:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/photo_images/2930198/GYI0065001715.jpg)
The nominees for the 2011 MLS All Star Game were revealed today, and correctly or not, they included six members of each MLS team.
The nominees from D.C. United, as voted by a select media panel, are forwards Charlie Davies and Josh Wolff; midfielders Chris Pontius, Andy Najar, and Dax McCarty; and defender Perry Kitchen. Voting is now open and runs through July 5th.
Some United players are more deserving than others. As much as we like Najar and McCarty and think that they'll be critical members of this club now and into the future, I think each would admit that they haven't quite had their best seasons. Kitchen is improving with each month as a professional, but probably isn't quite MLS Best 11 quality yet. Wolff is having a great season as a veteran, but doesn't stand much of a chance of making the team ahead of some of the other big-name forwards on the ballot.
But Davies and Pontius deserve it. I'd feel like too much of a homer to advocate that you vote for all six D.C. players, so I'm just going to tell you to vote for Davies and Pontius.
The club's two leading scorers are each having impressive seasons. Davies is tied for second in MLS with six goals, despite having only started six games this season. Pontius has four goals, which is tied for the league lead for midfielders, and has played more minutes than anyone else on United.
Davies' chances of making it are hurt by the league listing Landon Donovan as a forward (Seriously? Its not like we're talking about Brad Ring here. We're talking about LD. Shouldn't everyone know he's mostly a midfielder by now?). If only two forwards are included in the so-called First XI, it will be hard for Davies to beat out Donovan and Thierry Henry, but we still think its worth a try.
I'll be voting for Davies and Pontius as often as I can, and I fully intend to launch a Twitter campaign during the June 17-20 window.
Who would you like to see make the 2011 MLS All Star Game roster?