Photo: Earl Gardner
The Philadelphia Union gained a massive six points in the standings last week at the expense of Toronto FC, as the team surged up the Eastern Conference standings into a playoff spot.
In the latest edition of the KYW Philly Soccer Show, interim manager Jim Curtin is the guest.
Curtin tells KYW’s Greg Orlandini and PSP’s Eli Pearlman-Storch that the team is developing a new, counterattacking style, one which the team has deployed with considerable success over recent weeks.
Curtin also discusses the resurgent play of forward Andrew Wenger and defender Ethan White. Wenger struggled after coming over from Montreal in the Jack McInerney trade, but has flourished since being moved from the center to the left side of the field.
White, who came over in the offseason from DC United for Jeff Parke, didn’t factor into the Union’s plans at all earlier this season. But with other players out injured, Curtin put the defender into the starting lineup and he has been solid.
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To listen to the pod, click on the link above or visit the Philly Soccer Show iTunes page. Follow the pod on Twitter at @KYWPhillySoccer.
FINALLY, a Manager who realizes what the knowledgeable fans/analysts have been saying all season about the players who should be on the field and where they should be. The fact that he is a Philly fan born and bred means he knows what this trophy and success means to this fan base and is not taking this role lightly. If he isn’t our coach next year he will be greatly missed.
+1! Please FO “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” — Curtin and the boys are killin’ it out there – please don’t screw it up.
Agreed. Curtin certainly deserves the job. Results don’t lie.
I’m telling you- they HAVE to get this right. It is a tough position because if it goes south then we lost a great asset to the team’s future and local guy done good.
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I am still okay with bringing in a proven manager to let him study under for a few more years.
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All in all it is certainly hard to argue with the boost in play.
During the musical break after the interview, I imagined Curtin telling Eli and Greg his lineups for Sat and Tues with them laughing and nodding their heads.
Seriously, Curtin is always a good interview.
Great program; Curtin really does give a great interview. It’s just vibin so right with him at the helm…and I know it’s not always gonna be this smooth sailing but we need this guy tied up with this team
Well….looks like Mulensteen will be coach if twitter is to be believed. So resume of this guy is lacking. his last two teams fired him after a couple of months. Does anyone no something that will better this situation?
With the talk on who should play central defense, I could go with either White or Valdes. I think they are both starters and can be used in certain games when appropriate. I have to say Valdes has not been up to par with how much talk there was with him coming back and how good he is right now. He has been caught out of position and losing marks at times. On the other hand, he has been stellar with his distribution from the back, looks real calm with the ball and has proven to be a starter on this team. My point is that I feel both White and Valdes should and can be used as starters in the central defense depending on who the opposition is and what the game plan is.