No more half measures, Walter

Why it's time for the Five Stripes to make drastic changes.

via Atlanta United

There’s a scene from one of my favorite TV shows of all-time that I think about a lot. At the end of Breaking Bad’s third season, Mike Ehrmantraut tells a story to Walter White that centers around his time as a cop and dealing with a repeat offender. Long story short, his inability to make a difficult decision leads to a tragic outcome. This penultimate episode of the season is titled Half Measures.

Taking the safe route in life and in sports is a common occurrence. In Atlanta United’s case, it feels like they’ve been faced with nothing but a series of decisions and choices since the end of 2019.

The term “rebuild” is a trigger for a lot of Atlanta United fans. Even the mention of the word draws ire because it feels like the club have been stuck in rebuild mode since the world resumed after the pandemic. In reality, they aren’t exactly wrong. Whether it’s changing managers or the constant overturning of the roster, Atlanta United’s identity as a juggernaut in MLS is sadly dead and buried. The last four years have been a feeble attempt to return the club to their status as the talk of American soccer, but with little success.

It was with the arrival of Garth Lagerwey in late 2022 that the blind aggression of the club’s front office was finally reined in to try and adapt Atlanta United to a model that could sustain life in MLS. While the recruitment of Lagerwey was seen as a massive coup for the club and one that would finally right their ship, nearly 18 months after his arrival and it feels like the club have experienced very little forward progress on the field. To his credit, major changes have been made behind the scenes to bolster the team’s scouting and analytics department. But as far as tangible, on-field results go, Atlanta supporters are still left disappointed and unsatisfied.

Here we find ourselves in May of 2024, looking down the barrel of another mediocre season, and that’s if we get lucky. As things stand now, it could be one of the worst seasons the club has endured. But assuming the team’s health improves and results stabilize, the best-case scenario would likely see the team sneak into the playoffs and maybe have a chance at winning a game or two. It’s been the same story for the last four years on the field and there’s little to suggest that will change, even if things start turning in a better direction.

Frank de Boer once called Atlanta United fans spoiled and he was totally right. Supporters of this club will accept nothing less than a side that competes for trophies. Making the playoffs and being middle of the pack is never going to satisfy anyone around here.

With this season trending in a downward direction, Atlanta United find themselves at an existential crossroads with the onus on Garth Lagerwey to choose the right path.

Gonzalo Pineda’s contract is running out and a major decision will need to be made on his future very soon. Thiago Almada’s dreams of playing in Europe constantly hang over the club’s major personnel decisions. Now there comes smoke of a possible departure for Giorgos Giakoumakis. It doesn’t feel coincidental that all of these massive, club-changing decisions are all coming to a head at the same time. Almost as if the universe is begging for Atlanta United and Garth Lagerwey to hit the reset button.

As painful as it may be for Atlanta supporters to admit, this window of time may be the best chance for the club to stop making safe decisions and start making drastic ones to get this team back to where it should be.

If the club doesn’t feel that Pineda is the manager to lead this club back to MLS glory, this seems like the perfect time to make a difficult decision to make a change. And if that change is made, you have to go all-in. Give that new manager as many tools to work with as humanly possible, something no manager at the club, outside of Tata Martino, has been given on their arrival. Garth and the front office have already worked hard to dig themselves out of salary cap hell. With the light at the end of that tunnel revealing itself, the opportunity to completely revamp the roster to complement the playing style of an incoming manager seems mouth-watering.

Thiago Almada has had one foot out of the door since arriving in Atlanta, with playing in Europe being his end goal. The longer the club insists on keeping him from realizing that dream, the unhappier he will inevitably become. I’m not saying that this scenario is why his performances have dipped in 2024, but it’s not the craziest theory that’s ever been formulated. It just feels like the right time for both him and the club to find a solution, even if it doesn’t meet your financial demands.

The recent rumors surrounding Giakoumakis are certainly shocking to most Atlanta fans, who have fallen in love with their new goalscoring hero. There’s a lot of like about GG. He’s a passionate and extremely talented player who gives his heart and soul for the club. There are also some cons that we like to overlook because he can average a goal per game when things are going well. Injuries are clearly a worry for his longevity at the club. There’s also his style of play that is limited to certain systems of play that may or may not be a problem if a new manager with a new system is brought into the fray.

With all of these major threads hanging and waiting to be dealt with at the same time in the midst of what appears to be another mediocre campaign, this feels like the time to make drastic changes to reflect the new direction under Garth Lagerwey.

The good news is, this isn’t a “rebuilding” situation. The foundation has been built over the last 18 months with the front office restructuring and recruiting solid squad players. While the short term would be painful for Atlanta fans to endure, it won’t be any more pain than they are already experiencing currently. Drastic changes are sometimes needed to produce drastic results. Now feels like the ideal time to rip the band-aid off and stop taking half-measures to fix the problems.