So what is going on with the Legion?

We’ve been mulling over this for a while now, especially this past week. The question is a difficult one and its obvious corollary – what do we do to fix it? – is even harder. But we will give it a shot.

It’s been 312 minutes of game time since the Legion last scored a goal, nearly three and a half games. In that same time the team has given up seven goals. In the 89 minutes of that time that the Legion was without Alex Crognale only 1 goal was conceded, so that’s not an excuse. Simply put, the Legion has problems at both ends of the field.

Let’s get the obvious problem out of the way first – injuries. Even before the season started the team lost Mikey Lopez for the season and Matthew Corcoran for 24 games. Newly-acquired striker Mohamed Buya Turay went down after just 63 minutes of the first game. Tyler Pasher has missed 7 of the last 9 games and played only 57 minutes in the two games for which he was in the squad (and logged two assists and a goal in that time). The Three Sparks have used 5 different goalkeepers over the course of the season. Diba Nwegbo hasn’t played in the last 9 games.

Clearly, there have been some serious absences – Pasher is the most important, in my opinion – and with a fairly short total roster that can have an outsized effect on a team.  But that is a common problem for the entire Championship and every other team faces the same issue. Some handle it better than others. The Legion did a pretty good job of managing through the goalkeeper issue but as far as the field player problems are concerned – not so well.

The most used method to work through an injury crisis, at least in the Championship, is to bring in loanee players. The Legion has just two of those on the roster currently: Miguel Perez from St. Louis City and Rida Zouhir from CF Montréal. Perez was signed before the season started, so Zouhir is the only in-season addition (keeper Fernando Delgado from Real Monarchs is long since back with his club) on the books. He took a couple of games after the loan was signed to even get here and in the three games he’s played he has not exactly impressed. Miggy is a bit player at best and his contributions have been pretty minimal.

Frankly, the Legion has done a very poor job of bringing in the help it needs. But what is the actual help needed? Well, a striker for sure. Losing Buya Turay, who looked good, so early in the season was a huge blow. He almost certainly will not be back, ever. He is still officially on the roster but based on his TikTok account he is back home in Sierra Leone and has been for quite some time. That left Stefano Pinho as the only pure forward on the squad. So why didn’t the team go out and look for at least one more? They’ve had months to do so and have completely failed in that. It’s not as if they didn’t know they needed one. Rotating players in and out of that position is not the greatest solution. Yes, Stefano has done sterling work stepping in, but he was never intended to be the permanent starter.

Despite allowing what feels like a ton of goals, defense is not a major concern. In fact, although 37 goals allowed in 26 games is not exactly great, 3 teams higher in the standings have allowed as many or more (Indy Eleven, Oakland Roots and Las Vegas Lights). Even high-flying Lousiville City has allowed 34 (just 0.07 goals per game less than the Legion). If anything, the defense is the strongest section of the entire roster.

That leaves the midfield. Yes, the only replacement player is a midfielder, and I think that rather points to the core problem. Having strikers is all well and good, but if you can’t get them service they are just running around with little to do. Specifically, central midfield is the issue. The Legion has several very talented wingers – Preston Tabort Etaka, Dawson McCartney, Tyler Pasher, Prosper Kasim – and a superb defensive mid in Kobe Hernandez-Foster. Enzo Martinez can of course play wherever he is asked to. But the lack of an attacking pivot to fill in for Matthew Corcoran and attacking central mids in general is a major hole. Even wingers aren’t of much use if you can’t distribute the ball out to them. Zouhir is not the guy. The team needs someone else. At this point, it’s probably already too late.

OK. These are real issues. But that doesn’t truly address the way the players on the field have been performing. The last three games since the epic short-handed win in Monterey Bay the guys on the field seem to have playing with a distinct lack of, for want of a less chlichéd word, passion. It’s as if they have reconciled themselves to a poor finish to the season. Are they exhausted? Well, there is that possibility. But the team has just not looked like itself at all lately. Frankly, this is a headscratcher. It’s not as if the season is a lost cause. The team remains in playoff position (although it could be down to 9th this weekend) and even the home playoff spots are not unreachable. There is still plenty to play for.

It doesn’t help that the fans have been staying away more and more as the poor performances at Protective continue. 4 wins in 13 home games will do that. Playing in front of so many empty seats can do things to the mind. Unfortunately, the casual fans more likely than not do not realize that the Three Sparks are playing pretty well on the road (6-4-3). It’s almost as if the away crowds are providing the team with some energy. Well, up until the game last week in Rhode Island, that is.  But seeing the home support fade away is not helping for sure. And being at the mercy of the ever-inept BJCC is itself a problem too.

So, plenty of issues to deal with. The knee-jerk reaction, both by teams and by their fans, is to call for the head coach to be axed. There’s an increasing amount of that in Birmingham and there’s plenty of season-ticket holders threatening not to renew for 2025 if Tommy Soehn is still around. Among fans who are engaged on social media, at least (which means a fair few of this blog’s readers, I imagine).

Sometimes this is the correct solution, as with Birmingham City dumping Wayne Rooney, but there are also times when it is not. This may be one of those times. Tommy has possibly gotten better results out of his limping squad than he had any right to expect. He has experimented with all sorts of changing formations and player assignments and for the most part has done well. He may be running out of ideas though. Has he maxed out as Legion manager? In five seasons he has achieved a home playoff spot just once, but has never yet missed the playoffs entirely. It is arguable that it’s time for fresh ideas, but I remain unconvinced at this point.

The question also arises as to how much control a head coach has over roster decisions. Obviously, he has no control over the check book and has relatively little time to do scouting work. That’s in large part a front office function. Are Jay Heaps and his team getting the job done? I don’t know.

Lastly, there are a good few players who probably won’t be around next year, for varying reasons. Perez and Zouhir clearly won’t be back. Corcoran should be gone, for the best of reasons. Lopez’ career may be over at this stage. Matt van Oekel may decide to hang them up and focus on coaching. Moses Mensah is a so-so player. Crognale can be a liability at times. Overall. a roster shake-up would not be the worst thing to happen.

These are long-term solutions, of course. They don’t address the immediate need, which is to get out of the current funk and start playing like it means something. Then again, jobs being on the line may be the way to get that done. Not the best motivational approach, I guess, but if it gets results…