shamrock Posted October 28, 2013 Share Posted October 28, 2013 Now the regular season is over, maybe a bit prematurely I must admit, it's time to rank the Canadian top 10 MLS-players (yes there's a dozen of them). Let me first make a list of current Canadian MLS-players. For convenience I'll only list players that soccerway has listed as Canadian, with one exception: Wandrille Lefevre is listed as French but has been living in Montreal for quiet some years and has applied for citizienship (and the chances that this kid will ever be called up by the French is neglectable). Here we go: From the Impact: Karl Ouimette 21yr 7/1 Maxim Tissot 21yr 6/1 Patrice Bernier 34yr 31/4 Wandrille Lefevre 23yr 6/0 (Zakaria Messoudi 19yr was on the bench 2 times during MLS matches) From Columbus (Drew Becky 23yr was on the bench 2 times during MLS matches. Played 10 games and scored once for the Reserves) From Toronto FC: (Quillan Roberts 19yr was on the bench 8 times in 2013) Doneil Henry 20yr 20/0 Ashtone Morgan 22yr 22/0 Kyle Bekker 23yr 9/0 Terry Dunfield 31yr 4/0 Jonathan Osorio 20yr 28/5 Emery Welshman 22yr 1/0 From DC United: Dejan Jakovic 28yr 18/0 Dwayne Derosario 35yr 24/3 Kyle Porter 23yr 27/3 From Portland Timbers: Will Johnson 26yr 28/9 From LA Galaxy Kofi Opare 23yr 6/1 From San Jose Earthquakes Nana Attakora-Gyan 24yr 8/0 From Vancouver Whitecaps: Sam Adekugbe 18yr 1/0 Russell Teibert 20yr 24/2 From Chivas Los Angeles: Ante Jazic 37yr 1/0 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shamrock Posted October 28, 2013 Author Share Posted October 28, 2013 And now my top 5, would be nice to compare some top 5's with eachother, so please post. 1. Will Johnson, Not because of the 9 goals he scored (most from the penalty spot), but for his leadership. He's been a major reason that Portland is one of the MLS-Cup favorites going into the playoffs. 2. Doneil Henry, it seems strange that I'd pick a Central Defender from such a poor team, but Doneil is by now an experienced and fysically strong MLS-CB, at age 20! He's made tremendous strides, now hope the team will evolve likewise. 3. Dwayne Derosario, Iknow, in MLS it seems his days are over and he played for the second worse team in the league. But how many Canadians can claim to be a US Open Cup winner? With goals in the quarter and semi finals and an assist in the final, Dero was big when it was necessary. Ow, and he was also topscorer in the Cup (tied for 5 goals with Piquionne) 4. Jonathan Osorio. He came out of nothing and has become the engine of TFC in no-time. The progression hasn't stopped and should continue, next season we want to see more assists and goals please. You can do it! 5. Russell Teibert. King of the assist. I was thinking 4 or 5, but Osorio has more defensive responsibillities, Teibert only has to attack. But he does so very effectively, next season I want to see more goals than 2 on that position! After that, the rest of the top10 would be something like: 5. Morgan 6. Bernier 7. Opare 8. Porter 9. Ouimette 10. Bekker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmcmurph Posted October 28, 2013 Share Posted October 28, 2013 Breakout year for Will to be sure. I was going to disagree with Doneil but then I saw "at age 20". "Teibert only has to attack." - Not in the system Rennie has him playing. Russell was a great help defensively on the right side constantly pressuring, forcing early or bad passes. Aside from that and Dero being way too high (shift down 4 spots) I'd agree. Loved how Adekugbe played last night. His long loping runs reminded me of Eric Abidal. According to Rennie we have a right back coming up who is every bit as good. Future looks good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Bob Posted October 28, 2013 Share Posted October 28, 2013 According to Rennie we have a right back coming up who is every bit as good. Future looks good. Really? Must be a long way down then. Right back's been a revolving door for the U-16 and U-18 Residency teams the past couple years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmcmurph Posted October 28, 2013 Share Posted October 28, 2013 Really? Must be a long way down then. Right back's been a revolving door for the U-16 and U-18 Residency teams the past couple years. http://www.whitecapsfc.com/video/2013/10/27/oct-27-martin-rennie-post-match Around the 2:50 mark. Ethan Sampson is who he names. Just looked him up and he is not Canadian. I thought Rennie meant a residency player. My bad. Who knows maybe he will get citizenship. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gian-Luca Posted October 28, 2013 Share Posted October 28, 2013 3. Dwayne Derosario, Iknow, in MLS it seems his days are over and he played for the second worse team in the league. Which team do you consider worse than DC United this year? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shamrock Posted October 28, 2013 Author Share Posted October 28, 2013 Chivas. No top 5's anyone? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shermanator Posted October 28, 2013 Share Posted October 28, 2013 I would put my Top 5 as follows: 1. Will Johnson - guy is a stud in the MF for Portland 2. Russell Teibert - once he got his spot in the starting 11, he never let go. His attacking play and crosses are tremendous. Far and away the best Canadian player developed by the 3 MLS teams, IMHO of course 3. Patrice Bernier - His value as a holding MF was evident in the Impact's loss to TFC Saturday. Despite the age, a tremendous leader for the team 4. Dwayne de Rosario - He's on the decline, but still an MLS legend. 5. Jonathan Osorio - Came out of nowhere to win a spot in the starting 11. Needs to be more consistent in his finishing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yohan Posted October 28, 2013 Share Posted October 28, 2013 I won't even bother ranking because this list should be divided into 2. The older players, and the prospects coming up. Among older players, Will Johnson had by far the best season. Everyone else had middling (Bernier) but mostly terrible (DeRo, Jakovic) I am however, encouraged by Canadian rookies and youngsters, Tissot, Ouimette, Teibert, Henry, Osorio. Opare is a nice surprise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Hombre Posted October 28, 2013 Share Posted October 28, 2013 There are two possible top fives: one for who had the best year, all things being equal and another for who had the best year for those players that will be around for the next qualifying cycle. The difference between the two is that Bernier had a good year and would slot himself somewhere around the 3 spot, but I don't think he'll be involved for qualifying in a couple years, and that's what I'm most interested in. With that in mind: 1) Will Johnson - Captained/led Portland to first in their conference. Scored nine times. He is an exceptional player for a 26 year old. 2) Russell Teibert - Finally got an opportunity and showed that he belonged on the pitch. Contributed with 9 assists in only 24 games (only Landon Donovan had as many in fewer games). 3) Doneil Henry - TFC's issue this year wasn't that they were poor defensively, but that they let in goals at inopportune times and their offense was nowhere to be seen (their goals for ranked second last while their goals against was sixth worse). I think he played a role in that area of improvement for TFC. I recently read on here that someone thinks he's the worst defender in MLS. I think he's quite capable and I think he had a decent year. I just hope he learns from some of the mistakes he made. 4) Jonathan Osorio - Played both out wide and in the middle and it's hard to argue with 5 goals for a 20 year old. I think I might prefer him out wide as TFC need an upgrade in the middle, but had a solid rookie campaign and should've at least got an honourable mention in the rookie of the year discussion. 5) Dwayne Derosario - Not a great year by his standards, but still half decent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raven Posted October 28, 2013 Share Posted October 28, 2013 I'm STILL waiting for the "great Canadian striker". It's great the from the midfield to the back there are potential young players for the national team...but where are the stikers???....sigh... Russia 2018. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Bob Posted October 28, 2013 Share Posted October 28, 2013 Ethan Sampson is who he names. Just looked him up and he is not Canadian. ha ha ha oh wow Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Hombre Posted October 28, 2013 Share Posted October 28, 2013 I'm STILL waiting for the "great Canadian striker". It's great the from the midfield to the back there are potential young players for the national team...but where are the stikers???....sigh... Russia 2018. Well, Caleb Clarke went off to Germany, Brody Huitema is currently leading Duke in goals as a freshman and Jordan Hamilton has been preoccupied with an obscure tournament for the last little while. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Hombre Posted October 28, 2013 Share Posted October 28, 2013 Well, Caleb Clarke went off to Germany, Brody Huitema is currently leading Duke in goals as a freshman and Jordan Hamilton has been preoccupied with an obscure tournament for the last little while. Also, Allando Matheson and Cyle Larin have combined to score 13 of 21st ranked UConn's 20 goals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yohan Posted October 28, 2013 Share Posted October 28, 2013 3) Doneil Henry - TFC's issue this year wasn't that they were poor defensively, but that they let in goals at inopportune times and their offense was nowhere to be seen (their goals for ranked second last while their goals against was sixth worse). I think he played a role in that area of improvement for TFC. I recently read on here that someone thinks he's the worst defender in MLS. I think he's quite capable and I think he had a decent year. I just hope he learns from some of the mistakes he made. I'm going to catch a lot of flak for this, but I don't think Henry is starter calibre yet. First off the bench, 3rd CB, yes. Starter, not yet. He's got a lot of upside for a 20 yr old, but boy does he make some bonehead plays at times. Needs to control his aggression as he's a red card waiting to happen. (2 red, 6 yellows for the season) And he still turns off mentally at inopportune times to lose his marking. 5) Dwayne Derosario - Not a great year by his standards, but still half decent. DeRo was terrible. Shade of the player he once was. DC was horrible, but it didn't help that DeRo looked like he ran out of gas too early, and he still plays like he's the centre of the attack when he clearly isn't. He needs to retire soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Hombre Posted October 28, 2013 Share Posted October 28, 2013 I'm going to catch a lot of flak for this, but I don't think Henry is starter calibre yet. First off the bench, 3rd CB, yes. Starter, not yet. He's got a lot of upside for a 20 yr old, but boy does he make some bonehead plays at times. Needs to control his aggression as he's a red card waiting to happen. (2 red, 6 yellows for the season) And he still turns off mentally at inopportune times to lose his marking. Are you talking about for TFC or for the CMNT? DeRo was terrible. Shade of the player he once was. DC was horrible, but it didn't help that DeRo looked like he ran out of gas too early, and he still plays like he's the centre of the attack when he clearly isn't. He needs to retire soon. True, but who else played a significant number of minutes that had a better year? I figure it was just an off year for him this year. If he puts up the same numbers next year then I would agree with you that he's done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yohan Posted October 28, 2013 Share Posted October 28, 2013 Are you talking about for TFC or for the CMNT? TFC. True, but who else played a significant number of minutes that had a better year? I figure it was just an off year for him this year. If he puts up the same numbers next year then I would agree with you that he's done. he's 35. I don't think he's numbers will go up, esp since DC is retooling again (and likely looking to shed DeRo and his huge salary) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Hombre Posted October 28, 2013 Share Posted October 28, 2013 TFC. You aren't really suggesting that Gale should start in front of him, are you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmcmurph Posted October 28, 2013 Share Posted October 28, 2013 ha ha ha oh wow Ya my bad but he is only 19 and not cap tied so there is hope Speaking of which how about that CMNT "soon-to-be" fellow out in Vancouver? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yohan Posted October 28, 2013 Share Posted October 28, 2013 You aren't really suggesting that Gale should start in front of him, are you? No, a seasoned MLS centerback. Henry beat Boss fair and square, but I also think Boss is a good 4th CB. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackdude Posted October 28, 2013 Share Posted October 28, 2013 El Hombre, if Bernier won't be involved, why are you putting DeRo in your top 5. Putting Rob Friend would be more reasonable, IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Bob Posted October 28, 2013 Share Posted October 28, 2013 Ya my bad but he is only 19 and not cap tied so there is hope I was laughing at Rennie, not you. He and I see different things in that kid, apparently. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deschamp86 Posted October 28, 2013 Share Posted October 28, 2013 1. Will Johnson 2. Patrice Bernier 3. Russell Teibert 4. Jonathan Osorio 5. Dwayne De Rosario Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Hombre Posted October 28, 2013 Share Posted October 28, 2013 El Hombre, if Bernier won't be involved, why are you putting DeRo in your top 5. Putting Rob Friend would be more reasonable, IMO. For some reason I feel that Dero will bounce back next year. I could be (and most likely will be) completely wrong. I was also looking for someone, anyone to fill that fifth spot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wingback6 Posted October 29, 2013 Share Posted October 29, 2013 See Morgan getting over looked. Which is funny considering he will be the most capped player on TFC once Frei and Eck's leave this year. And he lost, regained, and defended his starting job. His play in the final third has gone down a bit, but his defending is miles better (how many goals did he give up compared to Henry) few if any. And despite what the idiot MLS pundits say, he has been solid locking down good wingers all season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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