Friday, April 23, 2010

Chicago Fire: The Season So Far


Heading into Saturday night's contest with the Houston Dynamo the Chicago Fire are sitting in fifth place in the East with 1 win, two losses, and a tie. Last week we saw the Fire notch their first win over hapless DC United thanks to goals from Marco Pappa and Brian McBride. I thought it would be a nice time to take stock of what's transpired so far this season and rate the Fire as a team and organization.

Coach

We've certainly got what we expected from new Fire manager Carlos De Los Cobos so far this year: change. The real question is if it will good change or bad change. So far we've seen mixed results. The team could of came out victorious in both its losses, but were unable to avoid making costly mistakes and not capitalizing on their opportunities.

Often when a new manager comes in it can take a little while before things start clicking with the team. However, the expectations are high when you are hired by a team that fired their last coach after he got them to the Eastern Conference Finals last year. i like the progress CDLC has made learning English and some of the players he's brought in look to be keepers.

Forward

Brian McBride came in off the bench last weekend to a scoreless game in the 75th minute. When the game ended the Fire had a key road victory and #20 had a goal and assist to his name. Bringing McBride off the bench every now and again might not be a bad idea this season. The guy is 37 and I don't know if having him playing 90 minutes every week of the season is the best way to use him.

McBride's former strike partner at Fulham, Collins John, has earned praise from MLS pundits for his efforts so far this season. The Dutch 24-year-old has show he still has a air of class about him, and has created chances in every game he's played in.

His impressive header against Colorado helped secure the Fire a point in week 2, and both the Fire's home opener against San Jose and last week in the nation's capital he showed promise.The former teenage prodigy looks like he could go on a goal scoring run in the near future, so keep an eye on him this weekend.

Midfield

Watching the team in the home opener at Toyota Park I couldn't help but feel the team was just lacking a creative force in the midfield. That would make sense with Cuauhtémoc Blanco plying his trade back in Mexico, the Fire need to find another chief creator.

It would be unfair to expect Marco Pappa to replace a player you were just paying 2 million dollars right away, but the Guatemalan international has shown promise. The left footed midfielder still has a tendency to sometime float in and out of games, but is starting show understanding that he has to be "the man in the midfield" for the Fire this season. 

Not having Logan Pause and John Thorrington healthy is definitly a challenge, but Baggio Hudisic, Peter Lowry, and Justin Mapp have done an admirable job filling in. Patrick Nyarko I believe has found his best position at right wing with his blazing speed creating numerous opportunities for the Fire this season. If De Los Cobos can just figure out to get the Ghanian footballer to finish in the final third he could take a big step forward in his career this year. I'm also looking forward to seeing Corben Bone and Julio Martinez introduced into the fray.

Defense

The surprising departure of goalkeeper Jon Busch has left the backline of the Fire learning how to play with a young keeper in Andrew Dykstra. I like the Fire's personnel in defense, but it will just take a little for the cohesion to set in. Tim Ward has proven himself a admirable right back, while my preference right now is Polish newcomer Krzysztof Krol at left back. The Fire also have new addition Deris Umanzor and Mike Banner who could see time on the left.

C.J. Brown has been putting out fires in the Fire penalty box for 12 years. His experience and leadership cannot be overvalued this season, but wouldn't mind seeing Dasan Robinson and rookie Kwame Watson-Siriboe have a chance at battling for the starting spot next to stalwart William Conde. Until one of the strikers catch a hot streak, the Fire are going to have to depend on the defense to keep them in games.


Front Office

You have to give credit where credit is do and the Chicago Fire organization did a wonderful job selling out Toyota Park for opening night. Seeing Toyota Park packed with soccer fans was truly great to see and in my opinion a bigger deal than selling out a playoff game.

The team didn't come up with their end of the bargain, but at least it was an exciting game. It seems like the Fire are running promotions every day for fans to get affordable tickets to the game and President Dave Greeley really seems to know what he's doing.

It's been great to see the club's efforts to engage fans and make them feel apart of the team. Recent news of the Fire signing a first-of-its-kind in MLS charter agreement with its fans is indication of the team's movement in the right direction. Besides the regular MLS season fans can look forward to seeing the Fire take on AC Milan on May 30th and the Sister Cities Tournament both at Toyota Park.

The organization is far from perfect and still have many challenges to face both on the field and off, but I have to applaud the front office for what they've done from the end of last season to now.

-Here's hoping for a win tomorrow in Bridgeview!

-Sean Heffernan