Saturday night’s match had all the buildup and anticipation of a classic “Big Game” and all of the disappointment of one as well. On one hand, the Seattle Sounders have done an excellent job this season to wrestle themselves into a position like this. Obviously, it would’ve been ideal for them to not have dealt with the early season struggles. On the other hand, Saturday night gave us a glimpse into the gap between where the Sounders are and where the league’s elite are.
This point in the season provides a natural break and a reflection point. Seattle doesn’t play another league game until Aug. 24, with a U.S. Open Cup semifinal against the very team that just smoked them on Aug. 27. The Sounders can use the Leagues Cup break as a way to retool and regroup for the run-in. Let’s take a look at where we find ourselves and what can possibly be done to make this season special.
Dissecting the Narratives
Good, not great
It feels a little strange to point this out after they got shellacked at home, but the Sounders are a good team but not a great one. As pointed out by Andrew Pearson, Seattle is 0-5-5 against the top 6 teams in the West. They’ve been humbled at home against Vancouver and LAFC, have had a no-show performance against Real Salt Lake, and have had to rescue a point on the road against Houston. Ten games is just shy of a third of the season and so far the returns are … bad. If you want to get to the promised land at the end of a season, you have to beat some good teams along the way. The Sounders have massively failed in that department.
As stale as it gets
The Sounders have largely been inactive in the past several transfer windows and it shows. This has been argued for awhile, and I think just about every fan agrees: this roster needs freshening up. I think Seattle has a pretty good team but because certain players are not performing at their level, things have gotten stale. João Paulo’s peaks remain high but his age shows in his inconsistency; Nouhou is having arguably his worst professional season; Léo Chú’s been well below his standard; and Raúl Ruidíaz is … well, you’re aware of everything going on there. I’m sure commenters will point out some other players too, but something has to be done about a roster that’s reached it’s “best-by” date. I rarely argue that a transfer should be done just to say you’ve done something, but the Sounders have put themselves in a situation where that may be the case.
Know who you are
Brian Schmetzer had an effectively completely healthy roster to choose from on Saturday and I’m not sure anyone knows what combination of players makes up the best XI. My hope is that the Leagues Cup matches are used to solidify some of the hard choices Schmetzer has to make. The Sounders have just over a month to figure out their best team that can beat LAFC in a semi-final. Beyond that, a team good enough to beat LAFC in a situation like that is a team good enough to make some damage in the playoffs.
What Happens Next
Saturday’s result will feel bitter for a little bit, that’s for sure. However, I don’t think it’s the end of the world and could very well offer the Sounders a wake-up call of sorts. For instance, last season Seattle came out of the Leagues Cup break flat, lost 2-0 at home to Atlanta United, and then strung together a run of nine unbeaten to propel them into second in the West.
The most important thing for the Sounders and fans to do right now is to take a big deep breath. Things are not as bad as they seem, a few minor internal tweaks, and maybe a transfer can change the perception massively. One bad result doesn’t change what’s happened in the last few months when they’ve gone 11-3-5 across all competitions. Schmetzer has done extremely well to get the team firing on most cylinders. A deep breath and a clear mind can go a long way. There are still moments to make this season special.
