Editorial (July 25, 2017) – After their latest stumble against the New England Revolution, the LA Galaxy’s troubles seem to continue. The pressure is now on for the team to really respond for themselves and their fans. The Galaxy have now gone five straight league games without gaining a single point. Many have questioned Head Coach Curt Onalfo and whether or not he is the right person to lead the team this season. After the 4-3 loss this past Saturday, fans have spoken and are ready to part ways with Onalfo and sack him as soon as possible.
LA Galaxy’s Troubles Continue As They Lose To New England
A transition period is never easy, especially when that transition is from Bruce Arena to Curt Onalfo. You’re essentially going from one of the most successful coaches in MLS history winning you three of your five MLS Cup titles to a guy who was sacked twice in his previous managerial role for bad results. Even though he’s proven to know the game well and works great with the youth players and teams, many worried and feared that what is happening today would happen. This is a team that with its rich history should be competing week in and week out. They should at least look like a half decent side on the pitch. And truth be told under Onalfo they’ve looked far from that. While most of the blame will fall on the shoulders of the manager there are those who will defend him and point fingers to other causes. Many will also question the players themselves and whether or not their performing to the level they can.
Breaking it down:
Injuries & Absences
It’s no secret that the LA Galaxy are one of the few sides to be plagued with constant injuries this season. On top of that national team call-ups prying players away from them and one or two suspension and it comes to no surprise that the LA Galaxy are doing so bad. The team at one point has looked like a hospital catering to inured players. In a total of 20 games so far played, this team has lost the likes of Giovanni dos Santos, Alessandrini, Jermain Jones, Gyasi Zardes, both goalkeepers Clement Diop and Brian Rowe to either injurie or national team call-ups only to name a few. The manager at times has had his hands tied when it comes to team selection. He can only do with what he has, and with the amount of players he’s had out and has available you can see why it’s been tough. But many will criticize him for that same reason. Questioning his squad depth and talent he’s chosen for this season.
Transfer Widow & Squad Depth
When it comes to making a splash in the transfer window the LA Galaxy usually dominate the league. Yet this year they’ve lacked to do so and now it may be having a rippling effect. The fact that they haven’t signed any relatively big name yet is a call of concern. As if the pressure of the poor results hasn’t been enough for Onalfo, now he’s dealing with the added pressure of the transfer window. Many have questioned his capability to bring in anyone of great stature to the club. The LA Galaxy can’t continue like this if they aspire to make the playoffs. Adding a couple of heavy hitter names to this roster could really help their troubles go away. The fact that their squad depth is so low and having to bring in youth players who just maybe aren’t ready are another reason why the Galaxy are where they’re at.
Curt Onalfo
The name on mostly every LA Galaxy supporter’s lips and for the wrong reasons as well is Curt Onalfo. He has been singled out as on the main problems of the LA Galaxy this season. Taking the thrown and trying to work under the shadow of Bruce Arena has not been easy for Curt. And on top of that add on everything else discussed previous to this and the job just gets tougher. He’s tried not to make an excuse out of the fact that he’s been hit with major injury blows to his squad, saying it’s no excuse. His game plans haven’t been up to task and his team has looked short of ideas at times. Granted there was a spell of good form where LA where able to go nine games unbeaten. Yet that didn’t last long at all. From there they’ve lost every single match except against Sacramento Republic FC, who they beat in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. It looks like Onalfo can’t get the best out of his players. Not to mention defensively his team has been a mess. Even with all the others factors culminating and coming together, you’d expect the manager to persevere in some ways.
In the end it will be interesting to see how the LA Galaxy will manage the situation at hand. Whether or not they’re willing to ride the storm with Onalfo, or change managers. There is no magic eight ball to guide Galaxy in their decision unfortunately. They’ll just have to go with their instinct and hope it’s the right one. Regardless what they decide the season is long and far from over. Which means there’s room to improve, but they’ll have to improve fast.
