It is taking place a few months later than most fans would have liked, but the New York Red Bulls appear ready for their makeover now.
The team unveiled new signings Jorge Rojas and Juan Pietravallo on Wednesday in what should be the first of several steps toward remaking the roster that head coach Juan Carlos Osorio inherited when he took over as head coach last winter.
With Mexican defender Diego Jimenez close to signing, defender Gabriel Cichero working on a deal and the club searching for a forward to replace Jozy Altidore, the Red Bulls that take the field in the team’s next home game (on July 19 against the Los Angeles Galaxy) should look very different from the team that beat FC Dallas in the team’s last home game on June 21.
Here is a closer look at the new players, potential new players, and the way the team could lineup with those players.
In Rojas, the Red Bulls bring in a skillful left winger who can also operate as the team’s playmaker. He could fill the attacking midfield void in a 3-5-2, but could also play left wing in a 4-4-2 when Osorio chooses to use that formation.
In Pietravallo, Osorio has the sharp-passing defensive midfielder he thought he landed when he brought in Lider Marmol for an extended look (before Chicago claimed him and signed him). Pietravallo is tenacious but skillful, capable of delivering the key tackle, but also smart enough to start the counterattack with a sharp pass from deep in midfield. Seth Stammler has been a pit bull in defensive midfield and would likely partner with Pietravallo in a 3-5-2, which is the system Osorio is likely to run more once all his pieces are in place.
Cichero isn’t on board yet, but when he does sign he will give the team an athletic and skillful center back/left back who might just step in and be the team’s best defender. The Venezuelan national team player could be considered a poor man’s Wilman Conde, though a bit sharper on the attack and not as storng defensively as the Fire defender.
Jimenez is a quick and confident left back prospect who is more a natural left back than anybody on the current Red Bulls roster. He is still a bit young, but has the tools to be an MLS starter.
So what would potential lineups look like with these four players. Here are some possibilities:
Red Bulls in a 4-4-2 with new players:
————–Angel———-Echeverry (New forward)
Rojas———-Van Den Bergh———Richards
——————Stammler———————–
Jimenez—Cichero——Parke———Freeman
——————-Conway————————–
Red Bulls in a 3-5-2 with new players:
————–Angel———-Echeverry (New forward)
Van Den Berg——-Rojas————-Richards
———Pietravallo——Stammler————–
—-Cichero—-Goldthwaite—-Parke————
——————-Conway————————–
Red Bulls in a 4-2-3-1 with new players:
———————-Angel———————–
Van Den Berg——-Rojas————-Richards
———Pietravallo——Stammler————–
Jimenez—-Cichero——-Parke——–Freeman
——————-Conway————————–
Will the signings be enough? Rojas’ arrival means he and Van Den Bergh can alternate on the left and in central midfield. Pietravallo is the classic Argentine No. 5 who covers the defense and gets the ball forward, while Cichero and Jimenez will give the defense a sorely-needed boost once they sign and join the team.
Most importantly, if all four players do sign, they will provide a significant across the board improvement in the team’s passing and ball possession, which have suffered since Claudio Reyna went on the shelf. With more possession and sharper passing there will be more chances for the offense and key weapons Juan Pablo Angel and Dane Richards, as well as whatever forward the club is able to sign.
The players still have to actually perform though. Red Bulls/MetroStars fans have seen enough failed foreign signings to fill a bus, so don’t expect any celebrations over these signings until they start delivering goals, assists and wins.
What do you think of the new signings? Will they be enough to help the Red Bulls compete for a playoff spot and put on a playoff run? Will their fate be determined by the forward they can sign? do you think it won’t be enough to help make the playoffs in the brutal Eastern Conference? Share your thoughts below.
Does anyone know how NY will pay for these players under the salary cap?
I know they have some “allocation” money or whatever you call it from Altidore’s sale plus Jozy’s salary spot.
But is that enough for two to four players?
Surely they’d have to cut or trade someone?
I love the title of this article! 😀
I just laughed at the fact that Echeverry is included as a possible starter, Parke as a right back in a 3-5-2. Having guys all over the field. What happened to a good ol’ consistent starting line up? Guys on the field in their proper formations.
As I see it, he’s on our team and unless he retires we are stuck with him. We all can argue and comment… some of us can rationalize about this too. At the end of the day, however, Reyna is still on this team and we can’t do anything about it. I personally don’t think he’s worth a penny to us when he’s off the field. If he’s healthy he does provide some stability in the midfield for us. I’m not saying that should make him worth a penny when he’s on the field either… just an observation I’ve made in matches early this season.
I would like to see him restructure his contract, if that’s at all possible, and take less money from the team’s cap. Ives, is this even possible?
Agreed, there is no imaginary value to Reyna. We got him for 2 years for a DP salary. Saying he’s only worth $200k, or $150k or whatever you want to say is meaninless. His salary is what we’re paying him and he is not worth it. Even when they signed him, we all questioned it (including Ives if I remember correctly). Why were they giving this guy DP money after World Cup performance that clearly showed he was ready to retire. But he’d always been there for Arena, so Bruce felt in some way he was worth it and the disaster unfolded. Let’s just all agree that his value on the dollar has been practically nil. If he were getting $150k, you could say, well we’re getting what we paid for at this stage of his career, but we paid for a DP and we’ve gotten the play of an average MLS player at his very best.
rbp
Bullshit is bullshit. There has been a lot it over the last 18 mths, it’s not just recent, with regards to CR. Much of it directed at the fans. Bullshit. A good amount of it here.
The fans get it. Most writers and media don’t. They have treated the fans with disrespect.
Can CR help this team now? I doubt it. The guy can’t be in shape, he can’t keep up, he can make a nice square or back pass. That’s it. Some help. BFD. The illusion that he can still help is the last one that needs to be beaten down.
The standards of what CR can do from his friends and defenders has done nothing but get lower and lower each time over the last 18 mths. Each time he plays he lowers those standards even more.
Give it up already. How can anyone think this clown can help? If he plyas it will be for a match or two. Get real.
There will always be some sort of pathetic defense fro the few. Most have written him out of the team already because they get it.
The littel quips about how he can help are complete BS and have been from day one.
Enough. When he actually contributes then someone should write about it. Don’t say he has when he barely has and treat others as they are being overly harsh or clueless.
A spades a spade.
CR’s a waste of space.
Pay him and let him sit at home and build th eteam without him. Much sounder and more producitve.
Oh wait. He can help make a few side and back passes. That will really help. Sigh. BS.
crespo would be a boon in ny. seriously, a wonderful idea. i’d make it a point to watch those matches- i live in mn, just like i made it a point to watch all the matches jozy played in. crespo could do some major damage in mls. he would be a blast to watch, too. give osario another year, he’ll have the red bulls shifting into 4th and 5th gear. i can’t stand the man, i’m a fire supporter, but he seems to know what he’s doing. i don’t imagine hime flubbing his opportunity in ny.
Crespo would be great. Wonder how much a Crespo in his early thirties would cost to sign.
We are looking for a new forward and Hernan Crespo is now a free aagent. That could be a possilbility, but Roma might take him 1st or/and he could be too expensive. Hopefully he could come and we would have the best forwards in the league(including Juan Pablo Angel), with Jorge Rojas assisting them and Pietravallo not giving Conway any work to do. And maybe Jimenez and Cichero could join in on the defense and help the team take them to the MLS Cup Final!!!!
TK – we all get it – you don’t like Reyna and you understand the intricacies of the game.
By the way, I agree w/Ives – Reyna can still add to the team but not at a dp standard.
4 words:
Jose Galvan – Juan Forchetti
Reyna should be sold to a glue factory. With the $100 we get from that we can put toward our next DP.
TK, the only one making himself look bad here is . . . you
Trust us most Red Bull fans, especially the die hards realize Reyna doesnt bring anything to the table when he plays and the huge salary he makes impedes the team from making moves Bringing him in has been a huge failure how anyone can think differently is unbelievable. Ive watched all the games his play has not been up to par.
Ives, man. I don’t know how you do it. Last week, there were two folks ranting at you for your bashing of Reyna. Now, it’s the familiar refrain of you showing favoritism for him. You can’t win.
Maybe if you never mention him, you’ll cut down on the angst. 🙂
Hang tough.
TK, the only one being emotional is you. I get that you’re fed up after 12 years of disappointment but the fact remains that when he’s healthy Reyna is still a quality player who brings a lot to the table (he just can’t stay healthy). You may refuse to believe that, but that doesn’t mean it’s not true. You somehow take that to mean that I think he has earned his salary when I’ve never said anything of the sort. He’s overpaid but being overpaid doesn’t automatically mean he is a terrible player.
I’m not going to call anybody dumb for not agreeing with me on Reyna still being a good player when healthy, it’s my opinion and I’m confident in that opinion. If anyone wants to feel “insulted” because that opinion doesn’t match theirs, then that sounds like another problem altogher that I can’t help.
And please let me know when the vote took place that made you the spokesman for all Red Bulls fans. I missed that one. I know a lot of Red Bulls fans are fed up with him, but I also know that not all Red Bulls fans are in the “He is terrible and does nothing when he’s on the field” camp.
I have written plenty about Reyna in recent weeks that should make it clear that I’m not trying to “protect” him. You would know that if you were a regular reader.
>>If we become a solid/average/slightly better than average team with some depth that would be fine with me.<<
That's okay with you? It ain't with me. This is out thirteenth year of stunning incompetence at worst and steady mediocrity at best. Only one year holds any memories of pride and real excitement for me: 2000. Other than that it's been one long and painful journey.
“Arena’s legacy is now officially circling the drain?”
The best player on the team, by far, is Juan Pablo Angel. He is an Arena player. Dane Richards is an Arena player. DVB is an Arena player. Hunter Freeman is an Arena player. These are just off the top of my head. Hardly the end of all of the Arena players.
We’ll continue to be a mediocre team. This is what we do. – End Quote
If we become a solid/average/slightly better than average team with some depth that would be fine with me.
Solid team with 2 DP’s next year…the first time we have 2. Things will be looking up then.
I love how Ives always mentions how in some way we suffer when Reyna isn’t on the field, like in some way he’s ever been worth something. – End quote
I have read and followed Ives for a long time but I have stopped posting and coming here for quite a bit because of this. The inference that many fans don’t seem to have a clue, and get it much of the time with regrds to CR’s “genuis” over the last year and a half has really ticked me off. It’s down right insulting to any semi intelligent fan of the game, or any long watching RB fan.
The guy played like a 200 K signing last year at best. Any semi decent “littel thing” he did was magnified and thwon in our faces. We just don’t see it. We aren’t sophisticated enough to comprehend. It’s the small things. Blah, blah, blah. In the toughest division in MLS history, with Angel and Jose barely playing in half one, with no Dane for most of it, we seem tobe gtting quite a few points. Yeah, it can be downright ugly, but I guess with CR side and backpassing constantly those avergae results and amount of points with hhim look better. Joke.
If you want to be a real reporter then be one Ives. Stop protecting your bud. If his name wasn’t CR you wouldn’t be throwing these little crap statments in all the time and ainsulting your readers intelligence.
You do realize that’s what you are doing? Maybe you don’t. Basically, you are mocking your readers fro not having the rbains to get how much CR has helped……even though reality has clearly shown he hasn’t.
Get over it. Take a step back and re-evaluate. Only making yourself look bad at this point.
Even when healthy he was an average contributor. Nothing more, nothing less.
If you think differently you are either to onvolved emotionally, or it is YOU who does not understand th egame that well. Not the fans you keep insulting….even if you are doing it unintentionally in your attempt to save some rep for your friend.
Also, since we’re looking to improve the defense, how about we get a keeper that can control the six yard box on crosses and that knows how to contribute to the counterattack through distribution?
wow. Bruce Arena has lost a lot of weight. look at him on the left. he’s used the year off to get really fit. I’m surprised the Red Bull folks would have him back so soon. I guess he’s getting paid either way so why not have him play?
The “ripper” Daniel Gripe or something like that is who you’re thinking of Aljarov.
Never played a single minute.
We’ll continue to be a mediocre team. This is what we do.
PS – I’m a Yankee Doodle Dandy.
4-2-3-1 is lookin good…
i no its like a 4-5-1 BUT the 3 part of the 5 in midfield would be attacking and therefore balance out the offense/defense.
I think they’ll be able to come back and sqweak into the playoff mainly because of the fight they’ve put on over the last few weeks. Yes they’ve looked ugly, but a they stole alot of points through ties with Dallas, Chivas, Revs, and a win over CHivas that they had no business taking home any points with the lineup they put out. That will prove to be the difference come playoff time.
I love how Ives always mentions how in some way we suffer when Reyna isn’t on the field, like in some way he’s ever been worth something. I mean when has he ever been good for RB? His first match? That might be the only one where I thought he might be able to help this team. They’ll never cut him, but we gotta hope he’d just retire already for the sake of the team.
@ Aljarov: I remember those two Argentine players that they signed, the midfielder was named Galvan and the defender’s name escapes me (I think it was Forchetti). I think one of them came from the Boca Juniors system. They were both wasted signings; I wonder how much money they got out of it.
Wow, no Reyna in any of those projected lineups. Bruce Arena’s legacy is now offically circling the drain.
Yeah Coach, I think it’s the mouth region that brings it to mind. An illegitimate child at the very least
man, its hard not to think you guys won’t turn it around after these signings. looking very good. true what ives said wait for results but its very exciting as a mls fan 1st and foremost, all the new talent coming in. i’ve seen pietravallo play , mind you back in the velez and quilmes day and he was pretty damn good. hopefully he’ll be the real deal for you all. now if only my quakes would sign some decent players soon!!
If Osorio plays VDB as the attacking mid in a 4-4-2 diamond, I will puke. No way. I think he stated quite clearly that Rojas could play the attacking mid in that formation. Likely the left wing will then go to Borman or VDB.
I think at this point, VDB is better moved to central/2-way mid or left back. I also get the impression that Rojas is good on dead balls, likely better than VDB.
I like VDB now more than I did at the beginning of the season, but I’m not sure how he’ll fit in with a faster, more skillful midfield.
Who was that Argentine DM the Metros signed and never saw the light odf day about 3 years ago?
I think NY should sign RUIZ….
I’m not going to jump for joy until I see what Juan Pietravallo can do. Playing for Rafaela and Nueva Chicago in the second division doesn’t exactly make for a superstar resume, but will certainly add much needed depth.
As for Rojas, he’s definitely a big step up. Hopefully he can teach Richards a thing or two on how to stay inbounds on the wing while running with the ball!
bAHHHHHHHHAHAHAHAH.
i appreciate how NONE of your lineups include reyna.
How can anyone in their right mind even assume Reyna is gonna play for any amount of time. It’s better to assume he will never play again, rebuild the team without him in the thought process, dump his ass at year end and sign an actual DP.
Not even an average MLS player when he plays at DP salary noless.
Oh wait. He wasn’t just average when he played. It’s just us dumb fans who don’t know any better. Woops, sorry. I forgot we are to stupid and he was a real help. Right.
No Reyna in your line-ups Ives…sorry Bruce Arena. Your sentimental favorite could be out of a job soon. I’m curious to see who RBNY can find as a DP to replace Reyna next year…or this year?!
So no Reyna in any of those lineups, I know he is hurt, but he is do back soon I thought. Is there something we should know about?
Sorry to go off topic but thought you might be interested in this article
http://www.globesports.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080703.wspttfc3/GSStory/GlobeSportsSoccer/home
Looks like We are negotiating with Dickov and Huckerby and Chicago. Currently we are full in our roster and moneys. Curious to see how Mo shapes us.
Hopefully these players don’t disappoint us.
Pietravallo sounds a lot like…DEMA KOVALENKO!!!!!! AAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!
I wish he would trade Magee. For some reason only the fans realize how useless he is. I bet they could use such a trade to make the club better. Maybe send him back home to Chicago.
Ives- Stammler over ‘vallo in your first lineup? Is Seth better?
Ives, any idea how much allocation money is left to sign a forward? I assume that they had to use at least a portion of their allocation dollars to get rojas signed. Thx.
If Rojas wants to start as playmaker he must show us he is an upgrade from Reyna.
Since last we saw of him was schooling Mark Stein, maybe JCO could line up Rojas against a threat like Stuart Scott, give him a real test by fire.
So no Reyna showed in those line ups. who is going to take a seat or is he going to be the one sitting. DP on the bench seems like a waste but i think i’d rather have stammler
If indeed Pietravallo is a “sharp-passing defensive midfielder” that would be good. I haven’t been fond of our defensive mid by committee thing, especially since none of them really contribute offensively (the Stammler goal was an anomaly).
Now that JCO has (some of) “his guys” I hope we show some attacking flair. Please, play a 4-4-2 not 3-5-2 or heaven forbid 4-5-1.
Anyone else think Rojas can pass as Bruce Arena’s offspring in that photo?
I’d like to be optimistic but unfortunately I have lost faith in the way this team has been managed. So many blunders that expecting these two as the new messiahs will probably result in more disappointment. I’m already placing bets on the new excuses that will result if their performance is sub par like so many previous international signings.
I agree with Brett – the 19th would be too much to ask for all 4 guys. I would say the two we have now – Rojas and Vallo – would be more the shoe ins.
Sweet, sweet, sweet Jesus, thank you for the signings, and please let this be the first real steps towards winning the Cup for the first time EVER. We no longer wish to suffer for our previous foreign import sins, as we are truly tired of years and years of cynicism and built up aggression, especially after Tuesday. Come on big guy. If only for Markus Schopp at least! Eff that, you truly owe us. Thank you. Amen.
or you could hit the same slump that DCU had at the beginning of the season… where they had no team unity and chemistry for some time…