Photo: Paul Rudderow

Philadelphia Union

Amobi Okugo understands the team squandered a huge opportunity in Saturday’s loss to Chicago, that “we didn’t step up like we needed to.” Okugo continued, “Luckily for us we’ve always bounced back from losses. I don’t think we’ve lost two games in a row this season. I don’t want to jinx it, but hopefully we can come back next weekend against D.C. I know they’ve got some momentum after beating Montreal. Hopefully we can get that win.”

And so, the players are ready to move on from Saturday’s loss. Zac MacMath said, “You have to wipe it away because there are plenty of games left in the season. Three really good opponents coming up and every point matters so you have to put this one behind you. We have to go back to what we were doing better the last few months and hopefully that brings us results.”

The latest Inside Doop echoes questions about John Hackworth’s decisions in Saturday’s game, particularly the decision to insert Leo Fernandes into the game and why Aaron Wheeler was not used. Looking forward to Saturday’s game against DC, Zeitlin wonders who Hackworth will start in center midfield.

Zolo Times looks back on Saturday’s loss and asks, “although it was difficult to watch and the outcome was disappointing, was the play any different from what we have seen all season?” before concluding, “The team needs a shake up. Some players need to be benched and others given a chance.”

The Guardian looks at Jack McInerney’s scoring drought and concludes, “As his club season has progressed, it’s become clear that the key to Philadelphia’s success is less McInerney’s poaching than Conor Casey’s role as John Hackworth’s focal point. In that way, McInerney is playing out the “Chicharito” Hernández comparisons that were prevalent this spring. Just as Hernández’s hot start at Manchester United has regressed into a more modest level of production, McInerney’s failed to fulfill the hype. But when talking about a 20-year-old—somebody naturally susceptible to inconsistencies—the hype is often more of an issue than a player’s varying performance.”

In ESPN’s latest power rankings, the Union tumble four spots to No. 12. At SI, it’s a one spot drop to No. 10.

A report on the Union website publicizes Michael Lahoud’s charitable work with the Philadelphia Union Foundation and the Bresee Foundation in helping to bring four young players from Central Los Angeles to train under the guidance of Union players and see the sights of Philadelphia.

Local

On the PDL website is a Q&A with Reading United president and general manager Art Auchenbach.

The Pennsylvania Roar have named Eric Puls at the new MISL team’s first head coach. Puls, who is from Shillington, Pa., Is founder and president of the NPSL’s Reading Revolution and formerly played for the Reading Rage.

The Reading Sentinel reports that Puls plans to build his team “with a combination of Harrisburg City Islanders, former players from the indoor team, the Philadelphia Kixx, local and non-local players.” I can’t help but wonder what the Harrisburg Heat of the Professional Arena Soccer League think of Pul’s plans since the team used quite a few City Islanders players in its inaugural 2012-13 season.

MLS

Clint Dempsey said at his introductory press conference on Monday of his return to MLS, “I wanted to be able to come back when I’m in my prime and not when I’m past it to help continue the growth of this league and of this club…I want to come and make an impact. I want to win things and I’m still going to work as hard as ever to make sure that my game is at the highest level possible and I’m doing everything I can to help the team win.”

Dempsey also said, “I’ve been in Europe for six and a half years and I just wanted to come home. Each year was getting more difficult to go back. I was already starting to get the itch. And I think everything just has to do with timing. The Seattle Sounders moved mountains to get me here. It was an opportunity to come back when I was in my prime and continue growth in the league and it’s a challenge.”

At SI, Grant Wahl has a behind the scenes look at how the Dempsey deal went down. In the article, Wahl says that an unnamed source familiar with the deal told him that the league paid for Dempsey’s $9 million transfer fee, although he notes that an unnamed league official disputes this.

At The Big Question, Aaron Stollar notes Wahl’s suggestion that the league paid Dempsey’s transfer fee and observes,

the rule only appears to apply to those players big enough to demand DP-sized salaries – the kind that have to get approved by the league (really, the other owners). The other returning USMNT guys, the kinds of players that might not require DP-sized salaries, still have to go through allocation and, if required, would have their transfer fees paid by the teams themselves.

So if a less wealthy team like, say, Columbus wanted to go get a USMNT player that wasn’t a big-money, TV-needle-moving type like Jozy Altidore or Michael Bradley, it would have to both, deal assets to get atop the allocation order, and pay the transfer fee out of its own funds.

In essence, MLS is now willing to subsidize the transfer fees of its richest clubs, and explicitly deny that privilege to its less-rich clubs.

But really, it’s MLS saying “We’ll subsidize the guys who we want to put on national TV, but if you just want to sign a USMNT player to improve your team, you’re on your own.”

Reacting to Wahl’s report, ProSoccerTalk’s Richard Farley writes, “Focusing on allocation being bypassed (not [sic] true) or some other conflict in MLS’s rules misses the point, after today’s report. The issue is the Dempsey Route—something that can only improve one team at a time, and only when MLS decides to do it.”

Sounders general manager and part owner Adrian Hanauer said at Dempsey’s press conference on Monday, “[W]e talk about transparency, and we want to continue to have more and more transparency in the league. I think that’s a good thing for fans. It is something that we’re working towards…We’ve created a rule structure that we think best allows our league to grow in a rational way. You can ask me about a specific rule, but we have a decent level of transparency in some areas. In others, maybe we have less transparency, but we’re just trying to build the game and do what we need to do to run a healthy enterprise.”

Reacting to Wahl’s report and Hanauer’s comments at ProSoccerTalk, Liviu Bird writes, “The set of guidelines team officials use flex much further than the MLS Roster Rules and Regulations published to the world. Never has MLS’s single-entity structure seemed as insular as this week.”

Steven Goff elaborates on the DP exemption for returning USMNT players at The Washington Post, “It’s not listed in MLS’s roster rules and regulations available to the public, and as far as we can tell, has only been implemented one other time (Reyna signing with the New York Red Bulls in 2007).”

As CBC’s Ben Rycroft puts it regarding the DP exemption for USMNT players, “The problem is, despite MLS’ assertions that this is a rule that has been in place since 2007, try finding anyone who knew about it…In fact, try finding a player, a coach, a former coach or an executive who claims to know all the rules of MLS, and you’ll have found yourself a liar. While MLS is absolutely governed by some hard and fast laws, a very big grey area also governs it. Or if you’d like to think of it another way: MLS has itself a get out of jail free card, to be used anytime it wants to tweak some of those laws in a way it figures best suits the league.”

At Goal.com, Avi Creditor reviews how Dempsey’s signing as a DP exempted him from the allocation process and writes, “That reasoning would seem fair enough—if it were listed anywhere in the MLS rulebook that is accessible to the media and the general public.”

In an article at MLSsoccer.com, Revolution general manager Michael Burns says of Dempsey’s transfer from New England to Fulham in 2007, “Both the Revs and league felt that at the time the offer was substantial enough to move him prior to the end of his contract, which we did. That’s obviously the reason why we didn’t have the right of first refusal when he came back into the league this time.”

At SBI, Burns says of the Dempsey deal, “I think for me personally, it was a little surprising. It seemed like it happened relatively quickly, not having any involvement on the inside of negotiations with the league in Seattle. I think they did a very commendable job keeping the lid on this until the last possible minute.”

The Seattle Times notes that more than 60,000 tickets have already been sold for the next Seattle Sounders home game on Aug. 25, which happens to be against the Portland Timbers. Seattle’s record for attendance for a league game, 66,452, was set last year against Portland.

At Goal.com, Kyle McCarthy wonders if the Dempsey move is the start of a trend.

The LA Galaxy announced the signing of Panamanian national team goalkeeper Jaime Penedo.

San Jose supporters group the 1906 Ultras has been banned from displaying tifo inside the Earthquakes Buck Shaw Stadium. The supporters group vows to remain silent at games, as they did over the weekend, until sanctions are lifted.

At ProSoccerTalk, Richard Farley wonders what’s next for the New York Cosmos quest to achieve relevance, rather than a nostalgia-fueled hype, in the US soccer landscape.

US

Clint Dempsey admits he hasn’t talked to Jurgen Klinsmann about signing with Seattle. “I haven’t had the opportunity to really sit down and talk to him about everything that’s going on. I’ve been busy with my family and really thinking about the decision and trying to make the best decision possible for us.”

Notes on Wednesday’s US Open Cup semifinal matches at the US Soccer website. I’m still ticked off at how terribly the Union played in their loss to DC United—and, come to think of it, in their win over Ocean City Nor’easters—earlier in the tournament.

One year ago today: “Oh it’s in! Alex Morgan has done it!” Perfect cross, perfect finish. No, I’m ok, must have gotten something in my eye.

Elsewhere

A report out of Germany details possible use of performance enhancing drugs by the West German soccer team beginning in the 1950s and including the 1966, 1970 and 1974 World Cup teams.

Responding to news of the report in his column for De Telegraaf, Johann Cruyff writes, “To be honest, I cannot even remember whether there were already doping tests after games back then. I didn’t see anything strange during the final against West Germany. We didn’t know any better than that West-German players were always bigger and stronger than us. They were developed better physically, but everybody always said that was because they drank more beer.”

The Utah teenager who back in April punched a referee who soon after lapsed into a coma and died a week later has pleaded guilty to a charge of homicide by assault. In doing so, he avoids being prosecuted as an adult.