The Paintsil Predicament: Analyzing the reasons for his poor form
Why has Joseph Paintsil been unable to preform like he did earlier in the season? Looking at the variables that could help him get back into form.
There was a point early in the 2024 campaign that showed MVP potential from Joseph Paintsil. With just six games left in the regular season, the Ghanian seems to be at the center of scrutiny rather than praise.
Paintsil recorded four goals and four assists in his first nine matches as an LA Galaxy player. He’d been touted as a “ready-now” player heading into the MLS season given his multiple seasons recording double-digit goal contributions.
The nine-million dollar signing showed flashes of his blazing quick speed and finishing but those key attributes started to diminish in impact as the season went on for two different reasons.
The first and most impactful reason is the load on his body.
Paintsil joined the LA Galaxy following 23 games played during the 23/24 Belgian Pro League season with Genk and traveling to the Ivory Coast for the Africa Cup of Nations with Ghana.
Paintsil has played 61 games across all competitions for club (Genk and LA Galaxy) and country since the start of the 23/24 European season.
He’s not had a break since the summer of 2023 as he was immediately put in the LA Galaxy’s starting lineup since Matchday 1.
MLS's travel is not helping make the transition to a new country easier. Paintsil commented about this earlier in the season when he brought up that in Belgium, most games were traveled on the bus, unlike MLS where you travel via plane through multiple time zones at times.
Paintsil’s only “break” this season came in May when he missed a month of action due to a hamstring injury. That’s not enough time to rest and feel refreshed, especially when you’re hoping to help the team on the pitch. That’s why I don’t count this month-long absence as a break.
Having a full preseason would’ve allowed Paintsil to manage the load on his body and prepare for the long MLS season. It feels like he’s running out of steam as the playoffs approach - not ideal for the LA Galaxy.
The second reason for Paintsil’s poor run of form is being unable to play in his natural position on the pitch.
The Ghanaian broke out with Genk by playing on the right wing. He consistently found himself getting in behind the backline to score goals.
He began the 2024 MLS season playing in that position (no surprise that’s why he recorded lots of goal contributions) but was moved to left wing because of the rise of Gabriel Pec.
During Paintsil’s injury absence, Pec blossomed into a star for the LA Galaxy. He became a consistent performer and scored clutch goals for the LA Galaxy. Greg Vanney didn’t move Pec out of that position and thus Paintsil was forced to play left wing.
It wasn’t ideal for Paintsil as he began to get fewer touches in the final third and became out of the picture for most of the Galaxy’s attacks.
According to WhoScored.com, 43% of the LA Galaxy’s attacking sets are on the right side of the pitch while 30% are down the left wing.
The LA Galaxy’s right-sided attacks rely more on combination play while the left-sided attacks usually involve an overlapping runner getting the ball at the edge of the box.
Paintsil excelled in combination play early in the season and made smart runs to take advantage of moments where the opponent’s back line became disorganized.
Now on the left wing, he’s forced to create danger himself or rely on an overlapping runner to create a passing outlet. There haven’t many memorable performances for Paintsil on the left wing since he’s started to play on that side of the pitch.
In a way, the Galaxy bought two right-wingers this offseason. You get the best out of Paintsil on the right wing but Pec has that position locked down.
Because of Dejan Joveljic’s injury absence in recent weeks, Paintsil has played as the Galaxy’s striker - another position he’s not used to playing/
When the Galaxy’s opponents are expansive and don’t bunker down, this is where Paintsil flourishes. There aren’t many center backs in MLS that can catch up to Paintsil in open space. His games against Colorado and Portland show his positive impact as the no. 9 for LA. Those runs in behind and in open space make Paintsil a consistent threat.
Meanwhile, teams that bunker down and play more physically will shut down Paintsil with ease. He’s not built to be physical in tight spaces and if he’s not getting the ball, expect him to drift wide leading to few numbers inside the box. Paintsil’s performances against Atlanta and Seattle show these moments.
Playing all over the pitch isn’t ideal for finding your form and getting into a good rhythm to produce over the course of a long season. Take a look at this heatmap comparing Paintsil in Belgium to his current season with LA Galaxy.
You can see Paintsil as a right winger with there being few moments he’s out on the left wing during his final season with Genk. Meanwhile, his LA Galaxy heat map shows a good volume of touches on both sides while also showing more touches in the middle of the pitch.
Since his return to the starting lineup in mid-June, Paintsil had been inconsistent in front of goal. He’s scored four goals and notched three assists in 11 MLS appearances. But the data says he should have more of his shots hit the back of the net.
Fbref.com’s Goals minus expected goals (G-xG) metric is one of the best stats to see if a player is struggling or excelling at putting away their chances in front of goal.
Paintsil currently holds a -2.0 G-xG score, putting him among the 10 worst finishers in MLS season.
The combination of Paintsil playing out of position and having no time to rest his body is why he’s fallen out of form. The Ghanaian winger is still dangerous on his day but he’s been thrown so many variables in his first season in the U.S.
Vanney and the LA Galaxy hope Paintsil can once again get a hold of his MVP form once playoffs begin. That can be the difference between playoff elimination and LA’s sixth MLS Cup.