Union coach Jim Curtin benches goalkeeper Rais Mbolhi

Jim Curtin made official on Wednesday what many Union fans have been waiting to see for a while: star goalkeeper Rais Mbolhi has been benched. John McCarthy, a Philadelphia native and La Salle University product who was last season's USL player of the year, will start Saturday against New York City FC at PPL Park (4 p.m., WPVI-6).

KYW's Kevin Kinkead broke the news Tuesday that it was going to happen. Curtin then addressed the matter at length in his weekly press conference.

Here is a transcript of Curtin's remarks:

To clarify some things, Rais Mbolhi will not be playing in goal. John McCarthy will be our starter. Andre Blake will back him up.

Just to be clear on that, it was my decision, a decision that I made, and it was based on performance. It's what I think is best now for Rais and for the Philadelphia Union moving forward, to get a result against New York City FC this weekend.

The last thing I guess I'd like to clear up too is that as the head coach, I'm responsible for all the decisions that are made here. It's not up to the players, it's not up to Nick [Sakiewicz, the team's CEO], it's not up to Jay Sugarman [the team's primary owner]. I have the final say. I make the decisions to move this team forward.

I'm responsible for our three losses as well. I'm a guy that has been honest and up front with all of the press. The coaches in this league are a lot like quarterbacks - they get a lot of the praise when things are going well, and they deserve to take the heat when things aren't going well. So I'm responsible for the three losses. I make the decisions here, and I have to live with them, and I have to get this team back in form.

[...]

We win and lose games as a team, but as the Kansas City game went on, throw-in after throw-in went into the box, and there seemed indecision with Rais. I just think, and I talked with him yesterday about it, he doesn't seem like himself. He didn't seem like the goalkeeper I saw that was winning us games in the preseason single-handedly.

I think the confidence was gone in him, his personal confidence to come off his line and make a punch after a lot of balls were getting thrown in the box, to kind of bail out our defenders. I understand he can't do that every time, but after the repetition of [Sporting defender Matt] Besler throw-ins - five, six, seven, eight, nine - and seeing that we were struggling a little bit, maybe there's a moment when he can come out and get one.

So we talked about that. My decision is based on: right now, he doesn't look like himself. I think it's best for the team that he have a seat and watch, and the team can move forward.

[...]

When you talk about salaries, there's always expectations in pro sports that go along with salaries, and performance - the guy who makes a good amount of money on the team is going to be held to a higher regard than the kid that you draft from Slippery Rock, you know? With that comes bigger expectations. And yeah, he's an experienced player who we needed to rise to the moment and get us points and win us games, and right now that's not happening. It could still happen down the road, but at the same time, right now it's not, and I think it's a needed change.

[...]

I spoke with him yesterday. It's my decision that it's best for him and the team right now that he is not with the group. We're going to move forward with McCarthy, who will be our starter.

Andre, coming off of the knee injury, is not quite himself yet. He's showing very well in training, but still, to throw him into the fire right now in his first game of the year, coming off a knee injury, I don't think the timing for that is good.

John has been excellent in the preseason. John has earned this right to be a starter. I have been very impressed with him. He's a kid that I have faith in, and I know our players have faith in him too. Any time you play a new goalkeeper, everyone has to raise the bar a little bit higher. Our defenders need to do a little bit more, our midfielders need to do a little bit more. Because again, he's a young goalkeeper. He played a full season last year and saw a lot of action, so he has that under his belt, but I will ask our guys to raise the level even a little bit higher in doing the little things to help John in his first start with the Philadelphia Union.

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[When Mbolhi returns to the team] will be up to me also. I'm putting a plan together. There are some things that we can talk about publicly, and I think the things we can talk about publicly are: it's performance-based - that's why he is not going to start - and it was my decision. [Those] would be the two things that we can talk about publicly. But there are certain things that will be kept in-house in terms of transferring players and that kind of thing, so that's going to stay inside.

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I think I'm making this move with what's best for the team. John is a guy who will come out of the goal on crosses and deal with things in the air, and right now, Rais didn't have the confidence and the presence, and I think maybe made a mistake or two in the last game.

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[Mbolhi] actually is a good guy. When I sit down and talk with him, he is a smart, intelligent guy. He sees the game, he's a pro. He did mention that he can't guarantee how he reacts from this, because it's the first time he has been benched. So again, he'll take some time away, reflect on some things - things he can do better, things he can improve on - just like I do after I lose. He's a professional and I expect him to come back better than ever.

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Plans get made and they are short-term, they are long-term. But the famous Mike Tyson line is: "Everyone has a plan until you get punched in the face." So you have to adjust. This is the first step in me adjusting.

I think it's what's best for the team. I think we have to move on as a group and get that first win. I think the group has belief - it may not seem it, the way we've closed out games, but there is still a confidence that I have in the players, and that I think the players have in me.

So again, I think we're early into this thing. It is three losses that we've had. They have been tough losses for sure, sleepless nights that go along with it. It's difficult. But at the same time, I still think there's a ton of season in front of us, and a way to get things right, and I think this is a first step in that.

[...]

With Rais, we were getting a guy off of a World Cup, so you're going to pay a higher price for him. The American goalkeeper is solid, it's one that we produce in abundance. At the time, we thought that Rais would give us a calming presence back there, and for a game or two he did. But at the same time, I think the way we've started the season and the things that I've seen on the field, confidence-wise with him, I decided to make the change.

Philosophically I do understand the idea of - I mean, guys I played with, Brad Guzan, that's a guy you'd embrace and you'd probably pay a little extra premium to get a guy like that. Tim Howard obviously comes to mind as well. But there's good, young American goalkeepers. I'd put McCarthy in that category, as one that doesn't cost that much, and is a guy that can come in and do a job.

[...]

He doesn't look like the same player that I saw in the preseason. There's confidence that's lacking in himself, and that leads usually to your teammates as well. So again, I wanted to do what's best for him, because there's no worse feeling than when you're out on the field and not confident.

So, yeah, part of it was the coming for crosses, but the other part was the goals that we've given up. We've given up too many, and we're trying to make adjustments and changes to improve that and get back to getting clean sheets.

Going forward, there will be two questions: will Mbolhi ever play for the Union again, and who should ultimately be held responsible for the debacle. We will see in the coming days and weeks whether we get answers.