No, not them. As the offseason winds down, the Red Bulls have undergone quite a facelift. New York has added plenty of new faces and parted with some old ones as well. With all these changes, the question on many fan’s minds is, “How will Hans Backe make it all work?”

First things first, the Red Bulls have officially signed long sought after striker, Luke Rodgers from Notts County in England.  The move brings New York’s tally up to seven forwards.  While this does give Backe great depth, there still remains the question of who will get the bulk of playing time.  Without question, Thierry Henry is guaranteed a starting position, pending his health that is.  However, his strike partner has yet to be determined.  The addition of Rodgers makes things interesting, adding yet another quality name into the mix of potential partners for Henry.  Many fans were calling for the insertion of 18-year-old Juan Agudelo into the starting 11, fresh off another great performance for the U.S. National Team.  However, Backe and Soler seem to be taking a more cautious approach with their young star.  Although there’s no doubt about his potential, Backe wants to be careful not to throw him into the fire just yet.  The other options at forward would be Salou Ibrahim, Corey Hertzog, Conor Chinn, and Giorgi Chirgadze.  Ibrahim looks like he is likely on his way out, and the remaining three are young and unproven players.  If Backe were looking to go that route, he’d certainly place Agudelo at the top of that list.  So it seems Rodgers will have a pretty good chance of staring the season up top with Henry.  Backe himself stated of Rodgers, “He’s definitely a higher striker, he’s not a target [forward].  I really hope that he will be a regular starting player.”  Seems as though he’s already made up his mind.  Question is, what strike tandem will have the best chance of replacing the goal-scoring prowess of Juan Pablo Angel?

Moving on to the midfield, the pitch seems just as cluttered.  New York added four new players in the offseason: John Rooney, Matt Kassel, Marcos Paullo, and Jan Gunnar Solli.  Departures from the midfield position included Sinisa Ubiparipovic, Seth Stammler, and Luke Sassano. I’m interested to see how all the midfielders get incorporated into the mix.  If I had to guess, I’d say that Solli has the only real chance of winning a spot in the starting 11.  There was already enough of a problem last year when Mehdi Ballouchy joined the club, sending Tony Tchani to the bench.  Of course, all this is contingent upon whether Soler can manage to pick up a top-of-the-line center back or not.  Soler and Backe have expressed their interest in bolstering up the backline.  If the Red Bulls were to pick up another center back, this would leave Rafa Marquez free to play the holding midfielder position as he did last year.  If not, it seems that Backe will place Marquez alongside U.S. National Team defender Tim Ream.  With all these possible combinations across the pitch, Backe will have to make a decision as to what formation will work best based on his players strengths and weaknesses.

Well, we still have quite a few questions yet to be answered.  Hopefully, all of them will be answered over the course of training camp and before the season’s first game (just secured my tickets for opening day, booya).  Let me know what you think about this roster situation in the comments.

Where Would You Rather Have Rafa Marquez Play?online surveys

I’m not exactly sure if I’m breaking this story (although I haven’t seen it reported on any other site as of now), but Matt Kassel has signed with New York.  According to a Facebook status update, Kassel states, “It was fun Maryland but New York Red Bulls it is!!! ..thanks for all the support everyone.”  Kassel, an academy product, had intended to leave the University of Maryland after his junior year for some time now, but it seems it has just now become official.  Kassel was a leader on a Terps team that earned a #2 seed in the NCAA tournament, scoring 9 goals to go along with his team-high 11 assists.  He is the type of two-way midfielder New York could use after the departure of (fellow-Terp) Seth Stammler.  Oh, and in case you couldn’t already tell, I’m a Terp too.  So there you have it, Kassel is the newest addition to the Red Bulls.  Who says Facebook is a waste of time?

First, let’s take a look at the categories that a Red Bull was nominated as a finalist.  Chris Albright was up for Comeback Player of the Year, Seth Stammler for Humanitarian of the Year, Tim Ream for top rookie honors, Hans Backe received a nomination for Coach of the Year, and finally both Thierry Henry and Joel Lindpere were up for Newcomer of the Year.

We’ll start with Comeback Player of the Year.  The two other finalists besides Albright were San Jose’s Bobby Convey and FC Dallas’s Brek Shea.  Many believed this to be a two horse race between Convey and Albright, with the former proving triumphant over the latter.  This is the one award where I can side with the voters.  Don’t get me wrong, Albright’s recovery from what was seemingly a career ending injury was remarkable and deserves credit, but I don’t have as much of a gripe with Convey winning the award.  He came back from a down year to say the least and proved to be instrumental in San Jose’s playoff push.  He was the distributor for the Quakes and set up many of Golden Boot Winner Chris Wondolowski’s tallies.  New York got to see just what Convey could do in the return leg of our playoff series this year, unfortunately.  This one could have gone either way, but I’m willing to give the voters a break on this one.

Now, with Humanitarian of the Year award being an off-the-pitch award, it can’t truly be held in the same regard as the others.   As much as we all love Stammler and we’ll be sad to see him go, this wasn’t exactly a huge triumph for the Red Bulls as much as it was a testament to Stammler’s commitment to off the field efforts.  Not to take away from all his hard work, but most fans will certainly overlook this award.

I’ve already talked about Ream’s snub for Rookie of the Year in a previous post.  You can take a look at that here, so as Jay-Z would say, “on to the next one”.  When you looked at the Coach of the Year Award, it seemed like Backe was the clear-cut front-runner.  He took a team that managed a mere 21 points in 2009 and turned them around in a complete 180.  With the Red Bulls finishing the season with 30 more points than the previous campaign, and a Eastern Conference regular season title to show for it, it seemed that Backe had this award in the bag.  Then came decision day, where either Backe, FC Dallas’s Schellas Hyndman or Real Salt Lake’s Jason Kreis would be crowned top manager for 2010.  Delivering another swift blow to the collective gut of the Red Bulls fans and franchise, Hyndman beat out Backe.  This one literally made my jaw drop.  How in your right mind can you not choose the manager that directed the largest point increase in MLS history? (Only the Metrostars from a decade ago boasted a 30-point upswing from the previous year as the Red Bulls did this year).  How much did Dallas improve you may ask?  11 points.  That’s right, 11.  Hans Backe almost single handedly turned this franchise around, along with great signings by GM Erik Soler and the guidance of MLS vet and assistant coach Richie Williams.  Backe is not the type of coach to hold a grudge over an individual award, but we all know that he deserved more, namely top manager honors.

Then there’s Newcomer of the Year.  In all honesty, Henry had no right to be placed in this category.  Logging a mere two goals and three assists in league play, this nomination was something of a farce.  The real contender, as we all know, was Joel Lindpere.  Lindpere was the guy that did it all; a true box-to-box midfielder that put in the hard work and was willing to do the dirty work to help his team succeed.  Red Bulls fans will be very biased towards Lindpere, because he has just about reached Metro/Red Bulls immortality in just his first year with the organization.  He scored the first goal in RBA….twice, he turned down his native Estonia pledging his duties solely to the Red Bulls and choosing club over country, and did just about everything right.  He is loved and adored by Red Bulls fans everywhere and was undoubtedly New York’s MVP in 2010.  But was that enough to make him Newcomer of the Year?  Apparently not, according to the fine folks at MLS.  The third nominee, Alvaro Saborio, beat out Henry and Lindpere and took home the award.  In fairness, Sabo did find the back of the net 12 times for RSL, and was remarkable for them in CONCACAF Champions League play.  A forward scoring goals is always going to get more recognition than the engine of the midfield, that’s just the way it works here in MLS.

Finally, we’ll take a look at the MLS Best XI, in which voters choose the best players at each position from around the league, in a 3-5-2 for some reason.  Here’s what we got for 2010.

Ricketts _(LA)

Olave _(RSL), Gonzalez _(LA), Borchers _(RSL)

Donovan _(LA), DeRosario _(TOR), Morales _(RSL), Ferreira _(FCD), LeToux _(PHI)

Buddle _(LA), Wondolowski _(SJ)

Once again, not a Red Bull to be found.  You’d think that the Eastern Conference leaders could crack the best 11, but no, there wasn’t enough room after you put in 7 players from RSL and LA.  These 11 players do make up some of the best in league, but you have to figure that someone like Ream or Lindpere could have found their way onto that “squad”.

Alas, Red Bulls fans are left with more frustration.  All in a days work for New York fans, as the Red Bulls were served up a big steaming plate of “disappointment”, followed up with some salt in the wounds just for some added seasoning, courtesy of our friends at MLS.

Which Red Bull Got Snubbed the Worst?online survey

The Red Bulls came into the game full of confidence and fresh off a road win in San Jose to put them up 1-0 aggregate, meaning a tie would send them through to the next round.  Hans Backe said pregame that sitting on their lead would be a mistake and that they would undoubtedly go for the win.  For the players that remained from the 2008 team, they knew it wouldn’t be easy.  New York was in San Jose’s shoes as the lowest seed in the playoffs two years ago and went on the MLS Cup Finals, so no one would be taking the Quakes lightly.

Backe chose to go with the same starting XI as he did in San Jose, but it didn’t result in the same outcome as it did on Saturday, with Bobby Convey leveling the aggregate in the 6^th minute, hardly the start New York was looking for.  Off a poor clearance form Roy Miller, San Jose whipped in a cross that eventually fell to Convey who buried it leaving Bouna Coundoul no chance.  Rafa Marquez was seen inexplicably petitioning for an offside call with his arm raised instead of marking his man, Convey, which led to the goal.  After a fairly sloppy start, the Red Bulls settled down a bit and started to maintain more possession on a wet and slick evening at Red Bull Arena.  Going into the second half, New York must have felt confident that they’d be able to find the match equalizer to send them to the Eastern Conference Finals.

The Bulls came out flying, putting pressure on the Quakes backline but continually failed at the crucial moment, having crosses blocked or shots saved by Jon Busch.  Rookie Juan Agudelo did well to beat the defense but rang a hot shot off the woodwork representing New York’s best chance of the night to that point.  NY hearts would be crushed in the 76^th minute as Convey struck again, beating Tim Ream and Coundoul to push the Red Bulls to the brink of elimination.  But as he has done so many times in his career in New York, captain Juan Pablo Angel netted a header of a feed from Agudelo to level the aggregate score once again just two minutes later.  Red Bull Arena erupted and the Bulls playoff hopes lived on.  It turned out it just wasn’t New York’s night, as the hectic 5 minutes between the 76^th and 81^st ended with Golden Boot winner Chris Wondolowski finishing a header off a feed from, who else, Bobby Convey.

Throughout all this mayhem, head coach Backe neglected to make even a single sub, leaving DP Thierry Henry on the bench.  The crowd began to chant for the Frenchman’s entrance, and eventually Backe obliged.  In the 84^th minute, all three subs entered the game including Jeremy Hall, Salou Ibrahim, and the aforementioned Henry.  But it turned out it wouldn’t be enough.  Henry saw a floating ball find him at the back post, but his diving misdirection flew over the bar, proving to be New York’s last true threat.

San Jose celebrated in Harrison as the Red Bulls were left to ponder what could have been as their 2010 campaign came to a close on Thursday.  Had they capitalized on their plentiful opportunities they had in San Jose, this would be a non-issue.  This may be one of the most disappointing endings to a season in Metro history, all things considered.   3 DP’s, a brand new stadium, top spot in the East, but still nothing to show for it.  As great as RBA is, it is clearly not the fortress that Rio Tinto is in Salt Lake.

All in all, New York should still keep their heads up as they are arguably the most talented team in the league and will certainly be among the favorites to take home the cup next year.  Henry and Marquez will have a full preseason with New York and will only get better.  Perhaps the saddest part of all of this is that Mike Petke, Seth Stammler, and Angel have played their last game in a Red Bulls jersey.  Clearly not the way they would have hoped to end their careers in New York.  The result is depressing and now we have only next year to look forward to.  What did think of the game last night?  How far did you expect NYRB to go in the playoffs?  Tell me in the comments below.

Who’s To Blame for the Red Bulls’ Early Playoff Exit?customer surveys

#1 – 15% of the vote

JUAN PABLO ANGEL

The Red Bulls Captain has carried on this season with injuries that have hampered his performance and kept him off the pitch for long stretches. Even so, Red Bull fans haven’t forgotten the man who bought them to the big dance last season. Speculation has grown recently regarding Angels future, but there is no question in Metro fans minds – they want the Colombian striker back for one more season.

#2 – 10% of the vote

NICK ZIMMERMAN

Here is one of the few bright spots Bulls fans have had to hold on to all season. Nick Zimmerman, an after thought at the start of the season, has become a regular part of the Bulls lineup, and a dangerous one at that. His ball control and developing cross ability has produced valuable minutes, but it is his vision and ability to keep play at a fluid pace that has made him invaluable to the team. The best part? The kid is a rook, and would cost very little on a 2010 payroll. That is a bang for your buck!

#3 – 10% of the vote

BIG MAC KANDJI

Though Kandji has suffered a season of let downs, compounded by injuries, it seems Bulls fans still see the same hope in the prospect that they had late last season. And why not! The kid is still a huge target forward, with an excellent first touch, and a youthful enthusiasm for the game that is quite exciting. One disconcerting theme mentioned along with his name this season has been criticism of his practice habits, and dedication to improvement. I may chalk that up to a lost season. Hopefully, Kandji will have it all together for a magnificent 2010.

#4 – 9% of the vote

JEREMY HALL

After a strong start to the season, Hall has cooled his jets a tad as the team has done the same. Even so, Bulls fans view him as a building block for the backline, especially the wings. Great ball control and pace, Hall has the tools to excel, even when he is played in an unnatural right back position for an entire season! Along with Zimmerman, Hall is viewed as one of the better pick ups by the Osorio/Agoos tandem.

#5 – 8% of the vote

SETH STAMMLER

Mr. Versatility rounds out the top 5 for the Bulls. Need a Centerback fill in? Call Stammy! Central defense crawling to a slow halt? Stammler to the leg breaking rescue! Wingers letting you down? No worry! Seth has that covered too.

The fact is Stammler plays whenever, where ever, effectively, and with passion. And that is more than enough to ingratiate the base, who only wishes the same effort would be applied across the board on this squad. No real surprise here.

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Red Bulls face DC United this week, in what is always a highly contested and battled game (Saturday 7:30 on MSG and HDnet).

Unfortunately, we are limping into the Lions Den, and the scent of blood is definitely in the air. Claudio Reyna is still injured. According to BAS, he received an epidorel shot to his hamstring, and was pain free for the first time in forever. But he is still expected to miss the next two games with his herniated disc either way.

One DP. Down.

Juan Pablo Angel is also expected to miss two games with his herniated disc. The difference? Juan has two discs that are giving him problems.

Two DP’s. Down.

Seth Stammler has been a beast, filling in Dema Kovalenko’s old slot with the team nicely. But guess what? The Herniated Disc Monster has taken him down as well.

Three excellent players? Down.

Oh and Jozy is gone to.

Four.

Now DC United is knocking on the door, showing signs of life after two consecutive and decisive wins against Chicago away and TFC at home. Luciano Emilio is beginning to awaken from a seasons long slumber. And they are starting to show signs of cohesion again.

Meanwhile, the Red Bulls continue to ride a wave of mediocrity, with a record just over .500. An ugly win last week against Chivas can be a start of something good, but it will take more than just solid defense and counterattack to match DC.

An injury plagued Red Bulls squad has stayed in games nearly all season by the skin of their teeth, waiting for the right moment to strike, and hope that would be enough for a win. DC has been underachieving most all season, struggling to find chemistry with their newest pieces. If ever there was a statement game for either team, this would be it.

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!).

The Bulls take one away from the surging Maple Leafs, with a well earned point on the road. They really did well in keeping possession and putting on pressure – but the finishing was completely ghost.

MAN OF THE MATCH

Seth Stammler impressed me tonite. He was the Dema Kovalenko we all thought was lost. Stammlers presence neutralized the attack, in particular, Amado Guevara. Excellent play tonite.

TURNING POINT OF THE MATCH

Do ties have turning points? To be honest, I can’t name one. I guess its Van Den Berghs excellent set piece tying goal. The game turned from a loss to a tie. Makes sense . . .

WHAT THE?! MOMENT OF THE MATCH

The Starting Line Up takes it tonite. Hunter Freeman starting! Mike Magee at central! Jozy Altidore on the left wing?! For those that thought the 3-5-2 would be snuck in a bit more were mistaken. 4-5-1 ruled, and goal scorer Dave Van Den Bergh even fell back for some LB work. What made things nuttier was seeing Dane Richards getting minutes as well. Who saw any of that coming?

SPECIAL ED PLAYER OF THE MATCH

Greg Sutton played well, but what was he thinking on that Dave Van Den Bergh strike?! I credit DVB for the goal 100%, but Sutton did not do his part in covering the net, period. He gambled more than he should have.