Skip to main content

The good and bad with the Red Bulls Season

photo by Matt Kremkau

The 2022 Red Bulls season has looked good at times, and it hasn't looked good at times., yet we can agree that this team has improved in many areas. But when you still look at this roster, there are still question marks that will pop up every once in a while.

But what can't be said is a season that has looked better than last year with a team that is still young, hungry, and competitive than what we saw in 2021. Everything this team is trying to do is executing from the game plan of Head Coach Gerhard Struber, and it's working very well.

There has been solid communication from Carlos Coronel to the backline of the Nealis Brothers and Captain Aaron Long, along with the fullbacks of Tom Edwards & John Tolkin. The midfield has looked solid since the addition of Luquinhas and Lewis Morgan in the attack. We have seen some great moments and bangers that we weren't expecting this season.

Cristian Casserers Jr. & Omir Fernandez have been growing in front of our eyes as they have contributed to the defensive side and even supported the attack. Currently, the Red Bulls are in fourth place in the east inside a log jam where they are only two points away from the top spot in the Eastern Conference. At the same time, they are on a big run in the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup for their Semi-Final opponent as they will travel to Orlando City in late July.

But the one glaring issue this club is showing is the concern of the position that adds to the goal-scoring department, which is a Center Forward position. Either as a starter or a substitute, Patryk Klimala & Tom Barlow haven't been clinical enough to convert chances, and currently, the midfielders are leading the goal-scoring department. When Klimala has a moment to score goals, he is off the mark, or the keeper makes the save, and Tom Barlow is making runs but hasn't connected most of the time. Ashley Fletcher's loan is a huge disappointment.

So the midfielders like Lewis Morgan leads in goal scoring in all competitions with nine, Luquinhas has scored six, Klimala is currently with five, and Tom Barlow tied with Omir Fernandez & Aaron Long for three goals. In some ways, you can say there is a form of balanced scoring, but again, you do expect more from the striker position. The short era of Kevin Thelwell at the Red Bulls is currently a mixed bag with positives and negatives. Now we need to see what Jochen Schneider can do when the MLS Summer Transfer window comes and how quickly they can get players up to speed on the game plan.

But as the season currently sits, the Red Bulls are having a solid season, with a hiccup or two. But if you support this team, even if you know that the depth is slowly returning from injury, the attack is strong, and they are compiling wins, everything is going according to plan. The shame of the loss at LAFC was that COVID struck two of their most important players, which led to a short bench but still showed their competitive nature.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Red Bulls Announce Fan Experience Improvements

by Garry Redman On top of the theme nights announced this season, something new has been added the next time the season ticket holders and supporters step inside The Cathedral... The state-of-the-art LED lighting system at Red Bull Arena will provide higher on-field light levels for enhanced visibility and safety and introduce new entertainment features that heighten the overall experience for spectators.   Built around Musco's Total Light Control—TLC for LED™ technology, the new system is designed to provide exceptional playability and uniformity while minimizing glare. Cleaner, whiter light will elevate the broadcast quality for fans watching around the world.  Color-changing fixtures and Show-Light® Pro entertainment technology will allow the Red Bulls to wash the stadium in different colors and synchronize light shows to music, heightening the fan experience during goal celebrations, player introductions, and other big moments. If you have no idea what this means, cl...

Quotes: Red Bulls Show Promise, But More Work Need To Be Done

photo by Matt Kremkau Sixty seconds in a ninety-minute match. That’s all it took for Sporting Kansas City to ruin the Opening Day festivities at Red Bull Arena on Saturday night. The supporters in attendance saw crisp passing and a stout defense that kept the visitors at bay, despite not having striker Alan Pulido in the starting lineup. But significantly, the supporters were buoyed by a return to that press that has last seen since Jesse Marsch was in charge. But that was the first 45 minutes. In the second half, things turned for the better and then, shockingly, worse for the home side that evening. Midfielder Caden Clark, who scored the opening goal, spoke about the match as a whole: I’ve kept that in the back of my mind, actually, not scoring at home. I really wanted to do that in front of the supporters, and it was great to do that in front of the few that were here tonight who brought the noise. When I scored that [goal] the place was shaking, and you feed off of that and gai...

Editorial: New York Red Bulls are Fun to Watch

photo by Matt Kremkau by Daniel Feuerstein The New York Red Bulls 2024 season starts off and running. In their first three matches, they have looked different from their last five to six seasons of doom and despair when trying to attack or have a lapse in judgment on the defensive end. The two big editions for the club are undoubtedly the imports from Sweden in Centerback Noah Elle & attacking midfielder Emil Forsberg. Two players who are a part of the Swedish National Team have started off well in Major League Soccer. We all knew what we were getting right away from Forsberg. A high-energy creative and attacking midfielder who was already bought in from day one, when Director of Sport Jochen Schneider went to Leipzig and brought him over. He was already committed to making the trip to the United States to play his brand of soccer, and so far he hasn't disappointed. Even though he has come close three times off of free kicks, hitting the crossbar twice and being saved by the ke...