Oh, how the mighty have fallen.
The Seattle Sounders have historically been one of the best teams in Major League Soccer. But this year? They have been horrible. It's a well-documented problem that the team has struggled mightily to generate chances. But on Sunday in a 3-0 loss to Sporting Kansas City, the Sounders hit a new low.
Check out the final stats of how the match played out:
It took a whopping 88 minutes for the Sounders to even take a shot, narrowly escaping the distinction of becoming the first MLS team to go an entire game without a shot. It was their only shot the entire game. Joevin Jones missed the target by several yards and earned a sarcastic, mocking applause from the fans in Kansas City.
Stats don't always tell the whole story, but in this case, they do a pretty darn good job. The Sounders were disjointed, listless and just plain bad. The team has unfairly counted on rookie Jordan Morris to do all the work, but is rumored to be close to signing Boca Juniors midfielder Nicolas Lodeiro and they do desperately need a No. 10 playmaker -- yet, at this point it may not be nearly enough.
When you look at the goals that Sporting Kansas City scored on Sunday, it's clear the Seattle defense needs just as much work. Kansas City's finishing left a lot to be desired, but Seattle managed to shoot themselves in the foot repeatedly.
With the Sounders season already in jeopardy a full 10 points back from playoff position and the team getting worse by the week, it may mean the end of the road for longtime coach Sigi Schmid. The conventional thinking has been that Schmid would at least get until the end of the season after all the success he has brought to the club since it joined MLS in 2009. But after Sunday's performance, the Seattle front office may have very well seen enough.
The problem is, the best candidate for the coaching job was Jason Kreis, who built an MLS Cup-winning dynasty with Sounders general manager Garth Lagerwey when the both of them were at Real Salt Lake -- but Kreis was scooped up by Orlando City last week.
If the Sounders have not started reaching out to potential replacements for the coaching job yet, there's plenty of reason to think they will start soon. Whether they make a midseason change or let the season play out, it's doubtful they can go on much longer without some major changes.
Schmid has been an effective coach over the years, leading the Sounders to win four U.S. Open Cups and a Supporter's Shield, but eventually all good things must come to an end.
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