Even with two weeks to process New York's decision to part ways with the club's head coach, the firing continues to leave people throughout MLS puzzled.

// U.S. SOCCER LATEST



It has been almost two weeks since the New York Red Bulls shook up Major League Soccer , and their fan base, with the decision to part ways with popular coach Mike Petke. Even though some time had passed, the subject of Petke’s dismissal still dominated conversations from the MLS combine in Florida to the MLS SuperDraft in Philadelphia.“Why in the world did they fire Mike Petke?”It was a question not only being uttered by furious Red Bulls fans, but by players, coaches and owners throughout the league. The consensus reaction showed just how shocking the news was, and how unfathomable the decision appeared to even the most seasoned veterans of the league.So why exactly did the Red Bulls dump Petke? It wasn’t about a new leader stepping in and choosing to hire his own person. As much as new Red Bulls sporting director Ali Curtis wants to convince people it was his decision, the reality is Curtis was hired and given orders to handle the dirty work of disposing the most popular coach in the history of the club.And why exactly? Ultimately, Red Bull upper management never took a shine to Petke. We’re talking upper-level management based in Austria, home of the energy drink company. Tucked away in Europe, the braintrust of Red Bull global never saw Petke as some untouchable coach or outstanding leader. He never could shake the label of caretaker coach to a leadership that was oblivious to the things he had done with the club over the past two seasons.Red Bull has spent a decade waiting for an MLS Cup, coming closest in 2008, so after two years of handing Petke a high-priced squad led by a superstar in Thierry Henry, Red Bull decided he hadn’t impressed enough to be worth keeping around as the Red Bulls transition to life after Henry.It mattered little that the Red Bulls compiled a 30-19-19 record under Petke, or that he led them to the 2013 Supporters’ Shield, the club’s first legitimate piece of silverware. Or that he helped deliver the club’s first home playoff win, and first playoff series victory against archrival D.C. United. All these things that made him a beloved figure among Red Bulls fans went largely unnoticed by an upper management that had essentially put an “MLS Cup or bust” expiration date on his tenure.Red Bulls leadership has tried very hard to explain the decision without coming right out and bashing Petke, but it isn’t tough to read between the lines. Based on comments made by Curtis, you can surmise that there was a belief Petke wasn’t tactically astute, organized, forward-thinking, or all that well-equipped to lead the team through a transition period without Henry (and without Jamison Olave and most likely Tim Cahill).The Red Bulls were well within their right to have doubts about Petke’s ability to keep the team a contender, but his record over the past two seasons warranted being given a chance to prove himself, or a chance to fall flat.That chance didn’t come because, ultimately, foreign-based leadership oblivious to his accomplishments made a judgment call without have a good sense for how well Petke had established himself in the league, and to fans who admired his commitment and emotional attachment to the club he once played for.Curtis and new coach Jesse Marsch tried addressing the concerns of fans at a town-hall style meeting Friday, and irate Red Bulls supporters turned the event into a shouting match short on substance and long on emotion. Marsch did his best to show the personality and character that could eventually make him a coach Red Bulls fans come to like, but Curtis did very little to win over those same fans who see him as just the latest clueless front office type hired by a club with a history of hiring the wrong people to run the Red Bulls.If there was something to glean from the town hall meeting, it was that the new leadership does have a plan, and does have ambitious ideas about the direction to take the team in 2015. The only problem with the promising glimpses of the new year is the feeling that Curtis and Marsch are doomed to be the latest patsies given little chance to build something tangible, because Red Bull simply doesn’t have a clue what it’s doing.What is ironic about the decision to dismiss Petke is that Petke had probably done more to legitimize Red Bull as competent owners as anybody. He was a risky hire when he replaced Hans Backe before the 2013 season, but rewarded that faith by leading the team to the Supporters' Shield. He managed a locker room that couldn’t have been easy to deal with, and helped turn the Red Bulls into a winner. He had the team within a goal of reaching the MLS Cup final, and had every reason to think he would be the man to help the Red Bulls transition into a new era in 2015.Instead, Petke was left as stunned as the rest of the league when he was relieved of his duties. In a recent interview, he insisted he would still be a fan of the club, and would even plan on attending a match in the future to sit with the fans who continue to love him so.Just what sort of team will Petke find when he makes his way to Red Bull Arena? There is no way to know for sure, but a look at the club’s history, and track record for questionable decisions, suggests it is difficult to see the Red Bulls ever finding sustained success as long as the European-based leadership continues to be detached and clueless about how to run a club.