As a young player on the outside looking in he's doing everything he needs to do to make Petke's decisions that much tougher. Good on him. Looks to me like he's pushing Peggy for that CAM spot.
Just finished watching the game... I really don't like the Alexander-McCarty pairing in central midfield. Alexander just isn't assertive enough to play alongside a more natural holding player like Dax. They just don't work well together. Speaking of Dax, he looked pretty horrible today IMO. He displayed his usual work rate but his first touch and passing were wretched. The conditions may have played a part. Meara played a very solid game. Really love that kid and see him as the long-term option at keeper. His potential is pretty vast. Everybody will be talking about Bover's free kick, which was superb, but I really liked the interplay that led to that situation. Obekop, while tightly marked on the right touchline, squared the ball for Bover who calmly settled and slotted a through ball that released the sprinting Obekop. Marius then skinned a defender cutting inside before the next guy chopped him down. It was a really nice sequence showcasing two young guys who may carve out some pretty big roles on this year's team. Both guys played really well for their entire spell. Bover has passed Alexander in my mind as a CM partner for Dax. I'm fine with Alexander playing in midfield with Cahill or Luyindula if Dax is unavailable, but I would much rather see Bover and Dax than last night's starting pair. Plus Bover's free kicks have been consistently dangerous. Having a guy with such a cultured left foot really adds a nice wrinkle to our squad. It was also nice to see Lade out there providing some hustle and bite. I think we'll see a nice rebound year from him.
If bover does this when the games matter then we can talk about him supplanting a starter. Otherwise I think it's a bit premature. He's certainly earned the CHANCE to play meaningful minutes based on his preseason though.
The guy looked good last year in preseason also until he changed his name, then the season started and he looked to frail. I think the kid has talent and just needs to get stronger as he gets older and more mature. I see him being a real player for us down the road.
I never said anything about him supplanting a starter, as I think the Luyindula-McCarty pairing will be our first-choice center midfielders with Cahill and Henry as the forwards. Alexander is fine in midfield as far as I'm concerned, he's just a bad partner for Dax. Bover (and Obekop for that matter) offer us that spark of youth that this team will definitely need at times this year. And speaking of Bover's physicality, I thought he looked much more robust this preseason that at any point last season. I would assume that's something the technical staff stressed as an area to improve. He's still a young guy so there is some physical projection there. He just needs Olave to teach him the ways
The Bush Doctrine, I see I thought Petke's discussion of Bover was very illuminating. http://www.newyorkredbulls.com/video/2014/02/26/91st-minute-mike-petke-and-ruben-bover He sounds very pleased with the player's progress.
Yup. Forget the goals. The fact that the coaching staff told him something he needed to improve and he actually...you know...IMPROVED it is a great sign.
Awesome to see Tim Ream back in the national team camp! He's apparently had a resurgence at Bolton lately.
Quality was always there, just between the ears he had to figure some things out. It was weird to watch him live when he was with us. He'd play lights out for 89 minutes and then do something completely bizarre. Not sure he's got a shot at the World Cup, but the fact that he's played some LB for his club probably helps him. The last few roster spots might go to someone who's versatile. Tim can play anywhere on the backline and at CDM.
Usually do not care about preseason, but since we struggled to defend without Olave last season, I was hoping for a better defensive showing. Good to score some goals now. Excited that first kick is so soon, could be another good year
Twellman and Lalas chime in with a Red Bulls season preview (Lalas sings the anthem in it) http://espnfc.com/video/espnfc/video/_/id/1734806/league/usa.1?cc=5901
https://twitter.com/Soccerwriter/status/440582961591615488 de Bontin resigns according to Michael Lewis.
Finally the Red Bulls have some stability and then this happens right before the start of the season. Geez..
According to this article, he resigned due to personal reasons. http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/artic...l-manager-new-york-red-bulls-citing-personal-
Yes. During that time MSG will show the Knicks and MSG Plus will show the Devils. @kokoplus10 Is it time to lock this topic and start a topic for the first regular season game?