Assist from Flach. 👻 Kacper's 12th of the year! #DOOP | #NYCvPHI 0 - 1 https://t.co/u7wLRMm1qr— Philadelphia Union (@PhilaUnion) November 7, 2021
Flach finishes with some pretty good pressing stats for a 20 year old new signing that no one expected much from: #DOOP stats:Leon Flach: 713 pressures (2nd in MLS)238 successful pressures (1st)62 blocks (10th) Jamiro Monteiro: 596 pressures (15th)Kai Wagner68 blocks (6th)75 interceptions (11th)Jack Elliott: 58 blocks (13th)79 interceptions (6th)204 clearances (2nd)— Joe Tansey (@JTansey90) November 8, 2021 He has some offensive holes to fix, but worse case is he is an excellent pressing 8 who at the very least could be the replacement for Bedoya for a long time.
A really nice season for Philly to finish 2nd in the East. [The parity in the East outside of New England is crazy. They finished 2nd, but also only 8 points from 10th!] It'll be interesting to see how this young group plays in the playoffs. Inexperience..............but also no fear.
Good point. I have mentioned earlier that next year could be Philly's year but the way their young players have developed they can easily be dark horses for MLS cup this year. I have said and still believe that the key to taking advantage of a good developmental program in MLS is to maintain a quality team that is poised to take advantage of a small 1-2 yr window when the players mature. Next year, Sullivan, Aaronson and McGlynn will be ready to step up (hopefully) but last year, Aiden Morris showed what can happen during the playoffs when a young player matures during the season. Last year, Morris got 360 min during the regular season; most of them near the end of the season heading into the playoffs. When the playoffs came, he proved to be one of the key players and as well as Zelarayan played, Morris was a key part. We all know that young players tend to improve more and at a faster rate than older players, so a team that plays kids during the season can really reap the rewards if all goes right during the playoffs. Has Philly done it right? Will the trio of McGlynn, Sullivan and Aaronson be the keys this year? It sure looks like Philly has done it right. Whether or not the kids have advanced far enough to be the difference this year remains to be seen but consider the following: Aiden Morris (weird pandemic 2020 year): first part of season incl MLS is back 36 minutes, than a big section of the season with no minutess until 9/23-11/8, 323 minutes for a total of 359 minutes. McGlynn: Ap16-Aug4 232 min, Aug7-Nov7 401 min; total=633 min Aaronson: Ap16-Aug4 18 min, Aug7-Nov7 573 min; total=591 min Sullivan: Ap16-Aug4 159 min, Aug7- Nov7 370 min; total=529 min We'll see if the timing is right but Philly has done their part and the kids have noticeably improved.
One more thing, so you don't have to do the math: Aug7-Nov7 represents approx 40-45% of the season. That translates to a rate that would give 890-1000min, 1270-1430min and 820-925min respectively. By the end of the season all three kids were seeing a lot of time. The year end totals of 633, 591 and 529, by themselves, don't really do a good job of representing the actual development curve.
https://theathletic.com/2949381/202...started-flying-with-union-salzburg-and-usmnt/ These photos of Brenden Aaronson with the Philadelphia Union academy look ridiculous... reminds me of those Youtube videos of Hassan "little Messi" Ayari when he was 7...
Paxten Aaronson vs Brazil U20 pic.twitter.com/htTUGRYz4L— Kranks (@dis_possessed) November 11, 2021 Jack McGlynn vs Brazil U20 pic.twitter.com/UiKl69WTpL— Kranks (@dis_possessed) November 11, 2021
15-year-old Enes Sali becomes the youngest European player ever to play in a competitive international game! 🇷🇴#WCQ https://t.co/1iTU5vGXl7 pic.twitter.com/C6Xi4Qi66L— Football Report (@FootballReprt) November 14, 2021 We are falling behind call up Cavan Sullivan to the USMNT you cowards on a serious note it's so wholesome that Quinn Sullivan makes highlight videos of his little brother
⚡Ready to rep Philly⚡Greg Ranjitsingh, Brandan Craig, and Anton Sorenson have been added to our roster ahead of tomorrow's match.📝👉https://t.co/txVnSrmLri pic.twitter.com/493ZxDEmgI— Philadelphia Union (@PhilaUnion) December 4, 2021
Please...................................I'd love Philly to pull this out of their asses. They still have enough quality to give NYCFC a game. I don't know if I can stomach Portland versus NYCFC.
Congrats to Philly. They were dealt a really tough hand and almost pulled it off. I was rooting for them because of their heart. NYFC does have three US youth so much better than Portland but Philly winning would have been a real plus for the HG built teams.
Somewhat agree, but I think a Philly win would have just highlighted how down MLS is this year. I am hoping for significant investment in players across the league before next season (not so much from Philly as they clearly have their identity that is working for them and will be able to rely much more heavily on the guys that they have been developing this year).
I think Philly putting up as much of a show as they did and coming as close as they came was a huge plus as it is. 11 guys out due to covid....I don't think anyone would have blamed them if they lost 5-0 but not only did they have the integrity to come out and play with their kids, they showed that they COULD come out and play with their kids. I know it wasn't just the kids, but the fact that they had the depth and quality based largely upon quality development speaks volumes to any club that is willing to listen. I would bet that it will help move the needle at least a little, and every little nudge is progress. Hats off to Philadelphia. Now, lets hope Portland loses.
Agreed. And yes, always root for the team with more prospective USMNT players. Portland will probably always be one of the teams with the fewest USMNT prospects.
Although, Portland is going to have an MLS Next Pro team next year, so they almost have to start trying.
nothing is forever... I expect that at some point Portland will go from nothing to at least something.
Some look at Jack De Vries, 7 goals in 8 games for the Venzie U19s and rumored to possibly get a look in the first team soon?: A look at Jack de Vries' goals for Venezia U19's at the weekend -- he's someone that could soon be with the first team per @MLSTransfers 👀 pic.twitter.com/tudi4BVlg6— USMNT Only (@usmntonly) December 6, 2021
Portland only has 8 USMNT-eligible players of their entire roster, and 4 of them are their goalkeepers. To be fair, Eryk Williamson would have been a key player if he didn't have the season-ending injury. But that's just one guy.
I think it'll be interesting to see if Philly is able to retain all of their young players for next season. That's been an issue for FCD. They keep selling their young guys because there's so much interest. Justin Che and Ricardo Pepi will be gone this off-season. Sealy is out on loan at PSV with an option to buy. In fact, the posters on this board demand that FCD sell them. So will Philly be able to retain Paxten Aaronson and Jack McGlynn in particular?Both eligible to move this window. They're 2003s just like Pepi, Che, and Sealy. It'll be interesting to see if they can enter next season intact.
I think Philly has done a better and more coherent job on explaining what they are doing and want from their HG's. Come in a sign when 15,16,17, work your way up to a starter and get real minutes and make yourself a force and then we move you on. FCD is all over on this and explains why their HG's sign, don't sign, leave before they become and MLS force or after etc. FCD needs to copy what Philly has done here. Occasionally a kid will get such a great offer that the need to sell is before you want but a proven path that makes the kid more valuable while helping him at the same time is the better plan.