New York Red Bulls; A season in review, Goals, FINALLY SUCCESS! and Not this s**t Again

Ecstatic celebrations abound in New York! 

First things first, WE WON A TROPHY! My nerves for this final game have been livid for weeks. As the season slowly ticked down and New York were putting themselves into a position to win first place, I continued to lose control of myself. The last month of action was heated, from angry drunken ramblings about how we would never do it, to riveting ecstasy with the prospects of actually getting our first trophy. Needless to say we got it and I have been jubilant ever since. Now, with the regular season in the rearview it is both time to reflect on our season, surmise about the playoffs and post what I believe to be the best goals of our season. Enjoy!

Juan Pablo Angel walking away after the 3-1 los

In the relatively short history of this New York franchise, we have been on the brink of success more times than I want to recollect. Starting with the first playoff race back in 1996, the Red Bulls, then the MetroStars, faced DC United in the Eastern Conference final. Out of a best-of-three series, the MetroStars won the first game, lost the second and then had their dreams of a final dashed by a penalty in the 89th minute of the third game. After missing the 1997 playoffs, the MetroStars got another chance in 1998 where, again the New York team was knocked out in a shootout to the Columbus Crew in the first round. Then again in 1999, the MetroStars missed out on the playoffs recording the worst record of the season with only seven wins. After years of either failing in the first round or simply not getting there, glory was obtainable in 2008 when New York, now the Red Bulls, made the final. Along the lines of the historic theme, New York underperformed and handed Columbus the trophy and three goals. Since then, the team has been routinely removed in the first round of proceedings.


However, things are finally looking up as New York have earned their first trophy in history, the Supporters' Shield, by having the most points in MLS. The 5-2 victory over the Chicago Fire is, in my mind, the perfect summation of how the season has gone for us this year. Henry has had sparks of brilliance and has been a good influence on the performance of the team. The grey hairs are emerging and the milage is reaching the zenith of the engine, but Henry has emerged as the spiritual leader of New York. On numerous occasions he has willed both the team and the fans to "get the f**k up." His success can be measured on the last day performance. A cracking volley, golazo that lifted up the team out of an early rut and allowed New York to believe that all was possible on this day (besides that he did not do much). Inspite of all the times I would yell from the stands or at the TV to "stop being so f**king lazy!" I have to say that Henry time and time again quieted the critics by unleashing the breathtaking goals that we have seen him do time and time again for Arsenal and FC Barcelona.


Another standout from the year was Tim Cahill. I cannot begin to describe how vital he has been; from a general that dictated play to someone the team, the coaches, and fans could count on to swing the fortunes just when things seemed bleak. The next kudos of the season goes to our brick wall in goal, Luis Robles (talk about a game changer). On many occasions, Robles put the game on his shoulders and pulled acrobatic saves from nowhere that gave our team the courage to keep fighting. Despite my issues with the defense this season, good lord, Robles has been consistent on getting the players in front of him organized to the best of their abilities. Finally, the midfield additions for New York this year has been beyond exceptional. The silky Lloyd Sam, the dangerous Johnny Steele, the creativity of Peguy Luyindula, and the work-rate of Eric Alexander are the real reasons why we are in this current position. I know that our continued success is dependent on keeping these core players around.

But, now to the question at hand, can New York Red Bulls win the MLS Cup? The easy answer that I wanted to wholeheartedly believe is, yes. New York have momentum, we have the talent and the desire to win but, there are three concerns that I have. The first is will this momentum be lost in the "by" we receive for winning the Eastern Conference? The second is that with a lot of new faces on the team and MLS, do we have the experience necessary to deal with the very different vibe of the playoffs? The final query lies in the few occasions we have been the team to beat, but have lost before making the final; can we overcome history?

Finally, the goals. I just want to go over some of the best goals from this MLS season. Watch and marvel:

First up on the list is definitely week 5 when Thierry Henry scored this,

Next up has to be Tim Cahill's MLS record-breaking goal against the Dynamo by scoring only 7 seconds into the game. And it was a beauty

After that lovely display the next notable mention goes to Eric Alexander who decided, who needs teammates? 

Although great goals were abound this season, I have to end on the highest of notes and that would be the bicycle kick by Henry against Montreal. Just simply a masterclass

So this concludes my look over the New York Red Bulls season. Since New York looked rather timid and weak in the first leg of the playoffs, also thanks to an absurd amount of cards against us, I am poised to be stressed in the next 48 hours. Keep cool and thanks for reading.