Player Focus: Bradley Wright-Phillips Emerging From Henry's Shadow in New York

Thierry Henry no longer calls Harrison, New Jersey home. The former Arsenal and Barcelona star now spends his weekends sitting in plush television studios around Premier League grounds rather than turning out for the New York Red Bulls. As arguably the best player to have ever graced MLS, he will be missed in retirement.

But there was something Henry-esque about the performance of Bradley Wright-Phillips - the striker who incredibly outshone the Frenchman for the Red Bulls last season - against DC United on Sunday.

With one deft touch from a 40-yard pass and a juggle of the ball, the English forward split two opposition defenders to lash home with a swivel of the hips. Wright-Phillips has taken on the mantel as the leader of this Red Bulls side, even if Dax McCarty wears the armband.

A comparison between Henry - one of the finest footballers of his generation - and Wright-Phillips - a striker whose last club in England was League One Brentford - is still somewhat jarring, but there can be no denying the impact with which the latter has hit MLS with.

Wright-Phillips equalled the league’s scoring record for a single season by hitting 27 regular season goals for the Red Bulls, and 31 if you include the team’s post-season run. So can he continue that sensational form into 2015? Will that streak prove to be anything more than just a flash in the pan?

His display against DC United suggests that there is yet more to come, scoring the Red Bulls’ go-ahead goal while also setting up teammate Lloyd Sam for the second. Wright-Phillips was a pure goalscorer last season, but his performance on Sunday hints at a slightly different deployment under Jesse Marsch.

In his two games this season Wright-Phillips has been more involved in the Red Bulls’ general play, averaging three key passes per game. That average will likely level off (he averaged just 0.7 key passes per game over the course of 2014), but it does illustrate the fact that more is expected of the forward this season now that he no longer has Henry alongside him.

Last season the forward averaged just 17 passes per game, whilst he has averaged 25.5 per game this season. That might not be an incredible jump, but when factoring in a disappointing opening weekend display it does underline the way in which Wright-Phillips was used against DC.

Against Sporting Kansas City Wright-Phillips was used in his more familiar central striking position leaving him as the focal point for service from Sam and Mike Grella on the wings. It was a strategy that didn’t really work, with the striker failing to produce a single shot on goal (on target or otherwise).

At home to DC United Marsch seemed to spark his striker into life by instructing him to drop deeper in search of possession, with the 30-year-old sending four shots - all on target - towards goal. The Red Bulls coach has recognised Wright-Phillips’ pace could be crucial for his side linking up the lines of midfield and attack this season.

There has been a change in approach at the Red Bulls since the conclusion of last season. For so long MLS’s marquee franchise - along with the LA Galaxy - the Red Bulls allowed Designated Players Henry and Tim Cahill to leave the club in the off-season without replacing them with other big-names.

In came USA international midfielder Sacha Kljestan, but not as a DP. Wright-Phillips was moved into a DP slot, but two still remain free for the Red Bulls with the 2015 season now under way. The former Charlton and Plymouth Argyle man might not sell as many shirts as Henry or Cahill or even Rafael Marquez, but he is just as effective as any of those players were in their stints in Harrison.

Considering how the MLS regular season scoring record has stood for 19 years - since Roy Lassiter reached 27 in 1996 - it seems unlikely that Wright-Phillips will reach that standard again this season, particularly without Henry around to lay on the chances for him, but his overall influence on the Red Bulls could be even greater.

Do you think Bradley Wright-Phillips can match his goalscoring feats from last season? Let us know in the comments below