⚽️ Union Back Home to Host Atlanta United, Nashville

_{LAST MATCH: Union 1 - Columbus Crew 1}

_{NEXT MATCH: vs. Atlanta United, Wednesday, Oct. 4, 7:30 p.m. | Apple TV - MLS Season Pass}

Good morning. The Philadelphia Union have played 45 games in all competitions and there’s still the most important run of games left to play as they barrel toward what they hope will be another appearance in the MLS Cup final.

In the email today:

It’s Red and Blue October with both the Phillies and the Union in the postseason again but before the Union officially begin their journey back to MLS Cup final, they have two regular season games left.

Both home games should have a playoff-esque atmosphere as both Atlanta and Nashville have clinched playoff berths.

• Atlanta United is two points back so a Union loss would seem them leapfrog them in the standings.

• Nashville is six points back of the Union but they have a game in hand.

Our take: The time is now for the Union to return to their winning ways. Six points before the international break would practically guarantee a top 4 finish. The less riding on Decision Day in Gillette Stadium perhaps the better.

2) 🗣️ Andre Blake Speaks Out About Schedule Overkill

Andre Blake had the best game of his 2023 in game 45 but he still wasn’t happy about how many games the Philadelphia Union have played this year.

• “We’re the ones that are suffering, and the quality of the league is going to go down,” Blake told The Philadelphia Inquirer. “Are you going to allow us to have more depth? Or, if you ask players to play however many games, obviously there’s going to be injuries, and when injuries come, then teams don’t have their best players on the field.”

The expansion of the Leagues Cup was a big reason for that but they also still have potentially nine more games to play with the new Best-of-3 first round of playoffs. The expanded Leagues Cup and playoffs seem to be geared toward appeasing Apple and the massive deal they signed with the league for broadcasting. But how much is too much?

Our take: It’s about time one of the players spoke out about this. There are too many games and not enough resources being given to teams to navigate it. The product is suffering and fans are getting burnt out trying to keep up with it all.

3) 🎶 Doop Invades the NFL: “It Is Glorious”

The Philadelphia Union weren’t the first soccer team to use Scooter’s “Maria (I Like It Loud)” in the stadium but they deserve at least a mention in this clip about the song being adopted by the Indianapolis Colts.

4) 💧 Water Cooler: Which Game Is Bigger?

Have additional thoughts? Reply directly to this email to comment, and see if we include your response tomorrow.

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Results from our last poll Biggest Injury Concern:

5) 🔗 Link Roundup:

• 🧤 To no one’s surprise, Andre Blake was named to the MLS Team of the Matchday.

• 🏆 FC Cincinnati head coach Pat Noonan talking up the importance of the Supporters’ Shield after his team won it but the further imbalance in scheduling has made the trophy less significant than more.

• 👕 José Roberto Nuñez has a video interview with Live Breathe Futbol founder Ebun Olaloye about the company’s recent Philadelphia Union collaboration.

• 👟 Union head coach Jim Curtin and his Nike sneaker collection are back in the news.

The newsletter today was written by: Matt Ralph @MattRalph_

Thanks for reading!