When Red Bull purchased the team in 2006, we hated every aspect of it. But since we had no choice but to live with it, we tried to look for a silver lining. Maybe the Austrians' deep pockets will help this team to the promise land. We were grasping at straws.

For a while, it looked like this straw would hold strong. Red Bull dug into its deep pockets and signed two Designated Players before most teams even had one. And what Designated Players they were! Juan Pablo Angel, who turned into the greatest scorer in team history... and some other guy who was supposed to do the little things well. But Juan Pablo Angel!

Of course, those signings didn't lead the club to glory, but when Angel's career started on the downswing, Red Bull reloaded. And how! Thierry Henry, one of the greatest players in soccer history! Rafa Marquez, Mexican captain, cologne peddler! Tim Cahill, a never-say-die warrior! We had three Designated Players now, this meant silverware!

Well, we did get the Supporters Shield, with the help of Henry and Cahill. But that Designated Player slot opened by Marquez's departure prior to that best regular season in franchise history still lies vacant. This, while other MLS teams are signing big names left and right.

Don't get us wrong; we don't want to sign a DP just for the sake of signing a DP. But this team is floundering right now, and new blood is definitely needed. There are holes that need to be patched, and not with journeymen. And, yes, one must be cautious. As the signings of the guy who did the little things and Marquez proved, it's better NOT to sign a DP than to sign someone who will destroy the team from within. But with the erudite Andy Roxburgh in charge, one would think that the former should no longer happen.

Yet it seems out of Roxburgh's hands. "We don't want to spend as much as we did before [on Henry and Cahill]," Red Bull Head of Global Soccer Gerard Houllier says. Now, granted, there are many successful Designated Players in MLS who make a fraction of Henry and Cahill's salary. And once you get past the fact that the salary cap hit is equal, no matter what the DP's salary is...

No, it looks like the deep-pocketed Red Bull has turned into a cheapskate. And we're just talking about player acquisitions here, completely ignoring the flaccid marketing. Red Bull, with billions of dollars at its disposal, has so little marketing budget allocated to this club, that they are trying to piggyback on supposed rival NYCFC!

But don't worry, fans. Just you wait. That Designated Player might come in the offseason! Of course, by then, Henry might retire, and there will be two slots to fill... And we have no faith in these cheapskates.