Fans of the MetroStars/Red Bulls over the years have been a patient yet fickle bunch. They get frustrated and scream for change, and for the majority of the franchise's history change was the order of the day.

Change, however, flies in the face of one of the key components for building long-term success in Major League Soccer: stability. You look at some of the better teams in the league the past few years, the Los Angeles Galaxy, Houston Dynamo, FC Dallas and Real Salt Lake, and their fan bases are merely looking to add a player or two in the offseason while maintaining their talented core.

In the few days since the Red Bulls season ended, there are those calling for the team to once again be gutted in the offseason. Just another year of backing up the truck and starting from scratch. But let’s think about it for a second. Is that really what you want? More important, is that really what’s necessary?

Emotions aside, let’s take a clear look at the big picture.

Last year, after winning the Eastern Conference, the Red Bulls were upset in the first round of the playoffs by the San Jose Earthquakes. A devastating loss to be sure, especially after winning the first leg on the road.

Red Bulls management, surprisingly, didn’t seem all that bothered by it and said they were building something for the long term.

A lot was expected this year, especially with designated players Thierry Henry and Rafa Marquez here from the beginning. Things started off well, but call-ups for the Gold Cup and an inconsistent lineup due to injury and red cards never allowed the team to really hit its form for long stretches.

So where do we go from here?

If you look at the roster, you’d have to say the Red Bulls are one of the most talented teams in the league on paper. But their most troubling issue this year wasn’t a lack of talent, it was chemistry. And it will be hard to see the chemistry on the team coming together until Marquez is gone.

Forget his salary ($4.6 million), or the fact that he is taking up a vital DP slot. Marquez just never looked interested in being here, and he played like it. When he criticized teammates for not being up to his talent level following a 3-1 loss to Real Salt Lake Sept. 21, that should have sealed his fate.

If it didn’t, his red card following the first-leg playoff loss to the Galaxy should have. If management thinks the situation will blow over, they’re wrong. Marquez’s suspension will carry over to the first two games of next season, so it will be a constant issue during the offseason, at training camp and the opening few weeks of 2012.

As for Henry, he cared more than the average fan might think. In less than a year here, he knew more about MLS and the players on other teams than any foreign player I have encountered in league history. And his 14 goals in 26 games were about what you would have expected from him.

But his penchant for fouls and picking up cards were troubling. His yellow card in each leg of the Galaxy series meant he would have sat out the conference final on Sunday. Imagine what the rest of the players would have thought about playing the most important game of the season without their two top designated players?

Still, there were positives this season. The defense came together late in the year when Stephen Keel replaced Marquez in the back. Tim Ream may have had a sophomore jinx type of year, but he will bounce back. Jan Gunnar Solli and Roy Miller were solid defenders with attacking ability. It’s hard to imagine major changes there, especially if the Red Bulls finally realize that using a DP spot on a defender just doesn’t make sense.

In the midfield, Joel Lindpere has been the most consistent player on the field the past two years and Teemu Tainio, when healthy, was an all-star caliber player in his first season. Dane Richards was not the same player when he returned from the Gold Cup but his speed and attacking ability is an important part of the offense.

Up front, Luke Rodgers had an impact first season and should be even better next year. Hopefully 18-year-old Juan Agudelo will continue to improve, especially if he is loaned out to a European club during the winter.

The one change that seems certain is in goal, where 38-year-old designated player Frank Rost will likely not return. It remains to be seen if former starter Bouna Coundoul gets his job back or the team looks elsewhere for a goalkeeper. In a league with a salary cap, their combined salary of nearly $750,000 just didn’t make sense.

ETC.

Dutch league leader AZ Alkmaar, with U.S. forward Jozy Altidore scoring a goal, beat ADO The Hague, 3-0, to maintain its six-point lead.

The United States will play France in a friendly Friday in Saint-Denis, then play at Slovenia Nov. 15 in its final game of the year.

There are 34 World Cup qualifying games on Friday, 11 in CONCACAF, 10 in Asia, nine in Africa and four in South America.

Red Bulls forward Luke Rodgers is a finalist for MLS Newcomer of the Year along with Vancouver's Eric Hassli and Seattle's Mauro Rosales. The winner will be announced Nov. 15.

Forward Juan Agudelo was added to the training camp roster for the U.S. Under-23 team following the Red Bulls' elimination from the MLS playoffs.

The Rapids, who won MLS Cup a year ago, on Monday fired coach Gary Smith. The team finished 12-9-13 this year but lost in the Eastern Conference semifinals to Sporting Kansas City.

D.C. United defender Marc Burch underwent surgery to repair an arthritic big toe condition in his right foot. He he expected to make a full recovery for next season.

The Galaxy added another game to its post-season Asian tour. They will play a group of top players from Indonesia's Super League Nov. 30 in Jakarta.

The Whitecaps signed forward Atiba Harris to a contract extension.

The Sounders and the Galaxy set a MLS record with 27 wins in all competitions this season, breaking the record of 26 set by the 2000 Fire. With a victory in the MLS Cup final Nov. 20, the Galaxy would stand alone with 28.

The Galaxy's Western Conference final victory over Real Salt Lake Sunday night enabled coach Bruce Arena to win his 21st career playoff game, a league record. Arena had been tied with Seattle's Sigi Schmid.

Frank Klopas, who replaced Carlos de los Cobos as Fire coach on an interim basis five months ago, was has been given the job full time.

Houston's Brad Davis, D.C. United's Dwayne De Rosario and FC Dallas' Brek Shea are the finalists for MLS MVP. The winner will be announced Nov. 18. Shea, 18, will train with Arsenal during December.

The draw for the knockout stage of the CONCACAF Champions League will be held today in New York. Toronto FC, the Galaxy and the Sounders are the MLS clubs that advanced out of the group stage.

The first leg of the European Championship playoffs will be held Friday, with the second leg Nov. 15.

Lionel Messi is among 23 candidates on the 2011 Ballon d'Or shortlist for the year's best player. The three finalistst will be announced Dec. 5 in Paris, with the winner announced Jan. 9 at a FIFA gala in Zurich. Last week, Messi collected his 14th career hat trick in a 4-0 Champions League victory over Czech club Viktoria Plzen to raise his career total to 202 goals. His 42 Champions League goals already are ninth on the career list.

FIFA added to its World Cup windfall when it sold the rights to market corporate tickets at the 2018 and 2022 tournaments for $219 million.

Pumas, the defending Mexican league champion, failed to qualify for the Apertura playoffs following a 1-1 tie against Tijuana.

AC Milan, Barcelona and Real Madrid have advanced to the Champions League's knockout stage.

Alex Ferguson celebrated his 25th anniversary as Manchester United coach on Saturday with a 1-0 victory over Sunderland. Ferguson, who has coached 1,409 games for United, will have the north stand at Old Trafford named after him.

Liverpool has given 18-year-old defender Jack Robinson a long-term contract. No details were announced. Two years ago, he became the club's youngest ever player.

Tottenham coach Harry Redknapp missed the club's Europa League match last week while undergoing a heart procedure in which he had two stents inserted to unblock coronary arteries. Redknapp is expected to return next week following the international break.

Arsenal forward Robin Van Persie has scored 29 goals in 28 games this calendar year.

Rangers forward Steven Naismith will miss the rest of the season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee. Naismith, who had nine goals in the first 11 games, will be sidelined at least eight months.

AC Milan midfielder Kevin Prince Boateng has been suspended for two games for insulting a referee after he was subbed out of a game. Boateng, 24, also informed the Ghana Football Association that he no longer wants to play for the national team. He has one goal in nine games for Ghana.

Roma striker Fabio Borini will be sidelined a month with a torn muscle in his right thigh.

Juventus striker Luca Toni has been fined and banned from driving for three months after being caught driving under the influence.

Daniele Arrigoni, a former Cesena player, is the club's new coach.

AC Milan striker Antonio Cassano underwent what the club called "minor" heart surgery to close a small opening and will be out up to six months. Cassano developed problems with his vision, speech and movement on the team's plane ride back from Rome and had been rushed to the hospital.

Fiorentina coach Sinisa Mihajlovic became the sixth Serie A coach to be fired since the preseason. He was replaced by former Lazio coach Delio Rossi.

Schalke midfielder Peer Kluge will be sidelined through the Bundesliga's winter break after undergoing surgery on a torn meniscus in his left knee.

Bayern Munich striker Mario Gomez scored a first-half hat trick in last week's Champions League victory over Napoli. Gomez's first goal was the club's 250th in the Champions League. Gomez has 13 goals in his past 10 Champions League games. In that game, midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger broke his collarbone and is expected to be out until after the winter break.

Bayern Munich midfielder Anatoliy Tymoshchuk has been suspended three games after receiving a red card for a high tackle in Sunday's 2-1 win over Augsburg.

Germany, which lost to Spain in the European Championship final in 2008, will pay out $413,000 to each player if they win Euros next summer.

Bayer Leverkusen extended the contract of sports director Rudi Voeller five years, until 2017.

Borussia Dortmund defender Neven Subotic will be sidelined six weeks after undergoing surgery on a facial fracture. Subotic, who was elbowed in the face on a corner kick in Saturday's 5-1 victory over Wolfsburg, had plates fitted in his upper jaw and eye socket.

Barcelona goalkeeper Victor Valdes set a club record for the longest stretch without conceding a goal at 869 minutes, breaking the old record of 824 minutes, set by Miguel Reina in the 1972-73 season.

Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola coached his 200th game with the club last week. His record was 144-17-39 prior to Sunday's tie with Athletic Bilbao.

Valencia striker Jonas scored the second fastest goal in Champions League history when he connected 10 seconds into his team's 3-1 victory over Bayer Leverkusen.

Valencia midfielder Ever Banega will be out four to six weeks with a right knee sprain.

Cristiano Ronaldo scored both goals, including his 100th in 105 matches for Real Madrid, in a 2-0 Champions League victory over Lyon last week.

Lille winger Eden Hazard, last season's French Player of the Year, says he turned down a chance to sign with Inter Milan in the offseason and would instead prefer to move to a club in England.

Denmark coach Morten Olsen changed his mind about retiring and will stay on through the 2014 World Cup. Olsen, who has coached Denmark the past 11 years, has a record of 64-27-32. Estudiantes, tied for last place in the Argentine league, fired coach Miguel Angel Russo.

Al Sadd of Qatar won the Asian Champions League, beating Jeonbuk Motors of South Korea 4-2 on penalty kicks following a 2-2 regulation tie.

Lyuboslav Penev, who earned 62 caps for Bulgaria, has taken over as national team coach. He replaces Lothar Matthaeus, who was fired in September.

Florian Albert, the 1967 winner of the Golden Ball award given to Europe's best player, died last week at the age of 70. Albert played 537 games for Ferencvaros, scoring 383 goals and winning four Hungarian championships. He also played 75 times for Hungary, scoring 31 goals, and took part in the 1962 and 1966 World Cups.

Mauritius pulled out of qualifying for the 2014 World Cup, giving Liberia a bye into the African group stage. No reason was given for the withdrawal.

Former Nigeria coach Samson Siasia filed a lawsuit for breech of contract against the Nigerian Football Federation after being fired last week. He has already been replaced by former defender Stephen Keshi, who was Nigeria's captain at the 1994 World Cup.

Myanmar, thrown out of 2018 World Cup qualifying by FIFA following crowd violence during a 2014 qualifier against Oman, has been reinstated. However, Mynamar will have to play all its home matches in a neutral country.

Frank Giase: fgiase@starledger.com

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