In a perfect world, Bruce Arena would be sitting in his office at Montclair State University well aware of the starting XI he's going to use when the playoffs start in two weeks. That's because it's the same lineup he would have put out there for several consecutive games, allowing that group to jell and grow as a unit.
But that's not the reality for the New York Red Bulls boss. No, Arena was unsure of his lineup after training Thursday morning for Saturday's final regular season home game against Kansas City, let alone who will step on the field in the team's first playoff game Oct. 27 at Giants Stadium.
After juggling a different lineup for much of the regular season, Arena had hoped to settle in on a set group. But the team's recent form -- one win in the last eight games and 11 goals against in the last five games -- dictate a change is necessary.
"There's an expression 'If it's not broke then don't fix it,'" Arena said. "But ours is a little broken. There's a little fixing to do."
While there will be new starters in the center of midfield with Joe Vide out with a suspension because of his sending off at Toronto last Thursday and Claudio Reyna likely sitting as a precaution with turf toe, the back four will surely be different against Kansas City.
In Thursday's training session, Carlos Mendes and Hunter Freeman both trained with the first team, while Chris Leitch was with the reserves. Mendes will probably start alongside Jeff Parke with Seth Stammler filling in for Vide in the center of the park. Freeman will likely get the nod over Leitch.
As for goalkeeper Ronald Waterreus, who has been in goal since Jon Conway gave up a costly own goal at New England on Aug. 25, Arena said, "It's been OK," and hasn't placed all the blame on the former Dutch international.
"I don't know you attribute our defensive woes in games where we've actually played quite well and at the end of the day we don't have three points and have given up two goals," Arena said. "Sometimes it's attributed to individual players in the defensive end of the field, sometimes it's attributed to the unit, all 11 players on the field haven't worked in a fashion to prevent the other team from creating chances and scoring goals.
"There's not enough there for anyone on the defensive end to get high grades," he added.
The team's defensive form needs to improve over the final two games of the season if the Red Bulls hope to avoid another first-round playoff defeat.
"We're just having a few breakdowns and we're getting punished dearly for it," Arena said. "The guys are aware of the issues and hopefully we can get better the last two games and into the playoffs. If not, we're not going to win any games."
So the emphasis Saturday is on collective defending and holding a Wizards team goalless that is desperate for a win.
"Our biggest thing is keeping clean sheets," Reyna said. "The last two games we really need to focus on our defending, keep as many chances away and really try and get some clean sheets. That's really been our main problem."
But it's been more than just giving up some soft goals of late. The Red Bulls have done well to create a bevy of scoring chances, but have struggled to put them away.
"It's on both sides of the ball," Dave van den Bergh said. "I don't think you can contribute the fact that we've had three draws in a row and a loss only to the defense. We've created some good chances, but now we need to put them away on a regular basis and get a good percentage like the opponent always seem to get."
While Kansas City will clearly be the more desperate team for three points, the Red Bulls could clinch third place in the Eastern Conference, which would likely setup a showdown with the New England Revolution in the Eastern Conference Semifinal Series.
"This is a big game," said Jozy Altidore, who played the entire 90 minutes at Toronto for the first time since the thrilling 5-4 win against David Beckham and the Galaxy Aug. 18. "First of all, it's for team morale and second of all we want to clinch the third place spot so we really know who we're playing against and can start to prepare for them. It's a big game all around.
Finishing third, though, isn't so important to Arena. Of greater importance is cleaning up the defensive breakdowns.
"I don't think if matters if we're third, fourth or fifth in the East because we're playing a home game and we have to win our home game," Arena said. "That's generally the rule of thumb regardless of who you play."
Dylan Butler is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
