Red Bull New York enters the All Star break with 26 points from 16 games, as well as being comfortably second in the East with an 8-6-2 record.  This is highly respectable, especially considering the incredible improvements the team has made since the dismal 2009 season.  With new signing Thierry Henry preparing to make his league debut against Houston on Saturday night and Rafa Marquez on the way, now is a good time to break down the season so far.

Management

Juan Carlos Osorio and Jeff Agoos gave clinics on how not to run an MLS team last year.  Once Osorio stepped down, perennial assistant Richie Williams stepped in admirably to finish out the season, but did not do enough to earn the head coaching job.  Red Bull shook up the front office, bringing GM Erik Soler and head coach Hans Backe into the fold, and keeping Williams on as an assistant.  Although Soler and Backe were relatively unknown before joining the team, both have proved excellent additions to the front office and coaching staff, and have helped maneuver Metro's rapid turn around.  Both have proved intelligent and competent, and clearly know the game well.  And although neither has been perfect, it is hard not to stress how much credit they deserve in improving the team and more than exceeding expectations.  Soler has made solid additions to the squad (more on that in a second) while Backe has utilized his roster, motivating the team to play well often and grind out results when they don't. 

Roster Restructured

Erik Soler, a newcomer to MLS and American soccer, has applied himself to his new job as GM excellently.  He (with the help of Richie Williams) managed the draft quite competently shortly after arriving in the country.  Although the jury is still out on all the young players in the squad, this years class of rookies seems to be highly talented, with Tony Tchani displaying why he was picked second overall and Tim Ream looking like a veteran since his first game on the pitch.  Soler has made acquisitions from both in and out of the league, and most of them have been solid.  Chris Albright, Joel Lindpere, and Roy Miller were all excellent signings by MLS standards.  While picking up Salou Ibrahim, Greg Sutton, Carl Robinson, and Brian Nielsen has proved less astute, none of these players have been bad (except for maybe Sutton, who is a backup anyway) and all still have time to make bigger impacts on the squad.  Thierry Henry is an excellent signing but cannot be contributed to Soler (it has been in the works since long before he arrived) but picking up Rafa Marquez is a major coup for the team.  Soler has also adapted himself to esoteric rulebook of MLS (which is written in crayon and changed randomly every three days) admirably.  So far, so good.

The Defense

Although there have been some serious defensive gaffes and breakdowns this season, New York's defense has improved tremendously over that of last year.  Tim Ream is a beast at center back, making intelligent plays and passing well.  He also pairs up well with both Mike Petke and Carlos Mendes (who has returned from injury to great form).  Roy Miller and Danleigh Borman are both solid MLS left backs, capable of getting forward when necessary and defending well.  Chris Albright, who was traded to NY from New England for the equivalent of a bag of stale peanuts, has performed much better than expected on the right side of defense.  Bouna Coundoul continues to frustrate wildly, shifting from man of the match performances to horrendous mental lapses and mistakes.  Although he is not an amazing keeper, he is good enough and doesn't warrant an immediate replacement.  The defense isn't perfect, but it moves the ball well and does its job in the back.

Midfield

Metro's midfield used to be a gaping hole filled with four (or occasionally five) players who ran around aimlessly and did nothing in unison.  Now the middle of the park is patrolled by organized and efficient players, keeping its shape extremely well.  Joel Lindpere has been great in the middle of the park (and one of the leagues best signings this year), and Seth Stammler, Sinisa Ubiparipovic and Tony Tchani have all been solid.  Inconveniently, all of these players are really central midfielders.  The wings continue to be a problem, with aforementioned players being pushed wide (and out of position) with limited success.  Dane Richards continues to start on the right side of midfield, despite his poor league play.  Nielsen, who was supposed to be a major upgrade on the left, has struggled with injuries.  Jeremy Hall, who played midfield in college but right back under Osorio, has regressed this season.  He looked poised to flourish under a new coach and in his natural position but he has been hesitant on the ball and lacks a killer instinct when playing in the attack.  New York's midfield possesses, and often moves, the ball well.  On the other hand, it  struggles to create chances, putting a strain on forwards and leading to some boring soccer. 

Strike Force

New York is clearly weakest up front.  Juan Pablo Angel is an excellent goalscorer, but he is streaky and has begun to truly show his age this season.  His return of 9 goals in 16 games is certainly solid, but after him the second highest goalscorer is Ibrahim with 3.  Thierry Henry's arrival will help take the strain off Angel, and should invigorate the attack.  When the midfield creates as few chances as this team's, its important to capitalize on chances.  Sadly, JPA is really the only one that has done that.  Ibrahim has been sluggish, although he has scored a few important goals.  John Wolyniec barely got time in the league, and looks set to be cut to make way for Henry.  Mac Kandji was leading a disappointing season before getting injured, although he looked good in recent friendlies.  Conor Chinn and Juan Agudelo, two rookies, have failed to see playing time, an issue that won't be aided by the arrival of Henry.  All in all Metro's dismal attack has struggled this season but does truly seem poised to improve, and hopefully Henry and a healthy Kandji will help wake the team up a bit.

Metro has turned itself around in stunning fashion this season.  Games have been frustrating to watch, because although New York is much better than it was last season, it still doesn't always play well.  It is important to keep things in perspective and recognize how drastically the team has improved its play, and temper expectations.  This has become harder to do with the arrival of Thierry Henry and the impending addition of Rafa Marquez (expect an announcement early next week), because Metro is looking like a real contender.  The team doesn't always look amazing but it has managed to scrape out results in tough games, which is the mark of a solid team.  Hopefully they can continue their strong play and defeat the Dynamo this Saturday, setting the right tone for the second half of the season.

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