This is possibly the most adorable thing in the world.

Connor Lade, who scored the Red Bulls' only goal late in the second half this weekend's preseason match against Mexican side Merida FC, hasn't quite been able to shake the embarrassing relative (relatives?) now that he's gone pro.

In the rather sparse comments section on the Red Bulls' game story, we find this message from Annmarie Lade Gibbs:

Congratulations Connor! We saw your tying goal against Merida. We are very proud of you! LOL , xoxoxo Mom Mom, Aunt Annmarie and Brian.

Earlier today, the Red Bulls released the list of players at "Day One" of training camp at Montclair State University and the list is unimpressive to say the least. Case in point, the starting line-up, should the season start right-freaking-now:

Ryan Meara; Roy Miller, Sacir Hot, Stephen Keel, Jan Gunnar Solli; Dane Richards, Teemu Taino, Rafael Marquez, Dax McCarty, Joel Lindpere; Corey Hertzog

You can take issue with my tactics (yep, I went with a 4-5-1 with Hertzog alone up top) but you'll be hard-pressed to put together a better line-up.

Obviously, not everyone is here. Theirry Henry is with Arsenal (with a calf injury, by the way), Juan Agudelo is with the USMNT, Frank Rost is still contemplating his future and there are a whole lot of rumors that new players are coming into the fold.

Take from this what you will.

Last week Hans Backe told the Post the team needed to get more physical and adding a physical centerback would be a top priority for the club heading into the offseason.


If that's the case, the Red Bulls could do a whole lot worse than Jide Ogunbiyi, the 25-year-old 6'4" Nigerian-American defender currently with Viborg FF in the Danish second division.

Ogunbiyi was the Bulls 18th overall pick back in 2009 out of Santa Clara. The team has his rights until the end of the calendar year, and his contract is up with Viborg in six months.

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Although the New York Red Bulls' 2011 season ended just a week ago after defeat to the LA Galaxy, there have already been more rumors about transfers and trades into and out of the club than I can count. If such rumors are to be believed, we are about to sign Frank Lampard, Dimitar Berbatov, Didier Drogba, and Kaká, among many others. Tim Ream and Juan Agudelo will definitely be sold, and half of the team will be traded to other MLS clubs.

All of those things could happen, in theory. It is far more likely that none of those things will happen.

This is all that we know: the New York Red Bulls will not play a competitive football match again until next March. On the appointed day, eleven players will take the field, there will be some number of substitutes on the bench (between zero and seven), they will be directed by a coach, and they will attempt to direct a spherical object between two poles and under a third pole. Hopefully, they will also try to prevent our opponents from directing a spherical object between two poles and under a third pole, but that's not guaranteed.

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After an rip-roaringly ridiculous season, it's time for some awards! Nominations for the First Annual Once A Metro/Talking Bull Awards (name suggestions welcome) are open: please feel free to nominate multiple players/games/moments for each category in the comments. We will have voting via polls on Once A Metro over the next two weeks and by email to talkingbullpodcast [at] gmail [dot] com. This does mean you can vote twice -- vote early, and vote often! Other category suggestions are also welome.

Matt Conroy and I will discuss the awards a bit in this week's episode of Talking Bull and add in our own nominations.

Categories:

Player of the Season

Breakout Player of the Season

Newcomer of the Season

Goal of the Season

Save of the Season

Game of the Season

Goalkeeping Error of the Season

WTF Moment of the Season

Most Metro/RBNY Moment of the Season

Most Hateable Opposition Player/Coach

Most MLS Refereeing Performance of the Season

Boneheaded Personnel Move of the Season

Salary Cap Leech of the Year

Player You Most Want Traded/Sold

Despite the New York Red Bulls not playing a match since August 20, Rafael Marquez, Juan Agudelo, Dane Richards, Tim Ream, Roy Miller, and Bouna Coundoul each spent time with their respective national teams as MLS took international FIFA dates into consideration when scheduling league matches.

After dressing but not playing in a 1-1 draw against Poland last Friday, Rafa Marquez went ninety minutes for Mexico in their 1-0 victory over Chile on Sunday.

Juan Agudelo and Tim Ream each received their second consecutive call-up under U.S. manager Jurgen Klinsmann. Agudelo earned his second and third caps under Klinsmann as a second-half substitute against both Costa Rica and Belgium, contributing enough to the attack for ESPN commentator Ian Darke to comment that it should not be long before he gets a chance to start for the USA.  

Tim Ream, on the other hand, has yet to see the field under Klinsmann.  Even after a second consecutive mediocre performance by Michael Orozco Fiscal at centerback, Klinsmann opted to keep Ream on the bench against Belgium as opposed to including him in the eighteen-man match roster.    

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In the club's first season under Hans Backe and Erik Soler, the New York Red Bulls used the summer transfer window to bring in international stars Thierry Henry and Rafa Marquez.  With the Red Bulls having won just twice in league play since April 30 this season, a lot of attention was on the club's front office to see what moves they would make to get New York back on track for the playoffs and potential run for the MLS Cup. 

For better or worse, New York did manage to raise a few eyebrows with their two moves, but the club didn't do anything generating headlines on par with the Philadelphia Union or the L.A. Galaxy.

First, the Red Bulls brought in goalkeeper Frank Rost from Bundesliga club Hamburg on a free transfer (his contract had expired) and used their third and final designated player slot to lure him in without completely decimating the team's already tight salary cap.

Next, right before the window closed the Red Bulls traded their second round draft pick in 2013 for out-of-favor Sporting Kansas City midfielder Stéphane Auvray.  Auvray was brought in to provide much needed depth as Hans Backe's only option behind Teemu Tainio and Dax McCarty was Mehdi Ballouchy - Joel Lindpere's absence on the left wing when moved to the center of the field was detrimental to the team both times Backe tried moving him.  

On the departures side, the Red Bulls gave up Austin da Luz to DC United for an international roster spot to make the Rost deal possible and loaned an unhappy Greg Sutton to the Montreal Impact for the remainder of the season.  From a pure player-for-player perspective, the moves improved the club, especially with news that left-winger Brian Nielsen may be able to rejoin the club for the final stretch of the season. 

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Most New York Red Bulls fans are probably aware by now of the South Ward’s planned protest for this weekend’s game against FC Dallas. The three supporters’ groups, the Empire Supporters’ Club, the Garden State Supporters, and the Viking Army have decided to sit silently for the first half of the match to express their displeasure with the manner in which the club treated the US Open Cup. This is the culmination of much frustration amongst the fans, both over the past fifteen and a half seasons and within the current campaign.

Unfortunately, the debate over whether or not to protest (and what form a demonstration would take) has devolved, in part at least, into a debate over the merits of Red Bull’s ownership of the club. Are decisions too heavily based on Red Bull’s marketing strategy, or have the owners made valuable improvements to the club that outweigh these distractions? This debate has become quite heated and nasty, with supporters becoming very polarized between the anti-Red Bull and pro-Red Bull factions.

The news of Saturday’s protest has driven a new wedge between different groups of supporters – not necessarily along the same pro- and anti-Red Bull lines. Many fans believe that this is the best way to get the attention of the front office and team ownership, while others feel that the players need our support even more in this game, given the recent run of very poor form and the fact that Dallas is one of the top teams in the league.

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