In my original response, I took the question literally, selecting the player who's inclusion/exclusion had the biggest value/cost to the squad and I still think that's Zardes. Choosing in the traditional sense/POY, I go with Gio. He wasn't great in every game, but he's the only Galaxy player with double-digit goals and assists and is the leader in both categories. This season he started to show more leadership on and off the field and many of my favorite moments from an otherwise humdrum and ugly seasons are his amazing goals.
I honestly don't think either have been as bad as a lot of people are making out, especially not Cole. Yes, they haven't been MVP of the Year quality. But I think Cole offers quite a lot. And as for Gerrard, he's just not the Gerrard from a few years ago, and most of his undoing is down to Arena not managing him well. But definitely Cole is one to keep. I mentioned in another thread about the team could look to go 3-5-2/5-3-2 and I think Cole and Rogers would be great being told to start a little higher.
But isn't this only for a few games when everyone else wasn't in the squad, or in particular recent games? Thats the only reason that I can see him leading the votes, as his better performances have been more recent, where as Van Damme has actually not been great in a couple of recent games. Also, like the Ballon D'or, you shouldn't just judge the best players on Assists / Goals, especially when that is what he should be doing in his position.
Eh, I kinda went with my gut. The players that motivated me most to get out to games were 1) Zardes 2) Gio. JVD would probably be 3.
Dos Santos just continues to frustrate me with his decision making. I think it almost seems worse when the other big names are on the pitch as well.
Giovani Dos Santos has 12 assists this season, but according to Opta he only has 4. Love those hockey assists— Seth Vertelney (@svertelney) October 24, 2016