Happy Tuesday, friends. Summer schedule means more time between emails but also words are a little harder to come by lately to describe a team underachieving as badly as the Philadelphia Union area right now. Road trips upcoming against Montreal and Chicago would normally be slump busters but lately it’s getting harder to expect anything.

In the email today:

1. 🪨 But Wait It (Got) Worse

If losing to 9-man Inter Miami on a goal scored by a former Philadelphia Union Academy player was rock bottom, Saturday night’s latest defeat was the encore.

We knew Charlotte FC was tough to break down but after spotting the visitors a two goal lead on a pair of Patrick Agyemang goals seven minutes apart after halftime it felt like the Union were cooked. Yes, they are missing star No. 10 Daniel Gazdag and Julian Carranza is off to Europe but the fans chanting “sell the team” was the bigger story than anything the attack could muster trying to reverse the shocking run of home form the Union are stuck in.

We’re talking about Subaru Park. You know, the stadium where they barely lost a game in for three seasons?

Saputo Stadium and Soldier Field look like more likely environments for victories than anything near Chester, Pa. right now and that might be the saddest feature of the Union’s downward spiral into no-man’s land in a league where seemingly everyone who isn’t really terrible makes the postseason. This team won its only trophy going unbeaten in Chester and played host to the two minutes of bliss at the watch party for the MLS Cup final. Now it feels like a monument to an era that is passing by like one of those large cargo boats in the Delaware.

Yes, there’s time to turn things around and make a run to playoff contention and the Leagues Cup would be a hilarious way to qualify for Champions Cup again but the wounds to the fanbase are in full display now and there’s no amount of “look at the homegrowns!” media campaign that is going to shake that until the wins start coming.

2. 🏆 FC Delco Wins MLS Next Cup

Jeff Larentowicz was on the field the last time FC Delco won a national championship in 2003. Until Sunday morning when the 2008 FC Delco won the club’s first MLS Next Cup crown with a win over Real Colorado.

It was an emphatic end to an incredible run for a team that defeated the Philadelphia Union 4-1 in the semifinal and has cruised to lopsided victories all season long in MLS Next play.

Michael Capretto scored his 8th goal of the tournament to help seal the victory in the club’s second straight MLS Next Cup final. Last year, FC Delco’s U-19 team came up short against the New England Revolution in the final.

Sammy Castellanos, who was on that FC Delco team with Larentowicz that won the US Youth Soccer national title in 2003, also had reason to celebrate on Sunday with the Chicago Fire U-15s winning their MLS Next Cup final. Castellanos is the head of development in the Fire’s academy at the U15-U19 level.

3. 📱Tweet of the Day: KD Burner

4. 💧 Water Cooler: Who Do You Blame Most Results

5. 🔗 Link Roundup

• Joe Lister assessed the situation in Chester after the Union’s loss to Charlotte FC.

• Ocean City Nor’easters are having a helluva season. Evan Cohen checked in on them in a game against Lehigh Valley United over the weekend. It was one of two wins over the weekend to continue their perfect season.

• Luka Modric’s international future is uncertain after a cruel blow led to Croatia’s exit on Monday.

• Paxten Aaronson will spend next season at FC Utrecht in the Netherlands.

Philadelphia Raccunion T-shirt available now at Teepublic.

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