Ernst Tanner Speaks on 2023 Philadelphia Union

Ernst Tanner spoke with reporters on Tuesday about the 2023 Philadelphia Union season.

Philadelphia Union sporting director Ernst Tanner spoke with reporters over Zoom on Tuesday afternoon

Tanner coveted a variety of topics concerning the club. Below is a full transcript of the interview.

Questions were edited a bit for clarity in the transcription.

Question: Jim Curtin goes into his last year of his contract. What do you want to see and when do you start negotiating a new deal if that’s what you want to do?

Tanner :”We already started discussions. We had a meeting with ownership already. We brought it up even last year. It’s on my radar.”

Q: With the success that Jim has had, do you have any concerns about the US national team, or someone like that, coming for him. If so, is there someone you have on staff that you think could be a head coach in the near future?

Tanner: “Of course these concerns are always coming up. I think U.S. Soccer needs to sort out what they want to do first and foremost.”

“It’s my job to keep my eyes open in case something is going to happen. This is an ongoing process anyway. We will prepare if something happens. I think that Jim likes it here and we are doing a good job. We both stand for the Union. That’s our priority.”

Q: How would you describe your relationship with Jim. Coming in, there were more questions about the team’s performance than there are now. How do you see him and how have you grown in your relationship?

Tanner: “We’ve been working perfectly together. It’s a very trusted relationship now and that has built over the last couple years.”

“When I came in, there was not much success. At least we gave it a try. That was the first discussion we had when we prolonged his contract for a year to see if we can work together and share the same ideas and more or less put in place what we put in. We grew over the years. Success helps, and it’s not everything in a relationship, but I think it’s very respectful and very well trusted. It couldn’t be better.”

Q: How important is the roster continuity that you have?

Tanner: “I think the boys are absolutely motivated after last year. You see it now in preseason. They are very sharp. We have a good starting XI and we still have work to do on our depth in preseason.”

“We are developing our young boys. That’s very important, in particular, for our club as we put a lot of effort in our Homegrown development. If you look at them in training, they are doing extraordinarily well. They grow older, are more experienced and some of them have even been starters in the last year. We expect them to do even more. We are in a pretty stable situation, but you are always looking for improvements and that’s what we are doing right now. We will definitely sign one, maybe two, players. If we don’t lose one, then that’s good for the season. If we lose players, then of course we need to add in addition to that.”

Q: Which academy players are down in Florida with you? Are Frankie Westfield and Nelson Pierre specifically there?

Tanner: “We are bringing the young boys in. Nelson is part of our team. He has a professional contract and we will promote him.”

“These are the boys in transition. This is exactly why we have a good relationship between the first and second team. That’s exactly why we are doing this. We need to have them in training to see how far they develop and what is best for their development. So far they are doing pretty good, as well as Gino Portella, who is with us.

“Some of these boys are not that far off. They are certainly not in a position where they can claim a starting XI position. That’s clear. But these transitions between second and first teams is absolutely necessary in order to develop the boys and that’s what we are doing.”

Q: There was chatter a few weeks ago about Bajung Darboe. Can you clarify what his situation is?

Tanner: “That’s not true (that Minnesota was trying to sign him). Bajung had an offer out and didn’t sign it. He is maybe on his way out depending on his passport. He is going to get the European passport and might go over to Europe.”

“He had an offer from us and he didn’t accept it. The offer was to start on the second team and then we were talking about possible transition to the first team. There’s a lot of things going on in the background that you don’t know and that has something to do with his rights. It’s very uncertain and it might be best for him to go over to Europe to get some clarification on that.”

Q: Do you have timelines where you would want to see the international players on Union II integrate more into the first team?

Tanner: “We definitely have them on our radar, but in the case like Jose Riasco, he is away with the national team at the Under-20 competition in South America so that’s difficult to evaluate him. As soon as he’s done, we will bring him to training for sure.

“You can have a timeline, but if they are not ready, everything is obsolete. They will get significant minutes in the second team. That’s very realistic as we have our starters in the first team, especially with our forwards scoring 30-plus goals together. It’s not that easy to take minutes away from them.”

Q: Jim Curtin hinted that Quinn Sullivan will get a chance in a more advanced role. Where do you project him?

Tanner: “That’s exactly what we discussed and what we have planned for him. He has a couple of real qualities, in particular, in front of goal. In my eyes, that’s exactly where we should put him so he can emphasize on his strength. The work rate he is putting in is something we really appreciate. These capabilities are perfect for him to play even more behind the strikers as a No. 10.

“We need to look out for the (third forward), but I’m confident in Quinn as a second No. 10.”

Q: What do you see as the value in inter league trades? Is that a mechanism you’ve found more value in as you’ve learned more about MLS?

Tanner: “Depending on what is available. I think you can find real assets, like last season. We have gathered a bunch of allocation, which is better to use inside than outside because you can get more value out of it. That’s an economic aspect which we need to take into consideration.”

Q: Does your reputation make it harder to trade with MLS clubs?

Tanner: “That’s for sure. If you are on top, people always think you have more money available, which is not always the case. Second, if you are going for hidden gems, people are more curious about what’s following. The prices are rising. That’s definitely the case.

Q: Do you feel since you’ve come into the league, you have influenced other clubs?

Tanner: “I gave (St. Louis City’s Lutz Pfannenstiel) a job at Hoffenheim ten years ago. Listen, we are in a way setting some trends.

“What we have done in the past is pretty outstanding because we are really trying to be reasonable with what we spend. And achieving the best results possible with those resources.

“Of course, that causes some clubs to copy us. But the copy is not better than the original.”

Q: You mentioned last year that Mikael Uhre could be a 20-goal scorer. What have you seen from him so far and what steps can he take to reach bigger heights?

Tanner: “Mikael himself knows that last season wasn’t his best season. He scored many goals for us. If you remember how it started and continued until summer, we can do massively better. That’s exactly what I’m seeing right now. He came fit. He followed his off-season program. That’s what you see in training. Hopefully we will see a better Mikael.”

Q: It looks like you’re going to finally start a season with three designated players on the roster. Would it be a nice statement of intent to prove the team is not going away anytime soon?

Tanner: “I’m grateful to ownership to make that possible. We earned a lot of trust and finally we are really spending. Having three DPs is a statement in a way. I think we will have a lot of fun. First and foremost we need to do the necessary work to bring everything on the pitch as it was last year.

Q: You had a fairly big departure in Garrison Draper this offseason (to Inter Miami), can you speak to the work he did and what is the challenge you face as sporting director to keep some of the practices he put in place?

Tanner: “We have a replacement already. It’s not possible to replace what he did as one person. I decided to split the department into a performance and health department. We acquired Max Lankheit from San Jose. He will lead the performance department. Brad Papson, who is a long-term employee of us, will be responsible for the medical and health department. We split what Garrison did in half. I think that’s a wise move.

Q: Is it difficult to lose Garrison Draper to an aspiring rival?

Tanner: “You don’t love to lose anybody, but you need to respect what the employee wants as well. We had the discussion with Garrison. It’s a new step for him after a long time here. In the stage where he was, it might have been good to see something else and develop.

Q: How do you view the right back competition?

Tanner: “They can both start. I would even say they can both play on the other side as well. That’s a huge competition within the team. It’s a very comfortable situation because with playing so many games it’s valuable to have somebody with a little more experience and (a young player)

Q: Do you see the current depth aiding tactical flexibility?

Tanner: “If you look at the schedule, we have a lot of constraints. We are playing in international periods where we have to release a lot of players. We are playing a lot of competitions. There’s so many games. There’s even one game immediately following an international release period. There will be situations where you go somewhere and have to carve out a result somehow. That’s exactly where the tactical flexibility Jim talked about and we discussed this offseason is necessary. We might not even play the same style in every game. We will see how the season goes. Sometimes you even surprise your opponents by doing that.

Q: What did you make of Year 1 in MLS Next Pro? What are some areas of improvement you would like to see?

Tanner: “Honestly I think it is a big step forward to have the MLS Next Pro league. If you look at the characteristics of the games and technical quality of the games. If you remember games in USL, you play against teams that are more older and stable and are just sitting and trying to hit you on set pieces and on the counter. You are running against the ball. There’s a totally different characteristic in MLS Next Pro, where you can really develop players. We have seen a lot of developments last year, and in particular, when you use the first-team players and academy players in that team. Some players are regularly training with the second team and building the base. It will get even better with more teams and more games and more meaningful competitions.