Discussion: Third place or fourth?

It sure is nice not talking about next season yet isn’t it?

This time last year, the Union were cooked and the conversation was around what went wrong, whether Jim Curtin should be brought back and what the Union needed to do in the offseason to be competitive next season.

With the Philadelphia Union now fighting for a home playoff game after clinching a spot in the postseason with a dominant win over Minnesota United their last time out, the question is whether third or fourth place would be preferred.

If they beat both teams with New York in their name in their final two games, their reward will be third place and a likely visit from D.C. United.

If they are unable to beat NYCFC in the season finale at Yankee Stadium, they’re looking at fourth place and a home game against Columbus Crew. That is if the Crew or D.C. United, which have three games left, don’t pass them in the standings.

A third scenario would be Montreal Impact snatching sixth place from D.C. United.

While a home game is a priority, which scenario do you prefer for the playoffs for the blue and gold? Playing a D.C. United team that last lost a game on August 29th (against the Union) or a Crew team that’s only won twice in their last eight games? What about Montreal Impact, which beat the Union pretty handily not too long ago in Chester?

The obvious answer would be Crew but they’ve also played better than D.C. has on the road this season so maybe it’s not so straight forward. And maybe rooting against the Union to slip up in their last two games isn’t the best strategy?

Let us know your thoughts in the comments.