I recently interviewed Philly.com writer/producer Jonathan Tannenwald to talk about the Philadelphia Union and preview Wednesday's match. You can read Jonathan's soccer blog, The Goalkeeper, at http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/thegoalkeeper/. Below are excerpts from the interview.
On Philadelphia's season
"It's been disappointing and I don't think there's anyway around that. They made the playoffs last year. The expectation was that, as a lot of people would expect, you do better the next year. They went backwards pretty badly."
"They struggled early in the season and that really ended up digging a hole that was too big for them to get out of. I wrote on my blog, yesterday, that last year March through May they played 11 games and got six wins and two draws. This year, March through May in 11 games, they got one win and two draws. That's 15 points off the board early in the season and its hard to make a charge from behind when you're stuck in a situation like that."
On Philadelphia's play since changing managers
"They started to make the transition before Piotr Nowak was fired but they really embraced it under Hackworth. I don't think its coincidence that he's (Hackworth) trying to do something similar to what Caleb Porter has done with the under 20s and what Jurgen Klinsmann was doing for a time with the US Men's National Team."
On key players for Philadelphia
"I think above all, Carlos Valdes. The team's captain and central defender has really embraced a leadership role with this team. He came here last season in a package deal with Faryd Mondragon. Mondragon is gone but Valdes is still here. He's really taken to Philadelphia and the fans and when he got that nod to the All-Star game it wasn't just a courtesy to the home team, he earned it."
"Michael Farfan. He's one of the better young players in this league and for an American he's really good on the ball. He's only going to get better."
On future for Philadelphia
"If they keep Carlos Valdes and sign a really serious finisher with some size, power and consistency, they can be a playoff team next year easily. They've got a lot of other pieces in place and that's the one huge glaring thing they are missing, a top quality scorer."
On Sporting KC
"I think they are one of the best teams in Major League Soccer."
"Kansas City are towards the bottom (of team payrolls) but one of the best teams in MLS and that's really impressive."
On Wednesday's match
"Kansas City's got a lot to play for and I think they are the better team. They're playing at home. They're playing to secure first place in the East and that counts for a lot."
"LiveSTRONG Sporting Park is such a hard place to win. They're (Philadelphia) going to have to sit back, take the pressure and try to score on the counter."
