And yes, Le Toux would’ve made a lot more sense than Miller.

I agree with Steve Davis, this is all on Red Bulls management. I can’t fault a man to taking the money but it’s up to the coach and front office to cut their losses. Look at DC United, until very recently we had 2 DPs that couldn’t crack the starting line up. It’s a testament to the front office’s support of Olsen that he’s been allowed to field the best 11 players as he sees fit, regardless of salaries.

I ask this because I think the stress NY’s formation had to endure after Marquez’s dismissal was the reason they lost the game. This is a great case study because DC went down a man at almost exactly the same time (a tad before actually). What I mean by all this is that when you compare the two dismissals from both teams and the subsequent replacements at those positions, you’re left to ponder the new formations and personnel for those teams.

In the case of DC, Boscovic was brought off in order for Willis to go in goal. This caused a slight gap between the midfield core and the strikers, but this could easily be remedied by sliding Pontius back slightly to fill in that void a bit, which would lessen the impact. Meanwhile, DC’s backline and d-mid were all still solid with all starters in. Plus, Willis is no slouch in net.

Look at what Backe did when Marquez was removed, though. A huge cog was removed from central defense, and the only thing Backe could do is move a midfielder back to fill the hole. It’d be silly to play with three backs at that point in the game, so he makes an obvious sacrifice by moving Tainio to center back.

If you zoom out and look at both adjusted formations, you’ll notice a HUGE problem for NY. DC’s line barely changes, especially in the back. The gap, as I said, is filled by Pontius. Whereas NY’s has to be shifted backwards, which both hinders their attack AND disrupts the defense as there is a non-defender now involved in the mix.

In short, DC’s adjusted lineup and formation is better suited to the game situation than NY’s is because it’s largely unchanged and is much more stable than NY’s is. Add to this the fact that Tainio was involved in Robbie Russell’s run and subsequent pass to DeLeon for the DC goal, and I think you see what I mean.

The other thing that I think doomed the Red Bulls is the sub Backe made at the end of the game. Bringing Digao on was a no-brainer. Attackers were needed. But Roy Miller? You want to bring on a sub par wing back at the end of a knock out game in which you are losing to make that final push? Where was Lloyd Sam? Did they have no other offensive players? This was proven right when Miller took the 93rd minute free kick and proceeded to give the Empire Supporter’s club a souvenir. This goes to show how inept Backe is at managing, and I think it adds merit to the rumors that he’ll be sent back to Europe for 2013.

And about that free kick … stick around. We’re going to talk about that one, too. More blisterings are ahead, I promise.

I think you mean he is an anchor stepping on the ankles of this franchise and last night he tackled the whole thing.

I enjoy watching Red Bulls fail because I don’t like Marquez.