Chicago Fire: The other team with axes on their socks. Photo credit; Kari Heistad.
What the Fire needs to be competitive in 2017.
No open letter to the owner this year. Instead, I’m just going to go through a list of things the Chicago Fire need if they want to regain respectability (at the very least) in 2017. Let’s get straight to it in random order.
SOMEONE WITH A WINNING ATTITUDE: Only once this season (in the 33rd match) did the Fire win a match where they allowed a goal. It’s as if once the Fire conceded, you knew that they were not going to win. There were too often times where the Fire would commit a turnover and the counter would more often than not produce a goal for the opposition.
As Fire general manager Nelson Rodriguez put it, the Fire learned how to be competitive (though fans have their doubts about that), but they didn’t learn how to win. Here, Rodriguez is on point when he says that Fire need to bring in a player who has been in big moments and won in them and can improve the team’s psyche. It would have come in handy as three times this season when the Fire were ahead late only to drop two points late on an equalizing goal.
LEADERSHIP: Anyone know who the captain was? No? Well, the Fire did not appear set on one. There was simply no leader on the pitch. None came up internally. There needs to be a leader on the pitch for the Fire that can rally the team when things get tough. Again too often, the Fire looked to each other to step up and too few did. Veljko Paunovic can only do so much (and can do more in terms of coaching), but the Fire need to establish a captain and most likely need to get one from the outside since it’s clear none came from within.
A NUMBER 10: Once again, Nelson Rodriguez is on song when he says that the Fire need an attacking midfielder who can dominate the way Peter Nowak and Cuauhtemoc Blanco did before when they wore the #10 here. They need a player who can not only create chances for others like Michael de Leeuw and David Accam, but for himself as well. That was Peter Nowak and Cuauhtemoc Blanco. Razvan Cocis and Matt Polster are holding midfielders. David Accam is a winger and Michael de Leeuw and Luis Solignac could use better service. None of those players can dominate a match on their own.
DEFENSIVE DEPTH: In terms of goals allowed, there was no improvement. However, Johan Kappelhof, Jonathan Campbell, and Brandon Vincent will all get better with experience. However, Rodrigo Ramos went to seed midway thought the season and did not blossom. Joao Meira was hot and cold. Depth in defense is sorely needed.
A QUALITY DESIGNATED PLAYER: That goes without saying. However, the Fire also need to make sure that player can get use to Chicago and Major League Soccer and make him feel at home. Evidently, that didn’t happen with either Shaun Maloney or Gilberto. A quality DP or two (the Fire do have two open slots on that end), would at least get a conversation going on the Fire. How can you own a soccer conversation where there really isn’t one given the current state of the Fire? They simply need to give fans a reason to talk about the Fire outside of the pubs and the pitch and wherever those Pub to Pitch buses stop.
COMMITMENT BY HAUPTMAN: Leadership, a winning attitude, a #10, defensive depth, and a quality DP (or two) are definitely things that the Fire need. Indeed, one player can have more than one of the aforementioned qualities. Nelson Rodriguez does have a good idea of what the team needs (don’t laugh). However, a good deal of this comes down to commitment from owner Andrew Hauptman. He is the one constant of a team that’s been in steady decline the past seven seasons. The rest has been a consistent picture of inconsistency with a revolving door of players and top executives (which continues).
Hauptman inherited Blanco, but since has only spent more than one million dollars on two DPs he didn’t get in a trade from Seattle (Maloney and Gilberto) and neither of them lasted a full season in Bridgeview. There have been other DPs and just about all of them except David Accam can collectively be best described in one word–busts.
Hauptman’s commitment will forever be in question as long as he hides from the media (which he has done for over two years now), not communicate other than a press release or through VP of Communication Doug Hicks, Rodriguez, or COO Atul Khosla; and hardly show up at home games at all. People like Rodriguez and MLS Commissioner Don Garber can say that he is passionate, but how can we tell when he isn’t visible half the time and being media shy (especially with the current state of the club)?
Failing that for the 2017 season, then the league should seriously consider taking steps to bring about a change of leadership in the Fire at the top because the current owner certainly has not shown commitment or true passion in recent years.
A TOWN HALL MEETING: To many of the Fire faithful, the club’s hierarchy still seems distant and feels that they talk down to them. The Fire need to bridge that disconnect as soon as possible. Certainly, Nelson Rodriguez and Atul Khosla need to be there to address fans and in a setting where they interact with fans who care very deeply about the club and feel that those in charge do not right now.
FINAL THOUGHTS: There are things to like about the Fire such as promising players like Accam, Polster, Campbell, Kappelhof, and Vincent. The Fire’s community wing recently won a top award for its services. I do think, and I know that I’m in the minority right now, that Nelson Rodriguez does have some good ideas on what the Fire needs and Veljko Paunovic has a chance to improve with a experience in MLS.
All of that said, though, none of that will mean beans if the Fire do not address the above things that they dearly need to break the losing mentality, show that they have direction, and that they are not as what Taylor Twellman said at the MLS SuperDraft this January, a ‘dying franchise’. Otherwise, league intervention should be demanded because it’s not just Chicago’s problem, but the league’s given the importance of Chicago as the third-largest market.
There needs to be more commitment and passion to break a losing mentality and produce a winner again. Otherwise, fans won’t miss not going to Bridgeview and not just their problem.
