Another game, another dreadful performance and another loss.  These things are becoming all too common for fans of the New York Red Bulls.  Late April was quite a long time ago, but that was the last time the Red Bulls looked like a threatening side.  Back then, New York was finishing up a torrid stretch to start the season by beating Sporting Kansas City and it looked like they might run away with the Eastern Conference title.

But oh how things have changed since then.

A few months, a few key injuries and absences to the CONCACAF Gold Cup, a trade and more than a few head scratching, sleepless nights later, Hans Backe finds his team third in the Eastern Conference, tied with Kansas City (who have run off a 14-game unbeaten streak since that April meeting) and with the potential to actually miss the playoffs.  This is quite a far cry from the RBNY side I witnessed demolish DC United at RFK Stadium in April. It was hard to imagine that anything could go wrong.

So what’s happened?

One of the most popular refrains seems to be the lack of Dwayne DeRosario or another playmaking type. But while these cries were undoubtedly amplified over the weekend because of DeRo’s three-goal heroics to earn 10-man DC United a draw with Toronto FC, I don’t necessarily think that’s it.  

First, while the reason for the trade that brought DeRo to Red Bulls was to provide more playmaking options going forward, DeRo was consistently played out of position. DeRosario’s worth in attack is not to be creating the chances, but to be finishing the chances.  With New York, he was never played in that position.  Second, DeRosario and Thierry Henry love occupying the same spaces and Henry was given free reign to be the drifting playmaker in attack. Had DeRosario, therefore, been employed elsewhere, this conversation might not be happening.  

The last reason I’m not sold on the DeRo argument is because it is now painfully obvious that New York has no balance on the pitch, with few defensive options in midfield. In the early going of the now months-long tailspin, Red Bulls were victimized because of little or no defensive presence; offensive firepower was never a question. The trade that brought Dax McCarty to Red Bull Arena was well intentioned – he would serve as part of a holding tandem with Teemu Tainio but with more of an option to go forward. The assumption was, of course, that Tainio and McCarty would play together most of the time.  The problem, however, is that Tainio has played few games with McCarty and McCarty still frequently goes forward and doesn’t track back quickly enough, leaving a huge imbalance and yards of space to be caught on the counter-attack (DC’s only goal against New York on July 9 in New Jersey is a prime example).

What then is the more likely reason this team isn’t performing?

Lack of depth. Let’s be honest, when a team has to remove a substitute midfielder for a center back just to move another center back into holding midfield to provide that presence, something is wrong.  And that’s exactly what happened this past Saturday against Real Salt Lake. At halftime, already down two demoralizing goals, Backe removed McCarty for center back Stephen Keel and then shifted Rafa Marquez over to McCarty’s holding midfield position.  This is clearly an indicator that New York, without Tainio or any other midfield muscle, will get run over too easily. Additionally, on more than one occasion, Mehdi Ballouchy has replaced Tainio in midfield when the Finn was unable to play.  While Ballouchy has had his moments, he certainly hasn’t had them in a defensive position, and certainly cannot be confused for the other central midfielder with bushy hair playing for Everton.

Not to beat a dead horse, but the little depth Backe does have at his disposal is well out of its league.  The substitutes that usually fill out the team sheet are rookies and players without much MLS experience – like Keel, John Rooney, Matt Kassel and Corey Hertzog – who simply cannot yet contribute meaningful minutes.  While those players do show glimpses of potential (and I am especially partial to Kassel, as he and I are both Maryland alums), they are too few and far between.  The spate of recent injuries only highlights this lack of depth even more and brings this issue front and center as the most important problem to solve going forward.

Another situation, though, to keep an eye on for the remainder of this season and moving forward into next season is the position of Backe as head coach.  He was recently given the dreaded vote of confidence by Erik Soler and has been the target of many fans’ ire.  While Backe can only work with what he has, many feel he could, and should, be doing more with what he has.  The actions of some players certainly lend credence to the suggestion that Backe may have outgrown his welcome and the recent results only add more pressure.  In post-match interviews, the coach’s body language is telling: tired, worn out and hopeless.  While no player has said outright they are tired of Backe, the team may have gotten to the point where change is necessary – much like the US men’s national team.  Team energy is lacking and they get down on themselves immediately after goals.  How much of that is the coach and how much is emotion taking over on the pitch remains to be seen, but the coach is often the first one to go after a string of bad results (see Roman Abramovich).

For me as a fan, this season has lost its excitement.  Watching a game, I feel like Bill Murray in Groundhog Day.  It’s frustrating to see the problem and not see anything done about it. What will happen the rest of the way out? I, for one, unfortunately, have become much less optimistic about making the MLS Cup playoffs. Does this team have one more Jekyll and Hyde moment left? That is up to the players and coach and that is a scary thought.