American defender Tim Ream signed a 3 1/2-year contract with the Bolton
Wanderers of the English Premier League. | File Photo: DailyHarrison.com

For better or for worse, Metro has solidified its position as one of the most poachable clubs in the US.  Tim Ream is the latest promising young player to pack his bag for greener pastures after turning a training stint at Bolton into a roughly $3 million sale to the EPL side.  This comes three and a half years after the sale of Jozy Altidore to Villareal, with Juan Agudelo looking destined to move to a bigger club sooner rather than later.  Of course it is disappointing to see good young players leave, the fact that we are producing talent strong enough to get picked up by Europe is reassuring.  Plus, its much better to have your top players poached by big teams in Europe than to trade them away for next to nothing to other MLS teams, which used to essentially be part of the job description of Metro and Red Bull GM's.  Here's wishing the best to Mr. Ream, who put in two solid seasons for New York and has a long and promising career ahead of him.

New York Red Bulls head coach Hans Backe and team general manager Erik Soler.  | File Photo: DailyHarrison.com

Early In The Offseason

New York heads in to the January international transfer window hell-bent on keeping its star players while also looking to bolster an already strong squad (or at least that is how the team looks on paper). This is after a large chunk of the team's depth, including the longest tenured member of the squad and the last Metrostar to play in NY, Carlos Mendes, were released by the team.

The oldest supporters club in Major League Soccer

One of the most intriguing aspects of soccer from around the world is the unprecedented support that fans put behind their teams. To a large extent, what is happening in the stands is a spectacle itself and often nearly as exciting as the action on the field.

Singing, jumping, flags, smoke bombs, flares, etc all bring a special atmosphere to games that typical American sports lack.  Various MLS supporters groups have been attempting to replicate the passion and intensity of European and Latin American fan groups in America.

One of the most notable is New York's fan group, the Empire Supporters Club.