MLS Inquest 2012: Chivas USA

Chivas USA were unable to improve despite acquiring Juan Agudelo

2012 MLS Inquest: Chivas USA
Record: 7-18-9
Points: 30
Final Position: 9th, Western Conference

Player of the Year: Miller Bolanos
This was a tough call to make between Bolanos and 'keeper Dan Kennedy.  While Kennedy certainly kept Chivas in some games this year, Bolanos was often the most consistent danger man on offense, if there was one.  His stats suffered from Robin Fraser's continual tinkering of the offensive lineup, but the Ecuadorian managed to tally 3 goals and 4 assists.  He was tied with Ryan Smith for the club lead in the assist category and second in goals.

Flop of the Year: Juan Pablo Angel
Yes, JPA did lead Chivas USA with 4 goals.  4. That's pretty bad in and of itself, but then one steps back and sees how much, or actually how little he played.  He could have been, and should have been, a marquee name for the Goats, but only made 19 appearances, starting 9 times.  In Chivas' final home match against the Colorado Rapids, Angel was spotted in a luxury box, laughing with a sweater tied around his neck, yuppy style.  Great place for a team leader to be.

The Good:
Chivas looked pretty decent out of the gates, collecting two big road wins at Real Salt Lake and at the Portland Timbers.  The strength of the team in those early weeks was defense, but the good, stout defense in front of Dan Kennedy's goal eventually faded away, and with it, the results.

The Bad:
Despite acquiring several well known players, Chivas USA was never able to gel and get their chemistry going as team down the stretch.  Their only two wins in the second half came at the expense of Portland, the last one coming on July 29.

The Ugly:
There's  a lot of ugly to go around at Chivas USA.  Changes in their ownership structure and front office have gone into effect, but it didn't matter what was changed down the stretch for the Goats, nothing helped.  They dropped 8 out of their last 10 games to fall to last place in the Western Conference.  What is even more ugly is that so many of the prime seats at the HDC sit empty covered by tarps at every Chivas USA home match.

The Verdict:
This was nothing but another majorly disappointing season for the Goats and their fans.  The brand is in shambles, despite the high profile additions of guys like Juan Agudelo, who was utterly ineffective.  Robin Fraser seems to be in trouble with the new front office shakeup and rumors already swirling about who will be the next Chivas USA manager.  Still I don't see the outlook getting any brighter for the side until the culture around the team and the brand have improved.