Union

Jose Martinez Fighting Opponents and Jim Curtin Using Shrouded Miser Language Means the Union are Officially Back

By Kevin Kinkead

Published: Jan 22nd, 2024 · 4:04 PM EST

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With preseason officially underway, I want to share three Philadelphia Union clips with you:

First game of the pre-season and Jose Martinez is already in mid season form pic.twitter.com/1F2nkXzAT7

— Jimmy King (@Jimmyking35) January 22, 2024

Does Cherelle Parker need to say it now? Like how else does the point need to be stated lol#DOOP | @PHLY_Union pic.twitter.com/fDkfQF8hsi

— JP. (@ParceroPhilly) January 22, 2024

“It comes down to the ambition of the club. Is the club okay with just developing young players, selling, and being satisfied with reaching those big games but not taking the final step? However, if the club’s ambitions are to really take the next step, at some point, we are… pic.twitter.com/xfVPk1J7Q4

— José Roberto Nuñez (@JoserNunez91) January 12, 2024

Clip #1: Brujo is trying to fight some guy during the first preseason game. That’s him doing what he does. Not totally sure what precipitated that kerfuffle, but the Flamengo player does a spinning elbow, like he’s Dricus du Plessis in the UFC title fight from the other night.

Clip #2: Jim Curtin never talks directly about Union owner Jay Sugarman being cheap. He talks about other teams being rich. But it achieves the same goal. It’s just a more responsible way to say that Sugarman doesn’t spend enough money. Curtin has been doing more with less for a full decade now.

Clip #3: If Curtin is being careful, then Andre Blake is not. This clip is from a few weeks ago, and he is 100% right when he talks about reaching big games, but not taking the final step. When he talks about going “with the movement of the league,” he means spending enough to keep up with the other top teams. The Union’s academy and moneyball-based approach has been really solid, and they’ve overachieved wildly with it, but if they had that little bit of extra investment, we’re talking about a powerhouse, year-in and year-out. They are right on the doorstep and ownership has to decide if it wants to remain there, or CROSS THE THRESHOLD.