The New York Red Bulls and FC Dallas kick off their 2012 MLS campaigns today in Frisco, Texas in a rematch of last year's Western Conference Wild Card Game (3pm, NBC Sports).
The Red Bulls will look to duplicate the success it had at the FC Dallas Stadium, but will face a tougher test against an FC Dallas side that revamped its squad in pre-season.
New York has some new faces as well, including rookie Ryan Meara, who will start in goal for the Red Bulls.
SBI will be providing live commentary on today's action so please feel free to follow along here. As always, you are welcome to share your own thoughts and opinions in the comments section below.
Enjoy the action (Commentary is after the jump):
Awful, awful, awful. McCarty < worthless. No ideas on the attack, unless the ball was at Henry's feet. Three years is enough. Backe and Soler must go.
Shh, Backe is only concerned about taking sweat samples from players to make clones for his master plan.
Arlo couldn’t stop chattering either (and he couldn’t pronounce Tanio to boot). And does anyone give an eff where a player went to college?
Really weak performance by the Red Bulls. Looked very average. Need better wing play and the combo of Mccarty and Tainio is pretty pathetic. And the consistent lack of effort and pouting by the players was pretty weak. For the money they have spent on the team pretty poor. They will have to spend on an Attacking MF in the summer as a DP or no shot to beat any of the good Western Conference Teams.
No set piece practice Hans? Are you senile?
Red Bull need help, they need better defense and midfielders to provide decent service to the forwards. Thierry Henry spent more time passing from the center circle than around FC Dallas’s net. If they want to be a “contender” this year better midfield and defensive play is crucially needed. Hans Backe still looks like he doesn’t know what he’s doing, Metro could be in trouble this year, “again”.
Better spacing, better play. Is Hans asleep when the midfield gets soo conjested?
He’s 100% better than both Lalas’ and the non-stop chattering color guys at MLS. com.
Agree with this, which is beyond surprising at how many people were here last year.
RB team looks like the just met at the openning whistle.
Soli butchers the final attack.
I’m not “disgusted” to root for is what I was trying to say. Sorry
So we’ve already learned from the commentators who attended the NYRB training session, that Backe didn’t work at set pieces the entire practice, despite Backe’s assurances that they are constantly working on set pieces. I hate to say it about any manager but, based on all the trouble we’ve had with set pieces and this information, Backe just plain doesn’t have his heart in this. MLS is a joke to him. How many set piece goals do we have to give up? Set pieces are pure coaching, plain and simple. If you’re giving up a lot of set piece goals, you are a bad manager. This makes me so mad. Is it too much to have a soccer team in the NY/Metro area that I’m not to root for?
thanks. i thought it was suppose to be national television. If i still have to pay to see its not national TV.
http://atdhenet.tv/
NBC sports group station people. Formerly known as Versus!!!!!
Any links for the game? Blacked out on MLS live and I dont have NBC sports
Nevermind I found it. AT&T’s channel lineup is confusing.
I notice that too…. Golf blows by the way. The only man I want to watch putting a ball in a hole, is me.
Not NBC, NBC Sports Channel. Used to be Versus channel.
MLS’s 17th season. Damn I’m getting old.
Is this game on at 4 ET?
Ummm this game isn’t on NBC. Golf is on instead. BS!
fc dallas fans really showed up…. huge soccer base here, no way we are moving to Baltimore.
Doesn’t look like a sellout on tv. Must be a slow arriving crowd.
Why? Explain..
Arlo! This might be the best MLS signing of the year.