There were some familiar faces absent from the New York Red Bulls first training session since Saturday night's 1-1 draw in Kansas City. Youri Djorkaeff was with his wife, who fell ill, while Tony Meola was driving back from K.C., finally completing his move to New Jersey.
But there were two new faces at the Giants Stadium practice bubble Tuesday morning: striker Matt Jansen, who last played at Bolton in the English Premiership, and midfielder Richard Langley, from English Championship side Queens Park Rangers.
The two will spend the week training with the Red Bulls, are scheduled to attend the match against Houston Dynamo Saturday night and then fly back to England Sunday.
What happens after that remains to be seen.
"As you can see both can play," Red Bulls coach Mo Johnston said. "Matt tends to hold the ball up, Rich is a strong runner. Both are still at a young age but we're just looking at them."
The immediate need, Johnston said, is in the back and there is interest in Jacek Bak, the captain of Poland at the World Cup. However it is unlikely the Red Bulls would meet the 33-year-old's wage demands as Bak, who played 10 years in France, earned a reported $1.5 million at Al-Rayaan in Qatar last year.
Johnston admits he isn't necessarily in the market for another striker or midfielder, but it doesn't hurt, or cost, to have a look.
"We're looking at every area of the field but I'd like to sure up our defense," Johnston said. "I need another guy in the middle. We have some money to spend and three foreign spots open."
Jansen, 28, is a former England youth international who led Blackburn to Premiership promotion in 2000-01, scoring a league-high 23 goals. His good form continued in the following season, ultimately resulting in an English national team call-up for a pre-World Cup friendly against Paraguay.
A stomach illness, though, held him back from the match and ended any thought he had of playing for England in the 2002 World Cup. Things went from bad to worse when he was involved in a near-fatal motorcycle accident in Rome that summer.
He struggled to regain his form after the accident, being loaned to Coventry City in 2003 and finally dropped by Blackburn in Jan. 11, 2006. Two days later he signed a six-month contract with Bolton Wanderers and played in six matches before being released last month.
"I'm just taking a look for a week, see if they like me and if I like them," Jansen said. "I've done well the first day and hopefully it will continue."
Jansen said he's spoken to former Blackburn teammates Brad Friedel and Ryan Nelsen about MLS and he enjoyed his two vacations in New York. He's done more homework than many foreigners coming into the league; he knows there are two conferences, the top four from each advance to the playoffs and there is a cup final.
Jansen also has a pretty accurate scouting report on the Red Bulls.
"I also know the New York Red Bulls are draw specialists," he said. "They've only lost two games which indicates they're not far away. ... I know a little bit.
"It's different, especially the grass. That indoor surface takes a little bit to get used to," he added. "They seem a good bunch of lads and I look forward to tomorrow."
Langley, a Jamaican international at QPR, has been told about MLS from teammates Craig Ziadie, Tyrone Marshall, Damani Ralph and most recently U.S. national team players Cory Gibbs, Eddie Johnston and DaMarcus Beasley.
"The guys are friendly and it was a good session today," he said of training Tuesday. "I saw a lot of quality here today. I've been out of season for about a month now so I'm just getting my fitness back."
The 26-year-old midfielder has spent much of his career at Queens Park Rangers and made his debut for Jamaica in 2001.
He had a trial with Crystal Palace and played two years for Cardiff City before returning to QPR last August. He appeared in 23 games, scoring three goals and setting up another, and is currently out of contract.
"I've just come to have a look, look at the facilities and I'm impressed so far," Langley said. "The manager, Mo, seems like a really nice guy. I'm just not closing out any options in terms of my career. I'm keeping an eye open to everything really."
Dylan Butler is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
