Just reflecting on the Galaxy sucking so much this year and thought I'd put out the list of teams who won MLS Cup then failed to make the playoffs the next year. MLS Cup 1999 DC United Failed to make Playoffs in 2000 MLS Cup 2005 LA Galaxy Failed to make Playoffs in 2006 And that's it. LA barely made it in 2003 after winning in 2002 due to the fact that 4 out of 5 teams made it... they then proceeded to have the ultimate MLS melt down against San Jose in the first round of the playoffs. So if LA doesn't turn things around and get into the playoffs, they'll be the 3rd team in the history of the league to have this dubious distinction. Seems to be a trend with the Galaxy...
talk about premature threadulation ... it is MAY ... the Galaxy have over 2/3rds of their season still to play ... close this ridiculous thread and come back and talk to me about this in August.
Of course it's not a forgone conclusion, but it's definitely a talking point given the huge drop off in performance over the last 3 seasons, and again given LA's history of struggling the year after an MLS Cup win I just thought it was an interesting thing to discuss.
Plenty of time to get it figured out, but there's something definitely not right in Galaxyland. It's not just missing Gonzalez either, though that's a huge part. The pieces don't seem to mesh as well, the espirit de corps seems a bit funky, Saunders just entered rehab....a whole list of ills. Plus, Keane is going to miss a month for the Euros and Beckham will miss a month for the Olympics. Who knows what might happen to them. But I must agree: a bit early to write them off, no question.
It's not that shocking they didn't make it in 06 because they were a fluke champion in 05. Freakin Pando scored their game winning goal in MLS Cup 2005. Not to mention they were led by Steve Sampson. So I don't think it's comparable to this year at all. Yeah they are struggling now but does anyone really think it's gonna last the whole year? They may not be in the contention for the SS like years past with such a slow start and a stacked Western Conference but they are still a good team.
Oh, I get it. This thread is meant to be some kind of reverse jinx. The gods are not so foolish to fall for this.
I suppose you can look at it that way, but fluke champions or not their fallout was pretty hard, especially considering it was the first time they'd never not made the playoffs, then proceeded to miss them 3 years in a row, that's quite a hang over. 2003 was of course helped along by playing the first 8 or 9 games of the year on the road waiting for the HDC to open, that and coupled with the fact that a majority of their 2002 success was built around the impossible to maintain run of Carlos Ruiz goals, not all that suprising really. It wasn't an attempt at a reverse jinx, but I'm sure hopeful it turns out that way. And yes I do think we could see them struggle this year, they aren't getting any younger, their defense is beyond a mess (and who knows what Omar is going to look like by the time he's healed), their goal keeper could be gone for a long, long time... plus this is the "hardest" year ever to make the playoffs given number of teams/slots to battle for with no cross conference qualification.
From Champs to Chumps-----classic! I do have to agree though that it is way too early to be labeling the Galaxy as a failure this season. I'd rather have a team that starts off slow and then turns on the afterburners in the middle and end of the season than have one that starts out gangbusters and then loses its steam as the season advances. Of course best of all would be to have a team that is consistently good. So we spoke about MLS Cup Champs to Chumps, but I wonder what the stats are for Champs to Chumps for Supporter's Shield? in other words teams that won SS one season and then did not make the playoffs the following year?
Champs or not, they've always been chumps to me! The Chumps still have plenty of time to turn it around. They won't vie for the Shield or anything like that, but they only need to perform just a little bit better to vie for that 5th spot or even a little higher. There's just no reason for them to worry yet about missing out. That said, I really need to dust off my old spreadsheet and update it for this year if only to look at TFC -- that's a team whose realistic playoff window has already probably closed.
These teams missed the playoffs after winning the Supporters Shield: 2000 DC United 2002 Miami Fusion (did not exist) 2004 Chicago Fire 2005 Columbus Crew 2006 San Jose Earthquakes (Houston did make the playoffs and won MLS Cup) 2008 DC United
so 2 cup champions missed the playoffs and 5 SS winners (not counting defunct-ness of Miami) It seems really bizarre that more SS winners would miss next season's playoffs than MLS Cup winners, as in my mind a SS win is more indicative of a "stable" team than a cup winner (who may have just streaked at the right time). This coming from a guy who didnt follow MLS til last year, so I could very well be missing all kinds of fun extenuating circumstances. (unblanced tables and etc)
You really should not count the 2006 SJ Earthquakes since that team re-located to Houston and won MLS Cup the following year. But it does seem strange that SS winners missing the playoffs has happened more often than MLS Cup champions missing out (4 vs 2).
You make a valid point, but without looking up each of the teams, it may be salary cap rebuilding at work. edit: had to submit this 3x
I could see this becoming more common as playoffs become a harder ask. I like the idea of each year giving new hope and challenges for clubs with parity, big part of appeal of the league for me.
Without studying the data more and taking in all variables into mind it is only guesswork on my part----but perhaps this indicates that it is much more exhausting to win SS in our league---so much so that most teams are too tired from the effort the following year. You have to keep in mind that most of the time the SS Winner has also been involved in US Open Cup and CCL and has usually paid the price both mentally, physically, and in stretching a thin bench. The MLS Cup Champ has most likely also been involved in USOC and CCL during the season but it is one mentality to aim for making the playoffs and then turn on the jets and quite another mentality to try to win week after week after week during the regular season at all costs. In fact I don't know what the actual stat is, but I wouldn't be surprised to learn that most SS winners don't wind up winning MLS Cup because they reach the playoffs gassed. Clubs during the MLS season are faced with real decisions as to what trophies/competitions they will prioritize and they have to be canny as far as how they will use their limited manpower. If someone in our league ever wound up winning a "Triple" (MLS Cup, SS, USOC or CCL) it would be a tremendous accomplishment.
I think the reason SS winners are more likely to miss the playoffs than MLSCup winners is that Cup winners are often teams that are on the rise and SS winners are often teams at the pinnacle nearing a down cycle. Compare '09 RSL to '09 Columbus.
2002 Galaxy lost in the open cup final, or they would have won all 3... I think DC or Chicago may have done the same/something similar perhaps.