but they weren‘t of his making with the transfer issues. They were sorted out and he has slotted right in on a real good team. Even Trusty cut his teeth here and has slotted right in over there, even though the Brummies are terrible. They were also more proven in MLS, a safer bet because of it, and commanded higher fees, which made those clubs more invested in them. Philly is breaking the mold of Europe as early as you can no matter what. Which is a good thing when done like this. Curtain could also throw the old Parcells line in where he said potential is what gets coaches fired. This team wins. They look impressive. Hard to argue. If folks want youth at all costs Wayne Rooney is probably the guy you want to follow right now. His team is a shambles, has nothing to lose, trying to build something, so why not? Philly. Hard to argue with any of it other than you can at least give McGlynn and Pax a bit more time. That‘s about it.
Every year I expect Bedoya to finally get old and be phased out because he cannot cover the ground defensively that Philly asks him to. I imagine he gets resigned when his contract expires this year, but I can't imagine him getting DP money again. Not sure if he gets phased out for the kids or Marco Fabian 2.0. There's also talk of Kai Wagner and Flach getting interest abroad. Good reminder that Philly has interest in selling non HGs too.
Curtin's comparison to Europe falls apart when you realize the amount of travel involved with MLS teams. Philly will travel 32k miles this year (which is on the low end for MLS teams), while most EPL teams travel 3k per year. That takes a toll on the body. I do agree with him on chemistry/cohesion- it's such an overlooked aspect of the game.
I wonder if any health experts have done a study to examine the effects of long distance travel among athletes and compare that data to athletes who travel less, and for shorter distances.
MLS teams don't train nearly as much as their Euro counterparts do. MLSPA's CBA has limits on total hours of training time allowed per week, plus rest days, German teams often train 2-3 times a day even during the season.
Pretty fun summer to be a #BabySnake…4 USMNT U20 selectionsCONCACAF U20 Golden Boot Winner AND Runner-Up@MLSNEXT Cup U17 title3 @MLSNEXT all-stars + game winner3 U17 national team call ups3 U16 national team call ups U15 wins vs RB Salzburg, Bayern Munich😳— Philadelphia Union Academy (@phlunionacademy) September 3, 2022
Really nice quality from Jack McGlynn on Uhre’s goal. Nice vision on his assist. The next gem from their academy pic.twitter.com/wUjVSksaS2— Brian Sciaretta (@BrianSciaretta) September 4, 2022
The interesting thing is Zambrano starting, I wonder if we can sign him Big afternoon for Union II:- A win keeps them in a playoff place📈- 8 first team players in the XI🚨(Freese, Sorenson, Craig, Bueno, Turner, Sullivan, Aaronson, Donovan)- Marcos Zambrano (MLS Next Cup golden boot winner) starts🔥 - only two weeks left after today👀#DOOP https://t.co/sYlCw8njWk— Tim Lovenguth (@Tim_Lovenguth) September 4, 2022
Assist for Aaronson. Donovan ties it up for @PhilaUnionII! 🎯 pic.twitter.com/r24ANgzoAo— MLS NEXT Pro (@MLSNEXTPRO) September 4, 2022
Some thoughts from the Next Pro game from the weekend. I thought Quinn Sullivan ('04) had an excellent first half. He was the best player on the field that half. He missed two goal-scoring chances that he probably should've scored, but he was creating a lot of good chances. I think a lot of people underrate his technique, creativity, passing vision, crossing, and soccer IQ. Because he happened to score more goals in the U-20 WCQ (and it's true he is more of a goal-scorer than a playmaker), he gets looked at now as some goal-poaching midfielder. I think he's a lot more complete than that. He can have some loose touches and his dribbling isn't the most fluid, but in a more age appropriate team you see the full impact. It's more difficult to make an impact getting 5 or 10 minutes off the bench in MLS. The second half he was quieter, but still a good performance. Paxten Aaronson ('03) was also pretty good in the first half. He was probably the next best player in that half after Sullivan. He was pretty active, and creating attacking chances. He also had a quieter second half. He did manage an assist off a recycled cross from a corner kick. Overall, a good performance, and you see the ability of these first team players playing for the reserves. Brandan Craig ('04) had some uneven moments, but he can't be playing at this level too much longer. He's not challenged by it. I thought his passing was a little inaccurate and he had a stretch of about 10 minutes where he was losing his positioning sense and getting too aggressive, but I think he's getting pretty close to mastering this level. Francis Westfield ('05) has done better than I thought. Hasn't stood out to me previously in the academy. Watching him a little closer in these games, he's a pretty average player in all areas, except he is a good crosser. Doubt he'll get a first team contract straight out of the academy, but maybe eventually after he plays a few years of college soccer. Anton Sorenson ('03) has looked a little better defensively of late than what I saw earlier in the season, and in prior seasons. It could just be that the level is low, and he's not that young anymore for this level, so it makes him look better than he is. However, I think next season he should be able to work his way into the first team. He has the ability going forward at LB. His defense is the question. Marcos Zambrano ('05) was off the pace. Slowed the team down with his decision-making, very few touches, didn't make runs when he should have. Not a good performance, but a learning experience, and he might need some time to adjust to this level. He hasn't played very many Next Pro games. Cole Turner ('01) surprisingly had a quiet game, but he wasn't bad.
https://www.instagram.com/tv/CiOJ43ir33H/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link Highlights from the u15 tour of Austria/Germany. These kids are ridiculous.