When the club won just three of their first nine matches, Red Bulls fired Chris Armas last September, with sports head Kevin Thelwell issuing a blunt assessment of the coach’s tenure.
“We should go in a different direction to fulfill the ambitions for our football club,” he said.
After roughly eight months, those ambitions seem more in reach, and there is an optimism around Gerhard Struber’s youth group.
This team can still regain from the Eastern Conference finale held in sixth place last season, but make no mistake: Spirits abound in New York right now.
“The last game gives every player a very, very good feeling … The result helps to believe in our process,” Struber said last weekend at Toronto FC after the team’s 2–0 win.
The sentiment is mutual for midfield starlet Caden Clarke: “Struber has been great with his energy, he fires us in training everyday, before the game, you know he really brings the group together.”
And the same goes for new arrival Frankie Amaya, who scored his first Red Bulls goal against Toronto.
“It’s exciting to be here,” he said.
Although Amaya did not stay at the club for long, his enthusiasm is completely calm, especially in the context of recent seasons.
The Red Bulls have already won (once) consecutive games, like the entire 2020 season. They have reached seven goals twice in the last year as well. In fact, it is the start of the best four matches since the final year of the Jessie Marsh era.
In Handite, it is somewhat notable (and lucky) that the Red Bulls managed to play Playsen last season while almost never winning. They were, statistically speaking, a below-average team, finishing the year eighth-worst in the league with xG odds / 90 -0.26, per Fbref
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Nevertheless, interim coach Bradley Cornell turned the team into a miser group (they lost in just one of their last seven regular season contests), and Struber inherited that, important additions such as Fabio and Andrew Gutman. This xG / difference figure – through a small sample thus far – sits at a very healthy 0.04 in 2021.
Is here Many Soccer to be played, and a tough exam vs. Philadelphia this weekend. But for now, let the Rose Red Bulls smell the fans.
More impressive may be in store for NYCFC
While I applaud the Red Bulls for their second straight win, NYCFC Orlando also deserves some credit for a gritty road point.
Once again, New York City prevented their opponents from overproducing, as Orlando’s lone goal came from a long-range non-strike and they Employed at just 0.6 xG across.
But despite NYCFC’s strong start (7 points), there is a sense that they may be an even higher.
The former Man United winger’s goal was the second (out of three goals) New York City have won from outside the box this season, and they have won just “two” of their four matches despite being allowed. Lowest xG / 90 so far Thus far M.L.S.
Ronnie Devi’s back could be the key to marrying that tenacious with three objectionable firepower.
He stuck with the setup again last Saturday, and although it marked the start of the 10-man Philadelphia side this season, the early returns have been promising.
Now we’ll see if the formation can actually move forward permanently, or if Dilla sees it only as a back-pocket weapon. The Red Bulls used Struber’s favorite diamond to land in Toronto last weekend and the Canadian ensemble will enter Yankee Stadium on Saturday after defeating Columbus 2–0 on Wednesday.
If ever it was time for Deila to return to the comfort of his favored 4-2-3-1, this could be it.
The alternative is a good problem.
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