God I hope this is true (not the Henry part). I wish Red Bull would sell. I hate them so much. They run the team like a child. Just a bunch of absolute idiots. Everytime I see an ad for their product I throw up in my mouth a little. That's the legacy they've built in NY. Can't come soon enough. Bring in some owners who actually care.
Awful news on both fronts though maybe good in the long run if we get better investors. If Henry really does leave I'll be so disappointed. He's had his role change but maybe his best year of all time. One more year as distributor would be incredible.
I'm glad Citeh is not the new ownership. If it's going to be a sale, please, please, please, let it be a US ownership. This club needs enthusiastic and engaged owners. That's the real advantage other clubs have in developing a clear, positive, forward-thinking strategy.
I'm not at all a hater of our owners, I think they've plenty of things right that they don't get credit for. But with the direction they're taking now, I wouldn't at all be opposed to a sale. You can either be an absentee owner with deep pockets, or involved on the ground on a shoestring budget, but you can't be both absent and stingy.
I agree. I've defended Red Bull quite often. I don't think it is realistic to that they can be forced to sell, but I do hope that someone steps up to pay them a fair price. Now that the franchise has been built into something worthwhile (a great stadium, training facility, outstanding youth program and a track record of winning), they can capitalize on it and everyone can part ways on a high note. Another year or two of absentee ownership and the Red Bull will destroy a lot that good will.
I am gunna enjoy the rest of this year. No Henry and likely no Cahill and an uncommited owner looking to spend any money to replace them. The future is looking mighty UGLY. Chalk me up as someone who likes Red Bull. Built us a stadium. Fielded a team of nice players and hired one of our own as coach (begrudgingly, but still). If they are no longer interested though, I am happy to see them sell.
If the USL team was coming online I'd feel much better about having zero DP's on the roster. But not investing in DP's and not investing in the future either? Recipe for disaster.
Garber issues the obligatory denial http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/artic...sioner-don-garber-new-york-red-bulls-not-sale of course in the event that Wahl's story really was true, there is no way that Garber could admit publicly until the team itself decided to make it public.
Houllier just said Henry isn't being offered a contract for next year. Where there is smoke there is fire. Red bull tried to sell to Manchester city and the club is for sale today for 300 million. They denied the red bull takeover till it happened. They denied the chivas dismantling till yesterday. Both happened. Where there is smoke there is fire. And thank god for that. I can't wait to be rid of these idiot owners.
I'd still be very surprised if this happens in the immediate future. The entire story amounts to a single one of Grant Wahl's sources claiming he wouldn't be surprised if Red Bull would sell for $300M, if not for the bit about Red Bull already having had a few conversations with other groups in the past this wouldn't even be news.
The part about them having discussions about the sale of the team is all we need to know. It proves the team is for sale, and thus validates the source of Wahl's who put the $300 million price tag on the team. $200 million dollar stadium + team's net worth of ~$100 million...it pretty much adds up correctly. I mean, they're obviously advertising for sale on the cheap, but it would make sense that they are trying to cut their losses. Think about it: -New plaything in Germany. -An urban redevelopment plan for Harrison that never happened which makes... -Red Bull Arena not the crown jewel they had planned. -Failed marketing techniques (their own fault I might add). -Their #1 drawing/marketing player in Henry no longer with the club. -A fanbase that either hates them or is indifferent. The only thing that is perplexing is their continued investment in the training facility. Unless they figured that was a low cost way to attract the attention of a buyer. If you think about it all the infrastructure is now there minus the USL side. An ownership group comes in, writes a check, and doesn't HAVE to build anything. The USL side is their own choice. And if they feel like they're getting the team and facilities on the cheap they might be more inclined to put together that USL side. Honestly, with NYC2 coming online the obvious way to run this club is to get all that NJ talent in the academy and to advertise this club as the one with 20 years of history. Those are 2 major resources that NYC2 doesn't have. Sure they can scout the boroughs, LI, etc. but IMO we have the better pool of talent in NJ. If we get into a bidding war with NYC2 for high profile DP's it's not gonna do us much good. At best we break even with each team having a few home runs and a few duds. IMO DP's moving forward should either be the final piece to an already built roster that puts us over the edge OR an incentive to U.S. based players who have reached the Besler/Gonzalez level. We have to take advantage of the history of the team and the players in NJ. Sell the team to a NJ based multimillion dollar company/ownership group and rebrand as NJ Metrostars. No-brainer.
A quibble. The Harrison redevelopment plan is not a bust, it is just happening more slowly, in large part due to the recession. Currently the middle block along Frank Rodgers Blvd. is being built upon with what appears to be a large (half block) sized apartment complex. And all signs point to this continuing on other parcels in the vicinity. But I agree about NJ's talent pool. The NJYSA is one of the largest in the country, third only to MA and NCal in terms of sheer number of players (148K to 165K and 171K). And when it comes to player pools, numbers matter as much as development opportunities.
Of course. I'm convinced it will get to where the original plans were some day. The town has nowhere to go but up. It's just going to take MUCH longer than ever anticipated. When Red Bull put this whole thing together I'm sure they thought EVERYTHING was going to come together immediately. Brand new stadium, in brand new Harrision, with brand new public transit, and Thierry Henry and Rafa Marquez? What could go wrong?! I'd say TYPE of player matters too. We have a very diverse population relative to other MLS academies nation wide. Families that live and die soccer usually produce better youth prospects. Those families tend to have interesting national ties outside of the U.S. Huge player pool, great players, great academy...hmmm what's the missing ingrediant here?...I know! An Owner who knows how to take advantage of that!
I would hate for there to be a third name change in the team's 20 year history. I like the Red Bulls logo and uniforms. All these name changes aren't good for building a team's identity.
Better than having an Ownership group for the next 20 years that can't get their $hit together. Let's face it: The shield win was in large part due to Henry and Cahill having incredible seasons and the team rallying around club legend Petke in his first year. What are the odds of a perfect storm like that happening anytime in the near future?
You say that the Red Bull FO can't get their $hit together. But, they're the ones who turned this team around and built the nicest soccer stadium in the U.S.. They also got one of the best players in history,Thierry Henry, to come over to play for the Red Bulls.
You are right, Enriq. RedBull deserves props. These guys put some major resources into this team. No question about it. Now though, they have lost interest. Do you really want guys that are no longer all that interested, running your club? I wish they were still into it, BUT unfortunately they are not. What can you do, ya know?? It not optimal, but it's time to move on.
Cahill was GOD last season. How many matches did he score late to win last season? The Golden Head. This year, instead, he has 2 goals and will skip a defacto playoff match next week against Toronto for a FRIENDLY. Odds of the perfect storm happening again is 0.01%. Henry packin it in. Cahill not into it. RB organization itself losing interest. When you put the faux, anything can happen, hope the side, you KNOW its over. The ball just isn't bouncing our way this season.
^This. They built a beautiful stadium...and they've pissed that investment away by not properly marketing the team and by hiring a bunch of morons to run the actual game day experience at said stadium. They built a beautiful training facility...and they plan on pissing all that investment away by not putting together a USL squad. Henry fell into their laps. He wanted to play in NYC. They didn't have to convince him to. And because of their mismanagement of the team they've got all of 1 trophy out of a possible 12 (so far) to show for a side that has arguably the best player in MLS. Petke brought this team it's first piece of hardware ever...and he got the job because their European coach fell through! I could go on and on about moronic mid season friendlies and the lack of respect they've shown their fanbase (Chris Heck). So to sum up: They built a nice stadium and training facility and have no idea how to run this club. Henry is a major reason why our winning percentage did a complete 180, and he fell right into their lap. Ditto Petke. When you look close at their decision making and not just the shiny stadium you realize that this is a very poorly run business.
Alot of you guys are way too critical on the organization and I suppose most of the hate comes from the fact our team is named after a energy drink. I guess we can complain about the administrative aspect like marketing and all but those are really empty arguments. If we do make the playoffs this year that will be 5 straight appearances.. We've struggled at times no doubt but for the most part we've been good. Henry is a great player but one man does not define a team. Players like Dax, Sam, BWP, Olave, Cahill, etc, were all brought in. I do think they failed with finding the right coach.