Photo: Earl Gardner
Preseason has started! I’m excited about this development, mostly because the 2015 Philadelphia Union are beginning to take shape, more than just an idea or a list of guys on paper. Now that list of guys is out, in the flesh, kicking balls around the YSC practice pitches.
First, one caveat with that list of guys. After day 1 of training camp, one thing is apparent: Jim Curtin remains insistent that the Union are not done making moves this offseason. I’m inclined to give him the benefit of the doubt, even though that’s the same thing the townspeople said repeatedly about the boy who cried wolf.
That, though, shouldn’t stop us from starting to analyze the sixth edition of the Union. So, with the roster necessarily viewed as “incomplete,” let’s take a look at the three areas where the competition for places on the depth chart is likely to be the hottest this summer.
1. Fullback
The Union have a lot of square pegs for these two round holes. They have a long-time starter at right back whose form was erratic at best last year. Last season’s first-choice left back doesn’t have a left foot. They drafted a guy with a left foot in the fourth round of the SuperDraft, where usually the best you can find are random, soccer-player-shaped scraps. And they’re using an international spot on a left-footed “left back” who can’t actually play soccer.
Yes, the situation is a bit messy along the flanks. You have to think that Sheanon Williams and Ray Gaddis are the favorites to hold onto their starting spots. Curtin and the team, though, have been fawning in their praise of Gaddis, and it’s not unthinkable that he could displace Williams. What to do, then, at left back? One option is Raymond Lee, the Union’s last draft pick. I know literally nothing about this guy other than that he’s left-footed; only time will tell whether he turns out to be more like Gaddis or more like Don Anding.
And that just leaves Fabinho. Friends, I come not to bury Fabinho, but to fire him into the sun. It remains utterly baffling that the Union’s technical staff were snookered into protecting the Brazilian sensation in the expansion draft, ultimately costing the team Pedro Ribeiro. (Seriously, fellas, if anyone in the league honestly offered you anything for Fabinho, you should have taken it.) We’ve written plenty about him over the years, so I won’t belabor the point, other than to say that it remains to be seen what he will contribute to the team this year. The goal, theoretically, would be to win the left back spot; he might have to settle for merely remaining Earth-bound.
2. Center back
This position is probably the most in-flux spot on the roster. Entering the off-season, it looked like the Union had an outstanding starting duo in Carlos Valdes and Maurice Edu. Now, it looks like Valdes may return to South America and Edu may be forced into the Amobi-Okugo-shaped hole in central midfield.
It remains to be seen, of course, who Curtin brings in or ships out. Priority number one, though, is picking a long-term position for Maurice Edu. It’s fine if Edu makes the occasional spot-start at an irregular position, but the Union will be better served by sticking him at CB or CDM and sticking to it. It’s a necessity if defensive cohesion is going to develop.
That leaves one or two starting spots and a number of reserve roles up for grabs. Ethan White, a Curtin favorite, is in the pole position, but I’d expect him to be pushed by Austin Berry in his hopes to recover from a season from hell. Richie Marquez, who spent a sterling season at center back for Harrisburg, will also be looking to state his case for playing time. It’s also possible that the Union will bring in someone entirely new and throw the whole position into turmoil again.
Jim Curtin has said the Union will try to win a lot of 1-0 games. The first part of that plan is solidifying the back four.
3. Backup striker
Everybody loves goals. (Except goalkeepers, but they’re a notoriously strange breed.) The Union enter camp without the major signing promised at this position, so far only bringing in C.J. Sapong to lead the line.
Whether that signing comes through or not, there are still plenty of minutes to be had — and plenty of competition for them. Conor Casey will return in, presumably, a greatly reduced role, as “end-of-game battering ram” seems to be a better fit for his declining endurance. Also returning are Aaron Wheeler and Antoine Hoppenot, both Hackworth guys out to prove that they have a future in MLS.
More intriguing are two new additions. The Union’s top draft choice, Dzenan Catic, has an interesting history and a ridiculous goal-scoring record, admittedly at the NAIA level. He seems to have the build and poise of someone who could do some damage in MLS. If nothing else, he has an unpronounceable name which could make him an instant fan favorite.
On trial with the Union is a Venezuelan forward, Hermes Palomino. I know nothing about Palomino, and neither do you. Will he become a valuable contributor to the Union? Or is he an entirely fictitious player, a Gilberto for the year 2015? I have no earthly idea, and that’s interesting of itself.
Preseason may be just one day old, but within a few weeks we should have some idea of how these battles are sorting themselves out.
Other than the fact that….nah, I see no reason to be optimistic. Well maybe….. nah. Of course it could be that….. nah still got nothing. I see a bit of quality and a roster full of bench players and a coach already telling me we’re mid table looking for a lucky punch.
.
Rocky never once looked for a lucky punch. NEVER.
Nope. Rocky looked to absorb your best punch and then return the favor.
So Rocky boxed on the counter? Sounds like the Union.
touche.
Really silly to write this article before all of the club’s signings ‘ at the finish line ‘ are completed. It’s going to have to be completely revised next week.
(sarcasm, in case there was any question)
Will the article need revision in light of future developments? Of course. A coach running a team rewrites that article everyday after practice. It is none the less what all of us “nuts” wish we could do every day, go to practice watch, and write the day’s version of the evaluation.
Based on the current roster sans Carlos, here is my proposed lineup to start the season:
.
Mbolhi, Williams, White, Berry (hoping last season was an abberation), Gaddis, Maidana, Edu, Noguera, Wenger, Le Toux, Sapong.
.
Not great but not horrible. Biggest problem is that except for being able to bring in Conor Casey, there really isn’t any depth.
So right now, our current lineup is the same as last year’s, but downgrading from Okugo to Berry and hoping that Sapong can replicate what Casey did last year even though he’s never scored at the pace Casey did last year. And that team didn’t make the playoffs. And we have less depth.
.
They better follow through on their promise of more players, because this is simply unacceptable.
…and we’ll be doing it up against the likes of Kaka, Villa/Lampard, Bradley/Giovinco/Altidore…
I think both Pfeffer and McLaughlin are interesting depth pieces this year. Are they ready to contribute? Are they overrated? I think this has to be the year we find out about both of them.
.
Also, you mention that you hope last year was an aberration for Berry. Me? I’m hoping last year wasn’t an aberration for White. I think that would be the bigger problem at CB.
We’re in trouble.
Pronounce the draft pick from Davenport as though it were spelled “Jenan Katich.” We Anglos don’t normally see “dz” together and are not used to the Slavic language family’s different usages of the Latin alphabet symbol “c.” In the same manner English has symbols and sounds unfamiliar to them, e. g., the sound represented by the letter “h” in English.
beautiful.
Can we call him Dizzy?
Thanks! I was wondering how to pronounce his name. I figuered the ic at the end was pronounced “ich” just from watching slavic national teams, but the “Dz” had me baffled.
Montreal making moves. Toronto making moves, Revolution making moves(made big signing last season by going after Jermaine Jones), NYCFC expansion making moves, NYRB financially competitive, DC United making moves(possible moves with inter-milan), Orlando City expansion making moves also 2 of Unions most promising young players. Philadelphia Union?????????. Say what you will about TFC and Montreal but they continue to make moves that make them a constant threat giving their fan base something to hope for and get excited about. What I see with the MLS is a trend that doesn’t bode well for the Union moving forward. I see half of the Union roster (a lot of them with MLS experience) not even worthy of being on an MLS roster let alone a starting 11. All we’ve heard for months is that the Union is in the middle of searching for and signing players. Training camp has started. We need financially competitive ownership!
NYRB financial competitiveness really depends on the outcome of http://www.ebay.com/itm/-/281578718898
Honestly the Red Bulls implosion is the only thing getting me through the off-season.
NYRB “financially competitive” when they’re shedding salary left and right?! The Austrians make Sugarman look like George Steinbrenner by comparison.
They still bring in talent. They also just made a trade with Montreal. And yes they are still very financially competitive. The Union aren’t even in real financial conversations with regards to talent. We hear more about what they can’t do instead of what they can, which to date hasn’t been much. The point I made is in total and not parsed to distract from Union issues.
I hate the Pink Cows and love seeing them struggle, but they are still making moves.
They are going to get SK
Yeah, they are.
So pre-season has started? I must have missed that! LOL
Union, Colorado, and Dan Jose. Only teams not really make any moves so far. Not a group I want to be in
+1
San Jose and Colorado can take comfort in the fact that they have won the league. We wish that we could be in that group.
Official: Pink Cows have signed Sacha. So much for that one