Loss To The Crew Highlights Red Bull Deficiencies Ahead Of Thierry Henry’s Debut

By: Dave Martinez | July 18th, 2010

henrysuit The scoreline read 2-0, but it actually didn’t do justice to the thorough thrashing the Red Bulls received against the Columbus Crew. Though this was billed as a battle for first place, the gap in talent between both sides could not be more apparent.

This weeks signing of Thierry Henry certainly did much to buoy the hopes and expectations of this fan base, but the performances of the squad since the World Cup are a stark reminder of the deficiencies this team still has to cover. Going winless and witless on the pitch the past few weeks, it is a wonder what the superstars signing will change, if anything at all.

A porous and ineffective midfield has lead to the victimization of the defensive backlines. The team has been forced to play back on multiple occasions due to their inability to take control in the middle of the pitch. A clear sign of this was on full display with the Crew’s first tally. Juan Pablo Angel lost the ball near the midfield stripe, where Guillermo Barros Schelotto found the bouncing ball on his feet. Showing why he is the best midfielder in the league today, the Argentine legend took all of two seconds to pin point a perfect pass to the feet of Renteria, splitting a scattered Carlos Mendes and Tim Ream for a perfect first tally past Bouna Coundoul.

Minutes later, the defense was yet again exposed by a discombobulated midfield, unable to string two clearing passes together. Renteria sent a ball to the back of the net, but luckily for the Bulls, it was called back on an offside. This is not to say the Bulls caught him in an offside trap; they were just scattered up field and happened to do so.

Dane Richards started up top for the Bulls in place of an injured Salou Ibrahim, and had the best chance of the first half on a weak roller that was easily collected by Will Hesmer. This isn’t to say Dane’s play had been exceptional to that point; he just happened to have the best chance that came on one of the few clear passes by Sinisa Ubiparipovic all game.

Speaking of Sinisa, his game has certainly taken a downward trend in recent weeks. Prior to the break, he was enjoying some of the best minutes of his career, and was keeping the midfield dangerous, but now, it seems the only person they can rely on is an out of position Joel Lindpere.

Even steady-as-he-goes Hans Backe seems to be at a loss, not having enough confidence in his young players to give them a start, instead reverting to Osorioesque experimentation to find solutions. Roy Miller may be a tremendous player on the left hand side, but his addition on the right was a definite reason for pause. Why not put Tony Tchani on the pitch, who has a flair for both the attack and the defensive end, and move Ubiparipovic to the right? Or Irving Garcia, who’s gambling style during the US Open Cup exposed defenders on a regular basis? It is a clear sign of Backe’s uncomfortability with the teams depth chart to this point.

And he may not be the only one. During the Thierry Henry presser on Thursday, Erik Soler chose the word “sensible” to describe the team they have prepared for Henry to join. Sensible? That is the best word he can use to describe the second place team in the East? Hardly a glowing endorsement.

One must wonder the thoughts going through Henry’s mind as he took in this thrashing live and in person. Surely, this wasn’t the parity in play he had heard so much about prior to joining MLS. I mean, if this was the gap between the number one and two teams, how bad must the lower level teams be?

Bottom line? The Red Bulls have a lot of improving to do. They have no viable threats on the wing midfield. They are missing a distributive general in the middle, and as teams have caught up to their fitness level, that fact has become a glaring fault. They are clearly without creativity in the upper third, making any march up field an act in futility. And the season is about to hit the crucial months of August and September.

If things continue to slope in the wrong direction as has been the case in recent weeks, they may have to lobby the league for a forth DP.

Thierry Henry could not come soon enough.

Some Related Red Bulls Posts:

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Dave Martinez

Larry - read it! Good stuff. Ill look into it!
Larry

Dave, I sent that tip about Tottenham to your hotmail account. Don't post it please. Thanks.
Larry

Lets face it too, injuries has forced Backe to uncomfortably start Stammler and Richards more than he would like to. He brings in Nielson, injured. Carl Robinson, injured. Two midfielders right there that are in my opinion, better than the two aforementioned players. Be nice if you had maybe those two with Lindpere. And don't forget Mac..he just came off injury and is probably not 100 percent yet. Lets wait for Henry, Lets wait for the other DP and lets hope Nielson can get back and Robinson's knee works out and he stays healthy. Aight!~
Dave Martinez

Dave,

By calling Hans Backe's move Osorioesque, I am not indicting him. I quote "It is a clear sign of Backe’s uncomfortability with the teams depth chart to this point" and at no point do I fault him for that. Garcia, da Luz, Tchani . . . they are all unproven commodities at this level. Backe is simply not comfortable with the pieces he has. And neither is Soler, if you judge their own words and actions.

Now, do I think Backe should experiment or givee chance to the younger guys every now and again? Of course. But I see his point as well; the Bulls are in the middle of a chase for first, and that kind of gamble may not pan out for him.

Easy brother. I just call it as I see it.

Stammler - I think we all agree on this point too - lots of heart and desire, but lacks the skill set to be the starter, hence why the Bulls continue to look for a CDM when they have a glut of em on the team.

Overall? This midfield has played above it's skill set under Backe. But as the league catches up to them, it is becoming more and more apparent that they are a few pieces away from truly being an elite team. And what is wrong with pointing that out? ;)
RobStyles

Dave McB. I agree with most of what your saying but in Dave M's defense, there are certain players who have proven that they don't deserve to play never mind start (ie Dan Richards and Roy Miller) yet Backe continues to play them - out of position none the less. To play Richards up top in a match of this magnitude is unacceptable. The guy is worthless. Woly or Kandji should have got the start, even Chinn would have been a better option. Obviously none of us are at practice so it is hard to make an argument without knowing all of the facts but from what we can see some of his decisions are mind boggling.
Cubillas

Dave you have some great points and although I will agree that we are certainly playing better than last year I do disagree with your assessment of when a player is ready to be on the pitch. For example, saying that Garcia is not ready to be on the field just because he needs to improve on his defensive skills is the same as saying that Dane Richards is ready to be on the field because he’s a great midfielder with excellent defensive skills and we both know that this is not the case by a long shot.
All we are asking is that kids like Da Luz, Garcia and Chinn be given more opportunities on the field, you get praise for what you do right, point out what you need to fix and help them achieve it so next time they are playing they are a better than the last time they played. If some of our players are indeed mediocre footballers then that it is enough reason not allow a player to continue to disgrace us on the field. We have options; proven or unproven that is something that Hans needs to explore because not using them is more foolish than using them and not fully reaching expectations.
The goal of our team should always be to win games and to do this the coach has to device a plan of action, put it in place and then assess after the game what/who worked and what/who did not work and fix it so next time we get on that field we are a little better than the last time we played. We can accept defeat when faced by a superior opponent on any given day but we should never accept failure. Only then we will see a consistent and improving level of play.
I will say it again, I love this club and its supporters and do so till the end but I can’t accept any players insulting our colors by putting a performance that was dismal and substandard. There are just no excuses that justify that.
DaveMcB

And let me just echo karlomabo's comments on Stammler. He is truly a liability on this team. I suppose because he hits a long shot once per season and recklessly goes into tackles he has been given a pass by fans. But this is just a poor player. His tactical awareness is just plain awful and his positioning causes more trouble for the backline than any d-mid I have seen in quite some time. And let's not even talk about his passing which is nothing short of tragic.

I like the boy's heart, but like Woly, heart alone does not make a soccer player. We will be better when Stammler finds a seat on the bench and is used as a substitute in a utility role. Asking more than that from him is a bad idea, but right now we have little choice but to run him out there
DaveMcB

I am sorry, but I can't disagree more with the premise of this article. Why wouldn't a manager experiment during the season? Why wouldn't he try and find if he has solutions to the team's issues in house? They played a poor game against a quality side on the road...and this is the response?? We scored, I believe, 6 goals in 3 league games in June, and now after a run of 3 poor games, inclduing 2 road games against good teams, we call our offense an "act in futlity"? that's just silly!

There are problems, and Backe has addressed them more successfully than anyone could have expected. But he can't polish a turd. This team SUCKED last year, and it was not just because of Osorio. Some of our players, like Stammler, Richards, and Mendes just to name a couple, are simply below average players and there is nothing any coach can do about that. But still, he has made a winning team. We have added young players with promise who may replace them some day, but they simply are not ready. Irving Garcia? While he has some attacking flare, the man is a defensive joke! Tchani has loads of talent, but has much to learn tactically.

There will be games this season when we look like this. You simply can't turn a historically bad team into one that can be expected to look great playing a first-place team on the road in one season. Relax Mr. Martinez. Backe is doing a great job.
Larry

It is Stammler. Is there reason you keep writing Strammer that I am missing LOL? Not all the posts, especially mine have positives about Stammler. He has a world class shot from distance, but he doesn't go forward often and his movement off the ball into space forward is lacking.
karlomabo

You guys must really love Strammer.... He is terrible.. the worst passing the ball and if you watch the game is the one that start pretty much all the attacking plays, thats is why we suck!! People talk about Miller, Linpere etc etc.. but nobody see that strammer has to get out of the first line up I've been reading a lot about RB latelly and nobody says anything about the bad performance of Strammer.. ok he scored two goals but still he has to go, And look like Backe wants him in the team no matter what. Moving him around the MF to find him a place.... Miller is a good left back.. not a MF..
Also Ubi can not play under pressure, he was good at the Open cup because he got space and he knew that games werent that "serious" ... but at the league game he is Average to be generous with him.. I hope Backe give more chances to Tchani, Garcia and Da Luz they are the future... Robinson and Nilsen are good player and I know that they can make a difference if they are in the team but so far they have been injured 90 % of the time... that's insane.
Larry

Dave, what is your email, I have a tip about Tottenham.
Larry

Lads, I am sure Henry was watching the game and thinking..shit we look bad LOL. Albright was out last minute and we have to remember, Ream is still rookie. Miller to me has the talent, but he sometimes just launches the ball without looking to distribute to midfielders. Stammler would be better if he wasn't lazy. His movement off the ball is delayed or non existant. I really think RB will bring another DP in the midfield and trade some of their players. The thing that Henry will bring is speed up top, and respect. The defenders will have to give more space and concentrate on Henry, thus giving Angel and some of the midfielder less attention. I am confident that by seasons end, RB will be in first or second of the Eastern Conference.
Bsaganiecgk00

Where is Irving Garcia. Hes shown flashes of brilliance against Juventus. I think its time for Hans to give the "Baby Bulls" a chance in league play. You never know what can come of it.

As for Nielson I heard he was out 6-8 weeks with injury.
Dave Martinez

Still listed as injured. And to answer the second part of that ques? Not this year.
Cubillas

Dave,
What's up with Chirgadze? Is the kid on the injured list? will we ever see this kid play?
Cubillas

Hans, you have to consider using the youngsters when your starters are playing crap football. What is the point of having depth as you have described it before if you are not going to use it. We have Connor Chinn, why would you put Dane Richards up top with JPA, that hasn't worked before. You need to start making better choices for the team. We should go out on the pitch to win every game and if we loose at least we do it TRYING to win the game. We didn't try to win at Columbus, we were just there. You put the lineup on the field so you take responsibility for the outcome at the end. Let's start building a team we can be proud of.
Dave Martinez

I think Chris just did the synopsis of my entire article lol.

Carl Robinson could have been a solution, but at this point, he seems a bit damaged. Stammler can't distribute, which is a shame, since his aggression is a valuable asset. Sinisa isnt playing like Sinisa 2010 lately.

And as far as Miller? I like him. At left back. Push Danleigh to left mid.

And where is Nielsen? Just asking . . .
Onoda

Ronaldinho is going to LA. We're getting Marquez-- I just hope in time for our next league game...
RobStyles

WE NEED RONALDINHO!!
Chris99

Edit:

WHen there is NO midfield to connect the attack.
Chris99

DOes anyone else think Miller is absolutely terrible. I can't he even watch him play. Watching Dane run with the ball straight into a defender or out of bounds each time he touches the ball is better than watching Miller's first touch.

They seriously need to do something about that midfield. There is NOTHING. How is HEnry going to score goals when there is midfield to connect the attack. The man can't take the ball from Ream and dribble it into the net. Joel is not a proper CM/CAM. He is a left winger. Hans needs to stop this dumb ass experiment with him at CM. They need the alternate DP NOW. I hope Soler realizes that, and I hope it's Marquez. Cause what we really, really need, is a playmaker in the middle who can connect the attack for us.

If we don't have that, Henry better prepare for a VERY frustrating season and questions of, "Why did I come here?"

Bit of a rant, I apologize :)