Union sign two, waive two, confuse many
Today was the deadline to comply with Major League Soccer's 30-player roster regulations, and the Philadelphia Union made a flurry of moves while abroad in Greece.
Union sign two, waive two, confuse many
Jonathan Tannenwald
NOTE: I also wrote an exclusive piece this evening about Union TV broadcaster J.P. Dellacamera moving from ESPN to Fox Soccer Channel. Click here to read it.
Today was the deadline to comply with Major League Soccer's 30-player roster regulations, and the Philadelphia Union made a flurry of moves while abroad in Greece.
The club signed Trinidadian goalkeeper Thorne Holder, who had been on trial since the preseason camp in Wayne, and former La Salle midfielder Ryan Richter, a supplemental draft pick.
Holder's deal is no surprise, at least if you go by Twitter. Sheanon Williams referred to him as "one of our goalies" back on February 19. Faryd Mondragón tweeted yesterday that he was "at the US Embassy in Athens with Carlos Valdes, Thorny [sic] Holder and Josh Gros (the Master) getting our P1 Visas!!!!!"
Gros, in case you've forgotten, does team-related operations work in the front office.
In addition to the two signings, the club waived midfielder Nick Zimmerman and forward J.T. Noone, a Temple alum. Zimmerman was picked up in the Union's expansion draft. He played a total of 159 minutes over eight league games last season. Noone split time between the Union and the minor-league Harrisburg City Islanders last season, and did not play in any league games.
It also appears that Michael Orozco Fiscal and SuperDraft pick Levi Houapeu are no longer with the team. Both names are absent from the 22-player official roster that the Union published.
I have tried repeatedly to get the Union to tell me what the status is of Orozco Fiscal, and I also asked about Houapeu's status after the roster announcement this evening. All I was told is to wait until Peter Nowak's conference call with reporters tomorrow at 2:30 p.m. Eastern Time.
The Union's press release about its roster states that "SuperDraft selections Zac MacMath and Michael Farfan signed contracts with Major League Soccer prior to being picked up by the Union on January 13th." You'll note that Houapeu is not mentioned.
Orozco Fiscal's status is a bit murkier. Just before 2 a.m. Eastern Time this past Friday, Roger Torres tweeted in Spanish: "Trsite [sic] lo que le paso a nuestro companero michael espero dios lo bendiga siempre y lo lleve a un muy buen equipo por q lo merece"
Translated to English, that means: "Sad about what happened to our friend Michael. I hope God blesses you always and brings you to a very good team. You deserve it."
That tweet was retweeted by me and many other people at the time. It was deleted from Torres' account later in the day.
Most observers assumed that the "Michael" in question was Orozco Fiscal, and not Farfan. That certainly made sense, mainly because Orozco Fiscal was with the Union on loan and not a full contract. Later in the day Friday, MLSSoccer.com's Travis M. Clark tweeted that Farfan had signed a contract with the league, so the player in question was almost certainly Orozco Fiscal.
It's all well and good for us to assume, but that doesn't mean there's actual information that can be reported on as fact. The deletion of Torres' tweet and the Union's lack of comment on the matter created an atmosphere of uncertainty that didn't help anyone not currently in Greece.
We at least know now that Orozco Fiscal isn't on the Union's roster anymore - and yes, I did predict he'd be the team's starting left back this season. So much for that.
But we still don't know why Orozco Fiscal is gone. We also don't know why the Union have only officially filled 22 of the allowable 30 slots on their roster, including three international slots.
If there's anything we do know, it's that today's news has given us a lot to talk about.
Here's how the Union's roster officially stands right now:
Goalkeepers (3)
1. Faryd Mondragon
18. Zac MacMath
24. Thorne Holder
Defenders (5)
2. Jordan Harvey
3. Juan Diego González Alzate
4. Danny Califf
5. Carlos Valdés
25. Sheanon Williams
Midfielders (9)
6. Stefani Miglioranzi
7. Brian Carroll
8. Roger Torres
13. Kyle Nakazawa
14. Amobi Okugo
21. Michael Farfan
22. Justin Mapp
23. Ryan Richter
27. Zach Pfeffer
Forwards (5)
9. Sébastien Le Toux
10. Danny Mwanga
12. Chris Agorsor
9. Jack McInerney
20. Carlos Ruiz
Richter came, I believe, from La Salle in the Supplemental Draft, not the Expansion Draft.— Ed Farnsworth- Whoops. Made that fix. Thanks.— Jonathan Tannenwald
- if it's not mof sneaking back into the picture, do you have any clue who might provide us with cover in the back? five defenders is clearly not enough unless we switch to three in the back which would present another set of issues with only three centerbacks rostered.— Javi
- Javi, I believe Amobi Okugo and Brain Carroll have seen some minutes in the backline this preseason. I also recall Amobi playing CB for the U-20 USMNT and GA team while in Europe this summer.— buzzkiller23
- I'm a little confused about all of this..... i understand that MOF was on a loan deal and they can and do fall through but to only announce 22 players? I was hoping they would make a run at u.s open cup , there is a reserve league this year and not to mention any money grabbing friendlies that they schedule.... Nowak stated in preseason that he wanted competition at every position, roster seems kind of thin to promote that competition. They are way below the cap and are not using there allowed roster slots, when did Joe Banner get a job with the U?— dangeroo
- Agreed dangeroo. It somes like they forget that they're a second year team with a TON to prove. Giving up players like Jacobson and MOF just makes no sense, we have the money, we should build a strong roster.
@buzzkiller23, you're right definitely Okugo and I think Carroll have logged minutes in the backline, but for Nowak and Co. here's a novel idea, let players play in their natural position. I'm tired if this square peg-round hole garbage, it stinks a lot of the Eagles "we're smarter than you" BS.— COYS - @COYs...I, for one, know that they ARE smarter than you. They do this for a living...you post on Philly.com— soccerdad1150
Reach Jonathan at jtannenwald@phillynews.com or 215-854-2330.
