UPPER MONTCLAIR, N.J. — Amid a flurry of roster moves last week, the Red Bulls traded a draft pick to obtain MLS veteran Carey Talley. The former D.C. United defender was obtained by New York as the team readies for a playoff push to add depth at right back to the squad.
But there is a good chance that Talley might start for his new team on Friday night against the LA Galaxy. So much for depth.
Usual starter right back Chris Albright suffered a groin injury on Monday and will most likely be a gametime decision at the Home Depot Center. The Red Bulls will count on Talley, playing without the benefit of a full week of practice with his new teammates, to step right in and play.
“I knew that when I came here, I’d be called upon to use my experience to help the team,” Talley told MLSsoccer.com earlier this week. “I know that role, I’ve done it with some success before. I think I did it quite well a few years ago with Chivas USA.”
[inline_node:307461]Talley was approached about the possible trade by D.C. United management before they pulled the trigger on the deal. Talley sat down with United’s general manager Dave Kasper and discussed his interest in being traded in light of New York’s inquiries, and asked that he have the night to think about the move and talk it over with his wife.
Earlier this year, Talley and his wife made the decision to buy a home in Virginia, complicating the decision. Talley liked the possibility of playing for the Red Bulls and having a chance at the playoffs, but said, “For me personally, family comes first.”
“I’m just thankful that she was on the same page as me,” Talley said of the conversation with his wife. “This was a move, to come to a team like this, that I wanted to make.”
Talley also said that he got on the phone with the Red Bulls before he told DC he would accept the trade. He wanted to hear about the team’s plans for him and his future in New York beyond this season.
“It was a really good talk, really good to hear what they had to say and the direction they have for the team,” Talley said. “And with players retiring [Mike Petke], going on to graduate school [Seth Stammler] – I felt like there was a possibility for me beyond this season.”
He laughed when told that Red Bulls fans might have a hard time getting used to a player who had been part of much of D.C. United’s success over the past decade, suiting up for the other side of one of the most intense rivalries in MLS.
“Yeah, I mean, I knew when I’d come up here for games, how much those matches meant to the fans up here in this area," he said. "It’s a big rivalry, that’s for sure. They’d really let us have it sometimes. But now we’re on the same side with the same goal of bringing a MLS Cup here to the Red Bulls.”
The transition, says Talley, has been smooth. He is currently living in a hotel right now, but he's thinking about the possibility of doing some house shopping in the New Jersey area this off-season. And his first impressions of the club are that everything “is done with first-class, just the way they treat you is impressive.”
“I really have liked training, just the way [head coach] Hans [Backe] organizes things when we’re out there is great,” Talley said. “I like it, I like that we’re in a system and we know what to do. That’s when I do best, when I’m in a system like this.”
Kristian R. Dyer can be reached for comment at KristianDyer@yahoo.com and followed at twitter.com/kdyer1012
