These New York Red Bulls were never going to win the CONCACAF Champions League.
Never. Ever.
The truth of the matter is that we don’t know what the Red Bulls will look like next spring when the championship stage of that tournament gets underway. Rumors continue to swirl about that team captain and soccer royalty Thierry Henry will call time on his playing career following the 2014 Major League Soccer season. Tim Cahill may or may not be eying a move back to the Premier League or to Australia depending on the latest story floated out there by a supposed “in the know” individual.
CCL, like the US Open Cup, is only so important to the Red Bulls and to multiple other MLS clubs for understandable reasons. Fans don’t attend the matches, USOC games aren’t televised, and the CCL games that make United States television are relegated to the barely-watched FOX Sports 1 or the never-watched FOX Sports 2/FOX Soccer Plus.
Hoisting the MLS Cup in celebration is the main objective for those running the Red Bulls, and the first step in achieving that goal for the first time in franchise history is qualifying for the postseason.
New York are in a good spot heading into the final weekend of September, sitting at fourth in the Eastern Conference standings. The Red Bulls are one point behind New England Revolution, one point ahead of Columbus Crew, and three points ahead of Philadelphia Union. Sporting Kansas City are four points ahead of New York, and SKC’s spot in the conference table will be something RBNY supporters will want to follow throughout October.
New York’s final stretch of regular season matches begins with what could be the most difficult game on the list. The Red Bulls will be away to on-fire LA Galaxy this weekend for a little Sunday Night Football action (8:30 pm ET on ESPN2/ESPN Deportes). The Galaxy have been the best team in MLS over the past month and a half, they are tied with Seattle Sounders atop the overall league table, and LA will be at home. A draw would be a good result for the Red Bulls this weekend.
New York host Houston Dynamo on October 4. RBNY have owned the Dynamo in games played in Harrison, New Jersey, and that trend has continued in 2014. The two sides last met at Red Bull Arena back on April 23, and New York cruised to a 4-0 victory on that day. Houston slipped down the table and out of playoff contention at the end of summer, and anything other than a big win here would be a massive disappointment for the Red Bulls.
Another home game awaits New York on October 11 when they will take on Toronto FC. Toronto FC have been the biggest MLS train wreck not named Chivas USA this season. Jermain Defoe has been on an “injury layoff” while being linked with a potential return to England, and it is possible that TFC could be without any designated players come January. Toronto could, of course, turn things around, but the Red Bulls have to win this contest as things currently stand.
Columbus Crew are the next team to travel to Red Bull Arena. They’ll take on New York on October 19. The Crew have quietly remained a playoff side in late September, and a recent victory over the Revolution was the biggest win of the season for Columbus to date. New York will have to be on “trap game” alert that Sunday.
The RBNY vs. Montreal Impact October 22 CONCACAF fixture is now meaningless for both sides. Montreal are through to the next round of the competition, while the Red Bulls are out. There have been online reports that the Red Bulls will be selecting from fans in attendance for the team’s starting XI. Team captain will be decided by a competitive edition of “Duck, Duck, Goose” (allegedly).
Last but not least is the regular season finale that could have serious playoff implications for both teams involved. The Red Bulls end the campaign away to Kansas City.
Exactly what that contest will mean for the Red Bulls and for Kansas City will be determined by results that occur earlier in October. SKC could, if they can catch up with DC United in the standings, be playing for an Eastern Conference title. They could also find themselves desperately clinging to second- or even third-place in the table.
New York can, realistically speaking, finish as high as second in the East. The Red Bulls could, on the other hand, be in a must-win situation with their playoff lives on the line on the final Sunday of October if things go terribly wrong over the next four weeks.
Three winnable home games. Two tough road affairs. A ten-point haul will be enough to push New York over the hump and into meaningful November soccer. The Red Bulls dropping any points at home in October, though, could be disastrous for the club, especially if New York are downed at LA and at KC.
MLS Cup or bust. It’s been the mantra for the Red Bulls each year since 2010, and that will again be the case this fall. Winning the championship would forever silence those “___ years, no cups!” chants hurled at the Red Bulls by rival fans every year. Coming up short, however, could finish the Mike Petke Red Bulls era one year after he ended New York’s long trophy drought by guiding the club to the Supporters’ Shield victory.
It’s a “what have you done for me, lately?” business.
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