Oct 16, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Union forward Charlie Davies (9) and defender Warren Creavalle (2) high-five fans as they run onto the field prior to a game against the Orlando City FC at Talen Energy Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Derik Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports

In the waning moments of the secondary transfer window, the Philadelphia Union acquired forward Charlie Davies from the New England Revolution.

When Philadelphia Union fans heard that news, most were excited. It signaled that the team wanted to win and that they were unhappy with the production that CJ Sapong was giving them. Little did we know, that Charlie Davies would never get a serious chance to crack the lineup.

Charlie Davies was brought in with a good goalscoring record, 14 goals in 66 appearances (41 starts), during his time with the Revolution to spark the Union attack. But while Sapong struggled for form (2 goals since May) Davies never got the game time that he deserved. Davies made nine appearances for the Philadelphia Union but never played more than 16 minutes in an appearance.

Davies’ only contribution to the team was an assist that he registered in a 4-0 win over his former employer’s, the New England Revolution. In that game, he only played seven minutes. While he is a great locker room presence it’s hard to come up with a tangible reason behind why Davies didn’t play more minutes. In the end, it comes down to Jim Curtin’s coaching style.

Curtin is clearly a player-manager. This means that due to his experiences as a soccer player, he can be overly loyal to his set starting XI at times. CJ Sapong has struggled for form most of the year and was clearly lacking confidence by the end of the season but Curtin refused to drop him. It would have been a perfect time to give Davies an extended look or at least pull CJ earlier in games but that didn’t happen.

Why didn’t Davies get more playing time?

Match fitness: The most likely reason behind Davies’ lack of time could be due to fitness. With the sheet amount of time that he missed due to cancer, it wouldn’t be that surprising if he never reached full match fitness during the season.

Playing devil’s advocate, that still doesn’t explain why Davies couldn’t go at least 30 minutes per game to get an extended look and give Sapong some rest.

PR Stunt: I hope that the entire signing wasn’t a PR stunt to play off of a feel good story but the subject must be discussed. When the signing happened, the Philadelphia Union were praised for giving Davies a chance since he was expendable in New England. While I don’t think that Earnie Stewart would take part in antics like that, it’s one of the only reasons that could explain the lack of consistent minutes.

What gives?

Honestly, I’m not sure, but this entire deal could be a waste of money in the way that the Anderson deal has been for the team. With Davies being out of contract this year, the Philadelphia Union have to re-sign him for the deal to make any sense.

If they don’t re-sign Davies, it will be seen as a waste of transfer funds. If they didn’t think that Davies would have helped then it would have been better for the Philadelphia Union to use the cash somewhere else (Patrick Mullins). Davies is young enough for this deal to work out for the Union but time is running out.