Keon Daniel is not at the Youth Sports Complex, in Wayne, PA, according to fans that are at the Philadelphia Union's open team practice. Despite seeing a player of Daniel's build with a dreadlocks style haircut, the midfielder is not at the camp today.

Fans tweeted that the 25-year-old was sighted at preseason training camp this morning, before retracting their observations.

By Chris Wright

As you may have seen at the weekend, faced with the prospect of having to chase down Sunderland whippet James McLean, Per Mertesacker's ankle gave up the ghost and tucked itself underneath the rest of the lithe German in a bid to get out of the way as the Irish winger hurtled through to score the opener.

Amid a torrid run of form, player backlash and the famed "backing" of a trigger happy owner, the following month could be make or break for Chelsea boss Andre Villas-Boas

Every manager goes through it. A run of important fixtures that can ultimately decide a team's season. It's around this time of the year too.

Bolton 0 Arsenal 0
(Premiership)

Last night's clash at the Reebok was a classic example of a football match not being an isolated occasion, and not judged as such, but rather an act in a bigger play, with interpretations not purely taken from the ninety minutes of action, but from the wider context of both clubs.

Photo: Courtesy of Philadelphia Union

After last week's tumultuous events concerning the departures of Sebastien Le Toux and Faryd Mondragon from the Philadelphia Union, and the cancellation of the WPS season, this week's installment of the Philly Soccer Show podcast slows down the pace with a look at the Union as they begin training camp in Orlando.

Photo: Earl Gardner

Given the erratic nature of the preseason, we have elected to invert our usual post-match format and lead with player ratings. Preseason games are opportunities for positional and tactical experimentation, and so individual player performances become the most important factor in the evaluation of the team as they build towards the regular season.

The Philadelphia Union announced today that the team has signed five players, including four rookies from the 2012 MLS SuperDraft and Supplemental Draft.

SuperDraft selections Greg Jordan and Raymon Gaddis join fellow draftee Chandler Hoffman as members of the Union, while Krystian Witkowski and Antoine Hoppenot are the only two Supplemental Draft picks from any season under contract for Philadelphia.

In case you haven't heard, Greg Jordan, Raymon Gaddis, Krystian Witkowski, Chase Harrison and Antione Hoppenot are all official. That's three mids, one defender and a goalie signing their lives away to the Blue and Gold. How does this affect the lineups? That depends on the current presumed starters.

Our "men in red" took on DC United in Charleston this evening. This game was a tale of two halves. First half Chicago controlled the tempo and drove into the box at will. In the second half the team played on their heels.
From the start of the game Chicago took control. Frustrating the DC defense enough to draw an early PK.

Having already end their six years title drought, Craig Bellamy now has a new target for his club, Liverpool, which is finishing in the top four place and eventually playing in the Champions League again.

Bellamy believes that after finally winning something again, it's eventually time for the Reds to get themselves back into the height of European club competition and that's obviously the UEFA Champions League.