Football Season Guide

New York Red Bulls endured another disappointing campaign last season, finishing sixth in the Eastern Conference for the third time in four years while being knocked out of the playoffs in the first round for a second season running. New coach Gerhard Struber had taken over for the final game of the campaign, which was the defeat to Columbus Crew in the playoffs, but will have had the off-season to drill the team with how he wants them to play. There has been a decent turnover of the roster during the off-season with New York reluctantly parting ways with Alejandro Kaku while Tim Parker was traded to Houston Dynamo. They have brought in Andres Reyes to replace Parker, with the defender already experiencing life in the MLS after playing for Inter Miami last season. Their biggest acquisition is that of Fabio, with the attacker arriving on loan from Brazilian club Oeste and is expected to be in the lineup right from the start. Other arrivals include Carlos Coronel and Youba Diarra on loan from Red Bull Salzburg while Cameron Harper and Andrew Gutman, with the latter signed on loan from Atlanta United. Barring Fabio and Reyes, the New York lineup is expected to have a familiar look when the new campaign kicks off but lack of a big name means question marks remain whether they are good enough to reclaim their glory days of challenging for the top spot in the Eastern Conference.