Saturday Afternoon Union Freekicks: MacMath Adjusting, New Approach To Fitness, Michael Bradley To Villa?

As I start typing this, Southampton lead Manchester United 1-0 at halftime.  When my Blues played poorly today, at least they did so against Everton, another EPL team.  Southampton are League One.  They outplayed Manchester United in the 1st half and Southampton lead Manchester United 1-0 at half time.
On that hilarious note, here are your Saturday Afternoon Union Freekicks.

MacMath Adjusting Quickly in First Pre-Season [Judah Levine, PhiladelphiaUnion.com] – MacMath has a confident demeanor and he is eager to see action sooner rather than later.

Was That Really So Shocking? [Ed Farnsworth, Philly Soccer Page] – Ed Farnsworth provides a view contrary to mine on the waiving of Brad Knighton. 

Go East, Young Men [Philly Soccer News] – With the addition of two new Western Conference teams (Portland Timbers and Vancouver Whitecaps), a team needed to move to the Eastern Conference to even things out at 9 apiece.  That lucky team is the Houston Dynamo.

Union Taking A Different Approach To Fitness In PreSeason [Dave Zeitlin, PhiladelphiaUnion.com] – Nowak's approach to pre-season has been a kinder, slightly more relaxed one than last year's.

Aston Villa Get USMNT Midfielder Michael Bradley On Loan [Robert Lintott, 7500 To Holte] – The headline says it all.  Though, it's not officially a done deal yet, it looks like the American midfielder is heading to VIlla on loan from Borussia Mönchengladbach.

Union Working Toward Improved Second Season [Ryan Bright, CSNPhilly.com] – Bright asserts that there is a quiet confidence among the squad that has replaced last season's growing pains.

Fernando Torres to Chelsea – All the latest news and rumors as the Liverpool star seeks his move [Goal.com] – Torres wants out of Anfield and into Chelsea.  If you want the opinion of this Chelsea fan, I would like Torres on Chelsea, but Chelsea need a centerback (they have been linked with David Luiz of Benfica, although dealings have not been going well as of late) more than they need another striker.

Bad news.  Southampton proved they are a League One side, as Manchester United came back to win 2-1.  Related question, do Manchester United cast some sort of spell on their opponents which prevents said opponents from being physically able to play a full 90 minutes against them?