For every game it has played to date in USL 2017, New York Red Bulls II has put out a short bench: 14 players were named to play against Pittsburgh Riverhounds on opening day; 16 players have dressed for the II team in the other three matches.
The reason for this was left unexplained, despite no shortage of questions from those who follow the Red Bulls reserves. NYRB II is the defending USL champion and USL is now the second division of US soccer: it's not a great look when the reigning champ of D2 apparently can't find enough players for a full match-day squad - and this is the sort of issue that starts people chattering about MLS reserve teams harming USL's bid for greater credibility and a wider audience.