Need a new coach, new players, gotta spend big, gotta retain some players, gotta ship out some players, gotta retire some players, gotta fix the academy pipeline to produce another Adams/Miazga. Total gut and rebuild needed...all this amidst a new CBA... I wouldn’t be surprised if Red Bull just mails in another off season. Just too much work for them to be bothered with.
At this point, I think their system is the glue of the franchise. They’ll get a new coach and some new younger players. Interchangeable parts. The academy will do its thing. Sometimes they make an Adams and sometimes they’ll make a decent MLSer. The question I would have is if they would spend big bucks on a youngish player like an Almiron or Vela. Difference makers. Or will they continue with the same low cost philosophy but with new players.
This team needs a new attitude, too. The stank coming of this club is worse than the Kearney landfill, and that is mostly down to management letting it get that way. They need more players with the spirit and motor to compete the Red Bull way. They need a coach who knows how to get the most out of the players. They need a lot of pieces to come together, and that also means having a clear plan about how to accomplish this goal. MDP seems to be well liked by RB AG, but he doesn't seem to ever do much to raise the team's fortunes. Any housecleaning has to start at the top and address the club's marketing, ticketing and game day operations as well as team management. But if there's no clear plan how to field a quality team, raise the club's profile and attract fans, then it's going to be another wasted year. FWIW, NYRB are starting to lose the battle with NYC for top NY talent, but keep running the club into the ground and they'll lose NJ, too. Then that vaunted pipeline to Europe will be a trip down memory lane.
When MLS opens the scouting borders we’re screwed. It’s not a secret that the metro area is a hotbed for talent in the USA. Other clubs that are willing to spend big on scouting are going to take all of our talent. Red Bull has set up some nice facilities, but outside of that where is the spending? Despite all their investment in the academy there are no Adams or Miazgas anywhere close to the first team. And there’s no Casseres’ coming up either. My guess is that everything they’ve been doing in terms of investing in infrastructure but cost cutting everywhere else, TARPS etc is a set up for a future sale. Honestly it couldn’t come soon enough. They’ve always been an absentee owner. 1 step forward 2 steps back. And always a day late and a dollar short to how the league is changing.
Lade retires. He was never a great player, but I loved the fact that he was with the club. Connor Lade Announces Retirement 'Hard to Put Into Words' | Lade Retires from Soccer
That caught me by surprise. Is he that old? Anyway, as much heart as the guy had, he just was never reliably good enough for NYRB to progress.
Folks may not want to think much about a player at the back end of the bench, try it this way: Lade was a tough, dedicated professional. Although, he was athletically limited, he was versatile and smart. If a young player was going to break into the rotation, a Kyle Duncan or Vincent Bezecourt at least had to be better than Lade. Having him on the team was good, which was it's own way kind of great. Lade was like a 3rd round draft pick who works out, and he came from within the system, which was cool. Sean Davis is like Lade but 1G better, good enough to be a starter, just not a star. I just wish the Red Bulls system could produce 2-3 of those guys a year, maybe even just practice fodder, but 19-22 years old and hungry for a chance to match-up against some highly paid professional. They need to be recruiting more young players who can begin getting looks at 15-16. It just feels like between Tyler Adams and John Tolkin (maybe), there's been a lot of missed players. The college route is petering out except for foreign players who've already washed out of Europe. Casseres, Jr. was a good pick-up, Yannes may not work out, Jorgensen I'm on the fence about, sometimes he looks great. He may still be maturing, physically. I don't know if they could bring in international players as boarding students and stick them in the Academy team for a year or two. That sounds more challenging. That being said, I want a stud #8 acquired. Davis can shift back to the 6 role, Casseres can go further up, or out wide. They also need a starting quality striker. B. White is back-up only, IMO. A reasonably priced winger would be good, too. This team needs to be stronger up the middle, that's the priority. If Robles is retiring, or BWP is gone, and both are possible, too, replacements need to be lined up for both. I'd want Meara compete for the #1, and I'm not sure I'd look to hard for competition, but if someone fell in my lap, it's probably worth a look. The club currently has no strikers who should start in MLS next season. I'd give Etienne another chance in preseason, but I'm sure he's on thin ice. He's a talent, but frustratingly inconsistent and unproductive. Unless he's guaranteed, I can see him getting waived before first whistle next year. Muyl, I like, but the league may be passing him by. I don't know if it's appropriate to ask if we can do any better than Long, Lawrence and Parker. They had to put a lot of work in with a big hole at d-mid much of the season. But that probably gets solved indirectly, with some rearrangement of other roles.
That's way too young to retire, even if you've been unlucky with some injuries. I wonder if Lade is burned out or something?
A comment above about Robles possibly retiring. I really really hope he goes another year. I love him. Though I do realize he's had to play through a lot of physical pain. What's his contract situation??
My guess, he was going to be cut, and they gave him the option of testing the free agent waters, which he didn't want to do, so he retired instead.
https://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2019/10/17/2019-mls-offseason-calendar I haven't seen anyone try to come up with a RB contract status list but Waives and ReSigns should happen within the next 10 days.
I believe they have a set schedule/deadline, not sure how long, but some teams that didn't make the playoffs already have done this.
Eric Friedlander has posted some run downs for the club's youth, second, and first teams. 2019 Red Bull Academy Season Round-Up Being Gm: NYRBII edition 2019 [Editorial] Being GM: First team edition 2019 [Editorial]
THE ENTIRE LIST: Of the 222 players eligible for M... The good news is Red Bull are exempt because they had a player selected in last year's draft. Of particular annoyance is that same player selected, Hassan Ndam, has been made available by Cincinnati in this year's draft. After playing decently for RB2 and making a couple (?) of appearances for RB1, Cincy played him 0 minutes, and ultimately farmed him out to Charlotte in USL Championship, where he played a total of 5 games and 350ish minutes. FCC's may have had eyes bigger than the stomach, but it's still a little annoying. Of more interest are the Aaron Long rumors, with both Southampton and Marseille being mentioned. That would be a tough loss. Whether he leaves or not, the club should be beating the bushes for depth at every position. It's a tight needle to thread, finding young talent that can start and elevate the club's fortunes. A good place to start is that Aaron's salary slot sb preserved as a place-holder for such a player. League-wide salaries are surging a budgets are increasing. The new CBA is most-likely going to open things up even more, and probably set off an arms race of spending on young, foreign talents.
Obviously I want him to stay, but wouldn't be surprised if we cashed in on A.Long. If he goes, he should steer clear of Southampton unless he really wants to experience what relegation is like. Marseille or West Ham, who I heard he was also linked with, should be more uplifting.
Marseille is second in Ligue 1, albeit with a -1 goal differential. Southampton is in 19th with the worst goal differential, they're 1 point above Norwich, and Southampton will fall to last if they lose at sixth place (albeit with a -1 goal differential) Arsenal, Norwich gets 1 or 3 at fifteenth place Everton, and eighteenth place Watford doesn't get blown out hosting tenth place Burnley to make their goal differential get worse than Southampton. Southampton is 3 goal differential behind Watford, and Southampton has more goals scored. Southampton vs. Watford on November 30 will be important.
Red Bulls Announce End of Year Roster Decisions It's sad to see these guys go, they truly had a special run. Robles and Wright-Philips were cornerstones of the shield winning sides, love them both. Maybe they'll resign at a lower salary, or take front office jobs. Hopefully, it's not the last we hear of these guys; both of them are class acts.
OMG they got rid of Robles?! He's practically been our perennial MVP. Unless there was some bust-up that we're just not privy to, this seems like a STUPID decision. And also rude to him considering all he's given the club over the years. Cutting BWP loose I have no real problems with. But Robles was basically our franchise player. IMHO. And I loved him. In the last few years I've started to Just slightly question my allegiance to NYRB. I've been with them since the Metros opened up in 1996. This decision about Robles is going to really test that allegiance. Also, it makes me wonder if this club, as it exists, is really long for this world.
Robles is tenth in games, tenth in minutes, and sixth in wins among MLS goalkeepers. https://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2019...part-red-bulls-announce-2020-roster-decisions is titled "Bradley Wright-Phillips, Luis Robles depart as Red Bulls announce 2020 roster decisions." "RBNY picked up the options on 10 players and declined options on six: midfielders Vincent Bezecourt, Marcus Epps, Derrick Etienne Jr. and Jean-Christophe Koffi, as well as goalkeepers Robles and Evan Louro. BWP is out of contract." https://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2019...its-are-end-era-one-mlss-all-time-great-teams is titled "Warshaw: RBNY exits for Robles, Wright-Phillips are an end of an era for one of MLS's all-time great teams." It says Meara is the only player left from the 2013 Supporters Shield. Two "New York" teams I like who play in New Jersey had players with unique positions leave and/or lose their job in a few months. Before Robles, it was Eli Manning. Beyond being a fan, if we fold it would leave MLS with the only club in the area in a stadium not built for soccer, and Los Angeles would have more clubs than New York City and its suburbs. In all of MLB, NFL, NBA, and NHL, New York City and its suburbs have at least as many teams as Los Angeles and Anaheim. If Red Bull doesn't want to be involved, they should sell. MLS should work hard to find a buyer if that's necessary to save us from folding. Furthermore, I don't think the New York City area has had professional teams move away since the Giants and Dodgers, and given how many people moved west it was inevitable for California to get teams.
I'm seeing further on this that the fee is high six-figures, and go as high as a mill if he performs. I would love to see that turned into another starting-quality player. We're pretty solid at right back if Duncan can stay healthy.
Big If. We still need another 6, back up to Taxi, playmaker and a striker. Probably a keeper. This is gonna be a rebuild with a weak manager. Ugh!