What The Philadelphia Union Lost Through The MLS Re-Entry Draft

No longer will you be able to hear the chants of “Seitz!” to the tune of “Shots” by Lil Jon in the River End after yesterday’s stage of the MLS Re-Entry process. The Philadelphia Union lost both Chris Seitz and Fred while passing on their selection. Fred, the Union’s third highest goal scorer was drafted by the New England Revolution while Seitz was drafted by the Seattle Sounders and later traded to FC Dallas for a fourth round draft pick in the 2012 MLS SuperDraft.

Fred started in 24 matches while playing for 1,913 minutes this past season and scored 4 goals (one game winning goal) with 1 assist. Though his numbers were low, he was one of the more creative players involved with the action midfield and a steady nuisance for the opposing team. While being a strong part of the midfield for the Union, Justin Mapp has shown poise and talent that Peter Nowak could choose to move him into Fred’s position. Though the midfield may suffer without a presence on the field like Fred, he did receive 6 yellow cards during the season and wasn’t the most consistent of players for the Union.

Seitz started 22 matches before Brad Knighton was given the role of starting keeper in 7 of the final 8 matches of the season. Seitz wasn’t able to achieve a shutout in his time as starting keeper while averaging almost 2 goals scored against him per game played. With Knighton starting, the Union recorded two clean sheets and his GSA average was one in his 8 starts.

Both Fred and Seitz sent tweets yesterday thanking the Philly fans for their support while playing for the Union.

The Union were rumored to be targeting Juan Pablo Angel yesterday. Unfortunately for fans hoping for a JPA, Danny Mwanga and Sebastien Le Toux strikeforce, the Union chose to pass on their selection and thus JPA. The Los Angeles Galaxy traded with the Houston Dynamo for a higher draft slot and used to to select JPA, who is set to join forwards Edson Buddle and Landon Donovan. A strong forward acquisition like Angel would have been beneficial to the Union in assisting Le Toux, though a veteran midfielder to replace the hole left by Fred’s departure is also something to be considered by the Union front office.

The teams who made selections on Wednesday now have seven days to tender an offer to their respective players. If an offer is made and no agreement is reached, the club will hold the right of first refusal on the player’s services in MLS.