Not seeing any evidence of a new thread, and this being our opening day, I figured I'll just create one. If there are any NYRB fans still out there on BigSoccer then maybe someone other than me will post. [Moderator: if this is somehow redundant feel free to delete... or if you want to make it a sticky...]
So I just kinda watched our opening match against Cinci (on my phone while I was doing other work) so here are my thoughts: 1) We coulda/shoulda annihilated them pretty early but didn't. Then when we finally went up 2-0, we then came out real flat after HT and they closed to 2-1, followed by real nervy stuff where they got control of the game, but luckily Danny Boy scored a nice 3rd goal which ended up being the game winner, since we allowed them back in at 3-2. 2) When we did go forward fast, we looked pretty hot. But I'm pretty dubious about how a youthful, low-budget front-line is going to do the job for us, even if Royer stays fit much of the season. Maybe they have plans to bring someone in still? 3) New keeper Jensen seemed OK. I'm dubious about Meara being a quality #1 so I'm hoping this guy will shine. Letting Robles go was the biggest off-season mistake IMHO. 4) Crowd looked super small. I'm guessing <=3000. Wondering how that compares to other cold early March home openers. Also wondering if that represents the growing apathy for this team, especially with last season's results and the off-season trades. And if so, is RBA going to be a ghost house going forward. 5) PA Announcer sounds new... and a pretty annoying voice register, at least over the TV. 6) Apparently Black/Pink is our new home kit. I wasn't sure when I first saw it. I think it's odd that New York RED Bulls have no red in their home kit any more. Seems like a mistake to me. I do like the Black kit but not for home games. p.s. I like Jonathan Yardley as a PBP guy. Steve C isn't too bad either, but if this is a passing of the baton, I'm fine with it. It's Messing that I've grown tired of. He's kinda too old, too cliched, and too out of it, now.
Being at a lifeless home opener felt like you’re a witness to an actively dying franchise. At least we won. I don’t know much about the new management people brought In but I hope they clean up this mess
I would attribute the seeming drop off in part to a shift in formation from the starting 4-2-3-1 towards a 4-2-2-2, which they did about the 35th minute. Add in a Kaku injury, just before halftime, which did not see him an early substitute, but it did hamper his performance. I'm sure there was a halftime adjustment from FCC, to attack what did seem an awful lot like an empty bucket formation. Parker was way out of position, but so was Casseres and Duncan. The only player in the middle who had any hope of stifling the attack was Davis, who simply watched the ball sail right past him. It was all in all a real shit show and no way to come out at the start of the 2nd half. If Duncan is going to push up like that then there has to be proper support, because when the ball is turned over and quickly played ahead, there's a big hole down that side of the field, and Parker is not that fleet of foot. I would add that Casseres is the primary support behind Duncan and White, but Davis has to be mindful of what can happen, and be sure to track back. It's hard to fault any one particular player. It's just that the team was lackadaisical on the play. I was happy that the team restored the two goal cushion, and that they scored three in the game. Royer played a great game, and Valot looked really good in his return. He's such a smart, cultured player, I much prefer him to Josh Sims. But the defense has to figure out how to work in these different tactical schemes that Armas wants to use.
Prices play a big part but so does the product. Management needs to recognize that in a tough market you need to make it attractive with either prices or the product on the field. Paying $50 to watch a bunch of homegrown kids isn't going to do it for the casual soccer fan which is why bringing in a name is so important still in MLS. With sections already closed up top, management really needs to look at making tickets as cheap as possible to at least fill the stadium. Other than LA, Atlanta, Philly and NYCFC I don't think we'll see more than 50-60% capacity all year. For a lot of my friends who aren't interested in the game, telling them there's tickets for $15-20 may interest them in going to a few games which will end up helping with the atmosphere.
Agree totally and I’d also like to add that the whole vibe had a minor league baseball feel to it. I physically cringed in the concourse when the “in game host” started a let’s go Redbulls chant prior to kickoff. The 50/50 raffle winning ticket during the course of play was downright amateur hour.
Oh god, that's what I'm worried about. Could be a vicious spiral for a while. Was the PA guy's voice as annoying as it sounded on TV?
At 90' I was just about to write "that's about the most fortunate 3 points you'll ever see". nd then at 93' they scored a near carbon copy goal to their first disallowed goal... a beautiful cross that split Parker & Duncan. Maybe we deserve 1 point, but it's debatable. We're a young, somewhat inexperienced team now, and it shows. But I like the look of the new keeper Jensen.
Anybody watch tonight's game? I kind of saw it out of the corner of my eye, while doing tax prep. So with that said... I thought we played pretty well, showed perhaps better fitness than ATL, at least in first half, capitalized on a sort of gift of a goal in the 5th minute and then rode our luck for the remainder (they failed to convert a few excellent chances) and in the dying moments our new keeper Jensen made a great save to preserve the win. Most of all I liked the fact that we still seem to have ATL's number. (playoffs withstanding... hmmph) p.s. I was watching on 1hr delay, having recorded it on my DVR, and just as we entered stoppage time, and the tension was high as we defended a bit of an onslaught by them, I got this spoiler email pop-up from NYRB Fan Services which said "First Victory!". Seriously?? They'd send out a spoiler email like that 1hr after FT? Not good.
I agree, and NYRB Fan Services aren't the only entity that expects Red Bulls fans to watch live. MSG gives a code for Red Bulls Members Plus that is active until 30 or 60 minutes after the game. I don't remember which amount.
I used to be a regular here on the Red Bull forum, but it's now been a very long time indeed since the last time I posted on here. These days I seem to stick more to the News and Analysis section of the MLS Big Soccer boards. Like a guy revisiting his old neighborhood after years of moving out, I suddenly felt the need to come in here again this morning. I'm not exactly sure what i mean to accomplish by this---maybe just venting or commiserating a little with those who understand the ups and downs of what it's meant to be a Red Bull/Metro fan ever since this league started. I am just feeling so let down by last night's group game against Columbus. Columbus just made us look like garbage out there last night. The attack was impotent and void of ideas, the defense was shaky at best and porous at worse, and after having been spoiled by Robles at GK for so many years, i hated how last night i had to ask myself every time Columbus took a shot if Jensen was up to stopping the shot. It was just a poor performance all around. Maybe I'm just overreacting, and i know that there is still one group game left to play but it seems to me that an alarm should be going off in Chris Armas's head after last night. The team's weaknesses have been exposed. I know this is a rebuilding year and that i should temper my expectations accordingly, but it's just frustrating at times. I'm not sure if the mid summer transfer window will apply this year--but if it does then the organization should get to scouting and settle on some targets they want to acquire, because this team as presently constructed has some holes in it that need to be plugged.
I would not get too discouraged. It is just one game. Nagbe is the one guy in the league who is virtually press proof. Combine with Santos & Zelarayan, and a bit of game planning to protect Berhalter (more longballs, dropping CM between the CBs), and we become an especiallly hard team to press. Plus, we had 5 fresh starters while you guys ran back the same XI. I think it made a difference. A draw with Cincy gets you through, and you have 7 points from 4 games overall. A win and you are chugging along with 2 points per game through 5 games. Hardly time to panic. Now, a loss to Cincy & maybe some adjustments need to be made.
It was a BAD performance. Surprising, partly because of the prior result, but also because Crew have, in recent years, been quite a bit worse than us. But last night, and I suspect for the rest of this season, the tables turned.
Another horrible game from the Red Bulls and they now have been eliminated and will fail to get out of the group stage. And i might i add, it is rightfully deserved. I don't even know where to begin with this team. The defense is horrendous--the Cincy player was surrounded by 5 Red Bulls and still they left him a huge space to get the shot off and score a goal. Jensen does not seem very confident at GK, and the most glaring problem---this team has nothing in the attack therefore other teams don't respect them. The Red Bulls know how to pass the ball amongst themselves but once they reach the opponent's area they don't know what to do. There is a remarkable lack of creativity and imagination on the attack. The team either tries to jam the ball up the middle despite the fact that the entire defense is sitting back in the middle waiting for them OR they go for the very predictable cross inside the box and hope and pray that someone will connect with the ball. There seems to be no one with either the skills or the courage to go inside the box with the ball controlled at his feet. I keep on looking for service but i don't find it. Where is the killer diagonal thru ball that will feed the forwards as they run inside the box? Where is the attack from the wings? This team has tremendous difficulty creating scoring chances. Once they allowed Cincy to score first I knew it would be all up hill from there for them. The game against Columbus and tonight's game against Cincy have revealed the truth about this team. Simply put they don't have enough talent presently on the team to replace the talent that has left. It's been years since Dax left and they still don't have a replacement for him. It therefore should not be surprising that they don't have a replacement for very recent departures like BWP, Robles, Murillo etc. Out on the field tonight the only guy I saw hustling out there and trying was Omir Fernandez. As a fan I don't have a problem with this being a "rebuilding" season and the team trying to find some good talent within the organization. Hopefully White, Barlow, and Royer will get on track as the season continues and Omir will blossom, however this whole philosophy that has been put in place the past few years of building the team on the cheap has got to stop. I understand that Red Bull Gmbh has the 2 European teams as their priority: Red Bull Leipzig and Red Bull Salzburg---however RBNY deserves to be treated with respect, not just as a seeder team where if you have success you'll be moved to Europe. Open up the wallet and give us some proven winners that can come here and lead the younger talents on the team on and off the field or leave us alone and sell the team. I'm sick of us being a team on the discount rack.
We need DP caliber players and a new coach. Simple is that. Unfortunately we are the red headed step child of our corporate overlords. They don’t care. So we will be stuck with Armas and a bunch of guys that should be playing in the USL until the end of time.
The decline has been swift and total since Jesse left. The academy has gone silent. Armas is terrible. Most of the players are mediocre and the handful of good ones have their eyes on a move or have been completely neutered by Armas.
I will remain optimistic. Meaning that Armas will eventually get canned and better players brought in. They brought in new management personnel and I think Covid derailed the timing of their plans. That’s my take because we stink and I need to hold onto something positive.
In their first home game in months, the Red Bulls won 1-0 hosting NYCFC. The only goal was by Kyle Duncan in the 59th minute that wasn't called a goal on the field. Sean Johnson touched the ball facing his goal and gathered it at the line. To be a goal, the whole ball must be over the line, and the announcers were surprised when it was called a goal. It looked like the whole part of the ball on the ground was over the line. Part of the sphere that didn't touch the ground was not over the line, and I'm going to post in the Referee forum because I don't remember having part of the ball being above the ground mattering. We had more shots (14 to 8) and more shots on target (7 to 2), while NYCFC had more possession and a higher pass completion percentage. https://matchcenter.mlssoccer.com/m...w-york-red-bulls-vs-new-york-city-fc/boxscore has the box score. NYCFC now has 1 win, 0 draws, and 5 losses!