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The Friday wrap-up: Notes on Montero, the Red Bulls and more

 Fredy Montero (ISIphotos.com)

                                                         Photo by ISIphotos.com

Good evening folks (and good afternoon on the West Coast). As we wind down another week it is time to go over some tidbits heading into the weekend, and some stories we missed during the week.

Let's start with Fredy Montero, who is expected to play for the Seattle Sounders vs. Kansas City on Saturday. He looks to be over his flu and Sigi schmid told the Seattle Times' Jose Romero that he expects Montero to play. Adjust your fantasy teams accordingly.

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The Red Bulls look to be without Macoumba Kandji and Alfredo Pacheco for their crucial tilt vs. the Houston Dynamo. Kandji missed training this week with the ankle injury suffered vs. Chicago and did not travel to Houston, while Pacheco has yet to have his ITC card come in, which would clear him to play. Pacheco traveled to Houston, but that appears to be more of a move to get him integrated into the team (the latest update from Houston is that Pacheco did NOT receive his ITC and will not play vs. Houston).

As for the importance of the Houston match, the Red Bulls sorely need some points, but calling it a must-win is a stretch. Yes, the Red Bulls are off to a slow start, and yes, another loss would be detrimental to the club's chances going forward, but anybody projecting playoff possibilities in early April has way too much time on their hands. There are 26 more games after the Houston game and heading into this weekend the Red Bulls have played arguably the three best teams in the league (Seattle, New England, Chicago). There is still time to make up ground. The real question is whether the players coming in will help turn things around.

So what lineup should we expect to see for the Red Bulls on Saturday? Here's one possibility (along with the rest of our notes from the week):

Red Bulls projected lineup vs. Houston

————Angel——-Oduro————-

Smith—–Stammler—Rojas—Richards

Borman—-Goldthwaite–Mendes—Hall

——————–Cepero—————-

So why no Albert Celades? There are still issues with his fitness so he doesn't appear quite ready to start. That said, he should play some. Another lineup option for Osorio would be a 4-2-3-1 with Oduro or Smith on the left flank with Luke Sassano in central midfield with Stammler and Rojas. The back-line looks to be the same as last week. Yes, Carlos Johnson is active now but I can't see him unseating Hall at right back. As for the centerback position, Mike Petke looks to still be out of favor as Osorio goes with the quicker Goldthwaite and Mendes. Given Goldthwaite's struggles in recent weeks though, it wouldn't shock me if Petke got another chance. The question is whether Osorio would have confidence in Petke staying with Kei Kamara, who has the speed to cause some problems.

What will be interesting to see is just what Houston will have in store for the Red Bulls. Will the Dynamo trot out a 3-5-2 like last week, or will Dom Kinnear choose to drop Geoff Cameron alongside Bobby Boswell in central defense, freeing up the left wing for Corey Ashe to start and use his speed to try and neutralize Dane Richards. One thing is certain. Wade Barrett can't be sleeping too easily tonight.

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Here are some other stories from the week that we did not touch on, that you may have also missed:

U.S. national team defender Jonathan Spector is expected to miss two weeks with the concussion he suffered in West Ham United's match vs. Sunderland.

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The U.S. men's national team moved up to 15th in the FIFA World Rankings. Mexico dropped to 25th.

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Trinidad & Tobago head coach Francisco Maturana resigned on Wednesday, naming Russell Latapy player-coach.

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What do you think of these developments? Do you see Montero putting the drama of the past two weeks behind him and getting back to his goal-scoring ways? Can you see the Red Bulls pulling off another win in Houston? Think Trinidad & Tobago has any chance of qualifying for the 2010 World Cup?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. “Red Bulls no ha finiquitado la relación con FAS. Además de que no ha depositado el dinero, nos enviaron copia del contrato con las cláusulas económicas tachadas con plumón y sin la firma de Reynaldo Valle. No les haríamos el favor de ayudarlos si ellos no respetan los acuerdos tomados y si no hay deseos de querer cumplir. Se pactó $30 mil dólares por el préstamo de dos años (el primero de ellos confirmado y el otro será a petición del club, según su rendimiento)”, indicó el dirigente de FAS

    Basically CD FAS has been burned in the past by teams (ie: Puebla) and is not doing the NYRB any favors until they deposit the money that has been agreed to

    Reply
  2. Freddy*squared* should be a site to see! i want two goals each. then Zakuani can blast a 3rd. Alonso with 2 assists. again.
    seattle 3 the other team 0 (kc? wuteva. get out)

    Reply
  3. Ljungburg fully participated in practice today but is still a game time decision with the sore knee. If he is ready to go, Sigi has just as tough a decision about who to sit as does Chicago. Kandji’s injury is some piss poor luck for the bulls, but I think they still have a shot at getting 3 points. The Dynamo let 3 goals in to the extremely inept quakes so really JPA should be able to find some room to do something. Add in how incredible terrible that field is and it is just another MLS tossup.

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  4. HAHAHAHA! i love how Oso went after Petke, and now he’s “out”….WTF does that even mean? Has our D been better without him??? HA! Don’t let the worst offense in the history of soccer fool you! Damn I miss Parke.

    SO Ives, do they have a gun to your head or what?? You BOUGHT that FLU bull?? THe guy was accused of STALKING. I only wish that it’s crazed fan madness and nothing more. Montero is just a taste of what South America can offer, yet the local team (Metros/ Red Bulls) seems destined to never grab the right players…

    Also do me a favor and ask Oso this:

    After that very dirty and unfortunate play where Mac got hurt, WHY OH WHY is Mbuto not even an option? He was so much better than Kandji last season, and it’s not like Richards has played WELL, at all….right???

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  5. gosh, can we please get rid of Goldthwaite, i really dont see what JCO sees in him. Put Petke back in and let him gel with the team, he maybe slow but he has experience and composure and knows how to rally the troops.

    Goldthwaite is just really shaky and crumbles under any pressure.

    ever since we lost Guevara we haven’t had a decent center mid…whats up with that?

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  6. RBNY?!? The big question is who’s going to sit on Seattle.

    We got:

    Ljungberg
    Evans
    Alonso
    LeToux
    Zakuani
    Nyassi

    Only 4 can play, who’s going to sit?

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  7. ugh that RBNY back line. we need service to angel i cant stand another scoreless game and great news for USMNT. Our lil jozy is all grown up and what about celadas will we ever see him.

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  8. Is Ljungberg fit to start for Seattle? With changes rumored to hit Toronto’s lineup, do you think Vitti will get another start at forward this week?

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  9. Tom P freddy is outside of your house? last i checked he was following me home from the movies on the highway, i guess i gave him the slip lol, glad to see his um… FLU yeah that’s it FLU, is better.

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  10. damn it how long does it take a friggen ITC card to go through, and thanks a lot thor for damaging our only promising player’s ankle. Essentially this lineup is the same as last week’s complete failure of a squad with the exception of stammler being in the line up, so it doesn’t look good for us. So wait is celadas going to play at all or no?

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  11. I’m a huge Fire supporter and love watching Thorrington play because he is intense but, MLS should suspend him at least a couple of games.

    I watch all the Fire matches about 3 times out of boredom and the more I watch that tackle the more it looks legit that he was going for the ball. He unfortunately didn’t get it though.

    Reply
  12. well then, with that RB line-up, i can’t wait for week 5: Conway, Pacheco, Johnson, Celades, Kandji … please, let this sour post have some reverse psychology on saturday’s team! (glad to see stammler back, though.)

    Reply
  13. Goldwaithe is still employed? Wow, I can make playoff projections in early April if he is on your startin back line. He was awful in Seattle.

    Reply

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