I was just sitting down to write up my match recap from the Red Bulls 4-1 victory over Toronto FC, when I popped open Twitter to see the news. The Red Bulls General Manager and Sporting Director Erik Soler had been demoted. I scrolled through my feed to see where the news all began and who broke it to see what else there was to this bizarre turn of events. It was just a press release from the club stating that Soler had been demoted to an “internal advisor” and the hiring of former AS Monaco boss Jérôme de Bontin as the General Manager. Frenchman Gerrard Houllier, who earlier this summer was named head of the Red Bulls global soccer operations, takes over the clubs sporting operations.
This move is bizarre and strikes doubt and fear into the supporters of the club. If you check the current MLS Standings, New York sits on 53 points, tied for second in the east with the Chicago Fire (beating them on goals for) and overall is third in the league. With only three weeks left in the regular season and before playoffs, this is a move that could make sense for the Portland Timbers, Chivas USA, or Toronto FC. This is not a move that breathes confidence from the Austrian Overlords before the playoffs or four days before a pivotal eastern conference matchup. This is a move that signals, no matter how the Red Bulls finish 2012, there will be further changes to the coaching staff and the roster; a roster that Erik Soler had just finalized after gutting out all players who were with the team prior to his takeover.
What could have triggered this move so late in the season? Do the Overlords of Red Bull know this current roster is not seizing the Supporter’s Shield or MLS Cup this season? A season in which San Jose and Kansas City have been on fire generally all season long while the Red Bulls dealt with injury after injury but still found ways to win games with rookies and cast offs? A season in which Erik Soler dispatched of troubled Juan Agudelo to the West Coast for a solid defender and MLS All-Star Heath Pearce. Soler also went out and acquired Bill Gaudette, Wilman Conde, Markus Holgersson, Sebastian Le Toux, Lloyd Sam, Digao, Kenny Cooper, and NY’s third DP Tim Cahill. All of these moves lead to one of, if not the, deepest benches of talent MLS has ever known. I’ll admit that it took Soler time to adapt to a salary cap system in MLS but he did and all of the moves New York made this season prove that. Soler also drafted defender Tim Ream and goalkeeper Ryan Meara, who was on his way to a rookie of the year award before his season ending injury.
Three weeks left to go in the regular season and Hans Backe has to be distracted right now. Soler is the one who hired Backe and all fans thought that the two of them were a packaged deal. Many fans felt that if New York fizzled out in the playoffs without winning any silverware that both would probably be gone in 2013. Now that Soler has been demoted, I have no doubt even an MLS Cup couldn’t save Hans Backe’s job with New York. Jack Bell of the New York Times is reporting that Houllier is already planning to speak with candidates to replace Backe on the expiration of his contract, “including a well-known international coach who has worked previously in England’s Premier League”. A new coach generally means a new staff and the ceremonial gutting of the roster for a rebuilding period. For a franchise that has won nothing in 16 years, it will be a tough time for fans and more ammunition for opposing supporters. If the roster becomes gutted in such a way that the new players and old cannot mesh on the field, not even the heroics of Thierry Henry will garner wins for the Red Bulls and they will very much look like a Chivas or Toronto side for a period of time. This all comes DURING New York’s most successful season in franchise history. Sure they didn’t win the US Open Cup and they probably won’t win the Shield but depending on how the next three weeks ago, New York could be poised to host it’s first ever MLS Cup at the beautifully built Red Bull Arena.
The timing of this move could not have been worse off as the team seemed to finally find its chemistry and best starting XI heading into two huge home games and the playoffs. Backe found the speed down the right hand side again with Lloyd Sam. Brandon Barklage once again emerged as the true right back of the team with his positioning, break up play, and his willingness to get into the attack. Tim Cahill and Dax McCarty have finally figured each other out and both are invaluable box-to-box defenders. Lastly, that New York’s best starting forward tandem is Kenny Cooper and Thierry Henry, case closed. Both Henry and Cooper had a hand in every goal scored in NY’s 4-1 win over Toronto as Henry had 1 goal and three assists to Coopers 2 goals and 1 assist. In fact, the only goal both of them didn’t play a part together in was Holgersson’s equalizing header. After that, Henry and Cooper served up beautiful balls to one another with Cooper’s goals being tap ins and Henry’s a 30 yard Goal of the Week chipping of the keeper. Backe in the long term, has been tinkering all season long with his formations and lineups to give the team the best shot at winning but now it seems as if he’ll be coaching for his resume and not his job.
What of the fans in all of this mess? You know, the ones that have been tormented by so many years of no trophy lifts, empty cabinets, and tireless mockery by the opposing fan base. Opinions varied today from some that just did not like Soler (he did hire Chris Heck after all) to those who believe he finally figured it all out and New York could stay a top team for the next two years. All agree though, that the timing could inevitably be the downfall of this season’s progress though. This move should not ultimately affect the play on the field but it could. There are some teams in MLS where players know they are fighting for their jobs next season but they know who the coach will be come Feburary. Not so for the Red Bulls who, even if they win MLS Cup, could be traded or shipped out. Fans, however, may take the move a bit differently. Current season ticket renewal ends on October 11th and the period to upgrade your seats or for new season ticket holders begins October 13th. Some fans may not renew or upgrade to show they don’t want to spend their hard earned money and go week in week out watching a rebuilding process. I myself was going to upgrade my seats by about 300 dollars per seat and basically doubling what I pay a year to watch my beloved Red Bulls but now I am not so sure.
This past weekend’s home match against Toronto FC was maybe one of the most electric matches I’ve attended in Red Bull Arena’s short history. Although the team went down early, they quickly battled back, imposed themselves on lowly TFC, and dominated the game from the equalizer on. It was capped off with one of Thierry Henry’s greatest performances as a Red Bull, which earned him his fifth MLS Player of the Week award. It was one action that Henry did, however, without the ball at his feet that sent the South Ward into chants of “Hen-ry, Hen-ry”. After setting up Cooper’s second goal and scoring his won, Henry tapped to his captain’s armband and pointed at the South Ward. What’s so special about a captain’s armband you ask? It just so happened to be a Metrostars armband, a black and red striped band that signifies the origins of this organization and its struggles and Henry let the diehards know he knows their pain and that fate is changing. Unfortunately for Thierry, somethings are controlled on levels even he cannot control.
