What a whopper trade means for the New York Red Bulls

The reported arrival of two fairly high-salaried men to Red Bull Arena can only mean that a familiar name or two are about to be pushed out. Perhaps even the second most familiar one?

It also means that Red Bull is already moving down a dangerous path.

The arrivals of big center back Jamison Olave and feisty striker Fabian Espindola give the Red Bulls more bite in front and back. It means one of the center backs will not return in 2013; whether that is Markus Holgersson or Rafa Marquez, we’ll have to wait and see. Clearly, Marquez would be the bigger news.

While the former Mexican international remains a talented presence whose passing can get the attack moving quickly and effectively, he has proven unreliable in a stunning variety of ways. Marquez is prone to bad bookings that can (and have) left the team playing with 10 at the worst possible times. He is prone to lapses in effort, jogging behind critical plays at times. And he has thrown teammates under the boss in public, as he did somewhat infamously with Tim Ream two years ago.

(On the other hand, it would give people like me much less to write about; the man was a content producer’s dream.)

This also means that one of the big forward acquisitions of 2012, Kenny Cooper or Sebastien Le Toux, is likely to be moved on.

As for that dangerous path, here’s the thing:

The new management is making bold moves without a head coach, always a dangerous approach. Decisions are now being made by Gérard Houllier, the global sporting director of Red Bull Soccer, and by former Scottish national team manager Andy Roxburgh. Both have loads of European soccer experience, which is wonderful … if you’re in Europe. We aren’t.

They are also in charge of replacing manager Hans Backe (pictured with Marquez), who had “dead man walking” status as soon as Houllier took over and was dismissed on the day after New York tumbled out of the playoffs.

So, the question can be asked: are things getting better or worse around Red Bull Arena when men with zero MLS experience are selecting personnel (and tweaking salary cap buttons that they’ve never dealt with Europe) without the knowledge of how a new manager wants to play?

That certainly appears to be the case.