IN SEARCH OF . . . An experienced forward for the Red Bulls
Jeff Agoos, pictured during the 2005 season as a MetroStars defender, is still in search of a quality forward for the Red Bulls. Linda Cuttone/Sports Vue Images
By Michael Lewis
BigAppleSoccer.com Editor
Sooner or later, the Red Bulls will find that experienced forward to fill the hole up front.
And when he does, Red Bulls technical director Jeff Agoos might get a break from being on his cell phone for a good portion of the time. He has to be on top of things during his waking hours if he wants to track down his most elusive quarry of the MLS pre-season -- an experienced forward.
"It's just like a Jerry Lewis telethon," Agoos said Monday of the amount of time he is on the phone from the team's training camp in Carson, Calif. with agents and other clubs "seeing what's available and what makes sense."
With the next MLS transfer window opening June 15, the likelihood of adding an experienced hand from overseas is a long shot. So Agoos has tried obtaining a forward from one of the 12 other clubs, though it's not like anyone has a surplus of strikers.
"Any quality forward is going to cost you something," said Agoos, who realizes the Red Bulls don't have much to offer in return. "There are not enough out there to pick and choose from.
"It's a difficult position."
Even though an experienced forward is the team's No. 1 need, Agoos and the Red Bulls won't become desperate and rush into signing one.
"This is a position we look to fill for a few years," he said. "We don't look at it as a short-term fix."
In other Red Bulls updates:
* If he signs, trialist midfielder-forward Ansu Toure, would join the team as a senior player, not a developmental one because the Liberian native turns 26 this year, a year over the age limit, Agoos said.
"On the statistics page, he has done well," Agoos said. "He's a raw type of player.
"The issue with Ansu is age. He would be willing to sign as a developmental player, but we have to file him for a senior player."
* Hyde Park, N.Y. native and former Chicago Fire midfielder Craig Capano was let go because he wasn't fully fit.
"It was going to be an uphill battle for him," Agoos said. "We felt it would be better for him to leave camp and get healthy on his own. We'll keep tabs of him."
* Agoos said the Red Bulls were focusing on getting physically fit.
"The camp has been taxing," he said. "This is the time we build for the rest of the year. There are many heavy legs out there."
Agoos felt that midfielder Claudio Reyna and goalkeeper Ronald Waterreus and Jon Conway have performed well during camp.
But he added that there was "not one person who stands out and who's tearing it up."
The Red Bulls, who meet Chivas USA in the final game of their west-coast camp Wednesday, are 4-1-3 overall in the pre-season.
"I'm satisfied, but I think we can do better," Agoos said.
"A lot of teams are about at the same level. I don't think there's one team above everyone else."
