Football Season Review

New York Red Bulls had their most difficult campaign in nearly a decade in Chris Armas' first full season in charge of the club, finishing well behind the top spot in the Eastern Conference while also suffering an early exit in the playoffs. New York started the season on a poor note, winning just one of their opening seven games and, while a brief return to form followed, they struggled to string together a consistent run of form in the second half of the campaign, failing to register back to back victories even once until right at the end. A defeat to Montreal Impact meant New York finished sixth in the Eastern Conference before suffering a disappointing defeat to Philadelphia Union in extra time of the first knockout round in the playoffs. New York's good run of form midway through the campaign coincided with some consistent performances by Daniel Royer who ended the season as the top scorer with 11 goals. The biggest loss for New York though will be Bradley Wright-Phillips downturn in fortunes with the attacker ending the campaign with his joint worst tally since joining the club. Wright-Phillips finished the season with just two goals across all competitions and was limited to just nine starts in the MLS, with Armas often preferring Brian White in the lone attacking role. With Alejandro Kaku another player whose future is up in the air, Armas has a big job on his hands either to rebuild his offense or regain the confidence of his two key players if New York are to return back to their best and challenge for the MLS Cup next season.

Player of the Season: Daniel Royer