Those of you that are regular readers of MFUSA know that I contribute a regular column to MLS Daily every Friday. As the owner of that site is currently on vacation in Seattle, I've decided to post my column here instead. As always, comments are appreciated.
Take a look at the MLS standings. Specifically, look at the Eastern Conference table, where Kansas City now sits on top thanks to a victory over the New York Red Bulls last night. Scan down the page, making sure to take note of the mediocrity that seems to reign early in the 2009 season.
See that team at the bottom? The one that plays in a town that starts with "C" and ends in "S"? The one that just last November hoisted a shiny new trophy over their heads after a rousing triumph in the MLS Cup final? The one that most of us were sure would make the playoffs, make another run, and possibly repeat as champions of Major League Soccer (don't lie and say you didn't)?
What's up with that?
The obvious question, both for Crew fans looking for answers and for MLS fans around the country noting the slow start of the Columbus club, is whether Sigi Schmid's departure for Rave green pastures is the reason for the disappointing start. Nothing seems to be going right for the Crew, and new head man Robert Warzycha has yet to find any answers. Three points from five matches isn't exactly a death sentence in the highly competitive MLS, and a top four finish is all it will take for the Crew to have a chance in the playoffs. If they get hot at the right time, the poor early form will just fade into oblivion, an unpleasant memory forgotten by July.
An out of form Eddie Gaven. An injured Robbie Rogers. An ineffective Alejandro Moreno. Usually solid Will Hesmer has struggled, captain Frankie Hejduk has missed time while away on national team duty, and promising youngster (and Olympic silver-medalist) Emmanuel Ekpo has failed to impress. Only 2008 MVP Guillermo Barros Schelotto has continued the championship form, and he can't carry the club alone. Reason upon reason jumps to mind for the Crew's ills. Each is valid. Each, by itself, might hamstring a club. Together, they become a perfect storm of handicaps, working together to hold the club down. They also might all just be temporary. Columbus might turn it around before you know it, and be back where we all expected them to be by the time we realize what has happened. Still, there's one large piece missing from the Crew puzzle that makes you wonder if a turnaround is likely, or even possible.
He's accomplished, he's rotund, and he likes to wear a scarf. Sigi!
It's times like these that Crew fans just might be asking themselves: What would Sigi do?
WWSD Crew fans. WWSD.
With Warzycha struggling in his first head coaching job, and Schmid working more magic with the expansion Sounders, it's a truly relevant question. Sounders fans might ask it with a exultant smile, Crew fans with a painful grimace. Just how important is the man in charge anyway? Can a change at the top be so important that 2008's best team, winners of the double, rightful and deserving champions, become a last place disappointment in the course of one off-season?
Parity reigns in the frugal MLS. Any team is capable of beating any other, and on any given day. The gap between the best and the worst teams is fingernail thin. Matches turn on things like tactics and substitutes. The ability to properly manage shallow rosters and inexperienced contributors comes at a premium, and can make or break a club's fortunes. Good managers, ones that have the ability to consistently put their sides in a position to win, are worth their weight in gold.
Columbus is finding that out quickly. Schmid's departure, a contentious event that left bitter feelings on all sides, seems to be have serious ramifications for the defending champs. Crew fans will continue to believe that the turnaround is shortly coming (and rightfully so), and fans of their rivals will continue to hope for the opposite. But is doesn't seem a stretch to think that the reversal might not be coming, at least not anytime soon. The pressure's building for Warzycha, the fans are becoming restless, and the playoffs are getting just a little farther away with every lost point.
Of course, it's not about Sigi for Crew fans. Sigi's gone, if not forgotten, and there's nothing that can be done about that now. It's all in the Polish Rifle's hands, and there certainly is ample talent for him to mold back into a top club. Good teams don't turn bad overnight, and the faithful have every reason to believe that things will get better.
I certainly expect them to, just as I expect Columbus to be there at the end, fighting it out in the playoffs for the right to raise that shiny trophy over their heads once again.
But right now, it's just so hard not to ask the obvious question.
What would Sigi do?
