Make no mistake, it’s been a rough start for the LA Galaxy.
LA have collected just 14 points through their first 11 games. This shouldn’t have been that unexpected, as the team lost a living legend in Landon Donovan and have been without last year’s MVP (Robbie Keane) for much of the season.
This also isn’t unusual for Bruce Arena’s team. All you have to do is look back at the 2012 Galaxy, which would go on to win MLS Cup. That team collected just 11 points in their first 11 games.
What may be more worrying is the way they've been playing.
Last year’s Galaxy were one of the most visually pleasing teams to watch in MLS history. They scored 69 goals, good for the fifth most in MLS history and produced goals like this:
The numbers from last season show just how free-flowing and technically proficient the team was. Take a look at where they ranked in some attacking categories in 2014.
| 2014 LA Galaxy | ||
| Statistic | Number | League Rank |
| Passing Accuracy | 82.39% | 2 |
| Passing Accuracy, Final Third | 70.11% | 1 |
| Chances Created from Open Play/Game | 11.09 | 1 |
(Credit: Opta Sports)
Those numbers have dropped off precipitously this season. You might say that the reason for this is Keane’s injury, and you wouldn’t be 100-percent wrong, but even with the Irishman it hasn’t been great for the Galaxy.
| 2014-2015 LA Galaxy Comparison | |||
| Statistic | 2014 | 2015 w/Keane | 2015 w/o Keane |
| Passing Accuracy | 82.39% | 78.05% | 73.86% |
| Passing Accuracy, Final Third | 70.11% | 65.66% | 57.24% |
| Chances Created from Open Play/Game | 11.09 | 7.5 | 5.57 |
(Credit: Opta Sports)
The Galaxy have struggled to create quality opportunities through the middle, so they have pushed much of their chance creation out to the wings. This has led to many more crosses coming from open play and Stefan Ishizaki being by far the team’s top chance creator. The Swede has 29 total chances created so far this season and Juninho is second on the team with just 11. In 2014, the team had eight players that averaged more than one chance created per 90 minutes. This season, that number sits at just three.
LA Crosses from Open Play/Game
LA Passing Percentages
(Credit: Opta Sports)
This is indicative of what may be a larger problem – the Galaxy have yet to find a suitable partner next to Juninho.
Last year, the Brazilian partnered with Marcelo Sarvas to form one of the top central midfield tandems in the league. In the offseason LA shipped Sarvas to Colorado in exchange for their spot in the allocation ranking and allocation money. Check out what Sarvas brought to the team last year and what the Galaxy have gotten from Juninho’s midfield partners this season. The numbers for Baggio Husidic are from games in which he started centrally.
Sarvas vs. 2015 Galaxy Central Midfielders
(Credit: Opta Sports)
Of course, the Galaxy have already solved this issue. Steven Gerrard will be joining the team in July and will presumably fill the spot next to Juninho. Most of us know what he is capable of on the field, but here are some stats from the last couple years with the Premier League's Liverpool.
| 2014-15 Steven Gerrard | ||
| Statistic | Number | |
| Passing Accuracy | 85.07% | |
| Passing Accuracy, Final Third | 69.53% | |
| Chances Created from Open Play/Game | 1.23 | |
(Credit: Opta Sports)
Encouraging, to say the least. But the question is, can LA stay afloat in a brutally tough Western Conference until then?
