View From The Shires: Winless in Seattle
A scoreless draw between the LA Galaxy and the San Jose Earthquakes on Sunday night may have booked a playoff spot for the Seattle Sounders over the weekend but, make no mistake, things are far from rosy in the Pacific Northwest.
A 2-0 defeat away to FC Dallas on Saturday means Sigi Schmid’s side are in the midst of a six-game winless streak, including a club record four-straight losses, as they’ve fallen from first place to fourth in the Western Conference over that span. Three points for San Jose would have seen Seattle enter the final week of the season needing a win to guarantee a post-season berth, with the very real possibility of their fixture against the Galaxy effectively becoming an elimination game, had both the Earthquakes and the Rapids won their match-ups. As things stand, the Sounders can now avoid the one-game wildcard play-off should they beat LA next Sunday but their odds of progressing much further have widened drastically over the past few weeks.
Prior to their current woeful skid in form, the Sounders were undoubtedly the hottest team in MLS, having landed Clint Dempsey in a major transfer coup, before promptly going on a run of eight wins in nine games – the last of which was a 2-0 victory over Real Salt Lake at home on September 13. With a forward-line which already boasted Eddie Johnson, Obafemi Martins and an in-form Lamar Neagle, the surprise addition of Dempsey in early August had many pegging the Sounders as overwhelming MLS Cup favourites and, for a while, that was a viewpoint which appeared wholly justified. Even midway through this most recent run of defeats, Seattle still looked to be in the front-running for the Supporters’ Shield, such was their points cushion and the belief that their form would soon turn around, yet, much to the chagrin of expectant fans, the poor performances have continued.
As startling as the Sounders’ plight has been however, recent results can, to a degree, be chalked up to MLS’ unprecedented parity in 2013, which has led to one of the tightest play-off races in the league’s 17-year history. Injuries to key players, combined with international call-ups and a gauntlet of challenging fixtures down the stretch, have also clearly taken their toll over this period and, some might argue, created a false impression of what otherwise remains one of the league’s most impressive outfits.
Nevertheless, other playoff-calibre sides have had to deal with similar issues to those of Seattle without suffering to the same extent and, when looking beyond the excuses, many of the team’s shortcomings have been all too apparent.
The primary problem appears to be the crumbling of a formerly sturdy defense. As injuries and suspensions have mounted, back-ups Marc Burch, Zach Scott and Patrick Ianni simply have not been up to standard, while once reliable regulars, goalkeeper Michael Gspurning and centre-back Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, have also seemingly struggled in recent games – the former losing his place in the starting line-up last week. Even Rookie of the Year candidate DeAndre Yedlin, one of the team’s bright spots this year, has seen his form drop off, as the rigours of a first professional season have visibly taken their toll.
The clear breakdown of the defense however has also masked an offense which has struggled equally over this period of poor play. The Sounders now haven’t held a lead in 375 minutes, haven’t scored in 201 minutes and have failed to score multiple goals in their last six games. Meanwhile, Clint Dempsey has yet to score or record an assist in 561 minutes, while Obafemi Martins has not delivered the goals in the later stages of the season which his lofty price tag promised.
Whether down to attempts to ‘shoehorn’ Dempsey into the line-up or not, it’s painfully apparent that the Sounders have struggled to find a clear identity on the pitch and head coach Sigi Schmid is the man who is increasingly taking heat for this failure. While Schmid previously enjoyed the overwhelming support of a rabid fan-base, what was once just a small minority of ‘Sigi Out’ campaigners is now growing rapidly. Schmid may have lead the team to the play-offs every year since their inaugural season in 2009 but the ‘MLS Cup or bust’ sentiment which has been further reiterated by owner Joe Roth over the course of this year leaves many pondering his fate should the Sounders again fall before the final hurdle. Poor salary cap management upstairs certainly can’t be ruled out but it is not as if Schmid has not had the resources to play with during his tenure. That in mind, anything less than an MLS Cup final appearance will likely be looked upon as failure by fans and media members alike – especially considering the hype which followed the widely celebrated (and somewhat controversial) Dempsey signing. There are high expectations surrounding the Sounders organisation and the worry that stagnation is setting in appears to be taking hold.
Ultimately, while it would be mighty foolish to rule out any team in the playoffs, given its ‘crapshoot’ nature and the history of upsets, the Sounders’ run-in leaves one struggling to imagine them enjoying any kind of success in the postseason. As their rivals in the West continue to impress, another poor performance against the Galaxy on the weekend will leave a very bad taste in the mouth and likely dissipate any sense of optimism which may have been left. Seattle certainly has the pieces in place to suggest they could be a title-contender but it may simply be too late for them to gel.
