This BULLog installment is aptly entitled for many reasons . . . some obvious, some not so obvious. In the spirit of Thanksgiving, which is currently just 2 days away, I would like to look back on our journey throughout the 2007 Red Bulls season as a Nation united by a common Mission and Vision. In no particular order, I am thankful for the following:

. . . to be a part of such an amazing New York Red Bull supporters club, which comprises Nationals and Diplomats from diverse backgrounds, creeds, and colors; who personify and act upon all the positive attributes of being an MLS soccer fan.  RBN is fortunate to have you all! Here are just some of the visual highlights of our just our third season in existence! (to be migrated to our “Bull’s Eye View” section of RBN.net, in the future)

 . . . our fan club counterparts (ESC, firstrowidiots, Kearny Army), including those continuing to sprout up all over Giants Stadium (e.g., “Red Bulligans, “Bull Pen”).  We all know what it takes to be a true fan, like your friendly neighborhood postman, except with a little more of an “edge” . . . “Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these Red Bull fans from persevering in their undying support of the New York Red Bulls!”

. . . Joe Vide, who earned our coveted Heart of the Bull Award for the 2007 season.  Regardless of fame or fortune, Joe sets an example, which I would venture to say ALL Red Bull fans would like to see emulated . . . hard work on and off the pitch, including fan appreciation and interaction.  Your efforts obviously did not go unnoticed, Joe, at least by us!  Like our previous winner Marvell Wynne II, you will have to ply your craft for another club . . . WHY?!

. . . Clint Mathis, who unfortunately is leaving us, again.  Your presence on the pitch was felt and noticed, Cletus.  You are a RedMetroBullStar legend, may you continue to prosper with the LA Galaxy, but not during our matches against you.  You are always welcome back.  We will miss you.

. . . those who also transfer their passion for MLS and the New York Red Bulls to US Soccer and our Boys in the Stars and Stripes, who recently finished up and impressive 2007 journey themselves, winning the 2007 Mandela Challenge Cup in South Africa.  Along with [Uncle] Sam’s Army and the American Outlaws, you will not walk alone in the Dark Continent in 2010, when we challenge for the World Cup, yet again!!

. . . Keli Sorrentino (aka Mama Bull), who has assumed the challenging role as our Executive Director, guiding us through sometime unchartered territory, but always with a big heart and an even bigger smile.  Also, I should not forget AJ Kelton and Chris Alvino who helped us manage the transition of leadership this year, which was an inevitable challenge, given that I LOVE VIRGINIA BEACH! 

. . . Tim Foisie (aka “TNT”), who has admirably balanced a family, and demanding international professional travel schedule, and his love of RBN and the Beautiful Game all season.  While we may not hear from him often, when he does speak, he seems to make a lot more sense than the rest of us, who bicker constantly at each other! 

. . . Phil Tartaglia (aka, “Webmatador”), whose unselfish commitment enables be to post this sappy BULLog installment.  Seriously, without his efforts, RBN would merely be a mysterious acronym or afterthought.  Today, we are thriving New York Red Bull supporters club with a very bright future!

. . . Johnny Toro Rosso (aka, “Johnny Toro”) . . . need I say more?

. . . the Red Bull Front Office for continuing to work hard to improve the “soccer offerings” in the area by bringing in top talent in administration, coaching, players, etc.  Now, when will our new home be ready?  Hmmmmm???!!! 

 . . . MLS/SUM for continuing to grow the league at a manageable and fiscally sound pace, especially expanding into other metro markets.  I honestly believe that in my lifetime (am months shy of 40), I will hear MLS spoken in the same circles as EPL, Serie A, La Liga, Ligue 1, Bundesliga, etc.  We have come a long way, but still have a long way to go.  MLS fans around the country and the world are behind you!  By the way, had a great time at the 2007 MLS Cup!

. . .  the Screaming Eagles for hosting the Supporters Summit, Capitol Ball, and pre-match tailgate!  We had a great time, and your hospitality is appreciated!  Not all DC fans are idiots . . . MOST, but not all! 

. . . my ever-changing guests to Red Bull games.  Nobody else wants to talk to me, so thanks for enduring the madness and sometimes the weather!  I hope you got a sense of why I am such a “Soccer Freak.”  Maybe you might want to become one, too . . . . maybe not . . .

. . . Fox Soccer Channel, GOL TV, Setanta, and MLS TV.  Without you, many of us would have figuratively jumped off a cliff, being forced to watch “Meatball,” “Roidball,” and “Thugball” all the time.  I have deliberately left off ESPN, because they just really come across as patronizing us and the league, especially when you get stonewalled at an ESPNZone in Manhattan (DO NOT GO HERE!), even though the match was on ESPN2!!!  At least your stations know how frustrating it is to be a soccer fan in this country.  With their help, we can ease our pain and suffering, and maybe someday not have to pay extra to our cable provider!! ;-)  But I am willing to do it, until that day comes!

. . . the families and their children who flood into The Corral (Section 115) every game to check us out and get their picture taken with Johnny Toro.  Now, if you would all just buy a season ticket in our section, we could really start growing our ranks!  We have flexible options, including a National Passport and a Diplomat Visa.  CHECK ‘EM OUT!

I know there is more to be thankful for, but I just cannot organize my thoughts right now.  So before I stop making sense, I will quit while I am ahead, or at least even.  Even is ONsides, remember!  ;-)  Seriously, it has been a wild but enjoyable ride, as always.

As we take time to enjoy the holidays (as much as we can between shopping and baking excessively), we will fuel up for the 2008 SuperDraft in January, which will be a significant milestone of yet another incredible journey with an incredible group of people!  By the way, RBN will turn 3 on February 21, 2008!!!!!!!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING, MERRY CHRISTMAS, & HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

YIRB

Chief Toro

The New York Red Bulls finished the 2007 regular season with 43 points and a 12-11-7 record. Over the course of the season, New York lost ground to DC and New England and will now face the Revolution at home and then away in the first round of the playoffs. Unfortunately, the Red Bulls needed around 50 points to finish as one of the top four teams and thus did not qualify for the 2008 Superliga competition.

Still there are several positive developments to build upon for New York. The team’s play is looking much better compared to mid-season. Indeed, the team had a couple of its best games of the season against New England and Real Salt Lake at home the second half of September. What held the team back record-wise was a good stretch of games when a couple of defensive lapses and miscues led to goals coupled with some missed scoring opportunities. As a result, the team mounted up several ties, including in the above two games, and one more loss than wins; the team’s second half record was 5-6-4.

A closer look at the season reveals an interesting pattern. The Red Bulls did not have good results against the top four MLS teams but did an admirable 10-4-6 against the other teams in the league. Beginning to perform well against the top four teams is New York’s challenge and since the Red Bulls would most likely have to beat three of these top four teams to win MLS Cup, this challenge isn’t waiting until next year.

Against the top four MLS teams - who are DC, Chivas, Houston and New England - New York had a record of 2-7-1 including two early season 1-0 wins against DC and Houston. In the seven losses, New York scored only four goals while surrendering 19! Still there is hope. Why? New York’s last “top four” game was the 2-2 tie against New England that was mentioned above. Despite defensive mistakes in that game that resulted in two goals, New York played very well and proved that the team can win this playoff series! DC United is also not an unbeatable team so New York can make it to the MLS Cup if it continues to play well and can eliminate the few defensive mistakes the team has been making each game.

Time to revisit questions from the beginning of the season:

1. Was Reyna worth a Designated Player slot?
We had already concluded that trading Amado Guevara for Chivas’ designated player slot (as well as the draft pick that landed talented Sinisa Ubiparapovic) was a great move so kudos to Bruce Arena on that transaction. The question is whether Reyna should retain the very privileged designated player slot.

I believe it would be better for the club to try and retain Reyna for less then designated salary pay and to find another player to fill that slot. Recently the team has controlled and passed the ball better and has been more aggressive and organized when defending but this has included times when Reyna is not in the lineup. Against most teams, the Red Bulls have played better with Reyna in the lineup but it is the opportunity cost of who else New York could bring to the club instead; the club should identify players like Juan Pablo Angel who could be signed. Of course if the Red Bulls win MLS Cup with this squad and Reyna is determined to be an impact player in the playoffs, I would reconsider this point of view developed based on the regular season performance.

2. Will injuries impact the Red Bulls?
Injuries did hit the Red Bulls but really no worse than any other team. Reyna, Jozy Altidore and Dema Kovalenko have missed about a third of the games each. Reyna has been in and out of the lineup for one injury or another while Altidore has had to miss games due to international commitments and a couple of injuries. Dema Kovalenko had both an on-field injury as well as a car accident. The good news is that heading into the playoffs, no one appears to be out (except for those on the season ending injury list) and everyone should be in game shape.

Answering two questions together 3. Who will provide the goals this year (and will there be enough of them)? 4. Who else will the Red Bulls bring in this year and what impact will they have on the club?
The New York Front Office and Bruce Arena deserve a lot of credit for picking up Juan Pablo Angel and Clint Mathis early in the season. In addition to five assists, Angel broke a club record for goals scored in a season with 19 and is my pick for MLS MVP (let alone for the Red Bulls). Along with two assists, Mathis had six goals and became the all-time leading goal scorer in franchise history. Mathis along with Dave van den Bergh (two goals and a team leading eight assists) and late season addition Francis Doe (two goals, one assist) were acquired for very little and have all contributed offensively. Other key contributors were Altidore (nine goals, four assists), John Wolyniec (three goals, two assists), Dane Richards (two goals, six assists) and Kovalenko (two goals and one assist).

New York has struggled mostly on defense with only Toronto FC and Los Angeles giving up more goals this season. New York’s defender trades were puzzling and do not seem to have helped. Hunter Freeman was the best pickup but even he has played very poorly in some games such as in the 3-1 loss to DC. Chris Leitch was also picked up and his good games have been offset by several mistakes to cost the team points. I’m most puzzled by the Todd Dunivant for Kevin Goldthwaite trade given that I have been much more impressed with the play of Dunivant compared to Goldthwaite and the Red Bulls also gave Toronto cash in the deal. Moreover, we gave Wynne away for very little and if New York could have held onto Wynne, the team would have had much needed depth that has been missing. It appears as if the trades made defensively actually decreased the quality of the back four. I’m disappointed that Youth Internationals did not get added to the roster as well.

5. How good is Seth Stammler?
Seth’s play improved over the course of the year and he was asked to fill in at central back for which he did not appear as suited; defensive midfielder or in a pinch outside back is where he best seems able to help the team. Despite moving around to help out where needed, Seth ultimately led the team in minutes played this year. Ricardo Clark and Michael Bradley are difficult shoes to fill but Seth hustled and did his best for the team. Thanks Seth!

6. Which drafted or young players (besides Altidore) will step up and make an impact by the end of the season?
Joe Vide was clearly one of the key stories the second half of the season. Joe had only played 37 minutes the first half of the season but he was given the chance to play for the first team and never looked back. Vide brought great hustle and energy to midfield play at a time it was desparately needed. Dane Richards hit a mid-season wall but recovered and steadily improved as the season progressed. For his contributions this season, including two goals, six assists and a myriad of threatening runs and speedy defensive recoveries and tackles, Richards could very well win MLS Rookie of the Year. He gets my vote at least. Ubiparipovic, Quaranta and Karcz did not get substantial first team minutes.

7. Will any “top” players disappoint?
Costing an estimated $175,000 against the team’s “salary cap,” Markus Schopp could not beat out Dane Richards for any playing time at right midfield. In 2006, he showed flashes of being a good player. Where did all that talent of the former Austrian captain go?

8. Was Waterreus worth a SI slot?
SI slots are precious and I believe it would have been better to spend that slot and the $200,000 on a field player. Watterreus did not prove to be an upgrade over Jon Conway and now is a good yet expensive option off the bench if Conway gets injured during the playoffs. Waterreus started out with a record setting performance but ended up with the worst goals against average league-wide. To be sure, the defender injuries (as well as his own injury) and resulting backline makeshift changes did not made it easy for Waterreus but he continued to get beat whether playing off his line or not making a reaction save quickly enough. Waterreus may be retiring at the end of this year. Last year, Conway gave up a near post goal to Gomez that led to DC beating New York in the playoffs. This cannot happen again.

9. Who will win RagingBullNation’s 2007 Heart of the Bull Award?
At this moment, RagingBullNation members and ambassadors are voting on the recipient of this award. This is awarded to the New York Red Bull player with the best combination of performance on the field and fan interaction. The finalists are Jozy Altidore, Dane Richards, Seth Stammler, Joe Vide and John Wolyniec. Dema Kovalenko showed a lot of heart throughout the season as well. Good luck to all of them.

10. Will enough progress be made on Red Bull Park this year so that it is ready for at least half of the 2008 season?
The New York Red Bulls will play one more season at Giants’ Stadium but that extra wait will be worth it if Red Bull Park sets the standard for soccer stadiums in North America and blows away HDC, BMO field and Pizza Hut/Toyota/DSG parks. I saw the Red Bull’s final game of the regular season at Home Depot Center and while this is an impressive facility, many of the seats are uncomfortable. Also, we need more of a park that will create a real homefield advantage for the team beginning in 2009.

11. What will be the highlight for fans/RagingBullNation?
We are still holding out for a trip down to DC for MLS Cup. First we are ready to face-off against New England and to the Foxboro road trip. Good luck to Bruce and the boys in the second season! WE HAVE FAITH IN THIS TEAM AND WILL BE CHEERING YOU ON FROM SECTION 115!

-Guest Columnist: TNT

History repeats itself, as our Red Bulls struggle to back into the playoffs, and struggle to put balls in the net. The scoreless draw against New England in the first round of the East Conference Semifinals came back to haunt us, just as Halloween has come and gone. Most recently in 2005, the then “MetroStars” clashed with New England in the first round of the MLS Cup playoffs under similar weather conditions, except there was also snow falling, which had to be removed from the turf surface at Gillette Stadium. What could have been an epic battle was watered down to a battle of the elements and Murphy’s Law.

Juan Pablo Angel, likely MLS’ Honda MVP, suffered a concussion around the 60th minute. He was tended to on the field by the team’s trainer/medical staff, and despite his desperate pleas to the Red Bulls coaching staff to remain in, Bruce Arena made the right decision to substitute him with John Wolyniec, but perhaps too late. In as much time it took for Coach Arena to make such a difficult decision in a pivotal match with an impact player like Angel (~ 4 minutes), the Revs had managed to take advantage of perhaps the one mistake by the Red Bulls defense all night, with Ralston running on to a stiff through ball from Joseph, who in turn directed to an on-rushing Twellman for a cheeky goal . That was all they needed to advance . . . and they did.

While the Red Bulls were the underdog on paper, I honestly feel they had the run of play for most of both matches. It was more obvious in the first, but when you earn 12 corner kicks to their 4 at their home field, and you cannot bury one . . . Not even John “Mr. Clutch” Wolyniec could work his magic, but he came close. However, without JPA distracting the defense the Revs merely packed it in, as they did so well on the front leg in New Jersey. Jozy seemed a little off, but he was heavily marked; Richards did not have his best game, but he contributed; Parke was stellar; even RBN’s Heart of the Bull winner, Joe Vide, started and contributed well in the midfield.

I guess my point is that these guys, OUR RED BULLS, played very hard. They played to win, and for some reason, it was not in the cards this year. The one player that has seemingly disappointed perhaps the Red Bulls and their fans is Claudio Reyna. I really do not want to pick on him, BUT he was announced as the first DP player for the Red Bulls. A Bruce Arena “poster boy,” who is terribly injury prone, kept him off the pitch more than he was on it this season. All the cautious rehabilitation during the regular season, and Captain America[n Red Cross] pulls up lame in the 26th minute of the match. We’ll have to revisit the ROI on that one . . .

Now that I got that off my chest. Again, the Nationals and Diplomats of RagingBullNation enjoyed an action-packed, fun-filled season replete with Roadside Roundups, pre-match marches to The Corral with Johnny Toro; respectable rabble-rousing for 90+ minutes (rain, snow, sleet, hail, hurricanes . . . you name it!); and plenty of post-match socializing in the Bull’s Corner Pub.

Before looking ahead to next season, I do want to encourage anyone who loves soccer, especially MLS, to head to the nation’s capital to participate in the celebration of American soccer, the 2007 MLS Cup. Even if your team is not there, it is an excellent opportunity for our American soccer community across the country to celebrate each other, the Beautiful Game, and the positive changes that MLS has undergone in such a short time. So, get your tickets soon!

Perhaps “Season 13,” will actually be the lucky one for the Red Bulls. Something has to give, right?! Regardless, RagingBullNation will be there, as always, along with any other Red Bull supporters!! Please consider celebrating each season with us, if you are not already!!

Until then, live purposefully, do not yell at referees [all the time], and PLAY ON . . . .!! See you in DC!

YIRB

“Chief Toro” (Virginia Beach, VA)