Union Begins Turnaround Effort in Earnest

As part of its effort to turn reverse its fortunes on the field, the Union today announced the hiring of former U.S. National Team player Earnie Stewart as Sporting Director, effective January 1.  According to the announcement, in that role Stewart will  "oversee and guide all Union technical and soccer-related decisions working closely with the Union First Team, USL team and Youth Academy."

The Union needs to do something.  The team just finished a dismal 10-17-7, 9th out of 10 teams in the MLS Eastern Conference, and out a play-off spot for the fourth consecutive season.  In six years of play the Union has a total record of 61-82-57.  It has yet to have a winning season and is on its third head coach.  The CEO was recently fired.

Stewart earned 101 caps for the United States through 2005, played for an MLS champion at DC United and currently serves as Director of Football Affairs at AZ Alkmaar in the Netherlands, where he played professionally.  In that role he has guided the club to Europa League qualification for six consecutive seasons.

It looks like Stewart has a lot of work to do, but he also appears to have the experience and ability to get the job done.  Check back in a year when the MLS playoffs are getting underway.

Green Wave Snaps Haddonfield Streak

Last night's game had everything except a good result for Haddonfield.

Beautiful night for soccer.  Big crowd in the stadium.  Local conference rival in Audubon.  Two closely-matched teams who tied 1-1 0n September 28 at Green Wave Park.  And to top it off, the game was televised locally on Varsity Sports Network.

Neither team seriously threatened in the first half.  Freshman Wayden Ay made a quick turn and got off a hard shot late in the half, but too close to keeper Grace Borden.With 27:59 left in the second half, Audubon's Rebecca Van Arnam put in a rebound after Bulldawgs' keeper Taylor Sehdev tipped a shot up off the crossbar.  Haddonfield complained that the ball went up from the soccer crossbar and hit the football crossbar, which would have been out of play.  The referees disagreed and the goal stood.  From the pressbox it looked as though the refs got it right.

Haddonfield pressed for the equalizer but their best opportunity was a shot by freshman Maddie Bee that sailed just over the crossbar in the 61st minute.

Haddonfield was on a 10-game winning streak and 12-game unbeaten string going into last night's contest.  They'll have a chance to start a new streak Tuesday night against Woodbury.

The television was fun.  The announcers did a very good job and without thinking came up with a great line in the first half when Wayden Ay (pronounced like the letter "A") passed to Bee.  The play-by-play call was, "So that was from Ay to Bee.  I can't believe I just said that."

I watched the game on Comcast Channel 19 tonight and it wasn't bad for having only one camera and no replay capability.  The sound level could have been a little higher, but otherwise it was fun  to watch.  Below is one of our captains, Kate Walters, in a post-game interview.

The only downside - other than the loss - was that the stadium sound system failed, so I didn't get to announce or play the national anthem - which would have sounded good in the background of the TV broadcast.

Captain Kate Walters in post-game interview with Varsity Sports Network's Kevin Schules.

Union Locks Out Sakiewicz

Nick Sakiewicz made saves as a former goalkeeper but on Friday he could not save his job as the only CEO the Philadelphia Union has known in its six years of existence in Major League Soccer.  As Marc Narducci reported in yesterday;s Inquirer, he and chairman/owner Jay Sugarman apparently had different ideas on the future direction of the team.

The Union fell to 9-16-7 with last night's 3-1 loss in Toronto and was eliminated from contention for a play-off spot.

Sugarman sensed the unrest of the fans this season. "It is never good when fans aren't happy and I do take that as one of the signals we have to do better," he told Narducci.

Daily news sports columnist, John Smallwood, did a piece on the fans' role in ousting Sakiewicz.

"Winning has a way of solving a lot of issues," Smallwood quotes Sugarman as saying.

 Here's the e-mail the club sent Friday to its mailing list regarding the move:

I want to share some news with you directly.  We are making a change in the front office and parting ways with Nick Sakiewicz.  In the interim, Dave Rowan, current Chief Revenue Officer, will oversee day to day business operations.  Nick was instrumental in helping bring a team to Philadelphia and building our organization from the ground up, and we thank him for the dedication and perseverance he showed in those efforts and his passion for the club. 

Now it’s time for a new era of progress to begin.

Last year it was apparent our organizational structure needed to change in order to provide a stronger and more focused sporting direction for the Union.  Our plan was to bring aboard a Sporting Director with significant experience to add to the MLS knowledge of Jim Curtin and Chris Albright and help us materially improve our player acquisition processes, player evaluation methods and player development capabilities.  In addition, we wanted clear lines of responsibility throughout the organization, with our Youth Academy, USL team, and First Team all reporting up to a strong Sporting Director with a clear plan and a defined competitive strategy to guide recruitment, training, and teaching at all levels.

Unfortunately, we have not been able to fill this role yet.  We are committed to finding the right person for the Sporting Director position, and we want this person in place as soon as possible, to impact the upcoming player decisions needed to strengthen our roster and to oversee increased integration of all soccer operations. We are working to have this role filled by the end of the year.

In the meantime we have continued to invest in the foundation of the Club.  Over the past two years, Ownership has committed over $15 million in capital to areas that we believe are critical to building long-term success.  The new training fields, new First Team Training Center, new USL team, and increased Academy commitments are all part of a plan to put in place the infrastructure necessary for success, and set the table for better performance on the field.  Now we need to attract a leader and an architect on the sporting side who can build on these investments and develop a strategy that will give us an edge in the league going forward.

One last, important, thing:  I and the other owners want to assure you that we are committed to winning.  We can also assure you that we will make mistakes - but we will acknowledge them, learn from them, and correct them until we succeed.  Your loyal support as we enter this new era is critical, and we remain deeply grateful for your continued commitment as we make the Philadelphia Union a team we are all proud of.

My sincere thanks,

Jay Sugarman
Chairman