So at the start of September I posted the results of the SB Nation Soccer bloggers voting for the end of season awards in a where they stand type of monthly update. Well it is the end of the month and time to vote again.
So I thought I would let you in on my thought process, first up who I voted for last time around:
MLS MVP: 1- Fredy Montero, 2- Edson Buddle, 3- Sebastien Le Toux
Defender of the Year: 1- Jamison Olave, 2-Omar Gonzalez, 3- Daniel Hernandez
Goalkeeper of the Year: 1- Nick Rimando, 2-Donovan Ricketts, 3-Kevin Hartman
Coach of the Year: 1-Jason Kreis, 2-Schellas Hyndman, 3-Bruce Arena
Rookie of the Year: 1-Danny Mwanga, 2- Tim Ream , 3- Ike Opara
Newcomer of the Year: 1- Alvaro Saborio, 2- Joel Lindpere, 3- Jimmy Nielson
Comeback Player of the Year: 1- Sebastien Le Toux, 2-Bouna Coundul, 3- Bobby Convey
My current votes after the jump:
MLS MVP: So I am torn on this, if we are talking about the most valuable player for the league then it is Landon Donovan, hands down. Nobody performs better in the league and nobody did more for the league this year. If we are talking which player made the greatest difference for his team in how it impacts their performance in the league, well it gets a bit dicier then. I like the second definition better but I believe that the first is what is used by most people when voting for a MVP.
1. Landon Donovan (7 goals, 14 assists on 1st place team)
2. Fredy Montero (10 goals (4 game winners), 9 assists (3 game winners))
3. David Ferreira (7 goals, 12 assists)
Defender of the Year: Well this one is fairly clear cut, who makes the biggest difference for a team on defense
1. Jamison Olave (RSL has given up the fewest goals in MLS, plus he has 3 goals)
2. Omar Gonzalez (without him in the lineup LA's defense is much less effective-he needs some caps soon)
3. Daniel Hernandez (despite missing a couple matches with injury, he is the key to the FC Dallas defense)
Goalkeeper of the Year: Again this one is easy to define
1. Nick Rimando (0.65 GAA, 12 shutouts)
2. Kevin Hartman (0.62 GAA, 9 shutouts)
3. Jon Busch (0.82 GAA 4 shutouts) he has only started 11 matches but is going to get 6 more starts before season ends
Coach of the Year: Again fairly clear cut, but do you count a team's spending habits as good coaching?
1. Jason Kreis (defending champ, already qualified for playoffs, already in CCL quarterfinals, one of the lowest budgets in MLS)
2. Schellas Hyndman (Only 2 losses in MLS play, no huge stars, lots of young players)
3. Robert Warzycha (Top in East, US Open Cup final, solid CCL outlook)
Rookie of the Year: Another easy one as far as the defining of a category, which rookie has made the most impact for their team
1. Danny Mwanga (7 goals, 4 assists)
2.Teal Bunbury (4 goals, 1 assist)
3. Andy Najar (5 goals, 1 assist)
Newcomer of the Year: What new player in MLS has made the biggest difference for their team
1. Alvaro Saborio (9 goals, 4 assists)
2. Ryan Smith (3 goals, 7 assists)
3. Geovanni (1 goal, 2 assists) late addition to San Jose, but he has made a huge difference for the team over the last 6 matches they are 4-1-1 since he debuted.
Comeback Player of the Year: this one poses some problems for me as it would by definition be a player who was once a quality contributer for their team, that then dropped off the face of the map, but now is back and again a quality contributer. So this disqualifies a lot of players like Hartman, Coudoul, Le Toux for me.
1. Edson Buddle (14 goals, 2 assists) 2008 (15 goals, 3 assists)
2. Bobby Convey (1 goal, 10 assists) 2001 (1 goals, 7 assists in 12 games for DC)
3. Dane Richards (3 goals, 3 assists) 2007 including playoffs (4 goals, 8 assists)
I would love to see a category called "Breakout Player of the Year" for players who have simply broken out from the norm to make themselves known as top players in MLS:
1. Sebastian Le Toux (12 goals, 10 assists)
2. Kei Kamara (10 goals, 5 assists)
3. Chris Wondolowski (12 goals, 1 assist)
There you have how I would vote for the end of season awards if the season ended today. So what do you think?
OFF MY SOAPBOX