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We have another week of things that can be categorized into good, bad or ugly, so I did everyone a favor and put them there myself. Come along for the ride!
The Good: Ponti up
Yes, no one was thrilled with bringing in Chris Pontius. The longtime DC United member joined the Union for a rumored 400k and many Union fans were really unhappy. However, Chris Pontius has been everything we could have asked for. He's an MLS vet, surely a good presence in the locker room and the numbers are just as compelling as the intangibles. For a guy who has been given the dreaded label of "injury prone", Pontius is 8-8 in terms of starts this year. He has four goals and one assist and has shown some savvy on both sides of the ball throughout his first season with the better club on I-95.
Elsewhere, Andre Blake got called up to the Jamaican National Team again. I already touched on that here but a guy constantly getting first team minutes for his country is so validating. The U are also looking to really make the newly christened Talen Energy Stadium a fortress, picking up 10 out of a possible 12 points.
The Bad: Found It!
We've said before that the Union have depth for the first time in just about forever. However true this may be (spoiler: pretty true) there's one position that strikes me as thin by 2016 Union standards: fullbacks. Here's who we have on the Union roster this year.
- Fabinho
- Ray Gaddis
- Keegan Rosenberry
- Taylor Washington
Washington isn't ready to make an impact with the first team yet. He's looked okay to good with Bethlehem so far, but needs time to develop. That really leaves us with three full backs. We saw where that hurt us a bit last week when I would argue Ray Gaddis and Keegan Rosenberry had to play a bit more conservative knowing that two bad fouls could really impact the game negatively. Fabinho is probably the number one guy going forward, but if he is going to rack up yellows the way he has, we are going to need to have at least one more full back.
The Ugly: Oh, Ashley
Old man, former Chelsea player and part of a host of goons that the LA Galaxy brought in this year, Ashley Cole got sent off in 15 seconds.
You idiot. The guy who said he'd never join MLS because he wasn't ready to relax on a beach will now get to do just that against the Revolution on the 8th of May. Below I have compiled a list of things Ashley can do in 15 seconds:
- Create a playlist called 15 Seconds of Sadness on Spotify
- Listen to the first 15 seconds of FourFive seconds by Kanye West
- Make a sandwich
- Compile a pointless list for the sake of a bad joke
- Turn on the LA Galaxy vs New England Revolution game from the comfort of his home
GBU will be on a week long break next week because the Union have a bye, but don't fret, weeks 1-8 are available at the tips of your fingers.