Jim Curtin: Looking out for a new No. 10?

No. We’re still actively looking but at the same time we know that we have some young guys that are capable. This offseason has shown just by the actions of it that there is more of a commitment to youth. Our roster is significantly younger. I think that is also seen on the field in terms of the intensity of training, the amount of ground guys are covering. The No. 10 position specifically, we’re happy with the work Ilsinho has done there with Adam Najem and also Anthony Fontana. Fontana can play the 10, can also play the 8 and has gotten some reps at both. These games will tell us a lot. It hasn’t changed. We haven’t stopped searching, that is not the case at all. Every team right now is looking to make little tweaks and upgrades, but we know in the back of our mind we do have capable guys there. We are going to lean heavily on playing young guys this season.

I’m confident in the group that we have right now. I think the addition of David Accam makes us different. I think some guys have another year under their belt. Obviously the quicker you can get the entire group together is better, but we know that this isn’t our final roster quite yet. We still have some flexibility in terms of some roster spots. We still have the ability to sign a young player or two to the supplemental side of the roster. We’re not the complete group that you’re going to see quite yet on March 3. Whether it happens this window or next window, it still remains to be seen. But at the same time, we like our group that we have, the training sessions have been good. We’ll get our first test against Red Bull to see what it looks like.

Union managersounded definitive on several points Thursday in a conference call from the Union’s training base in Clearwater, Fla. The only issue was that those points seemed to be moderately in opposition to each other, befitting the bumpy process of roster building.Here’s Curtin’s response to two questions regarding the No. 10 position, which has long been tabbed as an area to upgrade. The first was a query about whether the praise that Curtin has lavished onat all changes the priorities in the transfer market:Later, a question was posed as to whether Curtin’s preference is to have said reinforcement in sooner rather than later, and the response included more equivocating:OK, I hate to be the guy who dissects this within an inch of its life, reading between the lines. But this isn’t a normal situation. The lack of a No. 10 was defining struggle of the Union’s 2017 failures . It has been highlighted since last fall as the issue. And to not add a playmaker in the offseason will not only be a missed opportunity after the astute acquisition ofbut will leave the club open to all manner of anger from a fan base starved of success and excitement.So here’s how I read the tea leaves:Curtin said elsewhere Thursday that they’ll have a couple of names in training to be released Friday, young players they’ve tracked but no household names. I don’t know that another Homegrown is on the horizon, but the roster has room for young players to stash.Curtin was effusive in his praise of the 18-year-old Homegrown. “I would say Fontana has impressed the staff that has already been here previous,” he said. “And I’ll use Pat Noonan as a guy who comes in with new ideas and no real opinions on anybody, but Anthony has stood out to Pat. Kind of reaffirms what the staff that has previously been here has seen from him this preseason.” Those are good things.Curtin had plenty of praise for the second-year pro. That and the reassertion that the Union will play young players casts doubt on an addition of a high-profile No. 10.This is not the dinner bell for new formation predictions (though I assume I’ll have something like that in the coming weeks). I think you could see the Union playing in different ways because of the speed and verticality of Accam andTo tie that into the No. 10 position, it could deemphasize the creative aspect of that spot, where maybe a hybrid 8/10 like Najem or Fontana fits better.The player “with another year under his belt,” yeah I’d read that as the Brazilian.That’s not to say he’s doing it disingenuously by any means, but Curtin is a players’ manager who’ll always go to bat for his guys. In this case, he’s got reason to believe in the talent he has. Whether that stands up to the scrutiny of 34 games remains to be seen.OK, that’s clear. Then a new No. 10 is coming soon?- “Oh, nevermind.(insert Xs over eyes emoji)The Union aren’t often a team that has declared, ‘we are going to do X,’ and then quickly and predictably did that. There have been some obvious departures in the personnel acquisition department, most often when the need is so glaring (i.e. a striker last year, or an attacking midfielder before 2016 whenand Ilsinho were added). I think the No. 10 now falls in the latter category, but it appears that’s up for debate.

Labels: Adam Najem, Anthony Fontana, David Accam, Fafa Picault, Ilsinho, Jim Curtin, Pat Noonan, Philadelphia Union