It's barely a quarter of the way into the MLS season for the Los Angeles Galaxy, and they have already reached a sobering realization: Things have to turn around. And quick.
The Galaxy are tied with Real Salt Lake for the lowest point total in MLS, with six points from their first seven games. The good news is that they've played the fewest games of any team in MLS -- four less than Saturday's opponent, Western Conference-leading FC Dallas, so there is time to get things right.
Still, the club is all too aware that they can't sit and wait for the league to come back to them. The painful memories of missing the MLS Cup Playoffs last season for the first time in club history still linger. The 2007 season is starting to become a mirror image of last year.
"You get to a point where you go 'C'mon guys, we need to win a game,'" said veteran defender Tyrone Marshall. "You don't want to get in a hole like we did last year. We know what it's like. We need to get on a roll."
Marshall feels that momentum will come quickly once the Galaxy get another win under their belt. A road trip to Dallas on Saturday is followed by a four-game homestand. Couple that with the games they hold in hand, and Los Angeles can climb right back into the thick of the playoff hunt.
"We need to win because we need to get some confidence," said Marshall. "We get one win and I think all of this will go away. If we get on a little roll, win two games in a row, we're right back in the mix of things."
It wont be easy, however. Los Angeles is shorthanded due to a rash of injuries and a number of international call-ups. Because of the extenuating circumstances, head coach Frank Yallop feels it's difficult to tell just where his side really sits in the grand scheme of the league.
"You have to say it, but it is difficult with the situation we're in. We need some help," said Yallop. "It's frustrating because we know reinforcements are coming. It's sooner rather than later that we want that so we can really judge ourselves."
The current standings are the only real measuring stick there is in determining how a team is faring. Right now things look bleak, but the Galaxy have to look no farther than 2005, when they won the MLS Cup after finishing as a .500 team over the regular season. Yallop points to more examples of teams finding postseason success without the benefit of a strong regular season.
"Houston won the Cup and they only won 10 games last year," said Yallop. "We know that you don't have to be winning every game, but you want to start getting results."
All signs show that the Galaxy aren't in panic mode yet, but as every coach will tell you, games in hand are only good if they become victories. That's what it will take to avoid a repeat of a year ago when L.A. fell behind early in the standings and never managed to make up the lost ground.
Greg Daurio is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
