One of three things is going on in this article, where Philadelphia Union boss Peter Nowak is getting his Union flag in a serious twist, irritated at ongoing queries about trading away Sebastien Le Toux:
1. Philadelphia and Nowak was never a marriage that was going to work. The brotherly fans and media in Philly work in criticism the way chef Emeril Lagasse works in “Bam!” That can be a tough fit.
2. The pressure of an 0-3 start is squeezing the stuffing out of every little thing around PPL Park. Hard times, man.
3. Everybody up there needs to back away from that strong Dunkin Donuts coffee for a minute. Seriously, you can’t swing a bag of soccer balls in that part of the world without hitting one of those spots of dunkin’ delight. (Nowak has a DD coffee cup in the video within the linked story.)
Anyway, it’s all entertaining and engaging stuff. Nowak is digging in ahead of this week’s visit from the Vancouver Whitecaps, featuring Le Toux. I’ve got this one circled on my MLS weekend calendar. I have a feeling the pressure will ease up a bit on all things Union by around 6 p.m. Saturday in Chester, Penn.
Don’t go rushing with fists full of cash to Las Vegas on that one. It’s just a hunch.
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- Southern Philly - Mar 30, 2012 at 9:24 AM
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I think the backlash over the Le Toux trade is misplaced. It’s absolutely fair to criticize the Union for thinking Le Toux wasn’t worth what they’d have to pay him to re-sign him. Despite early returns, they might be right, though I have my doubts. But the criticism, at least from what I’ve seen, stops there. To me it was a bad trade not because of what they gave up but what they got back, or more accurately what they [i]didn’t[/i] get back. Allocation money isn’t anywhere near enough, they’re not a better team today or tomorrow for that trade. You have to give to get, but the Union didn’t get anything. That’s the real issue.
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- Steve Davis - Mar 30, 2012 at 11:00 AM
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That’s a great point, although I suppose there is some (admittedly marginal) value in getting his relatively high salary (179K guaranteed last year) off the books. And when you make a trade where value is in question, it sure doesn’t help if the player is among the popular set.
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- Southern Philly - Mar 30, 2012 at 11:31 AM
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That too. Fans hate salary dumps, the exception being at a trade deadline on a floundering team. Off-season salary dumps? Gut punch. There’s certainly value in clearing a salary from the books and having the ability to re-sign players. But you can’t sell that to fans, they want the teams they root for to spend the money that the fans themselves spend on the team.
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- Steve Davis - Mar 30, 2012 at 12:18 PM
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Southern Philly knows his stuff. If he’s not careful, he’s going to cinch up my Commenter of the Day* award before noon, my time. (*No cash prize involved)
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- Southern Philly - Mar 30, 2012 at 3:10 PM
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Appreciate that Steve. And don’t worry about the cash prize. I, like many people today, plan on winning the lottery.
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