Before the MLS playoffs begin on Wednesday night, we’re taking a look at some of the teams that didn’t make the playoffs, and more specifically failed to live up to expectations in 2017.
No team fell harder than FC Dallas, who won two teams after July 22 to finish out of the top six in the Western Conference after previously occupying first place.
Oscar Pareja’s squad won the Supporters’ Shield and U.S. Open Cup in 2016 and was expected to be in the mix for MLS Cup this season, but the club won’t even get a chance to play for hardware this postseason. A 5-1 win over the LA Galaxy on Decision Day was not enough for FC Dallas to get into the playoffs since it didn’t get help from elsewhere.
Speaking of the Galaxy, they fell face first on to the pavement in 2017 as nothing went right. Curt Onalfo was fired midseason and Sigi Schmid didn’t exactly get the best out of the group despite the signings of Jonathan dos Santos and Romain Alessandrini.
The Galaxy finished dead last in the Western Conference with 32 points and put together a miserable home record of 3-9-5.
Another one of MLS’ big spenders, Orlando City, put itself in prime position to make a leap into the postseason for the first time after the acquisition of Dom Dwyer.
However, the opposite happened and the Lions ended their season on Sunday with a 6-1 defeat at the hands of the Philadelphia Union.
Orlando hasn’t lived up to the expectations internally and from the fans over its three-year existence, and with Kaka leaving and Cyle Larin potentially out the door too, the club has a big offseason on its hands.
A year after reaching the Eastern Conference final, the Montreal Impact failed to create anything in the final two months of the season as they lost nine of their last 10 games.
Mauro Biello already paid the price for the team’s failure as he’s been removed from the manager position. Just like the three teams mentioned above, the Impact failed to thrive with a talented roster, theirs led by Ignacio Piatti and Blerim Dzemaili.
Who do you think had the most disappointing 2017? Let us know by casting your vote in the poll below and stating your reasoning in the comment section.
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