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Cameron, Chavez, Cooper among inactive MLS All-Stars

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Photo by ISIphotos.com

As Geoff Cameron gets set to depart MLS for Stoke City, he'll do so as an All-Star. 

Cameron was named as one of 13 inactive MLS All-Stars Wednesday, joining teammate Brad Davis as those earning the player-voted honor. The league's collective bargaining agreement stipulates that at least 32 players earn All-Star distinction, and with the injury substitution of Justin Morrow for Heath Pearce and the late addition of Michael Farfan, the players' selections round out a 33-man squad.

One of the surprising selections by the players is FC Dallas' Brek Shea, who has struggled for the majority of the season but earned the honor nonetheless. Kenny Cooper has been enjoying a standout season for New York with 13 goals, and he was recognized by his peers as well.

With the inactive additions of Jon Busch and Marvin Chavez, San Jose accounts for six of the 33 All-Stars. With Kei Kamara and Roger Espinoza recognized, Sporting Kansas City has five.

Here are all of the 13 inactive All-Stars:

MLS INACTIVE ALL-STARS

Jon Busch (San Jose Earthquakes)

Marvin Chávez (San Jose Earthquakes)

Kenny Cooper (New York Red Bulls)

Geoff Cameron (Houston Dynamo)

Brad Davis (Houston Dynamo)

Fabián Espíndola (Real Salt Lake)

Roger Espinoza (Sporting Kansas City)

Kei Kamara (Sporting Kansas City)

Fredy Montero (Seattle Sounders FC)

Jámison Olave (Real Salt Lake)

Marco Pappa (Chicago Fire)

Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake)

Brek Shea (FC Dallas)

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Are you surprised that Shea was voted on? Which players do you think got snubbed from the entire 33-man All-Star team?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. Is Saborio on the active roster? If not, then the 3rd leading scorer in the league during the first half being left off the 33 man team is pretty embarrassing.

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  2. Kamara not having the best season? Watch an SKC game and you’ll change your mind. Much better than Shea this season, not to mention 7 goals and 4 assists

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  3. Cameron played terrible as a defender against Seattle early in the season.

    Was he amazing in D this season… not really, but he’s definitely an All-Star caliber player. He put in 90 minutes every game this season (minus 2 with an “injury” while his transfer was negotiated) and then put in an MotM performance against DCU to seal the Stoke deal.

    If fellow players think he belongs, who are you to argue?

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  4. This is bullsh*t. I asked the original question and I know exactly what I’m talking about. It states very clearly in the article the extra all-stars are because of the CBA.

    The question was not “why ARE THERE 32 all-stars?”, it was “why does there NEED TO BE 32 all-stars?” It’s a question of philosophy and devaluation of what is supposed to be an honor.

    The obvious answer is the players give more of a sh*t about money than they do about the distinction of being an all-star. Not that I can blame them, as it leads back to the problem of them getting paid too little.

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  5. ..hmm ok but that still doesnt make him deserving of an all-star “bonus”. He has played terribly as a DEFENDER this year

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  6. Well said.

    People will complain about anything and everything, even when there is an explanation and they have no idea what they’re talking about.

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  7. Where the heck is Victor Bernardez? He is probably the best centerback in MLS right now, but he is not even an inactive all-star.

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  8. thank you for speaking up… I love when people do not watch a team play but comment on a player because he is not stuffing the stat sheet….

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  9. Sick of seeing that Brek has been “awful”. Those who’ve seen Dallas play more than once or twice this season would never say this – if you want to say that he’s not been a dominant force in the league then fine, but he’s been far from “awful”. Even based on his current form, I guarantee that any team in the league would take him off of Dallas’ hands should the opportunity arise – that’s saying something.

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  10. how can Danny Koevermans not be considered – grant it he is injured for the season most recently – but what he did for TFC during their ‘minimal’ resurgence. big snub not having him there.

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  11. I don’t think TFC or Montreal still had players picked (and there may be others) so the inactives don’t even serve that purpose. Flabbergasted me more because that means Shea made it on merit.

    On one level, yes, it’s just a second-team all conference so to speak, whoop de do, but in the cases of Shea and Cameron it must make dealings with the players interesting. Presumably Houston has to cut an all star incentive check to a player who is headed out the door. Dallas has to do the same for an underperforming malcontent they sent home for the balance of last week, including an actual game.

    And then there are some pretty deserving players who received a second snub, no recognition or incentive check for an “all star” year so far.

    Reply
  12. You’d think they’d phase it out at some point since the change to “vs. [international team]” all star games was years ago so surely there aren’t contracts left whose all star incentives could be said to reflect the old format.

    But if it’s in the CBA so be it. And the rationale is that when it used to be east vs. west or US vs. world you had double the all star team, so to recognize as many players as before you add in another team of inactives. Those players then get to claim their all star incentives on their contracts. But the further we get from that era the less justifiable it would seem.

    Reply
  13. They name 32 because…
    The collective bargaining agreement. When East played West, you would have two teams. Playing a foreign team, only leaves one roster. So the collective bargaining agreement made sure that 32 still get recognized as all-stars because…
    You get a bonus for being an all-star.

    I see so many comments about how MLS salaries need to go up. Then, one of the ways that they reward high performing (except for Shea of course) players is to give them a bonus for being selected an all-star, and now the comments degrade the league for having too many all-stars.

    Reply
  14. The 32 All Stars were negotiated in the Collective Bargaining Agreement. More spots available means more shot of being included for the All Star Bonus cash. The inactive guys still get paid. Remember back in the day both teams were MLS players.

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  15. I wouldn’t put much credence into the selection process of these final All-Stars, it’s a place to put some recognition on players who, in some cases, were the only players selected from their team and only because there should be at least one all-star from any MLS team.

    Of more importance, at least to a players career, and better than getting picked as an non-playing All-Star, is your playing against the Euro Teams visiting the US. Montero gets kudo’s for his play against Chelsea, and Marcelo Sarvas, despite only playing sparingly for the Galaxy and only breaking into the starting lineup this month, gets MOM praise from Tottenham’s manager Andre Villa-Boas for his excellent play in the game before taken off at halftime. Arena discovered Sarvas when the Galaxy played Alajuelense in Cosata Rica and Sarvas was MOM in that CCL match. The commentary and the coverage of Tottenham in the UK and Europe will get more coaches taking a look at Sarvas than being named as an alternate MLS all star all day long.

    Reply
  16. Why does there need to be 32 all-stars? Doesn’t that sort of devalue the honor if so many are selected? Seems like 22 (allowing for injury replacements) would be appropriate.

    Then again, this IS the league where half the teams make the playoffs, so it’s not surprising.

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  17. Valderrama was a fairly inactive all star even when he actually played. I’d like to see a truly inactive roster of all stars who don’t move much.

    With some of the inclusions and exclusions — Shea, Cameron — you wonder when this was picked. And separate from that I don’t think either of those guys has earned it. It doesn’t look like some teams are represented even with this, so throwing Dallas a bone wouldn’t necessarily explain it.

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  18. It seems players tend to vote based on who it is most difficult to play against. Players like Kamara, Shea, Chavez, they’re fast, shifty, very hard to mark. Shea and Kamara aren’t having the best seasons and there are probably more deserving players, but these are the guys the other players in the league still fear the most.

    Reply

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