Nottingham Forest moves on from Gerhard Struber (for now), the new Morristown training facility wins Deal of the Year, and more shifting management at the Red Bull mothership in this week’s links
Welcome to the New York Red Bulls Paper Revue presented by Once a Metro.
People love it when you scream Primus lyrics at them. Just yell-sing every song you can think of whether you’re in a job interview, on a date, or at a casual hangout. People love it.
Here’s this week’s top story.
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Remember those rumors connecting Gerhard Struber to Nottingham Forest?
Well, as you’ve probably read by now, the Tricky Trees elected to stick with the current manager, if his status was under the microscope at all. Steve Cooper signed a contract extension “through 2025.” His job will remain difficult, already at the bottom of the Premier League table and looking to stave off relegation.
Struber will be staying put for now – maybe forever, but probably not.
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In the first round of the MLS Cup Playoffs, the Red Bulls will be hosting FC Cincinnati. Yes, you read that correctly. The three-time Wooden Spoon claimants are headed to Harrison for their first ever postseason.
They’re understandably happy to be here. “We’re going to try to enjoy the heck out of it because these players, and staff, have worked so hard to get to this point,” said manager Pat Noonan, who should probably win the proper league award given to such people. “Our goal wasn’t just to get here and hopefully do something special now that we’re here, but a lot of people put in a lot of hard work.”
The match figures to be one of those intriguing like-for-like matchups. Both squads like to press and surrender possession, although the Red Bulls are the more intense dark chocolate version for purists. To compensate, Cincy scores a lot of goals, with a prolific attacking core that would make a lot of executives jealous.
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Like your parents after yet another disastrous family outing that was probably your fault, RB Leipzig announced a “separation” with technical director Christopher Vivell. He joined the club in the summer of 2020 and was “responsible for the strategic direction of squad planning in line with an overarching transfer philosophy.” However, the 35-year-old was quickly connected to Chelsea by just about every English publication in existence.
Here’s what Oliver Mintzlaff had to say. “The trust wasn’t there anymore and then we acted consistently and released him,” said the Red Bull so-and-so. “In the end, things didn’t fit anymore. Then working together no longer makes sense… I can’t comment on [the reports] because I don’t know. We know Chelsea like what we do.”
Chelsea has been connected to a few Red Bull figures, even once-desired targets like Leeds United director of football Victor Orta. I guess they want to start pressing, get younger, or create a global portfolio of clubs. We know it’s the third one.
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Breiðablik continues rolling, picking up a 2-1 win over Knattspyrnufélag Akureyrar. Blikar is in first place of the Icelandic Besta delid karla’s championship round, with an 11-point lead as the season winds to a close. Unfortunately, Omar Sowe remained on the bench and did not play, having only recently returned to the field after an injury layoff.
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The Real Estate Group at Riker Danzig was named “Dealmaker of the Year” by the New Jersey Law Journal. The “major deal” was, of course, the “new headquarters and state-of-the-art [New York Red Bulls] training center in Morris County.” The organization continues to work on completing the transaction, which includes “acquisition of adjoining land to be integrated with the site.”
I’m sure everyone is excited for when the training facility is finished in 2060.
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Jesús Castellano spent the past week competing with the Venezuela U-20 Men’s National Team in Group A at the 2022 South American Games hosted in Paraguay.
The Red Bulls midfielder stayed on the bench for the first match, a 3-1 loss to Uruguay. Castellano started and played 45 minutes in the second fixture, a 1-1 draw with Peru. In the all-important third dance against hosts Paraguay, he started and earned a yellow in the 49th minute. La Vinotinto (The Burgundy) won, 2-0, but crashed out of the competition based on the cold, cruel mistress of goal differential.
Only time will tell whether Castellano is with the senior squad for the playoffs or enjoying the final, last, ultimate New York Red Bulls II match in Tampa Bay, Florida. You know, if he was actually in Venezuela and there’s not some other guy with the same name. Considering this is October, we have to take the potential for spooky hijinks with the utmost seriousness.
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Former Red Bulls Academy member Peter Stroud is doing some serious work at Duke. Last season, he was awarded ACC Midfielder of the Year, All-ACC First Team, and ACC All-Tournament Team. This year, the midfielder has one goal and three assists for the undefeated Blue Devils.
His time with the Red Bulls helped his youth career reach new heights. “It’s a really tough standard,” Stroud told the Duke Chronicle. “They expect a lot more. It’s simply a lot to know. The coaching staff pushes you really, really hard and they have a philosophy there and they want the players to be a part of that philosophy. It wasn’t just soccer for fun, it was soccer with a purpose. I wanted to take it seriously.”
Stroud still hopes to play professional soccer in the future. I don’t actually know if the Red Bulls would have any claim to sign him as a Homegrown player, considering he left the academy to join the West Ham youth set-up. There have been stranger cases in which MLS clubs were granted rights to a young talent.
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Former Red Bull Ashley Fletcher is doing his thing for Wigan Athletic.
”What’s ‘his thing’? Not playing?”
Hey. Hey. Not nice. But since you asked, Fletcher has made two appearances for the Latics. He came off the bench for two minutes in a midweek loss to Hull City.
Bet you feel pretty stupid about your little comment now, don’t you?
Here’s a joke that was submitted by Opal of Fanwood.
“If he’s looking for something to do when his soccer career ends, he probably has a natural aptitude for crafting arrows.”
Thank you, Opal. I get it – because his last name is Fletcher.
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