Is the Galaxy's relevance in LA starting to slip away?

The Banc was rocking.

Those are words that, coming out of my mouth a month ago, might have gotten me canceled. They still might. Street cred around these parts is wafer thin after all.

Of course, I was at Banc of California Stadium to take in an LAFC match vs. FC Dallas for business more than fun. There were expansion plans for The Striker to iron out, people to talk to, and it’s hard to turn down snacks.

Sit down and gaze the action long enough however and … you start to notice things. 

Shortly before kickoff, a dude with a trumpet strolled up the north end and blared a catchy tune that I would later find out is the opening bit of “Do It for LA," an LAFC anthem whipped up by DJ Flict x Kid Ink x B-Real. That's not a bad start to a match no matter who you root for.

LAFC would confidently dispatch FC Dallas 3-1 that night in an entertaining match featuring 28 shots on goal and a Jesus Ferreira set-piece masterpiece from distance. When the final whistle blew, funk music blared as new signing Giorgio Chiellini paraded across the field with his new teammates. 

Over at the Sunset Club, folks were busy ordering drinks while a party was seemingly unfolding on and off the pitch. The whole spectacle was like the ending credits of a film, a fitting conclusion to a Hollywood evening.

As I glanced to the left, what did I see on the big screen? Literal ending credits. No joke! 

I can already hear some Galaxy supporters rumbling in my direction, but attending a game at the Banc is objectively a MLS 3.0 experience at its most idealistic. 

And Los Angeles Football Club are on a roll. Chiellini and fellow new marquee signing Gareth Bale made their debuts Sunday night, as LAFC outlasted Nashville 2-1 on the road for their 13th league win of the year. Following a strong offseason when the club smartly acquired proven assets such as Kellyn Acosta, Ilie Sanchez and Ryan Hollingshead, manager Steve Cherundolo has guided LAFC to the top of the Supporters' Shield standings — seemingly with just Austin FC in its way.

General manager John Thorrington had already built a talented roster loaded with depth that was the envy of the league, but finding the cash to bring on Bale and Chiellini? That's borderline criminal depending on who you ask — and The Athletic is doing some asking — but it's undoubtedly fine work from a GM at the top of his game. The signing of Bale in particular, a superstar accepting a pay cut to enjoy the LA lifestyle, is exactly the type of shrewd signing the Galaxy used to make.

Did I mention LAFC still has a Designated Player slot it can use this summer?

On the other side of town, meanwhile, things are looking bleak. Years of poor results have the LA Galaxy on the precipice of losing their relevance in the city. 

The Blue, White and Gold is currently in a nose dive after losing five of its last six matches in all competitions, and are holding onto the final playoff spot by a hair. Fan discontent is arguably at an all-time high as poor roster construction has been blamed for the team’s decline. By now, the struggles of LA’s DPs are well-documented: Douglas Costa and Kevin Cabral have combined for a mere two goals and two assists all season.

Following a 2-0 defeat to Colorado Saturday night, Derrick Williams vented to Nikki Kay on the Spectrum SportsNet postgame show that “some people just have their own agendas” — a swipe that could hint at trouble in the locker room, which our Alex Ruiz delved into following that latest loss. There is hope the arrival of new signing Gastón Brugman can add a spark to a team clearly lacking confidence at the moment, but for now, there are far more questions than answers surrounding Greg Vanney’s squad.

For most of LAFC’s existence, the Galaxy’s foundation — as the standard bearers of MLS for two decades — allowed them to compete against a more successful product. Zlatan’s heroics in the inaugural El Trafico certainly helped! But LAFC have been steadily chipping away at that foundation, and with the Bale and Chiellini signings, they may have taken a jackhammer to it. 

And lately the critics aren’t pulling any punches. On TV, print and social media, seemingly everyone is taking shots at the Galaxy these days, and many of them are landing.

In the coming months, the club will have to grasp with two uncomfortable questions which have dogged the organization for some time.

What is the future of LA Galaxy President Chris Klein?

The longtime executive is on the final year of a contract extension signed back in 2018. However, LA missing the playoffs four of the past five seasons is a damning indictment of a club which used to compete for MLS Cup every year.

The front office has shuffled through different coaches and GMs, and the one constant through the years has been the presence of Chris Klein and technical director Jovan Kirovski.

Why does the team not have a General Manager?

Someone close to the club who I spoke with off the record cautioned me not to get too carried away with criticism, a sentiment I somewhat agreed with. Mark Delgado, Raheem Edwards and Dejan Joveljić in particular have been stellar additions.

But the current arrangement, ever since the departure of Dennis te Kloese to Feyenoord last year, one in which Vanney, Kirovski and Klein work in tandem to sign players, is certainly unorthodox. For example, was Douglas Costa a Greg Vanney signing or was commercial arm AEG the driving force behind that decision? Not only is this current solution inelegant at best compared to more ambitious teams, it obfuscates individual responsibility when a signing doesn’t pan out.

The contrast of LAFC signing superstars with something left in the tank as luxury players, versus the Galaxy’s reliance on second-division players from Europe, tells the story of two teams trending in opposite directions.