For the last few years that has been a theme in the state of Washington regarding Sigi Schmid and him coaching the Seattle Sounders. For a majority of these people, it has been #SigiOut on Twitter. For the last three years, I’ve been strongly opposed to letting Sigi go. After Wednesday night’s debacle in Carson, CA against the LA Galaxy, and the lackluster effort the team gave on Sunday against Sporting Kansas City, I have changed my mind.
It’s time for Sigi to go.
Lack of motivation
The last few weeks, there appears to be a lack of motivation for any player on this 2016 Sounders team. They seem disinterested in playing and it appeared that the club completely gave up in their game on Sunday against Sporting KC. The last goal that Sporting scored was a clear lack of effort from Tyrone Mears. After a horrible back pass from Zach Scott, he just stood there and watch Dom Dwyer attack the ball and score the third and final goal of the game. You can’t have players just sit there and allow the other team to score. Mears isn’t the only player that has seemed disinterested this season and there are just too many to name at this point. Follow this link if you want to see the lack of effort.
It appears that Schmid has lost the locker room.
Seven straight playoff appearances
If the Sounders continue this horrid display of soccer for the rest of the season, they will miss the MLS Cup Playoffs for the first time in their eight years of existence. Normally, you wouldn’t let a coach go after having “successful” seasons. If this were the NFL for example, the team wouldn’t fire a coach after seven straight playoff appearances. However, this isn’t the NFL as soccer is more of a “what have you done lately for me” sport.
Sounders supporters restless
The Seattle Sounders supporters are restless and rightfully so. They have seen year after year of playoff failure and some have said, and I agree to a point, that the league has surpassed Schmid. Just two years after winning the Supporters’ Shield, the Sounders find themselves one of the laughing stocks of MLS. It’s just plain embarrassing to watch the team play like this. They have no heart and appear to not care. It seems like they just want to play out the season and start fresh in 2017. If they continue to play like this, they won’t have a job in 2017, at least not with Seattle.
Who would replace Sigi Schmid?
The biggest question people will have, is who would replace Schmid? That is a valid question. Until last week, there were two viable replacements. With Jason Kreis signing to become the new coach of Orlando City there is only one true, viable replacement that could possibly return Seattle to the playoffs and possibly win their first ever MLS Cup. Mike Petke would be the answer in my opinion.
Mike Petke could replace Schmid
Petke took over the New York Red Bulls prior to the 2013 MLS season and helped lead them to their first ever trophy, the Supporters’ Shield. Sure, they didn’t win the MLS Cup or even make it to the final but he took over a team that had a history of underachieving and guided them to a trophy. In 2013, he guided them to a record of 17-9-8 (W-L-T) and followed up with a 13-10-11 record in 2014 and was unceremoniously fired prior to the 2015 MLS season.
New players needed as well
If they fired Schmid and brought in Petke, the front office would also need to remake the roster. There are tons of players that have shown they don’t care and the supporters deserve better. They need to build this team around Jordan Morris and bring in a young group of players. It is time to move on from players like Brad Evans, Zach Scott, and Andreas Ivanschitz to name a few.
Sounders general manager Garth Lagerwey needs to realize he is in charge of a big money club and not Real Salt Lake. What worked in Salt Lake necessarily will not work in Seattle. He needs to realize that he has money and he needs to spend it to bring in the best players in the world. Players want to play in Seattle because of the big crowds that come to watch them play week after week. The fans deserve to see big money players on their field scoring goals for their club and winning trophies.
Lagerwey’s time running out?
Maybe the front office needs to move on from Lagerwey as well. Prior to the 2016 season, he traded away Marco Pappa and Lamar Neagle. He let Chad Barrett walk away and sign with the San Jose Earthquakes. All of these players were key members that helped lead the team to the Supporters’ Shield in 2014.
Time to see what the front office does
Now it is time to see if the front office is going to allow Schmid to finish the season and then part ways or if they will fire him before the season is completed. All I know is if there is not a major overhaul in the Sounders organization, there will be many supporters that will be sleepless in Seattle come 2017.