Photo: Courtesy of Vancouver Whitecaps

Brace yourself. It’s time to analyze another Philadelphia Union match that started out promising and devolved into the depressing inevitability of unnecessary mistakes and underwhelming individual efforts.

And to be clear: It is not fun to write about these utterly deficient Union performances. There is no joy derived from sitting in judgment of other human beings as they scuffle along, very publicly displaying few of the talents we know them to be capable of. But we do it during the good times and we must during the bad as well.

Another fast start

Once again, the Union came out with energy and the semblance of a plan. Attacking up the left, they put together an early passing move that was intricate, movement-oriented, and involved more than two players. It was fun to watch!

The Vancouver midfield was disjointed, with Mattias Laba forced wide to cover and Russell Teibert’s youthful aggression leaving spaces. As Philly had done against Columbus, they were forcing a good team to play fast and ugly.

The Whitecaps’ wheelman, Pedro Morales, exerted no influence on the match; the exciting wingers were largely neutralized as a result.

And in the 26th minute, Philly had the chance their play deserved. Eric Ayuk’s deflected shot fell to Andrew Wenger two yards from goal. And in true 2015 Union fashion, Wenger donked the ball into a diving David Ousted. Good Union play in back and in midfield had allowed the offense a rare opportunity to let the team play with the lead and play through a strong shape and counterattack. But no.

Then Pedro Morales scored from a defensive error and a lucky bounce off a good tackle. And the Union, for all intents and purposes, folded. They exerted no pressure on the Whitecaps after the first goal and gifted the second to a good striker who got a quite favorable call.

This is the big problem: Even if Maidana’s back pass isn’t facepalmingly atrocious, and even if Ethan White just tries to clear the ball instead of putting things into the referee’s hands, the Union were not going to score. They had zero shots between Vancouver’s first and second goals and only one successful pass into the final third. The Whitecaps were cruising after spending the first 20-25 minutes unable to deal with Philly’s tactics. It all fell apart so quickly.

Morales’ slow start, slick finish

Pedro Morales makes the Whitecaps tick. And for twenty minutes, he was largely minimized by an organized shape that sent Zach Pfeffer storming up to press whenever the Chilean was on the ball. The rest of the midfield ensured that Laba and Teibert were forced to play square, which meant that whenever the Whitecaps got forward, the Union was organized and forced long shots.

But Union turnovers began granting Morales the space necessary to pick apart the visitors. In the 28th minute, a Marquez pass was headed down to Morales in the center and he took multiple touches with no pressure before releasing Techera down the right. Two minutes later, Morales again had time and sent Manneh through on the left. The Philadelphia defense retreated and never regained shape.

Why?

What exactly happened that turned the Philadelphia defense from an organized shell into a group of individuals chasing shadows?

If there is a unifying reason, it is that the midfield/striker defensive pressure and the way the defense plays ceased complementing each other. Philly’s defensive pressure appears designed to force other teams down the wing into a trap between the fullback and winger. When the shape is set up, it works fairly well. Ayuk and Gaddis can gang up on a wing player and force him backward into the waiting arms of Aristeguieta and Maidana.

When the team does not have time to form its shape after a turnover, however, the fullbacks are still following wingers up the pitch, breaking shape with the central defenders. When the opposition moves the ball side to side, the wingers end up chasing play instead of holding shape, and the fullbacks end up high but without a trapping partner. Teams can easily play small triangles by sending over a central midfielder or easily catch the Union out by balls into the corners.

And it really is shocking how often Philly is undone by a simple ball to the corner. The aggression of the fullbacks leaves space behind, but when the press is working, teams do not have time to pick the pass out. When the press breaks down — in other words, when there are a bunch of players chasing as individuals — good ball movement creates the space needed to pick out those corner runs.

It’s not all Ethan White’s fault

The odd part is that the Union have not adjusted all season. This is lack of adjustment is particularly noticeable in the play of Ethan White, who has been victimized repeatedly this season when isolated on the wing.

White is not a terrible soccer player. He is not even a terrible defender. He’s adequate with flashes of above-average; he can be efficient and competent. The Ethan White that looked like a perfectly serviceable central defender in 2014 was not a mirage. At full confidence, White deserves to be on a roster. But the book is out on him in MLS, and both White and the Union coaching staff have not adjusted.

First, and most obviously, White is prone to hit the long ball, but only to his side of the pitch. There will be no Parkhurst-to-Francis cross-field blasts off the foot of Ethan White. There will be plenty of long boots up to the striker line. Again, this is not great but it is hardly unique in MLS. And it is better that a defender clear the ball than muck around and lose it deep. White cannot take much blame for the Union’s shocking lack of aerial prowess.

But Philly has done nothing to compensate for White’s limited passing abilities. They do not drop a midfielder deep to give him a consistent easy outlet, nor do they play compact in midfield to vacuum up the loose balls after long passes. Furthermore, the Union seem not to have figured out how to deal with White’s tendency to follow strikers instead of passing them off to midfielders or his partner.

White likes to be aggressive and chase out of the back line, but big strikers like Kei Kamara can neutralize White’s athleticism, brush him off, and push the ball to their playmakers who now have a giant gap in the back line through which to pass. This appears to be a communication issue, with White and his teammates either not passing players off when they switch zones or not covering for each other when one steps up aggressively.

Finally, there is the spacing issue with the fullback. For such a speedy player, White is often beaten to the corner ball by opposing wingers, and once isolated he has struggled. Early in the season, White was compensating by sitting deeper to get a jumpstart on the long ball. But this granted so much space between the defense and midfield lines that it resulted in a benching and Mo Edu’s move into the back.

Since returning to the first eleven, White has been better positionally, but he still finds himself distant from his fullback all too often (in fairness, this happens with increasing regularity on the left side of defense too). How does the Union back line get stretched and staggered so easily? It is likely a combination of defensive breakdowns in midfield and communication breakdowns in back. What is clear is that it is making a player low on confidence look very bad, and for a team barely hanging on to hope, that is hugely problematic.

Killer confidence

In Columbus, Andrew Wenger had early chances to take his man on, or at least to drive at his defender and create some havoc. He settled for a cross into an empty box. On Saturday, it was more of the same. And not just from the so-out-of-form-he-might-as-well-be-liquid Wenger. Sheanon Williams, with three men in the box, did not even face up his defender in order to threaten a move and draw a second player close.

The Union’s lack of confidence in their own abilities and in their system has begun to manifest in the little parts of their play. This is easiest to see in how the team pressure can go from coordinated to chaotic at the first sign of trouble. It also comes through in this unwillingness to drive at the opposition when isolated and create opportunities. It comes through in the lack of off-the-ball movement when the ball goes to the wing. And it comes through in touches that turn good runs into speedy dribbles out of bounds.

In short, it is possible to see so many of the Union’s problems through the lens of low confidence, just as it is possible to see last season’s strong midseason form as a team at peak self-belief.

The onus rests on the coaching staff to put out a team that is too young and inexperienced to feel or understand the heavy emotional struggle the rest of the squad is experiencing or to simplify the game to the point where it is just hard to make big mistakes. So far, it seems as though Jim Curtin and company have often gone for a sprinkling of both and not enough of either.

Player ratings

Brian Sylvestre – 5

Though he was caught in no man’s land on the first goal, Brian Sylvestre proved a stable and competent goalie behind a back line that continues its descent into the chaotic. Sylvestre was good in the air, didn’t muff clearances, and took good angles on shots in tight, particularly from Techera cutting down the right flank. He may not be a long-term solution, but Sylvestre made sure that, for one week, the goalie was not in the spotlight at the end of a Union match.

Ray Gaddis – 5

Kekuta Manneh is a good player, and his athleticism can neutralize the advantage Gaddis has over most players he faces off against. In that light, there is little to complain about in Gaddis’ performance. He pushed Manneh inside to where his help should have been, and until the midfield broke down and Vancouver had time to pick out space behind the Union defense, Gaddis rarely needed White’s support over the top. The catch in all of this is that Gaddis is only effective offensively if he can play simple passes quickly. Currently, the Union do not give him enough support to do that and Gaddis becomes a liability moving the ball out of the back. Is he partly to blame? Sure. But it’s a lot easier to fix the tactics than change a player who is the only fullback on the roster not playing far below capabilities.

Ethan White – 2

Strong in the early going, White was a hot mess for the rest of the first half after his error led to the first goal. At some point, you have to feel for the guy. His confidence is so fragile right now.

Richie Marquez – 3

Another young player finally gets a chance to start… and picks up a red card. This season, man.

Sheanon Williams – 3

Perhaps the only player who can challenge White and Wenger for a spot atop the Loss of Confidence standings, Williams is playing reactive soccer right now. He is much, much better than that. At his peak, The Sheanomenon was a shutdown fullback who was turning his right foot into a cross machine. Now it is easy to find him ball-watching, turning his hips when he should stay square, and giving up tons of space to players he used to take out of a game with aggressive play. It’s weird, disappointing, and hopefully just a temporary nadir in form.

Maurice Edu – 4

Probably deserves a 5, but Edu can’t argue much with getting knocked down a point by the swiveling hips of Darren Mattocks. The passing was good from Edu, particularly in the first 20 minutes when he was giving support to the wide areas and playing small ball. As Vancouver grew into the match, Edu stayed in the center and spread the ball to the wings efficiently. The most disappointing part of the match for Edu is that he only collected five recoveries. If the Union’s press is working well, central midfielders should be finding many more loose balls.

Eric Ayuk – 4

Largely invisible, and when visible, anonymous. Ayuk met a very good defender in Jordan Harvey and he was unable to shake free as often as usual. That said, Ayuk continues to be the team’s best defensive winger (almost by default) and when the midfield is able to regain shape after a turnover, he does a good job protecting his fullback.

Zach Pfeffer – 7

Yeah, Pfeffer was hardly the most influential player on the pitch. And he’s no Vincent Nogueira. But he was never supposed to be. This is one of the best young attacking midfielders in the United States learning a box-to-box role on the fly in a broken system where the wide defense is an X-File and the defensive rotations in back look like a group of similarly dressed men running from invisible bees. Within that context, Pfeffer has improved significantly in each match. He is the only player that could be found reliably checking in to help his wingers with regularity all match. All but one of his recoveries in midfield led to completed passes (the one incomplete was a clearance from the endline). And Pfeffer’s passing chart — with only three incompletes all match — looks pretty darn good for a guy with wingers who are competing to be benched. Is this reaching for positives? Probably. But that’s where we are at.

Cristian Maidana – 4

Unfortunate for Maidana that he completed almost nothing around the final third because, like Pfeffer, his performance should be seen in context. The movement around Maidana when he has the ball has gone from disappointing to depressing, with players simply standing around and expecting their team to lose the ball.

Andrew Wenger – 3

Here are my notes for Andrew Wenger’s first 20 minutes: “Great passing move up the left,” “11- Another good run by Wenger,” “20 – Great aggression from Wenger.” All positive. Then… what happened? How can a player with so many physical skills let himself get taken out a match so consistently? Will the re-introduction of Nogueira give the Union a quicker transition and let Wenger run free? Seriously: Where is the player who at least took fullbacks on every time he had a chance? The final ball has never been his strong suit, but Wenger won’t even attack a defender these days. What gives?

Fernando Aristeguieta – 5

The big striker has nothing to feed on. Better distribution from him than in recent matches, but there’s no denying that the chemistry between Aristeguieta and his wingers remains non-existent.

Substitutes

Vincent Nogueira – 6

Active as usual, Nogueira couldn’t find his longball touch. That’ll come. At least he was trying them, which was a glaring flaw in Pfeffer’s performance.

Conor Casey – 4

Three touches in the opposition half in 14 minutes plus extra time.

Sebastien Le Toux – 3

Four touches (one where he was dispossessed) in the opposition half.

Geiger counter – 2

It’s hard to believe that a player running up the back of another player is not called in general play, so it is strange that Ismail Elfath waved play on when Octavio Rivero did it to Ethan White. That said, when the game is put into the referee’s hands those things happen. The red card on Richie Marquez seemed exceedingly harsh considering there was absolutely no intent and when strikers throw their foot into the swinging leg of a defender they are given a caution at worst. Very MLS level of refereeing on display (not a compliment).