Last night’s defeat to the New York Redbulls made it painfully clear that the Philadelphia Union are not true MLS Cup contenders.

It’s not that the Philadelphia Union lost a game to the New York Energy Drinks, it’s how the Union lost this game. Sure you can bring up that Jim Curtin didn’t use his substitutes early enough but he was hamstrung my injuries to Alejandro Bedoya and Josh Yaro making him bring on Carroll and Tribbett respectively. But if you go back to the disappointing results in both Toronto and Portland, the other games of this brutal road trip all against contending teams, it’s not all Curtin’s fault.

He’s been let down by his rookies making rookie mistakes, gaffes on set pieces, and most importantly, this team’s inability to finish. These aren’t mistakes that most of the playoff team’s would make and it shows that the Philadelphia Union still have a long way to go in their rebuild of the club.

Getting off to a hot start this season may have been one of the worst things to happen to this team because they set expectations that the team isn’t capable of living up to. Since the All-Star break, the Philadelphia Union are 5-9-4 and they haven’t gone more than two matches without suffering a defeat.

Having a striker in MLS is like having a quarterback in the NFL. You won’t win without one.

The main reason behind this has been the inconsistencies that are plaguing the team that in large part, have been masked by Andre Blake during the season. Blake averages 3.16 saves per game and that number doesn’t do his performances justice. He commands his box like no other within MLS and has the fearlessness to come off his line and neutralize an attack, the mark of a true sweeper keeper. Those things don’t show up on the stat sheet but they’re clear when you watch the team in action.

The issues on set pieces are something that needs to be addressed on the training ground. Dax McCarty was the shortest guy on the pitch last night but he was able to score on a header that was poorly defended by Philadelphia. That’s one area where Jim Curtin squarely takes blame in this one.

An area that he’s not the one to blame for is the teams finishing abilities. CJ Sapong has proven that he is not an MLS quality starting striker. Having a striker in MLS is like having a quarterback in the NFL. You won’t win without one. The Philadelphia Eagles have their quarterback but the Philadelphia Union do not have their striker.

CJ Sapong hasn’t found the scoresheet in eight straight matches and only has two goals and one assist in since the all-star break. That’s unacceptable from a target forward and at this point the team needs to move on. Sure, Sapong’s hold up play is great but this team isn’t going anywhere unless they get an option up top that can score. It may even be time to give Charlie Davies a run out in the team’s final two games to see if he can spark the attack or at least to light a fire under CJ.

The Philadelphia Union could have sold CJ for a million dollars during the transfer window but they’ll be lucky to get half of that on the open market for him after the season. But it’s clear that they need to upgrade.

The biggest issue with the team is that they found success too soon. They’re about two or three years away from being legit contenders. The academy looks great and it’s only a matter of time until Derrick Jones and Auston Trusty contribute to the first team. They got three steals in the draft that are poised to have outstanding MLS careers and the vision of the team is great under Earnie Stewart.

While that’s great, it has also led to some painful soccer games recently. I want to believe that this team can win the MLS Cup but it’s not happening this year. At this rate, the only hope is for the Philadelphia Union to hold on to the six seed and limp into the playoffs. If you told me at the beginning of the season that the Union would be the six seed in the Eastern Conference, I would have signed up in a heartbeat.

But watching the season unfold, coming in a six seed is almost as painful as watching a losing team. It’s the you’re almost good but not good enough award. But through dark times, the light at the end of the tunnel prevails. The Philadephia Union are an above average side but they have the pieces to be a top team in a few years.