Orlando City's Current Form: A Closer Look

Well, there is not much to say after a 5-0 loss for a team supposedly fighting for a playoff spot in its inaugural MLS season. Orlando has now been outscored 13-1 over the past four matches and have fallen closer to the bottom of the table, now sitting in eighth place overall in the Eastern Conference.

The question many may have is: has Orlando City ever performed this poorly? The club is currently fielding lineups of players that are consistently putting in poor performances and, unfortunately, considering the players brought in during the transfer window have not yet made an impact, help is not on the way.

Looking at Orlando's form so far, we can see that there have been times when the team played well in spurts, but that has been overshadowed by the form displayed at the beginning of the year and the current form in which the team finds itself.

There have been three distinct runs of form for Orlando over the current MLS season. The first started at the beginning of the year and lasted just over two months, where, over 10 matches, Orlando pulled out nine points -- a dismal 0.9 points per match. That type of form would see a team easily on the bottom of the table in either conference. Remember, during these games Orlando had its full complement of players and did not have to deal with Gold Cup call-ups.

The second run of form for Orlando City saw them play the best soccer the fans have seen all year. The kickoff to this trend would be that lovely home match versus the LA Galaxy on May 17,  in which we saw Orlando take command of the pitch and pound the West Coast team 4-0. This run saw Orlando earn 15 total points over an eight-game span. The points per game in this second window of play was an astounding 1.88 and saw Orlando climb the standings -- ultimately reaching second place within the Eastern Conference. Oh, the times we had then!

Unfortunately, the current run of form is what some would call a little bit of a down turn. What the Lion faithful have seen over the past month has been abysmal. Since July 12, Orlando has been able to muster seven points over the past nine matches. That is the worst run of form that the club has seen all year -- a measly 0.78 points per game over those 42 days.

We can blame injuries or call-ups; but the fact of the matter is that it isn't nearly good enough to see the team reach the 2015 MLS playoffs. Orlando has also had more red cards and played more minutes down a man than every other club in MLS. Whether you blame the officials or team discipline, this run of ejections and subsequent suspensions hasn't helped.

MLS is a much tougher league than many think. Orlando City entered with the goal of defying expectations and reaching the playoffs in Year 1. But two of the team's three runs of form have not been nearly good enough to make that happen, despite Eastern Conference playoff spots being wide open for the taking.

There is still time to turn things around and grab a postseason spot, but to do that, the Lions will need to quickly get back to the points-per-game run that started against the Galaxy and lasted through June.