11/14/23
The official statement from Sporting Director Jochen Schneider
“The New York Red Bulls have opted not to renew the contract of Troy Lesesne. We would like to thank Troy for his professionalism while navigating the team through challenging times and we know he has a bright future ahead.”
Sporting Director Jochen Schneider
Zach Prince has also been relieved of his duties as assistant coach. We wish both Troy and Zach much success going forward.
The selection process for the next head coach of the New York Red Bulls is actively underway.”
Thoughts on the move by Jochen Schneider:
The move comes as a shock to fans, but the writing was on the wall when it came to Troy. He did an admirable job with the squad he was dealt.
He led the team to an overall record of (11-10-13) 43 points (W/D/L) during his time in charge, when he took over on May 8th the team was sitting in last place (1-6-4) 9 points and the team was under fire after their new star striker was punished for using language that has no place on the field toward anyone. On top of the team’s poor form which was glaringly bad under Struber for some reason.
While he led the team to victory over Charlotte in the wild card round, he was defeated by FC Cincinnati quickly and painfully when they won the first two matches of the best of three series convincingly over the Red Bull. Troys biggest wins this year were:
- His success in Leagues Cup 2023 where he saw the team win their group despite being the worst team in MLS at the time.
- He got the team to the second round of the knockout stage in Leagues Cup where they fell to the Philadelphia Union on PK’s 4:3 (The miss was by Lewis Morgan who reinjured himself). They defeated their archrivals from Gotham (NYCFC) in the first round.
- Defeated NYCFC in the 1st round of the Hudson River Derby at Red Bull arena.
The big issue for Troy was the long losing streak that kept sending them out of the playoffs when they would close in on entering them and becoming a higher seed. He did eventually get them in and continued the streak to 14 straight appearances, after some help from that guy in Miami, someone fans happen to call the GOAT, what’s his name again? He is really popular, and stadiums chant it like he is a God among mortals. Oh yeah. Messi, that man is such a great guy, not only did he help Miami win its first trophy (Leagues Cup 2023) he also helped the new Red Bull coach out by knocking some teams around down the stretch. Also let’s be real if not for MLS adding the wild card spots, he still would’ve failed in terms of reaching the playoffs.
The only way he would keep the job was to advance past the first round and even then, there was no 100% guarantee for the man from West Columbia, South Carolina who led New Mexico United (2018-2021) prior to his hiring with the Red Bull as an assistant (2022) to former Red Bull head coach Gerhard Struber. Between the number of injuries, Morgan re-injuring himself during a penalty kick in a game he never should’ve played in, the not sticking to timelines given by medical, player talent evaluations, off the field player issues, etc. the leash is only so long before the big guns have to say we seen enough.
Troy is an amazing human being, and it won’t be the last time the Red Bull fans hear his name. It was clear he wasn’t ready for the MLS head coaching job at this time, however given the group he was given after the club parted with Struber mutually he did a decent job. He will probably go back to USL as a head coach or perhaps take on an MLS assistant coaching job and get a little more experience under his wings before seeing a head coach offer in MLS. Then again, it’s MLS and with expansion teams you never know. Personally wish Troy the best in his career, the guy has a bright future, but he needs more time to hone his skills some more, work on his press relations and speaking and he will be fine. During his time with the Red Bull the press core liked Troy but there were a number of times he just stepped in it and well if the media didn’t like him could’ve eaten him alive and served him up to the masses.
Troy was well liked in the locker room, how could he not be, he was your prototypical player’s coach. He took the blame for you; he wouldn’t go after you in the media even when 100% warranted. He would sugar coat your skill level like a head chef of a Michelin star restaurant. The man didn’t like controverse in any way shape or form. He would try to avoid it even if he caused it all on his own. He was a bit quick tongued with a couple of journalists in the press core. There were times he acted more like a player than a coach, which isn’t always a bad thing except for when it was.
Do I think the league has seen the last of Troy Lesesne absolutely not, I won’t put a time frame on when we could see him back because this league is way too clicky in the coaching ranks and guys who should take a few years to work on their skills somehow find themselves back in the role they were canned from within a few months or less.
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