ALONG with New York Cosmos, LA Galaxy are likely the most internationally recognised name in American soccer, but in recent years the club has fallen by the wayside, dropping as far as the bottom of Major League Soccer (MLS) and missing out on the playoffs in four of the past five seasons.

On the back of the poor leadership at the top of the club that has led to this fall from grace, LA Galaxy supporters have decided to take action. 

They have persistently and clearly voiced their concerns, and begun to boycott home games in an attempt to get the club’s owners, the Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG), to make changes at front office level.

To understand why fans have been moved to such action, and to understand why this is not simply a complaint about a team winning less than it used to, the history of LA Galaxy needs to be taken into account.

A main factor behind their rise to global recognition was the signing of David Beckham in 2007. It propelled the team, and to some extent MLS as a whole, to a worldwide audience, at least temporarily.

Beckham and the Galaxy were trailblazers for the designated player rule which now allows teams to add three players outside of the salary cap limit.

It is sometimes referred to as the Beckham rule, as the club’s signing of the high-profile Englishman created a need for certain flexibility within the roster rules.

Before Beckham’s arrival, LA Galaxy had been one of the more successful sides in the early days of MLS, becoming known in American soccer circles as a domestic force.

They finished top of the Western Conference in five of the league’s first seven seasons from its inception in 1996, topping the overall standings in 1998 to claim the Supporters’ Shield, before doing so again in 2002 when they finally went on to win their first MLS Cup in the post-season playoffs.

There were fewer teams in the league back then—10 in the first season compared to 29 now—but Galaxy complemented their MLS form with success in other tournaments.

They finished runner-up in the 1997 Concacaf Champions Cup, in what was only their second season of existence, and won the trophy three years later.

Prior to Seattle Sounders’ triumph in the now-expanded Concacaf Champions League last year, Galaxy were the last team from the United States to have won Concacaf’s top prize.

They claimed the US Open Cup in 2001 and again in 2005 when they also won their second MLS Cup.

Further success came in the Beckham era, winning two MLS Cups and two Supporters’ Shields during his time at the club between 2007 and 2012.

A further MLS Cup win came in 2014, post-Beckham, and saw the Galaxy overtake early MLS powerhouse DC United as the most successful team in the history of the league, with five MLS Cups and four Supporters’ Shields to their name.

It is in this context that the club’s current struggles need to be viewed. Fans aren’t even asking for such domination to be repeated, they are merely asking for competence from those running the club.

They want to at least be in a position to be able to compete for trophies again and see the club carry itself in a manner befitting one with such an impressive record and reputation in the league.

Galaxy have not only failed to win a trophy since that last title win in 2014, but they have also looked disjointed, lacking a plan and lacking the personnel to carry them forward as a part of a plan.

It can be difficult for franchises in a relatively young single-entity league with no promotion or relegation to build such a reputation, identity and sense of heritage, but this is something LA Galaxy have managed to do over the years.

Names such as Mauricio Cienfuegos, Landon Donovan, Cobi Jones and Robbie Keane are among others alongside Beckham who contributed to the club’s history and set standards.

Supporters now believe those standards are not being adhered to by the club’s hierarchy. Discontent has been brewing but it has come to a head at the start of 2023 when the contract of club president Chris Klein was quietly renewed.

It is to the upper echelons of the club, the front office rather than players and coaching staff, that the supporters’ ire is being aimed. Mainly in the direction of Klein and technical director Jovan Kirovski.

It reflects supporter action against the apparent neglectful management of football teams seen across the globe, including at Everton and Manchester United in the English Premier League.

Towards the end of 2022, Klein was suspended by the league until the end of April 2023 after it was discovered the Galaxy had broken salary cap and roster rules in 2019.

They basically had four squad members on designated player level contracts when a team is only allowed a maximum of three.

This effectively banned Klein from activity during the league’s early season transfer window in 2023 which closes next month. 

With his contract up at the end of 2022, fans wanted the club to take the opportunity to go in a different direction in an attempt to revive their fortunes and refresh their ambition, but Klein’s contract was renewed.

It is perhaps easy for the front office of an original and once-successful MLS team to rest on their laurels.

The brand has already been created, the trophies won, and a following gained. There is no punishment for failure, no relegation if a team finish bottom of the league (as the Galaxy did in 2017) and no real repercussions — unless you are a supporter, that is.

Indeed, if the club is solely looked upon as a business, Klein might even have been praised for increasing revenue in recent years thanks to sponsorship deals and ticket sales.

This included renewing the club’s sponsorship deal with Herbalife — a relatively lucrative partnership that began when Beckham joined in 2007. This might have been one of the reasons for his contract renewal.

It is typical of the franchise model of sports that a club can still be considered successful while experiencing the worst period in its history on the pitch in terms of results and league position.

Supporters are used for the income they bring, leading to those record ticket sales, but are given nothing in return. In most other soccer leagues, Galaxy would have been relegated in 2017.

In boycotting home games fans are showing they are a part of the operation that the club can’t, and shouldn’t take for granted. 

These fans are right to demand a certain level of competence and stewardship from the front office as they turn up week in, week out to support the team.

In the vicinity of statues of Beckham and Donovan, in the aptly named Legends Plaza, Galaxy fan groups including members of the Galaxians, LA Riot Squad, Angel City Brigade, Galaxy Outlawz and Ghosts Ultras Galaxy, made their support for their team heard ahead of the 2023 MLS home opener against Vancouver, but continued to watch the game outside the stadium rather than inside.

It was a difficult decision for many long-time, even lifetime fans, but it was a scene that handily placed the protests in the context of the club’s past status and ambition.

Teams naturally go through peaks and troughs. It’s not a protest about a poor run of form. It’s not a sense of entitlement to trophies. It’s a bid to uphold the identity of the club and maintain standards for how it is run.

This will likely lead to something of a standoff between the supporters and AEG and those in charge at LA Galaxy, but if they want to reward anyone for record income from ticket sales, they should reward the ones who are actually buying the tickets by listening to their concerns and acting on them.

At this moment in time, the fans are merely asking for their voice to be heard, and given their contributions to the club, it's not too much to ask.