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Nice soccer team ya got there.
Be a shame if something happened to it. Like, God forbid, your playoff hopes go for an evening cruise on the Stugots with a couple of fat guys in see-through socks.
Or soaking wet young Senegalese guys
Toronto FC showed up at the Meadowlands last night pretty confident. After all, as their fans kept telling each other all week long, they were playing "the worst team in the league" and they were bringing along their shiny new DP and besides, they said, the league really really wanted them and their "great, great fans" in the playoffs.
Unfortunately, MLS is going to have to figure out how to hold playoffs without them after NYRB showed The Reds what a good old fashioned New Jersey whacking looks like. Then again, the league has been holding playoff games in places other than Toronto for 14 years now, so at least they've got plenty of practice.
As for the Bulls, they surely did take out one hell of a lot of frustration on the out-of-towners. Since most of those guys were still begging Mary Ellen Grabcrotch to meet them after school out back of the gym in 1996 when the MetroBulls litany of frustration in that stadium began, you really can't say that they took 14 years worth of it out on the hapless Reds last night.
But playing in absolutely abysmal weather conditions which seemed, somehow or other, entirely appropriate to the occasion, they sure did seem like they badly wanted to take at least seven months worth of it out on someone last night, and TFC were the tourists wearing plaid shirts, shorts and black socks who happened to show up.
Still, with all the festivities and ceremonies and hoopla and "remember when-ing" going on all week, who would have guessed that in the end it would be pride - something that's been in pretty short supply sometimes - that ended up being the story this morning.
You really can't say that they chased off all of the ugly old ghosts last night. MetroBulls have far, far too many of them hanging around that accursed building for that.
But they sure as hell did say goodbye to them in style.
Well done RedBulls. See you in Harrison.
Be a shame if something happened to it. Like, God forbid, your playoff hopes go for an evening cruise on the Stugots with a couple of fat guys in see-through socks.
Or soaking wet young Senegalese guys
Toronto FC showed up at the Meadowlands last night pretty confident. After all, as their fans kept telling each other all week long, they were playing "the worst team in the league" and they were bringing along their shiny new DP and besides, they said, the league really really wanted them and their "great, great fans" in the playoffs.
Unfortunately, MLS is going to have to figure out how to hold playoffs without them after NYRB showed The Reds what a good old fashioned New Jersey whacking looks like. Then again, the league has been holding playoff games in places other than Toronto for 14 years now, so at least they've got plenty of practice.
As for the Bulls, they surely did take out one hell of a lot of frustration on the out-of-towners. Since most of those guys were still begging Mary Ellen Grabcrotch to meet them after school out back of the gym in 1996 when the MetroBulls litany of frustration in that stadium began, you really can't say that they took 14 years worth of it out on the hapless Reds last night.
But playing in absolutely abysmal weather conditions which seemed, somehow or other, entirely appropriate to the occasion, they sure did seem like they badly wanted to take at least seven months worth of it out on someone last night, and TFC were the tourists wearing plaid shirts, shorts and black socks who happened to show up.
Still, with all the festivities and ceremonies and hoopla and "remember when-ing" going on all week, who would have guessed that in the end it would be pride - something that's been in pretty short supply sometimes - that ended up being the story this morning.
You really can't say that they chased off all of the ugly old ghosts last night. MetroBulls have far, far too many of them hanging around that accursed building for that.
But they sure as hell did say goodbye to them in style.
Well done RedBulls. See you in Harrison.
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"Unfortunately, MLS is going to have to figure out how to hold playoffs without them (AGAIN) after NYRB showed The Reds what a good old fashioned New Jersey whacking looks like."
fyp. I wondered how long it would take you to pile on. Great work!Posted 25 Oct 2009 at 07:11 AM by Deuteriumoxide 
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Wasn't it Mary Jane Rottencrotch?
Maybe at your school.
Anyway, thinking about it, the only reason a lot of those guys wanted to get with a girl after school 14 years ago was to see if they could cop a few of her animal crackers.
Obviously with been a while since you last watched FMJ.
Posted 25 Oct 2009 at 07:50 AM by HardHatMike
Updated 25 Oct 2009 at 09:08 AM by HardHatMike -
On a soccer-related note, that game was a great example of why teams play "direct soccer". When it's pouring rain, all the ball-skills in the world don't beat lobbing the ball up front and letting the forwards pound it in. Because there was a lot of that game that NY could hardly pass the ball 5 yds and they still won.
Posted 25 Oct 2009 at 10:02 AM by DoctorD 
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Bill, do NYRB let Williams keep his job for the first season in Red Bull Arena or are they going to subscribe to the fallacy that they need a shiny big-name coach for their shiny new stadium?Posted 25 Oct 2009 at 10:57 AM by FijiUnited
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Well of course my opinion is as worthless as anyone else's but for my money you keep Williams.Quote:Originally Posted by FijiUnited
Bill, do NYRB let Williams keep his job for the first season in Red Bull Arena or are they going to subscribe to the fallacy that they need a shiny big-name coach for their shiny new stadium?
The biggest reason is that if we've learned nothing else it's that understanding MLS is one of the most important, if not THE most important, part of the job.
Hiring a coach because he has a deep and abiding understanding the X's and O's but no real knowledge of how this league works has proven to be a disaster over and over and over again.
Ad since the best candidates, guys like Sigi and Steve Nicol and Dom Kinnear and, yes, Bruce Arena are currently employed, then you have to take a flier on an MLS guy.
And Williams is as good a bet as any.
Plus, if NY doesn't hire him, I would sure think he has a better than even shot at the DC spot soon to be vacated by Tom Soehn, and the last thing the Bulls need is Richie WIlliams beating their brains out for the next decade.
If there was any doubt left in anyone's mind that the management of NYRB is nothing short of grossly incompetent, that would do it. They just can't afford to let that happen.
Just my 2 cents.Posted 25 Oct 2009 at 11:11 AM by Bill Archer
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The rumor that they are planning on hiring Peter Wilt might belie that. I do think that Richie Williams will find a job in the league with the Red Bulls or some one else.Quote:Originally Posted by FijiUnited
Bill, do NYRB let Williams keep his job for the first season in Red Bull Arena or are they going to subscribe to the fallacy that they need a shiny big-name coach for their shiny new stadium?
Posted 25 Oct 2009 at 11:36 AM by NeilB
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I'm not sure it was fair for the Red Bulls to fit Toronto FC with cement shoes before the game.Posted 25 Oct 2009 at 11:55 AM by Stan Collins
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Wilt is running the Wave in NISL right now, he wanted to get back closer to home.Quote:Originally Posted by NeilB
The rumor that they are planning on hiring Peter Wilt might belie that.Posted 25 Oct 2009 at 11:55 AM by ventur514
Updated 26 Oct 2009 at 09:25 AM by ventur514 -
if NYRB hired Peter Wilt and kept Williams on, it would shock me. however, if it did happen, it wouldn't surprise me to see them lifting a trophy of some sort in the next 2 years.Quote:Originally Posted by NeilB
The rumor that they are planning on hiring Peter Wilt might belie that. I do think that Richie Williams will find a job in the league with the Red Bulls or some one else.
i would bet that Kevin Payne is hoping RB demote Williams again. big things come in small, determined packages.Posted 25 Oct 2009 at 12:13 PM by CrewPens
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And for the most part I'd agree with you. But - we know they're going to do something. RedBulls this year were a bad team - even by franchise standards. They're moving into a nice shiny new stadium next year and there'll be unburdenable pressure to make some sort of a splash. Definitely on the player side (Thierry Henry anyone?), and probably on the coaching side. Someone the international media in New York can get all nuts about - and spread to their domestic counterparts.Quote:Originally Posted by Bill Archer
Plus, if NY doesn't hire him, I would sure think he has a better than even shot at the DC spot soon to be vacated by Tom Soehn, and the last thing the Bulls need is Richie WIlliams beating their brains out for the next decade.
If there was any doubt left in anyone's mind that the management of NYRB is nothing short of grossly incompetent, that would do it. They just can't afford to let that happen.
Just my 2 cents.
Red Bull is looking at two things. Sporting concerns and business concerns. And the business concerns of the new stadium may trump the sporting concerns of playing it safe and promoting Williams. They need the buzz to sell corporate seats and sponsorships in their new home. The stadium is the payoff for their investment.
Frankly, there's only so much they can do to turn around the on-the-field product. They're all but guaranteed to do better next year than they have this year. Maybe that was their plan all along. Maybe they're playing possum this season.
But like most things in life, nothing is cut and dried. As a sports fan and journalist, I think keeping Richie is the right move. But I don't fully understand the business and promotion side of things, and it's quite possible that bringing in a big media friendly foreign coach pays off in the long term even if the team sucks and he's gone by next September to coach in Dubai.Posted 25 Oct 2009 at 12:13 PM by AndyMead
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