When the New York Red Bulls waived former homegrown signees Matt Kassel and Sacir Hot on Thursday, most Red Bull fan sites and media outlets were severe in their condemnation of General Manager Erik Solér and Head Coach Hans Backe. One even went so far as to accuse the Scandinavians of treating young American players like glorified traffic cones. Neither Hot nor Kassel had played any significant role for the Red Bulls since being signed in 2011, and both have been buried deep on the depth chart at their respective positions. Kassel made just two MLS league appearances in 2011, totaling 82 minutes, while Hot failed to even make the bench for a single first team match.

A thread started on the Hot/Kassel topic on the Facebook page of Red Bulls fan site The Viper's Nest ran to 165 comments. Metrofanatic, where outrage over any and every move the Nordic regime makes seems to be par for the course, reacted - predictably - negatively to the news. The general consensus was that neither Kassel nor Hot had been given a fair shake and that both had fallen victim to management's distaste for young American talent, in favor of established international players. Some even predicted that Hot and Kassel would come back to haunt the Red Bulls someday, à la Dwayne De Rosario.

Just a week prior to the Red Bulls' release of Kassel and Hot, Real Salt Lake had parted ways with homegrown signing Danny Toia, who hadn't seen a minute of first team action in 2011, to little or no fanfare. Jason Kreis wasn't accused by media and fans of not giving the youngster a chance. It was simply viewed as a player signing that didn't work out, much in the same way that the bulk of players selected in the MLS SuperDraft fail to have any impact on the professional level.

Why the differing reactions? First - and most obviously - the intensity of Salt Lake City's media spotlight pales in comparison to New York's. Second, RSL's recent track record has given Kreis the benefit of the doubt, allowing him to add or jettison players as he sees fit. If New York had won a significant piece of silverware during the past two plus years, most local observers would be inclined to cut management some slack with regard to talent decisions. But, having failed in the playoffs in 2010 before enduring a mostly disastrous 2011 (versus expectations), and having traded away Dwayne De Rosario for a Dax McCarty-shaped bag of peanuts, Solér and Backe are second guessed at every turn.

It's important to keep in mind that the homegrown player rule is still in its infancy and is only a guarantee of one thing: promise. At some point last winter the Red Bulls decided that Hot and Kassel had shown enough of it to merit a professional contract. But it's unrealistic to expect that every player who signs professional papers will make it through to the first team as a regular.

To use just one example, Chelsea, who have invested millions in building an academy system, have failed to develop a single first team player since John Terry. Some of the players who came through the Blues' system - such as Scott Sinclair - have gone on to have respectable careers elsewhere. Others have faded into obscurity. The point is that bringing players through an academy - as opposed to randomly plucking them out of the U.S. college system, which has been MLS' bread and butter until recently - may have a greater chance of success, but it's no guarantee. Young players fail to live up to early promise all over the world, and MLS is no exception. Those who expected the Homegrown Player Rule to provide a steady stream of top notch prospects for MLS clubs and the U.S. Men's National Team may need to temper their expectations.

Another argument for keeping Kassel and Hot on the Red Bulls' roster is that both would be "off budget" and therefore not impact New York's bottom line. Why not keep them around for another year and see if they develop as hoped? This overlooks several factors. First, other local American trialists in New York's preseason camp - players such as Jose Angulo, Jhonny Arteaga and former homegrown signing Giorgi Chirgadze - may be more enticing than Hot and Kassel. Second, MLS rules allow clubs to receive a $35,000 allocation for not using two of their maximum number of 30 roster slots. In a salary cap league, $70,000 of financial flexibility is always welcome. If the Red Bulls were to sign five or six trialists and add a third goalkeeper, they would find themselves at 27 to 28 players under contract. Would it be worth keeping Hot and Kassel at the expense of allocation cash, especially when some of that cash can be used to pay down a future third designated player?

The frustration over the release of Kassel and Hot is understandable. Fans always want to see local kids make it, especially ones who had supported the club as youngsters and worked their way through the academy system. There is also a very real sense among many fans that the Red Bulls have abandoned their tradition of developing American talent in favor of a "win now" mentality (the widespread frustration over a perceived lack of playing time for Juan Agudelo being Exhibit A). Critics should note, however, that even as Hot and Kassel have been cut, the Red Bulls have been busy adding two American goalkeepers, an American right back and an experienced American striker.

Solér and Backe would undoubtably argue that they are being paid to win games, and not develop players for the U.S. National Team pool. After two years in charge the Red Bulls' management team is at a crossroads, and the pressure from Austria to finally break the franchise's record of futility must be intense. They window is rapidly closing on the careers of veterans such as Thierry Henry, Rafa Marquez and Teemu Tainio. If Kassel and Hot are not considered to be vital cogs of a championship winning team or first team regulars for the future then it's hard to argue against their release, as much as that plays against supporters' expectations and hopes.

Normally when someone makes an appearance on a podcast or gives an interview to a website or newspaper, you can take the major points and run with them. But when Erik Soler was on Extra Time Radio this week, he touched on a lot of things, frankly, too many to key in on just one. And when a team has as many questions heading into the season as the Red Bulls do, there isn't a whole lot of chaff when your GM is on the "radio."

The most important parts via rough transcription after the jump...

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The Red Bulls had three players on the Generation adidas tour: Corey Hertzog, Matt Kassel and Sacir Hot.

The U.S. Under-17 team, who won the Nike International Friendlies in November after beating Brazil had five Red Bulls prospects, including Wesley Wade who scored the game tying goal against France in the game's closing minutes.

The Red Bulls Academy, named the third best in the country by Soccer America, includes the Rockland County's player of the year, the New Jersey Herald's player of the year and the Lehigh Valley Express-Times player of the year. Five Red Bulls Academy players were invited to the U.S. U-15 camp. And surely, there are others in the academy who have earned high marks and praise from their local media and various soccer organizations.

General Manager Erik Soler recently told the New York Post that he wants the academy to produce "game changers."

These are facts.

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But that can get complicated when management won't even acknowledge your existence.

Reports have been surfacing, rather steadily, from South America that the Venezuelan international has been in talks with the Red Bulls, with the first report surfacing Jan. 6 in El Nacional that there is, according to Google Translate, "latent interest" in the keeper and that Vega even vacationed in New York. Playing in New York, he said, was "that last experience (I wish I had) before retiring."

With Frank Rost out and Bouna Coundoul and Alex Horwath released, adding the man who backstopped Venezuela to a fourth place Copa America finish seemed like a great option.

Then another report surfaced Jan. 18 - six days after the Bulls drafted Ryan Meara - that the Red Bulls were still in talks with Vega, despite GM Erik Soler denying the club's interest. He told reporters covering Caracas FC "Things are going forward very nicely ... Aside from the Red Bulls, another team came out (with interest)."

Jan. 21 Soler came straight out and told reporters "I’ve never heard of him, so that must be just a rumor." Two days later, another report surfaced, this time from the Spanish-language arm of MLSsoccer.com, that he'd "go with his eyes closed to New York" and that he'd like very much to play in the U.S.

Quite a change of tone on Vega's part, huh? And all of this while Soler and Head Coach Hans Backe continue to deny the rumors and went ahead and signed keeper Jeremy Vuolo from Finland.

There are really only two options to the Vega rumors: Either Vega was contacted, probably informally, by the Red Bulls and the team backed out for one reason or another (Age? Vega is 32. Play? Seems like he could be streaky, especially when abroad) or Vega wants to play in New York badly enough he just made up the rumors, hoping they'd make their way up to North America, with the idea that if it doesn't work out, no one would be any the wiser. The Red Bulls recent moves in goal seem to negate a third option: That the team really is actively seeking Vega and just don't want anyone to know for one reason or another.

Either way Vega seems a bit like a desperate teenager in all this, either concocting stories about how much the team wants him or twisting any attention he gets into something way more tangible than it really was. Now he looks like the dejected admirer, backing off his rather public statements about the affection team and player had for one another after team pretty publicly dismisses them.

When the New York Red Bulls signed Brian Nielsen from Danish side Vejle Boldklub in April, 2010, it seemed like a promising deal. New York was in dire need of depth and speed on the left wing, and reports out of Denmark seemed to indicate that Nielsen was a talented player - once on the fringes of the Danish national team - who had some issues to work through.Though the structure of the deal - with Red Bull Salzburg loaning the player to their New York sister club for an unspecified time - was unusual, it was seemed like a risk worth taking if Hans Backe could bring the best out of him.

Adding Nielsen, General Manager Erik Solér's thinking must have gone, would allow the team to move Joel Lindpere inside to his favored central midfield spot. As it turned out, fans were only given a brief taste of Nielsen's skills before he disappeared onto the injured reserve list with a mysterious knee ailment, and remained there for the next year and a half. During his stay in New York, Nielsen has made just one league appearance (at home against Philadelphia Union) and one US Open Cup appearance (in the 2010 qualifying round against New England Revolution). Meanwhile, the Red Bulls have been on the hook for $120,000 in annual compensation for a player who has (allegedly) spent more time partying than he has playing. In Major League Soccer that kind of wastefulness is almost unforgivable.

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"Tentative agreements" can be fickle things, especially when you go to the press - the New York Post, no less - talking about them.

But that's exactly what GM Erik Soler few weeks ago, alerting the Post's Brian Lewis to said agreements with "two young Americans, and maybe a third." Earlier in December, Soler said adding young Americans with international experience was a top priority. This week, Soler said he's in talks with a few possible designated players who would come over either now or over the summer.

So, assuming Soler is telling the truth, and since we're in the last leg of the MLS off-seaon's doldrums (they just released the schedule!) some speculation is in order.

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We went over the highlights here, but let's take a little more in-depth look.

You know, one I didn't put together in 5 minutes while at work.

Home against the Western Conference

• Colorado Rapids
• San Jose Earthquakes
• Chivas USA
• Seattle Sounders
• Portland Timbers

Away against the Western Conference

• FC Dallas
• Real Salt Lake
• LA Galaxy
• Vancouver Whitecaps

2 Home, 1 Away against the Eastern Conference

• Sporting KC
• Houston Dynamo
• Chicago Fire

2 Away, 1 Home against the Eastern Conference

• D.C. United
• Philadelphia Union
• Montreal Impact
• New England Revolution

1 Home, 1 Away against the Eastern Conference

• Columbus Crew
• Toronto FC

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Tim Ream is a hot commodity.

After the Red Bulls' Emirates Cup run, there were reports Ream was attracting interest from Arsenal. Rumors persisted through the summer - with reports surfacing after the season that Arsenal had a transfer offer on the table for Ream - and into the fall, with Arsenal sending scouts to the playoff match against FC Dallas.

By Thanksgiving, the number swelled to six, though the trustworthiness of People.co.uk, "the best source for national and international news, celebrity gossip, lifestyle ideas and pet care," for transfer news is somewhere between slim and none. But when gossip sites are mining the possibilities of your transfer for hits, you take it for what it's worth.

Off-season stints with Bolton and West Bromwich Albion, set up with help from new USMNT coach Jurgen Klinsmann, kept the coals burning, with West Brom boss Roy Hogson unsure if they'd make a loan offer for Ream, then ready to step up their game and lock up Ream for the EPL's stretch run.

Now, Bolton is back in the picture, reportedly readying a £3 million bid (roughly $4.6 million) for Ream.

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