As we start to finish up the final six matches of the 2024 regular season, the New York Red Bulls are currently in fourth place in the Eastern Conference behind the three top teams in Supporters Shield leaders Inter Miami, FC Cincinnati, and the defending MLS Cup Champions Columbus Crew. They have equaled their points total from last season and are currently four points ahead of NYCFC. In twenty seven matches they have earned ten wins, thirteen draws, and only lost five. What an amazing season they are having in 2024. Some of the moves they made during this past winter transfer window have made some big changes and right now every Red Bulls fan should be happy where they are.
But not everyone believes in them and also thinks this will be the same old ending when they get to the playoffs. Former Red Bulls midfielder Sacha Kljestan who is an analyst for MLS Season Pass joined Calen Carr, Jillian Sakovitz, and Matt Doyle on This is MLS show on Apple to discuss the Red Bulls season. While Carr did praise the club, Kljestan had other thoughts, and Sacha always spoke his mind about what his former club was doing right or wrong.
“I actually don’t think this season has been a disappointment if I look at this team the New York Red Bulls, new coach, a foreign coach who doesn’t know the league, and I look at this roster, I think they are overachieving this season to be in fourth place in the east right now, if I look at the rosters of say Philadelphia, Orlando, New York City, I’d rather take that roster compared to the New York Red Bulls roster right now, I do think they are overachieving the problem is that this is a good team, not a great team, it’s a playoff team as they always are, and they are not going to win anything again and it seems like the Red Bull brass seem to be o.k. with that as it sucks to be a fan.”
Do I disagree with what Kljestan said on This is MLS show? Some of it yes and some of it no. As of right now, they are not a cup contending team, nor did I believe they are a cup contending team after the amount of barely hanging on seasons to keep the playoff qualifying streak alive. I thought last season was going to be the one where they would lose in their final regular season match until Luquinhas got fouled inside the area at Geodis Park in Nashville and John Tolkin converted his penalty to put the club back into the postseason through the wild card round. After the Bradley Wright-Phillips, Luis Robles era ended, this club went a different route and showed some lackluster soccer.
Chris Armas, Bradley Carnell, Gerhard Struber, and Troy Lesesne did their best, but sadly it wasn’t good enough. Now, with the arrival of Sandro Schwarz, you see a man who is not only playing the Red Bull way but also being allowed to add some wrinkles to the tactics. The transfers of bringing in Noah Eile, and Emil Forsberg have raised expectations to show that progress, and the return of Lewis Morgan from injury has also been amazing. They are always in every game, and they find ways to salvage a point, you could never say that the last several seasons. When they lose or get edged, it ends quickly and they walk back sulking to the locker room.
Now I understand the frustration of the supporters, the lack of impact transfers, and the hope of bringing in a striker to make this attack potent. It didn’t happen, as the only transfer was a loan deal with Gremio to bring over Felipe Carballo to replace Frankie Amaya who transferred to Toluca in Liga MX, and the young Polish striker from Europe that was originally agreed upon by his club and the Red Bulls, sadly the player said no, to remain in Europe. But this season is step one of coming back to relevance and respect. When Forsberg came I predicted a third or fourth place finish, and they are right there for the entire league to see. The foot injury to Forsberg has been bad luck because if it didn’t happen during his time with Sweden during a friendly in June, I don’t believe the Red Bulls would have so many draws this season.
Let’s also not forget the amount of time missed by our players like Eile, Forsberg, Tolkin, Morgan, and Coronel due to the Euros, Copa America, the Olympics, World Cup Qualifying, UEFA Nations League, and so on, and this roster still fights and claws for points when they are forced to play on International dates. The return of Peter Stroud and Serge Ngoma from long term IR was also fantastic to see, and while they are going slow on Julian Hall, they recognized his potential and believe they have someone special in front of them. Setting a better standard to make a return to challenging for a championship needs to start at the bottom and then work your way to the top, yes they lost their way these last several years, but now this is a brand new start and, it will take some time. They have improved tactically, and defensively, but when the next winter transfer window comes, Jochen Schneider and Julian DeGuzman need to widen their search to find the right pieces and add to this club for next year.
Yes they are a playoff team, and yes I’m hoping to see them get out of the opening round, and move on to the one and done rounds, but if they can’t beat Miami, Cincinnati, or Columbus, that’s fine. It’s a success, but wanting a title so bad right now is not in the cards. The front office must be proactive once again and bring in a veteran striker to join this group of talented players and help them grow into a big club again. Just like so many of New York City’s most famous sports teams mix in your homegrown with the best veteran talent, so you can achieve great seasons to bring a championship of any kind to this hungry fan base who’s looking for a trophy. They are not there now, and at the moment it’s o.k., but for next season, they must add to the success that they currently achieved in 2024. Six matches left, then hoping for a strong run in the postseason. That’s all you can hope for and it’s o.k. for now.