Assessing Mike Magee and Robbie Rogers

Mike Magee was (and judging from the comments, will be for some time) a fan favorite as a member of the LA Galaxy. It came as a shock when he was dealt straight up to the Chicago Fire for the rights of Robbie Rogers. Matt Doyle already took on the task of evaluating what both teams are getting out of the trade but we wanted to dig deeper into the numbers.

Rogers has advantages in minutes played, shots, fouls drawn (as well as those he committed) and Match Impact Rating (click here for background on MIR). Magee scores more frequently than Rogers and shoots with more accuracy. But what about Magee's famed clutch factor? From 2009-2013 with the Galaxy, Magee scored at least one game-winner in MLS play in every season and totaled nine game-winning goals during that period, or, 47.4 percent of his Galaxy goals. Rogers scored a game-winner for the Columbus Crew in four of his five seasons and six total game-winning goals, or, 46.2 percent of his total goals for the Crew. Rogers never earned a clean sheet in net for the Crew, but did help Columbus capture two Supporters' Shields and one MLS Cup. Magee was part of two Supporters' Shield winning sides for the Galaxy, as well as two MLS Cups. The difference in the production of the two midfielders is not seen during the regular season, but instead, in November.

Magee's Match Impact Rating performance stays static in the playoffs but his goals per 90 minutes is elevated as are his shot attempts and shooting percentage. Magee's rate of fouls committed drops in the playoffs as well. Rogers' MIR plummets in the playoffs mainly because he doesn't draw fouls at nearly the same rate as the regular season and because he doesn't find the scoresheet with the same regularity. Rogers' shooting percentage does nearly double in the playoffs and one of his two career playoffs goals was a game-winner. Magee has produced two game-winning goals out of his eight career playoff tallies.

Overall, there's no reason to pan the move by either team. There's also no reason to not expect timely goals from Rogers. However, the playoffs appear to be a different story. The change in scenery will hopefully help Rogers. Magee, after all, *only* scored a game-winner on 30.4 percent of his goals for the MetroStars/RedBulls.

In short, we shouldn't expect Rogers to be Magee because we are going to see a different type of game out on the pitch. Nevertheless, Rogers should still provide some great moments of his own as he did for the Crew.