How do you rebuild and repair the worst team in Major League Soccer? The New York Red Bulls appear to be putting together a decent blueprint for how to recover from a disastrous season like 2009 was for the Red Bulls.
The club's Disney Soccer Classic Championship doesn't mean much in the grand scheme of things, but the performances of the team's new players show signs of a team ready to recover from season to forget. From impressive rookies to quality international acquisitions, the 2010 Red Bulls have posted an undefeated preseason and are looking like a team that could surprise in MLS this season.
Here are some observations of the Red Bulls from the Disney Classic:
Joel Lindpere is looking like an answer in central midfield. Signed as a left winger, Lindpere was given the chance at the Disney Classic to play in central midfield, where he has played previously in his career, and he was thoroughly impressive with his relentless work rate and sharp passing. He's not a classic playmaker, but he can help the Red Bulls win the battle in the middle.
"He was a different class," Red Bulls head coach Hans Backe said of Lindpere's play in the middle. "Central midfield isn't where he hasn't played recently but he could play well there in this league."
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Roy Miller may solve the club's long-standing left back woes. Few positions caused more headaches for the Red Bulls in 2009 than left back, but that may no longer be the case now that Costa Rican Roy Miller has emerged as a very strong option at left back. He's dangerous and effective getting forward, but is also solid as a defender so he's not a liability in the back. He's got good size as well so he can handle himself in the final third and penalty area.
He had been touted as a central defender, and saw time on the left wing at the Disney Classic, but left back is where he will make the biggest impact.
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The rookie most likely to begin the season as a starter is Tim Ream. That might be tough to believe considering Tony Tchani is on the team, but Ream has thoroughly impressed with his poise, touch, vision and passing ability. Red Bulls coach Hans Backe calls him a prototypical European-style centerback and lauds his passing ability and cerebral approach to the game.
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John Agudelo needs to be signed QUICKLY. Six months ago, Agudelo looked like a skinny kid who was several years away from being able to contribute as a pro. Today, he looks like a very different prospect and someone who could be making an impact as early as 2011. Agudelo has filled out physically and is playing with supreme confidence. He's still a bit raw and inconsistent, as you would expect for a player his age, but Agudelo has the look of a future star and just might be the top rookie to emerge from 2010 when it's all said and done. That's if he signs.
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The goalkeeper situation is still unresolved. Bouna Coundoul is the starter, but I don't get the impression that the coaching staff is sold on him as the starter. Caleb Patterson-Sewell and Greg Sutton are still vying for the No. 2 spot, with Patterson-Sewell looking like the favorite there. The question at this point is whether the Red Bulls will look to address this position considering the other needs the team still has. Our money is on the club sticking with Coundoul and Patterson-Sewell, at least until the summer.
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The Red Bulls are still looking for a right back, forward, central defender and left midfielder. Sounds like they're looking for everything, but certain positions are more pressing concerns.
Forward is a position the club is expected to address, though that address may not come until the summer. As it stands, Macoumba Kandji has been sidelined by a groin injury and there continue to be questions about his toughness and penchant for missing time with minor injuries. When healthy, he's the clear choice to start alongside Juan Pablo Angel, but he hasn't been healthy. If the club really is moving in for Thierry Henry, this might be a position that is left as-is for the time being.
John Wolyniec remains an option, but is looking more like a bench option right now. Connor Chin has looked good and could see minutes if the club doesn't add any more strikers.
At right back, Enar Jaager has impressed as a trialist but still hasn't convinced the club to pull the trigger on a contract. Luke Sassano has been used at right back but looks a touch slow to be a first-choice option there. Chris Albright is still sidelined and it remains unclear whether he will be an option. Then you have Jeremy Hall, who has been used at a variety of positions. He could very well wind up at right back again after spending much of his rookie year there.
Central defense isn't the pressing need it once was thanks to the play of Tim Ream, but don't be surprised if another centerback is brought in. This is particularly true if Kevin Goldthwaite's recovery from off-season surgery winds up taking longer than expected.
Left wing is a position that needs to be addressed if Lindpere is going to wind up in central midfield. Backe can go with Jeremy Hall or rookie Austin Da Luz, but he may be inclined to search the international market. Lindpere could still wind up on the left flank, particularly if Tony Tchani continues to impress and makes himself a viable starting option alongside Seth Stammler. With Tchani, it's more a matter of when, not if he will wind up a starter.
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So what will the starting lineup look like for the 2010 Red Bulls? There are likely to be some new players brought in, but based on what the club currently has, here's a potential starting XI we could see when the season starts a month from now.
—————-Angel———Kandji——————
Lindpere——Stammler—Tchani——–Richards
Miller——–Ream———-Petke————–Hall
———————Coundoul————————
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What do you think about the Red Bulls' pre-season so far? Like the roster moves the club has made? Still think they are missing too many pieces?
Share your thoughts below.
has any body ever seing a goal keeper from the academy named sabastian hoyos he is 19 now and is by far the best keeper around but way the academy dont want him,they should invest in him for the future
this team still looks like a mess to me and not anywhere near what Arena did in one offseason. I am selling this.
Good call, Nicollo, I didn’t intend to add Man U. in.
Interesting to think if the Greek Champs.
TheONE
Chicago has/had a bundle of talent but seem to be losing it fast – Blanco from the old guard, Rolfe, the costa rica defender, the malian defendr, etc. Pappa was only just signed. Last year seems like this year for Bordeaux. They will lose too much talent to compete for the title.
New England was a contender for years. I don’t see them as having enough talent left. Man U. (yes, I admit I said I’d try not to use them as an example) lose Tevez and Ronaldao, have a bunch of old guys having Indian summers who will retire soon and seem to be experiencing too many injuries.
Houston – not really a fan but admire that they are usually the better team on the field, even when they don’t win. They seem to rebuild quickly after losing talent.
Since Phili and Vancouver havent played a game yet, its a bit tough for a comparison.
Glad to see my comments were considered so important to you.
“New England didn’t make the playoffs last year ”
Yes they did.
Ugh. I hope we find a right back so Hall can move up and take Richards’ spot. I don’t think I can take another year of watching him not know how to play soccer.
sorry matty but TheOne right here just gave you a hypothetical spank
as a newcastle fan i cant agree more wit the comparison to the bulls. i thought you said you would ignore man u lol and i think olympiakos is a better comparison to DC than lyon… but interesting list nonetheless
Chicago – Bordeaux
Talented team with a time limit on their competitive title chances.
Because the current team is so very very old? Who on this team is a crucial playmaker and over 30 besides McBride? Who by the way scored one goal in the second half of the season? Blanco is gone dude.
New England – Manchester United
You can kind of feel them fading away.
New England didn’t make the playoffs last year – it’s not their history to win trophies – what are you talking about?!
Houston – Chelsea
They don’t rebuild, they reload. Tough defensively and the masters of the 1-0 win.
Ah, you are a Dynamos fan then
Phili and Vancouver?
Who knows.
Oh come on, only being able to talk out of your ass didn’t prevent you from posting on the other teams – let’s hear what you think!
your one of those guys who remember 1 mistake.. how about his performance against toronto.. wake up re-re
Hey guys, just a thought for discussion;
If every MLS had a closest comparator in Europe, what would it be?
Let’s ignore the Man U or Barcelona comparisons as someone on the string would go into hysterics.
I’ll kick it off:
New York Red Bulls = Newcastle United
Big market, overpriced, old talent and horrifically underachieving. Paris St. Germaine would also be accepted.
Real Salt Lake = Aston Villa
Young, native talent whom are challenging the established clubs.
DC United = Lyon
Formerly great team which has fallen off the mark.
LA Galaxy = AC Milan
More star power than power.
Seattle – Manchester City
New power on the block.
Toronto – Sunderland
New power on the block that isn’t ready to compete.
Chicago – Bordeaux
Talented team with a time limit on their competitive title chances.
Columbus – Bayern Munich
Well balanced and always a threat.
Kansas City – Wigan
The definition of mediocre.
New England – Manchester United
You can kind of feel them fading away.
Chivas USA – Monaco
You never really felt they existed.
Colorado – Bolton
Unfancied and consistently irrelavent.
Houston – Chelsea
They don’t rebuild, they reload. Tough defensively and the masters of the 1-0 win.
Dallas – Tottenham
You always seem to think they can do better with their talent.
San Jose – Stoke City
Still bottom feeding.
Phili and Vancouver?
Who knows.
I really like the rookies they have picked up. I wouldn’t mind seeing Tchani, Da Luz and Garcia all playing a key role this year. They look that talented. Add in Ream on defense and the Red Bulls have the potential for a special class of rookies if the preseason is any indication. This is without mentioning Agudelo who has looked awfully good, and not just for a 16 year old! We really need more flat out ball skill in the midfield, and I believe these guys all have it.
Wow, just was looking over the stadium (as I hadn’t done yet)…that place is amazing. If only that was the first SSS so others could copy..
Ives, any word on Ernst Oebster’s potential role with the team? He seemed to show some promise at LM in limited time last year after coming over from Salzburg. Does Backe see him as a candidate for that spot in the starting lineup? If not, I can’t imagine the Bulls would keep him around. Would love to see Van Den Bergh back; not quite a star at his age, but would certainly provide some veteran leadership and some quality service for Angel. Short of any big-time moves (DP), that would be a quick and solid upgrade to the current squad.
Maybe he hasn’t decided what he wants to do yet. or Maybe he is holding out to see what happens with the CBA so if something bad happens his availability is not affected and then he can just wait til he turns 18, and try to score a move in europe.
NY has Lindpere, Hall, Oebster and DaLuz who can all play LM. DaLuz looked very skillful at the Disney classic and you didn’t even mention Oebster? I also like the look of Irving Garcia…kid is so skillful, i hope he gets a chance.
Thats just it if he would take a bit of a cut he’d have already found a team by now. He’s not worth more than 150,000 and a second round draft pick.Dallas should easily take that.
Well I had Setanta, But I didn’t hear any news on what would happen when it ended, I woke up this morning and now I have FSP. To answer your question, they don’t care, they took over for Setanta on pennies on the dollar and now they take over all of setantas subscriptions, My money is on that they will show select programing on FSP and monopolize the european coverage to the point where eventually your going to have to shell out that 15 bucks.
Ives, “Not saying either is an all-star, but to say they were among the main causes of last year’s disaster is way off.”
Never said they were ‘among the main causes’, just part of the problem. Their inclusion in your central defense will not be an improvement, unless the others around them are very strong.
Can someone tell me why the Bulls haven’t signed Aguedelo yet?
I liked Da Luz from the start. He’s done nothing to diminish my feelings this preseason. If we’re not going to get VDB back, my feeling is to go with him on the left in order to get service in to our front men. I’d like to see Agudelo in there as well. They’re both young but this is a rebuilding year after all (thanks to our previous brain trust) so lets build with them and develop them with the idea of adding our 2nd DP (please be TH) after the worldcup.
Would be your best bet. Haven’t seen the numbers yet but you should have some nice $$$ options lying around that would be more than enough to compensate his salary. Heck, this close to the season starting and without a team, you could probably squeeze him to drop some change from his contracted salary.
He has filled at CB in the past but Petke, Mendes, Boyens and Goldy are all better than him there
They did get players in the free market (Miller, possibly Lindpere) but the uncertain situation of the CBA would eliminate some people as no one knows what the financial situation will be.
The keeper you are thinking about resigned with E. Frankfurt, he never ssigned with the Red bulls
If the Red Bulls play the way they did the other day vs TFC, they will be tough to beat. They were fluid through the mid-field, gave quick one touch passing for the most part and played tight D. And yeah this year clobbered the U17s (what 6-0?) compared to getting beat last year in pre-season. I just get the sense that the new coach Backe is not a douche like Oso was. He doesn’t reinvent the wheel each week w/ a different line-up…so for me things are looking up for the Bulls this year and not just because they have a terrific new stadium!
I agree that Stammler is just not up to par as an elite defensive midfielder. What about playing him as a center back? His lack of touch and poor movement off the ball wouldn’t be liabilities.
+1 I hope they re-sign VDB… He gave great service to Angel and scored a few zingers on his own.
Is that Petke at CB with Stammler in front of him? It didn’t work last year. Lindpere, and Tchani will need to be monsters.
(SBI-Last year Stammler played at less than 100 percent after knee surgery and didn’t regain his full form until later in the year. And part of the reason the defense struggled was a woeful lack of defensive support from the midfield, where guys like Rojas, Pietravallo and a limited Stammler often left the centerbacks facing overwhelming numbers.
Not saying either is an all-star, but to say they were among the main causes of last year’s disaster is way off. That said, if Tchani develops as expected, Stammler just might be pushed out, and if Goldthwaite recovers and Ream continues to improve, Petke could be moved out as well.)
I see some players from last season , who contributed to a lousy season because of their lack of sharpness and talent, specifically stammler,richards,couldoun,back in the line up. I guess the RB management didn’t learn a lesson in using inferior players; they could’ve pursued some talent in the free market to improve the team and solify the fan base. I hope I’m wrong; Anyway, good luck in the coming season.
(SBI-You mention three players. Stammler played hurt and limited earlier in the year while Coundoul arrived later in the season, when the year had already spun out of control. You can’t just dump an entire team in MLS. That’s not how it works, and I would argue that the three players you mention could have good years this season.
If you want to use something as comparison, consider the 1999 Kansas City Wizards, one of the worst teams in MLS history. They brought over several players to the 2000 team that won it all. Sometimes you can have a major turnaround with making a handful of moves, not necessarily getting rid of everybody (which is tough to do in MLS anyway).)
First I would deffently love to see the Red Bulls bring Van den Bergh back to the team, he would really get the team over that hump. At the keeper postion people need to remember that the Red Bulls signed a european keeper, sorry blanking out on the name but know he is coming from E. Frankfurt, of the Bundesliga, so Condoul is only the answer until the Bundesliga season is over. Lastly I think if the Red Bulls can bring Henry in then I believe you will be seeing the Red Bulls in the Finals again.
Yeah RBNY coverage! Got my season tix, now just hope there is a season. And kpugs, bouna may not be the brightest bulb, but he is fearless and pretty athletic. Enough so to be a decent keeper in this league. So go easy on the guy cause come march it’s BOUNA TIME!
it doesnt look like im alone but that proposed starting lineup is quite weak. there are major question marks throughout the team
petke is a great guy, but hes simply no longer an option for a top MLS team. having a rookie play along side him is going to make for a lot of mistakes. i know people will say “look what the galaxy did with gonzalez and berrhalter” but petke does not have the berrhalter pedigree and mind for the game and gonzalez is arguably a better player than ream. outside backs are uncertain as well, as ives pointed out.
having stammler, richards and tchani in the MF is up in the air as well. stammler, also a great guy, just is not a MF on mls roster. it is such an important position on the field and teams simply cannot be successful with above-average college players who are playing out of position. physical/fighting spirit? yes. technical/passing ability? no. we all know that richards is one-dimensional, a good dimension yes – but you need to be more than that to succeed professionally. if teams match speed with speed, they often are able to take him out of the game
the truth is, whenever angel is playing, you have a chance regardless who is playing along side him. we’ve even seen the team have some (relative) success with wolyniec partnering him. as has been the case for years with this team, a suitable passer – not even an out and out play maker – is necessary for forwards to be as dangerous as possible. if/how well the team is able to get angel the ball will dictate the success this team has going forward.
the GK situation needs to be addressed because condoul is essentially the richards of the GK position. very one dimensional (athletic) in a position that requires A LOT more than that, especially on a team that has this many new faces on the back line.
ultimately, the results in preseason are great, regardless of who they play (17 year olds) or how they won (6 rounds of PKs in a scoreless draw) because the fact is, they are tasting success. we all saw how losing last year became a habit so this is clearly a step in the right direction. not a full turn around, but a step in the right direction.
Actually, such is the way of soccer. European transfer windows dont close until the end of August so a lot of teams are adding players into the first couple of games of the season. Its a looong season, so its not that big of a deal.
I like Condoul in goal — has second best GAA in MLS history — although I don’t know if he is a goalkeeper that can help you win MLS Cup… I guess time will tell.
As you say Ives, the most pressing needs are 1. a right back, 2. a midfielder to play alongside Linpere, 3. a center back and 4. a forward. They could start the season with the squad they have now but ultimately the team wants players that can press for starting time at each of these four positions.
Any update on the CBA front?
The Bulls should definetly sign Jaager.
How has the prospect from the academy that the RBs already signed played? is he overmatched?
I haven’t seen Tchani play but I’ve heard only great things. If you compare him to Stammler’s level of play, who do you think would get the start if VDB came back and Lindpere took the center? My guess is that Stammler would because he’s the man, but again, I haven’t seen Tchani in action…
Get back Dave van den Bergh for the left wing. Enough said.
We lost to 16 year olds in pre-season last year!
I wouldn’t be surprised to see Van den Bergh sent back to RedBulls from Dallas. Will be interesting to see if this happens before or after new CBA.
All I can say is I hope we actually have an MLS season. I can’t wait for the games to start. Have tickets to the first two games at Red Bull Arena. The team sounds vastly improved and well organized. Also sounds like Angel has relocated his scoring touch.
richards can race down the pitch but as soon as he’s gonna do anything he looses touch or keeps running
Such is the ways of MLS…which is ultimately why the rest of the world looks down on our league.
Ives,
Anything on FSC ridiculous decision to charge 14.99 for FSC PLUS? Sounds like they didnt learn anything from SETANTA going under.
bouna is a pretty fine keeper he played excellent vs the 2nd TFC match last year and YO IVES if the bulls need a left mid what happened to van den Bergh?
It looks as though we have a solid foundation to build from. I am still not sold on Richards on the right or Hall at RB. If neither steps up it makes us completely vulnerable on that side. Keep in mind last season’s team was decimated by injury as well, had we kept our health I honestly think we were at least 8-10 wins better than we were. On the surface it appears that we have solid depth this year, hopefully if we have the same issues again we can are prepared to handle them.
The thing that’s so frustrating about MLS pre-season (well, the biggest frustrating thing to me anyway) is when you have teams so close to the season and yet so incomplete (DCU is another good example). Clearly NYRB aren’t planning on going into the season “as is.” I understand that you never close the door on acquisitions and talent. But you’d think teams would put more of a priority in such a team sport of having all of the team assembled at the start of preseason rather than taking the attitude of “let’s play some guys and then bring in some more guys and then some more guys and eventually get it all sorted out.”
I can’t believe we are going into this season with Condoul as the keeper. I just can’t believe it.
All it took was that one free kick, I don’t even remember who it was against anymore. Condoul lined his wall up near-post, and then STOOD BEHIND IS WALL. The ball was gently placed in the back of the net, in the 75% EMPTY NET BECAUSE CONDOUL IS A MORON.
This guy doesn’t even know that you aren’t supposed to have a near-empty net on a free kick 25 yards out, and he’s the one we’re relying on in goal. Unreal.
They looked great in pre-season last year, too. Thankfully we start the season at home in a new stadium, and not on the road in Seattle. The team never regained it’s confidence after that opening day disaster.