An early, early look at MLS awards: MVP, top coach, top keeper

We are two months into the MLS season, the final whistle having blown on about one-fifth of the matches. That seems like a reasonable milepost to have rounded as we bring the award discussions ahead to a pre-summer simmer.

A lot of soccer remains to assess, so things can and probably will change. But let’s not have that spoil the fun! Here are the early leaders in some of the compelling awards that we will certainly debate, argue over, bicker over and possibly even, you know, “take it outside” over in the coming months:

Coach of the Year:

At this point, Jesse Marsch is a near shoe-in. Again, a lot can change. But Marsch has taken an ostensibly “rebuilding” club, one stripped of two high-profile DPs (Thierry Henry and Tim Cahill), completely changed the style of its play and gotten the troops to buy in. The result: his Red Bulls stand as the league’s final undefeated team, and they are an absolute hoot to watch. The pressing style may prove debilitating over a long, hot summer, but that’s on Marsch to manage, and so far he’s passed all the tests.

Also in this debate: Vancouver’s Carl Robinson, in his second year in charge at BC Place, has taken last year’s fifth-place team to the top spot in the West. Big assist to the front office in turning up dynamic young Uruguayan Octavio Rivero, who shares the league lead with five goals.

Rookie of the Year:

No one has quite distinguished himself in this one, which is no real surprise. Last year’s Rookie of the Year, Dallas’ Tesho Akindele, didn’t really make an impression until summer. It takes managers a while to drill certain messages into youngsters about the pro game, so this one needs more time to percolate. A couple of names to watch:

Dominique Badji has a goal in four starts for Colorado. He’s got size and speed and doesn’t look shy on audacity, so once he figures out more about movement and timing, the critical “where to be and when to be there,” he’s got a chance to be something special.

NYCFC’s Khiry Shelton has the raw skills to be a game changer around Yankee Stadium, and he’s even better when David Villa is off the rehab table and on the field. (Frank Lampard, get a move on, man! This team needs you!)

San Jose Earthquakes rookie midfielder Fatai Alashe scored in his MLS debut and has earned a starting midfield spot for a coach (Dominic Kinnear) who historically has not started a bunch of rookies.

Matt Polster is starting in the center of the park for a Chicago Fire team that has found its feet lately. Then again, recent Fire wins have come at home over New York City FC, Toronto and Philadelphia, teams that have combined to win just 4 of 23 matches. The point is, award winners tend to come from winning teams – not always, of course, but that is the larger tendency – so Chicago still has some “prove it to us” ahead. We’ll know a little more when they travel to Sporting KC this week.

Comeback Player of the Year

I hate this award and generally refuse to participate. With its ambiguous criteria and some truly nonsensical choices in the past – 2010 winner Bobby Convey comically and appropriately asked, “What did I come back from?” – this little odd duck of an award has been all over the map and probably needs to go the way of the public pay phone.

I suppose Kei Kamara, scoring regularly at Columbus, may as well win the darn thing. He “came back,” after all. From two years in England. As a reason to hand out that silly prize, it’s as good as some I’ve seen.

Goalkeeper of the Year:

Houston’s Tyler Deric was wearing the early leader cap until allowing an ugly four-spot last week against Sporting Kansas City – even if none of the goals were really his fault in a night of silly back passes and optional marking at BBVA Compass Stadium. Deric would not have been in anybody’s Top 10 among MLS ‘keepers going into the season, so his development into a top man for Houston manager Owen Coyle is a good story to follow, if nothing else.

Bill Hamid, the incumbent MLS Goalkeeper of the Year, was having another standout season at RFK. But he has missed the last two matches, so we’ll see how he rebounds from his second injury of 2015. This is also worth noting: it could not possibly surprise anyone to see the highly talented and driven Hamid, in the last year of his MLS contract, move into Europe this summer. He’s right about the same age where Tim Howard and Brad Guzan took their gloves overseas, and Hamid is certainly on plenty of radars. So there’s a decent chance he won’t even be around by the time we decide this award.

Defender of the Year:

I know this sounds wacky and it probably won’t happen, because voters will lean toward “something different” when given the chance, but Chad Marshall could conceivably win this thing again. He’s already the first three-time MLS Defender of the Year winner, the most recent coming just last year.

Beyond the weariness of the “same old, same old,” it’s not that far-fetched that, at 30 years old, Marshall could claim a fourth. He’s not doing anything wrong for a Seattle team that, with defensive screener extraordinaire Osvaldo Alonso back in the lineup, looks every bit the Western Conference challenger we all thought they would be.

Do keep an eye on New England, where Andrew Farrell has always looked more like a center back than a right back. And now that he’s actually playing in the middle regularly, Farrell is really finding himself at the spot. He looks good there despite a rotation alongside him (mostly due to injury) that could certainly have been destabilizing, especially to someone as relatively inexperienced at center back as Farrell. By late summer, if he keeps this up, we could be asking about whether the guy deserves some of Jurgen Klinsmann’s attention.

Most Valuable Player:

Best for last, eh? That’s how we roll.

Speaking of “roll,” Sporting KC’s Benny Feilhaber really is on one. With five assists in eight matches, he’s on pace to shatter the club’s single-season record. (Preki had 17 in 1997 and again in 2003.) How many more assists might Feilhaber have already generated had Dom Dwyer, a 22-goal scorer last year, not gone so cold to begin 2015? Either way, Feilhaber has been sensational, perhaps the league’s overall top midfielder so far, putting in two-way work for a team that’s still got some back line issues to sort out.

Oh, and if Feilhaber hits any more of those showy laser-beam strikes like that fierce number he smashed Saturday in Houston, someone could seriously get hurt!

Elsewhere, Rivero really has something in Vancouver, and if Jozy Altidore (four goals) keeps scoring, his story will be hard to ignore and he’s sure to reap plenty of the “popular” vote.

Editor’s note: Steve Davis writes a weekly column for World Soccer Talk. He shares his thoughts and opinions on US and MLS soccer topics every Wednesday, as well as news reports throughout the week. You can follow Steve on Twitter at @stevedavis90. Plus, read Steve’s other columns on World Soccer Talk.