Who Will Lead the New York Red Bulls in Goals in 2012?

After another early exit in the playoffs, the New York Red Bulls underwent sweeping changes to its roster.

The defense is a mystery. Will the endless revolving door at goalie ever be settled? With Rafa Marquez moving to the midfield and Tim Ream moving to England who will step up in the center of the defense?

But something the Red Bulls did in abundance last year—although not always opportunistically—was score goals. The team was tied for second in the league in goals scored (50) with Sporting Kansas City and behind only the Seattle Sounders (56).

The team’s biggest acquisition in the offseason was another forward. It now has four forwards that would start on any club. The depth is necessary though due to the constant questionable status of the players’ availabilities.

The logjam on offense combined with the uncertainty of who will actually be around to play makes for one good question the Red Bulls should be excited to answer: who will score the most goals on the team in 2012?

Right away, with so much depth up top, it’s fair to say that forwards Corey Hertzog, Jose Angulo and Jhonny Artega won’t get much playing time and won’t be in the running.

Last year six players—Thierry Henry, Luke Rodgers, Dane Richards, Joel Lindpere and Juan Agudelo—accounted for 43 of the team’s goals, or 86-percent. Add in Kenny Cooper to that group and there should be a large outpouring of offense.

Henry was the team’s leading goal scorer last year with 14 goals. He is the favorite to lead the attack again this year. With so much big game experience and talent at his feet, the French Designated Player is in the elite class of MLS players.

He’s fresh off a loan with Arsenal in the offseason, where he proved some critics wrong and showed that he still is a top-level player. In seven appearances with the club he scored three goals, including two game-winners. He returns to the Red Bulls in shape, in form and healthy.

That health question is the big one for Henry though. He played in only 26 games last season and his injuries seemed to flare up when the team went on the road and was going to play on artificial turf. Players coming over from Europe don’t like playing on that surface, but Henry is obviously an important player to the team and will have to play more games to really help the Red Bulls get over the hump.

Cooper, with Portland last season, scored eight goals. With greater individual talent surrounding him he should be able to continue his success. His ability to use his size and play as a target forward should not only help the possession-obsessed Red Bulls, but allow Henry to make runs off of him and create great combination play.



Cooper has a lot working in his favor as far as playing time goes: He stays healthy and the other top options at forward could miss a lot of action this year.

Luke Rodgers was a revelation last year for New York. He scored nine goals (second on the team) and gave the team a toughness and attitude that has been missing for quite some time. He works well with Henry and brings a lot of energy to the pitch.

The problem is that his attitude in the past has gotten him into trouble in his past. Those issues have come to head now as they have held up Rodgers’ work visa approval and return to the country.

A verdict was supposed to be reached Thursday but no concrete outcome came of it. He will miss at least the season opener. No one is sure how long this process will take, reducing the number of games he could play in. This issue comes on top of Rodgers inability to stay healthy; he played only 23 games last year due to various injuries.

Rodgers can’t score if he can’t get on the field, and right now his outcome is not looking too good.

Juan Agudelo scored six goals last season but he fell out of favor with the coaching staff fast. The emergence of Rodgers kept Agudelo on the bench. But even when Rodgers was injured the coaching staff preferred to go with Richards as a forward and use Mehdi Ballouchy in the midfield then start Agudelo.

There is some speculation that coach Hans Backe is not a fan of young American players, which certainly does not bode well for Agudelo. The forward will also miss time this season to be with the US U-23 team in Olympic qualifying and possibly the Olympics.

It will be tough for the coaching staff to feel comfortable playing Agudelo knowing he will be leaving them for a lengthy period of time and have to fill his spot. The more time Agudelo spends on the bench the more frustrated he gets and there have been some whispers that he will soon make a move to Europe.

The situation with Agudelo and the club could get ugly.

On the wings Lindpere (seven goals) and Richards (7) provide a lot of offense. Lindpere is the team’s most valuable player; he started every game, played all but 12 minutes the entire season, provides great service to the forwards (he was also tied for the team lead with seven assists) and knows when to go forward himself. His effort and durability keep him in the game and always makes him a threat.

Richards uses his great speed to get behind the defense or blowing past them with the ball. He’s very attack minded but often makes poor decisions on the ball. He also is not as talented individually as some of the other players and relies on other teams focusing on them as well as their vision and passing skills to create more opportunities for himself.

So who stands out for the Red Bulls on offense? Henry seems to be the favorite with Cooper and Lindpere giving him a run for his money.

But with a defense as questionable and untested as the Red Bulls have, the New York offense will have to once again be a strong unit and score often to keep the team on the right track as they fight for their first ever MLS Cup.

Photo Credits.
Thierry Henry: AP Photo/Bill Kostroun
Kenny Cooper: AP Photo/Don Ryan

Key Red Bulls Missing In Action

After a long offseason of changes and the recent Designated Players added during the summer transfer window, the New York Red Bulls have quickly developed into one of Major League Soccer’s elite teams.

They are a strong contender for the MLS Cup and their resurgence makes Saturday’s first-matchup with defending champion Real Salt Lake huge.

However, the game will become an even tougher task for a club trying to prove that they are legitimate contenders—not just headline heroes—as the Red Bulls will be without four starters, making them a very different team.

Midfielders Rafael Marquez and Dane Richards, defender Roy Miller, and goalkeeper Bouna Coundoul will all miss the match because they were called-up to the national teams for the next set of FIFA International dates.

Marquez, Mexico’s captain for the past three World Cups and has earned 95 caps, was selected to play in the September 4th friendly against Ecuador and the September 7th match versus Colombia.

The team’s third designated player, Marquez has been a calming force in the Red Bull’s midfield, and he will be missed. He has provided good possession, good passing and vision, and great service from free kicks, not to mention his crackling goal against Toronto FC in a 4-1 Red Bulls victory.

Richards is a player who has benefited greatly from the acquisitions of Marquez and Thierry Henry. The two attract a lot of attention on the ball and have great field vision, which leads to a lot of open space for the speedy Richards to run into and receiver brilliant passes, which he has capitalized on.

The Jamaican International was at the beginning of the season a target of criticism from fans, but he has turned it on as of late with his latest heroics coming in the form of a goal and assist in New York’s 2-0 victory of San Jose.

The Red Bulls and its team’s fans aren’t the only ones who have noticed his impressive play as of late. Jamaica called him in for the team’s game August 11th when he scored his first international goal, and has recalled him for the matches on September 5th against Costa Rica and September 7th versus Peru.

Miller was signed in the offseason and has been a good contributor to a much-improved defense. He has played in 19 games, mostly at left-back, and his pace out wide and his ability to overlap and get involved in the attack while still being organized enough to get back and defend have been a welcome addition to the squad.

He will play for Costa Rica September 3rd against Panama and September 5th versus Jamaica.

Coundoul, with his agility and acrobatics, has seven shutouts this season and leads MLS in saves with 76. He has his moments of less-than-stellar play but overall he has played very well for the Red Bulls. Senegal will rely on him for their Africa Cup of Nations qualifier September 5th against the Democratic Republic of Congo.

These players are key contributors for New York and they will be sorely missed. However, championship-caliber teams can rely on their depth for instances like this and the Red Bulls bench has been productive this season.



There are a variety of possibilities for how the Red Bulls can respond; they have a versatile group of players who have been featured at multiple positions on the field.

The most obvious replacement will be Greg Sutton for Coundoul. Sutton is the only other keeper on the roster and played in his place August 11th against Toronto when Coundoul had been selected to play for Senegal.

In that game, his only regular season appearance, Sutton shutout Toronto and helped the Red Bulls earn three points.

In place of Marquez, look for Backe to go with Seth Stammler.

One of the longest tenured Red Bulls on the squad, Stammler had started the game before Marquez arrived and in his place August 11th when he was called in for another Mexico exhibition match.

A defensive-minded player, the team might play a little conservative in an effort to gain points on the road with a depleted lineup. Stammler would provide good coverage in the back while still allowing promising rookie Tony Tchani to spring forward and connect with Henry and Juan Pablo Angel.

While Richards was missing, Macoumba Kandji was playing on the wing.

The young and raw, yet inconsistent Kandji lost his starting spot when Henry arrived on the scene.

He has been watching and learning from Henry and Angel, two highly skilled forwards. Kandji is admittedly unfamiliar with the midfield position, but is eager to get on the pitch and the Red Bulls could use his speed and his appearance as another offensive weapon.

Miller’s absence is the one that leaves the most possibilities for someone else to step in. Many fans may be calling for the return of favorite Mike Petke to the starting eleven. However, Petke would only be available to play center back and the defense would have to be further broken apart.

In a lineup that will see a lot of shake-ups, finding some consistency—something that was never present in previous head coach Juan Carlos Osorio’s regime—is important.

The central tandem of Carlos Mendes and Tim Ream has been exceptional. They have anchored a defense that has allowed only two goals in five August matches. Those two will stay in the lineup, leaving Petke on the bench again.

Coming in should be midfielder/defender Danleigh Borman. He has appeared in 16 matches, started 11, and is seventh on the team in minutes played.

While there is a lot of movement going on for such a big match, there are two things that should keep the organization and its fans happy.

One is that workhorse midfielder Joel Lindpere has declined any Estonia National Team call-ups for the remainder of the season, stressing the importance of being with the Red Bulls on their quest for the team’s first championship.

The other thing is that Thierry Henry and Juan Pablo Angel are healthy and will both be starting against Real Salt Lake. The best forward tandem in MLS will put the pressure on Salt Lake’s defense, possibly even hiding some of the vulnerabilities of the rest of the makeshift squad.

The Red Bulls would have loved to trot out their complete lineup to strut their stuff against the reigning champions, but that is not the case. It still is an important fixture, and the team is still talented enough however, to compete and earn at least a point.

Photo credits.
Rafael Marquez: AP Photo/David Banks
Seth Stammler: AP Photo/Will Powers