You probably thought I was kidding when I told you yesterday, but it is now official. Steve Ralston, Jonathan Bornstein and Juan Toja have been named as All-Star Game replacements for U.S. Olympic team members Michael Parkhurst, Sacha Kljestan and Robbie Rogers. The league announced the selections today.
I stated my opinion on these selections yesterday so I won’t do it again, but what I did not do is name the all-snubbed MLS All-star Team. here is the team of players who had good cases for being included:
—————-Luciano Emilio————-Alejandro Moreno——–
—————————-Javier Morales——————————
Guillermo Barros Schelotto—————————–Jaime Moreno
——————————Carl Robinson—————————-
Gonzalo Segares————————————–Marvell Wynne
—————–Bakary Soumare—-Nat Borchers——————
——————————-Jon Busch——————————
Okay, so maybe the positions aren’t exact, but this is a pretty damn good team. I’m sure I forget a few people but wanted to put a team together and this is a good group of the snubbed.
If you haven’t already, please feel free to share your own thoughts on the All-Star replaement selections below.
WEST HAM?!?!?!? WHAT A JOKE? They should play a MEXIACN all star squad or a US?MLS Squad vs Foreign/MLS Players.
@DemonJuice
Yes you are correct, the CBA requires 32 players be selected. Here are the Inactive Players:
Inactive Roster (14)
Goalkeepers (2): Jon Busch (Chicago Fire), Greg Sutton (Toronto FC).
Defenders (4): Michael Parkhurst* (New England Revolution), Gonzalo Segares (Chicago Fire), Bakary Soumare (Chicago Fire), Marvell Wynne (Toronto FC).
Midfielders (6): Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake), Maurice Edu (Toronto FC), Amado Guevara (Toronto FC), Sacha Kljestan* (Chivas USA), Guillermo Barros Schelotto (Columbus Crew), Robbie Rogers* (Columbus Crew).
Forwards (2): Brian Ching (Houston Dynamo), Luciano Emilio (D.C. United).
* First XI Selection
Olave over Borchers. I only say this because I watch every RSL game and Olave bails Boarchers out quite a bit. Nat is good, but Olave is god.
Ok, that is overkill, but you get my point.
Also, I would have Rimando over Bush. The guy has only 2 (soft) goals scored against him since May. That does not include Tony’s header own goal. Of the 2 goals, one was a late consolation to Cunlife of San Jose in a 3-1 win. The other was Cristman of NE on a Rimando-Borchers “hey you got it, right” error.
Bush has been scored on quite a bit in the last month.
Where is the respect for Rimando?
I gues we will see sat night.
your team kicks their teams behind.
btw – great voice Ives – heard you during the conference – get on the podcasting stuff will ya!
I agree that the All Star game should be a fun game where the hot players show up and show off.
But Stevie Nicols wants to win. Always. Every game. Period. That’s all he cares about so he picked the players that he thinks will help him beat West Ham.
Next year we should make sure someone else coaches. Maybe make that a popularity contst too!
Ives,
Is the league still required to pick two full teams of All Stars because of the labor agreement?
Maybe the guys on your list are still getting All Star pay.
Admittedly I’m a DC homer, but I also think Gonzalo Martinez, Clyde Simms, & Marcelo Gallardo also deserved consideration.
Clyde’s been a rock all year, Martinez has been a revelation at left back, and while Gallardo may not have met the lofty expectations everyone had for him, he’s still played some very good soccer this season.
Word around Dallas is Toja is packing bags for Romania on a 500K transfer, though last time I asked people who would be ‘in the know’ they said confidently that couldn’t be further from the case. Not sure why that would get him included in the all star game if the deal is all but done according to some sites.?.?.?
sorry, silly parens: the article’s at: http://www.los-toros.com
Ives, down here in Dallas, we’ve been tracking the Romanian news with every Romanian speaker we can get our hands on: it looks like Toja’s off to Steaua: FCD has (reportedly) agreed, Toja has (reportedly) agreed, and Steaua’s in for a (reported) $500k. (See the translation of the most recent article at http://www.los-toros.com)
Does anybody else think JT named to the ASG to up his asking price? Or am I just being bitter?
Hell, they would fair better than West Ham is going too.
Ives – I think you’re on to something. A Fantasy League All-Star match between the “Designated All Star’s” and the “All Snubbed”… Gotta say I’d put my money on the All Snubbed team that you have lining-up. Schelloto, Segares, Morales… wow.