LA Galaxy: At least Alan Franco is the right position
The LA Galaxy are again being linked with a move for South American centre-back, Alan Franco. At least he plays the right position unlike many of their flashier moves.
Sometimes, when looking at the moves a team makes, you have to wonder if they even know what their problems are, nevermind how to fix them. The first step to fixing a team and building a more successful one is admitting that you have deficiencies and then accurately determining what they are.
That process must come before any scouting of potential signings is completed. How do you know what players to scout if you do not what problems you are trying to solve?
In recent years, you could make the case that the Los Angeles Galaxy do not know what their problems are. Routinely, the Galaxy have ranked as one of the worst defences in the league. And yet, every offseason, they seem to splash their investments on the fancy names that sell lots of shirts and continue to bolster their commercial revenues.
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In 2017, the LA Galaxy shockingly finished bottom of the Western Conference. They conceded 67 goals, the second-worst in the entire MLS, and that was only because Minnesota United were historically poor at the back that year. The next closest team conceded 60 goals, seven fewer.
In 2018, the LA Galaxy finished seventh in the Western Conference, narrowly missing out on the playoffs. Staggeringly, they conceded 64 goals that year. Every team that made the playoffs that season conceded 58 or fewer goals. The Galaxy’s problems were plain to see.
And then in 2019, a year in which they finally returned to their elite selves, the Galaxy still conspired to concede 59 goals, the most of any playoff team. They had a negative goal difference as a result and eventually fell out of the playoffs to rivals Los Angeles FC when they conceded five goals. Again, you did not need to be an expert to see where the Galaxy’s problems lay.
So, when it came to retooling the team in the offseason, what did they do? Sign a centre-forward to replace the outgoing Zlatan Ibrahimovic, add a winger, extend the loan deal for another winger, and add a creative midfielder. They did sign two left-backs, which was a major position of need, but they largely left the defence unaddressed once again. It is a small sample size, but in two games in 2020, they are yet to win or keep a clean sheet.
This week, the LA Galaxy were again linked with a move for Independiente centre-back, Alan Franco. Per TyC Sports, the Galaxy lead the race for the 23-year-old defender who already has over 100 appearances for the Argentine club and has been called up to the Argentine national team squad before.
The Galaxy are desperately thin at centre-back, with only Daniel Steres and Giancarlo Gonzalez offering experienced MLS options at the position. Franco would immediately slot in as a presumed starter.
At this stage, it almost does not matter if he is good. That the Galaxy are chasing a centre-back in recognition of their problems is progress enough. The neglect they have shown the defence has been criminal and led them to waste Ibrahimovic’s two years at the club.
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Franco, then, finally offers some semblance of sensibility and self-awareness. He is, shockingly, a centre-back. And he might just solve the one problem that has haunted this team for far too long.