As Major League Soccer’s most decorated team, LA Galaxy are always among the frontrunners tipped to win the MLS Cup at the start of the season. With a new manager and a number of high-profile departures, 2017 was bound to be a difficult year for the club. Yet, nobody expected them to perform quite so poorly.
With almost two months of action now played, LA Galaxy currently sit in 10th place with six points after seven matches. That puts them just two points ahead of bottom-dwellers Colorado Rapids, who also possess a game in hand. But why are a team that were expected to be competing for the top spot struggling to keep themselves off of the bottom?
The club’s change of management has undoubtedly played a part. After close to a decade under Bruce Arena, the club is now relying on the largely inexperienced Curt Onalfo to lead the way. Not only will it take time for the player’s to adjust to his style of play, but it will also take time for him to get comfortable with managing in the top flight after seven years at a lower level.
Yet, the blame isn’t all on Onalfo’s shoulders. Many of their first choice players are failing to perform, too. The club are particularly struggling in midfield, with new recruits Joao Pedro and Jermaine Jones failing to put in the level of performance that the club would have expected when they purchased them over the winter break. Games are won in the middle of the pitch, but they often appear outnumbered and overrun throughout.
However, the biggest disappointment has to be Designated Player Giovani dos Santos, who was paraded as LA Galaxy’s ‘future’ ahead of the 2017 season. After scoring 13 goals from an attacking midfield position last season, Onalfo has deployed Dos Santos as a striker alongside Gyasi Zardes.
Although, the move isn’t quite working out for the Mexican attacker. He currently has just one goal from six appearances this season and looks far from the kind of player that can singlehandedly make the difference for the club. Having played for the likes of Barcelona and Tottenham Hotspur, you would think that Dos Santos has the experience to help his teammates through this difficult spell of poor form, but that doesn’t seem to the be case.
The departure of two stars in Steven Gerrard and Robbie Keane, who between them had an abundance of knowledge, has particularly hurt the club. Throughout Arena’s reign, the club always had high-profile players, such as David Beckham, Landon Donovan, Keane and Gerrard, among their ranks. Onalfo decided against replacing his departing stars with other big-name transfers this summer, which has left them bereft of experience in the dressing room.
Of course, the big characters will emerge with time, but with a considerably large gap opening up between LA Galaxy and the top sides in the Western Conference, the club need to rectify their mistakes quickly.
Many will point to the fact that the fixture list hasn’t been kind, with Onalfo’s side coming up against Supporters’ Shield holders FC Dallas, Western Conference leaders Portland Timbers, Eastern Conference Leaders Orlando City and reigning MLS Cup champions Seattle Sounders within the first few months of action. Yet, for a team of LA Galaxy’s stature and quality, two wins and five defeats is well below par, even for a side in transition.