Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Rafael Marquez Signs with Red Bulls

Are the Red Bulls always going to have the worst kept secrets in signing designated players?  First Thierry Henry was coming to Red Bulls for months at a time (I swear Ives had three or four threads spread out that had "Thierry Henry to Red Bulls" headlines) and now Rafael Marquez is signing with New York after weeks of rumor confirmations.  Perhaps it is part of a marketing strategy but it really takes the new out of news when we hear something on a constant basis.  I guess if it is NYC and there is a press release - it is all new again. 

What is brand new about the signing of Rafael Marquez is the MLS now has a designated player that is a defender as well as a team with three designated players.  Let others debate the rise and fall of the MLS because some teams have no DPs while one has 3, I am delighted that big money will be spent on defensive players in the league.  MLS teams regularly get embarrassed in the CONCACAF Champions League because teams often put more resources and long term planning in offense.  Defenses in the MLS are left without strong captains to hold the back line together or one solid player is constantly surrounded by new parts (I am working on an article of all the different defenders C.J. Brown has lined up with over the years... let's just say it is quite long).  Rookies collapse, vets try to do too much, goals are scored, teams like Joe Public win, rumors of Raul to MLS explode, everyone gets excited and that fact that we lose important games to teams in tiny leagues is swept under the rug.

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