The leaves aren’t brown and the sky isn’t grey, but it sucks to be Alexi Lalas right now, watching his California dream flounder helplessly in the surf. The L.A. Galaxy have fired him and have accepted coach Ruud Gullit’s resignation, after the team earned just three points from the last seven matches.

Lalas’ reign in L.A. was a mixed bag. He had a Midas touch for commerce, bringing Beckham’s star power to convert the Galaxy into a jersey-selling leviathan. He arranged lucrative goodwill friendlies abroad, and he greased the pinguid palms of investors. Lalas arose from his hairy cocoon to blossom as a smarmy, polished executive.

However, as with his New York Red Bulls stint, Lalas did not build a coherent team.

The Galaxy have three of the biggest “stars” in the league Beckham, Landon Donovan and the remnants of Carlos Ruiz. However, a string of suspect Lalas personnel decisions have left a hodge-podge and depleted underbelly.

This lack of depth engenders inconsistency, allowing the Galaxy to win 5-1 one week and lose 4-0 the next. They remain playoff contenders due to MLS’ mediocrity, but, no matter how awesome Beckham’s performance, this team, as constituted, cannot challenge for a title.

Lalas left the Galaxy in a pickle. To compete, they need to expunge his stain from their roster. But, as long as the Beckham elephant straddles them, business trumps everything. As the league’s necessary show ponies, they have neither the financial nor the ideological flexibility required to rebuild.

Beckham is a great player who exudes class and respectability on the field. But his magnitude and salary off it may stunt the Galaxy, as long as he is there. The ideal situation may be an amicable parting, but both sides are too heavily invested to fold. Both will ride this wave to the end, and, with Landon Donovan possibly considering a move to England, that could be a deep, dark place.