Before England native Josh Sims steps on the pitch in a New York Red Bulls jersey, we ranked the top five Englishmen who played for the club.
Wayne Rooney’s little brother, former Arsenal star Ian Wright’s sons, an ex-Manchester United right-back—the New York Red Bulls have employed some interesting Englishmen in their roster over the years.
Southampton F.C.’s 22-year-old winger Josh Sims recently joined the list of Englishmen the Red Bulls signed. The Yeovil native will be with New York until January 2020 on loan from The Saints.
Surprisingly, New York signed their first English player in 2011 and in total they’ve had only six players from the United Kingdom country in their roster. Queen Elizabeth II isn’t too happy about that.
Although it’s only been a few of them, English players have made a huge impact in New Jersey. Sims is expected to follow in their footsteps, even though he will only be with the team for about half a season.
Before the 22-year-old puts on New York’s heavy jersey, let’s take a look at his top five compatriots who impressed the Big Apple most.
5. Shaun Wright-Phillips
Shaun Wright-Phillips’s career with the Red Bulls started like a dream. In his first match with the club, they were losing 1-0 to Philadelphia Union away from home at Talen Energy Stadium.
Former New York head coach Jesse Marsch subbed S. Wright-Phillips in the game in the 61st minute.
He had an immediate impact. The 37-year-old was brought down in the box in the 65th minute as he was trying to control his brother’s Bradley Wright-Phillips’s pass. The referee whistled for a penalty kick, which Bradley Wright-Phillips converted.
Later in the 74th minute, S. Wright Phillips assisted his little brother’s winning goal with a cross. The two hugged after the goal.
S. Wright-Phillips’s days with New York weren’t as bright as his debut indicated.
He only recorded another assist in 26 games and only scored one goal.
4. Richard Eckersley
Yes, RBNY once had a right-back who used to play Manchester United, Richard Eckersley. Eckersley only played two domestic outings with United.
And for New York, the Salford native only appeared in 14 MLS games. He didn’t score nor notched an assist but played a major role in the team’s route to the Eastern Conference final in 2014.
3. Luke Rodgers
Luke Rodgers only spent one season with New York but he made sure people remember his name. He wasn’t a bad scorer at all, finding the net 10 times in 25 league games to average 0.4 goals per match.
Rodgers was the Red Bulls’ second top scorer in 2011, even though he didn’t play the entire season.
Sadly, the Englishman could only play one season with RBNY due to VISA issue.
2. Lloyd Sam
Lloyd Sam did represent Ghana at the international level but he’s from England. He was with The Metros from 2012 to 2016, tallying 20 goals and 24 assists in 117 MLS games.
The 2015 season was his breakout year, Sam was the team’s second top scorer and fourth assist leader. New York won the Supporters’ Shield that season.
Sam helped RBNY win two major trophies, the 2013 and the 2015 Supporters’ Shield.
1. Bradley Wright-Phillips
You guessed it, Bradley Wright-Phillips is the best English player to ever wear a Red Bull jersey. He’s one of the best players, period, to ever play for New York.
The 34-year-old is the club’s all-time scoring leader with 117 goals in 205 matches. That’s a little over a goal every other game, 0.57 goals per outings to be exact.
BWP was named team MVP three times, won the MLS Golden Boot twice and made the All-Star roster twice as well. But most importantly, he helped the team win three Supporters’ Shields.
