I had no choice. I naturally had to walk him. But all I was thinking was “hurry your ass. Get Dexter to his favorite spots, and run back up.”

Naturally, in this rushed state, my old lady neighbor just happened to be downstairs, and decides today, of all days, she would stop, get down on one old knee, and play with my attention starved canine.

Lovely.

So while Dexter was clawing up her dress like a kitten on a scratch post, I had to sit there with a face of patience and a plaster smile to hide my hurried state. Needless to say, I missed some great action (about 30 minutes worth!). But what can I complain about? A 3 – 0 win against Atlas is all I needed.

Thank you for your indulgence. Now here is the latest from Red Bull Landia:

+ FORMER BULL UPDATE: Defender Eric Brunner, the former Red Bull 2nd round draft pick, has had quite the week! After rejecting a reformatted contract with the team, which would have involved in excess of a 50% paycut, he quickly found employment on struggling USL-1 squad, Miami FC.

More over? He scored a goal today with the United States U-23 team. But I guess he had to – the first Turkish talley was practically an assist for Brunner, who simply ball watched the Turkish attack to their goal. Still. A goal is a goal, and it was quite a good header (wasn’t Osorio looking for a player with good aeriel skills?).

By the way, the US eventually lost 3-2.

+ INJURY UPDATES: BigAppleSoccer has the scoop on the latest Bulls injuries heading into this weekends showdown against the Chicago Fire.

Reyna and Etcheverry saw their first practice time since their respective injuries but are still doubtful for this weekends action. Seth Stammler is still receiving treatment on his back and may be a week or two away.

+ Jozy Altidore was not named to the USMNT squad facing England. As this camp features European based players, it isn’t much of a shock. But I would expect Jozy to get his shot against the BiCeleste of Argentina for the Giants Stadium show down.

+ Osorio and Van Den Bergh will be out for the Chicago game. Send Marrufo a thank you card Section 8 . . .

+ RECOMMENDED READING: I have to hand it to Frank Giase of nj.com. What a great score with Bruce Arena. And the veiled shots at RBNY Management are as clear as day. Click the link and take a read. Ridiculous.

+ Shameless Self Promotion: I am always doing something. This week, as many already know, I sat down with Jimmy Conrad of the Wizards to get his views on the game, media and life. Check it out on the offsides main MLS page.

Before anything, I would like to address this major issue: I HATE ALLERGIES. Last year was the first year I had ever gotten em, and I hate it even more this year. Absolutely hate.

But on the bright side – I did catch 6 bluefish and a striper this week. So spring is good for something. Fishing rules.

Here’s the news folks:

__________________________________________________________

+ The Red Bulls are doing a really cool thing for their Memorial Day weekend game against Chicago. Coinciding with Fleet Week, RBNY has announced their “Tickets for Troops initiative. They are looking for community business who would be interested in buying tickets in blocks of 30, which will then be given to our troops for that game. The day would feature events honoring our troops throughout.

And this guy pictured above is the infamous Red Bulls super fan Johnny Toro. Johnny, over at RagingBullNation, has set up the groups first fundraiser this year, properly dubbed “Spend a Day with Johnny Toro.” For five dollars, your child will be able to enter a raffle to actually spend the game with Johnny Toro, who has been the fan face of RBNY since they took over. Along with this, they will be giving the lucky kid 4 tickets to the Chicago Game, a cow bell and “his/her very own bull horns (just like Johnny’s).” All proceeds will be donated to the USO in memory of Johnnys father, Gennaro (Jerry) Russo.

For more information and other same day events, click here

+ FC Barcelona, home of Leo Messi (or former home of the Portuguese Nat – Deco), has agreed to a five year deal with Major League Soccer and SUM (Soccer United Marketing), the marketing branch to the MLS. And this is probably the reason:

“In 2006, the FCBarcelona USA Tour, managed by SUM, registered the highest average attendance for any club tour in U.S. history, averaging 80,734 in three matches, and is the only one among those tours featuring three or more games to sell out every stadium”

And speaking of which – this is a clear enough signal that Barca will be coming back to New York for August – which is excellent, since I have 4 tickets garunteed 6th row baby! Ok, enough gloating.

+ We have injuries heading into the KC game - Reyna has a strained calf, and Seth Stammler has a herniated disk in his back. Though we did well against the Galaxy without our midfield destroyers, Kansas City presents a much more dangerous attack. I hope Sassano and *a name here* can handle the job.

+ Ives is also reporting that Brunner may be close to a deal with Miami FC. One has to wonder the price tag associated with the deal. I mean, can Miami FC actually have a better price tag than the Bulls?!

+ Bruce Arena will be in the building with Kansas City this week – as their tv commentator. Who woulda thunk it?!

+ And finally, The Offside Podcast is up, and Im on this week talking a little MLS. If your interested, peep this link.

+ Eric Brunner, our 2nd round pick and first pick in the 2008 draft, has decided to forgo the meager amount of money that befits a developmental player and will begin exploring options in “USL and Europe” according to his agent (SBI has the scoop). Who can blame the kid? When you are promised something, and more than half of it is being taken away from under your feat, what else are you to do?

What I find interesting in this whole ordeal is this – Osorio has already earned quite the reputation as a defensive teacher and implementor. And somehow, he feels that Andrew Boyens would be a much more fruitful endevour than Brunner. What can it be about Brunners play that has made him this expendable? What makes Boyens a better prospect? (besides a few more inches in height).

Its sad to see a draftee go, but he has left the door open for future negotiations.

+ BAS is reporting that Reyna and Stammler will be no goes for the Galaxy game Saturday night. This is a devastating blow to our winning chances. With a sure bet of a 4-5-1 lineup, who will be our midfield destroyers? Ubi and Van Den Bergh? Throw on top of this storm of maladies the fact that Jozy may be sat due to “fatigue” and you have a concoction for disaster. What once looked like a hopefilled game is turning into a nightmare.

+ The Hunter Freeman interview concludes this weekend, with his thoughts on MLS, player salaries, foreign players and some predictions. Thank you all for your kind words. The interview and response has been a blast.

+ And for my preview of this weeks Galaxy game, check out, as always, ASR (first to break the Brunner story!).

Through 3 games, we have had 7 relevant injuries and a red carded player in Jeff Parke.

That equals roughly 14.5 missed games by individuals on this team in 3 games. 15.5 if you include Parke.

Here is the breakdown:

Juan Pablo Angel

He misses the second game of the season and is taken out of the 3rd by halftime. Original reports state that it was a sore hammy, but upon further review, it is being called “nerve related” and is seeing a specialist for the injury. He is expected to miss the San Jose game and return for the Maple Leafs

Dane Richards

Dane is back in training this week after he was nearly molested by a bunch of rookie Austrians. We are looking at a 2-3 week return.

Hunter Freeman

Freeman was quoted by Ives saying that he expects to see minutes sooner rather than later – probably against the Maple Leafs. We keep our fingers crossed.

Eric Brunner

Training with a giant Dema mask on, Brunner is looking for minutes as he may be ready to go.

David Roth

The rookie is about 4 weeks off from being game ready. And with people dropping like flys, it couldnt come any sooner.

Jozy Altidore

Though more precautionary by Osorio than anything else, Jozy did miss a game to play with the reserves and prove his health (as is Osorios policy)

Marco Etcheverry

And here is the newest member of this distinguished group. Reports out of Montclair state that Marco will be missing 4 weeks with an LCL injury.

NOW WHAT!?!?!?!?

Well, I will leave the indepth stuff for the pregame preview. But I will say this – dont be surprised this Saturday if we are starting a few people that will earn their first starts for this season.

- Chris Megaloudis. He is from my neighborhood and is a footie legend there. He is electric, exciting and would add a great dimension to the attack if permitted to play.
- Mike Magee. Some people just need a shot to prove what they can do. Magee filled in so nobley for Guevara 2 seasons back. If he can recapture some of that magic and build on his game, we will have the playmaker we were looking for.

I would look for Eric Brunner to enter the game late as well.

Here is what could be the starting XI

———Altidore——–Megaloudis—
Van Den Bergh——Magee——–Sassano
———–Stammler—Reyna——-
Goldthwaite—–Parke————Leitch
————–Conway—————-

Look good to you? Give us your thoughts.

Put the noose back in the closet. And dont reach for the shotgun with the toe attachment. The season doesnt end on one bad game. I promise.

Lets put the game in some perspective

+ They are walking injured
+ Depth for this game was none existent
+ It was their first away fixture.

Here is another thing to consider – look at the starting lineup(s):

Borman—————-Altidore———–Echeverry
———————–Reyna————————
————-Stammler———Ubiparipovic————
Van Den Bergh–Goldthwaite—–Leitch———-Sassano
———————-Conway——————-

OR:

————Altidore————Echeverry————–
———————Reyna—————————-
Borman————————————-Sassano
————–Stammler——-Ubiparipovic———
Van Den Bergh——Goldthwaite—————Leitch
———————–Conway———————-

2 formations, 2 rookies, 1 sophmore, 1 new forward, 1 key missing forward, and a make shift backline. That is what Dallas beat.

Van Den Bergh having to play the backline shows you just how much havoc these injuries and a ridiculous red card are causing. Freeman, and Brunner are still weeks away. Parke is irreplacable at centerback (at least until they officially sign Innes). The midfield will continue to have a youthful look until the backline gets back into shape and Dane Richards returns from injuries.

But breathe folks.

Angel will be back.

Parke will be back.

And they will be that much more complete.

Heres this weeks game recap:

MAN OF THE MATCH

Kind of hard not to say Kenny Cooper. His mere presence creates an indominable distraction. And kudos to the big man for doing his homework and attacking the Red Bulls soft middle defense.

If there was one for the Red Bulls, you can make a strong argument for Jon Conway. Maybe even Woly for bringing some passion to the attack.

TURNING POINT OF THE MATCH

49 seconds in, Arturo Alvarez showed his form. Much like Cooper, he did his homework, aggressively attacking the middle of our defense for a beautiful slam into the net. The Bulls never recovered. How can you? A minute into a road fixture, and giving away a valuable goal spells 90 minutes of trouble.

WHAT THE?! MOMENT OF THE MATCH

Did you catch that beautiful Conway save one on one against Arturo Alvarez? I thought he would be cooked. Good job by our 6′6″ goliath for stopping that shot cold.

*Runner up – Reynas header in the box, which ricocheted to John Wolyniec, who took a shot straight on net, and somehow missed the entire frame.*

SPECIAL ED PLAYER OF THE MATCH

Though he played stronger than last season (for a second straight game), Chris Leitch got burned on both goals. And its tough to look past that, no matter how hard you play.

*Runner Up – Danleigh Borman – who showed us all he is just a rookie.*

Share your thoughts. And please, dont cry. There is alot of time left to do just that. But hopefully, it wont be necessary.

]]> http://redbulls.theoffside.com/players-red-bulls-news-rumors-opinions/red-bulls-0-2-dallas-chin-up-folks.html/feed 13 http://redbulls.theoffside.com/players-red-bulls-news-rumors-opinions/jorge-rojas-vinotinto-vet-and-chris-innes-trialists.html http://redbulls.theoffside.com/players-red-bulls-news-rumors-opinions/jorge-rojas-vinotinto-vet-and-chris-innes-trialists.html#comments Tue, 08 Apr 2008 15:37:45 +0000 Dave Martinez http://redbulls.theoffside.com/players-red-bulls-news-rumors-opinions/jorge-rojas-vinotinto-vet-and-chris-innes-trialists.html Who says we need to pilfer Chicago for all our acquisitions?

Jorge Rojas, 30, a Venezuelan National veteran with 78 caps to his name, and the infamous Chris Innes, former captain of the bankrupt and dying Gretna FC of SPL, are now on trial with the Red Bulls.

I knew there was a reason I waited till the 13th hour to put up my season preview . . .

Jorge Rojas, whom, if I recall correctly (should google this), assisted and scored a goal in 2 games against Haiti recently, is a left back or left wing – two positions we have coveted for quite some time. If everything falls into order, Rojas would be our starting left winger, moving Dave Van Den Bergh to the CAM role, and Claudio Reyna could join Seth Stammler for a devastating twosome in front of our defenders.

Now that is a step up!

As for Innes, he is actually participating in team training as I write this. He was a major reason for Gretna’s spell in the SPL from ‘05 – ‘08, being largely credited for the ascension into the big leagues of SPL, and being largely credited for their demotion (but only because he was injured during certain spells).

Though Goldie and Leitch played admirably against the Cows, a person of Innes reputation and credentials should be afforded the opportunity to see what he can do. Sure, people downplay the talent or talent level of the SPL, but how many do the same to the MLS? Who know – Chris Innes may be that missing piece to the puzzle that will create the formidable backline we have been dreaming of.

IMAGINE . . .

With these signings (cross those fingers!), they will have a team that could take them to the Cup.

——-Angel—-Altidore——–
———-Dave VDB————
Rojas——————–Richards
——–Reyna—Stammler——-
—-Innes—-Parke—-Freeman—
———-Conway—————

Appetizing no? DVB, as displayed Saturday, has no fear of taking a shot. He will be backed up by Magee. Reyna and Stammler will compliment a solid and experienced backline, which will make 1st year starter Jon Conways life much easier. The wing play, when healthy, will be some of the best in the league (backed by two solid rookies in Borman and Sassano). And with those starting three, we can have a bench with Goldthwaite, Leitch, Mendes and Brunner.

Not bad at all (especially in a league notorious for very little quality depth).

Looks like we may be flexing that allocation money-muscle after all!

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