New York Red Bulls Face Questions After Thierry Henry Departure, Playoff Exit
It came as no surprise when it was announced that Thierry Henry would not return to the New York Red Bulls on Monday. The Frenchman will leave as a club legend, even after the team failed to lift the MLS Cup for the 19th consecutive year.
With Henry’s inevitable parting with the club now official, the questions that New York faces this offseason have become clearer. The answers to those questions, on the other hand, remain as unclear as ever.
With New York City FC joining Major League Soccer next season, there is significant pressure on the Red Bulls to remain relevant.
The answers to these five questions will shape the future of the Red Bulls and determine how the quest for continued relevance fares.
Who will the Red Bulls protect in the expansion draft?
On December 10, NYCFC and Orlando City SC will take part in a 10-round expansion draft to help fill out the rosters of the newly minted MLS clubs. In short, the Red Bulls can protect 11 players from being taken by either expansion club, with Connor Lade, Matt Miazga, and Santiago Castano automatically protected due to their homegrown status.
Surely, six of the 11 spots will be taken by Luis Robles, Dax McCarty, Lloyd Sam, Jamison Olave, Eric Alexander and Golden Boot winner Bradley Wright-Phillips.
That leaves five spots for Tim Cahill, Peguy Luyindula, Chris Duvall, Ambroise Oyongo, Richard Eckersley, Roy Miller, Ruben Bover and Ibrahim Sekagya.
Which of those five will New York secure? Cahill has undeniable talent but would likely prefer to play striker, which poses obvious problems (more on this later). Luyindula was spectacular during the playoffs but turns 36 in May.
Duvall and Oyongo both have great potential but struggled defensively late in the season. Eckersley got off to a putrid start to the season but redeemed himself with an impressive final two months of the season.
Miller and Sekagya have both spent the last two seasons alternating between being unequivocal first-team players and unreliable accidents waiting to happen. Bover has yet to find regular first-team minutes but has undeniable talent and is only 22 years old.
Of course, the Red Bulls will not lose every player they do not protect. Seventeen other clubs will be putting players up for grabs too, so any club losing more than two or three players would be a surprise.
After finally finding a group with obvious chemistry, though, losing just one wrong player could be costly.
Where will the club find a new playmaker(s)?
Thierry Henry is irreplaceable. There is no doubt about that.
His 51 regular-season goals are second only to Juan Pablo Angel’s 68 in Red Bulls/Metrostars history. His 42 assists are a club record.
Henry is gone now, though, and New York will have to find a way to move forward.
This is not to say Henry is the club’s only playmaker, nor that he single-handedly carried the team this year. Luyindula’s late-season form was promising. Oyongo showed promise as a left-winger. Wright-Phillips tied the league’s single-season scoring record. Sam’s lightning pace created chances down the right wing.
That being said, Henry tied the club’s single-season assists record with 14 this year. The club will need a new player, or players, to help make up for some of that lost production next season.
Could that come in the form of a high-priced and high-profile Designated Player? Fans will hope so, but the club’s uncertain ownership status (more on this below) may put the Red Bulls in a position where such a signing isn’t feasible.
What should New York do about Tim Cahill?
The Australian proved his worth as a striker in the second leg against New England with a goal and a steady work rate, just as he has for the Australian national team for years.
The problem, of course, is that he probably is not the best striker at his own club at this point. Bradley Wright-Phillips obviously is New York’s first-choice forward after a historic season. So where does that leave Cahill?
He could play in a No. 10 role just behind the striker, as he did against Sporting Kansas City on the last day of the regular season with decent success.
There are two issues with this though. First, it would mean removing Luyindula from the starting XI. With Henry gone, Luyindula appears to be the best passing playmaker in the squad. He cannot lose his spot.
That aside, though Cahill played behind the striker many times for Everton, he plays the role in an entirely different way from Luyindula. Cahill is not a great passer of the ball but makes good late runs, draws defenders to him and wins tons of balls in the air.
But with Henry gone, the Red Bulls will need a pure playmaker playing behind the striker. Cahill does not fit that bill.
Manager Mike Petke has tried inserting Cahill in a deeper role in the midfield, but it just is not a smart move for player or club. The soon-to-be 36-year-old Australian is nowhere near his best at that position (see the 4-0 loss at LA Galaxy for proof), and the midfield pairing of Alexander and McCarty has clearly proved to be the best option in the midfield.
Could Cahill be destined for a continued role on the bench? That seems unlikely as well.