Article by Matt Lichtenstadter
The dominant storylines in MLS as the calendar turns to September should be the amazing stories of how Seattle and DC have overturned awful starts to become either legitimate playoff contenders in a long awaited new stadium, or the Sounders pulling off second half magic for the third straight season to go from also-ran to West contender. In Seattle’s case, they’ve won eight on the spin, which is the longest streak in MLS history.
But that’s not the story that takes up most of the oxygen. While plenty of teams made statements in a positive way over this critical weekend, one did the exact opposite: the LA Galaxy. Their playoff hopes are not dead, but with only six games left and three points back of Seattle and Portland and after a horrific performance at Rio Tinto Stadium against Real Salt Lake, their season may well be over. How could this team, a pedigree franchise in MLS, go from one of the league’s most well run operations for a decade and now be a shell of itself, even with the money they’ve spent and the prestige they operate under?
When Bruce Arena was tapped to salvage the US’ World Cup qualifying campaign, it left the Galaxy in an interesting spot. The Keane-Donovan lead mid-decade dominance was wearing thin, and it was time for the club to turn the page. They turned to former play and Los Dos manager Curt Onalfo to get the team younger and transition to a new generation. It failed miserably, and soon the Galaxy were turning to Sigi Schmid to rebuild on the fly. In 2017, the Galaxy finished worst in the league and shipped 67 goals. This year, with substantial re-investment in the squad and a Zlatan up top, things should have been better; a lot better.
While they’re not holding on to their wooden spoon, they are looking at two consecutive playoff misses which has not happened since 2006-08. In 28 games this year, they’ve leaked 54 goals after letting six go by at RSL on Saturday. Surprisingly that’s not the worst defensive record in the league, but for a team that should be in the playoffs with their investment and talent, that’s not much of a compliment.
None of their signings to fix the defense have worked in any sort of way. Jorgen Skjelvik has been middling to bad for most of the season. Rolf Feltscher hasn’t been able to stay healthy and when he’s been in it hasn’t helped. Michael Ciani is not good enough at this level, and Dave Romney and Daniel Steres might not be either. Their second overall draft pick in Tomas Hilliard-Arce has barely played. The midfield in front of this back four has also been poor when not healthy, even with MLS veterans like Servando Carrasco and Perry Kitchen helping out JonaDos Santos. It’s not a stretch to say that Zlatan has singlehandedly kept this team within touching distance of the West’s best.
They have not won since July 29 when they beat hapless Orlando and still shipped three goals on the night. They haven’t kept a clean sheet since July 7 against Columbus and haven’t kept consecutive clean sheets since May. For a team with their level of talent and investment, and with a coach who has a nearly spotless record in this league and getting teams organized and ready to play, to see this Galaxy team where it stands is an indictment of a lot of the club’s structure above all else.
The best clubs in MLS have a clear direction, whether it be from the managers, GM/Sporting Directors or elsewhere. Look to Atlanta, Toronto, Portland, Sporting Kansas City as examples of this. With the Galaxy, it seems that Sigi Schmid has personnel say, as Bruce Arena did before him, but everything comes back to the Galaxy’s president, Chris Klein. He’s done a wonderful job in getting stars to join his team, from both Dos Santos’ to Zlatan, but MLS in 2018 is not just about big name stars. The direction of the club seems aimless. What do they want to be, and who are they trying to be? The Galaxy have more of an absentee owner in AEG, so Klein ends up being the face of this operation. When the Galaxy were winning MLS Cups consistently, the face was not him, or even any of the DP’s, it was Bruce Arena. The face of the Galaxy now might well as be Zlatan, because he’s been almost as harsh on his team as those from the outside have been.
It wasn’t bad enough that last year they were the worst team in the league; what added insult to injury was how LAFC came into MLS with a direction, identity and plan, and despite the results on the field, have been better than the Galaxy from start to finish this year. They are a true MLS Cup contender even in spite of selling key contributors mid-season, whereas the Galaxy are scrapping for a playoff spot that might not be there.
One expects teams like Orlando City, Chicago, San Jose and Minnesota to be lacking identity, direction and a directive of how to operate, but not the Galaxy. They have won five MLS Cups, been to nine and have been home to some of the league’s best players since its foundation. This should not happen, even as the league has rapidly changed from even four years ago when the Galaxy last won the Cup. Their playoff hopes are not over by any stretch, but they have six games left to salvage this operation, and they may need to win five of them to have any chance. They play Toronto FC, Seattle, Vancouver, Sporting KC, Minnesota and Houston down the stretch. Three of those games should be wins, and if they can beat Seattle and Vancouver, they may well be in with a chance to sneak in.
But the Galaxy even as presently constructed shouldn’t be leaving it this late at all. If they do fail to make the playoffs again, tough questions need to be asked about the direction of the club and what should the future look like. They have the resources, they have the advantage of the city of Los Angeles and they have the history. But they need someone to stitch it all together, someone they don’t seem to have right now.
These questions need answers sooner than ever, because their neighbors stand to do what the Galaxy have been doing for two decades and doing it better in their inaugural season, while the Galaxy fumble around looking for the light in the darkness.
