Skip to main content

Will New York Red Bulls II Leave USL for New MLS Lower Division?

photo by Matt Kremkau

New York Red Bulls II have been a major part of the revival of the USL after joining the league in 2015. The team has been one of the more consistent clubs on the field and the only MLS 2 club to win a USL Cup. All of this may come to an end after the announcement that MLS will be starting a lower division league in 2022, potentially poaching teams like New York Red Bulls II from the USL.

The new league, announced today, will feature 20 teams to start and will kick off in March of 2022. The formate will be similar to the USL will a schedule structure that will have a playoff at the end of the campaign. While, it may seem redundant given the fact that USL already provides such opportunity, New York will be placed in a position to chose between a relationship that has been quite fruitful, or fall into alignment with MLS.

"The new league will develop a diverse talent pool of coaches, referees and front office executives," said MLS commissioner Don Garber during the announcement. "We are excited to launch a new league to complete the pathway between our academies and the MLS first teams."

New York has benefited greatly from that pathway in the USL. Players like Aaron Long, Tyler Adams, Sean Davis, Alex Muyl, Derrick Etienne Jr., Brian White and Tom Barlow have all earned their positions on the MLS roster with solid play in the lower division. The same may continue in the new MLS lower league, however it does call into question what the team's relationship will be with the USL moving forward.

Thus far the team has not commented on their participation and MLS has not announced which teams will be joining. It could be expected that New York will join, especially after their difficulties in recent years with a far more independent and veteran league in the USL Championship, and finding it harder to compete.

Comments

  1. Hope it won't lower red bulls 2 standards to be playing in a "development" league instead of a professional league.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Red Bulls Announce Fan Experience Improvements

by Garry Redman On top of the theme nights announced this season, something new has been added the next time the season ticket holders and supporters step inside The Cathedral... The state-of-the-art LED lighting system at Red Bull Arena will provide higher on-field light levels for enhanced visibility and safety and introduce new entertainment features that heighten the overall experience for spectators.   Built around Musco's Total Light Control—TLC for LED™ technology, the new system is designed to provide exceptional playability and uniformity while minimizing glare. Cleaner, whiter light will elevate the broadcast quality for fans watching around the world.  Color-changing fixtures and Show-Light® Pro entertainment technology will allow the Red Bulls to wash the stadium in different colors and synchronize light shows to music, heightening the fan experience during goal celebrations, player introductions, and other big moments. If you have no idea what this means, cl...

Quotes: Red Bulls Show Promise, But More Work Need To Be Done

photo by Matt Kremkau Sixty seconds in a ninety-minute match. That’s all it took for Sporting Kansas City to ruin the Opening Day festivities at Red Bull Arena on Saturday night. The supporters in attendance saw crisp passing and a stout defense that kept the visitors at bay, despite not having striker Alan Pulido in the starting lineup. But significantly, the supporters were buoyed by a return to that press that has last seen since Jesse Marsch was in charge. But that was the first 45 minutes. In the second half, things turned for the better and then, shockingly, worse for the home side that evening. Midfielder Caden Clark, who scored the opening goal, spoke about the match as a whole: I’ve kept that in the back of my mind, actually, not scoring at home. I really wanted to do that in front of the supporters, and it was great to do that in front of the few that were here tonight who brought the noise. When I scored that [goal] the place was shaking, and you feed off of that and gai...

Editorial: New York Red Bulls are Fun to Watch

photo by Matt Kremkau by Daniel Feuerstein The New York Red Bulls 2024 season starts off and running. In their first three matches, they have looked different from their last five to six seasons of doom and despair when trying to attack or have a lapse in judgment on the defensive end. The two big editions for the club are undoubtedly the imports from Sweden in Centerback Noah Elle & attacking midfielder Emil Forsberg. Two players who are a part of the Swedish National Team have started off well in Major League Soccer. We all knew what we were getting right away from Forsberg. A high-energy creative and attacking midfielder who was already bought in from day one, when Director of Sport Jochen Schneider went to Leipzig and brought him over. He was already committed to making the trip to the United States to play his brand of soccer, and so far he hasn't disappointed. Even though he has come close three times off of free kicks, hitting the crossbar twice and being saved by the ke...