Major League Soccer has released the lists of players protected from Wednesday's MLS Expansion Draft, which the expansion Philadelphia Union will use to select ten players from the remaining unprotected players on the league's 15 team rosters.
MLS Cup Final hero Robbie Russell, U.S. national team midfielder Ricardo Clark and former MLS MVP Amado Guevara are among the more high-profile players left off lists who will be available for the Union to select in Wednesday's draft.
Here is a rundown of the protected lists, the lists of available players, the list of Generation adidas graduates, along with some thoughts on the lists:
COMPLETE LIST OF PROTECTED PLAYERS FOR WEDNESDAY’S DRAFT
Chivas USA
Jonathan Bornstein, Justin Braun, Jorge Flores, Padilla, Jesus, Galindo, Maykel, Lahoud, Michael, Kljestan, Sacha, Nagamura, Paulo, Thornton, Zach, Cuesta, Yamith, Santos, Maicon
Chicago Fire
Busch, Jon, Conde, Wilman, Brown, C.J., Mapp, Justin, McBride, Brian, Nyarko, Patrick, Pappa, Marco, Pause, Logan, Thorrington, John, Robinson, Dasan, Ward, Tim
Colorado Rapids
Baudet, Julien, Casey, Conor, Clark, Colin, Cummings, Omar, Gibbs, Cory, Kimura, Kosuke, LaBrocca, Nick, Mastroeni, Pablo, Moor, Drew, Pickens, Matt, Smith, Jamie
Columbus Crew
Brunner, Eric, Carroll, Brian, Ekpo, Emmanuel, Gaven, Eddie, Hesmer, Will (GK), Lenhart, Steven, Marshall, Chad, Moffat, Adam, O'Rourke, Danny, Rogers, Robbie, Schelotto, Guillermo
FC Dallas
Benitez, Jair, Chavez, Marvin, Cunningham, Jeff, Davies, Kyle, Ferreira, David, Harris, Atiba, Hernandez, Daniel, Ihemelu, Ugo, John, George, McCarty, Dax, Pearce, Heath
D.C. United
Burch, Marc, Fred, Jakovic, Dejan, James, Julius, Moreno, Jaime, Namoff, Bryan, Pontius, Chris, Quaranta, Santino, Simms, Clyde, Szetela, Danny, Wallace, Rodney
Houston Dynamo
Ashe, Corey , Boswell, Bobby, Cameron, Geoff, Ching, Brian, Davis, Brad, Hall, Tally, Hainault, Andrew , Holden, Stuart, Mullan, Brian, Oduro, Dominic, Weaver, Cameron
Kansas City Wizards
Arnaud, Davy, Conrad, Jimmy, Harrington, Michael, Hercegfalvi, Zoltan, Jewsbury, Jack, Kamara, Kei, Leathers, Jonathan, Lopez, Claudio, Souter, Kevin, Wolff, Josh, Zusi, Graham
Los Angeles Galaxy
Beckham, David, Berhalter, Gregg, Birchall, Chris, Buddle, Edson, DeLagarza, AJ, Donovan, Landon, Franklin, Sean, Gonzalez, Omar, Kovalenko, Dema, Magee, Mike, Ricketts, Donovan
New England Revolution
Alston, Kevin, Barnes, Darrius, Dube, Kheli, Joseph, Shalrie, Larentowicz, Jeff, Mansally, Kenny, Nyassi, Sainey, Osei, Emmanuel, Ralston, Steve, Reis, Matt, Twellman, Taylor
New York Red Bulls
Angel, Juan Pablo, Borman, Danleigh, Coundoul, Bouna, Goldthwaite, Kevin, Hall, Jeremy, Johnson, Carlos, Kandji, Macoumba, Mendes, Carlos, Obster, Ernst, Richards, Dane, Stammler, Seth
Real Salt Lake
Beckerman, Kyle, Beltran, Tony, Borchers, Nat, Espindola, Fabian, Findley, Robbie, Johnson, Will, Morales, Javier, Olave, Jamison, Rimando, Nick, Seitz, Chris, Wingert, Chris
San Jose Earthquakes
Alvarez, Arturo, Burling, Bobby, Cannon, Joe, Corrales, Ramiro, Glenn, Cornell, Hernandez, Jason, Johnson, Ryan, Leitch, Chris, Moreira, Andre Luiz, Sanchez, Ramon, McDonald, Brandon
Seattle Sounders FC
Alonso, Osvaldo, Evans, Brad, Gonzalez, Leo, Hurtado, Jhon Kennedy, Ianni, Patrick, Jaqua, Nate, Keller, Kasey, Ljungberg, Freddie, Marshall, Tyrone, Montero, Fredy, Zakuani, Steve
Toronto FC
Attakora-Gyan, Nana, Barrett, Chad, Brennan, Jim, Cronin, Sam, de Guzman, Julian, DeRosario, Dwayne, Gomez, Emmanuel, Sanyang, Amadou, Serioux, Adrian, White, O'Brian, Wynne, Marvell
COMPLETE LIST OF PLAYERS AVAILABLE IN EXPANSION DRAFT
Chivas USA
Conway, Jon, Curtin, Jim, Harmse, Kevin, Jazic, Ante, Kennedy, Dan, Lillingston, Eduardo, Marsch, Jesse, Razov, Ante, Saragosa, Marcelo, Stepanovic, Bojan, Suarez, Claudio, Talley, Carey, Thomas, Shavar, Trujillo, Mariano, Victorine, Sasha, Chijindu, Chukwudi, Mayen, Gerson, Parker, Lance
Chicago Fire
Banner, Michael, Blanco, Cuauhtémoc, Carr, Calen, Dimitrov, Stefan, Dykstra, Andrew, Myrie, Dave, Rolfe, Chris, Segares, Gonzalo, Woolard, Daniel, Lowry, Peter, Washington, Austin
Columbus Crew
Garey, Jason, Gruenebaum, Andy, Hejduk, Frankie, Iro, Andy, Moreno, Alejandro, Nyazamba, Stanley, Oughton, Duncan, Padula, Gino, Renteria, Emilio, Schoeni, Kenny, Burns, Kevin, Elenio, Cory, Grendi, Alex
Colorado Rapids
Ballouchy, Mehdi, Burpo, Preston, Dalby, Greg, Diz, Facundo, Harden, Ty, Harvey, Jordan, Noonan, Pat, Palguta, Scott, Peterson, Jacob, Ceus, Steward, Holody, Mike, Schunk, Ross
FC Dallas
Burse, Ray, Purdy, Steve, Ricchetti, Pablo, Rocha, Andre, Sala, Dario, Torres, Daniel, Van Den Bergh, Dave, Wagner, Blake, Wallace, Anthony
D.C. United
Emilio, Luciano, Gomez, Christian, Habarugira, David, Jacobson, Andrew, Janicki, Greg, John, Avery, Khumalo, Thabiso, McTavish, Devon, N'Silu, Ange, Olsen, Ben, Vaughn, Lawson, Wicks, Josh, Allen, Ely, Barklage, Brandon, DiRaimondo, John, Kocic, Milos, Shipalane, Tiyiselani
Houston Dynamo
Barrett, Wade, Chabala, Michael, Clark, Ricardo, Cochrane, Ryan, Landin, Luis, Mulrooney, Richard, Onstad, Pat, Robinson, Eddie, Thompson, Abe, Waibel, Craig, Deric, Tyler, Hayden, John Michael, Ustruck, Erik
Kansas City Wizards
Besler, Matthew, Cristman, Adam, Gomez, Herculez, Hartman, Kevin, Hirsig, Santiago, Hohlbein, Aaron, Kraus, Michael, Kronberg, Eric, McKenzie, Rauwshan, Morsink, Kurt, Watson, Lance, Marquess, Matt, Pardo, Boris
New England Revolution
Albright, Chris, Badilla, Gabriel, Heaps, Jay, Igwe, Amaechi, Jankauskas, Edgaras, Knighton, Brad, Matamoros Castro, Mauricio, Ombiogno, Stephane, Phelan, Pat, Thompson, Wells, Tierney, Chris, Videira, Michael, Shuttleworth, Robert
LA Galaxy
Dunivant, Todd, Eskandarian, Alecko, Gordon, Alan, Griffin, Leonard, Jordan, Bryan, Kirovski, Jovan, Klein, Chris, Lewis, Eddie, Miglioranzi, Stefani, Sanneh, Tony, Saunders, Josh, Valentin, Julian, Marshall, Yohance, Patterson, Kyle
New York Red Bulls
Boyens, Andrew, Cepero, Daniel, Garcia, Walter, Krupnik, Leonid, Patterson, Caleb, Petke, Mike, Rojas, Jorge, Sassano, Luke, Ubiparipovic, Sinisa, Wolyniec, John, Mbuta, Andongcho, Zimmerman, Nick
Real Salt Lake
Alexandre, Jean, Campos, Pablo, El Khalifi, Rachid, Gonzalez, Nelson, Grabavoy, Ned, Horst, David, Mathis, Clint, Movsisyan, Yura, Reynish, Kyle, Russell, Robbie, Williams, Andy, Cox, Raphael, Nunez, Tino
San Jose Earthquakes
Amarikwa, Quincy, Convey, Bobby, Elliott, Simon, Pitchkolan, Aaron, Ribeiro, Antonio, Salinas, Shea, Weber, Andrew, Wondolowski, Chris, Graczyk, Mike, Roberts, Jamil, Zaher, Michael
Seattle Sounders FC
Boss, Terry, Eylander, Chris, Graham, Taylor, King, Stephen, LeToux, Sebastien, Levesque, Roger, Riley, James, Scott, Zacharias, Sturgis, Nathan, Vagenas, Peter, Wahl, Tyson, Brown, Evan, Fucito, Michael, Neagle, Lamar, Nyassi, Sanna
Toronto FC
Edwards, Brian, Fellinga, Lesly, Garcia, Nick, Gerba, Ali, Guevara, Amado, Robinson, Carl, Vitti, Pablo, Gala, Gabe
Generation adidas Graduates (Corrected List)
Alston, Kevin, Beltran, Tony, Gonzalez, Omar, Hall, Jeremy, Igwe, Amaechi, Nyarko, Patrick, Seitz, Chris, Wallace, Anthony, Wallace, Rodney, Zakuani, Steve
————
Keep in mind that players who are still eligible for Generation adidas did not need to be protected. Also, several of the more high-profile players left exposed for the draft, such as Ricardo Clark and Gonzalo Segares, are at the end of their MLS contracts and expected to sign abroad.
Here are some more thoughts:
I'm sticking with my theory that some teams may have handshake deals in place with Philadelphia where they have already agreed on who the Union will take. What would be the benefit of doing that if you're Philly? Teams with too many protectable players could have threatened to deal their surplus away ahead of today's protection list deadline.
It might seem cruel for RSL to leave Robbie Russell unprotected, but Tony Beltran is the better long-term prospect at right back.
It might seem odd for Pat Onstad to be left unprotected, but at his age he's pretty much a (don't pick me or I'll retire) guy.
Another player who is somewhat surprising of an inclusion is Dave Van Den Bergh. As good as he has been the past two years, he's an older player who is set to make more than $200K next season, not exactly the type of player Philadelphia will be looking to build a new team around. Dallas could also be banking on Philadelphia fielding Bobby Convey on the left wing in 2010.
So why did RSL protect Chris Seitz when Nick Rimando is firmly entrenched as the team's starter? Don't be surprised to see Seitz either traded or sold this winter.
According to multiple sources, TFC goalkeeper Stefan Frei has not graduated. How is this the case, when he started 26 matches this season? Your guess is as good as mine.
You can officially call James Riley the king of the expansion draft. This will mark the third straight expansion draft he's been exposed in. The Seattle right back has been selected in the past two mock drafts, first by San Jose in 2008, then by Seattle last season.
——–
What do you think of these lists? What's the most surprising omission? Who would be your first expansion pick (notice I said first, so please save the mock expansion drafts for tomorrow)?
Share your thoughts below.
Talk about how little our coaches know: It must be noted that Robbie Russell on his return from Denmark, belonged to LA Galaxy. He spent three or four days there on trial before they let him go, saying, they had all the players they needed. Then RSL took him. Coaches always say-we are only concerned about our next match. We take it one game at a time. Beltran will not be better than Robbie next season. In three years, yes. But not next season.
Clearly, Robbie brings experience from a big stage. He has played against Real Madrid, Marked Thierry Henry at Arsenal, played Olympiakos. Has won the Norwegian League with Rosenborg. These are big time games in big time stadiums. Has come back to MLS, and in his first full season, wins the MLS CUP by taking on the ultimate pressure in football, and burying the decisive penalty. What does any team that wants to win anything look for in a player? A big time player, a player who is cool under pressure, and may be, just may be, a player familiar with winning championships. What do MLS coaches think about? I think Robbie should even be going to SA. Join us at Robbie Russell for South Africa on facebook if you think so as well.
how could RBNY not protect Nick Zimmerman?
Why in god’s name did we (TFC) protect Chad Barret? He’s paid way to much to be missing the amount of good chances he had the past two years!
The first two on the list are old and expensive — not likely to be taken. The new DC coach would be better off if they were. It is good to see Jaime Moreno on the protected list — a great person, DC owes him a lot.
thank you. quite helpful. tho i tend to think some of those you listed are a bit on the decrepit side but i guess like italy, mls is becoming known as a league in which geezers can hack it …
I think that Chicago should try as hard as they can to give Wilman the contract that will entice him to stay more than one year, otherwise he’d be stupid not to negotiate to leave in the offseason. If Chicago thinks they’ve got a good chance of keeping him, then it’s good business protecting him in the expansion draft, but if they think Conde’s going no matter what why waste the spot?
I guess I should take heart and assume that this means he’ll be staying for next year.
Here’s a quickie version leaving out the chaff (and “chafe” for that matter):
CHV: J. Conway, E. Lillingston, J. Marsch, S. Thomas, M. Trujillo, G. Mayen
CHI: C. Blanco, P. Lowry, G. Segares (if not leaving)
CLM: K. Burns, J. Garey, F. Hejduk, A. Iro, A. Moreno, G. Padula, E. Renteria
COL: M. Ballouchy, P. Noonan, S. Palguta, J. Peterson, M. Holody
FCD: D. Van Den Bergh, P. Richetti (if not leaving MLS), A. Wallace
DCU: L. Emilio, C. Gomez, A. Jacobsen, D. McTavish, A. N’Silu, T. Khumalo, L. Vaughn
HOU: M. Chabala, R. Cochrane, P. Onstad, E. Robinson
KCW: M. Besler, H. Gomez, K. Hartman, S. Hirsig, A. Hohlbein, L. Watson
NER: C. Albright, J. Heaps, M. Castro, P. Phelan
LAG: T. Dunivant, A. Eskandarian, A. Gordon, C. Klein, E. Lewis
NYRB: D. Cepero, M. Petke, L. Sassano, N. Zimmerman
RSL: J. Alexandre, N. Grabavoy, D. Horst, C. Mathis, R. Russell, A. Williams
SJ: B. Convey, S. Salinas, C. Wondolowski
SEA: S. LeToux, S. Nyassi, J. Riley, N. Sturgis, T. Wahl
TFC: A. Gerba, A. Guevara
Possible draft:
CHV: G. Mayen MF
CHI: P. Lowry MF
CLM: G. Padula D
COL: none
FCD: none
DCU: T. Khumalo F
HOU: M. Chabala D
KC: M. Besler D
NE: none
LAG: A. Eskandarian F
NY: none
RSL: N. Grabavoy MF
SJ: B. Convey MF
SEA: S. Nyassi MF
TFC: none
I don’t see any Revs being drafted
I know, however I don’t want to lose either of them, so I still suggest that Campos is a “good” striker.
With Onyewu recovering from an injury… wouldn’t CAMERON be the best option to help out the USMNT defense?? He is way better than these chumps Bradley is giving a chance.. he has size, speed, strength and attacking ability… i only have confidence in bocanegra, onyewu and spector in the back.
Two pluses for taking Convey
1. Hometown boy
2. Age
One reason not to take him.
1. He was one of the worst players on bottom side SJ.
Perhaps this what Adu will look like when clubs stop paying him money to sit, and he returns to MLS.
Inept FO? Wait, who just one a championship? I think they know what they are doing.
i perfectly understand that certain players are better for certain systems or certain coaches personalities/schemes … but honestly you cannot tell me that half of each team’s exposed list (if not more) must be pretty worthless (too old, not very good, etc) especially for an expansion team … i follow MLS superficially but not as diligently as the fans of each team surely do … i was just asking/hoping that fans from each team would help the rest of us less familiar with those players that their team exposed that are the best (or that they would least like to lose) … but i do think you are correct (and as i pointed out based on the 08 expansion draft) the Union is only likely to get 2-4 solid full time contributors via this expansion draft. and personally i don’t see how bobby convey with his european pedigree, young age and philly ties/marketability isn’t one of them …
What Russel brings that Tony doesn’t is a little more versatility. We have seen him fill in at CB more than once this year and he is also a capable midfielder. I would have liked to see him protected…
Actually, that’s a real bummer. I’m sure the Seattle fans would love a chance to give Riley a big cheer as he hit the pitch, even if it were in a Union kit.
Concur with both the above posters. I’m worried about losing Chewbacca but there seems like a lot of talent ahead of him that he might escape ten rounds. Ustruck did show some flash in CONCACAF, but I’m guessing CFIG is probably right about that.
By the way Peter Nowak, I hear Michael Chabala is a terrible presence in the locker room, makes angry gestures at fans far too often, has lousy work ethic, never visits sick kids in the hospital, and once called Ben Franklin a “know-nothing p**sy.” Just sayin’.
The problem with trying to put together a “wheat vs. chafe” list is that one team’s wheat is another team’s chafe. Case in point: TFC chose Rod Dyachenko. DCU has an early CONCAF Cup match coming up (February I think?) and desperately needed players familiar with the squad. While Dyachenko couldn’t even get a permit to enter into Canada to practice. He was worth very little to TFC but was worth a lot to DCU at the time. So MoJo extorted a first round pick (either than or a second rounder) for Dyachenko so DCU could get him in time to practice and be available for depth. Dyachenko within a year was out of MLS.
A player that might fit one team’s scheme would be a disaster in another. Josh Gros (former DCU winger and now Philly Asst. coach) is a great example. He didn’t play outside mid in college. But Nowak saw a guy with a great attitude and tremendous work rate who could even outrun/outwork guys like Ben Olsen. So until concussions derailed him, he was a Nowak favorite. Alecko Eskandarian was another player that Nowak loved because of what he called his “honest effort.”
A lot depends upon what type of scheme and approach Nowak wants to play. But you can bet it probably involves a lot of running. He might even be looking at a 3-5-2 or 4-2-3-1 or some variation like that, that congests midfield, puts lots of bodies around the ball to allow for triangles with a short passing game, and calls for some outside players who will run their legs off. If that’s the case, they Hejduk could be a great fit for Nowak: the right attitude and tremendous work rate. Eskandarian may be someone that Nowak rates highly–I bet he also thinks highly of Jessie Marsch (especially as inside glue–an on-the-field coach to keep things organized and lead by example).
Otherwise, I’ll be surprised if Nowak uses all of his picks. I think he’ll pick 2-3 players that he thinks are special and really fits the scheme he wants to play. I think he’ll pick a player on a gamble (maybe a guy going overseas or someone to trade for a pick). He’ll choose 3, maybe 4 young cheap athletic role-players. But he won’t pick guys to fill out roster spots. Nowak was part of the first great expansion team (the Fire team that won a championship). He and Bradley consulted a lot in putting that team together. Nowak is a big believer in chemistry and getting the right people with the right attitudes. If he’s not sure of someone’s possible fit in the mix, he’ll take a pass even if that guy is a decent player. Maybe that means he has a scheme that Guevara fits in and he’s willing to take him b/c he thinks he can manage Amado. I personally think that Nowak’s draft will pass some of the better regarded players, won’t use up all the spots and like I said–will be aimed at getting maybe 2 players, and then a few young, cheap role-players for depth. Then he’ll add the rest through other means
My bet is RSL will either lose Robbie Russel or Ned Grabavoy…
How can Frei not be graduated when so many others who played less minutes did? This looks wrong, who got paid off for this?
Looks like a lock the either Phelan or Videira get taken from the Revs. I can’t understand why they wouldn’t have protected one of them over Ralston, unless it was out of “loyalty”. But, I don’t think anyone was going to take Ralston coming off an ACL tear and they need that central midfield depth.
Frankie Hejduk would make an awesome Captain to bring that new team together!
It sounds like there’s still a chance he stays, he knows he needs playing time (and has said so publically) so he won’t go to Europe unless he KNOWS he’ll be playing. And even if was almost gone losing him in something like an expansion draft would just be tragic.
Ives- please, use, something, besides, a, “,”, its, hard, to, read,
and your GA players list is incomplete
(SBI-The commas were the format the lists came in, didn’t really have time to go through the whole thing. And the GA list is the updated list provided by the league so I’m not sure who you think is missing.)