Should We Be Freaking Out Yet?

by Matt Coyne on Mar 22, 2025 9:43 PM EDT in Analysis

Is Rafa Marquez the man we've all been waiting for.
Also, is there a picture from a Marquez presser were he doesn't look ridiculous?

Two games. Two losses.

An 0-2 record is all it takes to throw Red Bulls fans into a tizzy.

It certainly help that the team hails from notoriously sports neurotic New York. Add to that 16 years of being "lovingly beaten into submission" as someone put it and its hard not to demand excellence from a roster that includes a legend in Thierry Henry. And it only makes things worse when the first two games of 2012 seem like an extension of the exercise in madness that was 2011.

But the two losses came against the basically consensus best team in the league away when no one ever wins and another very good team in FC Dallas. Plus, the team is missing three key players in Wilman Conde, Rafael Marquez and Luke Rodgers. It's no guarantee that Conde will be the same player who left the Chicago Fire for Atlas after the 2010 season, but Hans Backe certainly thinks highly of him and he figures to be back Sunday. Without Rodgers things weren't looking up for the team either last season.

As for Marquez, it's quite the turnaround for last season when many a Red Bull fan was calling for his head. It's not as if rest of the roster is devoid of quality, either.

So save the freaking out for when things get really dire. The team still has 32 games to play. It's also important to remember the team plays much better in the friendly confines of Red Bull Arena than away from it.

The team could be an instant replay of last year's Red Bulls, complete with the same things that drove us crazy over the course of the summer. But before the team is worth freaking out over, they need to be given more than two games.

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Comments

I think once the defense starts to find their footing we will be ok.

I have faith in Meara and the backline improving.

Hopefully Luke gets back soon.

Whyyyyyyyyy????????
Red Bulls-Giants-Devils-Nets

by HobokenChap on Mar 23, 2025 10:13 AM EDT reply actions

Marquez looks a lot like Phil Dunphy.

It’s uncanny.

Captain, there are doubt''s...

by Match Day 5 on Mar 23, 2025 10:47 AM EDT reply actions

The defense should improve

however, i see the same issues as last year. A midfield that cannot initiate and distribute well, and a disconnect from the front line- which inevitably leads Henry to come back and create. Now, it’s tough to find a guy who can create in the way Henry can- but Red Bulls need somebody to at least try- Ballouchy can create but has been inconsistent, McCarty is not a creator, he is a dive-bomber. Marquez can create in his own slow way, but he is very inconsistent as well. Red Bulls need a guy in the midfield who can be a maestro badly because even if the defense improves, and I think it will, the void in the midfield will ultimately make NYRB a very beatable team.

by NiceBull on Mar 23, 2025 3:51 PM EDT reply actions