Sounders’ toothless domination in loss to Galaxy reveals cracks

It’s hard to pinpoint a single factor or issue that reflects the Sounders’ recent MLS woes. It’s not fair or right to constantly point to bad luck to explain why Seattle just can’t get things to go its way, as easy and tempting as it might be. The 2016 version of the Seattle Sounders is simply not good enough, in every area of the pitch.

A championship-winning team finds ways to overcome bad luck and poor refereeing. Those things can decide individual games and throw great teams for a loop, but it doesn’t explain a historically dismal season. The Sounders need to be refreshed and rebooted from top to bottom, lest they let 2016 dictate the team’s status quo in the near future.

Davis: Sounders’ attack falls short in 1-0 loss to Galaxy

Since joining the MLS in 2009, Seattle made team building into an art as it went all-in on the traditional MLS strategy of combining big-name, big-money superstars with promising young talent and veteran squad players. The Sounders’ four US Open Cups and one Supporters Shield trophy reflect a system that worked very well for five or six years, but this season’s tumble down the standings is revealing the cracks in that strategy.

In 2015, the Sounders implemented a worrying transfer tactic that they’re hopefully not going to repeat this season. Confidence in their squad from the front office heading into last season waned as injuries and other absences depleted the squad in the summer, so the team picked up a chunk of stop-gap players that helped them surge into a late run to the MLS Cup playoffs. Nelson Valdez, Erik Friberg, Andreas Ivanschitz and Roman Torres were all expected to play key roles in the 2016 season. Out of that group, only Friberg probably deserves his place. The jury is still out on Torres, who is (hopefully) set to return from his ACL tear later this season. Valdez especially represents some particularly bad business by the Sounders organization.

President Garth Lagerwey and owner Adrian Hanauer said that their stance before the season was that the team was good enough despite the loss of Obafemi Martins. They repeated that mantra a handful of times, often suggesting that they thought it was fine to wait until the summer to bring in new players. If this was due to the salary cap, it represents bad business and management of salaries. If it was because there wasn’t enough time to bring in someone after Martins left, it reflects a lack of preparation and crisis management.

The summer window has just opened up for MLS, and the rumors are already flying on a daily basis. A few players are looking likely to head to Seattle, but it’s hard to say much until the ink is dry. Yes, the Sounders need to plug a few gaps in their squad – creative midfielder and solid striker chief among them – but this year’s transfer business absolutely has to be more than a stop-gap. The players they bring in this year need to be able to impact the team now, but also in 2017 and 2018 and maybe even beyond. If the current front office can’t make this happen, that reveals an even deeper structural problem in the club’s management.

I expected the team to be rolling in confidence after the win against West Ham and the return of Clint Dempsey, but against LA the Sounders looked worn down and worn out. Unfortunately for them, they play another Western Conference heavyweight in four days when FC Dallas comes to town on Wednesday. This club needs a lot of things, many of which can’t be changed until the offseason. Some reinforcements may come in, but the existing players need to find confidence and form soon if the Sounders hope to finish the season on any sort of positive note.

Spenser Davis also covers the Sounders for Sounder at Heart.