IN JANUARY OF THIS YEAR the Red Bulls were at a crossroads. Thierry Henry retired, as expected, but no replacement was brought in. Popular head coach Mike Petke was fired—not expected—and former Montreal manager and U.S. assistant Jesse Marsch took his place.

Ten months later the Red Bulls on Sunday lifted their second Supporters' Shield in three years after a 2-1 win against the Chicago Fire — this, despite having one of the smallest payrolls in the league. Much has been made of the reasons for the team’s turnaround, but at this point no one can argue with the success and the vision of Marsch and Sporting Director Ali Curtis, who implemented a wildly successful roadmap.

Nearly every decision Marsch and the front-office staff made this year turned to gold. Mike Grella was near retirement 12 months ago and the Red Bulls picked him up from the bargain bin and turned him into a fantastic outside midfielder. Sacha Kljestan was a somewhat expensive import but he fit in seamlessly with Dax McCarty to form one of the best central-midfield partnerships in MLS. Bradley Wright-Phillips proved he could produce without Henry. And a then-19-year-old Matt Miazga was given the starting job at center back and showed he was ready for primetime.

"It's a great celebration for our club and our team with everything that's gone on in the past 10 months,” Marsch said after the regular season finale. “There's been a sense on the inside that despite what everyone wanted to say about our group and our team, that there was something special happening here. We have to continue to honor it for the next month.

“But you know, a lot of these guys wanted to prove that it wasn't about Thierry Henry, it wasn't about whatever was going on in the offseason. There was talent here and they believed in themselves and they believed in each other and they put it all together for a pretty complete season. We start from scratch come Monday."

But Wright-Phillips said that the Supporters' Shield did carry added significance.

Last year he won the league’s scoring title with 27 goals, but questions lingered over how he was going to play without the great Henry setting him up. Last year, Wright-Phillips signed a new deal to become one of the team’s designated players—and at the start of the year he was its only one.

As with the 2015 Red Bulls, though, everything clicked. And with a win likely needed on Sunday to secure the Shield, it was Wright-Phillips who was there to tap in the opening goal in the 8th minute, setting the tone for the eventual 2-1 clinching win.

"It's very special,” Wright-Phillips said, “because you know at the beginning of the season, even when I remember back to when I was in London in the offseason, I just heard nothing but negative press. What we're going to do about so-called players, and we managed to use that as our fuel. This isn't everything, but this is a big part of history for us. I'm proud of the boys, every one of them.

"Last season I obviously scored a bag full of goals, but I wasn't happy with my all-around play,” he added. “It's something I wanted to work on. But during the offseason I wanted to bring to my game—I wanted more assists. I don't know what I have this season, but I still feel like it wasn't enough. I want to keep adding to my game, just be the best I can be for the Red Bulls."

It makes sense that Wright-Phillips was unable to recall the number of assists he had (seven) because you’d have been hard-pressed to keep track of all the Red Bulls’ goals this year. New York scored an eye-opening 62 in the end, four more than the two second-best teams. Its defense allowed just 43 goals, best in the East. 

But the biggest test, of course, still lies ahead. After winning the Supporters’ Shield in 2013, the club whimpered out of the playoffs early with a loss to Houston. Last year, it reached the Eastern Conference final but lost to New England in a hard-fought series.

New York has made the MLS Cup final just once—in 2008, when it went on an unlikely run through the playoffs that came to its end against a far superior Columbus Crew team.

"The playoffs are a totally different beast,” Dax McCarty explained. “A totally different animal. It's almost like a mini-season. It's a single series you have. You have to be ready for whatever. I think I've learned in the playoffs just to expect the unexpected. Literally anything can happen in the playoffs. I think the team that is mentally ready for that, the teams that are mentally strong and the teams that have each other's back, usually come out on top in the playoffs."

Following the win over Chicago, the players insisted that the celebration of the Supporters' Shield would be short-lived, with its opening playoff game set for Sunday against an opponent yet to be determined.

But that shouldn’t diminish any appreciation for New York’s regular season success, particularly with regards to McCarty himself.

The 28-year-old joined the club in 2011 in a trade with D.C. United for Dwayne De Rosario. At the time, the move was panned as one of the worst in club history. Four years later, it’d have to rank among the best.

"Obviously this one means a lot, just like the first one did,” McCarty said. “But I think this one, you know, for me, it's special for different reasons obviously than the first one, for sure. No one expecting much from us this year. A lot of people wrote us off in the beginning. A lot of people gave us no chance to be part of the postseason. Now we are here.

“I think it's a testament to the vision to this club. It's a testament to the vision of Ali Curtis and Jesse Marsch. Two guys that took a lot of heat early in the season, two guys that really put their necks out on the line when they made the decisions that they made. I think it's tough to argue that it hasn't paid off with the type of season they we've had. The Shield means a little bit, but it doesn't mean very much if we don't take it to the postseason and put forth a good, honest effort to go win the MLS Cup.

"That's our next focus and our next goal, and we just hope the fans stick by us."

 Brian Sciaretta is an American Soccer Now columnist and an ASN 100 panelist. Follow him on Twitter.