MLSsoccer.com polled the head coaches of each MLS club, who were provided with an anonymous survey featuring an array of questions that many fans have always wanted to ask.
This week, we’ll tell you how they answered (13 of 19 managers completed the survey). Here’s another installment of responses which includes the managers picks for Rookie of the Year and the Most Underrated player in MLS.
Excluding your players, who's your preseason pick to win the 2014 MLS Rookie of the Year award?
Seven different players received votes for Rookie of the Year, but only one player garnered more than two.
Christian Dean
, the No. 3 pick in this year’s SuperDraft, collected four votes from the managers. Many would question this selection given Dean’s questionable path to the starting lineup, but MLS managers must have seen enough in his college days to make him the favorite for this award.
The No. 1 overall pick, Andre Blake, received two votes. Other players to receive a vote were Eric Miller, Steve Neumann, Harrison Shipp, Ben Sweat, and Jared Watts. One manager abstained from the voting.
Excluding your own players, who is the most underrated player in MLS heading into 2014?
Kyle Beckerman and Dax McCarty each received two votes to lead the way in this category. Beckerman was picked even though he has been the leader of one of the best teams in MLS for more than five years and has become a stalwart for the US national team. Of course, he's still somehow never made an MLS Best XI, so that is perhaps the reasoning.
Other players to receive a vote were Brian Carroll, Diego Chara, Clarence Goodson, Will Johnson, Gershon Koffie, Lamar Neagle, Lee Nguyen, and Marcelo Sarvas.
Do you agree with the managers? Let us know in the comments below.
