By Evan Ream
With the 2011 MLS season winding down, I wanted to take a closer look at the MLS MVP race. As it always an award that sparks much debate (last year I was in favor of Chris Wondolowski over David Ferreira), I would like to give my two cents to the discussion. Each team has ten games or fewer left, and it will be what each player does over the last games that most people remember. But before I get to my shortlist of candidates, I would like to first take a closer look at what I think the definition of an MVP is.
Many times the voters will vote simply for the best player on the best team for MVP. While doing so may seem like it makes sense, it doesn’t. MVP stands for Most Valuable Player, and if I understand that correctly, that means the player isn’t the best in the league but rather the most valuable. In theory, the league’s MVP would be the player who if taken away from his team, would cause the most damage to that team. A good example of a misunderstanding of this definition would be last year’s “case” for Sebastien Le Toux. In 2010 Le Toux scored 14 goals and added 11 assists for the expansion Philadelphia Union. Le Toux was the heart and soul of that team and a few blogs (such as the Shin Guardian) pleaded for people to vote for him. This was a mistake. Le Toux’s Union finished 8-7-15, good for seventh place in the Eastern Conference and 14th overall. Without Le Toux, how much worse would they have been? One place?
The clear MVP of 2010 was Chris Wondolowski. Wondo scored more than half of San Jose’s goals and led a mediocre team to the playoffs. Without him, they wouldn’t have made the playoffs. No player meant MORE to his team than Wondo. That is the true definition of a Most Valuable Player.
Thierry Henry is obviously a lock to start despite having a disappointing season last year. He should partner Juan Agudelo, the player many are labeling as “the future” of US Soccer. This should be as dynamic as any partnership in MLS as both players are strong, fast, good in the air, and can use either foot. In the midfield, Jan Gunnar Solli, a new acquisition and experienced Norwegian player has been getting looks on the left side in preseason. Though he is somewhat of a question mark, look for him to start. In the middle, Joel Lindpere and Tony Tchani should form a solid partnership with Joel Lindpere being the slightly more attacking of the two. Dane Richards, one of the best players in the second half of last season, should start on the right side. The backline looks similar to last year, but Rafael Marquez should slide into his natural center back spot instead of Carlos Mendes. Roy Miller, a talented but error prone Costa Rican should start at left back with the impressive Tim Ream by his side. Though he is injured at the moment, Chris Albright, once healthy, should fill in at the right back spot. Lastly, Bouna Coundoul is the unquestioned starter in goal. Hans Backe may want to play a 4-5-1 in some games, if he does, look for Agudelo to take a seat on the bench with Mehdi Ballouchy coming in to play in an attacking midfield role. Luke Rodgers and Corey Hertzog should get some starts for this team while Agudelo is representing the USMNT at the Under-20 World Cup (and maybe even the CONCACAF Gold Cup as well). 
as if Juan Agudelo will be getting plenty of starts and have the opportunity to learn from the legendary Thierry Henry. Agudelo was probably the best player on the field for the Red Bulls in their loss to San Jose in the playoffs last year and he practically created Angel’s goal on his own (with some help from Bobby Convey’s defense). Ever since his off the bar finish against South Africa, USMNT fans have been salivating over the potential he has and this will be their first real chance to see him play substantial minutes for a full season. One of the most important players on this team will be Joel Lindpere, who finished last season with three goals and led the Red Bulls in assists with six while only missing one game the entire season. He was the also the one that assisted Henry’s first ever goal with New York after making a great move to get past his defender and finding Henry in the box during the New York Challenge last summer. Unless New York have some major catastrophe this season, there is no reason they should not clinch the first seed in the Eastern Conference. This team’s starting eleven looks to be one of the strongest this year, but their depth is questionable and if injuries/suspensions occur with any regularity, New York may find that the drop off in talent between their starters and their bench could be quite a problem in their quest for the Supporter’s Shield. 
and Rafael Marquez, the big paycheck “saviors” of NYC football, would both be starting, which was not a given because of nagging injuries to both. 
