Quickly, if someone asks you who the leading scorer in the MLS is who would you answer? Chris Wondolowski is always a safe guess, but he only has 10 while the leader in the league has 20. Robbie Keane, Marco Di Vaio and Mike Magee are good guesses as well, but this isn’t 2013. Landon Donovan–would be nice to go out on top but the US Soccer icon only has 6 this season. Thierry Henry is not a bad guess and actually is really close and is tied for the league lead in assists with 11. The dubious distinction of current MLS scoring leader goes to second year MLS player Bradley Wright-Phillips of the New York Red Bulls.
Since his arrival in Harrison, NJ last summer, Wright-Phillips has been a scoring machine. In 32 MLS games, he has scored 22 goals, including the early goal in the Red Bulls’ second leg of their playoff matchup against Houston last year. The 29-year-old English forward has found a home in the MLS after working to try and crack an EPL team throughout most of his career. BWP started in Manchester City’s academy, alongside older brother and England International Shaun Wright-Phillips. He spent 3 seasons with the senior squad but only saw 32 games in three years before moving on and playing in England’s lower divisions for Southampton, Plymouth Argyle, Charlton Athletic and a short loan spell at Brentford before making his way stateside. His inability to catch on with a club after his Brentford spell and release from Charlton Athletic led Wright-Phillips to the U.S. for a training stint that eventually turned into a contract. Impressed by the quality of the facilities and the level of play on the field, he adapted to the MLS quickly.
One of the biggest impressions on Bradley Wright-Phillips was the fact that he was now playing alongside Arsenal legend, Thierry Henry, and contributing to a team that would eventually go on to win the 2013 MLS Supporters Shield. It would be naïve to think that BWP’s success with NYRB didn’t have a lot to do with his well known teammate, Henry, but it could be argued that some of Henry’s stellar play can be attributed to the introduction of a legitimate finisher up top as well. 8 of Thierry Henry’s 11 league-leading assists have come on Bradley Wright-Phillips goals. Last year, Henry tallied a total of 9 assists all season while feeding leading goal scorers Tim Cahill and Fabian Espindola (12 and 11 goals in 2013 respectively). This year, Cahill only has 1 goal, while Espindola has taken his goals down the road to DC United, leaving BWP with having to pick up the scoring slack. It has also helped that he has played in the second most games (23) this season out of any player on the team next to goalkeeper Luis Robles and Midfielder Eric Alexander (24 each).
A few weeks ago, BWP made his name known when he scored against Bayern Munich in the All Star game, leveling the game at 1 apiece. The summer transfer window has included rumors of the Red Bulls star striker making a jump back across the Atlantic to an EPL team or two. If the rumors were true, it would be exactly what Bradley Wright-Phillips had been seeking a year ago, a chance to play in the top league in England, if not Europe. It only took breaking the New York Red Bulls single season goal scoring record (previously 19, held by Juan Pablo Angel) and a moment of brilliance at the All Star game in Portland against Bayern Munich to get noticed. He seems to shrug off any talks of potential moves back to England that could occur over the next week. In a recent article with The Guardian, Wright-Phillips stated, “As long as I’m playing well, I’m happy, and happy playing anywhere.” For now, the MLS leading goal scorer is enjoying his first full season in the league and treating Red Bulls fans to a record breaking goal fest no one in Harrison has seen before.
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