Photo by Paul Rudderow
Philadelphia Union
The Union U19s scrimmaged Bethlehem Steel FC Tuesday in a developmental derby.
Quick hits from head coach Jim Curtin’s presser.
Curtin hears the boos and he understands.
Chris Pontius is not the best player on the team, and Oguchi Onyewu never fakes injuries. Fast forward to minute 1:55.
Local
Due to travel concerns with Hurricane Irma, Tampa Bay Rowdies have cancelled their Saturday match against Bethlehem Steel FC.
MLS
Kansas City is the best soccer city in the United States. Philadelphia comes in 15th overall, 6th in women’s college soccer.
Jack Harrison scored the game winner for NYCFC at Yankee Stadium. City beat Sporting KC 1-0.
NYCFC have signed Slovenian defender Andraz Struna.
LAFC have signed Rodrigo Pacheco on loan from Lanus.
After their stadium bid was voted down, St. Louis’ still has a strong MLS bid.
MLS has suspended Orlando’s Will Johnson in light of his alleged domestic battery.
The best MLS celebrations. Somehow, Eric Ayuk is not on this list and has therefore been deemed incomplete.
Around the globe
A handy summary of World Cup qualification status for all confederations.
It is quite possible that the USMNT will finish outside of the top three teams in the hex, who automatically qualify for the World Cup. Here’s what would happen next.
After fixing a World Cup Qualifier between Senegal and South Africa, Ghanaian referee Joseph Lamptey has been banned for life. The match will be replayed.
“He also signed up for a team that has been outspent by much of the rest of MLS throughout his tenure, whether on player salaries or facilities or scouts.”
Such a BS excuse. Teams who spend less than us are better than us and have been for years, like SKC.
We’ve always been close to the middle of the pack in roster spending. Regardless, it is the job of the coach to lift his players up. In the last 8 yrs RSL, Houston, SKC, Portland, Columbus & Colorado have all made it to/won MLS Cup with roster salaries comparable to the Union.
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While I would love to see the Union spend more, this is never an excuse.
Yes, part of the job of the manager is to lift his players up. Squeeze every last ounce of talent out of them. Maximum strengths and minimize weaknesses. etc, etc, etc.
Curtin has shown 0 of that in his 3 years here.
The salary part may be an excuse, but it does seem true that they’ve only recently caught up as far as facilities. And I still get the impression they’re way behind the norm on scouting, video, analytics,and other support. I do think the key decision makers hands are still tied to a degree by a very restrictive budget.
Possibly, but Curtin has taken lemons and instead of making lemonade has decided that the best use for them is to chew the seeds.
Scouting.
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Clearly they are serious about taking their time to get exactly the right person, throughout the organization.
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Possibly, the people they want may be under contract elsewhere. I have no evidence of this, it occurs to me as a logical possibility.
The OP is mistaken. There are only 5 MLS teams with lower total budgets than the Union and KC is not among them.
How is it possible given where we are this season that Curtin would even consider playing Creaville over Jones?
Curtin is not a good coach….it is that simple.
Better player?
Season is over, Creavalle has been a good soldier throughout his time here, and he may not be back next year. Curtin throws him a bone by giving him the start.