I was just chatting with one of David Vazquez's former youth coaches at Total Futbol Academy in Los Angeles.He sent me this photo of Vazquez (right) on an under-12 travel squad in 2018 with Gisele Thompson (left) and Olivia Moultrie (second from left).https://t.co/3mDcveaQKM pic.twitter.com/GNT2JuOLv9— Jonathan Tannenwald (@thegoalkeeper) February 29, 2024
.@QuinnSullivan33 has had himself quite the start to 2024 🤩#DOOP | @sagehurley__ pic.twitter.com/4OxhvQoFOF— Philadelphia Union (@PhilaUnion) February 28, 2024 Climbing the Pathway!We’ve signed @phlunionacademy midfielder David Vazquez to anMLS NEXT Pro contract.👉 https://t.co/zczHDqfRWc#DOOP | @MLSNEXTPRO pic.twitter.com/5oLJDcFo5a— Philadelphia Union II (@PhilaUnionII) February 29, 2024
New month, new Puskas goal of the year candidate! 🚀#DOOP | #BabySnakes pic.twitter.com/EZ9moL2xHP— Philadelphia Union Academy (@phlunionacademy) March 2, 2024
Getting whooped by Pachuca tonight. Feels like a transition period is approaching for the Union. They have no depth, long time starters not performing up to prior standard, offers could be coming for McGlynn/Sullivan. Interesting times ahead.
Their defenders fell apart this season. I'm not sure why, but their CB pairing is not playing well after years of being the best in MLS.
I didn't watch the game but Glesnes has been a total train wreck to start the season. But losing 6-0 is a "team effort". Yikes. How embarrassing. I always feel like the MLS Teams are at a huge disadvantage in the CC.... basically playing the early games in their preseason. But 6-0? Just awful.
At least in the twitterverse (which I agree is an alternate universe).....................there's seemingly anger within the Philly fanbase that they didn't significantly upgrade the squad in the off-season. Philly's club record transfer is still only ~$2.7 million, and the fans know it. You look at their transfer dealings and it's all trying to find gems out of bargains. This is one of the real problems FCD had when they really tried to build with academy players. There's a segment of the fanbase that just didn't care about that at all. They want to WIN. They DO NOT CARE about developing the Aaronson brothers and selling them off. They do not care about developing Quinn Sullivan and then selling him. That to them seems like the owners just trying to cash in. [Also.......................MLS teams lose games in Mexico. Folks think the gap has closed more than it has. Its closing, but the top Liga MX clubs still spend a helluva lot more on players than the Union do. I'm not surprised Philly lost. The manner of the loss was a little surprising.]
Yeah, there's a lot of handwringing here, but people are acting like Seattle didn't win one of these, LAFC wasn't in the Final last year and rolled a bunch of Mexican teams. It's early in the season, Philly (and Orlando) are struggling, and it's a road in Mexico. It's a bad loss but trying to project bigger things from it is silly.
Sure. But LAFC didn't roll a bunch of Liga MX teams last year. They made the final without playing a LIga MX team, and then lost to the first one they encountered. Liga MX eliminates a lot of MLS competition every year. But most years we still have at least one team make it thru the gauntlet. Wer're still guaranteed two have to MLS teams in the quarterfinals. It could be Columbus and Miami. Two that can do damage.
I think there are two distinct takes from this situation. One about the youth and one without the youth. One take is that, it's been a good start of the year for McGlynn and Sullivan!!! I think they have started (almost?) every game so far, and have gone 90 (or near 90) for all of them as well! They have played well (Sullivan better than McGlynn) and this is going to be a big year for them. For the team as a whole, I just think the identity is a bit stale and tired. Remember, these are pretty much the same players that gave us that insane 2022 season. Cheapo owner and all. So while I understand it's always easy to look at money numbers and claim that's the problem, I've been around sports long enough to know that's never the only reality. It's very, very, very easy for fans to remove all nuance and think that increasing the money spent is some sort of simple solution. But I have seen enough terrible Toronto FC teams, or Andrew Bynum contracts or Vince young "dream teams" to know it's more complicated than that. Glesnes and Elliot were always going to fall off at some point. Lowe, I think is overrated. I think his elite MLS athleticism covers for all his mental mistakes and makes him look better than he is. Gazdag has always been mostly invisible in possession, and it's more obvious now that he is not getting transitions opportunities or PKs to score on. Uhre looked good early but he never hit that next level we needed him to. Carranza is a great finisher and hold up player, but he is gone soon. And to be honest, I think his first touch and decision making is bad most of the time and I am interested to see how he does in a better league. We do need better players, and that includes spending more money on them, but a big part of the problem is that at some point great players are capable of coming back down to earth too.
I care more about the USMNT than I do about the Philadelphia Union, so I am very thankful for the Union's commitment of resources to their academy. I'm in agreement with you that what the Union have been trying to do is a wonderful and important benefit to the USMNT program. However, let's take one of the world's most famous and successful youth academies as an example here: Ajax. At any one time, part of their squad is always dependent upon players who graduated from their academy. And yet, they still spend many millions of Euros each season to bring in players of various nationalities from diverse leagues in order to fill out a first team squad who can compete with the best in their league. Now, Ajax's academy produces first team quality players at a higher rate than the Union's academy (they've been doing this for a lot longer); but, even so, the club still spends more than the Union ownership could ever dream of on upgrading their first team and filling out a roster that can compete for trophies in multiple competitions. In this way, Ajax remains a big, competitive club in the Netherlands, and the Dutch National Team benefits from Ajax's high-end development of young Dutch players. My point is this: what Union supporters want is not at odds with the interests of the USMNT. It is not an either-or situation. It is a both-and situation. The Philadelphia Union is not a developmental program for US Soccer; they are a franchise whose main purpose should be to compete for trophies. And since the Union have thus far produced first-team serviceable players at a slower rate than the European example I just made the comparison to, surely the Union could transfer in at least as much (from a numbers standpoint, not financial) outside first-team ready talent as Ajax without sacrificing young products who go on to help the national team. When those players emerge, they will certainly play. But, in the meantime, trying to win shiny things should dictate how to build a roster. The Union's biggest issue is the financial constraints on what the ownership are able/willing to spend, and I think devoted Union fans have the right to voice their frustrations about it without it being in ignorance of the developmental goals of young players.
Was it two or three years ago? Their other finals appearance, they went through a number of them IIRC.
For starters, Pachucha is just better than Philadelphia. In fact they are the LigaMX equivalent to Philly in Philosophy. With onew BIG difference. They went out and spent $$$ on difference makers (Rondon, Idrissi) to augment their young talented young players. IMO Glesnes' injury late last season was much worse then what was reported, and he's still not 100% after surgery. Jack Elliott has always been the weaker member of the Union's back line. He hasn't been the same since Bale dunked on him in the closing moments of the 2022 Final. Lowe is an improvement over Elliott, at least his athleticism allows him to recover from his mistakes. The bigger issue is that don't really have any CB's after those three, and that's a problem. Not signing Lund *signed with Palermo) forced their hand to re-sign Wagner. Which in turn hurt the Union's ability budget wise to go out and sign more players. Carranza has the talent to be an elite level striker in MLS, he just too inconsistent finishing wise. His workrate, pressing, and hold up play are elite level in MLS, and are what Euro teams are salivating over. His camp (agent and himself) turning down transfers has been a double edged sword. OTOH, the Union benefit from having Carranza on the team (their attack is not even close to the same without him), That said, the lack of funds from selling him hurts the Union's ability to adequately replace him. Gazdag is never going to be confused with Borek Dockel. He's never going to have high [possession numbers. He's not that type of 10. His pressing, and defensive workrate are elite level for MLS. He does need to have better end product and get back closer to his 2022 numbers. For what the Union outlayed for Uhre, they need more from him, period. One problem is that he needs Carranza/a hold-up player like him in order to be effective. They went out and got Tai Baribo, but he hasn't settled yet. He's been dealing with injuries this pre-season, and after joining Philly late last summer his homeland was attacked and then went to war (Israel). Sullivan and McGlynn have taken a big step forward..Both in different ways. The move back to midfield suits Sullivan's skillset much better. Nathan Harriel has quietly had a great start to the 2024 campaign as well, and often gets overlooked. The Union are a team that's much better then the sum of it's parts. That said, they can often overcome 1 maybe two players have subpar days at the office. They absolutely cannot overcome 5-6 players shitting bed at the same time like last night. I'd argue most if not all MLS teams are in the same boat (latter scenario). The big issues in regards to depth are at CB, Gazdag's backup, and forward. They should have Leon Flach back soon, who's recovering from injury. He'll give the Union some more tactical flexibility. From a pure defensive standpoint he's been close to elite level for MLS midfielders, and he's still just 23. He had a huge role/hand in the Union's defensive prowess in 2022. The Union definitely need to freshen the team up going forward.
Technically, yes. However, the reason he was loaned out is because the coach didn't think he could help.
So they were supposed to leave him on the bench, and get minutes in Next Pro? Kid needs to play, and he hasn't shown to the coaches that he's better then the three top CB's on the roster currently, or the young teenager from South Africa that they signed last summer. Craig also couldn't get playing time during his loan to Austin FC last season either, so Curtin isn't the only MLS head coach that feels Craig isn't ready for MLS level yet.
It's just hindsight. At some point Craig and the team need to make the best decision possible based on the information they had. His development is critical and no one would have reasonably assumed all three of the Unions CB's would shit the bed to start the season. Its like what happened to Freese. The year he was traded Blake goes down and we need to rely on Bendik for WAY too many games. Same thing this year, Blake already missed some games + international duty. But players can't really wait around and hope for breaks like this, they need to put themselves in a position to control their own destiny. And from what I saw Craig already went 90 in his first game, so he is in a position to play well and really show his talents.
Right, and I don't disagree. I just think at some point MLS teams (all of them because this is a problem everywhere) need to realize when they have an MLS-ready academy player who can contribute. That's like the easiest and cheapest way to find a good player for your roster. The Union are seeing that this season with McGlynn and Sullivan. Almost none of these players fail to make an eventual impact. That's because the bar is just very low. MLS is not one of the best leagues in the world. As long as they hold up their end of the bargain off the field and don't get unlucky with injuries or something like that, the majority of top level American players in an age group are going to end up MLS caliber in their late teenage years or early 20's. Almost without fail. While we're at it, a guy like CJ Olney is another player who should be thrown into the mix. There are all these complaints about the building of this roster and how it's stale and they need an infusion of talent, and you have the most accomplished player around the country in his age group in MLSNP last season who is available and signed. It seems like a market inefficiency to keep him in MLSNP. He's not 15 years old. He turns 18 later this year.
I agree with that. The thing with Curtin is that he is a players first coach and super super loyal to his players. I have 0 doubt he is going to give our CBs (plus Gazdag...) many, many, many games to work out of their slump. So things could get a lot worse before they get better. And good call on Olney. I want to see him rotate for Gazdag a few times. He performed well in NP last year and looked good in pre-season. I hope we see him before September!
Curtain is like most coaches. They have their guys, and they value experience and age. They are always win now. Sometimes that's right. Sometimes it isn't. I think what is frustrating about Curtain is that he seems very slow on switching over even when it is clear. I know some of the fans and prospect guys are mad when a coach doesn't give developmental minutes, but the really big problem is when the young player is just straight better and isn't getting PT because of the coach is risk averse.
Cavan Sullivan takes the field for the first time with the Philadelphia Union’s reserve team, @PhilaUnionII, in @MLSNEXTPRO:#doop pic.twitter.com/4DSRyEMYMQ— Jonathan Tannenwald (@thegoalkeeper) March 24, 2024 Kellan LeBlanc and Diego Rocio are in for their first ever professional minutes ✅ pic.twitter.com/eP6KIrf3Oa— Youth Soccer Central (@yscentral) March 24, 2024
Deja vu, another Sunday afternoon win courtesy of Sal Olivas's first professional goal!#DOOP | @MLSNEXTPRO pic.twitter.com/GsslBIT93Q— Philadelphia Union II (@PhilaUnionII) March 24, 2024 Sullivan game winning assist The touch of an assist, the finesse finish 📷Sullivan connects with Olivas to put us ahead 2-1 late!#DOOP | @MLSNEXTPRO pic.twitter.com/1Ya3FUNFqU— Philadelphia Union II (@PhilaUnionII) March 24, 2024 Good weekend for the Sullivan family... A great weekend for the 🇺🇸 Sullivan brothers! 🤝🇺🇸 Quinn (19) scored for @PhilaUnion in a big 3-1 away win in Portland.🇺🇸 Cavan (14) made his debut for @PhilaUnionII & assisted a go-ahead goal!That’s got to be some very proud parents. 🤩 pic.twitter.com/GnlYQLrFOh— Football Wonderkids (@fbwonderkids) March 24, 2024