by Ridge Mahoney @ridgemax, Jan 1, 2016

The trend of MLS teams relying on converted midfielders to fill the troublesome left-back position continued in 2015.New England shiftedto the back line years ago, the Galaxy followed suit withlast year, as did the Dynamo -- and the U.S. national team -- with. After playing several positions this season, including right mid and right back,took over at left back for FCD and scored a superb goal in the playoffs.played midfield for Chivas USA as well as the Timbers before dropping back to anchor the left corner.





SA Positional Rankings:

Best Striker: Kei Kamara

Best Forward: Sebastian Giovinco

Best Attacking Midfielder: Benny Feilhaber

Best Right Midfielder: Ethan Finlay

Best Central Midfielder: Michael Bradley

Best Left Midfielder: Fabian Castillo

Best Defensive Midfielder: Dax McCarty

Best Right Back: Steven Beitashour

Best Right Center Back: Nat Borchers

Best Left Center Back: Matt Hedges



The primary duty of an outside back is to defend, and often the loneliest player on the field, aside from a goalkeeper, is a left back marooned one-v-one against a speedy, crafty right-sided attacker, of which most teams have at least one and some feature two or three.



Add on the responsibility of back-post balls delivered from the opposite side for a tall, rugged forward and it’s no wonder even the best left backs will look bad at times. This can be a very humbling position.



SA Positional Rankings: Left Backs

1. Waylon Francis (Columbus)

2. Chris Tierney (New England)

3. Jorge Villafana (Portland)

4. Ryan Hollingshead (FC Dallas)

5. Donny Toia (Montreal)

6. Kemar Lawrence (New York)

7. DaMarcus Beasley (Houston)

8. Robbie Rogers (LA Galaxy)

9. Joevin Jones (Chicago)

10. Justin Morrow (Toronto FC)



Francis is a tenacious defender who can run down most wingers and win aerial duels. Five of his seven assists were crosses to Kei Kamara and he completed 80.8 percent of his passes, a few of them hit over distance to spring Crew SC attackers.

Tierney’s accurate crosses are a Revs’ attacking staple and he compiled six more assists -- he has 32 for his career -- in 2015. Villafana raised his game down the stretch and after erasing Ethan Finlay in the MLS Cup final signed a deal with Mexican club Santos. FCD head coach Oscar Pareja made one of his shrewdest moves by shifting Hollingshead to left back but is he a long-term solution?



Toia is prone to positional errors but more often than not does the job defensively and has enough guile and skill to punch forward into the attacking third. Lawrence struggled through a few rough games adjusting from the Jamaican league to MLS; he registered four assists in 23 regular-season appearances and started all four playoff games. Beasley averaged just under three interceptions per game and connected on 80.7 percent of his passes.



Rogers sharpened his defensive attributes and instincts – his average of 3.7 interceptions per game ranked him near the top among left backs – while getting forward enough to log three assists. Jones – another familiar with midfield duty – is a real threat going forward and completed 81.4 percent of his passes. Morrow played on both sides as well as in the middle of a rickety TFC back line; with defensive upgrades on the way he could be primed for a breakout season.



HISTORY. Jeff Agoos (1997-99) and Gonzalo Segares (2005-06, 2008) are the only players who been named the best MLS left back three times. Jose Burciaga, Jose Burciaga and Jonathan Bornstein were picked twice. A different player has been ranked No. 1 in each of the last six years.



SA's Best Left Backs

2015 Waylon Francis

2014 Chris Wingert

2013 Seth Sinovic

2012 Heath Pearce

2011 Todd Dunivant

2010 Jonathan Bornstein

2009 Jonathan Bornstein

2008 Gonzalo Segares

2007 Wade Barrett

2006 Jose Burciaga, Gonzalo Segares

2005 Wade Barrett, Gonzalo Segares

2004 Jose Burciaga

2003 Carlos Bocanegra

2002 Wade Barrett

2001 Diego Gutierrez

2000 Greg Vanney

1999 Jeff Agoos

1998 Jeff Agoos

1997 Jeff Agoos

1996 Steve Pittman

Note: In 2005 and 2006, left backs were ranked in 3-man and 4-man backlines.