The Philadelphia Union announced, over Twitter, that along with second year goalkeeper Zac MacMath, the team has former third stringer Chase Harrison and Chris Konopka, a former New York Red Bulls goalkeeper, in their Florida training camp.

Union head coach Piotr Nowak has made it clear that he's both comfortable with heading into the season with Harrison as MacMath's backup and no veteran goalkeeper on the roster.

By DAVE MARTINEZ

As the New York Red Bulls opened their preseason camp two weeks ago, coach Hans Backe surveyed the landscape of his young goalkeeping ranks and assessed the need for an established veteran to take a leadership role.

Despite being heavily rumored to be grasping that role, Venezuelan netminder Renny Vega will not be the one manning the posts at Red Bull Arena this season.

Juventus and Italian national team legend Alessandro Del Piero has long been linked with a move to MLS, and despite recent reports having him wind up with the Montreal Impact, the club's president set the record straight on the matter.

Joey Saputo admitted to having discussions with the 37-year-old Del Piero's representatives on two occasions -- last April in Montreal and last June in Italy -- while discussing a potential move to MLS, but offered that Del Piero has his eyes on the league's two major markets should he come to America.

Photo by David Bernal/ISIphotos.com

As a new season approaches for the New York Red Bulls, it is still very uncertain who will be standing between the goalposts for a team looking to surpass its results from 2011.

According to multiple reports, manager Hans Backe definitively said that German goalkeeper Frank Rost would not be returning to the club, weeks after sporting director Erik Soler said there was a "good possibility" of Rost coming back.

Kenny Cooper: Jersey-BoundOn what most people expected to be a relatively quiet 2012 MLS Draft day for the New York Red Bulls, Erik Solér and company made a surprising amount of noise. First, even before the draft began, the team confirmed the signing of defender Markus Holgersson from Swedish club Helsingborgs IF.

Solér Speaks, FinallySince the New York Red Bulls were knocked out of the MLS playoffs by the Los Angeles Galaxy back in November, almost all of the news coming out of Harrison has been about players departing. First a large chunk of the reserve team was let go, then the club cut loose a group of veterans that included Chris Albright, Bouna Coundoul and Carlos Mendes in the re-entry draft.

Photo by Bill Barrett/ISIphotos.com

By AVI CREDITOR

Tim Ream's training stints with West Brom and Bolton are just that and nothing more. Officially.

New York Red Bulls general manager Erik Soler made that much clear to reporters on Tuesday, saying that Ream won't be transferred or loaned out despite what conflicting reports from overseas might suggest.

Ream: West Brom Bound?Following a turbulent 2011 regular season for the New York Red Bulls, General Manager Erik Solér and Head Coach Hans Backe have played their cards very close to the vest as they look to reshape and add depth to the squad for 2012. Apart from sanctioning the departure of a half dozen fringe players and exposing highly-paid veterans such as Carlos Mendes, Bouna Coundoul and Chris Albright to this year's Re-Entry Draft (Mendes has since been snapped up by Columbus), there has been little to no action to report.

A couple weeks ago, I put up the New York Red Bulls roster prior to the beginning of the off-season. Mr. Soler and Mr. Backe have been busy since then, and over at our facebook page, members of the Viper's Nest Editorial Board have been clamoring for an updated post to sum up the salary and roster ramifications of the moves thus far.

The New York Red Bulls boasts one of Major League soccer's impressive rosters with French legend Thierry Henry, former Mexico captain Rafael Márquez, former Hamburger SV keeper Frank Rost and speedy Jamaican international Dane Richards in the mix. As the club seeks to improve upon its disappointing 5th place MLS Eastern Conference finish and MLS [.

How does MLS stack up against the other top leagues in the world?
This is a question that is often debated among Major League Soccer supporters and detractors, and Leander Schaerlaeckens of ESPN.com takes a crack at the debate. Where he finds that it doesn't necessarily hold up against the likes of the English Premier League or the German Bundesliga, it's grown steadily to reach that group below the top tier leagues in the world.

Wednesday's MLS Expansion Draft provides the Montreal Impact a chance to build the foundation for its MLS roster, and the club will have some decisions to make based on how much it wants to spend and which direction it wants to go off the bat.

Designated Players Julian de Guzman, Andres Mendoza, Mustapha Jarju, Branko Boskovic, Frank Rost, Milton Caraglio, Omar Bravo and Jeferson are all free for the taking (although Rost is likely to return to Germany after a few-month stay with New York), giving the Impact the option to make a major investment immediately.

A deserving award for the second-half goal machine. And it's a fascinating case this year, probably the strangest MVP we've ever had. What's interesting is how DeRo was discarded not once but twice, first by hometown TFC and then by New York, who really needed Frank Rost (epic eye roll here) in that DP spot.

James Grossi gets us back into the swing of things by rewinding and pressing play on what happened in this year's MLS playoffs and the lead-up.

The first twelve matches of the 2011 MLS playoffs have been played; one remains to determine who will take the honours as Champions.

A Veteran's Day Thank You, especially our friends serving in the armed services and ECS' Armed Services Group. It's a quiet weekend in MLS as everyone is on break for international games. The Los Angeles Galaxy will take on the Houston Dynamo next Sunday at the Home Depot Center. Tickets are up over 640% over regular prices as Galaxy fans have a rare opportunity to see their side clinch the Cup at home.

With the expansion draft just two weeks away, Red Bulls fans are debating the merits of who to protect and who to expose. Presented below, to assist in the discussion, is the current Red Bulls roster and salaries, according to the MLS Players Union website.

Name

Player Des.

Photo by David Bernal/ISIphotos.com

It appears that Frank Rost's time in Major League Soccer has come and gone.

Hans Backe told the New York Post Tuesday that he expects New York's midseason acquisition and Designated Player goalkeeper to return to Germany, leaving the Red Bulls with an unresolved situation in goal yet again.

Photo by David Bernal/ISIphotos.com

By ADAM SERRANO

Robbie Keane seems healthy and ready to contribute for the Los Angeles Galaxy's run to MLS Cup. Now all he needs to do is find the back of the net.

Keane was appearing in just his second match since an adductor strain cost him the last three weeks of the season as well as a number of important matches for club and country.

Despite giving up an early goal, the Los Angeles Galaxy were able to rally against a early dominating New York Red Bulls side to win the game 2-1. Los Angeles continues on to the Western Conference Finals 3-1 on aggregate.

First Half

The New York Red Bulls had nothing to lose going into last night's game.

New York has a lot of talent but little depth, which could be good for them in the expansion draft. (Getty Images)

It wasn't the year that most had expected out of the New York Red Bulls. A fast started turned into a long summer drought followed by a late season push into the playoffs. Expectations were high and the team failed to reach them.

The second leg of the Galaxy/Red Bulls series started off with a bang. Luke Rodgers found the back of the net just four minutes in and brought the teams level on aggregate. From there, MLS fans were treated to a fantastic display worthy of the playoffs.
Mike Magee played hero in responding with his second goal of the series.

Galaxy 1 New York Red Bulls 0

The forecast cold front has yet to move into the South Bay here in Carson.

Real Salt Lake awaits the winner of this series that the Galaxy lead from a Mike Magee goal in the 15th minute of last Sunday's game.

If the score is tied at the end of regulation, we'll have 30 minutes of OT, followed by PK's if the score is still tied.

Tempers flared as the Los Angeles Galaxy beat the New York Red Bulls 1-0 at Red Bull Arena, in their Western Conference semi-final first leg match.

Mike Magee's early goal off a cross from David Beckham was enough to give the Galaxy the win, and they only need a draw at home on Thursday to progress to the Conference Finals.

The chants of "Red Bull Reject" rang out in Red Bull Arena, but the player they were aimed at didn't hear them.

No, Mike Magee was too focused on the task at hand, helping the No. 1 seed Los Angeles Galaxy post an opening playoff win against the New York Red Bulls, which just so happened to be Magee's former team.

Mehdi's Moment of Brilliance Eclipses Brek Shea: Hold the Phone! (Photo by Dan Dickinson)Here's a head-scratcher: by defeating FC Dallas 2-0 last night in a Wild Card playoff in Frisco (my full match report on Once a Metro can be found here), the Red Bulls have arguably ensured themselves of a more "successful" season than they enjoyed in 2010.

The 2011 MLS Playoffs kickoff at 9 pm tonight on Fox Soccer Channel, as the New York Red Bulls head to Texas to take on recently slumping FC Dallas in the first Wild Card round game of the playoffs.

The winner affects the Philadelphia Union's start time on Sunday afternoon, along with the playoff match ups after the Wild Card round.

PSP photographer Nicolae Stoian was on hand for the final game of the regular season in New York. Here's what he saw.

The starting XI

Mapp looking to move.

Marfan is taken down.

This is not a foul.

Amobi Okugo holding off Luke Rodgers.

The Red Bulls ended any hope Portland or Chicago had of making the playoffs, becoming the 10th team to qualify for the postseason by beating Philadelphia. A Dane Richards header eight minutes in deflected off Philadelphia goalkeeper Fared Mondragon for the game's only goal. New York's Frank Rost picked up the shutout in front of 25,044 fans at Red Bull Arena.

Despite a season that will most likely go down as one of the biggest disappointments in American sports history, the New York Red Bulls (NYRB) will have head coach Hans Backe stay for the 2012 MLS season, according to General Manager (GM) Eric Soler.

New York Daily News sports writer Stefan Bondy tweeted that Soler told him that Backe "will return next season regardless of if the team qualifies for the playoffs.

The Red Bulls began play on Tuesday night with only the slimmest margin for error in their chase for an MLS playoff spot. A loss against a depleted Los Angeles Galaxy team would have shoveled the first spadeful of dirt on RBNY's 2011 season. A draw, while keeping New York mathematically alive in the race, would have made things very tricky coming down the stretch, with games against Sporting Kansas City and Philadelphia Union still to come.

Without forwards Landon Donovan and Robbie Keane, the Los Angeles Galaxy was shutout on the road at Red Bull Arena on Tuesday night. Luke Rodgers opened the scoring in the 32nd minute and Thierry Henry finished it off in the 59th. Frank Rost recorded the shutout with three saves. New York outshot LA 15 to 12, putting six of those shots on frame.

As we mentioned last week, the Portland Timbers needed draws from the rest of the MLS. Well, they got 'em. There were four draws in nine weekend matches, and two of them were of the utmost importance to the Timbers. And of course the Timbers did their part with a 1-0 away victory over the Vancouver Whitecaps.

The New York Red Bulls needed a win against Toronto FC on Saturday to really boost their playoff chances, but for a team with just two road wins all year, a draw was probably the more realistic goal.

Toronto FC nearly left the Red Bulls with zero points, but Thierry Henry stepped up to save New York one more time, collecting a Dax McCarty' corner kick and hitting a perfect turn and shot in the 88th minute to help the Red Bulls salvage a 1-1 draw at BMO Field.

What else can be said about this debacle. It was yet another must win situation that our team managed not to win. Goalkeeper Frank Rost was probably wishing he was back in Germany (enjoying his retirement), after getting shelled for 3 goals in the 21 opening minutes. Another set piece our team couldn't defend, another classic Tim Ream gaffe and another forward waltzing right through our defenders.

RSL Celebrates, RBNY Engages in Finger-Pointing (Photo by Dan Dickinson)"Get behind the boys tonight and drive them onto victory. COYRB!" That's how I concluded my match preview yesterday. How naive! Hours later, I would find myself alongside thousands of other fans booing the Red Bulls off the pitch at halftime as they went to the locker room trailing 3-0 early to Real Salt Lake, victims of their own ineptitude.

By MIKE NASTRI

HARRISON, N.J. -- The New York Red Bulls are a sinking ship.

New York, after a gutsy win in Dallas on Saturday, had a chance to strengthen its playoff hold. Real Salt Lake was without suspended midfield rock Kyle Beckerman and traveled cross country after a hard-fought win against Sporting KC.

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?

Last Friday's "must win" game could not have gone better for the Portland Timbers. Unfortunately, aside from the Seattle Sounders beating D.C. United, the rest of the weekend went pretty terribly. With the New York Red Bulls, Philadelphia Union, and Houston Dynamo winning their respective matches it effectively keeps the Timbers out of that 10th spot.

Rodgers With Another Huge Goal (Photo by Brandon Wade, Getty Images)The drought is finally over! After going more than two months (73 days to be exact) without a league victory, the Red Bulls pulled their act together on Saturday night and got a massive, massive three points in Frisco against FC Dallas, one of MLS' more formidable home sides.

Rodgers With Another Huge Goal (Photo by Brandon Wade, Getty Images)The drought is finally over! After going more than two months (73 days to be exact) without a league victory, the Red Bulls pulled their act together on Saturday night and got a massive, massive three points in Frisco against FC Dallas, one of MLS' more formidable home sides.