By tomorrow…we shall know where the Union begins. Hopefully it’ll wind up being a nice foundation that the Union can build upon during their first Major League Soccer off-season. Instead of highlighting my own mock draft [although my selections are at the end of the post if curious], why not take all those circulating out there in the blogosphere (and one very respected reporter) and form a collective “Union” if you will – to come up with the 10 the “experts” think will get picked. We scoured the interwebs and were able to find 9 posted instances of a mock expansion draft. Coach Nowak read up.

Unknowing Participants (9): ASN Union [see below], Offside Philly, Ole Ole, Soccer By Ives, WV Hooligan, Soccer Unto the Dogs, Hot Dog and Friends, Soccer Junkie, and MLSDraft.net

The so-called no-brainer?

Bobby Convey (SJE) – 8/9

Next in line…

Anthony Wallace (FCD) – 5/9
Amado Guevara (TFC) – 5/9
Matt Besler (KCW) – 5/9
James Riley (SEA) – 5/9
Mike Chabala (HOU) – 4/9

Let the arguments begin…

Pat Phelan (NER) – 3/9
Andrew Jacobsen (DCU) – 3/9
Robbie Russell (RSL)/Ned Grabavoy (RSL) – 3/9
Alan Gordon (LAG) – 3/9
Andy Iro (CMB)/Frankie Hejduk (CMB) – 3/9

Who to keep from this last bunch? Do you take Alan Gordon as your lone forward representative? Gamble on Hejduk and retirement? Knowing what we have above, I would say we need a couple hardworking midfielders to complement Guevara centrally. Jacobsen (DCU) and Phelan (NER) fit that bill. Phelan would go over Grabavoy only due to versatility, i.e. his ability to slide into centerback if necessary. Another central defender is a must, however, and big Andy Iro is the only one on the list. Last decision looks to be between two fullbacks – Frankie Hejduk and Robbie Russell and a striker – Gordon. Hejduk and Russell are interchangeable for me. You can’t argue with the locker room presence and tenacity Hejduk gives you but is he ready to go for another year and for a different team? Russell, fresh off of the highlight of his career, is 30 and coming off a very solid first full year in Major League Soccer. He should only get better in his second.

Notable: Eddie Robinson (HOU) and Stephen King (SEA) also had 3 votes each but with players from their respective teams already taken, they weren’t picked. If you’re wondering where the goalkeepers are…so am I. The highest vote getter was Brian Edwards of Toronto FC.

So the blogosphere has spoken for what it’s worth. We’ll check it against the actual picks tomorrow but something tells me it’s going to come nowhere close.

My picks, in case any of you were wondering:

Eddie Robinson (HOU) – one of the best defenders in the league when healthy…when healthy
Bobby Convey (SJE) – I really like Shea Salinas but it would almost be a sin not to take Convey, at only 26 and with two “injury-free” seasons under his belt, he’ll wake up in Philly
Anthony Wallace (FCD) – Aside from the injury last season, arguably one of the brightest prospects on this list.
Matt Besler (KCW) – Young and a candidate for Rookie of the Year this past season, can play centrally in defense or on the wing
Stephen King (SEA) – I’m a South Jersey guy and would love to have the former Shawnee grad get the chance to start for his hometown team. He’s got the chops.
Robbie Russell (RSL) – MLS Cup hero cast aside? Former Rosenborg wingback? Sure, sounds good to me.
Amado Guevara (TFC) – A true playmaker but I’m not sure how Coach Nowak and Amado would get along.
Josh Saunders (LAG) – Everyone wants to jump on the Saunders bandwagon. I see him as a capable back-up keeper. So I’m halfway on it.
Andrew Jacobsen (DCU) – Lorient didn’t work out but with United he looked real promising. A young, industrious midfield (Jacobsen and King) around Guevara intrigues me.
Andy Iro (CMB) – Sticking with the youth theme, having Eddie Robinson paired with the 6’5″ Iro would be great albeit extremely slow.

1:00PM people. I know I’ll be pressing the refresh button like crazy tomorrow. More to come…