Why Greg Vanney may not be coaching the LA Galaxy for much longer | OneFootball

Stability is key for any team in any sport. When a new coach comes in, it can take time for chemistry, productivity and cohesion to settle in.

In 2021, the Los Angeles Galaxy named Greg Vanney their new coach of the the franchise. After an early playoff exit in 2022 and a dismal season in 2023 to follow, Vanney managed to get a title out of this roster last year.

In the past seven months, we have seen quite a few long-term coaches get dropped by their MLS teams. Mainstays like Jim Curtin (Philadelphia Union) and Peter Vermes (Sporting Kansas City) are no longer with their respective teams.

Curtin was canned at the end of last season after Philadelphia failed to make the playoffs for the first time in ten years. The LA Galaxy made 10 straight playoff appearances including five trips to the MLS Finals with four different coaches during that span.

Vermes and Sporting agreed to mutually seperate after the team went winless in their first five games this season. The Galaxy not only started winless in their first five games, too, they are currently still looking for their first victory of the year.

Is that the reason why Vanney's days are numbered with the LA Galaxy?

That's one of many. The Los Angeles Galaxy are in last place of the MLS Western Conference and for good reason. The eight goals scored this season are dead last in the West and second-worst in the league.

Their 28 goals allowed are by far the most in MLS, as the next closest is Sporting with 22 goals. Terrible doesn't even begin to cover it as they enter their 13th game of the season with a -20 goal differential. Simply put, the defending champions' offense and defense are abysmal.

In addition to their past two games being shutouts, the LA Galaxy have recorded an own goal in each contest. That means the only person they have been able to score past this month is their own goalkeeper, John McCarthy.

Things got so bad amid the injuries to Gabriel Pec and Joseph Paintsil, that Vanney anxiously aligned his team in three different formations, none of which were used regularly during the LA Galaxy's magic playoff run last year.

The six-time MLS Cup champions looked like a freshman high school team last weekend in the unbearable 7-0 massacre against the New York Red Bulls. The LA Galaxy appeared to be helpless at times, with rumors circulating that he has even lost the players in the locker room.

The schedule ahead is not friendly for the LA Galaxy or Vanney.

Regardless of the result of Wednesday's game against the Union, the Galaxy's next three matches are against their fellow-Californian residents. On Saturday, Vanney and his troops return home for the first of two installments of 'El Trafico Clasico' in 2025.

The next weekend after that game, the LA Galaxy travel south to San Diego for their rematch. The newest team to MLS defeated the reigning champions during the season opener at Dignity Health Sports Park.

Following the Memorial Day weekend, the Los Angeles Galaxy will host the San Jose Earthquakes. Former Galaxy coach Bruce Arena takes his new team to Southern Cali for the first of two meetings between these rivals this season.

Surely fans will be unhappy if the LA Galaxy drop any one of those three games. If they happen to get swept and lose to all of their in-state foes in the span of 11 days, the city of Los Angeles (at least the Galaxy side) will be furious.

It is doubtful Vanney remains the head coach of the 2024 MLS Cup winners, the Los Angeles Galaxy, should the team continue their losing ways through the upcoming holiday weekend.