I'm not confident that we will make the playoffs. Is there a chance? Probably. But when you see the upcoming opponents and the form we are in, the odds are against us. I would love to be surprised by the team to squeeze ourselves in. But honestly, we don't deserve to be there and we need a do-over.
Our inability to stay consistent with our defense, our struggles with roster availability whether it's injuries, suspensions (red cards), or international call ups, and the lack of creating goal opportunities has been the top factors in our teams current predicament.
Confidence has surely dipped for our team. And yes, this falls on the coaching staff. Mikey Varas led our team last season to a really amazing miracle first year. But the struggles this season have brought his status down...significantly.
However, we must not excuse the players as well. There have been many individual errors that have caused us games from top to bottom. This includes Jeppe and Dreyer. Yes, Anders Dreyer has had his fair share of poor decisions. Jeppe's passing has also took a turn for the worse.
It is hard to stay objective in sports as we are merely fans who react to what we see on the pitch and never the full picture. We are emotional people who were given an expectation from season one and took a big shot to the chin in season two. Hence why I reserve my full opinion till the 3rd half of the season.
Mikey Varas is failing. And if we were in a league where Promotion and Relegation was part of the competition, he would’ve sent packing right after our first loss post the World Cup summer break. With that said, I believe that he will get the Sprint season to rectify his team's performance. The club and it’s owners backed him during the Chucky Lozano fiasco and did extend his contract alongside our Sporting Director Tyler Heaps. Seeing the MLS history of how long coaches last because of zero promotion relegation favors that prediction. But if no improvements then, he should be replaced during or after the Sprint season is over. The MLS is getting very trigger happy in recent times and Mikey Varas is lucky to share the same vision of our Right to Dream Academy owners.
Ah, The game that gives and takes. I suppose the one good thing about the MLS is parity. Any season a bottom feeder team can rise above because there isn't a "Real Madrid and Barca" like La Liga, or a "big 6" like in the Premier League. There is balance. Last season has been balanced by this season. Tough luck I guess for us San Diego FC fans whose hopes were raised by becoming the number 1 team in the Western Conference Season and making it all the way to the Western Conference Finals. We know we can’t win everything. But we at least expected a better performance than what we have witnessed this season. Our “Sophomore Slump” has come to fruition.
Well, we move forward whether we like it or not. I want wins, We all want wins. But if we lose all 7 games, I'm not gonna sweat over it. This team is my team as many of you all feel the same way. We celebrate, we suffer, we agree and argue, we praise the crest, we fall in love with players, we shit on players, we praise the coach, we hate the coach, etc. All natural. We've seen this with the Padres and the Chargers. Win, Lose, react. It’s in our nature.
It does feel good though knowing we have an MLS team in San Diego and to share these moments with everyone. Futbol/Soccer is a deeply embedded sport in our county, and holds a special place in our part of the world. From the Latino community to the soccer moms of the suburbs. We breathe this in with pride. So when disappointment hits us with our soccer team, we become passionate about it. We emotionally invested ourselves into our team like any soccer loving community around the world does. We want to win, we want that fight to be honorable. But when the same errors happen over and over again, even the strongest of defenders of the coaching staff and office can turn on a dime. I still believe that the style of play is effective. But the personnel on the field seem to have lost something. Execution is off. Confidence is off. Discipline is off. All traits of a team who are not coached properly.
