Philadelphia Union Reside in All Too Familiar Position

The Union felt the same level of disappointment as previous big losses after Wednesday's Leagues Cup semifinal defeat in Columbus.

The Philadelphia Union reside in an all-too-familiar situation in Leagues Cup.

Wednesday’s semifinal loss to the Columbus Crew once again showcased the gap in elite quality between the Union and one of the top teams in North America.

The Union will find a way to motivate themselves to win Sunday’s third-place game against the Colorado Rapids, a contest that comes with a Concacaf Champions Cup berth with it.

Two straight third-place finishes in the Leagues Cup is nice, but it’s nothing to hang your hat on now that the expectations have been reset.

We all know Jim Curtin can get this group of players deep into a competition, but when it comes to a semifinal or final, the Union are outmatched.

It’s a tale as old as time.

The Union are now 4-10 in semifinals, finals and conference finals since 2014. The only trophy to come from this era is the Supporters’ Shield.

As it always has been, the onus is on Union ownership to be more flexible with their spending and go out to find the elite difference-makers.

Make no mistake, the Union would rather be in semifinals than sitting at home watching them, but at what point does ownership look at these results and realize more spending in the transfer market is necessary.

The Union don’t need to sign aging players from Barcelona, or take the Inter Miami big-money approach.

In fact, using that as an example, like it was at the recent Town Hall event, is a poor representation of the transfer strategies across MLS.

Take Columbus as the example for what the Union can do.

Cucho Hernandez had a decent scoring record at Watford, but he sure wasn’t an otherworldly superstar in England.

A $10 million transfer fee got him to Columbus and he’s been an incredible difference-maker in a squad where a lot of the pieces come from different backgrounds, whether it be MLS lifers, players just out of college, or someone like Diego Rossi, who came back to MLS after time overseas.

Heck, Rossi even cost $2.8 million in the transfer market and look what he did against the Union on Wednesday night.

There was a stark difference in talent between Columbus’ big-name attackers and the Union’s record signing, Mikael Uhre, throughout the course of the semifinal.

Uhre’s had too many stretches without goals, or games in which he does not make an impact. Tai Baribo has outperformed Uhre in the short span in which the Israeli has been a starter.

Even possessing a red-hot striker at the moment may not have helped the Union.

The timing of the Jose Martinez transfer certainly didn’t help, but this is where managerial expertise has to come into play.

Everyone knows Jack McGlynn’s defensive skill set is not the best. Placing him on the left side of midfield with Leon Flach alone at the No. 6 was a mistake.

At least Jesus Bueno would be more equipped to deal with the pressure. I’m not saying that one move would’ve changed things on Wednesday, but it would’ve given the team a fighting chance.

A double-pivot of Flach and new acquisition Danley Jean Jacques is likely the path moving forward in road games, especially if the Union get into the postseason.

Alejandro Bedoya will be part of the structure in road games too, and despite the claims of everyone on social media, he is not the problem.

Re-signing Bedoya to a one-year deal was not the decision that doomed the Union’s 2024 season. In fact, you could make a case that he’s still consistent at his age and has earned his spot in the XI.

The more reasonable debate is that the Union should do more in the transfer market so that Bedoya is not always the first option to start on the right side of the diamond. I’d be more than willing to hear that argument than just the “Why Does Curtin Still Start Bedoya” mentions that come in after every loss.

I could sit here and say Wednesday’s loss should be a wake-up call to the Union ownership, but I also could have said that after multiple Concacaf Champions Cup exits, the MLS Cup loss to LAFC and last year’s Leagues Cup semifinal loss to Inter Miami.

Sure, Ernst Tanner has worked wonders by acquiring players like Martinez, Baribo, Kai Wagner and Jakob Glesnes during his tenure, but the Union are still lacking a big-time difference-maker.

The one they had, Julian Carranza, wasn’t acquired for a massive fee. The Union benefited from Miami’s roster logjam and paid a minimal price for a striker of the Argentinian’s caliber.

The Union have already evolved into a consistent contender, and there will be plenty of people who call them a dangerous underdog if they get into the MLS Cup Playoffs, but until the transfer approach changes even by a few million dollars spent, Wednesday’s result will continue to be the norm for the franchise.

Photo courtesy of Philadelphia Union.