March 20, 2007
US Soccer.com - Barrett and Mullan replace Clark and Rolfe
USMNT camp ahead of the friendlies versus El Salvador and Guatemala has opened in Bradenton, Florida and the players are tricking in from across the globe.
Head Coach Bob Bradley has already had to make two roster changes as Ricardo Clark and Chris Rolfe are out due to injury and have been replaced by two members of the Houston Dynamo in Wade Barrett and Brian Mullan.
Another injury note is that Watford's Jay Demerit who was held out of training due to a mild groin strain.
It's also sad to note that ticket sales for the match versus Guatemala at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, Texas are reportedly lagging. Apparently a match up of FC Dallas forwards Kenny Cooper and Carlos Ruiz isn't enough for soccer fans of the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
Red Bulls respond to questions about how business is going
In response to last week's reports that the NY Red Bulls lost $14 million in 2006 and that they were alienating many in the NY metro soccer and business community, Red Bulls managing director Marc De Grandpre tried to spin things in an e-mail interview with Big Apple Soccer.com.
Ives Galarcep, the Red Bulls beat writer for the Herald News, was less than impressed with the response from the Red Bulls and I can't blame him.
It's going to be very interesting to how this whole situation plays itself out.
Are the Red Bulls New York City's team?
Adam Spangler of This Is American Soccer.com doesn't believe so and he hopes that one day there is an MLS team placed within one of the 5 boroughs of New York City.
The idea of a second New York City MLS team has been floated for a while. But, given all the money that Red Bull has poured into their club, I would be stunned if they allowed that to happen any time soon.
Cobi Jones hanging up his boots after the 2007 season
At a press conference yesterday afternoon, long time USMNT midfielder and LA Galaxy original Cobi Jones announced that the 2007 season will be his last.
Jones has been one of the rocks of MLS since it's inception having never played for any club other than the Galaxy. It will be interesting to see what the next chapter in Jones' career brings as he most certainly has the earmarks of a potential member of the media or a front office person for an MLS club.
The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author, and not necessarily those of the Rochester Rhinos or SoccerSam.com. Feel free to send any comments or complaints to news@soccersam.com. James promises to read (but not to respond) to all of them.
