By COLE KELLOGG
The 2015 MLS All-Star roster has had an astounding amount of turnover in the past week.
Fans of the league were initially up in arms over Don Garber’s inclusion of Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard, two European superstars who had yet to play in MLS at the time of Garber’s selection, as the Commissioner’s Picks. But both Lampard and Gerrard have since picked up respective injuries and will not be participating on Wednesday.
Also sidelined by injuries are a few of the league’s top-earners in Michael Bradley and Robbie Keane. New England’s Chris Tierney will also be kept out by an injury, while MVP-candidate Sebastian Giovinco has also been ruled out and will be replaced by Toronto FC teammate Jozy Altidore.
The MLS All-Star head coach Pablo Mastroeni has opted to bring in Ethan Finlay, Gyasi Zardes, Dax McCarty, Sam Cronin and Waylon Francis as replacements, as well as Clint Irwin to fill in as the team’s third goalkeeper.
But who will Mastroeni start vs. Tottenham? Here is the MLS All-Star lineup we could see taking the field:
—————Villa———Dempsey—————
Castillo——Kaka——Feilhaber——Finlay
Beasley——Besler——Gonzalez——Beltran
————————Rimando————————
Some thoughts:
Vancouver’s David Ousted is having a great season between the pipes, but Mastroeni can’t go wrong with relying on the veteran experience of Nick Rimando to handle everything Harry Kane and Spurs will throw at them. Rimando is now a five-time All-Star, and he is still as dependable as it comes in front of the net.
In front of Rimando will be a backline that features some familiar faces for U.S. fans. The group of DaMarcus Beasley, Matt Besler, Omar Gonzalez and Tony Beltran know each other well from days with the national team and should gel well to hinder a Tottenham offense that tallied 58 goals in the Premier League last season.
Moving up in the midfield, it is likely that Mastroeni will slide Fabian Castillo to the left to provide some speed down the flank, while giving a starting nod to Ethan Finlay, who is amid a breakout season with Columbus, on the right. Finlay currently leads the league with 12 assists, and he should mesh well with the combination of Kaka and Benny Feilhaber in the middle to create scoring chances and break down the Tottenham defense.
If they do so, it will be up to the likely duo of Villa and Dempsey to finish those chances. The two have combined for 19 goals in the league so far this season and should receive plenty of service Wednesday night.
Here is the full MLS All-Star roster:
Goalkeepers: Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake), David Ousted (Vancouver Whitecaps), Clint Irwin (Colorado Rapids)
Defenders: Omar Gonzalez (LA Galaxy), Matt Besler (Sporting Kansas City), DaMarcus Beasley (Houston Dynamo), Tony Beltran (Real Salt Lake), Laurent Ciman (Montreal Impact), Waylon Francis (Columbus Crew), Chad Marshall (Seattle Sounders), Drew Moor (Colorado Rapids)
Midfielders: Fabian Castillo (FC Dallas), Sam Cronin (Colorado Rapids), Benny Feilhaber (Sporting Kansas City), Ethan Finlay (Columbus Crew), Juninho (LA Galaxy), Kaká (Orlando City), Dax McCarty (New York Red Bulls), Graham Zusi (Sporting Kansas City)
Forwards: David Villa (New York City FC), Clint Dempsey (Seattle Sounders), Jozy Altidore (Toronto FC), Kei Kamara (Columbus Crew), Gyasi Zardes (LA Galaxy)
———
What do you think of this projected MLS All-Star lineup? What changes in personnel or formation would you like to see? Do you see the All-Stars beating Tottenham?
Share your thoughts below.
“But both Lampard and Gerrard have since picked up respective injuries and will not be participating on Wednesday.”
As opposed to sharing one mutual injury?
haha good eye. slightly redundant phrasing
i still find some humor in the fact that Garber’s choices were poetically useless.
That team will kill it on the left. Spurs or no spurs.
How about Pablo’s moustache?
1920’s villain style!
he’s a Musketeer
Lmao I am shocked nobody commented on his 1880s mustache hahaha I mean wow… he looks like people who took pictures in black and white in the late 1800s lmao
How about a new coach, this is the worse coach in the league.
Would have loved to see that back four at the GC. Oh well, time to let it go…
Viva Mexico! MLS sucks!!
It’s only Wednesday… how many more will fall today or tomorrow? Gonna need a program to identify the all-stars soon.
I hope this is the last year for this format. It’s clear that many are picking club over this game and it turns it into a sham. If I was ambitious enough, I would like to see how many that claim injury play this weekend? Its a miracle! Im healed
First Half
—————Villa———Kamara—————
Castillo——Kaka——Juninho——Finlay
Francis——Ciman——Marshall——Beltran
————————Rimando————————
Second half (Please Mr. Pablo Mastroeni sir….please lol )
———Dempsey————–Zardes———–
——————-Feilhaber————————-
—Zusi—————————————Finlay-
—————-Dax McCarthy———————
–Beasley—Besler——Gonzalez—Beltran—
———————–Rimando————————-
ALTI-NO-SCORE was called ahead of:
Fanendo Adi (9)!!!
Will Bruin (9)
Cyle Larin (9)!!!!
Bradley Wright-Phillips (8)!!!!
Octavio Rivero (8)
Ok I thought Kei Kamara was just running off at the mouth:
” the Sierra Leone international made his disappointment known. It was clear, he said, that selection was dependent on whether you were “a US national team player…or a Designated Player.”
………but now I believe whats he’s saying is true. Altidore?…wow
Al those strikers you list are deserving, but none play for TOR. With Bradley declining and Giovinco injured, bringing in Altidore was likely as much about keeping TOR fans interested in the ASG as it was about bringing in a big USMNT name.
+1. yyyyyyup, pretty obvious for even the average onlooker lol
Just because TFC loses representation doesn’t mean they have to replace that spot with a TFC player. Fans will still be interested in the ASG. MLS All-star doesn’t take the best of each team, it takes the best period. Why isn’t the Union represented (because of union fans) or league leaders DC United (for United fans) or Timbers? Because it doesn’t go off team or fan representation.
Altidore shouldn’t be there and Kamara hit the nail on the head
I would be awesome if Mastroeni put out as close to a foreign team and an American team for the 2 halfs:
Something like
First Half:
——————–Rimando/Irwin——————-
Beltran—Gonzalez—Besler–Beasley
Finlay——McCarty—Feilhaber—-Zusi
————Dempsey——–Altidore/Zardes————
Second Half:
——————–Ousted——————-
Moor—Ciman—Marshall–Francis
Cronin—Juninho—Kaka—-Castillo
————Kamara——–Villa————
There are more Americans than foreign players this year, and more center players than wide players, so a little bit of mix-and-matching but I would really enjoy seeing that first half team play together
Lazy Out-The-Door? What’s in that pipe?
you do realize that the slang phrase ‘out the door’ also means ‘something that is excellent or brings great pleasure’, right?
Gutted that Giovinco is out. But here’s the 22. Why do one team when you can choose two.
——————–Rimando——————-
Beltran—Gonzales—Besler–Beasley
Finlay——Kaka—Feilhaber—-Castilo
————Kamara——–Villa————
vs.
————————-Kane———————
Lamela——–Erickson————Chadli
———Bentaleb———Carroll————
Rose—-Vertonghen–Fazio—Walker
——————–Vorm———————
Who is Gonzales? New signing?
Get out of here with that “gutted” cr@p! ‘Merica!
Chad Marshall should start over Besler. No offense to Besler, love him, but rediculous that CM isn’t getting Nat team looks, especially after that Gold Cup disaster.
Look at that roster. Marshall and Ciman coming off the bench with three Nat team players, the league MVP and one other Nat team starter out.
is Marshall available for the USMNT? i thought he made some kind of US retirement after the 2010 WC camp and his concussion issues..?
I agree he has been great since moving to SS, probably not as good as Omar and less potential than Alvarado but certainly useful right now.
Its the problem you run into of thinking of over valuing MLS. Chad’s is a good MLS Defender wish he hadn’t been traded away from my Crew, but he doesn’t have the athletic ability to play regularly for USMNT. Plus at 30 his athleticism is has most likely hit its peak.
Think about other MLS stars that have done little internationally, Taylor Twellman, Steve Ralston, Edson Buddle, Jeff Cunningham, Eddie Gaven, Dax McCarty, Wondo would go into this group too I suppose. Yes, injuries hit several of these players including Marshall, but they just weren’t international players.
i’m kinda with you. on a side note, i mentioned the same point (age 30) about Feilhaber and others on here chastised me, so be careful in these parts with that sort of talk. lol
also, is Wondo not the modern Edson Buddle (‘like… just go sit down…”)
Really? A ‘who should start’ article for the MLS all-star game?
Why not?
Fair question. It just seems like a lot of work for a topic about which not too many give a rat’s behind. I mean, everyone gets to see the field eventually, right? But if Cole is willing to do that work, I guess I shouldn’t complain.
It’s a eurotroll epidemic in this mf
slow news day.
I may be in the minority but I care about this game… I want us to stomp Spurs and I want Clint to get a hat-trick in the first half…
+1
i’m not pointing out any one in specific, but people complaining about MLS, but then also ‘not caring about or watching’ MLS
I hope we win 7-0 where only Americans score or assist, lol
Though you didn’t point to anyone specifically, seeing as how I’m the one who stated the original question, I’ll take a shot at answering your comment.
I’ll watch and I’m sure I’ll be entertained. I’d prefer for the all-stars to beat Tottenham, but I more so will watch to see individuals play. And I think everyone plays an even half, so I don’t really care who among the all-stars gets first half and who gets second half.
Could you name the teams in 2014 MLS Cup?
Perry Kitchen