Pálsson (#44): The Newest VikingThe New York Red Bulls made the signing of Icelandic international Victor Pálsson official today, confirming the player's recent comments on his Twitter account that he had put pen to paper on a two year agreement. Pálsson, a rangy, physical player a bit in the style of Tony Tchani, joins a crowd of holding midfielders that includes Rafa Marquez and Teemu Tainio.

When the 2012 preseason opened for the New York Red Bulls, there were a lot of questions that had to be answered. No one knew the club's plans after a season that looked disjointed and at times looked disgraceful – ...
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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.

Photo by David Bernal/ISIphotos.com

Joel Lindpere might not be a Designated Player like Thierry Henry or Rafa Marquez, but he arguably means the most out of anybody to the potential success of the New York Red Bulls. That makes the club's announcement Tuesday that he isn't going anywhere anytime soon all the more notable.

Designated Players Thierry Henry and Rafa Marquez may be the face of the Red Bulls, but GM Erik Soler hopes someday...

By DAVE MARTINEZ

Though the New York Red Bulls were once considered clear-cut favorites to win the 2011 MLS Eastern Conference crown, the team imploded with a host of problems on the field, and in the locker room.

The defense became a porous mess that forced head coach Hans Backe to retool tactically in the final quarter of the season with a crude system he dubbed "cynical soccer" in order to stay competitive.

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.

STARTERS
African Cup of Nations kicks off on Saturday. Who is going to meet me at Marina's in Northeast Minneapolis to watch:
Senegal v Zambia at 3:00pm CT on Saturday - and - Cote d'Ivoire v Sudan at 10:00am CT on Sunday.
dN
If the LA Galaxy is seriously pursuing Chelsea's Frank Lampard, as they say they are, then which of their other 3 Designated Players is out the door?

Philadelphia Union

Sky Sports reports that Bolton manager Owen Coyle "claims no decision has been taken as yet regarding a permanent deal" for Sebastien Le Toux.

Jonathan Tannenwald tweets, "A Union source says the team 'would not use Tim Ream as a benchmark' in any negotiations over Le Toux regarding transfer fee.

Is Conde Worth the Price?Late yesterday evening, Big Apple Soccer's Michael Lewis broke the news that the Red Bulls had purchased the MLS rights of Wilman Conde from Chicago Fire. Lewis' story, citing an anonymous source, indicated that the Red Bulls would be sending a draft pick Chicago's way in return.

Poor New York Red Bulls. In a season when it was all supposed to come together (young stars! established DPs! weak conference! newish stadium!) it all fell apart. New York struggled all season and barely made the playoffs, defeating a ...
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Holgersson: Defensive Help on the Way?"Quiet" doesn't begin to describe the New York Red Bulls media profile since the 2011 season ended. The only addition to date has been young homegrown signing Connor Lade, while a whopping ten players have departed, according to the club's official "Transaction Central" page.

Photo by Howard C. Smith/ISIphotos.com

The New York Red Bulls have had an awfully quiet offseason, which has been used more to deflect rumors and links to star players as opposed to making improvements to a team that vastly underachieved by its own expectations in 2011.

Happy New Year Red Bulls fans! All of us here @The Viper's Nest hope everyone had a great Holiday Season. As the Red Bulls pre-season is just weeks away, the great You Suck Corrales, the great Matt Conroy (aka Who Shot Sam) and myself, got together at a Federal Hockey League game between the powerhouse NJ Outlaws (the Barcelona of the FHL) and the Brooklyn Aviators.

First, we'd like to wish our own holiday wishes to our readers and new visitors. Thanks for making 2011 a special year at The Yanks Are Coming, and we hope to provide more solid coverage, analysis and unique perspectives on both the USMNT and USWNT in 2012. Soccer has always had a place at Christmas- [.

Ream Just Looked at the EPL TableIf reports in multiple British tabloids are to be believed, English Premier League relegation favorites Bolton Wanderers will be signing New York Red Bulls defender Tim Ream once the January transfer window opens, for a transfer fee of somewhere close to £2 million, or approximately $3.

Philadelphia Union

Tweet from Freddy Adu: "Happy Holidays to everyone. Love the holiday season."

In Goal.com's survey of the Eastern Conference there is this review of the the Union's 2011 season in a sentence: "Another season of incremental growth for a young squad still in need of a couple of pieces to compete for MLS Cup.

While nothing continues to go on in MLS per se, there remains a bit of an offseason shuffle for loans and trades. There's been talk of some pretty huge names going across the pond, be it for a trade or a loan, and regardless of whether the rumors have any actual merit. That said, we could see some big moves in the near future.

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.

By Tony Edwards - San Jose, CA (Dec 13, 2011) US Soccer Players -- In today's edition, Tony asks about the Galaxy's strategy in the Re-Entry Draft, an American getting a chance to coach aboard, and a big move for Herculez Gomez. Where's Omar Bravo playing next season? Not Kansas City. He's headed back to Mexico to play for Cruz Azul next season.

-by Chris Ballard
You might remember that way back in March, Keith, Jason and myself all put forth some predictions regarding the 2011 MLS season. Usually when these things happen it becomes convenient to later forget to revisit them; because it invariably proves that we - as much as anybody else - know pretty much nothing.

*With 12 days top go until MLS Cup 2011 in Carson, the trophy arrives in Southern California at 11 a.m. today at Pacific Park on the Santa Monica Pier with a police escort accompanied by former Galaxy players Alexi Lalas and Mauricio Cienfuegos in a VW convertible.

*Meanwhile, Dynamo fans have gobbled up their allotment of tickets for a game the club insists it can win without star player Brad Davis - just as it has won big games without big names in the past.

Union

Sebastien Le Toux has won the Fair Play Award for the second year in a row. Bien fait!

Le Toux said of the award, "It may not be the most prestigious prize that people are asking about, but I'm very happy to get [this award] this year. It means I am always respectful on the field so I'm glad that the league and the referees know that.

Rafa Marquez and his gorgeous wife Jaydy Michel (she's even more stunning in person, trust us) attended a charity gala which benefitted Casita Maria, a center of arts and education for underprivileged youth. The event, seen by some as the unofficial 'kick off' to the New York Social season, was hosted by the zippy stylist, Robert Verdi, at famed NYC hotel, the Mandarin Oriental.

Kemsley and Pinton Broker Their DealI hate Hollywood endings. Like many sports fans, I structure my life with the seasons of my teams, the failure of another trophy-less year the painful reminder of all I hoped to accomplish within the same time span but haven't yet wrapped up. The playoff loss to LA was all the more painful as it seemed to play out to someone else's script.

By Eric Beard

Say what you will about Playoffs, but the road to the 2011 MLS Cup has created insurmountable drama. From Rafa Marquez starting a fight after LA won in New York to the Seattle Sounders nearly coming back from a 3-nil deficit, the Playoffs have ensured a level of entertainment any fan can embrace.

Ginge returns with a USMNT roster to discuss that has some US fans upset about certain names that keep appearing and some that can't get a call-up to save their lives. Ginge also covers Alexi Lalas' blog post on Mirror Football defending Rafa Marquez and explains why he thinks Alexi is wrong and didn't really even defend Marquez.

Get Used to It: They're StayingIt was bound to happen. It might even have happened if the Red Bulls had found a way to progress beyond the Los Angeles Galaxy on Thursday and make it all the way to MLS Cup. What am I talking about? The boatload of scathing editorials asking for Hans Backe and Erik Solér's heads on a plate as a result of the Red Bulls' failures this season.

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.

By JONATHAN VERA

CARSON, Calif. – The Western Conference final second leg between the Los Angeles Galaxy and New York Red Bulls certainly lived up to its much-anticipated hype. Aggression was high, tempers flared and drama unfolded after a quick start by the Red Bulls, but in the end, New York took the long plane ride home broken and defeated.

Photo: Courtesy of Philadelphia Union

It didn't end the way we wanted, but, oh, what a season. As Adam Cann wrote in our match report for Thurday night's loss in Houston, "After ten months, the Union ended their season where it began. In their wake they leave every reasonable expectation, and in the city they represent they will find nothing but love.

BY ADAM SERRANO

CARSON, Calif. -- David Beckham has enjoyed his finest season in MLS and on Thursday in the Los Angeles Galaxy's most important game of the season, Beckham led his team to Conference Final.

Dealing with back spasms that nearly forced him out of the game in the first half, the Galaxy's midfielder sparked Los Angeles' rally as the Galaxy defeated the New York Red Bulls 2-1 advancing to the Western Conference Final against Real Salt Lake 3-1 on aggregate.

The Supporters Shield-winning LA Galaxy will try to move a step closer to the MLS Cup Final with a win (or draw) at Home Depot Center against the New York Red Bulls tonight (11pm, ESPN2) in their Western Conference semifinal second leg.

The Red Bulls have other plans, trying to continue a surprising run from last team in the playoffs to MLS Cup Final.

If the New York Red Bulls manage to go on a run to MLS Cup, Designated Player Rafa Marquez won't be a part of it.

Major League Soccer suspended Marquez two additional games on top of his one-game suspension for a red card and fined him an additional $2,000 for his part in the postgame scuffle between the Red Bulls and Los Angeles Galaxy in the first leg of their Western Conference semifinal on Sunday.

The First Leg Was Feisty. Don't Expect Anything Different Tonight. (Photo by Dan Dickinson)The 2011 New York Red Bulls have to be accustomed to "must-win" games by now. They certainly faced enough of them during the final weeks of the MLS regular season. Yet each time fans expected the team to plunge over the precipice they somehow found a way to keep their postseason hopes alive.

En el mundial 2010
la selección estaba llena de pelones
aun así no salieron campeones

Primero vamos por partes
el capitan es Rafael Marquez

Alguno se creia artista
en realidad,era el Bofo Bautista
Por eso la flaca en esta ocasión
se lo llevo por estar pelón

Aguirre te habías tardado
en meter Andres Guardado
A Javier le dijo esperame tantito
el mejor de todos es Chicharito

jóvenes viajaron a la copa
casi los dejaron sin ropa
todo por ir Argentina
y a unas chicas en la tina

Después llego Fernando Tena
que solo fue a dar pena

la calaca se los quiere llevar
a todos por su mal andar
pero entonces llego un loro
y México se llevo el oro

La catrina se pudo triste
el tri le conto un chiste

La FMF grito en la torre
y contrato al Chepo De la Torre
por esta los voy a dejar pasar
porque el tri empezara a Ganar

JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA JUNE 27: The Mexico team line up for a group photo prior to the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa Round of Sixteen match between Argentina and Mexico at Soccer City Stadium on June 27, 2010 in Johannesburg, South Africa.

The on-field battles between the Los Angeles Galaxy and New York Red Bulls include some of MLS' marquee names, but the off-field war of words between Landon Donovan and Luke Rodgers is arguably just as entertaining.

After their regular-season meeting in May, Donovan was criticized by Rodgers for complaining to officials too much and failing to shake Thierry Henry's hand after the game.