Union's no-win situation has gone on long enough | John Smallwood
Stop the excuses and start winning.
AT THIS POINT, there isn't much the Philadelphia Union can say.
The hows and whys no longer matter. The explanations have become repetitive and ring hallow.
There is only one thing the Union can do to start to clear the malaise that has overwhelmed this franchise.
It's the simple answer, but it has been the hardest to achieve.
Win a soccer match.
That's it.
Until the Union have a game where they have finished with more goals scored than the other team, everything is lip service.
"The team, collectively, we can all do a little more, as a coaching staff, as players," coach Jim Curtin said as the Union prepares to play New York Red Bulls on Saturday at Talen Energy Stadium. "Everyone needs to raise their game.
"Collectively, as a group, I think it's important we get going and get all of our guys playing at our highest potential."
That's nice - raise their game, collectively do a little more, blah, blah, blah.
We've heard that, or some version of that, since this dreadful stretch of ineptness began in August of 2016.
It has been pointed out over and over, but it bears emphasizing again.
The Union has not won a Major League Soccer regular-season match since beating Sporting Kansas City 2-0 on Aug. 26. It's been so long that you probably have forgotten that it got goals from Roland Alberg and the since departed Tranquillo Barnetta.
That was 15 regular-season games ago when Barack Obama was still president.
The Union is racing like a freight train toward some dubious history. The longest winless streak in MLS history is 19 matches set by the New York/New Jersey MetroStars in 1999.
That's not something a franchise wants on its resume.
It's embarrassing for the team and numbing for fans to watch.
Philadelphia (0-4-4) is the only winless team in MLS. The 2017 expansion teams - Atlanta United FC and Minnesota United FC - have each won at least two matches.
The Union is tied with Colorado Rapids for fewest points with four.
When the overall picture looks so bleak, it's hard to find a silver lining.
Under normal circumstances, the Union going out to Carson City (Calif.) and getting a scoreless draw with the Los Angeles Galaxy would be a positive result - especially since it was rebound performance after blowing a 3-0 lead against the Montreal Impact and settling for a draw at home.
But the circumstances around the Union are far from normal.
"The point coming here to the West Coast was to at least get a point against a good team like LA," Union midfielder Fafa Picault said after the draw.
I know Picault couldn't come out and say, "We are winless. At this point the only positive result that can come from any game is if we get three points because we actually won the game."
I can't deal with "coachspeak" right now.
When Curtin reiterates Picault's assessment by saying, "I thought it was important for group to be tough to play through, be organized. We set the goal of keeping a clean sheet and the guys executed that," I respond with a blank stare.
When you enter a match 0-4-3, the only time maintaining a clean sheet is good is if you've actually also scored.
That means you win.
If there is one thing we learned in the history of the Philadelphia Union is that it has mastered the art of working the draw instead of pulling out the victory.
The Union has played 242 matches in its history to a record of 72-100-70.
Curtin continued on by saying the draw against the Galaxy was, "Good, something to build on moving forward to Red Bull . . . The overall fight and the grit to keep a clean sheet in LA . . . Now, we look forward to Red Bull and try to get a result at home."
No, no, no, my friend.
This is no longer about simply getting a result.
The Union hasn't gotten results at Vancouver, against Toronto, against Montreal and at Los Angeles.
All that's done is put them at the bottom of the standings in the Eastern Conference and continuing on pace to matching a dubious MLS record for futility.
The Union need to win - nothing else is good enough. This franchise can't start to heal until the wound it is hemorrhaging from is sealed with a victory.
Back in the 1980s there was a new wave band called Missing Persons that scored a modest hit with a song called "Words."
"Words" opened with lead singer Dale Bozzio in her quirky voice screeching, "Do you hear me? Do you care?"
The chorus asked the question, "What are words for when no one listens anymore? What are words for when no one listens? What are words for when no one listens it's no use talkin at all."
Instead of playing "Doop," perhaps the Union would be better served using "Words" as a theme song, well at least until it finds a way to win a game.
@SmallTerp