The MLS season still has a month left to be played in it, but the wide-open MLS MVP race is starting to dominate the headlines as contenders begin stepping up and making strong late-season cases for the award.
Dwayne DeRosario is rising up the charts quickly, while other long-shot candidates like Dominic Oduro and Sebastien LeToux finish the year strong to earn some consideration.
Then you have the players who have been doing it all year, like Houston's Brad Davis, Real Salt Lake's Kyle Beckerman and LA Galaxy star Landon Donovan.
I wrote a Fox Soccer piece on the MVP race that will post later today, a piece that includes my pick for the award as of right now. I won't say who my MVP choice is at the moment (I'll post the story once it is up on FoxSoccer.com), but will ask SBI readers who you think should be MLS MVP at the moment.
Cast your vote after the jump:
Who did you vote for? Who is in your Top Three? Is there a player not on the ballot who you think should be?
Share your thoughts below.
Yeah, how did all those LAG wins go over DCU? oh yeah that’s right…
When did I say Houston was guaranteed the playoffs? I said I voted for Davis because I’m a biased Dynamo fan.
I know people love to jump down each others throats on these boards, but before you do that to me, take the time to actually read my post.
Well, there’s only one league-leading team and it isn’t RBNY. But for most of the season, our bench keepers have been as good or better than the starter. 0 > -10
But how can you measure how much a team would drop off if a certain player was not with the team. That is a bit ridiculous. The simple and fair thing to do is to give it to the best player — you can measure that however you want to, but to say this guy doesn’t deserve it because his team is no good is not right. And to say this guy deserves because he means so much to his team is not right either. Which player in the league had the best season? That is your MVP.
Well, you also have to take into account that no matter how much you add to a team, you still can’t carry it entirely by yourself. When DeRo was in Toronto he had very little support. The team has pulled in LOTS of additional help since he left. NY, I thought DeRo added to what they were doing, but then they sent him to DC where he has just been rampant.
I’d still go with Donovan at this point as he has accomplished more in less games due to his time away with the USMNT.
This isn’t the golden boot race.
Except NYRB went on a very nice run when DeRo arrived and their inability to seal the deal and just do ties happened as soon as he left. DeRo was playing the role he was asked to play in NY but with injuries and GK issues, Becke decided he wanted a more defensive midfield and use Henry less as a withdrawn forward.
As for TFC, if that’s your standard then there are a lot of players who used to play there who’s current nice run would be discounted. Let’s face it: TFC has been dysfunctional for some time. Good players go there, look like crap, leave and shine elsewhere.
I voted Brad Davis. Houston is or has been hovering around the East lead for some time. That’s quite a change from their early season form AND a real change from last year. Davis has had an immense season.
That said, if DCU makes the playoffs this year (playing with a very young team and one in which two very influential attackers–Pontius and DP Branko Baskovic–have been lost for the season and they’ve had a couple of GK crisis situations), then DeRo should be the MVP. Irrelevant of a brilliant game against RSL and the goal and assistant total, he’s put the team on his back, elevated his game and performed in critical moments.
Much like crowning the MLS “Champion,” the MLS MVP can’t be a guy who got hot late in the season. DeRo is having a stellar resurgence, but there are several others who have put in consistent seasons this year and whose efforts and contributions have contributed greatly to their teams success – and still is:
Brad Davis – Houston
David Beckham – LA
(Top of the Assist count, both. And both put in tremendous amounts of work on both ends of the ball.)
And how about this guy?
Josh Saunders – LA
(Backup goalkeeper in the top-5 of MLS stats? How many other teams can say their backup GK could anchor their league-leading team as well or better as the first-string?)
(and there’s also Alvaro Fernandez)
Impressive or just plain sad?
Regarding the last two comments (Montero, Alonso): If Rosales, Montero, and Alonso are all supposedly MVP candidates, how can any of them be the MVP of the entire league?
And “because I’m a Sounders fan” is not a valid answer.
Osvaldo Alonso is my pick. He’s more important to the club than Rosales. Sounders can’t compete without him, but they can compete without a very good Rosales. Ozzie also shut down the very hot inform DeRo just last week.
Your logic is tight… except for the fact that DeRo didn’t have much of a hand in the Red Bulls being in first. As a matter of fact, they were in first mostly on the strength of their play before they acquired him. So he can’t get credit for their falling in the standings after he left – the freefall had really already begun while he was there.
Not just three teams in one year, but playing well for only one of them. If this was MVP for the second half of the season he’d be a no brainer, but MVP can’t be a guy who had no impact for half the year.
You 2nd and 3rd sentences have nothing to do with your first, tbkh. Offer an argument against DeRo and I’ll listen, but what does DeRo having been on three teams and being mediocre have to do with anything?
13 goals, 11 assists — right now he’s running away with the MVP award.
Imagine what a healthy Ferreira would do with the Defense that FCD has assembled this season
Shea has fallen off a cliff of late
Beckham makes the team go
Cory Gibbs
douchy
While I don’t agree, I think it’s ridiculous that Beckerman. Oduro and Jewsbury are on this list and Montero isn’t. That’s either laughably ridiculous or an incredible oversight.
The real point is that there are no guidelines. You can see it the way Wahl does, or the way Lalas does. Neither is any more or less valid, though the award is called MVP and not Player of the Year…so maybe there is a semblance of a guideline.
How do you decide who was the Player of the Year? The guy with the most goals? What if he just had a lot of really good service from his teammates? I’d say you look for guys who had a lot success individually and then also to the extent they benefited from being around other great players. That’s why DeRo stands out for me, because he’s clearly been such a difference maker on a team that was almost punchless before he came. Will he win the scoring race? Perhaps not, but he’s the most valuable player or the “player of the year” if you prefer, for me.
The MVP should be Fredy Montero. He’s been instrumental to Seattle’s success this year. The Sounders are second in the league, a finalist for the US Open Cup, and are likely to be the first MLS team to reach the knockout stage of the CONCACAF Champions League. Montero has made significant contributions to all three. He’s my MVP.
(SBI-Sorry but Mauro Rosales is the MVP of the Sounders, not Montero. If Montero has a good month with Rosales out then you can argue it, but as it stands right now, Rosales has had the better season up to now.)
Dude — you better check out the standings. Houston isn’t guaranteed a playoff spot, either. Though they are in first place right now, they’ve played the most games. There’s a good chance that they’ll finish behind the other East teams in the playoff hunt. In fact, if I had to bet on it, I’d say Houston is the team most likely to miss the playoffs out of the KC, Columbus, DC, Philly, NYRB and Houston group.
I second your comments. What he’s done since coming into the side is unprecedented. No midseason acquisition has ever had this kind of impact in MLS.
Except the question wasn’t who is the best player on the best team — it was who is the most valuable player. It’s hard to think of a player who has had more impact on a team than DeRo has had on DC United — at least, in the history of MLS. It’s a weird situation, though – because he came in mid-season, it is easy to see what the team was before he came and what they are now.
I might also dispute your premise. I have long thought that DeRo got the shaft in terms of recognition of his talent because he’s Canadian. Donovan was the can’t-miss kid since he was 16…the budding star…the first great American player. However, he’s always had a bigger stage than DeRo in terms of international competition, and he’s had much better players around him. That’s also true to some measure at the club level, too — though DeRo won some championships when he had talent around him. He’s never fully gotten the respect he deserved. I’ve never understood why he wasn’t courted more aggressively by European teams. The guy can flat out play.
I think if DeRo had played for the USA, a lot of people would be debating who really is the best American player. DeRo doesn’t have Donovan’s jets, and he’s probably not as nimble with the ball, but he’s no slouch in either of those departments I think he’s more of a playmaker and he’s a better shooter.
I am thrilled to have DeRo on my favorite MLS team, but, for me, he’s been one of the two best North American players for a long time and I’m not prepared ot grant that Donovan is the better player
Yeah, it was unfortunate for him. Looks like Woolard didn’t mean to do what he did, but unfortunately those things happen.
Do 13 goals and 11 assists mean anything to you?
Omar Gonzales
Why would Bradley suggest Rogers? Are we going to blame Bradley for Klinsmann’s horrible nonsensical man crushes now?
Rogers was never even used at the Gold Cup, where he only made the roster because Eddie Gaven wanted to spend time with his newborn baby. Under Klinsmann, he has played in every game so far.
His leg isn’t broke mate.
Houston is on top of the East and I’m convinced they would be in the bottom two of the East without him.
Rosales doesn’t make a good MVP because his leg is broken 😛 Not his fault though.
I think Davis gets hurt by the fact Houston isn’t on top of the East
This part:
“MVPs don’t cause unjustifiable PKs by flopping in the box”
And this part:
“and because of that I had to go with Landon.”
Make a laughably bad combination.
Every player dives at some point. To say that DeRo is a diver and in the next breath say Landon isn’t is quite possibly the most ludicrous thing I’ve ever read. Landon goes down easily on contact just as much as any other player with nominal ball skills, but because he’s considered a star, he doesn’t get villified for it. So you either ignore that trait in other players for reasons unknown or you have a personal vendetta against DeRosario. Either way, your reasoning is flawed.
Joke. That was a joke. Next time I’ll put a “jk” next to it, alright?
Either Jonathon Bornstein or Robby Rodgers
Great players dive, get over it. Respect the skill.
I found that move when DeRo was with TFC to be in very poor taste. That said, he has very clearly demonstrated that he’s worth DP money. I’m a DCU supporter, obviously, but I’d be less-than-impressed if I saw him pull that again.
“He’s been on 3 teams this season.”
Why should that matter?
dwayne has come in a given life to a team that wasn’t going to make the playoffs. he has given the team life and a chance to win it all, by putting the team on his back.
Charlie has been good, but the healing pains are there.
Dwayne is the man, and he is now the man to replace jamie.
Angel, if he gets Chivas USA into the playoffs.
DeRosario has 24 goals and assists. The closest to him is Montero with 17. Dwayne of the Rosary deserves it.
+1000
If DeRo gets DCU to the playoffs, he’s the MVP, period. No player has made the difference that he has.
I’ll play devil’s advocate. No way Chicago would have doubled their wins without Oduro. He’s not a multi-dimensional player, but in terms of his value as an individual to his team he can’t be beat.
Cue derision here 😉
+1
dc would if you go by points per game, no?
“Grant Wahl is wrong though. Alexi Lalas had it right (really?) – he was saying it’s the player most *valuable* to the team.”
Er… you just overlooked the entire explanation I gave you in my post, which consisted of rebutting the very argument made by Alexi Lalas.
The whole point — which Wahl and I are both making — is that “most valuable player” is a misnomer. The award is not intended to honor something as limited as “which player’s team is most dependent on him for success?”
That would be kind of a goofy award. I mean, it might be a vaguely *interesting* award, but it would be awfully narrow and quirky.
Rather, the award is meant to honor the league’s best player. Period. History is not interested in remembering which player was on a 2011 squad whose fortunes happened to be dependent on him. History will want to know who was the league’s top soccer player that season. And that’s what the league’s top award is thus intended to signify.
If you want to respond to this, may I graciously ask that you please read what I’ve written this time? These are long comments, and I don’t want to type it all again. 🙂