Maybe he ET does have a replacement in mind for Curtin, but I have trouble seeing Sugarman signing off on replacing Curtin in the scenario you've presented after he has stuck with him this long (he has won the club's first significant silverware and has guided the team to the best finish in club history). He has already spent 3 seasons enduring the pain of Jimbo's learning curve, so why not reap the benefits of a young, (cheap) manager who has finally figured it out and is turning the corner? Sugarman only seems to make big moves when his hand is forced, be it by fan anger (Hack & Sak), gross incompetence (Nowak), or someone departing voluntarily (Earnie).
You said all that like results matter. He stuck with Jimmy cause they gave him a contract and he didn’t want to pay him while paying for Hack and defending a Nowak lawsuit. That contract ends this offseason.
Why would they fire someone who won a cup and made the playoffs in order to pay someone else to try and do the same thing? If they signed him and kept him because he was cheap, why wouldn’t that same logic hold when he’s cheap and successful? It’s not like Jimbo’s gonna hold out for mega money.
Jim Curtin has now earned 184 points in 145 MLS matches with the Philadelphia Union. Year: W - L - T (PPG) - GF/GA 2014: 7 - 5 - 6 (1.5) - 29/24 2015: 10 - 17 - 7 (1.09) - 42/55 2016: 11 - 14 - 9 (1.24) - 52/55 2017: 11 - 14 - 9 (1.24) - 50/47 2018: 11 - 11 - 3 (1.44) - 35/39 Total: 50 - 61 - 34 (1.27) - 208/220 Curtin's first 11 matches: 6 - 2 - 3 (1.91 PPG) Curtin's last 134 matches: 44 - 59 - 31 (1.22 PPG) John Hackworth earned 89 points in 73 matches: 23 - 30 - 20 (1.22 PPG) Peter Nowak earned 87 points in 75 matches: 21 - 30 - 24 (1.16 PPG) Philadelphia Union All Time Record: 293 Games Played 94 Wins 121 Losses 78 Draws 1.23 Points Per Game Goals For: 385 Goals Against: 421 Goal Differential: -36
If Jim's contract expires this offseason, he'll probably be hired away unless we give him a pay raise. He can always say he did the best anyone could do with the forward talent he was given. That probably isn't 100% true, but there is some justification there.
I was not aware that Jimbo's contract ended after the season. That certainly does change things somewhat since it would be a natural time to let him go if they really do want to make a change. I just don't see Sugarman ever making a change for change's sake, especially if things are finally looking up. Jimbo may be willing to stay here for a little less then he could get somewhere else if he doesn't mind working for Sugarman since he is from the area and he has family here. I believe he has younger kids, so being around family is convenient.
Firing someone is different than renewing a contract. I think they let it expire. Even if they want him back, what exactly is their motivation to lock him up? The soccer manager labor pool isn’t so tight that James Tiberius Curtin demands a premium. I think ErnstNotEarnie will be able to convince Jay his guy is within ~$ of a premium pay Jim and with a better pedigree. Jay is cheap but he understands below market valuation. This isn’t “bashing Curtin” btw, I’ve done enough of that here and deservedly so I think. This is what I believe a new SD would do and what tracks logically with what we know
Thanks, dude. I was in Europe for most of August. Maybe you should take over updating this going forward given the Union's record of late?
Good results aside, Ernst needs to do full evaluation. Needs to give Jim a hard look. Especially if we lose Open Cup and lose in playoffs round 1. Even if results check out at end of year if Tanner has better or higher profile options available they need to be considered. You can see the value higher profile managers like Tata bring when it comes to recruiting players which is clearly something the union struggle with. Jim doesn’t do much for us in that department. Not to say they would be able to land someone like Martino, but I'm not sure it would take much to find an coach to moderately outflash Jim. Should be the same approach we have with players.... Sapong was great at striker in 2017, but we should have wanted an upgrade for 2018..... Burke is great at striker in 2018, but we should still want an upgrade for 2019. there's room for improvement, and if we can improve we should take the oppourtunity.
Easy now, you’ll wake the status quo guys “who could do better with this roster? Strawman?!? Euro Strawman?!! HA he’d never learn the L33t Levels of Managing in The MLS! Member that one time Old Euro tried and those guys sucked. Ergo there are no better managers.” Wait, maybe that was from the Fire Hackworth thread....
What if Earnie Stewart brings in Curtin to manage the USMNT and no decision about Curtin staying or leaving needs to be made???
If he's out of contract, maybe another team will offer him a raise to leave Philly now that he's finally got the Union pointed in the right direction?
That would be SO UNION. Curtin final gets this head coach thing figurd out and leads another MLS team to success, while the Union have to suffer through some Euro retread learning how to navigate MLS
Surprised that no one said a thing here after Saturday's game....; was the worst job interview ever for Curtin. Based on that performance I'd be surprised if his contract gets extended.
First game he's lost since the new SD was announced. They played very very poorly, but it shouldn't count more than the times when they played very very well (NYCFC, DC). If it becomes a trend, then yes, he's in trouble, but doubt horribly losing one game does it.