Top Stories

SBI MLS Player of the Week: Mike Magee

By IVES GALARCEP

There were plenty of questions about who would help Robbie Keane with the goal-scoring load on the Los Angeles Galaxy with David Beckham gone and Landon Donovan on vacation in Cambodia.

Mike Magee delivered a emphatic answer as to just who it will be.

Magee scored his first career hat-trick on Sunday in the LA Galaxy’s 4-0 victory over the Chicago Fire, turning in a virtuoso performance that made him the easy pick for SBI MLS Player of the Week honors in MLS Week on.

Here are Magee’s three goals:

Magee beat out a field that included Graham Zusi, Alvaro Saborio, Fabian Espindola and Diego Valeri.

What did you think of Magee’s performance? Was he your pick for MLS Player of the Week? Who else would you have voted for?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. I think Magee is exactly what USMNT needs. I can’t imagine him not making the Gold Cup at the very least. But I think he his play deserves a look every bit as much as Eddie Johnson.

    IMHO more than anything, USMNT needs a scrappy player who wiggles into the right positions and buries the easy ones. The AntiJozy if you will. Could Magee be the guy? Lets find out.

    Reply
  2. The LA Galaxy could be a huge brand. Why is the league, with its heavy salary restrictions, preventing the LA Galaxy from being all that they could be?

    They have the potential to create a popular brand that could get a lucrative local TV deal. If they did that they could field a club that could compete for all 3 trophies.

    Last year the LA Galaxy had 30 mil in revenues. Imagine the revenues they could get if they were allowed to spend more on players. I think the international player cap is 6 right? If they signed Kaka, they would still have enough to buy 1 or 2. Maybe bring in Freddy Adu.

    Reply
    • It’s funny you ask this and I’ve been waiting to bring this up with Ives during a commentary/Q&A.

      Alexi Lalas said he questioned Don Garber about Chivas USA, their direction and the affect it has on the league. Apparently Garber said something to the affect, “We support it. We like the idea of Chivas adding something different to the league.”

      Yea? You mean the homogenized, parity driven league that is built on teams having very little difference? The one you want to keep the training wheels on? THAT ONE?

      I don’t get it either, “K.”.

      If a team can sustain and account for the funding, then said club should be allowed to do so.

      To be completely blunt, there’s too much parity in the league. Some imbalance creates dynamics that are fun to watch. Crappy teams can still be crappy, i.e. Chivas, but teams that can afford (again, and ACCOUNT for…that’s the key), should be able to do so.

      It’s time.

      Reply
      • Yeah I agree. You don’t want clubs to just spend and go in debt. But if teams are allowed to spend as much revenue as they take in that should be allowed. And for anyone who has started a business or has taken over a business and wants to expand revenues, the first thing you have to do is spend more (either on marketing or development of products). So, it’s true in sports too that sometimes you have to spend more to grow a brand.

        I don’t understand the people that say a superclub would be bad for MLS. It’s the opposite. It would raise the whole profile of the league. And no, the LA Galaxy wouldn’t win every year and thus demoralize the whole MLS fan base. If anything, it would increase the allure of the league with people watching for David to slay Goliath.

        This is what makes sports leagues fun to watch. This is what makes the NCAA tournament fun to watch.

        The current salary restrictions negatively effect the quality on the field. They prevent LA and NY and Seattle from increasing the value of their brand and thus reaping the benefits.

        Garber wants a soccer league that operates like the NFL where its all about parity and where anyone can win the title any year. Ugh, yeah, soccer is not the NFL. Someone needs to tell him that. Soccer is a global game and MLS is not the only league where soccer players can find work.

      • I agree with both your posts. While the MLS is no longer a start-up league, it is still a young league. Allowing clubs to spend within their means unfettered by a salary cap can bring higher profile clubs greater notoriety, better showing in club competitions, champions leagues, etc. This can only raise the level of play and profile of the MLS, which is good for all teams.

        That is not to say a salary cap/floor system doesn’t have a place in a mature league like the NFL, NBA, etc., but I think it hurts a younger league’s ability to grow.

    • Good points by you and Old School, but one minor correction: LA has built a solid brand and parlayed that success into a lucrative TV deal. In 2011 they signed a 10-year, $55 million dollar deal with Time Warner Cable, the biggest rights deal in the league by far.

      But could they grow more and ask for more? Heck yeah, and I hope they do.

      Reply
      • Gnarls,

        it’s a major step above of what they had. I was shocked when I read in the LA Times that the previous deal with FSW was less than 500k a year and that the highest rated game only pulled in 16,000 households. And that’s with Beckham on the team. I dunno, could that be true? If it is then they had more fans actually in the stadium that watched on TV.

        Time Warner probably see’s LA Galaxy as a potential glamour club with possibly Kaka or Lampard coming in. LA Galaxy also signed a 10 year $44 million sponsorship deal with Herbalife. So right there that’s close to $10 mil a year before a ticket or jersey has been sold.

        The thing is, LAG has the revenues to bring in Kaka and Lampard to play with Keane and Donovan. They’d still have $ left over fill the roster with some pretty good young American players (they have some pretty good young ones already). Now, with that kind of roster they could challenge for all 4 trophies. They could win the CCL which would get them to the Club World Cup. Can someone tell me why that is bad? Having superclubs is great for leagues. It raises the leagues profile and it brings more money into the league. The next time that LAG TV deal comes up instead of $5 mil a year it could be $20 mil.

        And like others have said, we have the MLS cup playoffs which is kind of an equalizer against the same club winning every year.

      • I completely agree with all of that! Have big marquee clubs is good for every league. Soccer fans need a couple teams that automatically come to mind when they think MLS, just like people instantly associate Man U & Chelsea with the EPL, Barca and RM with La Liga, Bayern Munich, Ajax, PSG… etc. etc. LA is perfectly positioned to be that club for MLS.

        I would like to see MLS loosen its DP rules: 5 DPs per team with a $200k cap hit. That, in effect, would allow teams to spend as much as they’re able. Unfortunately, Garber just announced the DP cap hit would be increasing and no increase in the total number of DPs.

      • Judging from the fact that the pictures are of him playing pickup soccer in the jungle, I can only assume Donovan’s actual purpose is to learn the secrets of some reclusive soccer guru.

  3. RSL fan here. Player of the Week is Mike. Good job on him.

    I was happy so see Espindola score and look happy and interested. I liked Olave’s goal, but he was at fault on the Timbers first goal and he got the own goal to tie it. I will like watching Red Bulls this year.

    Reply
  4. I thought he was awesome, but my choice would be saborio. 2 goals against the supporters shield defenders with their top choice CBs, all while on the road. That’s impressive. Also denied wondo more than a few times on defensive set pieces. Absolutely clinical strikes.

    Reply
    • He was set up pretty sweet by Plata and even Beckerman….and San Jose did a bad job of giving AND Beckerman all the space in the world in that 2nd goal…

      Magee had 2 pretty sweet goals and even the last one was awesome…he missed a few could have had 5 easily…

      And while SJ had their CBs…..they were missing their Right Back, no more Dawkins or Stephenson and where are Gordon and Lehnart??? Plus is Marvin Chavez hurt???

      Reply
      • Yes, Marvin Chavez is hurt along with Gordhart and Beitashour. But, RSL was also missing Nat Borchers, Chris Wingert, Javi Morales, and Ned Grabavoy. The injuries more than evened themselves out

    • I’m a Galaxy homer, and I still think Magee deserves POTW, but you make an excellent case for Sabo. Looking at the clubs’ respective competition: SJ or Chi, Sabo earns extra credit for that. Sabo and Plata are gonna pair up nicely for sure. And in all honesty, I just love to see SJ lose.

      Reply
    • We have one very good CB, two positionally challenged CBs, and one rookie CB. The dirty little secret is if Bernardez is occupied with a mark, you could drive a semi through the middle of our D. We leak goals up the middle. Last night was a perfect example. Bernardez had a rare lapse on the second goal though. We’re still one CB away from a solid defense.

      Reply
  5. Hard to believe how long he has been playing in MLS. It’s his 11th season, yet he is still only 28 years-old. He was one of the original teenagers brought into the league.

    Reply
      • I think Mage, Gavin, and Justin Mapp were all expected to carry the torch for MLS and to an extent, the USMNT. At least they all have had solid MLS careers. That’s about it though

  6. great ball striker with both feet and his head. smart player who is good in tight spaces. moves off the ball really well and combines. getting to play with Keane…priceless.

    shredded yesterday. hope it all carries into the CCL game

    Go Galaxy!

    Reply
      • I’m not usually a hype bandwagoner, but this makes 3 or 4 consecutive seasons where Magee is showing he’s not just a flash in the pan.

        The dude’s even got a goal against Real Madrid’s starters, even if they were in offseason.

        That said, he’s at least worth a look in the Gold Cup, considering the relative inexperience or advanced age of much of the striking corps. And yes, I know Magee’s not young, but he’s still on the right side of thirty, and can play several attacking roles.

      • I disagree on this. Magee’s touch is quite a bit better, and he relies more on technical ability than Wondo. Also, take a look at last year’s MLS “Anatomy of a Goal” series. One common thread in the LA goals featured is Magee’s movement outside the box creating space for teammates. The two are both good off the ball, but in different parts of the field: Wondolowski’s strength is making off-the-ball runs to finish, while Magee’s is making off-the-ball runs to open up passing combinations and create chances for teammates. The USMNT arguably needs Magee’s skill set more than Wondolowski’s.

    • No less of a figure than Robbie Keane agrees with you. He took to Twitter at one point last year to ask why Magee’s still uncapped.

      Reply

Leave a Comment