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3 reasons the once-mighty New York Red Bulls are struggling in 2016

Reuters

The New York Red Bulls lost a fourth consecutive match Saturday, dropping a 2-1 result against the Colorado Rapids on a snowy day at Dick's Sporting Goods Park and consigning last season's powerhouse to dead bottom in the league.

The Red Bulls are in a bit of a rut; a paltry five goals scored and 15 goals against (worst in MLS on both counts) leave Jesse Marsch's side with only one win and six losses in 2016.

What happened to the mighty Red Bulls team that comprehensively won the 2015 Supporters' Shield just six months ago? Here are three reasons the New York Red Bulls are struggling in 2016:

Bitten by the bug

The Red Bulls have been bitten by the injury bug early in the season, with Marsch's back four suffering three key injuries in the span of one week. Central defenders Gideon Baah and Ronald Zubar left a match against Houston with hamstring injuries and left full-back Kemar Lawrence and winger Gonzalo Veron were sidelined around the same time.

Zubar and Lawrence have now returned to the fold - just in time for replacement defender Karl Ouimette to pick up his own injury.

Marsch can't even make tactical adjustments; all he can do is try and work with a backline that had already been stretched thinner at its best due to the absence of one rather important figure.

A stalwart lost to Stamford Bridge

Chelsea newcomer Matt Miazga was instrumental to the Red Bulls' success in 2015. His £3.5-million sale to Stamford Bridge left a gaping hole for the organization to try and fill.

Miazga's replacement Baah hasn't exactly inspired confidence in the three games the Ghanaian's played. A pair of awful gaffes against the Montreal Impact cost his team dearly in the second week of action. Perhaps Baah can prove himself an adequate option once he returns to full health, but for now, the Red Bulls' back four remain something of a question mark.

For the Red Bulls, replacing a star player with an equivalent just wasn't in the cards. Club sporting director Ralf Rangnick is more committed to developing youth players than signing older, more established stars. As a result, the Red Bulls graduated a number of players from their academy team in the offseason. Ragnick also dismissed the fervency of the transfer window, saying he is "not playing Monopoly" with his club's funds.

Inevitable RalfBall burnout

Speaking of Rangnick, much of the New York Red Bulls' success can be attributed to the work he's done - not just in MLS, but with Red Bulls Leipzig and Red Bulls Salzburg in Germany and Austria, too.

Here's how Rangnick describes his overriding philosophy:

"Aggressive forward defending and pressing. Playing in private possession and directly to the front, lateral and back passes are rather not so much in demand. ... The aim is to develop teams, no soloists."

Implemented by Marsch at the expense of fan-favorite coach Mike Petke, the Red Bulls very much displayed the first part of those core tenets last season: high-pressure midfield defending forced turnovers which Bradley Wright-Phillips and co. finished off at an incredible rate.

It's a tiring system to play, with lots of energy expended in each match - and with too much of the Red Bulls' attacking efficiency reliant on Wright-Phillips. He, like any striker, can't be hot forever.

Combined with a touch of disillusionment after the fruits of last season's extensive labor last season went unrewarded in the MLS Cup once more, that may explain why the Red Bulls look more tepid - and certainly more fatigued - in 2016.

But those injuries will heal, and Wright-Phillips should eventually find his feet once more. The Red Bulls may be in a rough patch of form, but it's by no means permanent. The core philosophy that worked so well for New York last season remains in place and it's tough to imagine this team will stay down for too long.

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