

Posted by

Sam Gregory ,

May 5, 2014 Email

Sam Gregory

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Before the season I looked at five Canadians who made significant contributions to their MLS sides in the 2013 season. I've been following these players to compare their performances this season to last, and so far the results have not been great for Canadians in MLS. Comparing these players to their 2013 output there seems to be an almost across the board drop in performance levels.



Background on the Metrics Used



The statistics used are normalized to per 90 minutes in order to remove any biases from players who play more or less minutes. The metrics I've used are outlined below. I've used non-penalty goals per 90 to account for the different nature of penalty goals and because of the almost universal 76% completion rate for penalty shots. Secondly, key passes per 90 are included alongside assists. Key passes are passes that directly result in a shot. They tend to be much more indicative of a player's chance creation ability than assists since they take the shooter out of the equation. This means that a player setting up lots of chances for forwards who are bad finishers are not penalized.



Key:

90min = total minutes played/90

npg90 = non-penalty goals per 90

shot90 = shots per 90

kp90 = key passes per 90

a90 = assists per 90

inter90 = interceptions per 90

clear90 = clearances per 90



Will Johnson – Portland Timbers



Season 90min npg90 shot90 kp90 a90 inter90 clear90 2013 32 0.25 1.66 1.13 0.09 1.41 2.19 2014 8.99 0.13 1.78 0.56 0 0.78 3

It's been a disastrous season so far for the Portland Timbers who only just won their first game of the season this past weekend. Looking at Will Johnson's numbers there has clearly been a drop off, but not quite as substantial as the rest of his team. His shot numbers are actually up from 2013, although his key passes have been cut in half. The higher number of clearances isn't necessarily a good sign as it might just indicate that he has had to do a lot more work in his own defensive third than he did in 2013. Looking at the bigger picture Johnson really should be much more worried about what is going on with his team than any individual performance ratings.



Dwayne DeRosario – Toronto FC



Season 90min npg90 shot90 kp90 a90 inter90 clear90 2013 17.81 0. 11 2.35 1. 68 0. 11 0.62 0.28 2014 2.86 0 2.45 0.35 0 0 0.7

De Rosario's numbers with Toronto this year are very interesting, albeit in a small sample with less than three full ninety minutes completed. His shots per 90 are actually up from the already quite impressive 2.35 last year with DC United, although his key passes have gone way down. It's difficult to draw too much from these numbers in isolation since we don't know exactly what Ryan Nelsen has asked of De Rosario this season. However, as I pointed out a few weeks ago De Rosario's biggest strength last year was chance creation where he was averaging more than four chances created a game (shots and key passes), this year that number has dropped below three. It's worth watching these chance creation numbers as De Rosario fights for playing time in a very crowded attacking Toronto roster.



Patrice Bernier – Montreal Impact



Season 90min npg90 shot90 kp90 a90 inter90 clear90 2013 27.49 0 0.58 0.91 0. 18 2.51 1.42 2014 4.46 0 0.67 0.67 0 2.02 2.02

The Montreal Impact have also had a very poor start to the season as they picked up their first win last weekend. Bernier's numbers look fairly similar to a year ago, although his key passes have dropped slightly. As the Impact season continues Bernier will inevitably be put under pressure to create more chances and improve the team's dismal scoring numbers.



Jonathan Osorio – Toronto FC



Season 90min npg90 shot90 kp90 a90 inter90 clear90 2013 18.86 0.2 7 0.95 1. 22 0.0 5 1.06 1.54 2014 4 0 0.5 1 0.25 1.75 2.5

Jonathan Osorio's numbers reflect a clear change in roles from last season to this. In a squad littered with attacking talent and with Michael Bradley as the main creator from the centre of midfield Osorio has stepped into a more defensive role. His shots and key pass numbers in isolation look very poor, but his defensive contribution this season has been quite good with an average of five major contributions a match between interceptions and clearances. With Osorio's more defensive role at Toronto this season Benito Floro will have to make a decision about where Osorio best fits into the national team.



Russell Teibert – Vancouver Whitecaps



Season 90min npg90 shot90 kp90 a90 inter90 clear90 2013 19.74 0. 1 1.01 1. 77 0. 35 1.4 7 0.66 2014 5.92 0 0.51 1.18 0 0.84 1.01

Last season Russell Teibert had the highest key pass numbers of any Canadian in MLS. A lot of this came down to having one of the best strikers in MLS in front of him, which he no longer has the luxury of. The good new for Teibert is that he is still averaging more than one key pass a game, but the decreased shot volume has to be a bit of a worry.



Issey Nakajima-Farran – Toronto FC



Season 90min npg90 shot90 kp90 a90 inter90 clear90 2014 2.48 0. 81 1.66 1.13 0.09 1.41 2.19

I said that if another Canadian started to play well and put up quality numbers I would start to follow their progress as well. Issey Nakajima-Farran has certainly filled that role since joining Toronto. With two goals already and significant contributions defensively as well Nakajima-Farran has proven himself to be a very useful player on a team that has historically lacked depth. He's come off the bench to great effect on a couple occasions and put in two quality starts as well. Nakajima-Farran has been in and around the Canadian program for a long time, and if he continues to put in performances like he has so far this season he will surely be part of Floro's plans moving forward.



It hasn't been a great start so far for the Canadians in MLS, but the season is still young and there are lots of games before the World Cup break when we'll check back in to look at these numbers again.