- Photo by Michael Dwyer (AP)
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Excerpts from the article ‘Surprise’ MVP choice should comes as no surprise by Ridge Mahoney of Soccer America
Article Link: http://www.socceramerica.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=Articles.showArticleHomePage&art_aid=34404
Revs midfielder Shalrie Joseph has never been a finalist for the MVP award for which voters usually favor attackers. Sometimes a goalscorer gets enough goals, as teammate Taylor Twellman (17) did in 2005, or did Luciano Emilio (20) in 2007, or Carlos Ruiz (24) in 2002, to tip the scales in his favor, though players who can rack up goals and assists - Preki (twice), Amado Guevara, Christian Gomez, Alex Pineda Chacon, Jason Kreis - are the prime candidates.
No less an authority than Bruce Arena anointed Joseph the league’s best player years ago but somehow the prowess and spirit and energy he brings to just about every game are taken for granted. Wouldn’t it be ironic that in 2009 — in a season he’s played up front to compensate for the loss of Twellman, or as a playmaker to replace his longtime teammate and friend Steve Ralston, or in multiple positions in the same game - that Joseph finally gets the league’s highest individual honor?
With Ralston out for the season, Joseph must anchor the middle, help screen a back line on which three newcomers start, and contribute offensively. He has other longtime MLS veterans to shoulder some of the load - keeper Matt Reis, midfield partner Jeff Larentowicz, defender Jay Heaps - but there’s youth or players not all that familiar with the league just about everywhere else.
What can’t be quantified is his presence, his range, his stamina, his heart, and his willingness to play, and play well, wherever he’s needed. He probably won’t win the MVP award even if New England does make the playoffs — contributions for a successful season are what the award is all about — but if there’s a year for him to at least be rewarded as a finalist, this is it.
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Excerpt from the column Monday Morning Centerback by Ives Galarcep at soccerbyives.net
Article Link: http://www.soccerbyives.net/soccer_by_ives/2009/09/monday-morning-centerback-on-the-us-under20s-sbis-mls-mvp-vote-and-more.html
On to MLS, where Shalrie Joseph has all but locked up SBI’s vote for MLS MVP. Yes, there are players who have scored more goals and delivered more assists, but this year Joseph has had a season where his MVP candidacy must finally be taken seriously.
Earlier in the season, when injuries had ravaged New England’s forward crop, Joseph stepped in and played forward, scoring goals and setting up teammates. Since moving back into central midfield, Joseph has returned to his dominating self, but he has continued to find the net. He scored game-winning goals against Seattle twice in a five-month span and has also kept the assists coming. After his two-goal effort in New England’s 2-1 comeback win vs. Seattle, Joseph now has eight goals and eight assists.
If you want to know how important Joseph is to New England, consider this. The Revs have lost just one match since he returned from a knee injury in mid-July in matches where Joseph plays more than 25 minutes (6-1-2). The two matches missing from that equation were a loss to KC (where he received a highly-questionable red card early in the first half) and to Chivas USA (with Joseph serving his suspension.
There are plenty of candidates for MVP, including Omar Cummings, Stuart Holden, Dwayne DeRosario, Fredy Montero, Zach Thornton and Guillermo Barros Schelotto, but right now our vote goes to Joseph, who is a candidate every year but has made perhaps his strongest case this season.
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Featured Article on Goal.com by Kyle McCarthy
Article Link: http://goal.com/en-us/news/1110/major-league-soccer/2009/09/28/1528137/monday-mls-breakdown-joseph-presents-compelling-mvp-case
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Monday MLS Breakdown: Joseph Presents Compelling MVP Case
While Landon Donovan remains the odds-on favorite to life his first MLS MVP award, New England’s Shalrie Joseph has quietly compiled a similarly successful campaign. Kyle McCarthy argues Joseph may have the best MVP case of all before reviewing all of the action from Week 28.
September 28th, 2009
By Kyle McCarthy
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This is supposed to be the year that Landon Donovan finally lifts his first MLS MVP award.
It may come as a surprise to most that Donovan, perhaps the finest American field player ever produced, has never captured the honor given to MLS’ preeminent player in a given season. The fact that Donovan has made the final three on only one occasion (2008) appears almost laughable given his contribution to the league over the years, though his production has veered more towards steady brilliance (in the five seasons prior to 2008’s stellar 20 goal, nine assist haul, Donovan averaged ten goals and nine assists per campaign) than eye-popping statistics.
Those numbers aren’t appreciably different in 2009 (10 goals, six assists), but Donovan has played a pivotal role in lifting the Galaxy out of the doldrums, meandering it through the furor surrounding The Beckham Experiment and laying the foundation for MLS Cup glory. Without him, the Galaxy would transform into a marginal playoff team solely reliant on its organization. Common wisdom has all but placed the trophy in Donovan’s hands, particularly after reigning MVP Guillermo Barros Schelotto missed time with a balky hamstring during the summer.
Even though Donovan has deserved the praise he has garnered this year and even though he will likely take home his first MVP award at the end of the season, he probably isn’t the most deserving candidate despite his (former) weekly perch at the top of the MVP tracker located in this column.
That title goes to New England midfielder (and occasional forward) Shalrie Joseph.
Quantifying what makes a candidate the “most valuable player” presents a particular and persnickety challenge. In the face of a difficult and nebulous term, MLS MVP voters often rely too much on stats and too little on actual influence.
The best and most literal interpretation of the phrase directs voters towards the player who is most valuable to his team. Joseph, with perhaps a quibble or two from Donovan and Toronto FC’s Dwayne De Rosario, stands above every other player in MLS when evaluated on that criteria.
“Goals, assists, work rate, you name it, he’s got it,” New England coach Steve Nicol said.
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