Barely holding on to a playoff spot in third place in the Eastern Conference with a 6-12-6 record wasn’t what team GM Erik Soler and head coach Hans Backe pictured when assembling a star-studded roster featuring international stars like Thierry Henry and Rafa Marquez, along with United States internationals Tim Ream and Juan Agudelo.
With 10 games left in their season and Sporting Kansas City, Houston Dynamo and D.C. United breathing down their neck, can the Red Bulls turn things around and live up to expectations?
Here is why it hasn’t worked and how to turn it around:
Team chemistry isn’t the same
The departure of Juan Pablo Angel has hurt the club from a locker room standpoint. While age and performance were the ultimate reasons behind the Colombian’s exit, leadership has been sorely lacking for the Red Bulls.
Angel had the respect of everyone in the locker room and players rallied behind him regardless of his performances on the pitch. Whether the team won or lost, Angel always was available to tackle the difficult questions and be held accountable. It isn’t the same with Henry.
Players respect current team captain Henry and his legendary career and the strong outings that have made him a MVP contender, but the locker room connection and the ability to accept responsibility isn’t there.
When the Red Bulls lose, instead of realizing as captain that he has to be the first to acknowledge fault regardless of his own individual performance, Henry tends to shy away and deflect blame. As a star for both the New York Red Bulls and MLS, the 33-year-old has delivered up to expectations but the role of captain hasn’t suited him.
Prior to joining MLS, Henry featured as a captain when he succeeded Patrick Vieria as the captain of Arsenal and France in 2005 and 2008, respectively. In both tenures, neither team was able to restore its previous winning ways. When Arsenal started its 2007 season strongly after Henry departed to Barcelona, several players said the team felt more liberated without the France legend. Henry acknowledged that at times he could be overbearing in the role.
“I agreed with them completely,” said Henry to the The Sunday Telegraph. “Because of my seniority, the fact that I was captain and my habit of screaming for the ball, they would sometimes give it to me even when I was not in the best position. So in that sense it was good for the team that I moved on.”
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If the Red Bulls continue to stagnate under Henry’s guidance on the field, Backe might have to make a difficult decision of moving the captain’s armband to another player.
Los Angeles made a similar move a few years ago with David Beckham and the team has responded by being one of MLS’s top teams. Unlike his English friend, Henry doesn’t enjoy the spotlight as much and might welcome not having to be the outspoken leader of a team.
If Backe decides to look elsewhere next season, he should consider midfielder Joel Lindpere, who has the respect of the locker room and has been consistent since his arrival in MLS.
Time to drop the technical focus
Owned by a European soft drink mogul, with a front office led by a Norwegian general manager and a Swedish coach, the Red Bulls' focus this season has been to play the “right” way - like an MLS version of Arsenal, Ajax or Barcelona.
Yet, despite featuring eight players who have played on the old continent, the club doesn’t possess the personnel to execute the system that Backe prefers. There are too many times where speedy winger Dane Richards or the young Agudelo look lost in the team’s offense, wondering whether or not to pass or cut inside.
As Toronto FC has proven this season, focus on technical play requires either the right combination of talent or time to appropriately blend the talent. The top offenses of Real Salt Lake and Los Angeles Galaxy developed over time and both teams still manage to balance between find a balance between focusing on ball movement and not allowing goals.
The reason why the Red Bulls were able to turn it around last season from a last-place finish the previous season was a result of the club’s focus on defense. Even before the arrivals of Henry and Marquez, the team had one of the top defenses in the league.
Last year, in 30 games, the team only allowed 29 goals. This year, in 24 games, the team has conceded 33 goals. With Backe getting a vote of confidence till the end of the season by Soler, according to media reports, it might be time to go back to the basics.
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The East is much better this year
Last year, the only team that was close to the Red Bulls points-wise was the Columbus Crew and both teams had a double-digit advantage over third place.
This season, the team has the resilient Philadelphia Union, the recently in-form Sporting KC and the always consistent Crew along with former MLS champions Houston Dynamo in the conference. Things are much tighter.
The team has to do a better job at home where it has dropped a total of 14 points in 11 matches. With only one win on the road, it is crucial that it doesn’t drop any more points at Red Bull Arena.
There are a few weeks left until the trade deadline and Soler has to look for deals to bring in more depth on the roster, especially with the injury to hard-working forward Luke Rodgers. If he can add some role players, it might help in improving overall performance as there will be depth on the squad.
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