FanPost

Assessing Preseason Thus Far

John Geliebter-USA TODAY Sports

After losses in Florida to two NASL teams (Tampa Bay Rowdies and Jacksonville Armada), the Philadelphia Union look to be a little shaky. Watching them play on par with the Armada was very concerning to me as a fan. If I was going to have to describe it in one word, I would say it was sloppy. The Union made poor tackles and even poorer passes. I know it's only preseason and does not matter for the eight month season ahead, but the Union played dreadfully for what we expect of them. Who stood out for the Union? What is going wrong? What still needs to be done as far as transfers go?

Who stood out?

I was impressed by watching young Dzenan Catic. The young striker has impressed me in the 30 minutes I've seen him play. He always seemed to be in good space and seems to know his way around the pitch. He could be vital off the bench for the upcoming season, but I would not pin him as the forward for the Union.

Another great player to watch progress from last season until now has to be Ethan White. Ethan gave it his all in the streamed game against the Armada, and while not always having the best passes, he made a great effort to make better tackles than the rest of the team. Assuming we do not push Sheanon Williams to center back, White will likely be in the starting center back position along with newcomer Steven Vitoria. He's progressed a lot since last season and I look forward to seeing his continued development throughout the remainder of preseason.

The last player that really stood out the most to me has to be Andrew Wenger. Wenger netted the lone Union goal in the 2-1 loss to the Armada, but looked strong none the less. Wenger created most, if not all of the Union's big chances while he was on the field and looked to be the only player ready to play. Wenger will be a very important part of the Union's offense this season and seeing him create chances and score early on is very encouraging to see out of such a young player.

What is going wrong?

Right now, the Union look like a big hot mess. The defense lacked in the Armada game, and the Union let them dribble all around them while failing to clear the ball out of their own end. They made poor tackles which cost a PK in both the Armada and Rowdies games. The midfield is trying to force passes that will not make it, or will try to make fancy flick passes that are going straight to opponents. As for the forwards, they're not getting the ball and when they do, they're getting in an awkward position where they cannot hope to score. All of these are simple fixes. With Steven Vitoria coming in, he will add veteran experience to the young back line while giving Maurice Edu the ability to play up and control the midfield with Vincent Nogueira. Once the defense settles down a little bit, they will play better than they currently are. It will also help to get the starting keeper back from Algeria. As for the midfield, the young players are trying to show off with trick passes and cute flicks, but right now, this is preseason. They should instead try to make simple passes without being fancy. They need to calm down and mesh well together before making the impressive passes. Once this happens, they will mesh with the strikers and defense as well, meaning the midfield will get back to help clear the ball, and on offense, give the ball in a good position so the strikers can have a clear shot at goal and not trying to control an out of control pass.

What Transfers still need to occur?

If I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times. The Union need to sign a true striker. Granted, CJ Sapong has not had a lot of time to score for the Union, but they will need a proven goal scorer to lead the team to the playoffs. If you want a comparison, the Union needs another Carlos Ruiz from the 2011 season, only this time, someone who will want to stay at the club. In 15 appearances Ruiz scored 7 goals, but he scored exciting goals when they mattered. I don't think the Union should sign him, but if they were to sign a striker with his abilities and get the rest of their house in order, they would be golden for the season. Aside from a striker purchase, the Union do not need to make any other changes. Once the team is comfortable playing with each other, goals and wins will come.

Something that did give me hope so far this preseason is that the Union played almost exactly what their starting lineup would be for the 2015 season against the Rowdies for the first half of the game. In that first half, the Union gave the Rowdies nothing on offense. They didn't score, but they didn't concede either. The starting defense has already started to take shape around Vitoria and the midfield is starting to play defensively thanks to Edu. Goals will come from current starter CJ Sapong when he is comfortable being the lone striker up top in Jim Curtain's 4-2-3-1. This will be a big year for the Union, they just need to work out the kinks in preseason and be ready to go by the start of the 2015 campaign.

Trending Discussions