The Galaxy made some interesting news and surely irritated many of their fans on Friday by announcing the signing of manager Greg Vanney to a contract extension amid the worst start to a season in MLS history.
Vanney's Galaxy are now winless in 13 league games, and after a historic 7-0 thrashing at the hands of the New York Red Bulls last weekend, somehow it got even worse in Saturday's 3-2 loss at the Philadelphia Union, in which the Union rallied from two goals down.
Now the Galaxy face a daunting El Trafico clash against an LAFC side that is suddenly unbeaten in its last six and coming off its best showing of the season, a 4-0 home win over the Seattle Sounders on Wednesday night.
Follow MLS Multiplex on X (Twtter)
Announcing Vanney's extension now appears to have been intended in part to quiet any questions about the reigning MLS Cup champion manager's status before a potentially another embarrassing result in that upcoming derby. In the process, it likely indicates there is no low LA could sink to this season that would result in Vanney's termination in 2025, effectively announcing that the club is OK punting on the remainder of the season.
That's an understandably tough pill for supporters to swallow. It's also probably the best decision for the future of the club right now.
MLS made the rules, not the Galaxy
Vanney deserves a share of the blame for the Galaxy's woeful performance this season. This is a club that should have at least a couple of wins, even with their well-documented injuries and departures. And yes, only in MLS would a defending champion suddenly at risk of earning the Wooden Spoon the following season see renewing their manager as a solid strategy.
But that's exactly the point: the LA Galaxy didn't make the rules that shield bottom finishers from relegation to a lower division year after year, nor did they create the roster regulations that resulted in the inability to retain Dejan Joveljic or Mark Delgado, or find a short-term replacement for team-MVP Riqui Puig after he tore his ACL late last year.
That's MLS's department. And more than most clubs, the Galaxy have proven themselves repeatedly as the kind that would spend beyond their roster limits if permitted, having made big splashes on David Beckham, Robbie Keane, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Chicharito during their history. They even once violated those roster rules in the process of bringing talented Argentine Cristian Pavon to the club.
In other words, the Galaxy deserve the benefit of the doubt that they would spend their way out of this problem on new players if they could.
Instead, Vanney is still currently missing all four members of the historic quartet that became the first in MLS history to all reach double-digit goals in the same season in 2024. One is gone for good, two of them haven't played a single match, and only Gabriel Pec has played in more matches than he has missed.
That is the main reason LA has struggled, and while Vanney's decisions this season haven't helped, any honest assessment of the talent currently available would peg their realistic ceiling as somewhere around 18th to 22nd in the table. It's an inexact evaluation for sure, but generally speaking, Vanney should have proven himself enough last season to be worth weathering a one-time underperformance of about 10 spots in the table.
Don't discount the Riqui Puig influence
There's also the reality of Galaxy star Riqui Puig's unwavering support. While players being too happy under managers can sometimes be a dangerous dynamic, Puig has been exceptional under Vanney's direction in good times under the club and bad.
According to Transfermarkt, Puig is also tied with Lionel Messi as the league's most valuable player in terms of a future sale, rated at roughly $22 million even while injured. (Being even with Messi reflects the 25-year-old Puig's much younger age and potential longer future.)
If the Galaxy part with Vanney, it's entirely possible -- even likely -- that the Spanish-born Puig would want to move on, putting LA in a position where they suddenly lose leverage in the international market. That's easily worth than the cost of eating Vanney's contract in a year if he can't figure out how to get his side back on the right traffic.