August 8, 2005

Firing Steve Sampson

When the L.A. Galaxy announced it had released Head Coach Sigi Schmid of his duties in August of 2004, an uproar went through the soccer nation. With the MLS standout club sitting on top of the league, the management’s plans to bring in Steve Sampson for a more attractive style of play sounded like nothing but a lame excuse to distract from the real reasons underlying the move.

Today, almost a year later, the responsible Galaxy officials are still sitting behind their big desks waiting to make unreasonable moves. Well, maybe I can’t change that. But I’m furious, and I refuse to sit behind my smaller desk and shut up! I’m certainly not a fan of the fire-your-coach-as-soon-as-things-aren’t-going-so-well scenario. But for consistency’s sake, I say get rid of Steve Sampson!

A simple look at the numbers will reveal just how unfair the treatment of Schmid was compared to his successor on the Galaxy bench. When the club’s management made its controversial decision, Schmid’s boys were leading MLS with 34 points and a record of 9-6-7. Meanwhile, Steve Sampson’s team has played nearly the exact same number of matches since the start of the 2005 season, earning 5 fewer points (29) and posting a worse record (8-8-5), leaving them in 3rd place in the West.

When it comes to the more attractive style of play Sampson was expected to bring to the HDC, the numbers tell a different story. While the 2004 Galaxy scored a total of 33 goals (30 against) in 22 matches before the dismissal of Schmid, the 2005 team has only managed 25 goals (25 against) in 21 matches. And a look at the most recent past doesn’t make the situation any better, as Sampson’s Galaxy has managed just 7 points and a record of 1-5-4 in their last ten games, scoring 7 goals and conceding 12.
Finally, while Sigi Schmid’s team had a horrendous road record (0-5-4) in 2004, Steve Sampson has failed miserably in trying to find a solution to this problem. Under the reigns of the former U.S. and Costa Rican National Team coach, the Galaxy has posted a record of 1-7-2 in road matches this season, their only win coming in a match against Chivas USA at the Home Depot Center. The Galaxy have but two points from their last seven road matches.

I’m generally for giving coaches a fair chance to get their teams back on track. But if its going to be immoral decisions like the one involving Sigi Schmid from now on, at least do it on a consistent level. Fire Steve Sampson! Then fire Colin Clarke and Steve Nicol because their teams didn’t do so well in their most recent matches! Hell, fire all the coaches! If Sigi Schmid deserved to be let go, so does Steve Sampson and everyone else in MLS.

Gunnar Berndt, Contributing Editor, 90:00™