New York Red Bulls

HARRISON, N.J. — The Red Bulls are now in the hands of Andy Roxburgh, a yarn-spinning Scotsman (or is that an oxymoron?) who checked in Tuesday morning at Red Bull Arena for his first encounter with the news media.

There was not much in the way of news (other than Roxburgh’s saying that new contracts are in the works for Connor Lade and Brandon Barklage), but there was an opportunity to take a quick measure of Roxburgh, the club’s 69-year-old sporting director.

He dropped a lot of names — Alex Ferguson, Arsène Wenger, Pep Guardiola, Jurgen Klinsmann, Rafael Benitez, Carlos Alberto Parreira, Carlos Quieroz and Steve Nicol — but nary a word about David Beckham.

Some highlights:

¶ Manchester United Manager Alex Ferguson, who was a teammate of Roxburgh’s about 100 years ago, encouraged him to jump the Atlantic and take the job because it would be “an interesting and good move for me.”

¶ He has interviewed two possible replacements for the departed coach Hans Backe and has a “short list” of other candidates, including some Americans with M.L.S. experience. No names, but he promised the new coach would be in place before the end of the year. He said that if the head coach is not an American, the club would have an American assistant. Mike Petke, the only coach retained from Backe’s staff, is now overseeing workouts at the stadium.

“The names keep flying in,” he said. “I aim to bring someone in with an international background. It could be an American and I don’t necessarily mean Europe.”

¶ After deciding to allow the expiring three-year contract of Coach Hans Backe to expire, the Red Bulls will soon have the 14th coach in the club’s 17-year history (which began as the MetroStars). “Stability is absolutely vital,” Roxburgh said. “I know this franchise hasn’t been as stable as it needs to be. We want to create stability, have a greater level of steadiness. We have a real desire to make this franchise one of the best in M.L.S. And to do that, we need to create stability.”

¶ Although the club waived 10 players Monday ahead of the M.L.S. re-entry draft, Roxburgh said the Red Bulls have not cut all ties with some of the players. Relatively inexpensive players, like defender Tyler Ruthven, are likely to continue training with the team and could still have a shot at signing new deals.

¶ The club will play in a preseason tournament in Arizona and soon move to a new training center that is under construction in Hanover, N.J., which is closer to Morristown than it is to Manhattan.

¶ Roxburgh repeated the obvious — Rafael Marquez is under contract for one more season at $4.6 million. “Like all players, we’re talking to him,” Roxburgh said. What that means in terms of Marquez’s returning remains, shall we say, fluid.



¶ On the prospect of Tim Cahill and/or Thierry Henry playing in England on short-term loans during the off-season, Roxburgh said: “In general, I wouldn’t be too positive. It’s a long season here and they need a break. But it depends on the individual and the circumstances.”

¶ At present, the Red Bulls have no selections — none — in January’s college draft. That could, however, be remedied if the club completes trades for a few of their few appealing players, like Kenny Cooper, who led the Red Bulls with 18 goals, but created few on his own.

And now for those witticisms (you will have to add your own Scottish brogue for effect):

¶ “What does New York Red Bulls stand for? New York stands for style. What style? We need a style, a culture of football, sorry soccer. We need to identify and develop a style. It doesn’t happen overnight. Red, for me, means passion. When I read the word bull, it strikes me that the bull takes the initiative. You have an attitude and try to take the initiative.”

¶ “It’s what you deliver. My favorite Spanish proverb goes like this: It’s one thing to talk of the bulls, it’s another thing to be in the bull ring.”

¶ “If you have to tell people you are, you aren’t. If you’re good, you don’t need to tell people. It will show.”

¶ “Arsène Wenger is always saying that talent is not enough, you have to have commitment and football intelligence.”

¶ “Sir Alex always used to say British players were the heart and soul, his local identity at the core. Then you try and add on, a balance, some homegrown.”

Corner kick: If you, dear reader, could tell Andy Roxburgh one thing to do, or not to do, what would it be?

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