Photo courtesy of Philadelphia Union
Note: PSP is looking for a volunteer to help with news roundups. If interested, please email dwalsh@phillysoccerpage.com.
Philadelphia Union
Andre Blake and some other guys took the field in Harrison, and Blake walked away with a PSP, philly.com, and BG (check out the first comment while you’re there for some damning stats).
Post-game quotes. (Andre Blake) Highlights.
Ale Moreno thinks the Union needs to spend more on first team talent and play the young guys more. Hey guys, I have an idea for a potential Curtin replacement…
Earnie Stewart talks to ESPN about his long view.
Local
The Steel battled Louisville to a 2-2 draw.
While the Union season is winding down, the Union Academy season is just getting started.
MLS
Scores and recaps from this weekend’s action.
This week’s armchair analyst looks at the playoff races and how certain coaches have positively impacted their squads.
The Union are officially <1% in the playoff odds.
Atlanta has now set the single game attendance record and has its eyes on other attendance records.
FC Cincinnati broke their own attendance record, drawing over 30K fans for their home finale against NYRB2.
Around the globe
The USWNT beat New Zealand 3-1.
The USMNT is old. And injured.
The last USMNT qualifier will be played at a small stadium in Trinidad.
Jonathan Gonzalez is the latest player to interest both the US and Mexico.
Neymar went to PSG to be the star. Cavani has other ideas. His replacement at Barcelona tore a tendon.
Highlight of the day
I usually highlight goals or saves here, so how about a nice stout defensive play for a change?
Excuse my language, but holy shit Curtin needs to GTFO.
Like, it’s mind boggling to me that Jones does not pay 90 minutes these last two games. Not only are they trying to feed us BS about being about the youth, but Bedoya AND Haris need a FUCKING GODDAMN rest once in a while. Jones coulda played in place of Bedoya last game and Haris this game.
Same thing with Najem. We have seen Ilson and Alberg for two season. We know what they are, and that is gone after this season. Why the FUCK isn’t Najem playing these games?
Yeah, but if we play young guys, we might lose, and if we lose, we might be the worst team in MLS, and if we’re the worst team in MLS, then Earnie Stewart trading the #1 pick for Charlie Davies will look even worse than it looked at the time and more people will realize that Stewart is completely incompetent.
.
Gotta protect your rep, ya know?
So they can play in meaningless games at the end of the regular season for the Union, or they can play in meaningful games for Bethlehem, given that the Steel actually have a chance at making the playoffs. Leave them on the Steel, they have something to play for there.
I’d buy that for bubble players we aren’t sure about. But Najem and Jones are NEXT IN LINE (or so we are told).
Those are the type of kids you should be clamoring to get MLS minutes as soon as possible
I think Curtin is really the main issue with this club. I still maintain that a better manager has this team in the middle of the table. 5-7. He has decided to plow ahead with one vision for how things should go, even when that vision has built a remarkable record of consistent failure. There’s no way a better manager who handled the squad pragmatically would not get better results. Curtin just got this job too soon. He needed more time as an assistant to a real seasoned manager.
Agree. Told my ticket rep that I will not renew until he is out and a better manager has been appointed.
Do you really think the decision is solely up to Curtin?
Do you think if Earnie came up to Jim and said play the kids Curtin would protest?
.
for whatever reason the organization as a whole has decided that throwing in 5 or 6 kids out there is a bad idea.
.
There may be good reasons to do this there may be good reasons not to do this but putting this squarely on Curtin is crazy.
It is not at all crazy. Stewart has said in numerous interviews that he doesn’t make coaching decisions. He’s said he’s not even behind the 4-2-3-1 formation. He asked Curtin what Curtin wanted to play. Unless Stewart is lying to our faces, which is possible, but not likely, Curtin is responsible for player selection, squad choice and tactics.
In ANY OTHER league in practically ANY OTHER SPORT (save the Sixers) Curtin would not have survived the year. Far better managers have been sacked for less.
Not sure what Curtin has showed you in the 4 years he has been here for him to earn the benefit of the doubt.
So you are saying in the Union organization that Curtin has all of the power. Power over Sugarman, over Stewart, Richie Grahan(and you know he has to have lots of pull on the over all developmental structure of the team)
Playing the kids isn’t merely a day to day tactical decision it involves player development, it involves business (consider how outwardly throwing in the towel might look to the casual fan), it concerns Bethlehem Steel. To put it all on Curtin is possible. But no its not happening.
.
The Union have a history of certai front office types meddling in the teams day to day operations. You hire someone like Stewart to do that competently.
I mean, do I think the coach has the power to choose the formation? Yes I do. I don’t think thats too crazy.
If your argument is “ES should be stepping in, and strong arm Curtin away from the 4-2-3-1 and forcing him to do x and y” then I guess that’s an option, but clearly ES and Sugarman aren’t like that.
And I don’t mind that part. I like that the upper management will trust their direct reports and not meddle in it constantly. We don’t need a dysfunctional FO that does not trust each other.
The problem is that Curtin is the wrong on to trust and it’s time to move on.
At what point do you hold the coach accountable, Sieve? Is it always someone else? I think the FO’s big mistake — and probably one they acknowledge and will save Curtin’s job — is that it failed to supply a legitimate #10.
–
However, I maintain that a better coach would have found 10 more points out of the last 29 matches to have us in a “red line” fight with Red Bull, Atlanta and Montreal.
–
I never expected him to win the league, but I expected organization, tight team defense and planning. I haven’t seen evidence of anything.
–
I like Curtin a lot as a gentleman. I admire his poise, his professionalism and work ethic. But there’s no way he could complain if Stewart showed him the door on Oct. 23, the day after the last match is played.
the reason it would bother me if they fired curtin is that it would so obviously be scapegoating. the implication to the fanbase would be that he is the reason this team is not successful and it seems to me that that is obviously untrue
There’s definitely more than one reason. But one of them is Curtin.
From bad formations to bad substitutions – Jim Curtin is absolutely “the reason this team is not successful”.
.
He has been stuck w/o a #10 this year, but his career record is 36-48-31, which mirrors his 8-12-9 record for this year. i.e. BAD!
btw, I also put the lack of a #10 squarely on Curtin’s inability to coach Alberg into the player he should have been for us this year – Roland shows glimpses of his potential in every game.
that is some pretty interesting thinking. curtin is supposed to teach a 27 year old professional dutch footballer how to play as a 10
The issue is the ownership. Even if they fire Curtin they won’t spend the money necessary to hire an established coach and won’t give that coach the resources to have a full staff or enough money to sign the players needed for a competitive roster.
Yes, this is true. This team will not be successful until Sugarman either starts spending money like a successful owner or he sells the team and not a moment sooner. Curtin probably was promoted too early but the failure of this team is not on him. It is so obvious that he does not have a roster that can compete. The turning point for me this season (and maybe for the franchise as a whole) was when the transfer window was closing it was obvious that they could not compete without a 10 and they still chose not to acquire one. The ownership does not care enough about whether this team wins or loses to ever spend the money to get the right players and unless this changes i am asking myself if it is worth giving it my continued attention (and money)
Sugarman won’t sell the team until MLS is done with expansion to get max money. He is also on the expansion committee.
i know, but that doesn’t make what i said untrue. i’m not saying he even needs to sell the team; it is theoretically possible that he will start spending money on organizational infrastructure and 2 or 3 players making a million or more and if that happens this team might become something that looks like a contender. but in its current trajectory it is not cutting it
Hopefully they can get a #10 and a really good winger in the offseason. I don’t think they’ll go after a striker because CJ is under contract for another year and I think Simpson is as well so there’s already $800k being spent on that position.
I liked Taylor Twellman’s comment on ESPN yesterday during the game that Bedoya is a TAM player and we need 3 DP’s to compete. Well said. Good guy, that Taylor Twellman. . . .
well that could be said for just about any team.
No, most teams already have 3 DP’s on their roster. We have 1 playing and another who’s been hurt for two years.
This team is just so broken on so many levels… so sad
https://www.fourfourtwo.com/us/features/atlanta-toronto-putting-mls-complacent-billionaires-shame-spending
We’d better hope that the other MLS Billionaires do not step up to Atlanta’s challenge. Sugarman is NOT a billionaire and the Union will be in even more trouble if Colorado, New England, LAG, LAFC, NYCFC decide to go for it.
But they will. That’s what happened with
Chicago and will happen with the Union. Attendance will start to decline and that will be the magic moment. Homegrown players will start to add depth and TAM is increasing with millions coming off the books. Then it will be a few choice DP’S to win back casual fans. It just won’t win you a Cup as MLS goes 4.0 and they are not yet at 3.0 and that’s THE PROBLEM. The Union need Comcast money and the stadium expanded to 30,000 to compete soon. Atlanta made 2.1 million on the gate yesterday if the average ticket was $30.00. I would bet it was higher.
I didn’t know Sugarman was on the expansion committee. That explains everything. He will never spend and he won’t leave until he gouges the first owner after the last expansion. And he probably gets to help decide how and when that happens.
Us not going to games is irrelevant. He’s already like $60 million in the black just on increased expansion fees. The stadium could be half empty for years, and he’s still going to cash in at a ridiculous level.
Yeah, Curtin and Sorber are jokes. But they’re cheap.
Enlightenment really hurts…maybe my kids can come see a good team when they’re parents…my kids are currently in elementary school.