MLS Expansion Draft 2011: Projected FC Dallas Protected List

When looking at FC Dallas, they have a team stocked with homegrowns and Generation Adidas so it's not terribly hard to pick the Expansion Draft list. There's the no-brainers in David Ferreira, Brek Shea, Fabian Castillo, Marvin Chavez, Ugo Ihemelu, George John and Zach Loyd. Despite John being rumored to go to England this offseason, you can't leave him unprotected and lose the money that will be paid to FC Dallas if he is sold while the rest of those selections are pretty much no-brainers.

I've also protected Jair Benitez and Andrew Jacobson as both have signed new contracts and represent above average players at their positions. I protected Kevin Hartman as he is your starting goalkeeper and while it's unlikely Montreal would select him, you can't take that chance.

That leaves one spot left and I've chosen to protect Maicon Santos. He's a fairly maligned player in Dallas right now and one that some are blaming for a lot of the late-season offensive struggles. However, he's still an MLS forward with a decent pedigree over the last couple seasons and could work in the Dallas offensive given a full pre-season to gel with the squad.

Some of the players that leaves open for possible selection would be Brazilian midfielders Bruno Guarda, Jackson and Ricardo Villar. Another possible option would be outside back Jeremy Hall, though his poor performances at the end of 2011 could hurt his value while Bobby Warshaw would be an attractive option if the Impact are looking to go young.

Projected FC Dallas protected list: Jair Benitez, Fabian Castillo, Marvin Chavez, Kevin Hartman, David Ferreira, Maicon Santos, Ugo Ihemelu, Andrew Jacobson, Georg John, Zach Loyd, Brek Shea, David Hernandez. Automatically protected: Josh Lambo, Bryan Leyva, Ruben Luna, Richard Sanchez, Jonathan Top, Victor Ulloa, Andrew Wiedeman.