The New York Red Bulls began the 2017 campaign with lofty ambitions as manager Jesse Marsch spent significant time in Austria with sister club Red Bull Salzburg. Under the guidance of RB Leipzig director of sports Ralf Rangnick, Marsch came back with a revised plan for this season; to shake up a proven winning formula.

How did he intend to do so? By taking the organization’s signature high-press to a new level by implementing the standard 4-2-2-2 formation to emphasize fast linkup play between a pair of forwards. Yet after trial and significant error, Marsch reverted back to the tried and true 4-2-3-1. Despite the switch, the Red Bulls yet again ran into a wall.

Enter Marsch’s newest concoction; the 4-1-3-2 which made its debut against Toronto last Friday. Blending both previous formations, Marsch keeps the double attacking threat of two forwards while simultaneously bolstering the midfield by having Sacha Kljestan return to his favored central role. New York has been struggling to find the back of the net this season and Marsch wants to exploit all the attacking depth at his disposal to rectify the situation.

In this formation Fredrik Gulbrandsen plays slightly behind Bradley Wright-Phillips, acting as a supporting forward. While the two strikers linked up for a goal Friday, it was from Kljestan’s free-kick and not the run of play.

In the final third, New York has four effective attacking players with the wingers cutting inside. Kemar Lawrence and Amir Murillo then push up to provide the necessary width and service to the players inside the opponent’s box. Favoring an attacking approach, the formation is clearly very top heavy coming with glaring drawbacks.

Felipe acts as the lone holding midfielder in the new system. While he’s proven himself to be a workhorse up and down the center of the field, Felipe functions at his best when he is allotted some attacking freedom playing beside a dedicated defensive midfielder. Regardless of the formation Marsch has employed this year, Felipe has been slotting in behind either Sean Davis or Tyler Adams putting him in McCarty’s previous role. This formation and Felipe’s new role fail to play to his strengths.

Given the defensive woes of the Red Bulls thus far, with a -6 goal differential, New York would likely benefit from more defensive certainty starting with the midfield. But that doesn’t change the fact that the team is devoid of fire and drive having looked lethargic in recent outings.

Will the new system be the answer for the Red Bulls? Odds would say no. Marsch has started with three different formations this season evidently failing to be sold on one in particular. The noncommittal to a system is a pressing sign of a lack of belief in one continual method. Yet Marsch has previously stressed formations are just minor tweaks and do not reflect a greater change in how the team plays. If that is the case then the team is in the midst of an identity crisis with the players failing to get their bearings.

While one cannot apportion the entirety of the blame for the season’s poor performances on either the manager or the players, the team is in need of a confidence booster. Has Marsch lost the faith of the players? Has the poor run of form zapped the Red Bulls of confidence? Is the adherence to the Red Bull global identity a mismatch between player skills and desired style of play? Something has to change and the Red Bulls must dig deep to claw themselves out of a hole.

The Red Bulls will return to action in what will be a hotly contested I-95 rivalry match against the New England Revolution at home on Saturday, May 27th at 7:30 pm EST.