Bethlehem Steel FC coach Brendan Burke, center,
flanked by Union head coach Jim Curtin and minority owner Richie Graham
at an introductory press conference Thursday, has some big ideas how to grow
the Union's new USL squad.

The two most important pieces of the Philadelphia Union’s new USL team – the name and the coach – fell into place this week. Now the task laid at the feet of Union coach Jim Curtin, his Bethlehem Steel counterpart Brendan Burke and (eventually) sporting director Earnie Stewart becomes stocking a roster to compete in USL and boost the depth of talent available to the Union.

Burke seemed eager to go about that task, and offered several major hints about what that will look like Thursday at his inaugural press conference. Here are three non-contiguous quotes:

“I think it’s important to have a veteran core. There will be some guys in the 25-28 age range on this team. They need to be leaders by example. They need to be guys who’ve won in this league. … Winning is a part of the development. And in order to do that, you need a proven commodity. There are going to be players coming down from the first team so we know we’re going to get excellent help and support and be able to support those players with the minutes they need. …

“There’s going to be a lot of players over the next few months that I’ve coached in the past that are going to be hopefully reaching out and coming home as well, and I think the relationship with our first-team players was an important part of the process for me in deciding whether or not this was going to be the perfect opportunity, and that’s what I think this is. ...

“I think you’ll see some of our guys in the coming weeks and months possibly sign with Bethlehem right out of the Academy.”

That’s a lot to break down, so here goes:

First, the question of how many players a USL team requires. You’ve got 28 on the MLS roster, only 18 of whom can play every week. Conservatively, that leaves four to six to use in USL weekly.
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The trial of James McFadden, seen with Scotland in 2009,
with the Union has ended, and the club is in wait-and-see mode
on evaluating the forward. (AP)

With the Philadelphia Union’s season winding down largely devoid of intrigue, Jim Curtin’s press conferences have followed suit. To briefly summarize the key talking points (and there will be more as the week goes on):

Red Bulls game? Disappointing.
Orlando City game? Hopeful.
Andrew Wenger at fullback? Meh.
Leadership issues? Not really.
Sporting director search? For internal ears only.

About the only two new pieces on information from Wednesday’s final weekly presser concerned who was and wasn’t training.

Not present was Scottish forward James McFadden, who concluded his two-week trial stint. Curtin seemed pleased with the 32-year-old’s performance, and with the understanding that any decision to bring him into the fold would have to be deferred to the offseason when rosters un-freeze, the club has time to evaluate.

“We’ll sit down at the end of the year after Orlando and we’ll make an evaluation on that,” Curtin said of McFadden. “He did a great job when he was in. Did everything he could. I think he was fit. He played at his highest level possible, showed very well for himself. Had a good talk with him at the end and told him where we’re at in terms of our roster, obviously there’s no flexibility now to sign him.”

At the end of a long and largely disappointing season, the Union have fleshed out their training ranks with a number of Academy players. They continue to have Ken Tribbett, a Harrisburg City defender/defensive midfielder and Drexel grad, training with them.
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