He's leaving to spend more time with his belly.

Why does communist foot hockey get a post on slog? What's next, NASCAR or intercollegiate lacrosse?

They're 10 points not 10 spots behind the playoff line, there's a pretty big difference (there are only 10 teams in their division). They're still not out for the playoffs but the odds are slim at best.

OK, maybe not under the best of circumstances, but happy to see a Sounders post on Slog. I think back to when this blog used to give our local soccer dudes some real attention. This reminds me now, we haven't seen Spike Friedman here in some months.

One correction. Martins didn't leave last year. He left just before the start of this season. This year.

Martin's left the team just days before the season started, not last year.

Oops, beaten by @4.

The problem is, they're not going to find anyone better. Foreign coaches pretty regularly fail to navigate our arcane salary cap system. Only Schmid and Bruce Arena produce consistent results in this league and Arena's favorite hobby is tanning. So now we run the risk of a revolving door of failure. Some other team will pick up Sigi in the off-season and get the better end of the deal. This league and US Soccer is historically terrible at producing enough good coaches for the MLS and the salary cap rules favor the experienced. The team was built around Obafemi only to lose him too close to preseason. All this considered I would have kept him through the season and kept him through another recruiting cycle and another season. There's too much risk in letting go of one of the two most successful coaches in the league.

@3 and @4: Thank you, corrected.

Sigi wasn't getting the job done, but who will? This season is more the FO's fault that anyone else.

@3, @4, @5

I take it you're not familiar with Ansel Herz's, er, idiosyncratic approach to journalism?

After 7 years he never brought home the Cup. His playoff failures have earned us the Flounders nickname. Letting him go mid-season sends a much needed message to the members who pay for it all with season ticket sales that the owners are hearing them. Staying the course with an outmoded coach had no upshot. Now we can get an earlier start on finding a replacement - if not just let Schmetzer man the helm.

The team as a whole was not rallying for Sigi. The locker room was in disarray, and they were playing without heart. That comes down to the coach.

Schmidt's first bad season and he gets canned before it's even over. It's been bad, but losing Martins was beyond his control and a definite blow. It doesn't explain all the trouble, but honestly I don't see replacing a coach with a great record as solving anything.

Wow, terrible mistake.

The Sounders suck this year because they didn't fill Obafemi's vacated DP spot and then wasted a DP spot on Nelson Valdez. Firing Sigi only ensures this slump will extend beyond this season.

Sounders do not have a completely shitty squad. Last week's debacle can only be explained by coaching failure.

Only generated one shot in the entire match against Sporting KC, it was pretty pathetic to watch no matter who is on the team.

Herz is clearly a fool if they think Arsenal would be better off without Arsene Wenger.

Sigi isn't the sole reason the Sounders sucked this year. Neither is Obafemi's departure the sole cause. It's a combination of many things going in the wrong direction and no unifying force to overcome that and put the team back on course to winning matches. That's the role of the coach. Fix all the problems and get the team in shape to win. Sigi didn't do that this year. It can be argued that he hasn't really done that for the past few seasons either and just sat back letting his stars shine on autopilot.
Sigi did a lot of good work, but there comes a point where even a really good coach with a great record needs to go in order for the team to move forward. This is that time. Thanks Sigi, but it's time for a new coach and a new direction.
The Sounders are one of the richest teams and should be able to post results that reflect that.