New York Red Bulls: One winger away… again
The New York Red Bulls are one winger away from being the best team in MLS. The so-close-but-so-far nature is devastating for a frustrated fan base.
The New York Red Bulls totalled more regular season points than any MLS team ever. They won the Supporters’ Shield, again, and had the most complete team in the league.
And yet, it doesn’t really feel like that. Because they fell to Atlanta United in such limp fashion in the playoffs, failing to win MLS Cup as winners of the East for the fifth time in the past nine years, it is easy to overlook the rest of their achievements.
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Ultimately, the Red Bulls fell short due to a lack of cutting edge in the final third. Bradley Wright-Phillips was that year older, the midfield was more workmanlike than creative, and the crux of their team was established in the defence, not in attack. And it looks as though the same could be the case in 2019.
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MLS’ Matthew Doyle held a preseason Q and A this week. In it, he was asked about what the Red Bulls must do to improve ahead of the season to come. This was his response:
"“As for “looking to improve…” they need a winger(*) who can win them a game. Maybe that’s Jorgensen or Fernandez. Maybe Daniel Royer has another gear (I don’t think so) <…> If they don’t have that guy, they’ll still make the playoffs. But last year’s record-setting regular season will feel very, very far away.”"
Sadly for the Red Bulls and their fans, I agree with every word.
The brilliance of Toronto FC was the goalscoring presence of both Jozy Altidore and Sebastian Giovinco, combined with the ingenuity of Vazquez. Similarly, Atlanta United had Josef Martinez, Miguel Almiron and Julian Gressel. New York City FC have had three or four excellent attacking players in central and wide positions to call upon at any moment.
These players are game-changing. You can be playing badly, with possession slow and attacking processes numbed, and suddenly, they just spark into life and produce those individual moments that nobody else on the pitch is capable of. Do the Red Bulls have that type of player in their squad?
Daniel Royer is a perfectly adequate winger, but he lacks the consistent brilliance of a Giovinco or Almiron. Derrick Etienne is a searing dribbler but lacks end product. Kaku is a phenomenal creator, but he can find his space cramped without true width around him and does go missing in matches at times.
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You feel that the Red Bulls team is perfectly set up for success apart from one position: winger. And if they fall short again come crunch time because of the same reason, frustrations could boil over.