Maybe a Little Time Spent on the Bottom will do the Sounders some Good.

It was a battle for the bottom of the West on Saturday! The 13th placed Sounders take on a San Jose side who sit at the very bottom of the West with ZERO points over four games. The Sounders went into the match with a very rotated, and very inexperienced midfield and the result showed it.

Match Recap

On Friday afternoon, we learned that Leo Chu and Obed Vargas got injured in training that morning and wouldn’t be available for the San Jose match. Those two just added to the ever-growing list of injured players for the Sounders.

We knew that the Sounders would play with a rotated side but we did not expect it to look the way it did. From the jump, the Sounders did not look ready for this match. There were a few decent passing sequences in the first half but it felt like I was two USL sides going at it and was definitely a tough watch.

After about 30 minutes or so, both teams settled into the match and it looked like a real game of football for a bit. A couple chances here and there, fairly even possession and passing stats, it was better but still well below standards.

HOWEVER, that went out the window in the 42nd minute, when San Jose had a free-kick and Bruno Wilson flicked a ball into Vitor Costa, who slid in ahead of Alex Roldan at the back post to slam the Earthquakes into the lead. Not even two minutes later the Earthquakes doubled their lead, this time via Preston Judd and Cristian Espinoza, who was first-by-a-mile to a rebound off a Stefan Frei save. The goal was initially called back for offside, but upon VAR review it was determined that Judd was onside at the beginning of the play. Judd was probably a step offside but with the angles given to the ref, I can’t fault the call. The Sounders went into the break trailing by as many goals as they’d scored all season.

The second half started out significantly better for the Sounders. It makes me wonder what Schmetz yelled at them to make them play with a bit more gusto. Their play was nothing to write home about, but it was still better than whatever the first half was. The Sounders didn’t get much going until about halfway through the second half thanks to a “foul” in the box that Yeimar absolutely sold the hell out of and got awarded a penalty. Raul Ruidíaz stepped up to take the penalty and hit another cheeky Panenka to make the score 2-1 giving Sounders fans a little hope.

Nine minutes later, Cody Baker sent in a gorgeous cross from the right to Danny “The Moose” Musovski at the back post. Musovski nodded the ball home to level the score with the momentum seemingly shifting in favor of the Sounders.

But remember, it’s the hope that kills you.

Immediately at the kickoff, San Jose striker, Jeremy Ebobisse put the game away after the Sounders completely lost their composure and ended up losing 3-2.

The Sounders finished the night at the bottom of the West with zero wins, two points and left San Jose with a bitter taste in their mouths.

Next up is an inform LA Galaxy who have looked scary this season. There’s a very little chance they get a result, but you never really know in MLS. All I know is that we’re on our way to our worst start in club history and unless something changes, someone’s head is going to be on the chopping block.

Takeaways from the Match

Tactical Disasterclass

If you’ve seen me on Twitter, you know how upset I’ve been with the tactics, especially the attack, this season. In this new 442 formation, the Sounders have struggled to create any decent chances on goal. It’s simply not good enough.

Now, I’m not going to put all the blame on the players like everyone else seems to be doing. This falls on the coaching staff and their “tactics”. The Sounders have had all of preseason and five weeks now of regular season play to figure out how to effectively execute the 442. I’m not able to attend training since I live in Portland, but from what I read from the other Sounders outlets, they seem to look great in training. However, when it comes to executing it in an actual match, they seem lost.

The players don’t seem to understand their positioning, where AND when to make the runs, and the amount of space behind the attacking line and midfield is atrocious. There’s so much I can go in on this but that will come later.

I have a bigger formation analysis article coming out  later this week so keep an eye out for that.

It only took 500 minutes to do it

500 minutes. 500 regular season minutes later and the Seattle Sounders finally scored a goal from open play. I’m not going to diminish the quality of the goal because the ball from Cody Baker was spectacular and Musovski’s positioning was perfect. But it shouldn’t take 500 minutes to score a goal from open play. The Sounders have had a problem scoring since the second half of LAST season.

I just hope this sparks a little life in the attack and they don’t go another 500 minutes without scoring a goal from open play.

Simply not good enough

Yes there are an infinite amount of reasons to point to for some our struggles, but the fact of the matter is: It just hasn’t been good enough. The blame doesn’t rest on guys stepping in for the regular starters who are unavailable. That blame rests on the coaching staff who continue to put these players in positions to fail. It falls on the guys who Schmetz marked with a Sharpie on the team sheet (Jordan, Ragen, Cristian) who have failed to do their job week after week (after week, after week). They’re letting themselves down, and letting their teammates down as they lose their composure and make sloppy passes that put the team under unnecessary pressure. They need to take a long, hard look in the mirror, because returning players won’t fix these problems.

It won’t be long before the team is in such a deep hole that missing the playoffs won’t be entirely out of the question.