TWO current and key Central Coast Mariners players have been selected in the Foxtel A-League All Stars side to take on Manchester United at ANZ Stadium on Saturday 20 July.
TWO current and key Central Coast Mariners players have been selected in the Foxtel A-League All Stars side to take on Manchester United at ANZ Stadium on Saturday 20 July.
Crafty New Zealand international Michael McGlinchey will link with Melbourne Victory gun Mark Milligan and Brisbane Roar ace Thomas Broich in midfield, while youngster Trent Sainsbury will be part of a backline including Western Sydney Wanderers defender Nikolai Topor-Stanley and former Mariner Pedj Bojic (now with Sydney FC).
Central Coast Mariners had a total of five players from the Club-s 2013 Hyundai A-League Championship winning team selected for the final Foxtel A-League All Stars squad, however with Patrick Zwaanswijk retiring, Mathew Ryan joining Belgian giants Club Brugge, and Bojic released to sign for Sydney FC, McGlinchey and Sainsbury will be the Club-s two representatives against David Moyes- men.
The Foxtel A-League All Stars voting process concluded after the Expert Panel and All Stars coach Ange Postecoglou lodged their votes.
The weighted voting system gave 50% to the fan vote, 20% to the Expert Panel vote, 20% to the players via the PFA Team of the Year selection and 10% to Postecoglou.
More than 30,000 fans voted by submitting their starting 11, plus four substitutes.
The Expert Panel included Han Berger, Craig Moore, Tony Vidmar, Mark Bosnich, Stan Lazaridis, Andy Harper, Tom Smithies and Michael Lynch, who all named their starting 11, plus four substitutes.
FFA CEO David Gallop said the Foxtel A-League All Stars voting process was a huge success in engaging with fans and launching the All Stars concept.
“Our first priority is making sure the All Stars are connected to A-League fans and the 30,000 votes cast shows there-s a high level of engagement,” Gallop said.
“The Expert Panel choices created lots of interest and was hotly debated in online forums and of course the players had a strong voice via the PFA Team of the Year voting.
“Now that Ange has lodged his preferences it’s great to release the final voting results.
“The task now is to take this selection process and make the team a reality on 20 July against Manchester United. There will always be issues with injuries, availability and international transfers, but we will work hard on the selection process.”
The final selection (1-4-3-3):
Goalkeeper:
Ante Covic (Western Sydney Wanderers)
Defenders:
Pedj Bojic (Sydney FC), Nikolai Topor-Stanley (Western Sydney Wanderers), Patrick Zwaanswijk (Central Coast Mariners), Adama Traore (Melbourne Victory)
Midfielders:
Thomas Broich (Brisbane Roar), Mark Milligan (Melbourne Victory), Michael McGlinchey (Central Coast Mariners)
Strikers:
Archie Thompson (Melbourne Victory), Alessandro Del Piero (Sydney FC), Marco Rojas (Melbourne Victory)
Substitutes:
Mathew Ryan (Central Coast Mariners), Shinji Ono (Western Sydney Wanderers), Youssouf Hersi (Western Sydney Wanderers), Trent Sainsbury (Central Coast Mariners)
Coach:
Ange Postecoglou (Melbourne Victory)
All Stars coach Ange Postecoglou will name his final squad on 13 July ahead of a week-long preparation camp in Sydney.
Under the selection process, Postecoglou will refer to the weighted voting list of players when considering replacements for injured or unavailable players.
