In many aspects. Chicago Fire FC are in a better place than they were at the end of the 2019 season. However, one area that it is not is the soccer itself. For the 11th time in the last 13 seasons, the Fire missed the playoffs. While there is promise in many youngsters out on the pitch, there were disappointments as well. We will put all of that aside and introduce the things the Fire need to do to improve on the pitch as well as a couple areas off the pitch where the Fire can build back better as well to borrow a political slogan.
1. REPLACE GEORG HEITZ WITH GARTH LAGERWAY (OR SOMEONE WITH MLS EXPERIENCE): While Georg Heitz should get credit for seeing value in the Fire’s Academy which has produced plenty of local talent as well as the signing of Jhon Duran bearing fruit (more on him later), his signing of other players and philosophy has set the club back a bit. Two of his first three–Robert Beric and Ignacio Aliseda–are already done. Gaston Gimenez did not live up to his DP status and while extended, is no longer a designated player. To be fair, Gimenez did improve until he suffered a season-ending injury. Jairo Torres came in as damaged goods and never got going. Xherdan Shaqiri had decent numbers with seven goals and 11 assists, but fans expected more from the highest-paid player in MLS and more commitment at times.
While the signing of Chris Mueller was genius, the trade for Kacper Przybylko has turned out to be a bust so far. Factor in his haphazard building of the 2020 team, the mistaken belief that continuity would lead to success in 2021, and not adding enough reinforcements to make a playoff run, it’s not enough to justify extended him.
Joe Mansueto should make every effort to hire Seattle general manager Garth Lagerway to run the soccer operations. Besides being an Elmhurst native, he is the closest thing MLS has to a Pat Gillick, Dave Dombrowski, Jim Finks, or Theo Epstein. He’s built winners at Real Salt Lake and Seattle and he would have instant credibility in the eyes of the Fire faithful. If the Fire are unable to land Lagerway, maybe look towards someone like LAFC president John Thorrington or Atlanta technical director Carlos Bocaengra. Both are ex-Fire players and both has overseen winners at their respective clubs. It’s hard to argue that the Fire are in a better place on the pitch itself as it’s now five straight seasons without playoffs. Hiring someone who is better at building winners would be a step further forward.
2. KEEP DURAN IN 2023: Already, people are figuring how much Jhon Duran will go for to a European club. At least for the start of the 2023 season, the Fire should keep him if only that he needs to show more maturity and he needs a bit more seasoning to become a better player. Yes, he was the leading scorer with eight goals, but the Fire should not listen to offers for Duran just yet. That leads to another teenager who is off to greener pastures–or bluer pastures in this case.
3. SPEND WISELY FROM SLONINA SALE: Gaga Slonina went to Chelsea for $10 million with the potential to go up to $15 million. The Fire need to spend the money wisely–something Georg Heitz isn’t the best at to be honest. The club will need a backup for Chris Brady as well as depth pieces at every position to compliment what it there now. With a designated player spot now open, the Fire really need to hit this out of the park. They’ve struck out too many times over the years with DPs, Off the pitch, there are thins for Ishwara Glassman-Chrein and her staff to improve upon as well.
4. GET BETTER SOLDIER FIELD DEAL: This past season saw two matches move to SeatGeek Stadium as the Bears needed five days clearance for its home games. A third match was moved because the timing their Decision Day match on the same day around the time of the Chicago Marathon did not would cause headaches. What caused further headaches was the state of the pitch from time to time. It’s clear the Chicago Park District does not know how to grow grass for sports at Soldier Field, nor how not to cram all sorts of events during the summer.
Glassman-Chrein mentioned the possibility of exploring building a new stadium within city limits as an option as a means of leverage. One can understand moving back to Soldier Field to be in the city and build to be relevant, but that’s hard when the football team–who wants to leave for Arlington Heights–has so much sway and the price of parking ($40) is another pain point. Every effort must be made by Glassman-Chrein and her staff to get a better deal where the Fire and its fans are treated better by the Park District and the City. It’s bad enough that the on-pitch product is a pain point, they can ill-afford more off the pitch.
5. GET ON THE RADIO: With all MLS games moving to Apple TV in 2023, the Fire need a local avenue to help market itself to fans. Given that Apple will allow fans to listen to their team’s radio feed much like MLB.TV does with its teams, the Fire should finally get off their hindquarters and partner with an English-language radio station. There is space on WGN as there is no baseball now during the summer and WBBM will be without the Bears after next season. One of the biggest mistakes under Andrew Hauptman and Nelson Rodriguez (and there were so many) was not getting a local outlet while the team was exclusively on ESPN+ from 2017 to 2019. Fans loved the coverage on WGN-TV, but that outlet is gone for the foreseeable future. The idea to attract new fans and not just keep those who will only root for the Fire. It’s a challenge if there is no local radio outlet in English (the Fire have always had one in Spanish) covering the team.
While the Fire are in a better place than after the 2019 season, there are numerous opportunities to do better both on and off the pitch. The Fire need someone in the front office who can get the team not just back to the playoffs, but back to contending for trophies like they were in their first 12 years of existence.
According to Sportico, the club is 17th in total value (down from 12th the previous year). The club also ranks 27th in projected revenue only ahead of CF Montreal. There are numerous opportunities for the Fire to rejuvenate soccer in this city and above were just five ways to do that. Joe Mansueto has the money and wants to do right by the city, but he can certainly do better than what he has right now (the potential building of the performance center in the city is a start). Otherwise, fans will quickly view him as no better than Andrew Hauptman.
