Rank and File: Union at FC Dallas
The grades are in, and they aren't pretty for Brad Knighton after his first start in Major League Soccer.
Rank and File: Union at FC Dallas
Jonathan Tannenwald, Philly.com
The grades are in, and they aren't pretty for Brad Knighton after his first start in Major League Soccer. Knighton's fumble of a loose ball - and ensuing tackle on Brek Shea, which resulted in a red card - led to FC Dallas' first goal and completely changed the momentum of the match.
To make matters worse for Knighton, Chris Seitz made a number of stellar saves despite being under the weather. Yes, Seitz gave up three goals, but David Ferreira's penalty was unstoppable and the Union's back line could not stop Jeff Cunningham on the other two.
Things had looked so good after Alejandro Moreno finally scored his first goal of the season to give the Union an early lead. But everything fell apart after Knighton's dismissal, and Cunningham drove two nails in the coffin with his goals.
Cunningham was named MLS' player of the week by the North American Soccer Reporters, of which I'm part. I voted for Cunningham with very little hesitation. You can see the voting breakdown here.
A lot of players got votes, including Columbus' Steven Lenhart after his two goals against the Union this past Thursday. Seattle's Fredy Montero also left an impression by scoring a goal and setting up the other in the Sounders' 2-0 win over Houston late last night. But Cunningham's impact in just 45 minutes at Pizza Hut Park was as decisive as it gets from a halftime substitute.
What concerned me most from the Union game was not Knighton's struggles, but those of the other debutant: Juan Diego Gonzalez. From my perspective, it looked like the Colombian defender was beaten rather directly on both of Cunningham's goals.
Cunningham is still one of the fastest and most dangerous strikers in MLS, and Gonzalez is just getting settled in with his new club. But that was not a great first impression.
Before getting to the player ratings, one more thought from me about Knighton and Seitz. I know that many people have called for Knighton to start this year. I have defended Seitz a lot, and I know at times I've looked for ways to excuse Seitz from blame. But no matter what you think, I think yesterday made it clear that Seitz is the starter.
If Peter Nowak ever has doubts about that, I am sure he will be forthright in telling us. Nowak is an honest guy, and he has not been afraid to critique his players in his public remarks.
There is a long tradition in this town of singling out one position for blame after losses, especially because of the Flyers' history of goaltending issues in the playoffs. But the Union aren't the Flyers, and I have no intention of falling into the trap of fitting a new team to old storylines.
With that said, now it's time to find out what our fan voters thought of the Union's performance. There are a lot of great comments here, and I hope you'll add yours below.
Goalkeepers
Brad Knighton: 1.75
- "To all the "Start Knighton Now" folks, put that in your pipe and smoke it. Seems our GK situation is worse off than some think." (Andrew Dillon)
- "Have to pin the loss on him entirely; minimal pressure on him and no excuse for the error. Cannot expect the team to play with 10 men in triple digit temperature." (Jeff P.)
Chris Seitz: 5.13
- "I'm not sure if Nowak intended to give Knighton a real shot or to see how Seitz would respond. Either way, he certainly learned something. " (Nathan M.)
Defenders
Juan Diego González Alzate: 4.75
- "Gonzalez was, ahem, uneven... I guess he fits right in with our back line." (Osager)
- "Left much to be desired in his debut; completely out of position on the second FC Dallas goal." (Jeff P.)
Cristian Arrieta: 4.38
Danny Califf: 4.50
Jordan Harvey: 4.25
- "Jordan Harvey seemed especially heavy-of-touch today, apparently he's not his best in the heat." (Osager)
Michael Orozco Fiscal: 4.75
Midfielders
Eduardo Coudet: 5.63
Fred: 4.38
- "Fred's lack of a first touch wasted as good an opportunity as the Union will see all season." (Nathan M.)
Andrew Jacobson: 5.38
- "Would like to see more of him off the bench. Perhaps we will if Miglioranzi is still on the shelf." (Jeff P.)
Justin Mapp: 5.13
Kyle Nakazawa: 4.63
Forwards
Sebastien Le Toux: 5.50
- "What can I say about Le Toux that hasn't already been said? I know he never knew heat like that growing up in France. Still, he soldiered on, creating chances out of nothing. Credit him with a big assist on the goal." (Osager)
Alejandro Moreno: 5.63
- "Thrilled for Moreno finally netting his first goal this season. Could've been a prettier goal, but beggars can't be choosers." (Andrew Dillon)
- "Moreno did his job. Ugly goal, but it was a goal." (Ethan Gomberg)
Look, Knighton got suspended for tonight's game because of the red card last week , but I think they should give him another chance on Saturday. Yeah, what he did was stupid, and put his team in a hole, but they weren't going to beat that team in Dallas anyway. Seitz actually had a good game vs RSL tonight, but that hasn't been the norm for him. Give Knighton several starts between now and the end of the season so you can evaluate what you need next year. The playoffs are a distant prayer with the 5th place west ( Colorado) team having 27 points ( they'll move over to the east for the playoffs, the NBA should adopt this rule)and third place Toronto FC with 26 points. 16 points is way too little at this stage of the season, so start getting ready for next year.— drbob1- Dean1 and Harptattoo are spot on. People are on Knighton for 1 mistake while Seitz keeps getting a pass for the countless mistakes he has made all season. Dangeroo makes a good comment too. Our entire back line is a joke. Califf is over-rated and has an undisciplined style of play. I hope they can build on these countless mistakes going forward and end the season strong.— broadstreetkicker
- soccerdad - send jonathan an e-mail, he mentions each week needing participants, could use some new names/input going forward.— fcphillyboy9
WHERE does a fan go to participate in these rankings, Jonathan? If this just an 'insider' thing?— soccerdad1150- @ fuzzy Mapp gets no love for two reasons. One, he is a black hole, the ball comes in and never goes back out (unless he is wide on the left, but he was deployed on the right against columbus) and two he refuses to pass with his right foot, just won't do it. Nowak's outside mids drift to the center to link up with the fwds (same 4-4-2 that that the mnt plays) and mapp is just not that kind of player, he's a true outside mid that delivers good service when he is WIDE and on the LEFT. Doesnt fit the tactics— dangeroo
- What is being lost in the argument is the play of Califf and Arrieta in the middle. With Nowak pushing his wingbaqcks up, that leaves the two of them to mark, and quite frankly exposed. There lack of speed has been exposed in the counter goal from san jose, the second columbus goal (arrietta refused to push out on renteria, allowing him space to cross and califf cant mark one on one in the air) and on the second dallas goal again arrieta doesnt push wide to close the space vacated by the pushed up wingback and stop the supply. nowak is playing a system that doesnt fit his personnel. I was shocked to see harvey on the bench and arrieta starting against dallas. Not saying seitz is innocent in all of this or that knighton didnt have the second worse goalie blunder of the season (seitz vs dc united) but the centerbacks have to be held accountable, regardless of their status (captain) or salary!— dangeroo
- Looked like Harvey not Gonzalez was marking Cunningham on goal #2 (Harvey looked like he got beat inside to ball). Knighton's error was terrible, but mainly because I wanted to see how he could manage a game. Playing away down a man against a team with some speed will typically end bad. Now with Seitz..he should be a beast because of his size, but as a few people pointed out - he scares me on crosses because he either hesitates or freezes entirely to come off his line to win balls in the box(the columbus goal is a great point). He needs to own the box better. To give credit, he did have a few good saves, but its getting to a point where I'm nervous for routine shots anymore - not even hoping for the spectacular.— fj
- I'm Fred up with losing.— billchuck
- I'm Fred up with this club. How many more 35 year-old Argentinian castoffs can one team pickup? If Coudet is 35, Jose Contreras is 30.— billchuck
- Given where we are in the season (i.e., playoff hopes very remote), I would give Knighton some more playing time so we can see what he's got. That mistake in Dallas was horrendous, but we need to see more. We know what we've got with Seitz, so what's the harm? Let them alternate games from here on out.— Oreland827
- I meant Mapp instead of Wolff.— Fuzzy_Dunlop
- What's the point in developing both young goalkeepers? By the time they become good (ie. a decrease amount of errors), they will be wanting to transfer over to Europe. They should have went with an established MLS goalkeeper (Hartman) rather than acquiring two young keeps. Knighton is going to be suspended for the red for a game, correct? Are they going to resign Perk? Why no love for Wolff? He set up the ball to Le Toux (who headed towards goal) didn't he? It should have been Fred who got pulled rather than Wolff. Either way, they would have lost.— Fuzzy_Dunlop
- that one mistake cost this team a shot at any points; in fact the mistake wasnt even poor positioning, it was worse than anything Seitz has done so far this season (including the illegal moreno goal).— fcphillyboy9
- Harptattoo - you're dead on. The most recent egregious error by Seitz was the the 1st goal against Columbus last Thursday. The ball was played into the box from the middle of the field around 40 yards out. The Columbus sub got his head on the ball around the 4 or the 5 yd line within the width of the posts while Seitz was left flailing on the goal line. How do you allow that to happen if you're even a college keeper, let alone a 6'4" MLS goalkeeper?— Dean1
- To be clear, I'm not saying Knighton is better than Seitz. We don't know either way - let's find out. How one performs in practice doesn't translate into game performance, especially at the goalkeeping position. You can't replicate high-pressured game situations re: attacks down the flank, loose balls in the box, decisions on crosses, anticipating opposing team members' next moves, etc. Goalkeeping is so much more than just facing shots...positioning, communication w/ your defense, command of the box, and distribution are just some of the elements that go into it. Again, not saying that Knighton is better...but, based on his performance vs. Celtic and Man U., he deserves more than 25 minutes and one mistake to show what he can do.— Dean1
- Seitz was "in" the net on one of the Cunningham goals.It is tough to keep the ball out of the net if you are in it! I am a keeper myself and I'm sorry but if the ball is in the air within the six yard box it has to be challenged by the keeper. And Jordan Harvey was guilty of one of the Cunningham goals. He is useless to this team. I am a season ticket holder and I cringe every time he gets the ball. As for Seitz's goal keeping mistakes lest we forget the goal he gave up to DC in the home opener when he put the ball Jaime Moreno's foot for him? It didn't cost us the game but it could have. Knighton does need to hold the ball however. We should be looking at Shea Given as a DP option. Go Union!
- @Dean - with a defense like ours, Seitz (and Knighton) just don't have a chance at a shutout. Nowak knows how both keepers play regularly in practice day by day, and I'm sure if Knighton was better than Seitz he would be starting.— pencilchair
- Le Roux is bulletproof...err, le toux— flyersjoe
- Listen, it was the guy's first game in goal this season. That's no excuse, but to say that Seitz is the clearcut starter is at best irresponsible and uninformed journalism by the author. Seitz has let in no less than 6 terrible goals this season and has routinely cost this team points. Seitz has great size and makes some great saves, but he has major lapses in concentration regularly (no need to go over these again). Seriously, what keeper at any level has 16 complete games with zero shutouts? Knighton needs to get a shot for more than 25 minutes of 1 game...this is an expansion team and is not going to the playoffs or going to win a Cup this season. We know what we have in Seitz - a talented goalkeeper in some respects that has a major problem re: focus, positioning, and overall goalkeeping presence (his command of the box on crosses is mediocre on a good day and terrible on a bad day). Let's find out what we have in Knighton.— Dean1
- Nice breakdown— ejbphila
Reach Jonathan at jtannenwald@phillynews.com or 215-854-2330.
