With a little more than three weeks left in the regular season, the race for Major League Soccer's 2015 Most Valuable Player award is heating up.
As we tend to do in this space, we're going to take a look at the candidates from a MLS Fantasy perspective. And while defenders and goalkeepers are certainly in the conversation, it's usually the players who pepper the scoresheet who get the plaudits in the end.
With that in mind, some people put the emphasis on goals. Others like to focus on assists. Today we're going to have a look at both categories and then lump them together at the end.
The tables below rank the players by total score so you can get a sense of how they rank in the overall scheme of MLS Fantasy.
Goals Scored – Top 10
Player |
MP |
Goals |
Goals (ex penalties) |
GWG |
Score |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
<img alt="LA Galaxy" src="http://cdn.ismfg.net/static/mlsf/img/shirts/data_view/shirt_9.png"> |
Robbie Keane |
2,370 |
<strong>17</strong> |
16 |
4 |
<strong>194</strong> |
<img alt="New York Red Bulls" src="http://cdn.ismfg.net/static/mlsf/img/shirts/data_view/shirt_11.png"> |
Bradley Wright-Phillips |
2,215 |
<strong>24</strong> |
18 |
5 |
<strong>179</strong> |
<img alt="Seattle Sounders FC" src="http://cdn.ismfg.net/static/mlsf/img/shirts/data_view/shirt_16.png" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: none;"> |
Obafemi Martins |
2,240 |
<strong>15</strong> |
14 |
2 |
<strong>170</strong> |
<img alt="New England Revolution" src="http://cdn.ismfg.net/static/mlsf/img/shirts/data_view/shirt_10.png"> |
Lee Nguyen |
2,418 |
<strong>13</strong> |
9 |
7 |
<strong>161</strong> |
<img alt="Sporting Kansas City" src="http://cdn.ismfg.net/static/mlsf/img/shirts/data_view/shirt_17.png"> |
Dom Dwyer |
2,369 |
<strong>20</strong> |
14 |
6 |
<strong>158</strong> |
<img alt="LA Galaxy" src="http://cdn.ismfg.net/static/mlsf/img/shirts/data_view/shirt_9.png"> |
Gyasi Zardes |
2,032 |
<strong>16</strong> |
16 |
6 |
<strong>155</strong> |
<img alt="Seattle Sounders FC" src="http://cdn.ismfg.net/static/mlsf/img/shirts/data_view/shirt_16.png" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: none;"> |
Clint Dempsey |
1,773 |
<strong>13</strong> |
12 |
5 |
<strong>144</strong> |
<img alt="Real Salt Lake" src="http://cdn.ismfg.net/static/mlsf/img/shirts/data_view/shirt_14.png"> |
Joao Plata |
1,783 |
<strong>13</strong> |
12 |
4 |
<strong>138</strong> |
<img alt="San Jose Earthquakes" src="http://cdn.ismfg.net/static/mlsf/img/shirts/data_view/shirt_15.png"> |
Chris Wondolowski |
2,070 |
<strong>13</strong> |
12 |
0 |
<strong>130</strong> |
<img alt="Chivas USA" src="http://cdn.ismfg.net/static/mlsf/img/shirts/data_view/shirt_2.png"> |
Erick Torres |
2,240 |
<strong>15</strong> |
10 |
4 |
<strong>129</strong> |
Goals are important. They win games. In open play, some players create their own goals on the ball, while others create them with their movement off the ball. And then there's always the occasional goal via penalty and direct free kick. Of course, it all counts the same in MLS Fantasy.
Bradley Wright-Phillips is currently leading MLS in goals with 24, four ahead of the next closest player (Dom Dwyer – 20). However, six of Wright-Phillips' goals have come from the penalty spot; a relative gimmie in the world of goalscorers. Take away his six goals via penalty and he's just one ahead of both Robbie Keane and Gyasi Zardes.
Assists – Top 8
Assists are an essential part of scoring, and no one is doing a better job of creating chances for his teammates this season than Landon Donovan.
Normally, a midfielder leads the league in assists, but with less than a month left in the regular season there are three forwards among the top eight players in this particular category.
Player |
Key Passes |
Assists |
2nd Assist |
Passing % |
Score |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
<img alt="LA Galaxy" src="http://cdn.ismfg.net/static/mlsf/img/shirts/data_view/shirt_9.png"> |
Landon Donovan |
96 |
<strong>18</strong> |
4 |
83.7% |
<strong>221</strong> |
<img alt="Portland Timbers" src="http://cdn.ismfg.net/static/mlsf/img/shirts/data_view/shirt_13.png"> |
Diego Valeri |
94 |
<strong>14</strong> |
4 |
75.2% |
<strong>203</strong> |
<img alt="LA Galaxy" src="http://cdn.ismfg.net/static/mlsf/img/shirts/data_view/shirt_9.png"> |
Robbie Keane |
52 |
<strong>14</strong> |
5 |
78.4% |
<strong>194</strong> |
<img alt="Real Salt Lake" src="http://cdn.ismfg.net/static/mlsf/img/shirts/data_view/shirt_14.png"> |
Javier Morales |
91 |
<strong>12</strong> |
0 |
83.4% |
<strong>187</strong> |
<img alt="New York Red Bulls" src="http://cdn.ismfg.net/static/mlsf/img/shirts/data_view/shirt_11.png"> |
Thierry Henry |
70 |
<strong>13</strong> |
3 |
78.3% |
<strong>176</strong> |
<img alt="Vancouver Whitecaps" src="http://cdn.ismfg.net/static/mlsf/img/shirts/data_view/shirt_19.png"> |
Pedro Morales |
75 |
<strong>10</strong> |
2 |
81.1% |
<strong>175</strong> |
<img alt="Seattle Sounders FC" src="http://cdn.ismfg.net/static/mlsf/img/shirts/data_view/shirt_16.png" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: none;"> |
Obafemi Martins |
50 |
<strong>10</strong> |
1 |
74.1% |
<strong>170</strong> |
<img alt="Houston Dynamo" src="http://cdn.ismfg.net/static/mlsf/img/shirts/data_view/shirt_7.png"> |
Brad Davis |
58 |
<strong>10</strong> |
2 |
83.9% |
<strong>134</strong> |
Check out the ratio between assists per key pass in the table above. Keane and Obafemi Martins have created roughly half as many scoring opportunities as Donovan and Diego Valeri, but they're still among the league leaders in assists. Why? Either they're creating easier chances to score or their teammates (Donovan, Zardes and Clint Dempsey, in particular, are extrememly efficient with them).
Overall – Top 10
Put it all together and here are your top 10 MVP candidates – along with goal contribution for their teams – based on total score right now. It's not a perfect list, but it seems MLS Fantasy follows conventional wisdom closely in the MVP race.
Player |
Goals |
Assists |
Goal Contribution |
Total Score |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
<img alt="LA Galaxy" src="http://cdn.ismfg.net/static/mlsf/img/shirts/data_view/shirt_9.png"> |
Landon Donovan |
10 |
18 |
28/63 = 44% |
<strong>221</strong> |
<img alt="Portland Timbers" src="http://cdn.ismfg.net/static/mlsf/img/shirts/data_view/shirt_13.png"> |
Diego Valeri |
9 |
14 |
23/54 = 43% |
<strong>203</strong> |
<img alt="LA Galaxy" src="http://cdn.ismfg.net/static/mlsf/img/shirts/data_view/shirt_9.png"> |
Robbie Keane |
17 |
14 |
31/63 = 49% |
<strong>194</strong> |
<img alt="Real Salt Lake" src="http://cdn.ismfg.net/static/mlsf/img/shirts/data_view/shirt_14.png"> |
Javier Morales |
9 |
12 |
21/50 = 42% |
<strong>187</strong> |
<img alt="New York Red Bulls" src="http://cdn.ismfg.net/static/mlsf/img/shirts/data_view/shirt_11.png"> |
Bradley Wright-Phillips |
24 |
1 |
25/48 = 52% |
<strong>179</strong> |
<img alt="New York Red Bulls" src="http://cdn.ismfg.net/static/mlsf/img/shirts/data_view/shirt_11.png"> |
Thierry Henry |
9 |
13 |
22/48 = 46% |
<strong>176</strong> |
<img alt="Vancouver Whitecaps" src="http://cdn.ismfg.net/static/mlsf/img/shirts/data_view/shirt_19.png"> |
Pedro Morales |
10 |
10 |
20/38 = 53% |
<strong>175</strong> |
<img alt="Seattle Sounders FC" src="http://cdn.ismfg.net/static/mlsf/img/shirts/data_view/shirt_16.png" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: none;"> |
Obafemi Martins |
15 |
10 |
25/57 = 44% |
<strong>170</strong> |
<img alt="New England Revolution" src="http://cdn.ismfg.net/static/mlsf/img/shirts/data_view/shirt_10.png"> |
Lee Nguyen |
13 |
5 |
18/44 = 41% |
<strong>161</strong> |
<img alt="Sporting Kansas City" src="http://cdn.ismfg.net/static/mlsf/img/shirts/data_view/shirt_17.png"> |
Dom Dwyer |
20 |
1 |
21/45 = 47% |
<strong>158</strong> |
Now that you've seen the stats and each player's goal contribution how would you rank your top 5-10 candidates for league MVP? Tell us in the comments below.
