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?

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 New York Red Bulls upset FC Dallas last night in Texas, giving them a home playoff game against the Los Angeles Galaxy on October 30. While the scoreline shows some of the quality play that the Red Bulls had during the game, but it doesn't speak to what's scary about a New York side with some confidence behind itself.

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.

Estonian international Joel Lindpere scored from a Mehdi Ballouchy cross Wednesday to send the 10-man Red Bulls through 2-0 in the wild card game against the team that eliminated LA in the playoffs last year - FC Dallas - to face the Galaxy at noon Sunday in New Jersey (live on ESPN2). Thierry Henry got the second in second half stoppage time.

The New York Red Bulls may have eked into the playoffs, but they're in a position to shake up the postseason picture in a big way after their latest performance.

Joel Lindpere finished a cross from substitute Mehdi Ballouchy in the 61st minute, and Thierry Henry scored an insurance goal in the final seconds of stoppage time to lift the Red Bulls to a 2-0 victory over FC Dallas in a single-elimination wild card match Wednesday night.

Chicago Fire midfielder Logan Pause, New York Red Bull midfielder Mehdi Ballouchy, former Chivas USA defender Jason Hernandez and current Chivas USA utility man Michael Lahoud with St. Jude patient Sidney.

Chivas USA will mark Goals for St. Jude Week tonight at its home game against Toronto at Home Depot Center.

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.

As the soccer world goes bonkers over rumours and speculation while the European Transfer Deadline goes down to the wire, I'm sure I'm not alone among Red Bulls supporters as I reflect upon the current state of our squad and the transfers that have played their part in turning a season of promise to one of frustration and dismay.

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.

The New York Red Bulls secured some sorely needed midfield depth on Friday after acquiring Guadeloupe defensive midfielder Stephane Auvray from Sporting Kansas City, sources told SBI on Friday.

The Red Bulls are trading a 2nd-round pick in 2013 as well as an undisclosed amount of allocation money to Sporting KC for Auvray, who had fallen out of favor with SKC weeks ago and was no longer in the team's plans.

Photo by Tony Quinn/ISIphotos.com

By THOMAS FLOYD

Colorado striker Sanna Nyassi has always been a quality MLS player, good for a speedy spark off the bench and a capable option in the starting lineup when called upon.

The New York Red Bulls defense, however, made him look like an MVP candidate Wednesday, as Nyassi notched a hat trick and chipped in an assist in Colorado's 4-1 win.

Sanna Nyassi answered the question of who would score in Conor Casey's absence and delivered one of the best performances ever by a Colorado Rapids player on Wednesday night.

The midfielder-cum-forward scored three goals and got credit for an assist on the fourth as the Rapids eviscerated the New York Red Bulls 4-1 at Dick's Sporting Goods Park.

Captain Mehdi. Yes, You Heard That Right.The Red Bulls were unceremoniously dumped out of the US Open Cup last night after fielding what could charitably be called as a "C" team and virtually handing the victory to Chicago Fire before a ball was kicked. How little did New York care about advancing in this competition?

Captain Mehdi. Yes, You Heard That Right.The Red Bulls were unceremoniously dumped out of the US Open Cup last night after fielding what could charitably be called as a "C" team and virtually handing the victory to Chicago Fire before a ball was kicked. How little did New York care about advancing in this competition?

The final match of the New York Red Bulls' long four game road trip finally came to an end in San Jose. After a strong second half by the Baby Bulls in their US Open Cup round three matchup with the USL Pro's FC New York, you would think it would inspire the senior side to do well against the Earthquakes.

As MLS UK continues to grow and evolve, I constantly reanalyse the content I put out. Throughout the season so far I've been running a feature called Talking Points, which offered exactly what it said on the tin. However, I began to find it was a little without direction, with random stories padded out with unnecessary features.

Thank God Almighty, It's Three Points At Last! The NY Red Bulls somehow managed to hold on to a 2-1 scoreline, against the hapless New England Revolution, and snapped a six game winless streak. This miracle first started with a fantastic penalty kick save by RBNY goalkeeper Greg Sutton.

Greg Time?: Sutton Came Up Huge for the Red BullsThe Red Bulls finally got a badly-needed 2-1 victory over New England Revolution last night at Red Bull Arena, but they sure didn't make it easy on themselves or their 21,000+ supporters in attendance. Wasteful early in the match and then again in the final 20 minutes, RBNY was nearly made to pay for their profligacy when the Revs appeared to have equaled the score 2-2 in the 87th minute.

Welcome to the New England Revolution vs. the New York Red Bulls live game thread! This will be the first time the I-95 rivals meet this season after splitting the series in 2010 with home victories for each side. It is also New England's second-ever visit to Red Bull Arena and the first time they will face Thierry Henry in league competition.

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.

It took some late heroics by, of all people, RBNY midfielder Mehdi Ballouchy to secure a 2-2 draw, down in Houston, on Saturday. Not a bad result, actually, but a less than impressive overall performance, nonetheless. This game brings up several questions still needing answers.
First, can the Red Bulls quickly learn to effectively defend set pieces?

It was a weird night at Robertson Stadium on Saturday. On one hand you have Koke scoring his first career MLS goal and the Dynamo taking a point off what might be the Eastern Conference's best team, the New York Red Bulls. On the other hand you have the Dynamo allowing a stoppage time goal that cost them the full three points thanks to yet another momentary lapse of reason (hopefully Pink Floyd doesn't sue me for that).

New York Red Bulls midfielder Mehdi Ballouchy came on as a late substitute and headed in a stoppage-time goal off a corner kick to pull New York even with the Houston Dynamo and salvage a 2-2 draw at Robertson Stadium.

Houston had taken the lead just minutes earlier, as the Red Bulls experienced more problems defending set pieces.

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.

After a Slow Start, the Goals are Flowing for TH14The most hyped match of the still-young 2011 MLS season mostly lived up to its billing. For a second consecutive year the Red Bulls made the long road trip to the Home Depot Center and gave a good account of themselves. It was the kind of game the league sorely needed after several weeks that have seen the focus more on nasty tackles than quality soccer.

I don't think I've ever been this entertained by a 1-1 draw in MLS since I started watching the league back in 1996 as a half-season ticket holder for DC United. And it's not just because that's the scoreline I predicted yesterday (because it you read me regularly, you know that's basically a fluke).

There isn't going to be very much that's pretty about today's clash between New York Red Bulls and the Los Angeles Galaxy. The Galaxy are not yet last year's fluid ball-handling team and are still experiencing drop-offs in the defensive end and the offensive third. New York had the best midfield unit in the league when you combine talent with their ability to work with one another.

There isn't going to be very much that's pretty about today's clash between New York Red Bulls and the Los Angeles Galaxy. The Galaxy are not yet last year's fluid ball-handling team and are still experiencing drop-offs in the defensive end and the offensive third. New York had the best midfield unit in the league when you combine talent with their ability to work with one another.

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.

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.

We're going to try something new at Sounder at Heart. In the past, we've posted the full post-game quote sheets and stats in the game recap. We understand that can be a bit bothersome and while some of you appreciate the info, others just find it a nuisance to skip through. Instead, we've decided to have a day-after match post where we put full highlights, the quote sheets and the stats.

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.