Do you think Nowak being the coach he may slip in a DCU player to the reserves?? I am particularly thinking Esky here... he has been on a tear and if he keeps scoring the way he is...
I'd love to see Esky on the team, he's quickly becoming a rising star on United and in MLS. He's getting some serious coverage and that should help. I know the commissioner gets a pick on the squad and that will probably go to Adu, maybe Esky will win over the coaches and media voters. Of anyone out there he deserves it the most.
I am kinda a newbie to how the all star team is picked so I wasnt sure if it was kinda like the NBA or what. I didnt know if the starters were all top vote getters and the coaches for each side got to pick the bench. In any event, I hope Esky gets in there (but I can imagine Freddy will get a lot of votes from the fans) On a side note, Esky is one of the options for 'who deserves to be on the all star team' vote on the MLSNET site (he is leading the votes and Gaven is second)
Freddy will almost certainly be a fully-voted-in allstar. He certainly doesn't deserve it, but he's the most recognized name in all of MLS -- not to take anything away from him, but compare his season with fellow rookie Eddie Gaven and you'll see a pretty stark difference. my bet for Novak's choice... Nelsen if he doesn't make the team, Dema if he does.
Unfortunately Freddy will get on the team. I can't see it helping his attitude about not getting playing time with DCU. He may be the league's PR All-Star, but he certainly doesn' deserve the honor based on his level of play. Nelson should be a starter. Convey may get in on name recognition. Same with Stewart. Eski for being on a hot streak.
Well, when you have an All-Star game where the fans elect the players, then it is not really about talent or ability but a popularity contest. It's who the fans want to see......if they want to see Freddy fine, they voted and he'll be there. As for Nowak putting United players on the roster, I'd rather he didn't. The players most deserving of such recognition, Nellie, Namoff, Olsen, Moreno, Eski all have been dinged up this year and could use the rest. But he'll need to balance the needs of his real team with that of the All-Star Team.
with only 5 teams in each conference, I think we'll see every MLS team well represented. How big are all-star rosters? if they're 20 players, it'll average 4 players per team. With DC in first place and the game at RFK, it wouldn't be absurd to see 5 or 6 DC United players make the roster. (Including Adu, who will be the commissioner's pick if he doesn't make it via other means.) Adu Esky Moreno Nelsen Olsen doesn't sound too far-fetched.
I wouldn't be surprised to see Bobby in place of Ben. Not that I think he's done all that much in MLS this season, but because, hey, he's the guy who may be going to Europe soon. Esky, Nelsen and Moreno deserve to be there. And we already know about Freddy.
Well, as everyone concedes, Adu will be on the squad, come hell or high water. I can also see Esky or Moreno, or both, on the squad. Olsen just doesn't deserve a spot, and Nelsen just hasn't played enough this year to deserve a spot. How many games has he missed this year? I haven't checked, but it seems like a lot.
I don't believe Nowak being coach gives him any more say in who is selected than the other coaches. As for Freddy, fan votes only count for 25% of the vote. So, if players (25%), GMs & coaches (25%), and media (25%), don't vote for Freddy, even if the fans do, then he'll have to be a commissioners pick. That being said, he HAS to be on the team -- they're using him in the advertising -- so even if the other groups don't vote for him, Garber will put him there.
The thing that pisses me off about the voting is the fans aren't given the chance to vote for an East team and a West team, just one big team, as was the original plan. After Real bailed, the vote was never changed to be able to pick the best West players AND the best East players. So you could vote all east or all west if you want, then make the coaches figure it out