Once A Metro: FanPosts

How Much of a Mess Are the New York Red Bulls?

2012-01-22T17:14:25Z

SBNation's US Soccer editor, Jeremiah Oshan, takes the pulse of the New York Red Bulls as they head into the first full week of training camp and finds a team with a lot more question marks than answers. A great summary of where things stand now, ahead of what should be a very active week.

Agudelo to Train with 3rd Rate Outfit

2011-12-01T03:53:41Z

I know Jurgen said he wanted US International players to spend the off season concentrating on their training, but is this what he had in mind?

http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/2011/11/30/agudelo-reveals-offseason-training-plans-liverpool

I'm sure Klinsmann would rather see his players work with a legitimate football club, rather than a 2-bit operation cheered on by a bunch of barely literate bums and drug addicts with funny accents (and no, I'm not talking about the New England Patriots.)

I guess there were 19 other clubs that wouldn't have him, so he just bumped his way down the list. Here's hoping a real team wants him next year.

a true story, taken from the internets:

A Primary Teacher explains to her class that she is a Liverpool fan.

She asks her students to raise their hands if they too are Liverpool fans.

Everyone in the class raises their hand except one little girl.

The teacher looks at the girl with surprise and says, 'Mary, why didn't you raise your hand?'

'Because I'm not a Liverpool fan,' she replied.

The teacher, still shocked, asked, 'Well, if you are not a Liverpool fan, then who are you a fan of?'

'I am an Everton fan, and proud of it,' Mary replied.

The teacher could not believe her ears. 'Mary, why, pray tell, are you an Everton fan?'

'Because my mum is an Everton fan, and my dad is an Everton fan, so I'm an Everton fan too!'

'Well,' said the teacher in an obviously annoyed tone, 'that is no reason for you to be an Everton fan.

You don't have to be just like your parents all of the time..

What if your mum was a prostitute and your dad was a drug addict, what would you be then?'

Then,' she smiled 'I'd be a Liverpool fan.'

Poll

How do you rate the 'club' Agudelo is training with?

poor

1 votes

piss-poor

0 votes

an affront to sport in general

1 votes

2 votes | Poll has closed

Playoffs!

2011-10-24T07:08:15Z

Wednesday night at 8pm the Red Bulls will travel to Pizza Hut Park in Frisco Texas to take on FC Dallas. Dallas has a lot of dangerous attacking weapons, but they have been struggling recently. Brek Shea has had a dip in form the last month or so for his club. I'm not sure Dallas would be my first choice to see in the wild card round, but they're still very much a beatable team at the moment. What does everyone think of our chances?

And one side note about the last game. Against Philadelphia we improvised the position for the 4-4-2. Dax played as a slightly wide midfielder and always looked to play Solli down the wing. When Solli went up, Marquez pinched right and along with McCarty covered the space. The team took a risk tactically and it paid off. I hope Backe doesn't simply revert to the standard formation that led to so many stagnant performances this season (16 ties!) and plays another variation.

New York Red Bulls Suspend Marquez for Post-Game Comments

2011-09-23T16:04:41Z

Unless you've been living under a rock, you're no doubt familiar with the controversy surrounding Rafael Márquez's post-game comments following Wednesday's 3-1 defeat to visiting Real Salt Lake. Today, Hans Backe and the Red Bulls reacted, suspending Marquez for Saturday's home match against Portland, following a team meeting, according to MLSSoccer.com's Kristian Dyer. Jeremiah Oshan did a great job of breaking down Marquez's impact on the team's results this morning in his SBNation column, concluding that they may be better off without him. If further proof is needed of the Mexican's sub-par form this season, you need to look no further than Ian Thomson's piece from Kick Off Online, which we somehow missed before the postponed Galaxy game.

Credit to Backe and Solér for doing the right thing here. No man should be above the team, whatever salary he may command, and Márquez's comments were detrimental to team morale. Hopefully he has managed to patch things up behind the scenes with his teammates, Tim Ream especially.

Our Midfield

2011-08-13T07:31:27Z

Is our midfield really bad enough that we need to take an unwanted player from Kansas City?

Apparently so.

I hope the Red Bulls office staff, especially Erik Soler, is embarrassed by the state of the squad at this point. I didn't mind shipping out Danleigh Borman and the draft pick, but losing Tony Tchani was a hard pill to swallow. The trade moving DeRosario to D.C. made absolutely no sense to me as Marquez can play that holding position better than McCarty and DeRo can do anything better than Ballouchy. The second trade was defended as "creating cap space" for a big signing. So far that signing has managed to give up goals, look drunk on the shot by Luis Gil, and somehow get hurt without moving off his line at Salt Lake. Sure hindsight shows those moves to be stupid, but they looked pretty dumb at the time.

Luke Rodgers seems to have been the glue that kept the Red Bulls together. I think he acted as a bridge between the grunt work you need in the MLS and the technical skill that Henry and Agudelo possess. When we're relying on Mehdi Ballouchy to be an advanced playmaker (or really just relying on him for anything), we're in trouble. Bringing in a hard tackling defensive midfielder doesn't change the fact that we don't have anyone in the center of midfield who can find a striker's foot.

Henry Out For Houston Match

2011-05-20T22:05:58Z

Thierry Henry will not make the trip to Houston for the Red Bull game against the Dynamo on Saturday, May 21. There is no word yet on the extent of the injury, but it involves the striker's knee which had sidelined him during the end of last season. Henry has had a stunning resurgence to his form since a lackluster beginning to his NYRB career which put his skill and future with the club in question. He has been a key asset to the team the past few matches, and he will be sorely missed on the pitched. However, the Red Bulls have depth at striker, and the emergence of Luke Rodgers as a competent finisher and playmaker takes some stress away from the injured Henry. Expect to see Agudelo and Rodgers up front tomorrow as the Red Bulls try to stay atop the Eastern Conference.

No Surprise, The New York Red Bulls Are The Highest Paid Team In MLS

2011-05-17T18:37:14Z

The New York Red Bulls club payroll is first in the league at $13,397,087, almost a full million more than the Los Angeles Galaxy who come in at second with $12,419,679. Both teams are well above the league average of $4,451,621. Thierry Henry ($5.6 mill) is the second highest paid player in MLS behind only David Beckham ($6.5 mill) of the Galaxy. Rafa Marquez of the Red Bulls is the third highest player ($4.6 mill) well ahead of American superstar Landon Donovan who comes in at fourth ($2.3 mill). It is no surprise that the top four highest-paid players are from the Galaxy and the Red Bulls, more interesting is the fact that Rafa and Henry make up about 2/3rds of NYRB's payroll and David Beckham takes up half of the Galaxy's payroll. Join me for more after the jump...

Player salaries and compensation have since increased at a rate 15.1% over the past four seasons. However, 2011 saw the average salary and compensation decline 11% from the previous season. Last season’s average compensation was $173,491. The median compensation declined in 2011 as well, falling 13.3% to $80,050.

Looking at the median salary and compensation for MLS players is very deceptive because of players like Beckham, Henry, Marquez, Donovan, Julian de Guzman, Juan Pablo Angel, and Eric Hassli who throw the average by being outliers. David Beckham earns more than 168 times the average MLS player salary and compensation. It is unfortunate to see that the median compensation has declined despite the fact that the sport is growing in popularity and expanding and looks to continue to expand next year with the addition of new team(s). It is also important to keep in mind that the re-introduction of the Reserve League has lowered the median compensation and salary, which almost completely explains why the average salary and compensation is in decline for the first time in five years. I only wish we had access to all the numbers.

When you look at the money guaranteed to players like Henry, Beckham, and Marquez you can't help but wonder are worth it? Looking at the salary of Marquez ($4.6 mill) and Henry ($5.6 mill) compared to the payroll of a hugely successful team like Real Salt Lake which is at $3,517,956 or a promising team like the Seattle Sounders who have a payroll of $3,465,629 you begin to question how money is being spent in the league and especially in the Red Bulls organization. Of course it is almost impossible to factor into the equation the value of a marketable player that will put fans in the seats, jersey sales, media attention, etc.

Still, one can't help but wonder how long the trend of seducing aging stars in the twilight of their careers away from the big leagues in Europe will continue. Eventually clubs in MLS will have to start investing in home-grown talent and young players like Juan Agudelo, Steve Zakuani, Freddy Montero, and Tim Ream for the health and stability of the league. A never-ending carousel of overpaid, aging stars showing up to play for clubs for two or three years is no way to build a team or a league.

So... does money buy success in MLS? I suppose we will just have to wait and see.

Top Ten Player Earnings

David Beckham (LA) $6.5 mill
Thierry Henry (NYRB) $5.6 mill
Rafa Marquez (NYRB) $4.6 mill
Landon Donovan (LA) $2.3 mill
Julian de Guzman (TOR) $1.91 mill
JPA (LA) $1.25 mill
Eric Hassli (VAN) $900k
David Ferreira (DAL) $705k
Freddy Montero (SEA) $636k
Andres Mendoza (COL) $595k

Top Five Team Payrolls

NYRB $13,397,087
LA Galaxy $12,419,679
Chicago Fire $4,794,742
Toronto FC $4,262,444
Vancouver Whitecaps $3,570,853

Note: All data is correct as of May 1, 2011

Source: Business of $occer

Tainio Ready for Chivas, Robinson Injured, Miller not Golden

2011-05-13T21:57:38Z

Backe said that the Costa Rica national team has notified the Red Bulls that they will not take left back Roy Miller as part of the Gold Cup squad, but do plan to include the player into their plans for this summer’s Copa America.

Good news for the team that Miller isn't going to the Gold Cup, the defense will almost certainly be without the services of Ream and Marquez. Having one more experienced man in the back four will be crucial when the team is without almost all of its talent during the Gold Cup. The back four during the Gold Cup will certainly be a rag-tag group, it should be painful to watch them try to move the ball as well as Ream and Marquez do.

"Looks like the same injury as last year," Backe said, noting that Robinson missed nearly two months of 2010 with a knee injury.

"Probably the same team [but] Teemu [Tainio] will be back," Backe said. "He’s been training Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday."

There is no good time for any player to get injured but Craig Robinson's injury came at a relatively good time. It is a shame that the veteran Welsh midfielder finds himself injured again, but Teemu Tainio looks like he is on the mend and ready to play against Chivas which means the starting eleven will be back to it was when the club looked its best. Luke Rodgers will also be good to go against Chivas, he didn't play against the Montreal Impact in the friendly earlier this week so that he could rest.

The attack should also benefit from the return of Luke Rodgers, who did not travel on Wednesday for the friendly with what the player called a "dead leg."

"Luke was just resting," Backe said. "Luke will be ready."

Backe also downplayed Rodgers' comments about Landon Donovan of the LA Galaxy, "I don’t bother, in a way, I don’t think it was too bad," Backe said. "That’s the kind of character he is." Which translates to, "He's a fucking hooligan, what did you expect him to say?"

Henry Fired Up

2011-04-19T15:10:01Z

In a veritable monsoon, playing against the team that ended the Red Bulls postseason last year, and wincing at the pain in his Achilles tendon, Thierry Henry finally put the ball in the net. He was dangerous all game long, involved in more than half a dozen good chances. It is clear that Henry and the diminutive English striker Luke Rodgers have some chemistry, Henry picked up his first assist on Rodgers' second goal and Rodgers picked up an assist on his great cross into the box that found Henry's head and the back of the net.

After scoring his goal it was clear that Henry had a message to give to the fans, especially the South Ward. That message was very clear when he beat his chest and pointed to the name on the back of his shirt. "I am still Thierry Henry."

Supposedly the crowd was jeering him after he went down and grabbed his Achilles tendon after an offsides call. (Source: NYDN)

...the crowd was chanting "au revior" and "you're going home in a Jersey ambulance" as Henry lay on the pitch after aggravating his Achilles injury.

Supposedly Henry hurled f-bombs at the crowd after his goal. It is pretty clear that the French Designated Player is fired up and recognizes the needs to perform for New York/New Jersey fans. I am glad to see some emotion from him, some fire in his eyes, to see that he cares and isn't just a tourist. There is little doubt that he was dynamic and a force to reckon with against San Jose. We can only hope to see it again against D.C. and for the rest of the season.

One person that came to Henry's defense was Luke Rodgers who had this to say about the fans jeering him:

"That kind of stuff, I can’t believe it,’’ marveled Luke Rodgers, who scored off an Henry assist, then set up the Frenchman’s headed goal with a cross. "He’s one of the best players in the league. Yeah, he’s got a problem with his Achilles, but Thierry’s our main man; we need him to play. Everyone in the team knows that, and the fans should realize that as well. You need a player like that to be happy.’’

(Source: NY Post)

A Few Notes:

Henry hasn't been fouled in 7 games, over 628 minutes. (@AdeHealey)

Despite a short week of rest, Henry looks as if he is good to go against D.C. Joel Lindpere also looks like he will be good to go against our rivals. ( NYRB official)

Hey ESPN, Give Us Some Respect!

2011-04-15T01:56:11Z

I was checking on the ESPN page for my New York Metropolitans (yes, they lost their fifth game in a row tonight and will probably be on the end of another beating tomorrow, against Atlanta) when I looked over to the side box for "New York Area Teams." The Mets were there, so were the Yankees, and the Giants and Jets, as were the Knicks, Rangers, and Islanders. But not the Red Bulls.

I know that ESPN gives soccer/football very little coverage on its American page, but it was a box that could easily have fit the Red Bulls' logo in as well. I also know that we don't fill our seats at Red Bull Arena, but there are ten thousand or so dedicated fans and probably many thousands more who keep up with the team's results. How does it harm ESPN to promote another part of their website that deals with soccer? (It doesn't.)

Quite simply, there is no reason for this, and it's probably not a hard fix for them. We are a New York Area sports team, ESPN. Give us some respect.

Agudelo as a DP

2011-04-09T19:28:55Z

http://www.newyorkredbulls.com/news/2011/04/backe-red-bulls-dont-need-third-dp

Apparently the Red Bulls are content to sit on an unused DP slot. As Hans Backe says in this article, the team is not looking for a splashy new name, and with the addition of DeRo the team feels like they have built a solid contender with more depth. That's fine and dandy with me, but I feel that the DP could be used in a more productive fashion on one of our own.

Juan Agudelo looks like he has a promising future. His explosive start with the USMNT has thrown him into a bright spotlight very suddenly. For every article about him being the next "bright young thing" to captivate American soccer, there are articles warning us about the prospect of failure and advising rational expectations. This is all very true. Although Jozy still gets play with the USMNT (and I hope it continues, I believe in his future success) he and Freddie Adu have floundered overseas, and are virtually invisible. In the latest ESPN the Magazine, there was a short piece on Juan, and it stated that he and the Red Bulls are already being contacted by unnamed European clubs. My fear is that in a year or two he will chase the money, the club will be eager to get value from him and make a deal, and he ends up in three years playing for Portugal's second division. My solution is to use that third DP slot to pay Juan like a serious professional. Give him money that would be competitive with at least the 2nd and 3rd Euro divisions and keep him a Red Bull until at least after the next World Cup.

Obviously the main argument against this is that he's too young for such an investment. MLS is not Serie A or Premier League; teams can't afford to spend wildly and then just shrug if it doesn't pan out. If he flames out by the next Cup then the team has sunk money into him and lost the chance to cash in on a transfer fee. Double whammy.

Here's my answer. If you believe that Juan Agudelo is going to be a star, why not make an investment in him? A 3 year contract will allow him to continue to develop as a Red Bull, and be the home grown attraction to the team's fanbase. We've seen that Bob Bradley will continue to use players on the USMNT that are MLS based, so staying in MLS is not going to hurt Juan's chances there. And if he DOES show that he can realize his potential, and be the attractive and charasmatic footballer that we believe he him to be (or at least I do), then we have an American star to build our market around. If he caps it off by netting a couple at the next Cup, then his transfer fee will be exponentially higher the year after and the team will have a greater cash reward. That's my thought process and my wish for this team moving forward. I would be interested to hear the opinions of other on this.

Poll

What should the Red Bulls do with Juan Agudelo?

A) Keep him at the regular MLS salary, and sell him when a quality offer comes through. A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.

4 votes

B) Sign to a 3-4 year deal and pay him DP money. Build your team around him and expect/hope that he realizes his potential for greater future rewards.

10 votes

14 votes | Poll has closed

Blame Game: Rafa and Bouna

2011-04-04T19:40:16Z

Houston's game-tying goal came from the foot of Cam Weaver in the 50th minute after Tally Hall's goal kick was flicked forward by Will Bruin. It appeared that Rafa Marquez was in a position to intercept the ball but Weaver cut in front of him and chipped the ball past Bouna Coundoul, who was well out of his net. Immediately after the goal Rafa looked down at Bouna and clearly said something to the keeper. When I saw the play unfolding I was wondering why Bouna was so far off his line and if there was miscommunication on the play, apparently there was:

"I yelled to him [to] pass me back the ball," Coundoul said.

Márquez, however, disagreed.

"I didn’t hear any shouts or screams by anyone to call out for the ball," Márquez said, shrugging.

Two things trouble me about this confusion.

The first being where Bouna was on the play; if he was expecting a pass he should have been much closer to his line than he was. Bouna was as far out as the penalty spot and almost within body's length from the corner of the penalty area. It is hard to see exactly where he was when he came into frame on the broadcast (49:36), but it is clear he was well off his line and in a very poor position to handle the well-executed play by the Dynamo. If Bouna is that far out and was calling for a pass from Rafa there wasn't a lot Rafa could have done to get him the ball, Weaver had the inside track on the ball and certainly has a longer stride than Rafa. Just before Weaver makes his touch on the ball and flicks it over Bouna at the edge of the penalty area, Rafa pulls up to get between Weaver and the net, he was never in a position to get the ball back to Bouna.

The other thing that troubles me about the miscommunication is the disagreement between the two afterward. Perhaps there is a language issue, perhaps it might have something to do with the fact that NYRB has played 3 keepers in 3 games this season, or more likely it was Bouna being caught out of position. You can tell a lot about what happened by the body language of Rafa afterward, he looks as though he is in disbelief of what just happened.

Whatever the reason for the miscommunication I hope for the team's sake that it gets cleared up and that the starting keeper and the Mexican international come to an understanding. Communication is a very big part of defending, especially on plays like the Dynamo's goal. I hope we don't have to see a silly miscommunication and/or Coundoul being out of position cost us two points again anytime soon.

Sources:

Article: Click here

Video (for reference): Click here

De Rosario Traded To NY Red Bulls

2011-04-02T00:32:02Z

Although today is April Fool's Day, this is not a joke. Toronto FC has traded Midfielder Dwayne De Rosario to NY Red Bulls for Midfielders Tony Tchani and Danleigh Borman, along with the Red Bulls first-round pick in the 2012 SuperDraft. "DeRo" is an MLS veteran and a name that should be known to even a casual fan. He was the figurehead of the struggling Toronto FC Reds.

DeRo, a native Canadian, is 32 years old with creative skill. Obviously, this is a major trade for the Red Bulls, costing them a young talent such as Tchani along with Borman and a future pick. This shows the mentality of the club, pushing for a championship this year. Toronto FC, who is in a rebuilding phase, got some good youth in the deal and came out with some salary cap space. Overall, this is a win for the Red Bulls by adding some major talent behind Henry and Aguidelo with Lindpere and Richards on the flanks. That is an exciting and talented core in the forwards 2/3's of the pitch.

This will be De Rosario's 4th MLS club in his career. He has played for the San Jose Earthquakes, Houston Dynamo, Toronto FC, and now the New York Red Bulls. He has tallied 78 goals and 52 assists in his career thus far, and has the ability to add some creativity and reliability in the middle of the pitch. He has won 4 MLS Cups, two with San Jose and Houston each, as well as the MLS Cup Most Valuable Player award in 2001 and 2007. Internationally, DeRo is a staple of the Canadian club and has registered 15 goals in 54 appearances.

De Rosario will be available to play in the Red Bulls next match against the Houston Dynamo on Saturday, April 2nd. Whether or not he will start, sub-in, or appear at all remains to be seen. However, this is a good time to be a Red Bulls fan.

Source: MLS Official Website

Teemu Tainio Invited to Train with NYRB

2011-02-11T20:10:48Z

Tainio, 31 years old, is training with NYRB. He has been playing for Ajax but has not gotten much of an opportunity to make an impact for the club, the word is that he may be coming over on a free transfer and sign a two-year deal. Teemu Tainio is a defensive midfielder that NYRB might try out at RB to strengthen their back line.

KristianRDyer KristianRDyer Backe on Teemu Tainio "If we buy him we'd use him as a right fullback." #RBNY

NewYorkRedBulls New York Red Bulls #RBNY can confirm that @Official_Ajax D Teemu Tainio arrived in camp last night and is training with the team today.

Tainio is a Finnish midfielder that has played for Haka, Auxerre, Tottenham Hotspur, Sunderland, Birmingham City, and most recently Ajax. He'd be an interesting option for NYRB in terms of a veteran on the backline for NYRB, we will have to see if he signs with the club and impresses Backe in training.

He is also a prodigious time waster:

For more on the story click here.

EDIT: Story is also on NYRB official site: click here.

JPA to LA?

2010-12-20T16:04:36Z

As most of you probably know by now, New York declined to pick up Juan Pablo Angel's contract option, meaning that the 35-year old striker, and best player in franchise history, is as close as an MLS player can be to free agency. Or he was, until LA claimed him in the inaugural MLS re-entry draft.

This doesn't necessarily mean that he will play for LA next season. The Galaxy still have to sign him to a contract, which may be dicey as it will probably entail a pay cut. The Supporter's Shield winners are still rumoured to be interested in Ronaldinho, who will probably leave the San Siro in January. They have two DPs in Beckham and Donovan, and would certainly need to keep a slot open if Ronaldinho is to play for them. Angel himself has talked about returning to South America to play, so we'll have to see how that works out.

Reviews have been mixed about the move. According to a report, audible groans were issued in the draft room when LA selected Angel, presumably by executives who coveted him themselves. Fanhouse.com counts LA among the losers in the re-renty draft, based on their selections of Angel and Frankie Hejduk. A right back whose legs are starting to fail him is certainly of questionable value, but even at decreased production, LA can get a lot out of JPA. If not for the emergence of Agudelo, I would have said NY were insane to let him go, simply because the value of anyone you replace him with is not likely to be equal to his value, even in decline as it is, especially for one more season.

With NY, he was not only the main offensive option, he was often the only offensive option, from the departure of Altidore until the arrival of Henry at midseason. Since 2007 Angel had 58 goals, the most in MLS in that span, and was well-known for his ability in the air. Some of his best work came when he was partnered with Jose Altidore, a player similar in many respects to his new teammate, Edson Buddle. And he never had anyone to provide the kind of service he should get from Beckham and Donovan.

In my mind it's a great move for LA, and its the one team that I could accept seeing him play for. Thank god it wasnt DC or NE. I hope they get him signed and he has success, except when they play NY, of course.

Poll

How do you feel about JPA playing for LA?

Gutted, they never should have let him go.

0 votes

Excited, they should have a good team.

1 votes

Meh, these things happen.

1 votes

He'll end up somewhere else anyhow.

0 votes

2 votes | Poll has closed