Fansided

Tone deaf New York Red Bulls fire Mike Petke

By Zac Wassink

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By firing head coach and former player Mike Petke, the New York Red Bulls showed once again that they just don’t get it.

"“The New York Red Bulls announced on Wednesday that Mike Petke will not return as the club’s head coach in 2015. Petke served as the head coach for the past two seasons.‘On behalf of the New York Red Bulls, I want to thank Mike for his service to the club these past two seasons as head coach,’ said Sporting Director Ali Curtis. ‘Mike will always be an important member of the Red Bull family.’"

Barely a paragraph. That is all that the New York Red Bulls gave to head coach Mike Petke, a man who would make any RBNY Mount Rushmore and a coach who guided the club to a historic season in 2013, upon making the shocking announcement that Petke had been relieved of his duties. Despite the fact that rumors of the Red Bulls parting ways with Petke emerged past midnight Wednesday morning, the actual news release represented the latest gut punch to a fan base that has taken its fair share of blows over the past two decades.

Petke released the following statement via his Twitter account late Wednesday morning:

"“I want to take this opportunity to thank all of you for your kind words. I have lived my dream for the past 2 years. It was bound to end some day, and that day has arrived. I want to thank my players and staff for all of the work you have done over the past 2 years, especially Robin Fraser, Ricardo Campos, Juan Romero, John Wolyniek and David Alvarez and (Brian) Tsao. Thank you to Andy Roxburgh for this opportunity and for taking a chance on me. To the supporters, especially the South Ward, you have embodied everything that I live my life by; Respect, Accountability and above all Loyalty. Thank you for everything you have done for my family and I. I can never repay you. I will see you at some point at the Arena as I will always support this team. Thanks to everyone for the time of my life.”"

Dave Martinez of the Empire of Soccer website was one of several to report on Wednesday that former Montreal Impact coach Jesse Marsch was in line to replace Petke, a move made official by the Red Bulls yesterday afternoon. Montreal went 12-16-6 in 2012, Marsch’s only season as a MLS head coach.

Petke is arguably the most beloved figure in the history of the Red Bulls. While he never won anything of merit as a RBNY player, Petke was a mainstay at a time when the then MetroStars were far more New York Mets than New York Yankees on the pitch and inside of the club’s front office. Nobody within the organization lived and breathed Red Bulls as did the native of Bohemia, New York, and his “Crime of the Century” shirt made him a RBNY legend years before he would link back up with the club, eventually as an assistant coach.

It is oddly fitting, looking back, that Petke was never the first choice to be head coach of a Red Bulls side that has been the Major League Soccer Island of Misfit Toys since its first year of existence. The much-maligned Hans Backe left the club following the 2012 campaign, and the Red Bulls made Petke a temporary fill-in until a new hire was made. New York reportedly courted Paulo Sousa for up to two months, but the current FC Basel boss could not acquire the proper work permit/turned the Red Bulls down depending on whatever version of the story you’d like to believe.

Thus, Petke was given a “you’re already here, so we guess you can have the job” vote of confidence by the Red Bulls in January 2013. It was the first time that fortune smiled on the Red Bulls.

The Red Bulls were seemingly a postseason side headed for minimal success in the twilight of summer 2013 when Petke made the bold move of benching team captain and living legend Thierry Henry for a game. Henry and the Red Bulls responded by becoming the hottest team in the league over the final stretch of the season, and New York routed the Chicago Fire at home on the final day of the campaign to clinch the Supporters’ Shield, the first meaningful trophy ever won by the Red Bulls. That New York went on to be unceremoniously bounced from the playoffs did not keep 2013 from being the best season in franchise history.

Nov 2, 2014; Harrison, NJ, USA; New York Red Bulls head coach Mike Petke coaches against D.C. United during the second half at Red Bull Arena. The Red Bulls defeated D.C. United 2-0. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

2014 was close to being just as good if not better for the Red Bulls. While New York failed to win a regular season title, the Red Bulls defeated hated rivals DC United in a postseason series. That was another first for RBNY. New York then came within a goal of playing for MLS Cup, falling just short against the New England Revolution in what was a Match of the Year candidate.

How quickly things can fall apart. There are rumors that Red Bull could sell the MLS outfit for the right price. Henry, as had been expected, parted ways with the Red Bulls and retired. It is believed that the Red Bulls could be shopping designated player Tim Cahill.

And now this.

Perhaps Ali Curtis, who was named Sporting Director of the Red Bulls on the eve of Christmas Eve, and Petke clashed behind the scenes. Maybe Petke and the Red Bulls were breaking up even before the end of the 2014 season. Whatever happened, supporters who have given their time and money to the Red Bulls are left with as sour a taste in their mouths as the club has ever delivered, and many have been quick to inform RBNY of their feelings. The Red Bulls have been flooded with social media posts in support of Petke, and some who posses season tickets even called the team asking for refunds.

Your customers are upset, Red Bulls.

Marsch, while speaking with reporters during a Wednesday conference call, explained that Curtis phoned him at some point during Christmastime, unintentionally offering the suggesting that Curtis never planned on giving Petke even a chance to keep his job. That, above everything else, may be the biggest crime here. The adored and worshiped Petke wasn’t just fired by the Red Bulls. An outsider with zero ties to the team’s most loyal fans looked those people in the face and told them that their guy wasn’t good enough for him.

The number one rule in professional sports that must never be broken is that you don’t make your fans feel as if they are being ripped off. A week to the day after “Lampardgate” drew international criticism of expansion side New York City Football Club and MLS, the Red Bulls spat on the tradition of a club that only stopped being a MLS punchline with Petke leading the charge by firing the man who is, as it pertains to New York’s trophy case, the best manager in the history of the team and by doing it just because.

Petke, who learned hard lessons while on the job over the past two years, was hardly a perfect coach. His squad rotations and his use of substitutions during matches left fans scratching their heads in disbelief at times. He was also the coach the Red Bulls desperately needed, one willing to stand up to the big names on the roster and one who didn’t shy from telling it like it was after matches.

Petke believed that the Red Bulls should go all-in on US Open Cup play even when upper management viewed the competition as a nuisance. Petke went out of his way to connect with traveling fans after road games. Petke won, delivering the very trophy that is showcased in my FanSided profile picture. Petke deserved a chance to fail the Red Bulls, the one thing that he did not achieve in his two years as RBNY head coach.

Tim Hall of First Touch Online on what the Red Bulls firing Petke means to him:

"“The idea of truly and completely walking away from the thing that has wholly defined the last decade of my life is not one I ever deeply considered, because that’s a very scary thing for a man to do. Until right now. Right now you have an early adopter, a strong supporter, a sure-fire ticket sale considering, not that there’s a better use of my time or energy or love, because you would never understand that, but instead if his $300 or so might be better served sitting in a bank account, or under a mattress, or in a fire.We’re tired of the be-suited flavor of the month pi—– on our heads and telling us it’s raining. We wanted consistency and a clear plan, and we had it, and you threw it away. And you’ve thrown so very many of us away as well. Shame on you.”"

Shame.

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