Ye Olde Philly Soccer Page: http://www.phillysoccerpage.net/201...should-jim-curtin-return-as-union-head-coach/
Except that there is a very thick wall made out of this material called indifference that surrounds the Union front office, so nothing changes anyway.
I think the #1 reason Jim got the job and is keeping the job is because he’s a good soldier who won’t rock the boat. This FO wouldn’t last a minute with a coach willing to question them.
Earnie Stewart, even more bluntly: "I am very pleased and proud to announce that Jim Curtin will be the head coach in 2018"— Jonathan Tannenwald (@thegoalkeeper) November 1, 2017
Even though it was damn near inevitable, it still feels like a kick in the knee... Philadelphia Union, we take mediocrity to new heights. FFS.
Under current ownership, nothing will ever change tangibly or truly meaningfully on the pitch. That much has been made clear ever since the hope and promise of a new day post-Sak dismissal faded away. The manager position is merely a noticeable symptom of the greater problem. I really don't blame Jim, he's a decent guy who has a good gig for himself. Proper blame falls squarely much farther up the chain from him.
If you're right, the question becomes how can anyone justify supporting the Union given that being competitive isn't a primary goal of the club. If it happens (accidentally in a league that makes it hard to fail), they'll take credit for it, sure, but that doesn't do much for me. What's odd is that this organization remains faithful mostly to itself, to a fault, rather than to the fans that helped bring it into existence.
From Tannewalds transcript: Very pleased that he will be back. And on that behalf, I had some people write some things down for me. [He read from a sheet of statistics prepared with the help of the Union’s PR staff.] When I look at Jim and what he has done over these past years, I am very pleased that he’s going to be part of us in 2018. All-time Union wins leader with 39; led the club to consecutive [U.S. Open] Cup finals; first head coach in Union history to record double-digit wins in three consecutive seasons. Under Curtin, the Union own a record of 10-2-4 when scoring the first goal in a match in 2017. At home, under Jim Curtin, the Union own a record of 27-6-9 when scoring the first goal of a match since he took over as head coach. He has won 30 matches at Talen Energy Stadium as head coach of the Union. [He looked back up from the sheet of stats.] What the hell are these stats? Are you kidding me?
The guy has coached the team for something close to 45 more games than any of our other coaches. I would HOPE that he would be our all-time wins leader. They sure do love their spin.