Brotherly Game Archive
BREAKING NEWS: John Hackworth Fired As Manager Of The Philadelphia Union
John Hackworth "relieved" of manager duties effective immediately.
As of 12:15 EDT today, the Philadelphia Union twitter account has announced that John Hackworth had been “Relieved of (his) manager duties.”
JUST IN: Hackworth relieved of @philaunion manager duties. Jim Curtin named interim manager: http://bit.ly/1l4ClFs pic.twitter.com/Ywt2FWocW2
— Philadelphia Union (@PhilaUnion) June 10, 2014
Hackworth was named interim manager after the firing of Peter Nowak on June 13, 2012. He was then named manager on August 30 of the same year. Since taking the reins, Hackworth’s record was 23-30-20 overall and just a meager 3-6-7 this season.
After an offseason that saw the Union loosen the purse strings and spend for quality talent such as Maurice Edu, Cristian Maidana, and Vincent Nogueira, it’s not a surprise that Hackworth was let go after such a dismal start. With the chorus of boos reverberating louder and louder after each Union (under)performance, it’s little wonder the axe was dropped – especially with the team taking a hiatus for the World Cup.
Per the Union’s press release, Oreland, PA native Assistant Coach Jim Curtin has been named as the interim manager. Curtin spent nine years in MLS as a player – mostly with the Chicago Fire – from 2001 through 2009 before being hired as an Assistant Coach on November 29. 2012 by the Union.
Curtin’s first test as Union manager will be the US Open Cup match on June 17 against USL PRO affiliate Harrisburg City Islanders at PPL Park. It remains to be seen if the Union are exploring managerial options at this time.
