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Los Angeles Galaxy goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts was named MLS Goalkeeper of the Year on Wednesday morning, beating out Real Salt Lake's Nick Rimando and FC Dallas' Kevin Hartman.
Ricketts was key to the Galaxy's run to the Supporters Shield, posting a team record 0.90 goals-against average and 11 shutouts. A Jamaican national team veteran, Ricketts becomes just the second foreign goalkeeper to win the MLS Goalkeeper of the Year award (Canadian Pat Onstad has won it twice).
What do you think of this selection? Who got your vote?
Share your thoughts below.
Rickets is a good keep, no doubt, he may be bigger in the box, but Rimando got it done. Not a bad choice in the lot of them.Big cities will always get the props, its how it works.
Agreed. Seitz was by far the goalkeeper of the year.
MLS got it wrong… again. Rickets is great but if you look at stats then its Rimando who wins this award.
Either that or SBI doesn’t know what their talking about (since they chose Rimando to get this award). Probably not the case.
If the fans vote, Seattle wins
If the league votes, LA wins.
I disgreed w/ him being more feared or the player GMs would rather have and that wasn’t what they voted on. As I said in my earlier comment. I don’t think Ricketts is a horrible choice who is undeserving, just not as deserving as hartman or rimando.
If you disagree, then take a poll of players, coaches, and GMs to find out who they think the best goalkeeper is. Oh wait, they did that, and Ricketts was the choice. I’m not saying it was the right choice (I would have picked Hartman for this year), I’m just giving my thoughts on why they chose Ricketts. Ricketts is more feared than Rimando and I’d guess that few players and coaches think about stats and past hardware when facing a particular keeper. In any event, all three are awesome keepers.
i love the galaxy hate
Disagree w/ everything that was said about Ricketts. Najar I see that, but not Ricketts. I would think that Rimando, with two MLS Cups and his performance last year in the playoffs as well as all year this year and past years w/ RSL win the D was far less stellar would be the pick for most teams.
Good goalkeeper, but my 3rd choice for the award. It appears like MLS is giving more credit to the RSL defenders who are in front of Rimando, and Hartmann seems to be getting penalized for missing games due to injury. Again, Ricketts is a stud, but the choice surprises me.
+1000000000000
do people forget RSL has a dam good backline too?! give me a break. that “galaxy has the best defensive line” argument although flattering, is pointless. fcd’s backline also deserves huge praise
Agreed, anyone who thinks Frei is crap should actually watch him play. The defense leaves him in compromising positions all the time and he is an imposing force when it comes to stopping shots.
I haven’t seen enough LAG games this year to comment but Ricketts does have a solid backline in front of him.
dislike. yet again the league is propping up the galaxy. we’d like them if we liked them – mls/garber – stop forcing the galaxy down our throats. God forbid we root for our local boys. rimando saves.
Hartman is without a doubt the best choice. Ricketts played behind arguably the best backline in MLS, with goal support from Donovan and Buddle. Hartman had neither, and if proof of his importance to FC Dallas is needed, just look at the end to their season, when the classless frenchman put himin out of commission. Plus, as stated above, he had the lowest GAA in the league.
Here’s my take. Players, coaches, and GMs probably put a lot less stock into stats than the media. Players likely think about who is a beast to play against (Ricketts has to be more feared than Hartman or Rimando). Coaches likely think about who stood out in games against their own teams (Again, Ricketts has a more dominating presence in most games than Hartman or Rimando — even if, statistically, Ricketts let in more goals (in my opinion, mostly due to mistakes by the backline)). GMs likely think about who they would rather have on their team (Ricketts wins there too). I would argue that Najar also has some of these attributes that put him over the top for ROTY (he stands out more to opposing players, coaches and GMs). I certainly understand why the awards came out the way they did.
This is asinine. Rimando and Hartman were both more deserving. Both had much better save percentages, not to mention much lower GAA (though one must admit team defense does play a major role in that stat).
well than what about RSL’s backline? 2 defenders i believe are finalists for defender of the year
is a LAG fan i though rimando would win the award but u really cant go wrong with picking ricketts. He showed his worth againt seattle. and i feel that if maybe rimando would of had a shut out. the reward would of been his. idk i feel rickets performance on sunday got him to win just by a little bit. by a hair. but all 3 were wonderful candidates
He’s just keeping the chair warm for Sean Johnson who will own this award the next few years.
If it was just about stats, then the MVP would always go to the guy with the most combination of goals and assists.
Maybe for Rookie of the Year, but how can you say Ricketts isn’t deserving of Keeper of the Year?
The league is now 0 for 2. Should have been Ream and Rimando. If the league selects Henry as newcomer of the year, it has officially lost all credbility.
Totally agree with you on how the defence’s influence the keeper’s standing.
It’s the same reason whenever I say Frei should’ve been nominated everyone gets up in arms saying he’s crap when really it’s the defence (or lack there of in TFC’s case, Cann and Attakora aside) that influences his stats.
Ricketts is a good GK but I’d have gone with Rimando.
As a gaLAxy season ticket holder, he certainly was capable of brilliance but am shocked that he won. I think he benefited from having a great line in front of him. LA all day baby!
You can never discount the influence of St. Bruce. For some reason the MLS still thinks he walks on water and if his choice for keeper is Ricketts, he is clearly the best option in the league. Stats lie!
Agree. Stefan Frei was the best keeper this year.
This just proves that you always put the fat kid in net!
I’m going to be pissed if Omar Gonzalez wins Defender of the Year, but I can definitely see it happening at this point. If it does, these awards lose all credibility.
Just to clarify. Not upset b/c Rimando didn’t get it. I just thought Ricketts and Najar were clearly the least deserving candidates out of the three remaining in their categories. Not not deserving, just least deserving.
The Jamaican doesn’t F around.
Who wan come test bomba clott?
MLS is 0-2 today.
I am guessing Henry will win newcomer, Gonzalez defender of the year and all the other categories will go to the most undeserving candidates. What a crock of sh*t!
Seriously, this is crazy. I am assuming we will soon hear about Henry winning Newcomer of the Year. Does anyone know the breakdown of how voting works?
I agree. Very deserving and a great choice.
How is this happening? First Najar, now this. I really don’t understand
Goals against average…
Hartman 0.62
Rimando 0.67
Ricketts 0.90
Hartman and Rimando were better choices for this and other reasons.
I thought ricketts would be #3.
I don’t have a problem with it. Tough call between the three of them. Ricketts benefits by being the guy who salvaged a disastrous mess that the Galaxy had at keeper. I know that was last year but I think it still helped his standing.
I would have gone with Hartman and his influence on FCD’s success. However all three had great seasons and Ricketts helped LA to first place the whole season.
These polls are about as credible as the BCS.
Rookie of the year chants will ring out in Red bull arena for TIM REAM.
I think its well deserved… even though he is not on my team. He is like a panther.
Again, another disappointing choice.