New York Red Bulls (15-9-6, +9 goal difference, knocked out in first round of playoffs)
What Went Wrong, Playoff Edition: Massive Improvement But Work Still To Be Done For The New York Red Bulls
What went right: Compared to last season, pretty much everything. The defending was much better, aside from some poor patches in mid-summer the team scored plenty of goals, and there was a new ethos of winning. The Red Bulls played much better on the road - probably better than in many matches at Red Bull Arena. Unfortunately, though the players did not produce quite the same level of performance in the new stadium as they did on their travels, Red Bull Arena has produced stronger connections between the supporters and the club, and has helped to unify the fanbase. While it is far too early to call 2010 a turnaround year in the history of the club, New York has resolved many longstanding problems and should be a contender for the Supporters’ Shield and MLS Cup in the coming seasons.
What went wrong: Despite the spectacular turnaround, New York is still a few players away from being an MLS Cup-winning side. The entire left side needs a reworking in the off-season, and there are several areas (central defence and right back in particular) where the team needs more depth. Roy Miller has been shown to be quite awful throughout the season, and though Joel Lindpere played well on the wing, he is not a permanent solution in that position.
The Red Bulls have also failed to find a central creator in midfield (a long-running problem for the club), and the lack of that player was striking during a run of poor goalscoring form in mid-summer. Rafa Márquez's long passing ability and the acquisition of Mehdi Ballouchy have helped to alleviate this issue in part, but the former can be burdened with defensive duties and the latter is not a true central creator, despite his good movement and range of passing. Personnel issues aside, the Red Bulls could have gone further this season if they had simply taken more of their chances - profligacy in front of goal was the order of the season and the biggest reason why they were knocked out by San Jose.
What we learned: Mediocrity is not permanent. New York won the Eastern Conference regular season title for the first time since 2000 and played with the confidence of a team contending for a championship. Wins away to Toronto, Los Angeles, Seattle, and Juan Pablo Ángel’s last-kick winner against Houston are the mark of a much more assured side. On the other hand, even though the Red Bulls have a huge squad, they lacked depth in quality, and combined with some average late-season form, that was the difference between winning MLS Cup and falling short.
New York may have peaked too early - their performance away to the Los Angeles Galaxy was the most convincing of the season - but they were certainly not helped by the inconsistent form of Rafael Márquez and Thierry Henry. Those two will be important for the medium-term future of the club, but more significant will be the development of New York's crop of young talent - the trio of Tim Ream, Tony Tchani, and Juan Agudelo in particular will be crucial in the success or failure of this team in 2011 and beyond. All three have shown their ability and developed markedly, but New York will need yet more from them to improve next season.
Where we go from here: Win MLS Cup. The Red Bulls' front office and ownership were expecting a run to the Final this year, and probably a victory - the team recorded videos of "What the Cup Means to Me" with a number of players. The amount that has been invested in this team has produced justifiably high expectations, and whether this team can win trophies (yes, plural) will be the only metric upon which they are judged. A lot of the "old guard" (Mike Petke, John Wolyniec, Seth Stammler, and Juan Pablo Ángel) will not be back next season, but Hans Backe will be expected to make this team win even without their veteran experience.
Core 11 (players that should be protected): Bouna Coundoul, Carlos Mendes, Tim Ream, Chris Albright, Rafael Márquez, Tony Tchani, Joel Lindpere, Dane Richards, Thierry Henry, Juan Agudelo (Tchani and Agudelo are automatically protected in the Expansion Draft)
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