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I was reading Steve Davis' latest blog post* on SB Nation's The Daily Soccer Fix about the 2011 MLS MVP, and who has a realistic chance to win the award, and I came away with basically one these thoughts; this MVP race is extremely wide open, and I have no clue who should win the award.
*I know half of you are going to exit your web browsers after finding out I actually read Steve Davis
SB Nation will be profiling most of this year's MVP candidates this week, so I won't go too in depth as the SB Nation writers who are profiling these players probably know a bit more about them than I do, but I still thought it would be fun to take a quick look at a number of the candidates and their stats for 2011.
On to the players...
Landon Donovan- forward- LA Galaxy
Games played- 23
Minutes played- 1,915
Goals-12
Assists- 3
Quick thoughts; Donovan's been good like he is every year, but I don't see him winning the MVP this season. His play hasn't been at the level we've been accustomed to.
Games played- 33
Minutes played- 2,802
Goals- 4
Assists- 15
Quick thoughts; Davis has a legitimate chance in my eyes. He's been an assist machine this season for Houston. Where would the Dynamo be if you took Davis off of that team? Exactly.
Games played- 33
Minutes played- 2,970
Goals- 11
Assists- 9
Quick thoughts; Le Toux has come on strong as of late, scoring 10 goals in Philadelphia's last 12 matches, putting his numbers on par with most of the other MVP candidates. Added bonus points for looking like a bad guy from Black Ops.
Games played- 26
Minutes played- 2,226
Goals- 2
Assists- 15
Quick thoughts; Beckham is enjoying his best season in MLS. I'd say he's been more important to the Galaxy this year than his partner in crime, Landon Donovan.
Games played- 29
Minutes played- 2,214
Goals- 12
Assists- 8
Quick thoughts; Montero has somewhat snuck up on the rest of the MVP field, but he's enjoying a rather nice season. Doesn't hurt that he's scored five game winning goals for Seattle in 2011.
Games played- 31
Minutes played- 2,601
Goals- 15
Assists- 12
Quick thoughts; De Rosario has probably had the best season statistically speaking out of all of the candidates, but it could come back to bite him that he's bounced around on three different teams this season (Toronto FC, New York, D.C. United)
Games played- 31
Minutes played- 2,647
Goals- 11
Assists- 4
Quick thoughts; Shea's been near the top of the MVP list all season, but his play cooled off a bit when Dallas went into a tail spin for almost all of September.
Games played- 25
Minutes played- 1.860
Goals- 5
Assists- 13
Quick thoughts; Rosales was making a strong case for MVP before suffering a small tear to his right MCL in late September. He was able to play in Seattle's last match, a 2-1 win over San Jose, in which he was able to notch an assist in only 25 minutes of action.
That's the bulk of the MVP candidates this season. There are a few with outside shots, such as Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake), and Jack Jewsbury (Portland), but realistically I think it will be one of the players listed above.
So, who do I think will win the MVP award this year? It's a tough call, but if push comes to shove, I'll go with Dwayne De Rosario. The fact that he has been traded two times this season has to hurt his chances. And, if were up to me, his flop against Chivas USA last month would count against him as well.
What say you, MLS fans?