Dane Richards set very realistic goals for himself when he reported for preseason in February.
"In preseason I was just trying to make the 18-man squad," Richards said.
Red Bulls boss Bruce Arena also had lesser expectations for the speedy Jamaican, who was named a second-team NSCAA All-American and had 11 goals and nine assists in 20 games for Division I powerhouse Clemson as a senior forward.
Arena wanted to bring Richards, a raw talent with a lot of potential, along slowly, have him play behind Markus Schopp, who came over from Red Bull Salzburg and started for the Red Bulls in the second half of last season.
At least that was the plan.
"The goal was to have him be a player who could come in off the bench," Arena said. "But we were scuffling with some preseason injuries, particularly to Markus Schopp, who would have started on the right side with Dane playing the role behind him."
But then Schopp picked up an injury and Richards was immediately thrust into the Red Bulls first team. Schopp has been featured in five matches this year, starting three.
On a team that has fielded a different starting XI 24 different times this year, Richards has been the constant. He's started 24 of the 25 games he's played in this season and he's second on the team in minutes played behind Seth Stammler.
"He's very dangerous in the attacking," Arena said. "His numbers or stats won't be impressive in terms of goals and assists, but I think he'll develop into one of the better right-sided players in the league."
Known just for his blinding speed and terrific work rate at the start of the season, Richards has developed the other parts of his game, particularly his crossing of the ball.
"I'm really happy just to be playing well," said Richards, who is second on the Red Bulls with five assists. "Unfortunately I'm not scoring, but I'm helping doing what I can."
While his numbers might not make an MLS fantasy owner happy, the attention Richards has drawn with his pace means more opportunities for the Red Bulls attacking players.
"(His speed) will open up space for other players," Dave van den Bergh said. "I think that Jozy (Altidore) and Juan Pablo (Angel) have definitely taken advantage of that."
And with three games left in the regular season, Richards is in the running for the MLS Rookie of the Year, something he never imagined at the start of the season.
"I think he had a great season," Angel said. "He's still young, he's still learning, but he's willing to work. He has the pace, which is important in modern football, and we're delighted to have him around. He's going to get better and better."
While Richards will surely be in the starting lineup Thursday night at BMO Field when the Red Bulls take on Toronto FC, Claudio Reyna's status is unclear. The Red Bulls captain, who has played some of his best soccer of the season of late, suffered a sprained left toe in the second half of Saturday's 2-2 draw at home against Real Salt Lake.
After Wednesday morning's training session at Montclair State University, Arena said Reyna's status "hasn't been determined," the same answer he gave when asked if Reyna would be flying to Toronto with the club Wednesday afternoon.
With or without Reyna, the Red Bulls need to tighten up its defending down the stretch if they want to enjoy a deep playoff run in a month. The Red Bulls have just one win in their last eight games and have played to three consecutive 2-2 draws. And dating back to the wild 5-4 win against the Los Angeles Galaxy on Aug. 18, defensive breakdowns have led to 18 goals against in the past eight games.
"In the end, that's going to be the difference if we're successful or not," Arena said. "There's not much more we can do. We've worked on it in training sessions, we've talked to the players, showed them video. Now it's on their shoulders to produce and make the plays."
Dylan Butler is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
