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Who should Caleb Porter start vs. Bayern Munich?

Caleb Porter

PORTLAND– Caleb Porter is likely going to use all of the players he has available for tonight’s MLS All-Star Game against Bayern Munich, but settling on a starting lineup will definitely not be easy.

With a plethora of midfield and forward options at his disposal, Porter will have to consider just what group will give the MLS All-Stars the best chance of getting today’s match off to a good start. There are some players who seem like safe bets to start, like Thierry Henry and Nick Rimando, but there are several positions that are very much up in the air.

So who will Porter turn to as starters tonight? Here is one possible lineup we could see take the field at Providence Park against Bayern Munich:

PROJECTED MLS All-Star Lineup

Graham Zusi————–Thierry Henry————-Clint Dempsey

——————————Diego Valeri——————————

—————-Michael Bradley——Tim Cahill———————

Michael Parkhurst————————————DeAndre Yedlin

——————–Matt Besler——–Aurelien Collin——————

———————————Nick Rimando—————————-

Here are the players Caleb Porter has to choose from:

Goalkeepers– Nick Rimando, Bill Hamid

Defenders– DeAndre Yedlin, Bobby Boswell, Aurelien Collin, Michael Parkhurst, Matt Besler, Sean Franklin, Liam Ridgewell

Midfielders– Clint Dempsey, Michael Bradley, Will Johnson, Osvaldo Alonso, Diego Valeri, Graham Zusi, Tim Cahill, Maurice Edu

Forwards– Erick Torres, Landon Donovan, Dom Dwyer, Thierry Henry, Bradley Wright-Phillips

———–

What do you think of our projected lineup? Who would you like to see included?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. It looked like the all stars were practicing a 4-4-2 yesterday during the open session. Judging from penny color, Caleb is trying to keep players from same team together (Martins, Dempsey, Yedlin all wearing same color and BWP, Cahill, Henry wearing the other color).

    Reply
  2. In light of Cahill’s injury, I don’t think we see him start. I can foresee Will Johnson starting with Bradley (if that is the formation being used).

    And, I agree with the comments above about keeping striking partners together. Should be a fun one!

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  3. Only quibble I see is I’d like to see the striking combinations stick together. Martins-Dempsey & Henry-BWP each start the different halves.

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    • i’d have to agree. given the short amount of time these guys get together, makes sense to try and pair up both “teams” with players from the same club as best he can.

      to me, there are three “cores” to build around:

      – Martins-Dempsey-Alonso-Yedlin (assuming Franklin and Yedlin each play a half).
      – BWP-Henry-Cahill
      – Ridgewell-Johnson-Valeri

      i don’t see it working perfectly, but i’d like to think this was kind of his starting point when formulating his plan.

      Reply
  4. CP did mention this week that he is considering using a completely different lineup for the second half. Enjoy the atmosphere Ives!

    Reply
  5. ——Dempsey——Henry———Donovan
    ———————–Valeri————————
    ————–Cahill———-Bradley————
    Parkhurst—–Beez——Collin——Yedlin
    ——————–Rimando———————–

    Reply
  6. We should start an all USA lineup, as much as we can.

    Rimando; Yedlin, Colin, Besler, Parkhurst; Alonso, Bradley; Zusi, Dempsey, Donovan, Martins

    Reply
    • That sends out the wrong message.

      If we’re going for a result and not to get slaughtered we have to play a way smarter team than that. Dempsey and Henry don’t have the legs nor the desire to play defense so that’s a liability.

      I’d go with:

      ————Dempsey—————–
      ————–Henry——————-
      Donovan————————Zusi
      ———Bradley-Alonso————-
      Parkhurst-Besler-Boswell-Yedlin
      ————-Hamid——————

      Thoughts: Dempsey is the best pure striker on the team. Henry is much better suited in the hole, more so than Dempsey for his creativity.

      Donovan and Zusi on the wings for their word ethic. Bradley and Alonso in central mid for their defensive abilities.

      Parkhurst at LB because I’m not impressed with the other options. Yedlin at RB for obvious reasons. Besler is obvious. And I’d take Boswell over Collin because I don’t think the Besler/Collin tandem has been strong this season (yes, I know the WC had something to do with it).

      Hamid is having a far better season than Rimando.

      Reply
      • Edit: I forgot about Dwyer and BWP (just got out of a meeting).

        I’d actually drop Dempsey (the horror) and go with BWP.

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