Two weeks ago, MLS announced changes to its roster rules. Teams must now declare a roster construction "path" -- each team can either have three designated players (DPs) and 3 U22 Initiative (maximum $250K cap hit) slots, or two DPs and four U22 slots plus $2 million in MLS fun bucks; a compromise undoubtedly born of a desire to placate the have-nots while the haves run roughshod over them in the standings. If you think like us, and odds are if you're reading this you do, your first thought upon digesting this information was that the Metro brass are surely elated to sign up for the latter (if they weren't actively pushing for it themselves).

The fact is, despite boundless financial resources, the New York outpost of the Red Bull GmbH soccer empire has been run as though they are one of the have-nots for almost a decade. As much as this may aggravate us, it seems like Marc de Grandpre's "significant investment" began and ended with the synergistic acquisition of Emil Forsberg, the team's second DP along with Dante Vanzeir (yes, Jean-Philippe Gbamin may end up being a DP for the rest of the season, but it's also possible his salary is paid down below that threshold. In either scenario, Vanzeir's days in Metro colors are surely numbered).

Let's put aside our frustration for a moment, and deal with reality: it is unlikely Metro is going to solve their roster problems by spending their way out of trouble. Those days are probably behind us for good. In this scenario, impact players are likely to be of the U22 variety, and in that sense the club has a theoretical competitive advantage over the rest of the teams in MLS: a direct relationship with two clubs perched at the western gateway of Central Europe, with pipelines full of young talent from that region and beyond. Logically, some of the young players in Salzburg and Leipzig will need competitive first-team minutes outside of reserve matches, so why not send them to New York? As it turns out, the latter club was in town to play a friendly last night, and we posed the question directly to their manager:

MF: "Have you considered, or would you consider, sending youth or reserve players to New York?"

Marco Rose: "We talk about a multi-club, it means we are partners, and of course we used this travel to speak about these kind of things. And if it makes sense, then we should do it, because our young players, they mostly play under-19, youths against youths, but in this age group -- 17, 18, 19 -- you need another challenge, physical and harder tempo, harder speeds, and that's why it's a good idea to let them play in this age.... It could be an opportunity."

We used this travel to speak about these kind of things. To be clear, Rose was speaking in generalities and not specifics, as you'd expect, but at least we know the topic has been raised at his level. Previously one got the impression that the New Jersey satellite office has repeatedly begged for reinforcements and was flatly ignored, or worse, given Salzburg's (the lesser club, by some margin) leftovers and castoffs. Now the possibility is open that aforementioned European talent pipeline could be available to the MLS side, a tantalizing prospect.

That's enough reality for one day (we sweat out most of our sanity in the first 60 minutes of the match), so let's go back to indulging ourselves: if synergy is back on the menu, when can we expect the likes of Assan Ouedraogo and El Chadaille Bitshiabu to grace our shores, Red Bull?