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Guest Columnist: TNT
As the New York Red Bulls second season gets underway, here are some questions and thoughts looking a little back but mostly forward. Your feedback is welcome!

1. Will the Reyna for Guevara swap prove to be the right move?
Amado Guevara is one of the best players in the franchise's history but the team was unable to win a championship during his four years here. If Claudio Reyna is healthy, he will be a key contributor on and off the field. Will this translate into better play and results and most importantly playoff performances by New York? Especially given that Claudio occupies a DP slot (costing more against the cap), the answer to this last question has to be yes for this swap to be the right move.

2. Will injuries impact the Red Bulls?
The Red Bulls are thin, especially at forward and defense. An injury in these areas or with one of the DP/SI players could hamper the team. Will Schopp be ready for the season opener and play most of the season? How will the artificial turf fair on Reyna? Are the bodies of these two captains from Europe too worn and brittle at this stage in their careers? If a veteran forward is brought in, will his knees hold up?

3. Who will provide the goals this year (and will there be enough of them)?
I expect a broad distribution of goals this year with key contributions by van Den Bergh, Schopp, Altidore based on their minutes of play as well as a player or two that are still to be brought in. Will we witness some of Woly's New York magic? Will Magee recover from the injury and "come back from the dead" to play for the team and score goals? Will Dane Richards manage to be a top five scorer? Most importantly, will New York be scoring enough goals to win games?

4. How good is Seth Stammler?
Last year Seth was Mr. Utility and improved as the season went on. Will he continue to fill in for injured and point-accumulated players or will he claim the defensive mid slot (left open by Toronto's pickup of O'Rourke during the Expansion draft)? This could be key to allow Reyna to focus more on offense than defense. How far can Seth go? We don't know yet but we wish him well as he is a great person!

5. Which drafted or young players will step up and make an impact by the end of the season?
With the MLS salary cap structure, contributions by young players are important to the success of any team. In 2006, Alexi and Mo had an excellent draft with both Marvell Wynne and Josmer Altidore improving as the season went along and making key contributions to New York. Will Dane Richards and Sinisa Ubiparipovic similarly contribute? Will Vide, Ikangu and Camp continue for a second year and provide steady 1st team production or will Randi Patterson, Sal Caccavale or Danny Cepero manage to make the team and make their mark?

6. Will any "top" players disappoint?
Obviously we hope the answer to this question is "no." Expectations are high for those players who earn the most on the team. In 2006, the list of players that disappointed are Canero (for obvious reasons), Djorkaeff, Henderson and even Kovalenko. After the good 2005 campaign and the beginning to last year's season, Djorkaeff's prolongued absences from the team were a disappointment. Of the names mentioned, only Dema Kovalenko remains. Last year, I expected more out of Kovalenko. There were too many times when he gave the ball away when not under pressure and when he did not seem to have the stamina or speed to keep up with the other players. Hopefully fans will not see repeat performances along these lines. Reports are that Kovalenko is playing well. More importantly, can Kovalenko help neutralize Gomez and other attacking mids?

7. Who else will the Red Bulls bring in this year and what impact will they have on the club?
It appears as if Bruce Arena's attempt to land Tin Delgado was stopped by FIFA. However hopefully the summer transfer window will enable New York to identify at least one other forward. Whomever joins the team, how will they contribute to it? Will the Red Bulls make a trade with an MLS club? Will the Red Bulls do enough to keep up with the DC signings of Emilio and Fred?

8. Was Waterreus worth a SI slot?
The franchise has had a history of key keepers ... younger Tony Meola, Tim Howard, Jonny Walker. Will Waterreus rekindle some of that magic and preserve a point or even a win for the Red Bulls in a couple of matches? Will he prevent a near post playoff goal? Or will fans wish New York kept Jon Conway in goal and used the SI slot on a field player?

9. Who will win RagingBullNation's 2007 Heart of the Bull Award?
Awarded to the New York Red Bull player with the best combination of performance on the field and fan interaction, Marvell Wynne took this home in 2006: "Wynne takes Heart of the Bull Award" Wynne improved both defensively and offensively as the year went along, working his way into the starting lineup as the season progressed. Mr. Lightning tallied three assists for the Red Bulls including two of which contributed to 1-0 victories. To top it off, Wynne was omnipresent and engaged with fans at team events! Will Wynne repeat or will he be usurped by Mendes, Stammler (both award finalists last year), Altidore, Denton, Dunivant, Kovalenko, Parke, Regan, Reyna, Schopp, van Den Bergh, Waterreus, Wolyniec or by a "TBD" player?

10. What will be the highlight for fans/RagingBullNation?
In its first two seasons, RagingBullNation has had some very memorable moments, cheering in section 115 led by Johnny, Marc and Amir; home game tailgates with occasional surprise guest appearances but always fan camaraderie; and fun road trips. What will it be this year: a trip down to DC for MLS Cup?

11. 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 good news is that Red Bull wants to do the stadium right so when it is ready I suspect (and really hope) that it will set the standard for soccer stadiums in the US and blow away HDC, BMO field and Pizza Hut/Toyota/DSG parks. However, the earliest the stadium will be ready is summer 2008 and there are fears that opening day may slip. Hopefully we will see most home games in 2008 in RBP. Where will the other games be played?

April 7th is right around the corner. Let's get ready! Good luck to Bruce and the boys!

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