Every year I take my ‘reporter’ hat off for two-three D.C. United games: The ones against the New York Red Bulls. The line between soccer reporter and soccer supporter here in the United States has always been blurred and it has always made me uncomfortable to report as a supporter and not as a reporter. I have never wanted my personal affiliation to impact my work and never really wanted my work to affect my personal affiliation. That’s why my work on the subject sans for the occasional special event (getting to co-author a piece with Michael Lewis at Soccerly, RFK Stadium closing, playoffs, etc.) has been minimal.
So on Sunday after editing the work of our great writers and photographers I turned off the cell phone and the laptop, grabbed some cold pizza and coffee and watched D.C. United take on the New York Red Bulls. The ‘reporter/editor’ hat was off and the biased D.C. United supporter scarf was on. While many of the words and thoughts that I had about that match will remain confined to my house there is one thought that did come across my mind: Bradley Wright-Phillips might just be the most underrated player in MLS history.
Supporters have this odd relationship with players from opposing teams. At first if a player beats them they are universally hated, words if they were to be repeated here would involve multiple @ and # symbols are used, and they may get a good-natured ribbing in public. But over time if the player continues with that level of performance against their favorite club they get a level of respect. While the affiliation with the team is still there, the respect as an admirer of their game comes into play.
I am not sure where I became an admirer of BWP’s work but it was certainly in effect on Sunday. Despite D.C. United taking the lead three times, Wright-Phillips and the Red Bulls always had a counter-punch. His three goals were works of art and denied my club three points that they desperately needed. But I didn’t care because his level of play far outweighed the box score. He earned the three points for his side and as a fan of the game the only thing I could do was be awestruck at the effort.
It wasn’t just the hat trick aspect of BWP’s performance on Sunday that was incredible; it was the manner in which he scored the goals. These weren’t simple tap ins or penalty kick goals these were works of art. If Zlatan had done them they would have been on SportsCenter. His effort was good enough to earn him The Josef Martinez MLS Player of the Week.
BWP has always been in an odd situation with MLS. He is unquestionably one of the best players in the league, one of the league’s most popular players, and plays in a huge market in the New York Metropolitan market. Yet it feels like his work always goes unnoticed.
There seem to be two major reasons for that. First, he didn’t come to MLS as a marquee signing. Remember: He came to New York as a trialist and was not guaranteed a spot. He is the son (Ian) and brother (Shaun) of famous footballers and had some notoriety in the second and third tiers of English Football but he wasn’t exactly a household name. The marketing apparatus of MLS at times seems to struggle with players who come into the league without pre-existing credentials. So his incredible work with New York (123 goals across all competitions, two Supporters Shields) really doesn’t seem as if it has been given its proper ‘push’.
The second reason seems to go back to Thierry Henry. The perception of BWP while Henry was with the Red Bulls was that he was product of Henry’s passes and that he was one dimensional. While Henry has long since left Red Bull Arena that notion of BWP being one dimensional has lived on. Take out Henry and substitute in Sacha Kjlestan, Dax McCarty, or more recently Tyler Adams and Kaku and you get the drift. Not all of these players play the same position, but they have all served the role of as part of the 1-2 punch for New York with BWP being the first or second part.
One other possibility to consider is how his lack of international call-ups might have influenced the perception of his play. MLS marketing seems to place a high dollar value on their players playing for country, even if the countries aren’t exactly world powers. Although he played for England at the Youth National Team level he never featured for the senior side. He did seem interested in playing for Jamaica although that talk has quieted down in recent years (He is 33 years old and The Reggae Boyz seem to be in another rebuilding phase).
BWP likely doesn’t really care whether he gets his ‘due’ but as someone who covers the game it is a shame that he really doesn’t get credit for his work. Watching him work against at some times two, three defenders, has always been a treat even if the inner D.C. United fan in me wants to secretly despise him. That he always finds space in key spots and can place his shots in tough to reach spaces is a testament to his skill. Has he had some good midfielders to work with? Sure. But rather than using that as a knock perhaps we should give him a little bit of credit as it appears that he is work seems to attract other talent.
For Wright-Phillips to get his due it would seem that there really is only one way that he can earn the level of credit that he deserves: by taking the Red Bulls to MLS Cup and winning it. New York has never won an MLS Cup and although their two Supporters Shields have helped in removing that trophy-less stigma, it still very much haunts this side. Despite going through a coaching change midseason this is as good of a Red Bulls side as the club has ever had. So the timing seems right for New York to finally break the second half of the curse. If they are to do it, BWP will likely play a major role.
New York Red Bulls
