We are lucky to hear his analysis daily on Fox Soccer Report and now Bobby McMahon has welcomed the opportunity to try his hand at a few predictions involving the 17th season of Major League Soccer. McMahon hosts a weekly podcast with Eoin O'Callaghan at SoccerReportExtra.com and most recently has shared his writing with Forbes. Follow McMahon on twitter: @bobbysoccerrep
Soccer Banter: Which team(s) will win the Supporters Shield and MLS Cup in 2012? How much more important will the Supporters Shield be with MLS Cup being played at the home venue of the participating team with a higher regular season point total?
Bobby McMahon: To take the Galaxy for the double would be too obvious so I am going to pick the Seattle Sounders for the Supporters Shield. I like the look of their squad – it seems to have some depth and Seattle has goals in them.
MLS Cup 2012 – the LA Galaxy to repeat. Perhaps a largely disappointing season compared to 2011 and a failure to meet higher expectations. But they will peak at the right time and win the 2012 Cup. Runners up – Sporting KC.
Home venue – it will guarantee a good attendance but I am not sure that it will make much difference to the outcome. Because of the lead up to the final, and the fact that both teams are on site days before the final, the traditional home advantage will be largely negated.
SB: Which clubs were the winners/losers this off-season with their transactions?
Soccer Banter: Which team(s) will win the Supporters Shield and MLS Cup in 2012? How much more important will the Supporters Shield be with MLS Cup being played at the home venue of the participating team with a higher regular season point total?
Bobby McMahon: To take the Galaxy for the double would be too obvious so I am going to pick the Seattle Sounders for the Supporters Shield. I like the look of their squad – it seems to have some depth and Seattle has goals in them.
MLS Cup 2012 – the LA Galaxy to repeat. Perhaps a largely disappointing season compared to 2011 and a failure to meet higher expectations. But they will peak at the right time and win the 2012 Cup. Runners up – Sporting KC.
Home venue – it will guarantee a good attendance but I am not sure that it will make much difference to the outcome. Because of the lead up to the final, and the fact that both teams are on site days before the final, the traditional home advantage will be largely negated.
SB: Which clubs were the winners/losers this off-season with their transactions?
BM: I find the number of changes made from season to season on MLS teams overwhelming and impossible to assess in the absence of actual game action. Two to three changes in a first team squad are understandable and you can make some intelligent guesses on how things might turn out. When you see 8, 9 or even a dozen, I cannot comprehend how you take that sort of turnover and turn it into anything close to an assessment of team prospects.
There are individual moves that I feel should work out. I believe Kris Boyd will score goals for Portland and that Le Toux will be a success in Vancouver. Buddle is a known quantity “coming home”, and Perez might be the striker that FC Dallas have been trying to find for a couple of years.
SB: On the topic of off-season transactions, who do you believe will win Rookie of the Year and Newcomer of the Year?
BM: Rookie of the Year – no idea. I haven’t watched these players and so all I have to go on is hype, which is notoriously unreliable. The number of rookies that actually make a consistent difference in a season you can count on the fingers of one hand after carving a couple of digits off.
Newcomer of the Year - I would opt for Perez or Boyd, but that is only because I have watched them and I have an idea of what they might be capable of in this league. There are countless others that I have never seen play and I have no idea what their potential is.
There are individual moves that I feel should work out. I believe Kris Boyd will score goals for Portland and that Le Toux will be a success in Vancouver. Buddle is a known quantity “coming home”, and Perez might be the striker that FC Dallas have been trying to find for a couple of years.
SB: On the topic of off-season transactions, who do you believe will win Rookie of the Year and Newcomer of the Year?
BM: Rookie of the Year – no idea. I haven’t watched these players and so all I have to go on is hype, which is notoriously unreliable. The number of rookies that actually make a consistent difference in a season you can count on the fingers of one hand after carving a couple of digits off.
Newcomer of the Year - I would opt for Perez or Boyd, but that is only because I have watched them and I have an idea of what they might be capable of in this league. There are countless others that I have never seen play and I have no idea what their potential is.
SB: Which designated player will have the biggest impact on his team’s success this season?
BM: Torsten Frings is the real deal in an ocean of Toronto FC hyperbole. They should have him wearing a Superman cloak rather than a red top. I am sure he must do the pre-game rubdowns and cleans the dressing room as well. Without Frings, Toronto would be rudderless.
SB: If you could pick one MLS match this year to attend just as a fan, which would it be?
BM: Portland against Seattle in Portland. I like the quiet, relaxed atmosphere.
SB: Bonus Question: Off-topic, but with the Olympics happening this summer, if the United States qualifies, who do you think will be selected as the three overage players?
BM: I am not sure it is quite as simple as picking three players. The politics of the selection are complex and there is going to be a lot going on behind the scenes with a lot of clubs here and in Europe working hard to make sure that their overage players are not selected. The Olympics take place at a horrendous time of year with the European season just starting or about to start and MLS moving into the final third.
I would expect the emphasis to be on “spine” players for overage selection. A centre back certainly, probably a defensive midfield player and an attacking player. Ideally Carlos Bocanegra, Kyle Beckerman and Landon Donovan, but it will not happen.
Other contributers to "Five Minutes with Five People That Know MLS"
Travis Clark - Staff Reporter and Editor at TopDrawerSoccer.com
Marc Connolly - Chief Researcher and editorial consultant for ESPN's MLS and UNMNT soccer broadcasts
Kristan Heneage - Newcastle based journalist featured in FourFourTwo and MLSTalk
BM: Torsten Frings is the real deal in an ocean of Toronto FC hyperbole. They should have him wearing a Superman cloak rather than a red top. I am sure he must do the pre-game rubdowns and cleans the dressing room as well. Without Frings, Toronto would be rudderless.
SB: If you could pick one MLS match this year to attend just as a fan, which would it be?
BM: Portland against Seattle in Portland. I like the quiet, relaxed atmosphere.
SB: Bonus Question: Off-topic, but with the Olympics happening this summer, if the United States qualifies, who do you think will be selected as the three overage players?
BM: I am not sure it is quite as simple as picking three players. The politics of the selection are complex and there is going to be a lot going on behind the scenes with a lot of clubs here and in Europe working hard to make sure that their overage players are not selected. The Olympics take place at a horrendous time of year with the European season just starting or about to start and MLS moving into the final third.
I would expect the emphasis to be on “spine” players for overage selection. A centre back certainly, probably a defensive midfield player and an attacking player. Ideally Carlos Bocanegra, Kyle Beckerman and Landon Donovan, but it will not happen.
Other contributers to "Five Minutes with Five People That Know MLS"
Travis Clark - Staff Reporter and Editor at TopDrawerSoccer.com
Marc Connolly - Chief Researcher and editorial consultant for ESPN's MLS and UNMNT soccer broadcasts
Kristan Heneage - Newcastle based journalist featured in FourFourTwo and MLSTalk
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