Good Afternoon! After what seemed like an eternity, RBNY is back in action @The Cathedral of Football, with the always tough to beat Seattle as the opponent (7:30pm ET, MSG Network). After a lackluster MLS Fist Kick perfomance this past Tuesday, where LA handed them a big fat loss (by way of a Juninho Golazo), the Sounders will be looking for all three points. In a bit of a shocker this past week, the Sounders parted ways with one of their Designated Players just hours before the Galaxy game. A Club In Crisis? Red Bulls fans can only hope.
For the Red Bulls, this is a season of no excuses. The rested and ready Thierry Henry must step up and score goals in bunches. He comes into the season with a winning is everything mentality, and that can only bode well for our team's 2011 aspirations. With Juan Pablo only a fond memory now, new Nordic boys DJ Jan Gunnar Solli and Teemu Tainio must step it up as well. Also, 18 year old forward phenom Juan Agudelo must have a breakout season and 2010 defensive revelation Tim Ream must avoid the sophmore jinx. Just a bit of a goalkeeper controversy brewing, with most pundits projecting Greg Sutton as the starter. So with all that in mind, let's get to some predictions:
Matt Conroy (aka Who Shot Sam) has this for us:
Last year the Red Bulls lost 1-0 on a late goal by Freddy Montero. This year I predict that they turn the tables on the Sounders and win 1-0, with none other than Thierry Henry opening his account.Like Matt, I'm going to start the season on the optomistic side. Seattle was horrible against The Galaxy this past Tuesday and the short rest period/long distance travel isn't going to help their cause today. That said, they do have Red Bulls killer Freddy Montero on their roster. But I'm thinking that, today, even he won't be enough to get them even a tie at The Cathedral of Football. My prediction: 1-0 to the mighty Red Bulls.
Homebrew Tim has this for us:
Much was made of Thierry Henry's comments that it didn't matter to him whether he scored or someone else did. Of course, he meant that whether the goals come from his foot directly, or if he can help a teammate put the ball in the net, it didn't matter to him; that the team winning is more important than any individual performance. Exactly what you'd want the new captain of our team to say and believe, right? But folks freaked out anyways: "We aren't paying you $5 million to NOT score goals," "If you're not going to do it, who will?" etc. Well, tonight he puts those overblown reactions to rest, as the Red Bulls win 2-1 on a brace from Henry. For the Sounders, a Zakuani cross to Montero creates a goal that a more acrobatic keeper than Sutton would have stopped.The newest member of the Viper's Nest Crew, Glenn Williams, has this for us:
I'm a pessimist - and it's getting worse each day I'm affiliated with Matt! - so I doubt many of my predictions this season will be wins. Starting with this one. 1-1 draw, spoils shared. I can't see Seattle Sounders starting the season with two defeats, and we're far too disjointed with injuries and keeper problems to ease to victory. Montero to open scoring but Richards to pick up where he left off last season.Finally, the great You Suck Corrales posted this on his facebook fan page:
Hey. Here we go. This is going to be the greatest season of our lives. Or the biggest heartache ever. Either way, it starts in 57 hours. Anyone coming from the city, I will be at Lily O'brien's at 4 PM on Saturday before heading into Newark and MMM Bello's. Then on to the Cathedral. My prediction. NYRB 4-0 Seattle :)Alrighty then! Look for our Award Winning matchday coverage within the next day, or two. Let's Get Pumped Red Bulls fans! I hope to see you all at The Cathedral of Football, Red Bull Arena (built by Makita). Viper Out!
Posts
