It finally happened — the LA Galaxy parted ways with chairman Chris Klein, the team announced on Tuesday.
Amid a nightmarish start to the Major League Soccer season, little or nothing has gone well for the club who have just 9 points from 14 matches. Klein was the center of much discontent due to the franchise’s fall from grace and missing the playoffs in four of the last six seasons. Bad signings and lack of accountability from the front office have boiled over so much that they have forced fans to boycott this season, calling for his removal from the club.
They got what they wanted, which seems like a step in the right direction for the future of the Galaxy as they now attempt to undo the heavy damage left by Klein.
“As a club, we have not achieved our goals or met the standard we have set for the LA Galaxy,” AEG President and CEO Dan Beckerman said in a statement. “We believe it is in the interest of the club to bring about change and begin a comprehensive process of finding new leadership that will bring the club back to the level our fans and partners have come to expect.”
Sporting director and head coach Greg Vanney will continue to direct all football operations, but will have to do so under league sanction due to violating salary budget and roster guidelines in 2019. Just one of many things that went wrong under Klein’s tenure.
Klein’s dismissal should ease the pressure on the team and the franchise as a whole. At the very least, the fans will be back in the stadium and help boost attendance that was dwindling due to the boycott.
With new senior vice president of player personnel, Will Kuntz, now on staff, Galaxy fans should be optimistic about what’s to come. Removing Klein from the mess he helped create is just the first domino to fall. But the only real way to solve some of these problems is to win games, which they haven’t done much this season.