Philadelphia Union’s fast descent into madness

Memorial Day, 2014 - Rock bottom for Philadelphia Union.

It took just three months and 14 games for a promising season to crash and burn in spectacular Philadelphia fashion.

Here we sit, now two games away from the World Cup break, with a record of 2-7-5 and 11 points. The players and the CEO have backed the coach, while the owner has remained characteristically silent. The anger of fans seems to be turning to apathy, as the tenure of John Hackworth quickly approaches Tom Corbett-esque levels on the lame duck scale.

Where exactly do you go from here?

It's true that the team is just five points out of playoff contention, but eight other teams in the Eastern Conference have games in hand on the Union. That gap will widen when squads like Toronto (five games in hand) and Chicago (three games in hand) start to catch up.

If the Union lose to Chivas USA this week, the team will return home with the distinction of having won just three of its last 24 games. The poor form has carried over from the end of 2013, and the reality is that this team has not performed well since the end of last July. That's a stretch of some ten months, and doesn't even include all of the asterisks and aberrations that define last year.

There might not be one specific reason for the proverbial $#@! hitting the fan, but here's a look at what exactly happened since we rang in the new year.

January 1, 2014 - A restless fan base yearns for new blood after the team stays quiet in the Re-Entry Draft, electing to sign midfielder Corben Bone while passing on available talent like Fabian Espindola and Bobby Boswell.

January 14, 2014 - The Union name retired defender Chris Albright as assistant technical director. At the time, it was believed the front office would groom Albright to take on a future role as a full-blown technical director or general manager.

January 15, 2014 - The first big signing of the offseason, Philadelphia adds left-footed winger Cristian Maidana. The 26-year-old, with experience in Europe, would be the first piece added to a new look Union midfield.

January 16, 2014 - The MLS SuperDraft takes place in Philadelphia. The Union trade up to No. 1 to select goalkeeper Andre Blake, then trade down and acquire former Reading United product Pedro Ribeiro. In the later rounds, the team selects Kevin Cope, Robbie Derschang, Aodhan Quinn, Richie Marquez, Alex Sweetin, and Luca Gimenez.

At the start of the 2014 season, an injured Ribeiro joins Marquez in Harrisburg, while Blake backs up Zac MacMath and the other five players are cut. Experts call the draft a success with the acquisition of Blake, Ribeiro, and allocation money.

January 27, 2014 - U.S. International Maurice Edu returns to MLS and signs with the Union on loan from Stoke City. To facilitate the signing, Philadelphia sends Jeff Parke to D.C. United for Ethan White and the top spot in the allocation order.

January 29, 2014 - Assistant coach Brendan Burke leaves the team. The departure of the popular Burke, who also managed affiliate Reading, is never fully explained on the record.

January 30, 2014 - The final piece of the midfield puzzle: The Union sign French midfielder Vincent Nogueira. The Sochaux captain is seen as a huge steal for the Union as the technical staff and front office completes an entire rebuild in the middle of the park.

February 3, 2014 - Union signs goalkeeper Brian Holt to backup MacMath and Blake. Holt had spent the majority of 2013 training with the team.

February 7, 2014 - Former U.S. international and Montreal assistant Mike Sorber replaces the departed Burke on the Union technical staff.

February 23rd, 2014 - I write a story about John Hackworth's switch from the 4-4-2 to the 4-3-3. Philadelphia, which was mostly successful with the 4-4-2 in 2013, would be reverting to the system Hackworth used for the second half of 2012.

February 24th, 2014 - The Union's excellent offseason continues, with the signing of center back Austin Berry. The 2012 rookie of the year was acquired from Chicago for just $100,000 in allocation money.

The rest of February, 2014 - Foreshadowing? The team slogs through a preseason in which it scores just four goals in six games against four MLS opponents, plus Orlando City. Striker Jack McInerney scores three of the four goals in those matches.

March 8, 2014 - The Union play a great game on the road in the season opener. Fans grumble after a late collapse costs the team three points and a win. The 1-1 draw would gradually lose luster, as Portland stumbles through March and April.

March 15, 2014 - Union wins its first game of the year. It's a 1-0 shutout against a New England team with early season struggles.

March 22, 2014 - Philadelphia falls short, losing 2-1 on the road to Columbus. Converted forward Aaron Wheeler makes his first professional start in defense and rises to No. 2 on the center back depth chart.

March 29, 2014 - Ten-man Montreal nicks a road point against the Union. Another late error gifts the Impact a counterattacking goal, and Frank Klopas' team earns its first point of the season.

April 4, 2014 - John Hackworth trades McInerney, the team's leading goal scorer over the past two seasons, to Montreal for former No. 1 draft pick Andrew Wenger.

Rumors suggest that McInerney did not want to re-sign with the team and that he wanted more money. On the field, it looked like Hackworth would have a bigger and stronger center forward to play in his 4-3-3 system. Despite McInerney's superior goal scoring record, his poacher skill set was not seen as a fit in the formation.

April 5, 2014 - Union cough up an 86th minute equalizing goal on the road in Chicago. Zac MacMath's penalty kick save preserves a 2-2 draw.

April 8, 2014 - Unable to facilitate a trade, Union part ways with midfielder Keon Daniel.

April 12, 2014 - Philly gets a late goal from Edu and scrapes for a 2-2 home draw with Real Salt Lake. Union players caught ball-watching on both RSL goals.

April 16, 2014 - The beginning of a long skid. Union lose 2 to 1, falling to 0-6-1 all-time inside of Red Bull Arena. Attempted broadcast/simulcast on WACP-TV suffers from game-long audio issues.

April 19, 2014 - Philadelphia returns home and lays an egg, stumbling to a 0-0 draw with Houston.

April 26, 2014 - John Hackworth makes changes to the lineup, starting Danny Cruz and Fabinho on the road against Montreal. Philadelphia is shut out 1-0 and Montreal earns its first win of the season.

April 28th, 2014 - The Philadelphia Inquirer's Laura McCrystal writes this piece about the lack of development around PPL Park. Nick Sakiewicz calls the Chester business environment "inconsistent."

April 29, 2014 - Hackworth offers up some unusual quotes on the fitness and cultural habits and adjustment of Maidana's family.

May 3, 2014 - Union take the lead against Seattle, in Seattle, on an own goal. The Sounders storm back with two second half goals to doom Philadelphia to its third loss in four games.

May 10, 2014 - Calls for the firing of Hackworth reach an all-time high. Philadelphia is shut out again at home, this time a 1-0 loss to D.C. United. At this point, Philadelphia had not scored from the run of play since the RSL game on April 12th.

May 14, 2014 - Backs against the wall, the Union, missing Maurice Edu, Brian Carroll, and Michael Lahoud, grind out a great win in Kansas City. Amobi Okugo moves into his natural midfield role, Sheanon Williams deputizes in central defense, and Austin Berry plays well in a 2-1 road win against the defending champions. After Danny Cruz's opening goal, a handful of players run to the sidelines and embrace the under-fire Hackworth.

After the game, Sheanon Williams sends out this tweet:

May 15th, 2014 - Team CEO and operating partner Nick Sakiewicz publicly backs John Hackworth and explains that team is "scouring the marketplace" to bring in attacking talent.

May 17, 2014 - All momentum is squashed, when the Zolos concede five goals in a home loss to New England. Playing three games in eight days, a tired performance was compounded by listless defending from the back line.

May 22, 2014 - Maurice Edu is cut from the Team USA World Cup squad.

May 25, 2014 - Landon Donovan scores brace to become all-time leading goal scorer in MLS history. Union defend poorly in 4-1 loss to Los Angeles.

May 26, 2015 - Union reach the Memorial Day holiday with a record of 2-7-5. The points per game ratio of 0.79 is second worst in MLS, and eight other teams in the Eastern Conference have games in hand on Philadelphia.

So where did everything go wrong?

It's hard to point to one specific moment, but you can see little hints of foreshadowing throughout the timeline. The fact that Jack McInerney scored most of the goals in the preseason and the team scored so few goals in February is an indicator of the regular season offensive struggles.

The McInerney trade is an obvious point to consider. At the time, it's true that Jack had carried over some of his 2013 slump into 2014, and it just didn't seem like a poacher fit into the 4-3-3 system the team was trying to play. The issue, however, is that the technical staff never tried a 4-4-2 with McInerney and another striker before shipping him off to Montreal.

Wenger has the size and strength to play as a target forward but lacks the finishing quality that McInerney brought to the 2012 and 2013 squads.

On the other hand, maybe the players and coaches just haven't been good enough. Conor Casey looks like he's cooked. John Hackworth has made some poor decisions (Aaron Wheeler), Sheanon Williams and Amobi Okugo have not been their normal selves this season, and the jury is still out on just how good Edu and Maidana are. Brian Carroll isn't getting any younger, and homegrown players like Pfeffer, McLaughlin, and Hernandez aren't really in the picture. Ribeiro and Blake haven't even seen the field.

The list goes on, and the losses continue.

Get complete coverage of the Union and the rest of the Philadelphia soccer scene at The Philly Soccer Page.