Know Your Enemy: Philadelphia Union
While the Men in Red prepare for Sunday evening’s match against the U, On the Fire is proud to bring you this week’s installment of “Know Your Enemy” direct from our Man in Philly, co-editor and contributing writer Mr. Stephen Mangat. Here’s the intelligence from Zololand…
So the Philadelphia Union have certainly had an interesting season thus far and while they’re poised for a late season run at a playoff spot, the last few games haven’t been very encouraging. Simply put, they’re winning games though they barely (if at all) deserve to do so and they’re losing games that they could have easily drawn (with better finishing). That said, they’ve been strong at home post-Nowak, so Chicago will need to play well if they want to leave with anything. Onto the in-depth analysis!
Analysis, Hoooooo!
What to Expect from the Union
A 4-3-3 that’s narrow in the midfield and space given for the outside backs to get forward.
Up top the Union have Jack McInerney in the middle with Freddy Adu and Lionard Pajoy on the outsides. McInerney will be out due to red card, so expect speedy supersub Antoine Hoppenot to take his place. Pajoy has size and is a good pro. He won’t win games on his own, but he doesn’t suck. McInerny and Hoppenot are quick and look to get behind the defenders with well-timed runs that are often unrewarded. Adu looks to get the ball at his feet and give it to the other team either through poor passing or dribbling into double teams. The three up top allow Philly to press the opposing defenders and it makes it tough to build out of the back against the Union.
Midfield normally features a passer/playmaker (Michael Farfan), a tackler (Brian Carroll) and either a guy who can shuttle the ball up and down the field (Michael Lahoud, Keon Daniel) or an all-arounder (Gabriel Gomez). Since the midfielders play narrowly, this gives Philly a numbers-up situation in the center of the park. Unfortunately, they play a bit too slowly to really take advantage, but this system is relatively new so maybe they’ll pick up the pace soon. Sunday may be different since Amobi Okugo, who has been the stand-in center back, may be moved forward with the debut of Bakary Soumare (see below). Okugo could replace Carrol or be the third guy. Regardless of who plays, this group does create chances even if they play a bit too slowly. Basically, they play nice combos sometimes and get the ball wide well while using numerical superiority to maintain possession. They also play a bit slowly and too conservatively for my taste.
Defensively Philly is pretty orthodox with a flat four. In possession, they get the back wide and forward and it’s really one of the team’s strengths. If Soumare plays as well as he did for Chicago, Philly has four top-tier MLS defenders (Gabe Farfan, Carlos Valdes and Sheanon Williams are the other 3). Their weakness is size, which is compounded by a goalie who is a spaz at crosses.
Goalie Zach MacMath was a high draft pick that did well last year as a rookie when he started about a half dozen games straight (first choice keeper was injured). This year he was named the #1 and he’s been pretty poor. He’s probably been at fault for about 10 goals this year, with a few of those being really bad ones. He doesn’t inspire confidence and he’s horrible on corners. Chicago could win this game on corners and crossed set-pieces alone.
Union Players to Watch
Michael and Gabriel Farfan – Twin brothers (known as Marfan and Garfan) are both excellent technically and are growing into top quality MLS players. Garfan plays left back even though he’s really a midfielder (you’ll see him high up the field when Philly is in possession) while Marfan is in the central midfield as a playmaker. When these two play well and Marfan can dictate the game, Philly are a playoff-worthy team. Both should get a look from Jurgie Klinsmann when they do the MLS-players-only USMNT camps.
“Fill my eyes with that double vision.”
Sheanon Williams – A great athlete at right back who should be on the USMNT radar. Gets forward well, has a great motor, can beat players off the dribble and has a bomb of a throw-in.
Carlos Valdes – The Colombian is a class defender and one of the best in the league. He may miss the game due to international commitment. Cousin of Juan.
Bakary Soumare – The former Fire stalwart is back in the MLS with the Union and while he has yet to play (recovering from an injury), he’s apparently now fit. His size will provide something Philly lacks and his pedigree is good. Unsure if he’ll play on Sunday.
Union Players to Ignore
Freddy Adu – While Adu still has some admirers, they can’t have seen his play for the Union. To put it simply, Adu sucks. He over-elaborates, holds onto the ball for too long, needlessly gives the ball away and takes poor set pieces. To make matters worse, he has an unshakeable self-confidence, so he keeps trying to be a match-winner when just being a solid pro would be enough. He has shown flashes of excellence and he will probably show one (maybe two, if we’re lucky) on Sunday, but he’ll mostly be anonymous or gifting the ball to the Fire.
Zack MacMath – The second-year goalie is unreliable. For every good thing he does, he does one bad one. He’s a good shot stopper, but he gives up dangerous rebounds, distributes the ball inconsistently, and is useless on crosses. Don’t even ask about corner kicks, he just kinda runs around the six yard box. I kid you not.
Union Strengths
System – Hackworth has the team playing the 4-3-3 and it has certainly helped. It also looks like the players know what their respective roles are and it shows.
Defense – Four quality players even if Okugo is out of position (he’s really a midfielder). They all have good skills and instincts and they get forward well.
Home – Philly gets good results at home and PPL Park should be loud on Sunday.
Union Weaknesses
Goalie – MacMath in goal is very shaky, particularly on corners. Segares, Berry and MacDonald will get some chances with good service.
Poor finishing – Philly also is wasteful with their chances. They need a goalscorer, but I suppose you could say that about a lot of teams.
Size – The Union are a small team and while they’re tough and it normally isn’t an issue, they are at risk of being out muscled. When they played the Red Bulls away, this happened all through the first half. NYRB just pushed them around.
Prediction
- Can Philly defend Chicago crosses, corners and set pieces?
- Will Chicago’s outside midfielders stick with the Philly backs?
- Will Philly’s midfielders play the ball fast and direct enough?
- Will Philly finish their chances?
I think the answers to the above will be barely good enough, not really, no, no. This game ends 1-1. Thanks to the Scott for giving me this space and check back on Monday for a review of the game.
OTF Soccer 