Ready or not, here comes this week’s View from the South Ward!
Although it has little or nothing to do with the MLS, I’d like to present my two cents worth of opinion on the Liverpool/Luis Suarez saga. Luis Suarez is notorious for not being a team player. He has complained about the treatment of his family, and decided instead of simply posting a transfer request to his club, that it would be a better idea to request his transfer via the press. Reportedly, Arsenal is the main dance partner in this waltz, and although Liverpool has publicly stated they will turn down any transfer bids for Suarez, I’m not sure how that will benefit Suarez or Liverpool, whether or not he gets shipped out.
Consider this; If Suarez’ complaints stem from media treatment, how will moving to the London-based Arsenal help that? If Liverpool keeps Suarez, that is potentially playing with fire. His very presence and negative attitude most certainly will poison the Liverpool locker room, and if they suspend him, it simply is a waste of time. Liverpool NEEDS to move Suarez, but they should move him out of the league, away from any rival that may have ideas of courting him. That way Suarez gets what he wants, and Liverpool cuts out a player that could be a cancer.
Speaking of transfers, rumor has it that RBNY had the chance to snag Clint Dempsey, but turned him down. There was also a feeling that the Red Bulls would sign their third DP before the MLS transfer window closed, but alas, the only move they mustered was a depth move to sign defender/midfielder David Carney. The 29-year old Carney is clearly a buddy of Tim Cahill, having played both on Everton and the Australian Socceroos. However, he hasn’t played a moment of professional footy in over a year, leading me to believe that this has more to do with setting up the signing of another player, possibly a third DP, and possibly another Aussie. That said, I’m not even willing to theorize what Sporting Director Andy Roxburgh has up his sleeve.
The presence of the aforementioned Dempsey has had an immediate impact in the league. His Sounders home debut in Seattle hasn’t even happened yet, but it already will be the 2nd most attended match in league history. It was sold out in minutes, and as of Sunday morning Stubhub was selling tickets for as much as $6957. Even in Seattle, where footy has become somewhat of a religion, that is impressive. Bravo, Seattle!
I wish I could applaud the Red Bulls for a convincing win to solidify their hold on 1st place in the Eastern Conference. However, instead of rising to the occaision they once again played down to their opponent’s level.
Missing Cahill, and Thierry Henry both to injury, and coach Mike Petke to suspension, they still were better man-for-man against a Crew side that has spent this season spiralling to the bottom of the MLS, and look to be in the next round of teams mathematically eliminated from post-season contention. But instead of making another statement, these Red Bulls dropped the proverbial ball.
They got out of the first half scoreless, mainly on three impressive saves by keeper Luis Robles. Gone was the aggressive, speedy attack present in the two previous matches that Andy Roxbrugh called “character-building” wins. What replaced it looked like a disjointed, uncreative disaster. There was no anticipation. Neither the strikers nor the midfielders seemed completely in sync. Eric Alexander, who has been receiving praise from this writer recently, went back to his nearly invisible ways, and Fabian Espindola and Jonny Steele seemed like the only two players, besides Robles, determined to win.
Let’s discount the fact that the penalty kick awarded to the Crew was not even close to a valid call, the Red Bulls could have pulled out a point, but they didn’t deserve even that. Although Steele hit a crossbar on a strike from his favorite spot on the field, the Red Bulls were ineffective on the attack and irresponsible in their transition game, repeatedly giving the ball away in the middle.
So, with their loss to the Crew and Sporting KC’s thumping of New England, RBNY is in 2nd in the East once again. Silenced is the hopeful MLS Cup talk. Next week’s opponent, the Philadelphia Union, is hot on the Red Bulls’ tail only one point behind them in the standings. And both the Houston Dynamo and the Montreal Impact STILL have two games in hand on the Harrison club. If the Red Bulls continue to squander these easy matches, they may not only find themselves out of MLS Cup dreams, but out of the post-season entirely. Hope may be on the way though. The depth-strapped RBNY may get both Cahill and Lloyd Sam back, and Bradley Wright-Philips looks like he may get his P-1 visa this week. Also, from what I heard, Henry’s injury was a minor knock and he will miss no additional time.
With that said, Conor Casey and the Union are just salivating at the idea of passing the Red Bulls in the standings next week. It might be time to build some more of that Roxburgh character.
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