Well, it's official. The MLS All Star roster has been announced, and there is controversy over a couple of in-from players that didn't make it. A most notable pick, is FC Dallas midfielder Fabian Castillo, who was named to the roster over Ethan Finlay; a player who leads the league in assists with 11.
Now how does one such as Finlay not make the MLS All Star roster? A league leader in playmaking versus a player who isn't in the top five in assists on the list of 'League Leaders.’ Well simple; just don't pick him.
Earlier in the week, the MLS All Star Fan XI was announced, and Finlay was left off of that fantasy roster as well. "I guess I'm not a fan favorite," Finlay said jokingly when asked about his impression of being left off the fan voting. (per Andrew King/mlssoccer.com.)
In the last five winning matches, Finlay has three goals, and three assists. Two of those three goals came in a 2-1 win over the New York Red Bulls on July 4th, 2015. Not to mention, both of those goals were assisted my league leading goal scorer Kei Kamara, but that's beside the point.
In this writer's opinion, he would've chose Ethan Finlay first when announcing midfielders. Why? Finlay is an all-around player both defensively, and offensively. A quick, dynamic winger, Finlay can create chances from the wing.
Fast forward to 0:30 seconds into the video, and you can see what this writer is talking about when he says Ethan Finlay is a great playmaker.
Fabian Castillo on the other hand, sits seventh on the list of assists in the league. Although Castillo is a great attacking mid, he is known for his goal scoring ability. So is that why Mastroeni chose Castillo over Finlay? Because he can score? Looking at the official midfield selection, there are players who are known for scoring. Kaka, Feilhaber, Zusi. Even Steven Gerrard is a goal scorer, and he's only scored one goal in his MLS career.
This writer is confused. Kudos on naming the league leading goal scorer, but no league leading assist player? This ought to be an interesting 2015 MLS All Star Game.