by Mark Vincent Lincir

If Peter Nowak thinks he has a lot of time to get things going in Philly…he’s wrong. Gone are the days of taking years and years to turn a franchise into a winner.

Gone are the Bruce Arena induced days of not worrying about anything until it’s too late. The new motto in MLS from here on out has to be…win or be gone!

Who cares that the playoffs are six months off? Your fans and your advertisers certainly do…because they don’t just expect to get a return on their investment at Halloween.

It’s a new dawn in MLS now. More teams, more money, more exposure, more pressure!

There are too many quality players in this country and abroad that want to come here to hold onto any dead weight anymore. Nobody needs to be patient anymore…demand what you want and get it now!

Why not?

The Union looked awful tonight in their MLS debut against a very balanced and exciting Seattle club. Who doesn’t want to move to Seattle and live from April thru October following the Sounders everyday? I’ll do it…if somebody foots the bill.

I loved watching Philly’s flat-back-you-pick-the-gap-to-spring-your-breakaway-four that they had “implemented” until Toni Stahl (remember that name…because you may be playing against him this Sunday in your local Men’s League) got his second yellow in the first half of HIS CLUB’S FIRST GAME IN MLS!

Unacceptable, inexcusable…what was he thinking? I think he just wanted to get off the field because it was so bad.

Seattle looked good and I love Fredy Montero’s energy and nose for goal…where’s the American version of this guy? The USMNT desperately needs a player like him up front.

The only knock I have on Seattle is the turf…they’ve got to figure out a way to get real grass up there sooner or later. The crowd of 36,000 was unbelievable…as usual.

When did you think you’d take a great crowd and insane atmosphere for granted in MLS? Seattle does have it all when it comes to MLS. Great crowds, interesting and talented players…legit coaching (Sigi for U.S. National Team Coach…I”m gonna keep saying it until it happens) great weather (coming soon) and a great future (more designated players?).

Philly on the other hand, needs to get it together quickly. With a new stadium to be ready by mid summer…this is the one club that I am concerned might not fill its brand new stadium if they aren’t good.

Oh, almost forgot…how many games does ESPN need to televise before they figure out how to get it right? Was the cameraman they had working the game a rookie?

I felt like I was watching the game from Jupiter! Why not zoom in when the ball goes to the other side of the field so I can at least see what’s going on? Players shouldn’t look like little ants…ON TV!

Get it right or don’t do it…I’m sure the $100,000 camera that the guy is operating has a “zoom” button on it somewhere. It gets old to have to watch it…after 15 seasons and we’re still treating the game like it’s the first one we’ve ever televised. You don’t need to see all 20 field players in the frame.

Just get close enough so that the soccer ball doesn’t look the size of a hockey puck, okay? Is that asking too much? Unfortunately, it probably is.

Game MVP – Fredy Montero Seattle

Game WP (worst player) – Philly’s Toni Stahl and ESPN2 cameraman

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