November 26, 2009 THEY’RE UNION MEN Philly makes 10 picks in expansion draft
By Charles Cuttone
Executive Editor
Philadelphia Union has finally started to come together. The first steps in assembling the team’s first ever roster began on Wednesday with the selection of ten player in the Major League Soccer Expansion Draft.
Union selected one goalkeeper, Brad Knighton (New England), three defenders Dave Myrie (Chicago Fire), Shavar Thomas (Chivas USA), Jordan Harvey (Colorado Rapids), three midfielders: Shea Salinas (San Jose Earthquakes), Stefani Miglioranzi (Los Angeles Galaxy), Andrew Jacobsen (D.C. United) and three forwards: Nick Zimmerman (New York Red Bulls), Alejandro Moreno (Columbus Crew) and Sebastien Le Toux (Seattle Sounders).
“There s a mix of good guys,” said Union Manager Peter Nowak. “ We believe they have a lot to prove. We have a lot of veterans in these selections, which we hope is going to provide some leadership for the beginning.”
The Union had the option of selecting one player from each MLS team, who were allowed to protect 11 players. The club did not select anyone from Houston, Real Salt Lake, Kansas City, Toronto FC and FC Dallas.
Nowak declined to list the order in which the players were selected, preferring to refer to them as the first ten.
“We felt that we will choose players that fit the characteristics of this region and this city,” said Nowak who went over the list of available players with Coach John Hackworth and CEO Nick Sakiewicz. “The most important thing was to find the right formula to get the right players together as a team. There was great discussions. “
The selection of the ten players however, is just the beginning for the club, which will play its first game March 25, 2010 vs. the Seattle Sounders at Qwest Field.
“We will make future acquisitions to stock our roster and our team,” said Nowak. Those future signings will be impacted by the league salary cap. “Those ten players are the starting point. We went over what we need and who we need. I think this is a very good group.”
Perhaps the biggest surprise of the process was who Nowak passed on, leaving a pair of star goalkeeper in Pat Onstad (Houston) and Kevin Hartman (Kansas City), in favor of Knighton, who has seen limited playing time with the Revolution.
“I was surprised with many names on this list that were unprotected,” said Nowak. “With all due respect to Kevin Hartman and Pat Onstad, because they did many great things in our league, this is someone who is not afraid of competition. We believe Brad will complete for the starting spot. Playing behind Matt Reis is not easy. He was hanging in there, he was always a great team mate and that’s what we need in the clubhouse.”
Nowak, who will be conducting another round of tryouts on December 5-6, can’t wait till the new club finally takes the field. He sensed the same excitement from the players he spoke to.
“I am excited,” said Nowak, who has gotten little sleep in recent days. “I did talk to the players after their selection. They are all excited about the work we have ahead. They are eager to see the stadium.”
Nowak plans to bring all the selections into Philadelphia sometime in the near future to introduce them to the city, fans and media.
“I wish that practice would be tomorrow,” he said. “We will have the players come to the city, we will help them to establish their families in the city. From the day they land at Philadelphia International Airport they will be our players. For me its important that from day one they feel like this is my home.”
