Looks like Mr. Backe has some decisions to make come opening day in Dallas. With a surplus of forwards and central midfielders, it'll be interesting to see what formation and personnel makeup the starting XI. With so many options and possible configurations at his disposal, how will Backe manage his depth?

Soler Swag for days

After what can only be described as a highly disappointing season in 2011, the Red Bulls, and more importantly their front office, certainly had their work cut out for them. A roster filled with so much talent but woefully underachieved had to be revamped somehow. And it was Erik Soler's job to fit together the right pieces to assert New York as a top team once again.

Man, where do I even start? First, let me apologize for such a long hiatus. These past few months have been pretty crazy for me for a number of reasons, but I'm back now. If there's anyone out there that actually still reads this blog, thank you for your patience. This hasn't been a fun time for me, but things are starting to look up.

I have to admit; I've pronounced the season to be dead more than once before. But you gotta cut me some slack, I wasn't counting on the absolute ineptitude of the rest of the Eastern Conference. Thanks to their shortcomings, the Red Bulls found themselves clinging to the tenth and final playoff spot after a draw away to Toronto.

Well, here I am, once again reeling from another disappointment, trying to figure out just how to sum up yet the latest uninspired performance by New York. I swear, with all the talk of how great this team is better on paper, I propose we so all go out and cover RBA in 8 ½ x 11's on Saturday...

Just when you thought all hope was lost, New York goes out and does this. A win, honest to God, a win. For the first time since the July 6th drubbing of TFC, the Red Bulls claimed all three points and boy did it feel good. Granted, it got a bit nervy there and it wasn't the pretty display by any stretch of the imagination, but isn't that what it's all about?

Man, the past week or so has been quite kind to the Red Bulls. After Irene washed away any hopes of the Galaxy match being played, New York saw their playoff position actually improve despite not playing a single match since August 20th. As of now, New York owns the 10th and final playoff spot, sitting behind Columbus, SKC, Houston, and Philly in the East.

Do I even need to bother recapping this game? You might as well just read my last post. It meets all the requirements: disappointment, 2-2 draw, second half comeback, Ballouchy being useless... you know, the usual. Just when you think they can't draw against a crappier team, they do. The Revs, proud owners of the most anemic offense in the league, still managed to take a 2-0 lead against New York and it took a 87th minute equalizer to walk away with a point.

Another week, another disappointing performance for RBNY. Par for the course, I would say (No Backe reference intended). With the lowly Fire in town, you'd probably expect a win in front of the sell out crowd at RBA... who am I kidding, we were all pretty much expecting the worst the way things have been going lately.

That's right, folks; to go along with the laundry list of accomplishments the Metro Bulls have attained in their illustrious history, you can add 2011 Emirates Cup Champions to it. Now while it's no La Manga, it ranks right up there with the Mickey Mouse Cup of 2010. Hey, this is about the only Red Bulls news I can get excited about nowadays, so get off my back.

Last Saturday, D.C. United gutted out a 2-0 at San Jose. Dwayne De Rosario's two second half goals gave D.C. a lead in a frustrating game for both teams. It was only after Andy Najar was sent off for a professional foul that San Jose seized the initiative, but a committed rear-guard performance saw D.

- Dwayne De Rosario is the best kind of All-star, the inactive kind. He'll be recognized as one of the league's top performers, get a nice little bonus, but won't have to miss any D.C. practices to go play an exhibition game. Which is certainly a good thing as he has only been with his current teammates for about a month now.

Wow, well hopefully you haven't been using the Offside as your sole source for MLS news (as I know many of you do), because I haven't been very diligent in updating you on all things Red Bull New York. With the Bulls facing some adversity (understatement of the year?), the front office has taken action and enlisted the help of German backstop Frank Rost.

Coming off the heels of a rather unconvincing (but welcomed) win against New England, the Red Bulls are off to embark on their longest trip away from the friendly confines of Harrison. First up, the rowdy crowd at JELD-WEN Field, home of the Timbers.

Thanks to an own goal and some inspiring football from Thierry Henry, New York finally snapped their winless streak and finally took home the full three points.

Can Backe right the ship?

The three-game winning streak of last month seems so distant now, doesn't it? For that matter, so does my last blog post, but that's neither here nor there (but apologies, nonetheless). The Red Bulls now find themselves in a precarious situation. They are no longer getting the results that seemed to come so easily earlier in the season, and the defense has been suspect to say the least.

I've been trying to get an interview with some of the players for quite some time now, but until now I didn't have any luck. Being a different state will do that. Fortunately, I was able to get in contact with rookie midfielder Matt Kassel, who was nice enough to answer some of my questions.

Apparently, it can buy you damn entertaining 90 minutes of soccer, though. Throughout the week, everyone in MLS was hyping this game to be the greatest game of the year, and while hype is usually unsubstantiated, this game lived up to all the buzz surrounding the league's two marquee franchises.

Luke's aeroplane celebration... yea or nay?

Take a deep breath folks; the Red Bulls took home all three points tonight... but just barely. In a win that was very much different from the two matches that preceded it, New York played an incredibly strong first half that saw Luke Rodgers get on the board once again.

Be honest, how many of you were expecting a JPA jump-slash?

Seriously, is there anything better than going into D.C. and stomping them out? I think not. If last week's performance against the Quakes was impressive, than we need to find a new word to describe the show that New York put on in RFK.

I got a feeling this is what everyone envisioned would happen when this team was assembled. That game exemplified just how good New York can be as they dominated in all facets of the game. Oh, and Thierry Henry finally got on the scoreboard. A sign of things to come? One can only hope.

Remember this?

That can go plenty of ways now, can't it? I'm sure many of you have some choice words for Mr. Henry (I'll let you connect the dots) and some probably have a big question on your mind (again, use your imagination), but I have just three words for the entire Red Bull organization.

New York heads down I-95 to PPL Park to take on the (shockingly) first-place Union tomorrow. Most teams heading on the road will usually be looking to take a point, let alone when facing a team that's at the top of the conference. But the Red Bulls aren't most teams. With the amount of talent on this team, and against a bitter rival, you'd be believe New York will be looking to send a message to the Union, and the rest of the league for that matter, by taking all three points in Chester.

After all the trade-hype eventually died down, it was time for the Red Bulls to take the field. With Dwayne De Rosario in tow, New York was looking to get off on the right foot. But the Dynamo proved that there is plenty of work still to be done during the long season that lies ahead.

Remember when I said that it was MLS Cup or bust for New York this year? Well folks, that sentiment should be felt now more than ever. Erik Soler made a huge splash this afternoon in anticipation to their clash with Houston by trading away Tony Tchani, Danleigh Borman, and a first round draft pick in 2012 for five-time MLS Best XI midfielder Dwayne De Rosario.

After it was announced that five starters from their first game against Seattle would missing on their trip to Columbus, Hans Backe was forced to put together a makeshift lineup that would severely test New York's depth. Even with all these changes, the Red Bulls still managed to get a result in enemy territory, a sign that perhaps this team has what it takes to be championship caliber.

There was a bit of an uneasy feeling that the Red Bulls would fail to get another quality scoring chance after Thierry Henry squandered a PK chance to put New York up front early on, but rookie sensation Juan Agudelo would have none of it.

After a seemingly endless offseason, the 2011 season got underway with a 1-0 win in favor of the home team, but not without all the drama that usually surrounds a Red Bulls fixture.

Can TH14 be the player Red Bull paid for?

That's the label that's pretty much been put on this Red Bulls team by fans and "experts" alike (please note the quotes). With all the expectations that come with having two world-class DPs along with the addition of quality European talent, New York has no other option but to go all the way.

Dane's been the man of the moment this preseason.

The hectic preseason continued for New York as they wrapped up their final trip in Arizona this week. The only thing is, did this long preseason leave us with more questions than answers?

Last time we spoke, the Red Bulls just finished up winning against Ft.

Breaking up the Baby Bulls

Since when was MLS preseason supposed to be this interesting/frantic? Between trips to Mexico and Florida (and Arizona coming up), cuts, signings, trialists, more preseason matches than one could handle, and the recent slew of injuries, the Red Bulls have had plenty on their plate.

Well, at least I know the latter part for sure. Seriously, what the hell was Don Garber thinking? But I'm getting ahead of myself here; we still have two games to break down...

New York got its first taste of MLS competition yesterday when they took on the Chicago Fire in two separate games.

Don't stare directly into his eyes... just ask Carlos Mendes.

Holy hell, have you seen anything that terrifying in your life? I'm damn convinced that this petrifying gaze is what led to the Red Bulls squandering a 2-0 halftime lead. I think he might have broken into the locker room during the break and started wreaking havoc, terrorizing the players.

Hey everyone, just made a Twitter account for the NYRB Offside blog. If any of you have a Twitter, give me a follow at twitter.com/OffsideNYRB. Here I'll post when my newest posts are up and also pieces of NYRB news that don't exactly warrant a full blog post. I can also answer any of your questions if you give me a shout out.

Well, it looks like Backe's decision to make Thierry Henry the next Red Bulls captain is official. After seeing Henry wear the armband in Wednesday's friendly against Atlante, there was some speculation as to whether the decision would be carry over into the regular season.

I just got a look at a few of the highlights from last night's match, and my first reaction was, "Damn, we have the best back up keeper in the league." Greg Sutton was playing out of his mind in the second half making some huge saves including a double save of a close shot and the impending bicycle kick.

With the Red Bulls down in Mexico for the beginning of their preseason schedule, New York pulled out a win in PK's over Mexican side Atlante, 4-3, after each side failed to score in the regulation 90.

Last year, the Red Bulls had an almost perfect preseason, finishing at 7-0-3. With the new look Bulls on the pitch for the first time in 2011, their undefeated streak continued.

Reports from France have surfaced reporting that Chelsea striker Nicolas Anelka may be in talks with NYRB for a potential move away from the London powerhouse. Before we all start getting too excited, let's remember what this is: a rumor. It hasn't been the first one, most likely won't be the last, so we shouldn't get too swept up in this one just yet (remember when Raul was destined for the Big Apple?

Well, it seems as though Don Garber's "big announcement" was a big PR letdown and irked many MLS fans, but it works just fine for me. Red Bull Arena will play host to the MLS All-Star game for the first time since 1997 back at Giants Stadium, although the opponent has yet to be released.

No, not them. As the offseason winds down, the Red Bulls have undergone quite a facelift. New York has added plenty of new faces and parted with some old ones as well. With all these changes, the question on many fan's minds is, "How will Hans Backe make it all work?"

First things first, the Red Bulls have officially signed long sought after striker, Luke Rodgers from Notts County in England.

I'm not exactly sure if I'm breaking this story (although I haven't seen it reported on any other site as of now), but Matt Kassel has signed with New York. According to a Facebook status update, Kassel states, "It was fun Maryland but New York Red Bulls it is!!! ..thanks for all the support everyone.

MLS has undergone a pretty drastic transformation right before our very eyes this offseason, one that has left me asking, "Where have all the stars gone?" alla Hershey's Cookies and Cream commercials circa 1998. Many of the league's big name stars have hit the road for various reasons, leaving behind an opportunity for many of the leagues budding young talents to take their place.